20236801238992

Forests provide many benefits such as timber and fiber production and climate mitigation, but their long-term sustainability is increasingly threatened by climate change, evolving markets, and land-use changes.

More detailed and accurate information is needed to allow landowners and managers to make economical and climate-smart decisions that will affect the delivery, sustainability, and resilience of forest resources.

The goal of the PERSEUS (Promoting Economic Resilience and Sustainability of the Eastern US Forests) project is to provide sound science, outreach, and educational opportunities that lay the foundation for a major fundamental change in forestry. Specifically, PERSEUS aims to:

1. Create a set of digital tools and wall-to-wall forest mapping products that will provide detailed and near real-time measurements.
2. Build and apply a framework to visually represent current and future forest trends.
3. Engage with stakeholders to develop climate-smart management practices.
4. Establish educational and training programs that support students and professionals in understanding and making use of digital technologies.

PERSEUS will provide a foundation for redefining forest inventory in the U.S., while also providing the much-needed ability to predict future forest conditions. Working with stakeholders, PERSEUS will provide:

1. User-friendly tools and programs to better measure and monitor forests like never before.
2. Sustainable forest management practices.
3. A platform to optimize regional efforts in building environmentally and economically sustainable forests, especially on private lands in rural America.

Moreover, the project will train diverse cohorts of students and professionals to build a digitally competent workforce. Successful completion of the project will increase physical goods such as food, water, fuel, and timber provided by forest ecosystems and improve operational efficiency in forests across the Eastern U.S.

In particular, measurement tools developed by PERSEUS will modernize and inform forest management by creating digital inventory tools that empower stakeholders to better understand the potential impacts of their decisions on a local and regional scale. The resulting framework will provide a digital bridge, enabling landowners and stakeholders with practical tactics and forest simulation to inform decision- and policy-making.

Complementing this, the digital forestry educational programs developed by PERSEUS will generate a diverse workforce capable of carrying and optimizing these tools into the future.

Purdue University

10.310 - Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI)

Institute of Bioenergy, Climate, and Environment (IBCE) [USDA - NIFA]

West Lafayette, Indiana 47906-1332 United States

Single Zip Code

Agriculture and Food Research Initiative Sustainable Agricultural Systems (USDA-NIFA-AFRI-009002)