Forests, Carbon, and Climate: From Ecosystems to Policy

OEB 110 Subject & Catalog Number

Description

Forests are among our most powerful allies in the fight against climate change—yet turning that potential into policy is one of the hardest problems in environmental science. This experiential course puts you at the center of that challenge. Each Friday, students travel to the Harvard Forest in Petersham, MA, one of the world's longest-running ecological research sites, to work directly with eddy covariance towers, long-term forest inventory plots, and active global change experiments. Through weekly field sessions and seminars, you'll build from the fundamentals of forest carbon measurement to regional-scale analysis and real-world climate policy. Guest researchers, land managers carbon market practitioners and state land sector policy makers will join us in conversations and help contextualize the science you’ll be doing in the field.