Des forêts mélangées pour composer avec les changements climatiques

Abstract

This article attempts to provide an overview of the interaction between climate change and species mixture in forest stands. Climate change affects stand composition not only because average climate is changed but also due to the change in the disturbance regime, as well as indirectly through the induced effects on the forestry and forest-based industries and forest management strategies. These complex effects could be favourable to pioneer species and ones that have been displaced by man, possibly leading to unprecedented dynamics. However, forest managers too may use species mixtures to reduce the impact of climate change by gradually and flexibly adapting stand composition. Mixed species sites in fact deserve more extensive research so as to inform these technical decisions, but also to gain a better understanding of the effects of ongoing changes through the differentiated response of the species entering into the composition.