CTrees

The U.S. forest inventory is falling behind, and sector leaders are calling for change. For nearly a century, the U.S. Forest Service's Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) program has been a gold standard in forest monitoring science internationally—and the main source of information on the status of U.S. forests. But the FIA program is increasingly disconnected from the latest advances in technologies that can help forest managers meet sustainability demands and address escalating climate threats. In a recent commentary in the Journal of Forestry, Christopher Woodall, CTrees director of U.S. forest science and policy, joined peers from academia, industry, nonprofits, and state agencies to call for a modernized FIA program led by a Blue Ribbon Panel. The yearlong panel would convene a dozen experts to produce a clear roadmap for FIA to integrate new technology and better meet the evolving needs of the sector. "The real choice is what kind of leadership the United States exercises,” writes Woodall. “Modernize our forest inventory and lead the global community by example, contributing the ground truth and open standards that make climate-positive markets work, or let a foundational asset age while the rest of the world builds around it." Read more from Woodall: https://lnkd.in/dzF5f_Zc Access the commentary in the Journal of Forestry: https://lnkd.in/dpmMUCuM

The rainforests of the Congo Basin are one of the world's largest carbon sinks—yet their contributions to mitigating global climate change have long been overlooked. A recent Mongabay article explores new research led by my colleague Le Bienfaiteur Sagang to bring greater visibility to the region's forests by analyzing how local land-use decisions impact carbon capacity. Findings from the study challenge common assumptions. Nearly all (98.7%) of the carbon removed by the Congo Basin's forests can be traced back to managed areas, including logging concessions—suggesting that how we choose to manage these forests today will dictate their climate benefits tomorrow. As Le Bien told reporter Claudia Geib, "Our message is not to allocate all the forest for logging concessions." Rather, the research shows that sustainable forest management is more nuanced. "Our findings show it depends on how you use those forests." On a personal note, it was deeply rewarding to work with Claudia and Le Bien to help bring this story to life, connecting rigorous science and local knowledge from CTrees researchers to a broader audience. Read the full story and note the photos from Le Bien's fieldwork in Cameroon! https://lnkd.in/dxn22i8n

The U.S. forest inventory is falling behind. Long recognized as a gold standard in forest monitoring science, the U.S. Forest Service's Forest Inventory and Analysis program has been the primary source of information on the status of U.S. forests for almost a century. But the FIA program is increasingly disconnected from technologies like satellite and LiDAR remote sensing and AI that forest managers need to deal with fire, pests, and drought, and to meet new sustainability demands from global markets. Even as user demand is increasing, the FIA is facing significant capacity constraints. In a recent commentary in the Journal of Forestry, my colleague Christopher Woodall, who worked as a senior scientist on FIA program for more than 2 decades, joined 13 senior peers from academia, industry, nonprofits, and agencies in calling for a modernized FIA program, with a Blue Ribbon Panel charting the path. The yearlong panel would convene a dozen experts to set a direction for FIA to integrate new technologies with adequate governance and privacy safeguard for landowners. The Blue Ribbon Panel approach has worked twice before, with two expert panels in the 1990s pushing the FIA towards the next level for science and technology. As Chris writes in a blog post for CTrees today: "The real choice is what kind of leadership the United States exercises: modernize our forest inventory and lead the global community by example, contributing the ground truth and open standards that make climate-positive markets work, or let a foundational asset age while the rest of the world builds around it. Influence lasts longest when it sets an example worth following." Photo credit: USDA Forest Service

As a researcher native to the Congo Basin, it is incredibly rewarding to see our work provide concrete scientific evidence to guide the management of this unique ecosystem. Its critical role in addressing climate, biodiversity and economic challenges is continuously being proven. In this recent article by Mongabay, Claudia Geib highlights the findings of our latest study in Nature Communication which demonstrates the positive impacts of sustainably managed forests in preserving carbon stocks and sequestration across the Congo Basin. Under a 2024 Central African Economic and Monetary Community (CEMAC) directive, member states that host most of the Congo Basin agreed to end the export of unprocessed timber by January 1, 2028. As we get loser to this deadlines, the region needs stronger forest governance and monitoring capabilities to effectively manage these resources and support local communities. Thanks to all the co-authors and partners that supported the study. 📖 Read the full Mongabay article here: https://lnkd.in/gCm9QdWg 📖 Read the full paper here: https://lnkd.in/gpfkqGbp

One-off tools don't scale. Shared architecture does and it takes partners, not a monopoly. That's what Sustainable Forestry Initiative and CTrees set out to test: can on-time, real-world forest resilience analytics be built fast and cost-effectively? Our bet is on the back end, engineering a data architecture that ingests many inputs (CTrees doesn't own this whole space and it shouldn't), paired with AI-accelerated front-end development. Back-end engineers + domain experts + AI-infused UI developers, sprinting a product to market. Built on publicly available science and data inputs from the CTrees, USDA Forest Service, NatureServe, and the University of Maine. We developed a pilot architecture focused on areas of the West and Southeast United States, with three scenarios: carbon offense, carbon defense, and the next-gen frontier of individual-tree identification and advanced allometry. This is infrastructure our planet's forests desperately need, not another silo and lost capital.  (See comment for full press release and links) Chris Mihiar Lauren T. Cooper Gregory Cooper

