[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":315},["ShallowReactive",2],{"/stories/brent-sohngen":3,"processed-html-64b212fc":295,"processed-html-d6b71390":296,"processed-html-7f161d47":297,"processed-html-ffe947db":298,"processed-html-60a5952b":299,"processed-html-adbfed93":300,"processed-html-5bf51463":301,"processed-html-1b9ce88f":302,"processed-html-155d66d9":303,"processed-html-f59a2186":304,"processed-html-3a19a555":305,"processed-html-a2dfb412":306,"processed-html-a44abed3":307,"processed-html-9e0f549f":308,"processed-html-01bb5f5d":309,"processed-html-1abc5e2d":310,"processed-html-13a88e30":311,"processed-html-147ec302":312,"processed-html-ce56783a":313,"processed-html-6eccac0a":314},{"id":4,"type":5,"path":6,"published":7,"publishDate":8,"author":9,"taxonomy":10,"headerType":13,"image":14,"video":18,"title":25,"subtitle":26,"hideFromSearchEngines":11,"social":27,"bodyBlocks":31,"slug":239,"description":240,"metaDescription":241,"metaTitle":11,"relatedStories":242,"created":284,"changed":285,"breadcrumbs":286},"df797bce-a551-467a-a53c-6d6150cf80c3","story","stories/brent-sohngen",true,"September 15, 2026","Ross Bishoff",{"name":11,"slug":12},null,"","video",{"url":15,"alt":16,"caption":17},"https://editing.intcomm.osu.edu/sites/default/files/styles/widescreen/public/media/image/2026/09/sohngen_1.jpg","Distinguished University Professor (DUP) awardee Brent Sohngen at Clifton Gorge State Nature Preserve where he particpates in a survey collaboration between the university and the Little Miami Watershed Network as part of the Little Miami River Corridor Recreation Study”. Sohngen is a forestry economist.","Distinguished University Professor (DUP) awardee Brent Sohngen at Clifton Gorge State Nature Preserve where he particpates in a survey collaboration between the university and the Little Miami Watershed Network as part of the Little Miami River Corridor Recreation Study”. Sohngen is a forestry economist. (Corey Wilson)",{"url":19,"transcript":20,"image":22},"https://youtu.be/sGbBH1bB5iU",{"text":11,"file":21},"/sites/default/files/2026-09/dup2026_brentsohngen_transcript.txt",{"url":23,"alt":24},"https://editing.intcomm.osu.edu/sites/default/files/2026-09/sohngen_1.jpg","Researcher Brent Sohngen speaks with colleagues outside of Clifton Gorge State Park","Forestry dollars and sense","This world-renowned researcher calculates the economic value of trees and how nature can combat climate change",{"title":28,"description":29,"imageUrl":30},"How Trees, Economics and Climate Solutions Connect","Ohio State's Brent Sohngen explores how forests drive economic value while helping communities and the planet thrive.","https://editing.intcomm.osu.edu/sites/default/files/media/image/2026/09/sohngen_social.jpg",[32,39,45,51,57,63,94,131,146,171,214],{"blockName":33,"attrs":34,"innerBlocks":36,"innerHTML":37,"innerContent":38},"core/paragraph",{"uuid":35},"64b212fc",[],"\u003Cp>Brent Sohngen is an environmentalist at heart. But his research at Ohio State doesn’t only attempt to protect the environment, it incentivizes expansion.\u003C/p>",[37],{"blockName":33,"attrs":40,"innerBlocks":42,"innerHTML":43,"innerContent":44},{"uuid":41},"d6b71390",[],"\u003Cp>As a world-renowned forestry economist, his research puts dollars and cents value to forests and outdoor spaces, illustrating the payoff to something as simple as planting a tree.\u003C/p>",[43],{"blockName":33,"attrs":46,"innerBlocks":48,"innerHTML":49,"innerContent":50},{"uuid":47},"7f161d47",[],"\u003Cp>“What really drives me is protecting unique places,” Sohngen says. “An economist can provide insights into consumer demand and translate demand into policies that can show how people can make money in a forested area while protecting and even growing trees.”