Seedlot Selection Tool
“The Seedlot Selection Tool (SST) is a web-based mapping application designed to help natural resource managers match seedlots with planting sites based on climatic information assuming that plant populations were in the past adapted to their local climates. The SST can be used to map current climates or future climates based on selected climate change scenarios.” It is a collaboration between the US Forest Service, Oregon State University, and the Conservation Biology Institute.
If you are interested in an overview of the tool and how to use it, this recorded webinar from the Conservation Biology Institute is a good place to start.
North American forests unlikely to save us from climate change, study finds
July 2016
This news article describes a recent study that utilized extensive tree ring data to assess the likely impact of climate change on forest growth rates throughout North America. The abstract for the research article is available here.
Major forecast findings included:
- Negative impacts on forest growth rates in the interior west and positive impacts on forest growth along western, southeastern, and northeastern coasts
- Shifts in sensitivity (how tree growth responds to climate) offset the positive effects of warming on high-latitude forests — no evidence for continued ‘boreal greening’
- Increases in water-use efficiency due to CO2 fertilization where insufficient to reverse projected growth declines across much of North America
Effects of Drought on Forests and Rangelands in the United States
January 2016
This report is a national assessment of peer-reviewed scientific research on the impacts of drought on U.S. forests and rangelands. It includes information about the response of forest physiology, insect and fungal pathogens, and forest biogeochemistry to current and future drought, as well as impacts of increasing drought on forest dynamics, structure, diversity, and management.
