Adam Daigneault
Director, School of Forest Resources
E.L. Giddings Associate Professor of Forest Policy & Economics
201A Nutting Hall
207.581.2990
adam.daigneault@maine.edu
Dr. Adam Daigneault joined the SFR faculty in 2016 and is currently the E.L. Giddings Associate Professor of Forest Policy & Economics and head of the UMaine Forest Policy and Economics Lab. He received a PhD in Environmental and Natural Resource Economics from Ohio State University in 2006, and has spent the past decade developing quantitative models to assess the socioeconomic impacts of environmental policy on the natural resource sectors. His research has focused on a wide range of issues, including freshwater management, climate change mitigation and adaptation, invasive species control, and valuing ecosystem services.
Prior to joining SFR, Dr. Daigneault was a Senior Economist at Landcare Research, New Zealand’s leading institute on terrestrial ecosystems and biodiversity research and an Economist for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, where he worked extensively on policy analysis relating to climate change, biofuels, and land use change.
Adam, a native Mainer who grew up on the midcoast, returned home after 18 years living and working in Ohio, Oregon, Washington DC, India, and New Zealand. An avid endurance athlete, he makes the best of Maine by running, biking, and skiing the university’s abundant trail network.
Dr. Daigneault is also a Faculty Fellow at the Senator George J. Mitchell Center for Sustainability Solutions and affiliated faculty with the UMaine School of Economics and Ecology and Environmental Sciences Program.
Dr. Adam Daigneault joined the SFR faculty in 2016 and is currently the E.L. Giddings Associate Professor of Forest Policy & Economics and head of the UMaine Forest Policy and Economics Lab. He received a PhD in Environmental and Natural Resource Economics from Ohio State University in 2006, and has spent the past decade developing quantitative models to assess the socioeconomic impacts of environmental policy on the natural resource sectors. His research has focused on a wide range of issues, including freshwater management, climate change mitigation and adaptation, invasive species control, and valuing ecosystem services.
Prior to joining SFR, Dr. Daigneault was a Senior Economist at Landcare Research, New Zealand’s leading institute on terrestrial ecosystems and biodiversity research and an Economist for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, where he worked extensively on policy analysis relating to climate change, biofuels, and land use change.
Adam, a native Mainer who grew up on the midcoast, returned home after 18 years living and working in Ohio, Oregon, Washington DC, India, and New Zealand. An avid endurance athlete, he makes the best of Maine by running, biking, and skiing the university’s abundant trail network.
Dr. Daigneault is also a Faculty Fellow at the Senator George J. Mitchell Center for Sustainability Solutions and affiliated faculty with the UMaine School of Economics and Ecology and Environmental Sciences Program.
Dr. Daigneault’s primary research is on modelling economic impacts of environmental policy on the forestry and agricultural sectors. He also conducts research on climate change mitigation and adaptation, invasive species control, and valuing ecosystem services. Adam has worked extensively on policy analysis relating to climate change, biofuels, and international and domestic land use change in the US, New Zealand, the Pacific Islands, and India.
Research interests include:
-Partial and general equilibrium modelling
-Land use and land cover change
-Climate change and freshwater policy analysis
-Benefits and costs of invasive species management
-Timber market analysis
–Community and Socio-economic resilience
More details on my research can be found on ResearchGate.
SFR 444/544 Forest Resource Economics, Syllabus
Economics of domestic and international forest resources production, processing and distribution. Contributions of forest resources to local, regional, and national economies. Fundamentals of financial analysis. Evaluation of priced and unpriced forest resources for acquisition, taxation, management, and disposal. Because of overlap SFR 444 and SFR 544 cannot both be taken for degree credit.
General Education Requirements: Satisfies the General Education Social Contexts and Institutions Requirement.
Prerequisites: ECO 120.