\u003C/p>",[49],{"blockName":33,"attrs":52,"innerBlocks":54,"innerHTML":55,"innerContent":56},{"uuid":53},"ffe947db",[],"\u003Cp>This year, \u003Ca href=\"https://faculty.osu.edu/news/2026/04/19/brent-sohngen-named-2026-distinguished-university-professor\">Sohngen was named a Distinguished University Professor\u003C/a>, Ohio State’s highest faculty honor. Over three decades at the university, his research has merged ecological science, economics and public policy to show how forests can help reduce greenhouse gas emissions in practical, cost-effective ways. His work also considers the real-world effects of land use, timber markets and public policy.\u003C/p>",[55],{"blockName":33,"attrs":58,"innerBlocks":60,"innerHTML":61,"innerContent":62},{"uuid":59},"60a5952b",[],"\u003Cp>He recently sat down with us to discuss his research and successes he’s seen throughout the world and close to home.  \u003C/p>",[61],{"blockName":64,"attrs":65,"innerBlocks":67,"innerHTML":90,"innerContent":91},"text/bux-question-and-answer-group",{"uuid":66},"4ee7d689",[68],{"blockName":69,"attrs":70,"innerBlocks":73,"innerHTML":86,"innerContent":87},"text/bux-question-and-answer-item",{"headingText":71,"uuid":72},"Explain your research:","9ea702f6",[74,80],{"blockName":33,"attrs":75,"innerBlocks":77,"innerHTML":78,"innerContent":79},{"uuid":76},"adbfed93",[],"\u003Cp>I try to understand forests and economics, basically trees and how humans benefit from them, and then exactly how those benefits impact the landscape.\u003C/p>",[78],{"blockName":33,"attrs":81,"innerBlocks":83,"innerHTML":84,"innerContent":85},{"uuid":82},"5bf51463",[],"\u003Cp>Also, when you talk about the landscape, the interaction between the landscape and the carbon stored in those trees. Trees contain a huge amount of carbon; they account for about one-third of the climate mitigation potential on Earth. That’s massive. Trees minimize the impacts of climate change. So, if we benefit from trees and we can figure out a way to have more of them, we can keep more carbon out of the atmosphere.\u003C/p>",[84],"\u003Cdiv class=\"wp-block-text-bux-question-and-answer-item bux-qa__item\">\u003Ch2 class=\"bux-qa__question\">\u003Cspan class=\"bux-qa__question-marker\" aria-hidden=\"true\">Q\u003C/span>\u003Cspan class=\"visually-hidden\">Question: \u003C/span>\u003Cdiv class=\"bux-qa__question-text\">Explain your research:\u003C/div>\u003C/h2>\u003Cdiv class=\"bux-qa__answer\">\u003Cspan class=\"bux-qa__answer-marker\" aria-hidden=\"true\">A\u003C/span>\u003Cspan class=\"visually-hidden\">Answer: \u003C/span>\u003Cdiv class=\"bux-qa__answer-text\">\u003C/div>\u003C/div>\u003C/div>",[88,11,11,89],"\u003Cdiv class=\"wp-block-text-bux-question-and-answer-item bux-qa__item\">\u003Ch2 class=\"bux-qa__question\">\u003Cspan class=\"bux-qa__question-marker\" aria-hidden=\"true\">Q\u003C/span>\u003Cspan class=\"visually-hidden\">Question: \u003C/span>\u003Cdiv class=\"bux-qa__question-text\">Explain your research:\u003C/div>\u003C/h2>\u003Cdiv class=\"bux-qa__answer\">\u003Cspan class=\"bux-qa__answer-marker\" aria-hidden=\"true\">A\u003C/span>\u003Cspan class=\"visually-hidden\">Answer: \u003C/span>\u003Cdiv class=\"bux-qa__answer-text\">","\u003C/div>\u003C/div>\u003C/div>","\u003Cdiv class=\"wp-block-text-bux-question-and-answer-group\">\u003C/div>",[92,11,93],"\u003Cdiv