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Scientists & Staff

Richard Birdsey

Notes: This person is no longer an employee of the Northern Research Station.


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Research Datasets

  • Birdsey, Richard A.; Dugan, Alexa J.; Healey, Sean P.; Dante-Wood, Karen; Zhang, Fangmin; Mo, Gang; Chen, Jing M.; Hernandez, Alexander J.; Raymond, Crystal L.; McCarter, James. 2019. Forest-level appendices to the assessment of the influence of disturbance, management activities, and environmental factors on carbon stocks of U.S. National Forests. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RMRS-GTR-402-s1.
  • Pan, Yude; Birdsey, Richard; McCullough, Kevin; Bernier, Pierre Y.; Beaudoin, Andrè; Villemaire, Philippe; Guindon, Luc. 2015. Forest stand age map of Canada (2011) and the United States (2006 & 2011). Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2015-0043.
  • Pan, Yude; Chen, Jing; Birdsey, Richard; McCullough, Kevin; He, Liming; Deng, Feng. 2014. Forest stand age map of Canada (2004) and the United States (2006). Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2014-0025.

National Research Highlights

International working group meeting in Coyoacan, Mexico. NOTE: I have several other nice group photos. They all highlight our diversity. Vanessa Silva Mascorro, University of British Columbia

Assessment of North American Forest Carbon Dynamics: Tools for Monitoring, Reporting, and Projecting

Year: 2015

Forest Service scientists and cooperators assessed past and prospective carbon stocks for representative study sites in Canada, the United States, and Mexico and analyzed the effects of natural disturbance, climate change, and management. The results of their research informs climate change mitigation policies in the three countries using consistent methods and highlights some of the more promising opportunities for public and private land managers to participate in programs that reduce emissions or increase carbon stocks in forests.

Aerial view of Wisconsin Forests in the Fall. Scott Pearson

Past and Prospective Carbon Stocks Assessed in Forests of Northern Wisconsin

Year: 2014

Forest Service scientists and cooperators assessed past and prospective carbon stocks for 4.5 million hectares (about 11 million acres) of forest land in northern Wisconsin and analyzed the effects of disturbance and management. Over the last decade, carbon stocks of northern Wisconsin forests have been increasing and they found that there is potential to increase stocking on the land by allowing more of the forested area to reach older age classes or by increasing growth rates through improving forest management.

Aboveground biomass map created with LIDAR and FIA plots for Anne Arundel and Howard Counties, Maryland. Kristofer Johnson, USDA Forest Service

How to Build a Better Map of Tree Biomass

Year: 2014

A logical way to validate biomass maps derived from remotely sensed data is to validate them with independent ground inventory estimates, but integration of the two systems is not without challenges. Forest Service scientists compared maps derived from Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) to Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) estimates in the fragmented forests of Maryland, leading to recommendations about how to improve their agreement.

Forest interior in a permanent plot in Amazonian Peru; note the buttressed tree being measured at 5m with the help of a ladder. Abel Monteagudo-Mendoza, University of Leeds, UK

Global Forests Sequester One-third of Annual Fossil Fuel Emissions, Much More Than Previously Thought

Year: 2011

Forested land plays a much larger role in removing carbon from the atmosphere than was previously thought, according to Forest Service scientists working with an international team of scientists. One of the key findings in the study is that global forests have annually removed 2.4 billion tons of carbon (8.8 billion tons of carbon dioxide) from the atmosphere, about one-third of annual fossil fuel emissions for the period of 1990-2007.

Last modified: Saturday, February 4, 2023