Tree Planting as a Climate Change Mitigation Strategy at US Land-grant Universities

Abstract

Under threat of climate change, land-grant universities have a particular responsibility to demonstrate leadership in mitigation actions due to their mandate of agricultural research under the Morrill Act. Carbon sequestration through tree-planting is preeminent among possible mitigation strategies due to its position at the nexus of agricultural and climate mitigation research; however, only nine of fifty state flagship land-grant institutions have an active, quantifiable tree-planting initiative today. This paper combines climate action data at the university- and state-level with remote sensing data on carbon sequestration potential in order to identify universities that are best-poised to begin a tree-planting initiative of their own. Results show that ten additional universities are prepared, according to a composite metric based on preparedness in science, implementation, urgency, geography, state context, and sequestration potential, to have a tree planting initiative. These institutions are identified as poised universities that should take advantage of their planting potential by creating their own tree-planting program.