NEWS: To develop the future of forest analytics, Sustainable Forestry Initiative and CTrees have partnered to build a pilot data architecture to inform forest resilience planning and decision making. SFI and CTrees introduced the pilot at the SFI 2026 Annual Conference in Montreal in May. A demo dashboard is now available at https://lnkd.in/gfn7N6bM For Christopher Woodall, CTrees' director of U.S. forest science and policy, the pilot is an opportunity to help forest managers grappling with decisions under rapidly changing climate and economic conditions. "The pilot is about identifying the information and analytics forest managers need, and designing a data architecture that can support more resilient forests,” he said. The pilot platform introduces analytics for decision scenarios within supply sheds, the area where a mill sources its wood, often defined by a 60- to 90-minute drive time. The pilot is part of the SFI Climate Smart Forestry (CSF) Initiative, which brings together researchers and practitioners to integrate climate science into practical, forest-focused solutions. Lauren T. Cooper, chief conservation officer at SFI, said: “Improving data and integrating science insights into forest management has been a focus of the Climate Smart Forestry initiative since its inception. With CTrees, we wanted to identify the economic and scientific data needed for resilient forests, and explore how to deliver data to managers in a way that integrates into their existing operations.” Instead of an isolated platform, the data architecture is designed to integrate with forest managers’ existing dashboards and operational systems. The data stack includes nearly a dozen fundamental metrics including tree species diversity, relative density, aboveground biomass, canopy height, wildfire hazards, and forest productivity at spatial scales ranging from 60 centimeters to 100 meters. The data in the tool is organized by hypothetical supply sheds in California, Oregon, Georgia, and Alabama, allowing users to explore scenarios for wildfire management, carbon initiatives, and more. SFI and CTrees are actively engaging partners to shape the next phase of the pilot, translating the demonstration’s data architecture into operational decision support for forest managers, mill operators, and the certification and investment communities that depend on working forests. Read the release: https://lnkd.in/gii9BSiN And please reply in the comments if you'd like to learn more.

One-off tools don't scale. Shared architecture does and it takes partners, not a monopoly. That's what Sustainable Forestry Initiative and CTrees set out to test: can on-time, real-world forest resilience analytics be built fast and cost-effectively? Our bet is on the back end, engineering a data architecture that ingests many inputs (CTrees doesn't own this whole space and it shouldn't), paired with AI-accelerated front-end development. Back-end engineers + domain experts + AI-infused UI developers, sprinting a product to market. Built on publicly available science and data inputs from the CTrees, USDA Forest Service, NatureServe, and the University of Maine. We developed a pilot architecture focused on areas of the West and Southeast United States, with three scenarios: carbon offense, carbon defense, and the next-gen frontier of individual-tree identification and advanced allometry. This is infrastructure our planet's forests desperately need, not another silo and lost capital.  (See comment for full press release and links) Chris Mihiar Lauren T. Cooper Gregory Cooper

Last week, CTrees brought together leading scientists, policymakers, and practitioners at London Climate Action Week for an event focused on boosting forest resilience in tropical Africa. Across two panel discussions, one theme echoed loudly: the importance of looking beyond carbon to fully recognize the diverse benefits that trees and forest stewards provide. We look forward to continuing these conversations, and are grateful to the many panelists who joined us at The Royal Society to share their insights on a day of record-breaking heat: • ROSELYN FOSUAH ADJEI, Senior Advisor Consultant, Forest, Environmental Defense Fund • Wanjira Mathai, Managing Director, Africa & Global Partnerships, World Resources Institute • John M., Director of Global Partnerships, One Acre Fund • Tim Pagella, Thematic Lead on Agroforestry, Landscape Alliance | CIFOR & ICRAF • Berta Pesti, Head of Secretariat, Central African Forest Initiative (CAFI) • Sassan Saatchi, CEO and Chief Scientist, CTrees • Professor Lee White CBE, Special Envoy, Science Panel for the Congo Basin Photo credit: Joyce Wambui / Landscape Alliance

In the latest On (Wild)fire Podcast episode, CTrees CEO and co-founder Sassan Saatchi sits down with host Mark Moroge, vice president of forests at Environmental Defense Fund, to discuss the changing fire regime in the Amazon rainforest. Drawing on his decades of research in the tropics, Saatchi describes how record-breaking droughts and climate events like El Niño are changing fire dynamics in the region—creating feedback loops that impede forest recovery and significantly increase fire-driven carbon emissions. Saatchi also shares how CTrees is combining advanced satellite technology and AI to build models that can help inform wildfire mitigation and boost forest resilience. Listen to the full episode: https://lnkd.in/ebj4Gqnb