Adaptive Silviculture in a Changing Climate
ADAPTIVE SILVICULTURE
IN A CHANGING CLIMATE
Costs and benefits of adapting to climate-induced changes in drought and wind regimes in New Brunswick’s forests
Purpose:
Climate change is expected to have significant impacts on drought and wind regimes in Atlantic Canada’s forests. This may lead to decline or disappearance of important species causing significant socio-economic costs in the forest sector. Adapting to these changes can help protect against losses and potentially generate benefits through new/enhanced wood products and services. Realization of these opportunities, however, requires the willingness of the forest sector and communities to integrate such adaptation into their planning.
Objectives:
i) assess the socio-economic costs from climate-induced changes to drought and wind regimes in N.B.’s forests;
ii) assess the socio-economic costs and benefits from adapting to such changes; and
iii) exchange knowledge learned from this research to the forest sector and forest-dependent/First Nations communities.
Project Team Members:
· Van Lantz, Dean and Professor, Faculty of Forestry and Environmental Management, University of New Brunswick (UNB)
· Gaetan Pelletier, Executive Director, Northern Hardwood Research Institute Inc.
· Chris Hennigar, FORUS Research, Fredericton, NB
· Charles Bourque, Professor, Faculty of Forestry and Environmental Management, UNB
· Tom Beckley, Professor, Faculty of Forestry and Environmental Management, UNB
· Louise Comeau, Honorary Research Associate, Faculty of Forestry and Environmental Management, UNB
Funding:
· Natural Resources Canada’s Climate Change Adaptation Program
To learn more on this topic:
· Interactive webpage to visualize the impacts of Climate Chang in our region: https://csrno.ca/climat/ecodistricts/)
· Guidebooks on Vulnerability of NB Forests and Adaptive Silviculture Pathways
· Video course on Adaptive silviculture
· Documentary video which was an official selection and shown at the Silver Wave film festival at Fredericton in November 2019: video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m162K3cJkA4)
· Article for woodlot owners and forestry professionals was published in the Atlantic Forestry Review Magazine: (http://www.rurallife.ca/the-time-for-adaptive-management-has-come?fbclid=IwAR1upsSMDENHEcimaQ1nRVRxo5PlVK_v4orz84SEQzrXYZqUGrcIcE0ZevA)
· Climate change adaptation in forest-dependent communities. 2021.
· Silviculture Scenario Calculator
To view or participate in Workshops/Conferences/Training Sessions:
· Atlantic Teacher’s tour introducing schoolteachers to adaptation to climate change in our forests in August 2022
· Workshop on adaptive silviculture, delivered to woodlot owners on January 29th 2020 (https://nbwoodlotowners.ca/building-capacity-of-nb-woodlot-owners-to-adapt-to-climate-change)
· Full course on adaptive silviculture in the context of a climate change, offered as an elective course (FORS3033), part of the Université de Moncton’s bachelor’s degree in forest management
· Multimedia training course available to UNB, UMoncton and UMaine at Fort Kent
· Webinar, presented in February of 2021 to forest practitioners: Cisco Webex Meetings - Replay Recorded Meeting
· UNB and NHRI will be co-hosting a large international conference in August 2022 and adaptive silviculture will be a significant component of the program. More than 300 participants are expected in Fredericton, New Brunswick. The announcement can be found in the last pages of the NHRI spring 2021 newsletter: TheLeaflet-Spring-2021.pdf (hardwoodsnb.ca)