Research Brief: When and where to protect forests

Researchers at the University of Minnesota and the University of Colorado Boulder developed a mathematical model to determine what forests should be prioritized for conservation investments to protect species and reduce extinction risks.

In an article published today in Nature, the authors explained how they applied the model to optimally allocate a limited conservation budget across 458 forest ecoregions over a 50-year horizon. 

“We are rapidly losing forests in parts of the world that have rich biodiversity. Our research shows that allocating limited conservation funds to first protect areas with little remaining forest, high biodiversity and relatively low cost of protection can save many species from extinction,” said Stephen Polasky, Ph.D., a professor in the Department of Applied Economics.