Sarah Warren

The NC State University National Needs Fellowship Program is intended to encompass these broader sets of forest services and values. In response to new needs and perceptions, we propose to use the decision sciences to address and integrate emerging issues in forest and natural resource management. We propose a National Needs Fellowship graduate program in Forest Resources, focused on global thinkers in decision sciences who can understand and analyze bio-economic interrelationships across space and time. As master's and doctoral students in the Department of Forestry and Environmental Resources, Fellows will use logical quantitative and qualitative analytical methods in the decision sciences to accomplish the integration of land use, ecosystem processes, forest health, and social needs. Results will be objective and transparent for all levels of decision makers. Students completing the program will be able to develop the new methodologies and tools necessary to expand analytical capabilities in forest resource decision sciences. The National Needs Fellowship program in DFER will be accomplished through educational partnerships with the USDA Forest Service and other federal and state agencies, nongovernmental organizations, forest industry, landowners, and collaborating international institutions of higher education. These partners target both management and utilization of forest resources for energy, fiber, and solid wood products and also production and protection of forest environmental services and amenities.

Cities house a majority of the world's population and largely influence human health, lifestyle, and behavior while significantly effecting ecological processes at all scales. Urban forests are under growing pressure to provide ecosystem services to an increasing number of urban residents and studies have shown urban trees can assist in pollution and climate change mitigation. Similarly, efforts to address climate change, energy demands, and an ever-growing human consumption of wood-based resources are placing growing pressure on the world?s forests. Urban wood utilization programs could significantly increase the positive impacts of urban forests on greenhouse gas emissions, and at the same time provide a source of new woody biomass that may alleviate demands remaining natural and managed forests. Our goal is to evaluate how tree utilization programs can contribute to climate change mitigation plans for cities and serve as a new woody biomass resource in North Carolina. We propose to assess the opportunities and constraints associated with implementing potential urban wood utilization programs in the Triangle region. Based on this information, we will design wood utilization plans tailored to both small communities and larger municipalities. Specifically, we will: 1. Identify partners and cooperators among the key interest groups, and determine if they see the need for tree utilization project, and have the capacity to participate in such programs. 2. Estimate the potential supply of biomass for utilization projects from both government and privately owned residential properties. 3. Evaluate whether the demand (objective 1) and the supply (objective 2) justify the establishment of urban tree utilization projects in cities of various size in North Carolina. These objectives will be augmented by providing NC State students with service-learning opportunities in urban and community forestry and human dimensions of wildlife/conservation courses. The service learning programs will be developed with support from NC State?s newly established service-learning center (Center for Excellence in Curricular Engagement). Students will interact with interested stakeholders and participate in the evaluation of the supply and demand of woody biomass that will provide the basis for an urban wood utilization action plan. These applied and practical learning programs will provide valuable training to students who may, after completing their degree programs, work in the field of community forestry.