Climate Change and the Forest Stewardship Program
Webinar Details
When:
Mar 24, 2016 1:00 pm US/Eastern
Length: 01:22 (hh:mm)
Advance Registration NOT required.
View now on-demand.
Presenter(s):
- Stephen Handler, Climate Change Specialist, USFS
- Chris Swanston, Research Ecologist, USFS
Virtual Event Format:
Group Viewing Available:
What is climate resilience? How does it relate to woodland owner’s objectives? Where can you find specific information? Stephen Handler and Chris Swanston with the Forest Service Climate HUB will answer these questions and help you prepare to integrate this into your discussions with woodland owners as part of a Forest Stewardship Plan or forest management plan. Please note, the presentation will focus on national and regional climate trends. We will not address state specific climate issues but will provide links to state-specific resources.
Climate change impacts to forests will be increasingly direct, through changing temperature, precipitation, and severe weather conditions, as well as indirect, through more intense stress, shifting disturbance patterns, and effects on pests and diseases. Maintaining healthy, resilient forests over time will require a clear appraisal of the risks and opportunities presented by climate change, including consideration of how local site conditions and management history might make a particular property more or less vulnerable to climate change impacts. Tools and resources are available to help foresters and landowners consider climate change information and develop management recommendations that will help adapt, or prepare forests for expected changes.
Ensuring that forests can adapt to climate change will also help ensure that forests continue to remove greenhouse gases from our atmosphere. Forests play a vital role in the earth’s carbon cycle, as they remove carbon from the atmosphere and store it in biomass (trunks, branches, foliage, and roots) and soils. Sustainable forestry practices can increase the ability of forests to sequester atmospheric carbon while enhancing other ecosystem services, such as improved soil and water quality. Harvesting and regenerating forests can also result in net carbon sequestration in wood products and new forest growth. More information and tools on climate change adaptation and carbon sequestration can be found on the following websites:
- USFS Climate Change Resource Center
- CCRC Forests and Carbon Storage Page
- Climate Change Response Framework
- Adaptation Workbook
- Template for Assessing Climate Change Impacts and Management Options
- Adapting to Climate Change: A short course for land managers
- Adaptation Partners
- USDA Climate Hubs
Loading