Course Typically Offered: Fall
Credits: 3
SFR 446/546 Forest Policy, Syllabus
Mechanisms involved in, and influences on the evolution of national, state and private forest policies in the United States and other nations. Development of professional codes of ethics in Forestry and examination of professional, private business, environmental, and public sector ethical challenges, particularly in the formation of forest policies. Lec 3.
General Education Requirements: Satisfies the General Education Social Contexts and Institutions and Ethics Requirements.
Course Typically Offered: Spring
Credits: 3
Graduate Research Assistantship Opportunities
The UMaine Forest Policy and Economics Lab does not have any graduate assistantships opportunities at this time.
Current and former graduate students:
See our Lab Page!
Please see my Google Scholar profile page for a full list of publications. Additional details and working papers can be found on Research Gate.
Select publications include:
Favero, A., A. Daigneault, B. Sohngen, J.S. Baker. 2022. A system wide assessment of forest biomass sustainability. GCB Bioenergy. https://doi.org/10.1111/gcbb.13013
Daigneault A., J.S. Baker, J. Guo, P. Lauri, A. Favero, N. Forsell, C. Johnston, S. Ohrel, B. Sohngen. 2022. How the future of the global forest sink depends on timber demand, forest management, and carbon policies. Global Environmental Change 76: 102582.
Zhao, J., A. Daigneault, A. Weiskittel. 2022. Estimating regional timber supply and forest carbon sequestration under shared socioeconomic pathways: A case study of Maine, USA. PLOS Climate, 1(5):e0000018.
Louis, L.T., A. Kizha, A. Daigneault, H. Han, A. Weiskittel. 2022. Factors Affecting Operational Cost and Productivity of Ground-Based Timber Harvesting Machines: a Meta-analysis. Current Forestry Reports 8: 38-54.
Clements, R.S., S. Birthisel, A. Daigneault, E. Gallandt, D. Johnson, T. Wentworth, M. Niles. 2021. Climate Change in the Context of Whole-Farm Systems: Opportunities for Improved Outreach. Climatic Change 166(3):1-20.
Daigneault, A., and A. Favero. 2021. Global forest management, carbon sequestration and bioenergy supply under alternative shared socioeconomic pathways. Land Use Policy 103: 105302.
Daigneault, A., A. Strong, S. Meyer. 2021. Economic and Ecosystem Benefits of Conserving Forested Watersheds. Ecosystem Services 48: 101238. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoser.2020.101238
Cook-Patton, S.C., T. Gopalakrishna, A. Daigneault, S.M. Leavitt, J. Platt, S.M. Scull, O. Amarjargal, P.W. Ellis, B.W. Griscom, J.L. McGuire, S.M. Yeo, J.E. Fargione. 2020. Lower cost and more feasible options to restore forest cover in the contiguous United States for climate mitigation. One Earth 3(6): 739-752
Austin, K.G., J. Baker, B. Sohngen, C. Wade, A. Daigneault, S. Ohrel, S. Ragnauth, A. Bean. 2020. How much will global forest carbon sequestration cost?. Nature Communications 11 5946. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-19578-z.
Favero, A., A. Daigneault, and B. Sohngen. 2020. Forests: Carbon Sequestration, Biomass Energy, or Both? Science Advances, 6(13): eaay6792. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aay6792
Fernandez, M. and A. Daigneault 2020. A double win: new pathways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve water quality in New Zealand. Environmental Research Letters https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ab8255.
Gawith, D., I. Hodge, F. Morgan, and A. Daigneault. 2020. Climate change costs more than we think because people adapt less than we assume. Ecological Economics 173: 106636.
Daigneault, A., B. Sohngen, R. Sedjo. 2020. Carbon and Market Effects of US Forest Taxation Policy. Ecological Economics 178: 106803.
Zhao, J. A. Daigneault, A. Weiskittel. 2020. Forest Landowner Harvest Decisions in a New Era of Conservation Stewardship. Forest Policy and Economics. 118: 102251.
