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Regenerating native forests to fight climate change - New Jersey Conservation Foundation 8/7/24, 9:37 PM He added that New Jersey’s forests currently sequester about 8 percent of annual state greenhouse gas emissions, “so there’s a lot at stake here in terms of forest health.” One of the state’s strategies for reaching its goal is relying on natural solutions like preserving and restoring ecologically resilient, mature forests. Can New Jersey’s forests regain their resilience? Research conducted at Duke Farms indicates that they can. Located in Somerset County, the 2,700-acre Duke Farms property is now a model of environmental restoration. About 20 years ago, explained Thomas Almendinger, Duke Farms’ director of natural resources and agro-ecology, there were so few native understory plants that the land couldn’t even support breeding populations of rabbits and chipmunks. In 2004, the deer population was estimated at an unsustainable 75100 deer per square mile. Duke Farms launched its e!ort to improve habitat by fencing in about a square mile of forest and farmland. The deer population both inside and outside the fenced area was reduced through hunting. There are now almost no deer within the fenced area. As the deer population dropped inside the fenced area, native plants and shrubs as well as the seedling and sapling layers of forest understory rebounded. “The long and short of it is: it worked,” said Dr. Michael Van Clef of Ecological Solutions LLC and head of the New Jersey Invasive Species Strike Team. Young trees survived long enough to reach a size where they’re out of reach of hungry deer and can grow into the forests of tomorrow. Invasive plants like Japanese stiltgrass and Japanese barberry diminished. “Invasive plants are not supernatural; they can be outcompeted,” Van Clef said. Duke Farms’ successful experiment shows that it’s possible, by significantly reducing deer populations, to regenerate forests that will sequester carbon and provide habitat for diverse wildlife. When deer are at tolerable levels, native plants can compete successfully against invasives. It will take an enormous e!ort to replicate the same results in forests throughout New Jersey, but there’s now solid science to guide agencies as they work to meet the state’s climate goals and ensure the future of our forests and the many benefits they provide. To view the full webinar

Jersey, but there’s now solid science to guide agencies as they work to meet the state’s climate goals and ensure the future of our forests and the many benefits they provide. To view the full webinar on YouTube, go to https://www.youtube.com/watch? v=yvhL40rmfPA (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yvhL40rmfPA). To learn more about New Jersey’s Global Warming Response Act, go to https://www.nj.gov/dep/climatechange/docs/nj-gwra-80×50-report-2020.pdf (https://www.nj.gov/dep/climatechange/docs/nj-gwra-80x50-report-2020.pdf). And for information about preserving New Jersey’s land and natural resources, visit the New Jersey Conservation Foundation website at www.njconservation.org (http://www.njconservation.org) or contact me at info@njconservation.org (mailto:info@njconservation.org). https://www.njconservation.org/regenerating-native-forests-to-fight-climate-change/ Page 3 of 4