class=\"wp-block-text-bux-question-and-answer-group\">","\u003C/div>",{"blockName":64,"attrs":95,"innerBlocks":97,"innerHTML":90,"innerContent":130},{"uuid":96},"ad1d1eec",[98],{"blockName":69,"attrs":99,"innerBlocks":102,"innerHTML":127,"innerContent":128},{"headingText":100,"uuid":101},"Why look at it from an economic viewpoint? What does “forest economist” mean, exactly?","1fac8198",[103,109,115,121],{"blockName":33,"attrs":104,"innerBlocks":106,"innerHTML":107,"innerContent":108},{"uuid":105},"1b9ce88f",[],"\u003Cp>One critical thing is that there are more trees in the U.S. now than there were 100 or 150 years ago. And the reason is, in large part, economics.\u003C/p>",[107],{"blockName":33,"attrs":110,"innerBlocks":112,"innerHTML":113,"innerContent":114},{"uuid":111},"155d66d9",[],"\u003Cp>As a result of markets, both agriculture and forestry have become more efficient. Agriculture has gotten more intensive, so we need less land to grow the food we need. That’s freed up a huge amount of land for trees. We can grow trees on plantations, which means we don’t have to cut down as many old-growth or second-growth forests that people want to protect.\u003C/p>",[113],{"blockName":33,"attrs":116,"innerBlocks":118,"innerHTML":119,"innerContent":120},{"uuid":117},"f59a2186",[],"\u003Cp>So instead of tying yourself to a tree to save it, why not pay for a tree?\u003C/p>",[119],{"blockName":33,"attrs":122,"innerBlocks":124,"innerHTML":125,"innerContent":126},{"uuid":123},"3a19a555",[],"\u003Cp>I like to think about it this way: You see those signs that say, “Think of the trees before you print this page.” I like to think, print the page, because you’re going to have more trees. If we didn’t demand paper, we might actually have fewer trees in the world.\u003C/p>",[125],"\u003Cdiv class=\"wp-block-text-bux-question-and-answer-item bux-qa__item\">\u003Ch2 class=\"bux-qa__question\">\u003Cspan class=\"bux-qa__question-marker\" aria-hidden=\"true\">Q\u003C/span>\u003Cspan class=\"visually-hidden\">Question: \u003C/span>\u003Cdiv class=\"bux-qa__question-text\">Why look at it from an economic viewpoint? What does “forest economist” mean, exactly?\u003C/div>\u003C/h2>\u003Cdiv class=\"bux-qa__answer\">\u003Cspan class=\"bux-qa__answer-marker\" aria-hidden=\"true\">A\u003C/span>\u003Cspan class=\"visually-hidden\">Answer: \u003C/span>\u003Cdiv class=\"bux-qa__answer-text\">\u003C/div>\u003C/div>\u003C/div>",[129,11,11,11,11,89],"\u003Cdiv class=\"wp-block-text-bux-question-and-answer-item bux-qa__item\">\u003Ch2 class=\"bux-qa__question\">\u003Cspan class=\"bux-qa__question-marker\" aria-hidden=\"true\">Q\u003C/span>\u003Cspan class=\"visually-hidden\">Question: \u003C/span>\u003Cdiv class=\"bux-qa__question-text\">Why look at it from an economic viewpoint? What does “forest economist” mean, exactly?\u003C/div>\u003C/h2>\u003Cdiv class=\"bux-qa__answer\">\u003Cspan class=\"bux-qa__answer-marker\" aria-hidden=\"true\">A\u003C/span>\u003Cspan class=\"visually-hidden\">Answer: \u003C/span>\u003Cdiv class=\"bux-qa__answer-text\">",[92,11,93],{"blockName":132,"attrs":133,"innerBlocks":143,"innerHTML":144,"innerContent":145},"core/image",{"align":134,"id":135,"sizeSlug":136,"linkDestination":137,"mediaAttrs":138,"uuid":142},"wide",4910,"full","none",{"data-entity-type":139,"data-entity-uuid":140,"data-image-style":141},"file","eac13d61-efaa-429b-91a7-3a90cdae7ccb","original","5899c4ef",[],"\u003Cfigure class=\"wp-block-image alignwide size-full\">\u003Cimg src=\"/sites/default/files/inline-images/sohngen_2.