BOONE, N.C. — Members of Appalachian State University’s Carbon Research Group (ACRG) will expand upon their multidisciplinary work through an inter-institutional collaboration with faculty of North Carolina State University’s Department of Forestry and Environmental Resources and UNC Asheville’s National Environmental Modeling and Analysis Center (NEMAC).
Their work is made possible by grant funding awarded by the University of North Carolina System Office.
The aim of the partnership, said Dr. Tatyana Ruseva, associate professor in the Department of Government and Justice Studies, is to develop an innovative accounting protocol for forest carbon offset projects. Ruseva, who is an ACRG member, received $73,000 in support from the UNC System for the project.
ACRG is an interdisciplinary group of faculty, staff and students at Appalachian studying carbon dioxide emissions, carbon accounting and carbon offset possibilities.
Ruseva outlined the objectives of the project: to review procedures for forest carbon measurement; develop an experimental design to evaluate cost and accuracy of methodologies; and explore strategies that make carbon markets newly accessible to millions of forest owners.
“The goal is to identify and evaluate alternative forest inventory methodologies that could make small-scale forest carbon offset projects viable and to pursue external funding for testing and refinement,” she said.
The UNC System grant is administered by Appalachian’s Research Institute for Environment, Energy and Economics (RIEEE).
About the Research Institute for Environment, Energy and Economics
Since 2008, Appalachian State University’s Research Institute for Environment, Energy and Economics (RIEEE) has fostered interdisciplinary research on the environment, energy and economics, especially the areas in which these subjects intersect. The institute serves as an umbrella organization for three research centers: the Appalachian Energy Center, Center for Economic Research and Policy Analysis, and Southern Appalachian Environmental Research and Education Center. Additionally, the institute manages and supports App State’s student-led solar vehicle team, Team Sunergy — an exemplary model of the integrative and experiential student learning, leadership and innovation opportunities the institute seeks to foster at App State. Learn more at https://rieee.appstate.edu.
About the University of North Carolina System
The University of North Carolina System enrolls 242,500 students at 17 institutions, including the state’s 16 public universities and the nation’s first public residential high school for academically gifted students. The UNC System is among the strongest and most diverse higher education systems in the country, with more than $1.9 billion in research expenditures and campuses that serve every region of North Carolina. Affiliate organizations include PBS North Carolina, with 12 public television stations across the state, and UNC Health, with 19 hospital campuses and an extensive healthcare network. Learn more at northcarolina.edu.
About Appalachian State University
As a premier public institution, Appalachian State University prepares students to lead purposeful lives. App State is one of 17 campuses in the University of North Carolina System, with a national reputation for innovative teaching and opening access to a high-quality, cost-effective education. The university enrolls more than 21,000 students, has a low student-to-faculty ratio and offers more than 150 undergraduate and 80 graduate majors at its Boone and Hickory campuses and through App State Online. Learn more at https://www.appstate.edu.
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