Favor or restore native species that are expected to be adapted to future conditions

EASTERN: There are many cases where native species may be well adapted to the future range of climatic and site conditions. Using management to favor native species in a community or forest type that are expected to fare better under future climate change can facilitate a gradual shift in the forest composition. Establishing or emphasizing future-adapted species now may create opportunities to fill the niche left by species that decline. Where communities are dominated by one or a few species, this approach will probably lead to conversion to a different community type, albeit with native species.

WESTERN: There are many cases where native species may be well-adapted to the future range of climatic and site conditions. Using management to favor native species in a community or forest type that are expected to fare better under future climate change can facilitate a gradual shift in the forest composition. Establishing or emphasizing future-adapted species now may create opportunities to fill the niche left by species that decline. Where communities are dominated by one or a few species, this approach will probably lead to conversion to a different community type, albeit with native species.

Species composition in many forest ecosystems is expected to change as species adapt to a new climate and transition into new communities. This strategy seeks to maintain overall ecosystem function and health by gradually enabling and assisting adaptive transitions of species and communities in suitable locations. This may result in slightly different species assemblages than those present in the current community, or an altogether different community in future decades. This strategy includes aggressive actions to promote ecosystem change rather than an unchanging community or species mix. Many of the approaches in this strategy attempt to mimic natural processes, but may currently be considered unconventional management responses. In particular, some approaches incorporate assisted migration, which remains a challenging and contentious issue. It is not suggested that managers attempt to introduce new species without thoroughly investigating potential consequences to the native ecosystem. This approach is best implemented with great caution, incorporating due consideration of the uncertainties inherent in climate change, the sparse record of previous examples, and continued uncertainties of forest response. Outcomes from early efforts to transition communities can be evaluated to provide both information on future opportunities and specific information related to methods and timing.