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-4910\" data-entity-type=\"file\" data-entity-uuid=\"eac13d61-efaa-429b-91a7-3a90cdae7ccb\" data-image-style=\"original\"/>\u003Cfigcaption>Brent Sohngen is a 2026 Distinguished University Professor. (Corey Wilson)\u003C/figcaption>\u003C/figure>",[144],{"blockName":64,"attrs":147,"innerBlocks":149,"innerHTML":90,"innerContent":170},{"uuid":148},"48317e44",[150],{"blockName":69,"attrs":151,"innerBlocks":154,"innerHTML":167,"innerContent":168},{"headingText":152,"uuid":153},"That's a really interesting way to look at it. How does your research play into that?","6da1873a",[155,161],{"blockName":33,"attrs":156,"innerBlocks":158,"innerHTML":159,"innerContent":160},{"uuid":157},"a2dfb412",[],"\u003Cp>By investigating the markets of trees. We have models that analyze how consumer demand —  such as for paper, wood for houses, etc. — translates into on-the-ground management of forests and on-the-ground competition between forests and the agricultural sector. So that's one way we look at it. \u2029\u003C/p>",[159],{"blockName":33,"attrs":162,"innerBlocks":164,"innerHTML":165,"innerContent":166},{"uuid":163},"a44abed3",[],"\u003Cp>The second way is we spend a lot of time thinking about the non-market uses of trees. People spend time hiking, camping, fishing in forests. We try to calculate the recreational value. If we can quantify that, we can understand the trade-offs between multiple uses of the landscape for consumer purposes.\u003C/p>",[165],"\u003Cdiv class=\"wp-block-text-bux-question-and-answer-item bux-qa__item\">\u003Ch2 class=\"bux-qa__question\">\u003Cspan class=\"bux-qa__question-marker\" aria-hidden=\"true\">Q\u003C/span>\u003Cspan class=\"visually-hidden\">Question: \u003C/span>\u003Cdiv class=\"bux-qa__question-text\">That's a really interesting way to look at it. How does your research play into that?\u003C/div>\u003C/h2>\u003Cdiv class=\"bux-qa__answer\">\u003Cspan class=\"bux-qa__answer-marker\" aria-hidden=\"true\">A\u003C/span>\u003Cspan class=\"visually-hidden\">Answer: \u003C/span>\u003Cdiv class=\"bux-qa__answer-text\">\u003C/div>\u003C/div>\u003C/div>",[169,11,11,89],"\u003Cdiv class=\"wp-block-text-bux-question-and-answer-item bux-qa__item\">\u003Ch2 class=\"bux-qa__question\">\u003Cspan class=\"bux-qa__question-marker\" aria-hidden=\"true\">Q\u003C/span>\u003Cspan class=\"visually-hidden\">Question: \u003C/span>\u003Cdiv class=\"bux-qa__question-text\">That's a really interesting way to look at it. How does your research play into that?\u003C/div>\u003C/h2>\u003Cdiv class=\"bux-qa__answer\">\u003Cspan class=\"bux-qa__answer-marker\" aria-hidden=\"true\">A\u003C/span>\u003Cspan class=\"visually-hidden\">Answer: \u003C/span>\u003Cdiv class=\"bux-qa__answer-text\">",[92,11,93],{"blockName":64,"attrs":172,"innerBlocks":174,"innerHTML":90,"innerContent":213},{"uuid":173},"590be1c8",[175],{"blockName":69,"attrs":176,"innerBlocks":179,"innerHTML":210,"innerContent":211},{"headingText":177,"uuid":178},"What are the successes you've seen?","8225af53",[180,186,192,198,204],{"blockName":33,"attrs":181,"innerBlocks":183,"innerHTML":184,"innerContent":185},{"uuid":182},"9e0f549f",[],"\u003Cp>In the 1990s, trees were a disappearing resource. There’s been a huge change both in the U.S. and around the world. Around the world, for 150 years, the primary process of land use has been deforestation because of an exploding population. We needed more land to produce food.\u003C/p>",[184],{"blockName":33,"attrs":187,"innerBlocks":189,"innerHTML":190,"innerContent":191},{"uuid":188},"01bb5f5d",[],"\u003Cp>But in the last 30 years, that has really switched because of intensification in the agricultural sector (rising crop yields) and the forestry sector (re-planting and re-growing trees). Deforestation has slowed down dramatically in many places like Latin America and Southeast Asia, for example. We're kind of seeing this sea change in how forests are being used around the world.