Managing the Forest: Doctorate student puts his carbon accounting expertise to use in the Clemson Experimental Forest

As Lucas Clay was finishing up his final semester in Clemson University's forest resources doctoral program, he landed a job in September as an ecologist with the Clemson Experimental Forest.

Clay had already been working on carbon markets and nature-based solutions through the doctoral program and his previous role as an extension associate. It just so happened that the experimental forest was looking for someone with that skill set.

"They were excited to have somebody who already had some in-house expertise on carbon markets and carbon accounting to help with our experimental forest," said Clay, who will complete his doctorate in December.

Clay is looking at potential options for how to manage the experimental forest for carbon sequestration, which is the process of capturing and storing carbon dioxide to reduce the amount of carbon in the atmosphere and limit climate change. Managing the forest may mean more sustainable forestry, longer rotations and managing for all the ecosystem services it offers, he said.

"Lucas Clay is an incredible asset to the Clemson Experimental Forest, as he is applying the knowledge he gained from his Ph.D at Clemson on ecosystem services with Dr. Tom O'Halloran, specifically to the CEF," said Robert Baldwin, executive director of the Clemson Experimental Forest and the Lloyd Endowed Chair of Conservation Ecology. "Lucas is especially skilled at carbon accounting. As we look to the future of the Clemson Experimental Forest, Lucas' work will be core to developing our management plans and revenue streams."

Prior to his current job, Clay was working as a Clemson Extension associate with Climate Smart Grown in SC, a pilot program to identify and implement climate smart forestry practices on forestlands in South Carolina. He reached out and assisted landowners in enrolling in the program, helping them understand those practices, and providing the resources to often go from an unmanaged state of their forest and move it into a managed state. Not only would that be climate smart, but it could lead to viable revenue such as timber production, Clay said.

"I really enjoyed being able to reach out to landowners to provide them with both technical resources and the opportunity to build a lot of good relationships across the state," Clay said.

Managing the forest could include increasing the amount of time the trees stand on landscapes so that they sequester more carbon. Forest management could also change how harvesting is done, such as fewer clear-cuts and doing more single tree selection or group selection, which could lead to less carbon being removed and leaving more carbon in the long term. It also could include increasing how many stand stages are in the forest because different aged trees provide more habitat and ecosystem service benefits for wildlife and create a more resilient ecosystem.

Clay is originally from Muncie, Indiana, where he grew up traveling around the country with his family, backpacking and canoeing, and participating in Boy Scouts. After completing his undergraduate degree in natural resources and environmental management at Ball State University, Clay came to Clemson to pursue his master's degree in forest resources with an interest in carbon.

A natural resources conservation grant allowed him to study the willingness of landowners to accept carbon payments.

"But what drew my research was I had a three-year fellowship in my undergrad that really got me interested in the research side of academia," Clay said. "That pushed me to go to grad school, and to keep going."

With grad school nearly complete, Clay hopes he's found his new home - in the Clemson Experimental Forest.