Nebraskan chairs panel for forest strategies

An international panel chaired by University of Nebraska-Lincoln professor Craig Allen is pointing to the crucial benefits forests provide and calling on countries to adopt well-informed resilience strategies.

Forests face major challenges, locally and globally, from urban sprawl, conversion to agriculture, and climate stresses, raising concerns for communities, as well as for the planet’s climate, he said. Forests provide important benefits locally by supporting livelihoods and community viability, enabling ecological biodiversity and filtering water to help water quality.

At the global level, forests play a key environmental role by storing significant amounts of carbon, which helps regulate atmospheric carbon levels affecting Earth’s temperature levels, he said.

PHOTO: Forest trees. (Adobe Stock │ #286649580 – sosiukin)