\u003C/p>",[190],{"blockName":33,"attrs":193,"innerBlocks":195,"innerHTML":196,"innerContent":197},{"uuid":194},"1abc5e2d",[],"\u003Cp>In the U.S., in the 1980s and 1990s, we had the maximum harvesting on our federal forests. But as a result of the Endangered Species Act, we stopped cutting trees on federal forest lands in the western United States.\u003C/p>",[196],{"blockName":33,"attrs":199,"innerBlocks":201,"innerHTML":202,"innerContent":203},{"uuid":200},"13a88e30",[],"\u003Cp>So where were we going to get wood? There was a huge increase in prices on wood products, it incentivized people to plant trees and increase the number of plantations in the south. So, we saw a big expansion in forest plantations in the southern U.S.\u003C/p>",[202],{"blockName":33,"attrs":205,"innerBlocks":207,"innerHTML":208,"innerContent":209},{"uuid":206},"147ec302",[],"\u003Cp>Today, these are both the biggest source of timber in the U.S. and the biggest source of carbon sequestration in the U.S. They've become a massive set of lungs for the Earth. And that same process has happened in many different places around the world. \u2029\u003C/p>",[208],"\u003Cdiv class=\"wp-block-text-bux-question-and-answer-item bux-qa__item\">\u003Ch2 class=\"bux-qa__question\">\u003Cspan class=\"bux-qa__question-marker\" aria-hidden=\"true\">Q\u003C/span>\u003Cspan class=\"visually-hidden\">Question: \u003C/span>\u003Cdiv class=\"bux-qa__question-text\">What are the successes you've seen?\u003C/div>\u003C/h2>\u003Cdiv class=\"bux-qa__answer\">\u003Cspan class=\"bux-qa__answer-marker\" aria-hidden=\"true\">A\u003C/span>\u003Cspan class=\"visually-hidden\">Answer: \u003C/span>\u003Cdiv class=\"bux-qa__answer-text\">\u003C/div>\u003C/div>\u003C/div>",[212,11,11,11,11,11,89],"\u003Cdiv class=\"wp-block-text-bux-question-and-answer-item bux-qa__item\">\u003Ch2 class=\"bux-qa__question\">\u003Cspan class=\"bux-qa__question-marker\" aria-hidden=\"true\">Q\u003C/span>\u003Cspan class=\"visually-hidden\">Question: \u003C/span>\u003Cdiv class=\"bux-qa__question-text\">What are the successes you've seen?\u003C/div>\u003C/h2>\u003Cdiv class=\"bux-qa__answer\">\u003Cspan class=\"bux-qa__answer-marker\" aria-hidden=\"true\">A\u003C/span>\u003Cspan class=\"visually-hidden\">Answer: \u003C/span>\u003Cdiv class=\"bux-qa__answer-text\">",[92,11,93],{"blockName":64,"attrs":215,"innerBlocks":217,"innerHTML":90,"innerContent":238},{"uuid":216},"46e678c6",[218],{"blockName":69,"attrs":219,"innerBlocks":222,"innerHTML":235,"innerContent":236},{"headingText":220,"uuid":221},"What's it like to see this evolution?","c3f5f0e1",[223,229],{"blockName":33,"attrs":224,"innerBlocks":226,"innerHTML":227,"innerContent":228},{"uuid":225},"ce56783a",[],"\u003Cp>It's exciting to see we can potentially have a completely renewable system, where we're basically able to regenerate as much as we use every year on a global scale. \u2029\u003C/p>",[227],{"blockName":33,"attrs":230,"innerBlocks":232,"innerHTML":233,"innerContent":234},{"uuid":231},"6eccac0a",[],"\u003Cp>It's more evidence that if we can figure out ways to harness our economic system, we can create a better future for everyone.\u003C/p>",[233],"\u003Cdiv class=\"wp-block-text-bux-question-and-answer-item bux-qa__item\">\u003Ch2 class=\"bux-qa__question\">\u003Cspan class=\"bux-qa__question-marker\" aria-hidden=\"true\">Q\u003C/span>\u003Cspan class=\"visually-hidden\">Question: \u003C/span>\u003Cdiv class=\"bux-qa__question-text\">What's it like to see this evolution?