Carbon Storage in forests and markets for carbon credits.
I have done consulting work on forest carbon storage strategies, and prepared a major assessment of the role of forests in addressing carbon issues for the Northeast Regional biomass Program.  I currently serve as a member of the Northeast Regional Biomass Project steering committee and I am finishing a manuscript on the development of the European Carbon market, based on two months of work at Nancy, France on the ETS.   I am supervising student work on various aspects of carbon markets in forestry.  I frequently address meetings on this subject.  My work on the Northeast Regional and the National Climate Change Assessments resulted in several peer-reviewed publications (listed below).  I also conducted an informal assessment of carbon storage possibilities for the Union of Concerned Scientists, which remains unpublished.  I have conducted an assessment of forest carbon plantation investments in the Lower Mississippi River Valley for The nature Conservancy.

Training
I have developed and delivered several training sessions on forest carbon and related topics:

• Two day training session at TERI in New Delhi in March, 2007.  For graduate students. on developing forest-based CDM projects
• Presentations on carbon trading at TERI Indian Civil Servants workshop  Yale University, August 2007.
• One-day training session for graduate students at Yale, April 2007 on the same subject. 
• Several presentations planned for TERI carbon conference, Delhi, May 19-22, 2008.

Longterm Forest and Ecological Research
With several colleagues, I am working to develop publications that showcase the accomplishments and value of longterm forest research sites.  This has resulted in a major Publication (# 5, 2006) by the Global Institute on Sustainable Forestry, as well as several shorter advocacy pieces.  Plans are under way for a second volume on North American longterm research.   In this volume, several essays will deal with detecting the fingerprints of climate change through longterm studies.  I am pursuing support for a similar effort for Western Europe, possibly to include Scandinavia.

 

Relevant Publications & Presentations
Irland, "Ecosystem management in northern forests: potential role in managing the carbon cycle: an exploratory assessment."  American Forests Working Paper, Washington, DC, Jan. 1995, 39 p.

Irland, "Stakeholder perceptions and concerns, Northeastern forest owners and industry," In: New England Regional Climate Change Impacts Workshop Summary Report.  Sept. 3-5, 1997.

Irland and Cline, Role of northeastern forests and wood products in carbon sequestration.  Report to Northeast Regional Biomass Program/CONEG.  1998.  Washington, DC.  On web at http://www.nrbp.org.

Joyce, Aber, McNulty, Dale, Hansen, Irland, Neilson, and Skog. "Potential consequences of climate variability and change for the forests of the US," In: National Assessment Synthesis Team Climate Change Impacts on the United States.  Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press.  2001, pp. 489-521.

* Irland, Adams, Alig, Betz, Chen, Hutchins, McCarl, Skog, and Sohngen, "Assessing socioeconomic impacts of climate change on US forests, wood-product markets, and forest recreation."  BioScience 51(9): 7534-764.  Sept. 2001.

Lauten, Rock, Spencer, Perkins, and Irland, "Climate impacts on regional forests," In: Preparing for a changing climate-potential consequences of climate variability and change: New England Regional Overview.  US Global Change Res. Progr. Univ. of New Hampshire.  pp. 32-48.

* Dale, Joyce, McNulty, Neilson, Ayres, Flannigan, Hanson, Irland, Lugo, Peterson, Simberloff, Swanson, Stocks, and Wotton, "Climate change and forest disturbances."  Bioscience, 51(9): 2001. 

* Irland, (coord.) "Ice storm 1998 and the forests of the northeast: a preliminary assessment."  J. For.  Sept. 1998, pp. 32-40.

* Irland, "Ice storms and forest impacts." Science of the Total Environment, 262 (2000): 231-242.

Presentation at Society of American Foresters convention Portland Oregon Oct 23 2007,  “Converting US Forest Carbon to a Tradeable Asset: Three Rivers to Cross”, with Deborah Spalding.

Presentation at Carbon Trading Summit, New York,  June 24, 2008,  Forest-based carbon assets: a primer.

* are peer reviewed.