Manage for species and genotypes with wide moisture and temperature tolerances

EASTERN: Inherent scientific uncertainty surrounds climate projections at finer spatial scales, making it necessary to base decisions upon a wide range of predictions of future climate. Managing for a variety of species and genotypes with a wide range of moisture and temperature tolerances may better distribute risk than attempting to select species with a narrow range of tolerances that are best adapted to a specific set of future climate conditions.

WESTERN: Inherent scientific uncertainty surrounds climate projections at finer spatial scales, making it necessary to base decisions upon a wide range of predictions of future climate. Managing for a variety of species and genotypes with a wide range of moisture and temperature tolerance may better distribute risk than attempting to select species with a narrow range of tolerances that are best adapted to specific set of future climate conditions.

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.