Daigneault. A. C. Johnston, A. Korosuo, J. Baker, N. Forsell, J. Prestemon and R. Abt. 2019. Developing Detailed Shared Socioeconomic Pathway (SSP) Narratives for the Global Forest Sector. Journal of Forest Economics 34:7-45.
Ausseil, A., A. Daigneault, B. Frame, E. Texiera. 2019. Towards an integrated assessment of climate and socio-economic change impacts and implications in New Zealand. Environmental Modelling and Software 119:1-20.
Brown, P., A. Daigneault and J. Dawson. 2019. Age and Decision Making in New Zealand Agriculture. Journal of Environmental Management. 231:110-120.
Daigneault A., S. Greenhalgh, and O. Samarasinghe. 2018. Economic impacts of multiple agro-environmental policies on regional New Zealand land use. Environmental and Resource Economics 69(4): 763-785.
Brown P., A. Daigneault, E. Tjernstrom, and W. Zou. 2018. Natural Disasters, Social Protection, and Risk Perceptions. World Development 104: 310–325
Daigneault, A., F. Eppink, and W. Lee. 2017. A national riparian restoration programme in New Zealand: is it value for money? Journal of Environmental Management. 187:166-177.
Daigneault, A., S. Greenhalgh, and O. Samarasinghe. 2017 Sharing the Pie: The dilemma of allocating nutrient leaching between sources. Ecological Economics 131:449-459.
Daigneault, A, P. Brown, and D. Gawith. 2016. Dredging versus hedging: comparing hard infrastructure to ecosystem-based adaptation to flooding. Ecological Economics 122: 25–35.
Daigneault, A., B. Sohngen, and R. Sedjo. 2012. An economic approach to assess the forest carbon implications of biomass energy. Environmental Science and Technology 46(11): 5664–5671.
Daigneault, A., M. Miranda, and B. Sohngen. 2010. Optimal forest rotation with environmental values and endogenous fire risk. Land Economics 86(1): 155-172.
Newbold, S. and A. Daigneault. 2009. Climate response uncertainty and the expected benefits of greenhouse gas emissions reductions. Environmental and Resource Economics 44(3): 351-377.
News
Press Releases and Popular Media
October 2022: UMaine-led delegation of students, faculty attending UN climate summit
September 2022: New study shows how global forests play a key role in the future global carbon balance
November 2021: What the US pledge to reduce methane emissions could mean for Maine
September 2021: Daigneault testifies in hybrid Congressional hearing on sustainable forestry and climate solutions
January 2021: Maine wants to pay landowners to fight climate change with their trees Forest carbon program coming for Maine woodland owners
December 2020: Forest management could reduce carbon dioxide emissions by billions of tons a yearCost of planting, protecting trees to fight climate change could jump
The cost of protecting forests globally could rise
December 2020: Experts contribute to Maine’s plan for climate action
October 2020: Challenges and change: Cultivating resilience in rural communities
September 2020: UMaine’s Natural Climate Solutions Initiative releases interim report on Maine land sector’s greenhouse gas mitigation potential
April 2020: Daigneault looks for prosperity though the trees
March 2020: Researchers Model Spatial and Temporal Consequences of Increased Woody Biomass Use on the Global Forest EcosystemBurning Wood Can Be a Clean Source of Power After All
An old-school fuel may be the future of renewable energy, but there’s a catch
New Study Shows Biofuels Smart Approach to Green Energy Policy
Study projects 30% more forest cover if wood biomass is managed right; critics call it a disaster
March 2020: Daigneault to put forests, farms to work reducing greenhouse gases
January 2020: Maine on target to meet near-term greenhouse gas emissions goals
September 2019: Dr. Daigneault named to Maine Climate Council Science and Technical Subcommittee
October 2018: New research project to help small farms get needed climate adaptation information resources
September 2018: $2.9 million NSF award will train the next generation of environmental conservation leaders