All the trees in the United States
If you’re looking for a tree to hug, your best bet is near the coasts according to this map of wood biomass compiled by NASA, the National Geological Survey and the U.S. Forest service to keep track of carbon storage provided by Mother Nature.
It took six years to compile this map and is the most complete picture for any country in the world. Though the scientific community is still trying to answer questions regarding whether or not carbon storage has increased or decreased over time and whether where the trees grow makes any difference, having a solid starting point for answering those questions is key.
Josef Kellndorfer of the Woods Hole Research Center, who worked on the project, explained that,
“Forests are a key element for human activity,” says Kellndorfer. “Resource managers need to see forests down to the disturbance resolution—the scale at which parking lots or developments or farms are carved out by deforestation. We have to know how much we have, and where, in order to conduct sound management and harvesting.”
Full story at NASA’s Earth Observatory via Geekosystem.
