Perceptions on climate change correlate with willingness to undertake some forestry adaptation and mitigation practices

Abstract

Results from a survey taken anonymously by 1,029 US-based respondents in forest management and academia highlight how individuals’ perceptions about climate change correlated with their willingness to consider management prescriptions for forest ecosystems. About two-thirds of respondents identified themselves as having a professional land management role, and most of the remainder specialized in research or education. In most cases, respondents’ willingness to try specific adaptation or mitigation measures related to the degree to which they agreed that “climate change is occurring because of human activities that release greenhouse gases to the atmosphere.” The survey results are considered with a focus on which proposed practices and types of climate information received the most acceptance or resistance. For instance, respondents across the spectrum of climate change perceptions supported efforts to thin overly dense forests and opposed options to sequester carbon by promoting the woody invasion of grasslands or ignoring biodiversity.