: Abundance of large, older trees that have moved past the initial "self-thinning" young stage.
In 2023, the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management (BLM) published the first-ever national inventory of on federal lands. This report was a requirement of Executive Order 14072, which aimed to identify and protect these critical ecosystems to combat climate change. Core Findings of the Inventory land mature
: More open and complex canopy structures compared to dense young forests. : Abundance of large, older trees that have
Mature lands are vital for because older trees store vast amounts of carbon. : Abundance of large
: Account for roughly 32 million acres (18% of total federal forest land).