Land managers need specific information, strategies, and tools to address the unique challenges of managing forests given uncertainty about the future climate and ensuing ecosystem responses. Sustainable forest management will need to promote forest adaptation to changing climatic conditions in order to achieve desired objectives; these include maintenance of habitat, production of wood, and mitigation of increased levels of atmospheric greenhouse gases. To improve our understanding of potential silvicultural strategies for forest management while facing uncertain climate changes, we have hosted a number of workshops and training sessions throughout the northeastern United States to develop and disseminate silvicultural considerations, strategies, and approaches for managing forests given a high level of uncertainty about future climate and forest responses.
Results/Conclusions
Our experience at these workshops highlights the importance of knowledge of location within a species range, as species on the southern edge of their range are most susceptible to decline. Maintaining and increasing diversity at the stand and landscape levels may help to maintain essential forest components for as long as possible and potentially provide a buffer against unexpected negative impacts. Focused monitoring to target vulnerable species and ecosystems will allow better understanding and forecasting of community responses to changing conditions and provide a basis for adaptive management. There is need for greater discussion on assisted migration. While shifting ranges may necessitate the planned movement of tree species in the future, current uncertainty in climate and range projections requires a cautious approach to this tool in the near future.
