U.S. Forest Service scientists recently published a new comprehensive guide to help natural resource managers in the South develop options for managing southern forest ecosystems in the face of climate change. Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation Management Options: A Guide for Natural Resource Managers in Southern Forest Ecosystems culminates a multi-year initiative by Forest Service Southern Research Station (SRS) scientists and collaborators from the National Forest System, universities, and other federal agencies.
Co-edited by SRS scientists Jim Vose (Project leader, Center for Integrated Forest Science) and Kier Klepzig (Assistant Station Director for Research), the new 492-page guide represents an interdisciplinary approach to developing science-based management options to reduce threats to southern forest ecosystems under future climates and changes in disturbance regimes and maintain or enhance the values they provide.
Topics in the publication focus on potential climate change impacts on wildfire, insects, diseases and invasives, and how these in turn could affect important values of southern forests such as timber and fiber, water quality and quantity, species and habitats, and recreation. Additional topics include forest carbon sequestration, future vulnerability to biological threats, and migration of native tree populations due to climate change.
"This book resulted from bringing together science experts and land managers from a range of disciplines and areas of the South and combining their expertise in science, modeling, and on-the-ground experience to develop options for managers faced with climate change," says Vose. "By linking present practice with future projections and the best available science, we hope to provide a broader range of options for managing southern forests and protecting their values in the future."
Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation Management Options is available for purchase from CRC Press at http://www.crcpress.com/product/isbn/9781466572751.
Headquartered in Asheville, NC, the Southern Research Station comprises more than 120 scientists and several hundred support staff who conduct natural resource research in 20 locations across 13 southern states (Virginia to Texas). The Station's mission is "…to create the science and technology needed to sustain and enhance southern forest ecosystems and the benefits they provide." Learn more about the Southern Research Station at: http://www.srs.fs.usda.gov/.