White House Orders Major Timber Expansion, Reshaping U.S. Forestry Policy

Two new executive orders are shaking up the timber industry, aiming to boost domestic production by streamlining regulations and cutting reliance on imports. The first order directs an investigation into national security risks tied to foreign timber, while the second accelerates logging on federal lands managed by the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management. While this could ease supply chain issues and revive struggling mill infrastructure, it also raises concerns about wildlife conservation, recreation, and long-term sustainability. With timber harvests set to ramp up, the big question remains—will this be a smart balance of industry growth and conservation, or a fast track to environmental backlash?

Is prioritizing timber production on public lands a smart economic move, or are we trading forests for short-term gains?

👉👉 Read more in NCX

Fact Check: Does the U.S. Really Plant 2.5 Billion Trees a Year?

Not quite. While some claim the U.S. plants 2.5 billion trees annually, the best available data puts the number closer to 1.3 billion seedlings per year, covering about 2.2 to 2.5 million acres. The U.S. did hit the 2 billion mark back in the 1980s, but nursery closures, funding cuts, and shifting priorities have led to a decline. Ambitious legislative goals—like the Trillion Trees Act—aim to boost tree planting in the future, but for now, 2.5 billion remains an aspirational number rather than reality.

If tree planting is this hard to track, what else are we getting wrong about reforestation?

👉👉 Read more in Ground Truth

Tropical Forests Are Lagging Behind Climate Change, Study Finds

New research reveals that tropical forests in the Americas aren’t adapting fast enough to keep up with climate change, leaving them increasingly vulnerable to rising temperatures and shifting rainfall patterns. While some tree communities are showing subtle trait changes—like increased drought tolerance—the overall pace of adaptation is far too slow to maintain equilibrium with current climate shifts. This mismatch could lead to long-term instability in some of the world’s most biodiverse ecosystems. With climate change accelerating, the question isn’t whether forests will adapt—but whether they can do so before it’s too late.

If nature can’t keep up with climate change, what does that mean for the rest of us?

👉👉 Read the study in Science

AI Meets Forest Ecology: Tracking Biodiversity & Migration with Advanced Computing

AI is changing the game in forest research, and Dr. Jingjing Liang of Purdue University is here to break it down. In this talk, he’ll explore how machine learning and big data are helping scientists track forest migration, predict biodiversity shifts, and shape conservation strategies. With AI-powered analysis from initiatives like the Forest Advanced Computing and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (FACAI) and Science-i, researchers are uncovering patterns in ways never before possible. If you care about forests, climate change, or just want to see how AI is reshaping ecology, this is one to watch.

AI is revolutionizing everything—should forest conservation be next on the list?

👉👉 Read the details here

TreeAI Data Call: Help Build the First Global Tree Species Detection Database

Got high-quality aerial imagery or expertise in deep learning? The TreeAI project, part of COST action 3DForEcoTech and COST SNSF, is calling for contributors to help build a groundbreaking database for identifying individual tree species. They’re looking for manually annotated tree canopies and aerial RGB or RGBI imagery from around the world to train a deep-learning model for fine-grained species detection. Researchers with AI skills or a passion for publishing can also get involved—co-authorship opportunities included. Submissions are ongoing, and a data science competition kicks off soon.

Is AI the key to unlocking the secrets of the world’s forests? Join the effort and find out.

👉👉 Read the open call from ETH Zurich

This Week in Forest Finance: Carbon, Conservation & Cashing In on Biodiversity

Money is flowing into forests this week, with tech giants, banks, and governments betting big on trees and carbon credits. Microsoft is dropping 1.5M tonnes’ worth of carbon credits into an Indian afforestation project, planting 11.5M trees to hit its 2030 climate goals. Goldman Sachs is rolling out a $500M biodiversity bond fund, pushing nature-based investments into corporate finance. Meanwhile, Canada & Quebec just pledged $100M for conservation, and the Tłı̨chǫ government is adding 12M more trees to the 2 Billion Trees program. The money’s there—but will it deliver real impact?

Carbon credits, biodiversity bonds, and government reforestation—are these real solutions or just greenwashed investments?

👉👉 Read more in Ground Truth

Can We Quantify Nature? Hannah Wauchope on Biodiversity Credit Markets

With businesses and financial institutions scrambling to measure their biodiversity impact, there’s growing interest in creating standardized biodiversity units—think carbon credits, but for nature. In this seminar, Dr. Hannah Wauchope breaks down her framework for biodiversity measurement, highlighting the messy reality of reducing something as complex as ecosystems to a single tradable unit. Can biodiversity credits actually drive conservation, or are we trying to fit nature into an economic box that doesn’t quite work? Expect deep insights, tough questions, and a fresh perspective on this rapidly evolving market.

Is putting a price on biodiversity the key to saving it, or just another market-driven illusion?

Measuring Ecosystem Resilience: Crowther Lab’s Review of Earth Observation Data

New research from the Crowther Lab reveals a major challenge in tracking ecosystem resilience: the metrics don’t always agree. A review of Earth observation (EO) data methods found conflicting resilience estimates across 73% of the Earth's land surface, raising questions about how well we can truly measure an ecosystem’s ability to recover from environmental stress. By analyzing 10 widely used resilience indicators, researchers identified four key components of ecosystem dynamics—but also revealed that resilience patterns vary dramatically across different biomes. As policymakers push for better climate adaptation strategies, the big question remains: Can we trust these metrics to guide conservation and restoration efforts?

If we can’t agree on how to measure resilience, how can we protect it?

👉👉 Read the study in Wiley Online Library