Coeli Hoover

My research is focused on estimating and managing forest carbon at the stand and landscape scales, using a variety of tools including LiDAR.  Carbon in forests is important for many reasons, including climate mitigation and soil productivity. Managing forests to maintain and enhance carbon stocks is compatible with other important forest management objectives, and I work to understand the carbon consequences of common management practices and the tradeoffs between managing for carbon and other objectives, such as wildlife habitat. I am also involved in outreach and training, teaching forest carbon estimation techniques to a variety of audiences.

Hoover, C.M. and Smith, J. E. Current aboveground live tree carbon stocks and annual net change in forests of the conterminous United States. 2021. Carbon Balance Manage 16, 17. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13021-021-00179-2

Hoover, C. M., Bagdon, B., Gagnon, A. 2021. Standard Estimates of Forest Ecosystem Carbon for Forest Types of the United States. Gen. Tech. Rep. NRS-202. Madison, WI: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northern Research Station. 158p. https://doi.org/10.2737/NRS-GTR-202

Hoover, C. M. and Smith, J.E. 2016. Evaluating revised biomass equations: are some forest types more equivalent than others? Carbon Balance and Management, 11:2.

Hoover, C. M., Leak, W. B. and Keel, B. G. 2012. Benchmark carbon stocks from old-growth forests in northern New England, USA. Forest Ecology and Management 266:108-114.

Hoover, Coeli M.; Rebain, Stephanie A. 2011. Forest carbon estimation using the Forest Vegetation Simulator: Seven things you need to know. Gen. Tech. Rep. NRS-77. Newtown Square, PA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northern Research Station. 16 p.

Forest carbon stocks, especially those in the soil, do not respond uniformly to management actions. I am interested in understanding and identifying the major factors driving the response, so that we can better assess what forest characteristics indicate the greatest potential for additonal carbon storage. I am also interested in developing ways to estimate forest carbon stocks that are operationally feasible at the landscape scale.

Hoover, C. M., Ducey, M. J., Colter, R. A., and Yamasaki, M. 2018. Evaluation of alternative approaches for landscape-scale biomass estimation in a mixed-species northern forest. Forest Ecology and Management. 409: 552-563

Hoover, Coeli M. 2011. Management impacts on forest floor and soil organic carbon in northern temperate forests of the US. Carbon Balance and Management. 6:17. 8 p.

Hoover, Coeli; Birdsey, Richard; Goines, Bruce; Lahm, Peter; Marland, Gregg; Nowak, David; Prisley, Stephen; Reinhardt, Elizabeth; Skog, Ken; Skole, David; Smith, James; Trettin, Carl; Woodall, Christopher. 2014. Chapter 6: quantifying greenhouse gas sources and sinks in managed forest systems. In: Eve, M.; Pape, D.; Flugge, M.; Steele, R.; Man, D.; Riley-Gilbert, M.; Biggar, S. Quantifying greenhouse gas fluxes in agriculture and forestry: Methods for entity-scale inventory. Tech. Bull. 1939. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Office of the Chief Economist: 6-1-6.114.

Hoover, Coeli, M.; Heath, Linda S. 2011. Potential gains in storage on productive forestlands in the northeastern United Sates through stocking management. Ecological Applications. 21(4): 1154-1161, plus appendices.

My research is very applied and is focused on helping landowners and managers estimate their forest carbon stocks and understand how management affects those stocks, so that they can add forest carbon to their list of management objectives. I use a variety of approaches - experiments to develop knowldege, tool development (such as the carbon reports in the Fire and Fuels Extension of the Forest Vegetation Simulator), and technology transfer (training sessions) to meet those objectives. Lack of forest inventory data and the expense of collecting such data are a major barrier for managers who want to include carbon sequestration in their management plans; current research on the feasibility of landscape scale carbon assessment using Lidar data and streamlined inventory has the potential to remove this obstacle.

Hoover, Coeli M.; Smith, James E. 2020. Selecting a minimum diameter for forest biomass and carbon estimation: How low should you go? General Technical Report NRS-196. Madison, WI: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northern Research Station. 32 p. https://doi.org/10.2737/NRS-GTR-196.

Hoover, Coeli; Stout, Susan 2007. The carbon consequences of thinning techniques: stand structure makes a difference. Journal of Forestry. July/August: 266-270.

Hoover, Coeli; Birdsey, Richard; Goines, Bruce; Lahm, Peter; Marland, Gregg; Nowak, David; Prisley, Stephen; Reinhardt, Elizabeth; Skog, Ken; Skole, David; Smith, James; Trettin, Carl; Woodall, Christopher. 2014. Chapter 6: quantifying greenhouse gas sources and sinks in managed forest systems. In: Eve, M.; Pape, D.; Flugge, M.; Steele, R.; Man, D.; Riley-Gilbert, M.; Biggar, S. Quantifying greenhouse gas fluxes in agriculture and forestry: Methods for entity-scale inventory. Tech. Bull. 1939. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Office of the Chief Economist: 6-1-6.114.