The NativState Mixed Upland Forests of the Ozarks & Ouachita Mountains is a first of its kind, Programmatic Development Approach (PDA) to Improved Forest Management project. The project aggregates forestlands...
View Project Details →Bottomland Forests of the Louisiana Plains
ACR 848
21K
Acres Conserved
2.4M
Credits
Pending Verification
Location
Mississippi Delta
Method
IFM 2.0
Standard
American Carbon Registry
Protectors of the Plains
The Bottomland Forest of the Louisiana Plains project aggregates forestlands across northeastern Louisiana with a commitment to sustainable forest management and provides significant climate benefits through carbon sequestration from native forests.
Bottomland hardwood forests are forested, alluvial wetlands occupying broad floodplain areas that flank large river systems. These forests are found throughout Louisiana in all parishes but are the predominant natural community type of the Mississippi River Alluvial Plain.
They are extremely productive areas due in part to periodic flood-transported and deposited particulate and dissolved organic matter and nutrients. In general, forested floodplain habitats are mixtures of broadleaf deciduous, needleleaf deciduous, and evergreen trees and shrubs.
Bottomland hardwoods serve a critical role in the watershed by reducing the risk and severity of flooding to downstream communities by providing areas to store floodwater. In addition, these wetlands improve water quality by filtering and flushing nutrients, processing organic wastes, and reducing sediment before it reaches open water.
Providing Benefits to Wildlife, Migratory Birds, and Communities
ACR:848, the Bottomland Forests of Louisiana Plains Project in northeastern Louisiana, western Mississippi, and southern Arkansas is largely composed of bottomland hardwood forests within the broad floodplain on either side of the Mississippi River.
This region contains rich delta soils which support agricultural and timber harvest economies. Aggressive harvesting is common practice. After harvest, these forests often do not remain in hardwood species and are either planted with pine or converted to pasture.
Black bears, alligators, snapping turtles, songbirds, aquatic life, and a range of game species rely on the availability of forests, wetlands, and rivers in this region for survival.
Significantly, the land within the Louisiana Plains Project includes the Mississippi Flyway, a major corridor for migratory birds. The widespread loss of forests and wetlands to agriculture in this region has reduced bird populations.
As they decline, the insects that birds eat and the plants they pollinate and propagate are also affected, destabilizing an ecosystem much larger than that of just the Mississippi Alluvial Plain. ACR:848 pushes against these habitat challenges while also improving water quality, mitigating floodwaters, and extending benefits far beyond the project’s borders.
Agricultural nutrients, fertilizer, and sediment are filtered by the 1,027 acres of streamside land protected within this project. Water from these streams and rivers eventually flow into the Mississippi River and then into the Gulf of Mexico. As rain encounters the tree canopy in these forests it takes longer to reach the ground, and once it does the roots help absorb the rainfall and reduce the risk of flooding to downstream communities.
By choosing a path other than “business-as-usual” for their forests, the landowners in ACR:848 embrace an alternative to relying solely on timber harvests or agriculture for revenue. They also have an opportunity to create a land legacy that makes a difference to wildlife, diminishing migratory bird populations, and to their communities. The high-quality carbon credits created and sold through this project make all that possible.
Project Baselines & Additionality: ACR 848
Additionality in ACR 848 is derived from:
- Reduced harvesting, rotation extension, timber stand improvement
- Enrollment in American Tree Farm System
- Firebreaks and controlled burning to reduce forest fire risk
- Measuring/Monitoring and reporting of carbon sequestration and forest health
- Baseline vs. IFM financial analysis
- Mandatory implementation of voluntary best management practices (BMPs)
The Baseline scenario represents forestry common practices in the project region against which the project’s performance is measured. It includes the business-as-usual scenario but may also incorporate other potential scenarios that might affect the project outcomes. NativState ascertains the baseline/common practice forestry management by interviewing well-respected foresters who have extensive experience in the project area. The baseline scenario is used to estimate the amount of carbon sequestration or emissions reductions that would occur without the project’s intervention, considering various factors that might influence forest conditions.
Mill Capacity:
ACR 848
Mill Locations
NativState used FORISK Consulting’s Mill Capacity Database and Mill Database shapefiles to determine mill capacity in the Project area. As shown in the following figure, all mills within a 75-mile radius of the centroid of each Site were within economical haul distance.
Click the images to view larger sizes.
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The NativState Mixed Broadleaf Forests of the Ozark Highlands is a programmatic development approach (PDA) to aggregated Improved Forest Management. This method allows landowners with smaller tracts of land to...
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