The Nature Conservancy. Protecting nature. Preserving life.™

Bronson Griscom

Director, Forest Carbon Science

Contact Information

E-mail: bgriscom@tnc.org

Brief Biography

Bronson Griscom serves as Director of Forest Carbon Science for the Climate Team at The Nature Conservancy. His research measures the success of tropical forest conservation projects in counter-acting climate change. Trees are made of carbon, which is released as CO2 (the leading greenhouse gas) when forests are disturbed or destroyed. Likewise, restoration of native forests removes CO2 from the atmosphere while improving water quality and creating wildlife habitat.

For example, Dr. Griscom is measuring emissions avoided through sustainable, low-impact management of logging concessions while achieving social and biodiversity benefits in Borneo.  He is also measuring the success of native forest restoration in absorbing carbon in the Amazon. His research is designed to both measure success and improve the design of conservation strategies. In addition to such place-based research in Indonesia, Brazil, and other countries, Dr. Griscom conducts analyses to resolve global REDD+ policy issues.

Prior to joining the Conservancy, Dr. Griscom led a successful effort at the U.S. Department of State to make climate change funding available for REDD initiatives through the Global Environmental Facility (GEF). Prior to that he directed an EPA-funded research program to prioritize watershed conservation and restoration efforts in the Mid-Atlantic Highlands.

He holds a Ph.D. in tropical forest ecology from the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, and a M.Sc. from New York University in plant genetics and conservation. Dr. Griscom has authored 20+ scientific papers on forest dynamics, forest management, watershed restoration, carbon accounting, and conservation in tropical and temperate forests. 

Bronson Griscom

Director, Forest Carbon Science

2012

Putz, F.E., P.A. Zuidema, T. Synnott, M. Peña-Claros+, M. A. Pinard+, Douglas Sheil, J. K. Vanclay, P. Sist, S. Gourlet-Fleury, B. Griscom, J. Palmer, and R. Zagt. Sustaining conservation values in selectively logged tropical forests: The attained and the attainable. Conservation Letters (in revision).

Del Cid-Liccardi, C., Kramer, T., Ashton, M., and Griscom, B. 2012. Managing carbon sequestration in tropical forests. In Managing Forest Carbon in a Changing Climate, Eds. Ashton, M., Tyrrell, M., Spalding, D., Gentry, B. Springer.

2011

Morton, D., Sales, M., Souza, C., Griscom, B. 2011. Historic emissions from deforestation and forest degradation in Mato Grosso, Brazil: 1) Source data uncertainties. Carbon Balance and Management 6 (18)

Griscom, H., Griscom, B. 2011. Evaluating the ecological niche of American chestnut for optimal hybrid seedling reintroduction sites in the Appalachian ridge and valley province. New Forests DOI: 10.1007/s11056-011-9291-7

Griscom, B., Griscom, H., Deacon, S. 2011. Species-specific barriers to tree regeneration in high elevation habitats of West Virginia. Restoration Ecology 19 (5) pp. 660–670

2010

Cortez, R., Saines, R., Griscom, B., Martin, M., De Deo, D., Fishbein, G., Kerkering, J., Marsh, D. 2010. A Nested Approach to REDD+: Structuring Effective and Transparent Incentive Mechanisms for REDD+ Implementation at Multiple Scales. The Nature Conservancy, Arlington, VA. 46 pages.

2009

Griscom, B., Shoch, D., Stanley, B., Cortez, R., Virgilio, N. 2009. Sensitivity of amounts and distribution of tropical forest carbon credits depending on baseline rules. Journal of Environmental Science & Policy. 12 pp 897-991. doi:10.1016/j.envsci.2009.07.008. Note: Requested as submission to UNFCCC by UNFCCC Secretariat, February, 2009.

Griscom, B., D. Ganz, N. Virgilio, F. Price, J. Hayward, R. Cortez, G. Dodge, J. Hurd, F. L. Lowenstein, B. Stanley. 2009. The Hidden Frontier of Forest Degradation: A Review of the Science, Policy and Practice of Reducing Degradation Emissions. The Nature Conservancy, Arlington, VA. 76 pages.

Griscom, H., Griscom, B., Ashton, M. 2009. Forest regeneration from pasture in the dry tropics of Panama: effects of cattle, exotic grass, and forested riparia Restoration Ecology. 17(1) pp. 117-126

2007

Griscom, B., D. Daly, M. Ashton. 2007. Floristics of bamboo-dominated stands in lowland forests of SW Amazonia. Bull. Torrey Botanical Society, 134 (1)

Read Bronson Griscom's Full Biography

Read Bronson Griscom's Full Biography

Read Bronson Griscom's Full Biography