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.

·       Community capacity considering climate changes in drought and wind regimes in New Brunswick's forests. 2021

·       Forest succession, plantations and the economy under a changing climate: coupling Woodstock and CGE models to assess impacts and adaptation options in New Brunswick, Canada. March 15, 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 29^th 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)