98th ESA Annual Meeting (August 4 -- 9, 2013)

August 03 - 09, 2013

OOS 31

Climate Change and Boreal Forests

The boreal forest as an important biome accounts for 33% of the Earth’s forests, and covers 11% of Earth’s total land surface. The boreal forest supports distinct species of wildlife, many of whom are threatened with extinction. It also plays important roles in global carbon cycling, and global energy cycling. However, in the face of anthropological climate changes, the boreal forest ecosystems have not been adequately explored. The aim of this Organized Oral Session is to present a series of recent studies, highlighting current and past evidences that relate to the effects of historical climate change in boreal forests, and to predict trends with regards to future climate change scenarios. The speakers were asked to address the topics such as (1) Effects of climate changes on wildfire such as the fire return interval, as well their consequences including the landscape stand age distribution shift.(2) How recent climate has affected or future climate change will affect boreal forest carbon budget. (3) Effects of climate change on forest dynamics, including three key demographic attributes: growth, recruitment and mortality.(4) How climate change affected or will affect the outbreak of forest pests, as well as potential introduction of invasive pests. (5) Evidences pertaining to regiome shifts and biome shift under climate change. (6) Evidences of trembling aspen dieback in western Canadian boreal region, as well as its causes and consequences.