\u003C/div>\u003C/h2>\u003Cdiv class=\"bux-qa__answer\">\u003Cspan class=\"bux-qa__answer-marker\" aria-hidden=\"true\">A\u003C/span>\u003Cspan class=\"visually-hidden\">Answer: \u003C/span>\u003Cdiv class=\"bux-qa__answer-text\">\u003C/div>\u003C/div>\u003C/div>",[237,11,11,89],"\u003Cdiv class=\"wp-block-text-bux-question-and-answer-item bux-qa__item\">\u003Ch2 class=\"bux-qa__question\">\u003Cspan class=\"bux-qa__question-marker\" aria-hidden=\"true\">Q\u003C/span>\u003Cspan class=\"visually-hidden\">Question: \u003C/span>\u003Cdiv class=\"bux-qa__question-text\">What's it like to see this evolution?\u003C/div>\u003C/h2>\u003Cdiv class=\"bux-qa__answer\">\u003Cspan class=\"bux-qa__answer-marker\" aria-hidden=\"true\">A\u003C/span>\u003Cspan class=\"visually-hidden\">Answer: \u003C/span>\u003Cdiv class=\"bux-qa__answer-text\">",[92,11,93],"brent-sohngen","Brent Sohngen, an Ohio State forestry economist, studies how forests create economic and environmental value, helping shape practical climate solutions.","Ohio State professor Brent Sohngen explains how forests create economic value, store carbon and support practical climate solutions.",[243,261,273],{"slug":244,"path":245,"title":246,"description":247,"subtitle":248,"taxonomy":249,"image":250,"video":253,"hideFromSearchEngines":11,"hasVideo":260},"alan-luo","stories/alan-luo","Lighter, stronger, tougher","Ohio State Distinguished University Professor Alan Luo develops lightweight, high-strength alloys that improve manufacturing, sustainability and vehicle efficiency while mentoring Ohio State engineers.","Alan Luo’s discoveries are building more efficient, sustainable vehicles",{"name":11,"slug":12},{"url":251,"alt":252},"https://editing.intcomm.osu.edu/sites/default/files/media/image/2026/09/20260630_wilson_dup_alanluo_16730.jpg","Alan Luo works in his lab while speaking with a colleague.",{"url":254,"transcript":255,"image":257},"https://youtu.be/_ll-qG54diM",{"text":11,"file":256},"/sites/default/files/2026-09/dup2026_alanluo_transcript.txt",{"url":258,"alt":259},"https://editing.intcomm.osu.edu/sites/default/files/2026-09/20260630_wilson_dup_alanluo_16730.jpg","A scientist in a lab talks to a colleague with research material around him.",false,{"slug":262,"path":263,"title":264,"description":265,"subtitle":266,"taxonomy":267,"image":268,"video":271,"hideFromSearchEngines":11,"hasVideo":260},"psychology-of-stories","stories/psychology-of-stories","The psychology of stories","Ohio State researcher Matthew Grizzard uses psychology and data to study storytelling, revealing how narratives shape moral judgment, human behavior and social understanding.","Can scientific methods reveal deeper storytelling insights? This researcher thinks so.",{"name":11,"slug":12},{"url":269,"alt":270},"https://editing.intcomm.osu.edu/sites/default/files/media/image/2026/08/grizzard_hero.jpg","Ohio State School of Communication faculty Matt Grizzard poses for a portrait with a lit stage light over his right shoulder",{"url":11,"transcript":272},{"text":11},{"slug":274,"path":275,"title":276,"description":277,"subtitle":11,"taxonomy":278,"image":279,"video":282,"hideFromSearchEngines":11,"hasVideo":260},"mentorship-is-everything","stories/mentorship-is-everything","‘Mentorship is everything’","Through mentorship and hands‑on research, public health student Emanuel Tewolde presented nationally, earned major honors and discovered his passion for public health