Climate Change and Connecticut Forests

Climate change and Connecticut forests are related in many ways. Climate change and its impacts compromise the health and function of the State’s forests and will continue to do so. Conversely, the State’s forests reduce the rate and scale of climate change and mitigate the negative impacts thereof. 

Well-planned forest management is critical to both prepare forests for future climate conditions and increase their capacity to offset climate change and its impacts. The complex and interconnected relationship between forests and climate change make it difficult to explain and understand, but we at the Division of Forestry aim here to provide information about important concepts and answers to pertinent questions:

How are carbon and forests related?
How does climate change impact Connecticut forests?
How do Connecticut forests offset climate change and its impacts?
What is the role of forest management in the face of climate change?
What can I do to improve the health and function of Connecticut forests in the face of climate change?

Content last updated in April 2022.