Climate Change

Abstract

Over the past decade, forest policy and management has moved from a focus on mitigation to one that includes adaptation. The expected impacts of climate change on forests and the ecosystem services are influenced by many sources of uncertainty. While average changes in climate may affect tree and forest survival, a projected increase in frequency of extreme events is likely to put new pressures on forest ecosystems that can lead to their decline or collapse. Modelling is an important part of understanding forests and adaption, both of future climate and of species’ response to climate. Resilience is a key concept in forest adaptation and is characterized by species and genetic richness, structural diversity, resistance to biotic and abiotic stress, and innovation and flexible human management systems. Adaptation requires incorporating known solutions, and also maintaining options and processes that allow change. Social and ecosystem processes are tightly interconnected, and it is a knowledge-rich approach. Opportunities to adapt arise as new forests are planted and existing forests are harvested and replaced. However, much less is known about how forest owners, planners, managers and advisers are engaging with the challenge. A few studies explore attitudes, beliefs and knowledge; fewer look at adoption of recommended changes, or innovation and local experimentation.