Climate Wire | Wetland white oak has never thrived in superior national forests. Lower Great Lakes? of course. Missouri and Kentucky too.
But the cold-climate forests of northern Minnesota are places where only the hardiest trees can survive the winter. These include black spruce, jack pine, and quivering aspen.
But rising temperatures are changing that equation. And scientists have been inspired to consider whether certain warm-climate trees can find new homes in the three million acres of forest that are expected to heat up over the next few decades.
one possibility? swamp oak. This is a potential candidate species for one of the Forest Service’s most ambitious climate adaptation efforts to date. This is the physical migration of seeds and saplings from higher southern latitudes to temperate northern forests.
“Historically, humans have moved species around the globe for centuries, if not thousands of years. Leslie Brandt, Climate Adaptation Specialist at the Forest Service, where it is based, said in a recent release. “What is new is the intentional use of climate data to inform these decisions.”
Some tree species naturally migrate to the northern ends of their habitats as the climate warms, but “seed dispersal distances are often not very far and cannot keep up with the rapid pace of climate change,” he said. she added.
Enter “human-assisted migration” where forest managers physically introduce new species (more heat-tolerant varieties of native species) and see how they live under changing conditions. Superior national forests are early proving grounds for this approach.
“Nothing has been planted at this point,” said Steven Handler, a climate change expert at the Forest Service’s Northern Research Station in Houghton, Michigan. That’s it,” he said. message.
According to the Forest Service’s Species Summary, which outlines species that may gain or lose habitat under scenarios of climate warming, other species that can adapt to transitional boreal forests include the Greater Aspen, There are silver maple, slippery elm, and yellow birch.
According to the Forest Service’s Center for Climate Change Resources, “species with very specific habitat needs and ranges, limited by physical barriers such as fragmentation and geographic features, will become extinct or at risk of extinction due to climate change.” If species collapse does not occur, “climate change could lead to massive mortality and population extinctions due to population maladaptation.”
Human tree movement could be the answer to the Forest Service’s 2022 reforestation strategy. The strategy calls on forest managers, ecologists and other stakeholders to create more climate-resilient forests.
“Climate-informed reforestation, which includes both natural regeneration and afforestation, is a more resilient way to help address the wildfire crisis, sequester carbon, and enhance biodiversity and ecosystem services. It’s essential for growing forests,” says the strategy.
Officials say pilot projects in leading national forests could serve as models for resettlement programs in other forests. A senior national forest field scientist and project manager did not respond to calls for comment.
The Forest Service’s brief for the project states that superior national forests are defined as “areas of forest suitable for supporting resettlement, tree species likely to be most suitable for supporting resettlement, monitoring and logistical considerations, determine effective processes for their engagement.” other partners. ”
Some species have already moved north, establishing “small outposts at the northern end of their range,” said Lee Frerich, director of the Forest Ecology Center at the University of Minnesota. wood. Among them are red maple, red oak, basswood and ironwood.
“The Boundary Waters red maples are naturally dispersing and find the right climate in many places,” he said.
Experts consider the risk of human-assisted tree movement introducing invasive species into areas where they can become overcrowded and overwhelm native species in search of water and soil nutrients. I warn you that you must.
Some invasive species from Europe, such as the Amur maple and Siberian elm from northern China and Russia, have taken root in the northern forests and need to be managed carefully, said Frerich.
Conversely, red oak, native to the United States, has invaded parts of Europe, he said.
“Obviously, I think it’s good to know which species will thrive with the changes that are already happening,” Frélich said. We can’t do that yet, but we can see if the warming we’ve seen will allow southern species to thrive.”
He added, “Even if it doesn’t grow now, it may grow in 10, 20, 50 years.”
Reprinted from E&E News with permission of POLITICO, LLC. Copyright 2023. E&E News provides essential news for energy and environmental professionals.