research as he prepares for a future career in medicine.",{"name":11,"slug":12},{"url":280,"alt":281},"https://editing.intcomm.osu.edu/sites/default/files/media/image/2026/03/25_6065830_11841_0.jpg","Emanuel Tewolde talks with his professor Min-Ae Song.",{"url":11,"transcript":283},{"text":11},"2026-09-09T16:49:51+00:00","2026-09-16T19:01:20+00:00",[287,290,293],{"title":288,"path":289},"Home","/",{"title":291,"path":292},"Stories","/stories",{"title":25,"path":294},"/stories/brent-sohngen","\u003Chtml>\u003Chead>\u003C/head>\u003Cbody>\u003Cp>Brent Sohngen is an environmentalist at heart. But his research at Ohio State doesn’t only attempt to protect the environment, it incentivizes expansion.\u003C/p>\u003C/body>\u003C/html>","\u003Chtml>\u003Chead>\u003C/head>\u003Cbody>\u003Cp>As a world-renowned forestry economist, his research puts dollars and cents value to forests and outdoor spaces, illustrating the payoff to something as simple as planting a tree.\u003C/p>\u003C/body>\u003C/html>","\u003Chtml>\u003Chead>\u003C/head>\u003Cbody>\u003Cp>“What really drives me is protecting unique places,” Sohngen says. “An economist can provide insights into consumer demand and translate demand into policies that can show how people can make money in a forested area while protecting and even growing trees.”\u003C/p>\u003C/body>\u003C/html>","\u003Chtml>\u003Chead>\u003C/head>\u003Cbody>\u003Cp>This year, \u003Ca href=\"https://faculty.osu.edu/news/2026/04/19/brent-sohngen-named-2026-distinguished-university-professor\">Sohngen was named a Distinguished University Professor\u003C/a>, Ohio State’s highest faculty honor. Over three decades at the university, his research has merged ecological science, economics and public policy to show how forests can help reduce greenhouse gas emissions in practical, cost-effective ways. His work also considers the real-world effects of land use, timber markets and public policy.\u003C/p>\u003C/body>\u003C/html>","\u003Chtml>\u003Chead>\u003C/head>\u003Cbody>\u003Cp>He recently sat down with us to discuss his research and successes he’s seen throughout the world and close to home.  \u003C/p>\u003C/body>\u003C/html>","\u003Chtml>\u003Chead>\u003C/head>\u003Cbody>\u003Cp>I try to understand forests and economics, basically trees and how humans benefit from them, and then exactly how those benefits impact the landscape.\u003C/p>\u003C/body>\u003C/html>","\u003Chtml>\u003Chead>\u003C/head>\u003Cbody>\u003Cp>Also, when you talk about the landscape, the interaction between the landscape and the carbon stored in those trees. Trees contain a huge amount of carbon; they account for about one-third of the climate mitigation potential on Earth. That’s massive. Trees minimize the impacts of climate change. So, if we benefit from trees and we can figure out a way to have more of them, we can keep more carbon out of the atmosphere.\u003C/p>\u003C/body>\u003C/html>","\u003Chtml>\u003Chead>\u003C/head>\u003Cbody>\u003Cp>One critical thing is that there are more trees in the U.S. now than there were 100 or 150 years ago. And the reason is, in large part, economics.\u003C/p>\u003C/body>\u003C/html>","\u003Chtml>\u003Chead>\u003C/head>\u003Cbody>\u003Cp>As a result of markets, both agriculture and forestry have become more efficient. Agriculture has gotten more intensive, so we need less land to grow the food we need. That’s freed up a huge amount of land for trees. We can grow trees on plantations, which means we don’t have to cut down as many old-growth or second-growth forests that people want to protect.\u003C/p>\u003C/body>\u003C/html>","\u003Chtml>\u003Chead>\u003C/head>\u003Cbody>\u003Cp>So instead of tying yourself to a tree to save it, why not pay for a tree?\u003C/p>\u003C/body>\u003C/html>","\u003Chtml>\u003Chead>\u003C/head>\u003Cbody>\u003Cp>I like to think about it this way: You see those signs that say, “Think of the trees before you print this page.” I like to think, print the page, because you’re going to have more trees. If we didn’t demand paper, we might actually have fewer trees in the world.\u003C/p>\u003C/body>\u003C/html>","\u003Chtml>\u003Chead>\u003C/head>\u003Cbody>\u003Cp>By investigating the markets of trees. We have models that analyze how consumer demand —  such as for paper, wood for houses, etc. — translates into on-the-ground management of forests and on-the-ground competition between forests and the agricultural sector. So that's one way we look at it. \u2029\u003C/p>\u003C/body>\u003C/html>","\u003Chtml>\u003Chead>\u003C/head>\u003Cbody>\u003Cp>The second way is we spend a lot of time thinking about the non-market uses of trees. People spend time hiking, camping, fishing in forests. We try to calculate the recreational value. If we can quantify that, we can understand the trade-offs between multiple uses of the landscape for consumer purposes.\u003C/p>\u003C/body>\u003C/html>","\u003Chtml>\u003Chead>\u003C/head>\u003Cbody>\u003Cp>In the 1990s, trees were a disappearing resource. There’s been a huge change both in the U.S. and around the world. Around the world, for 150 years, the primary process of land use has been deforestation because of an exploding population. We needed more land to produce food.\u003C/p>\u003C/body>\u003C/html>","\u003Chtml>\u003Chead>\u003C/head>\u003Cbody>\u003Cp>But in the last 30 years, that has really switched because of intensification in the agricultural sector (rising crop yields) and the forestry sector (re-planting and re-growing trees). Deforestation has slowed down dramatically in many places like Latin America and Southeast Asia, for example. We're kind of seeing this sea change in how forests are being used around the world.\u003C/p>\u003C/body>\u003C/html>","\u003Chtml>\u003Chead>\u003C/head>\u003Cbody>\u003Cp>In the U.S., in the 1980s and 1990s, we had the maximum harvesting on our federal forests. But as a result of the Endangered Species Act, we stopped cutting trees on federal forest lands in the western United States.\u003C/p>\u003C/body>\u003C/html>","\u003Chtml>\u003Chead>\u003C/head>\u003Cbody>\u003Cp>So where were we going to get wood? There was a huge increase in prices on wood products, it incentivized people to plant trees and increase the number of plantations in the south. So, we saw a big expansion in forest plantations in the southern U.S.\u003C/p>\u003C/body>\u003C/html>","\u003Chtml>\u003Chead>\u003C/head>\u003Cbody>\u003Cp>Today, these are both the biggest source of timber in the U.S. and the biggest source of carbon sequestration in the U.S. They've become a massive set of lungs for the Earth. And that same process has happened in many different places around the world. \u2029\u003C/p>\u003C/body>\u003C/html>","\u003Chtml>\u003Chead>\u003C/head>\u003Cbody>\u003Cp>It's exciting to see we can potentially have a completely renewable system, where we're basically able to regenerate as much as we use every year on a global scale. \u2029\u003C/p>\u003C/body>\u003C/html>","\u003Chtml>\u003Chead>\u003C/head>\u003Cbody>\u003Cp>It's more evidence that if we can figure out ways to harness our economic system, we can create a better future for everyone.\u003C/p>\u003C/body>\u003C/html>",1789585450367]