Adaptive Silviculture in a Changing Climate

Leading the digital transformation of the forest sector to begin harnessing the power of rapidly improving technologies.

Costs and benefits of adapting to climate-induced changes in drought and wind regimes in New Brunswick’s forests

Purpose:

Climate change is expected to have significant impacts on drought and wind regimes in Atlantic Canada’s forests. This may lead to decline or disappearance of important species causing significant socio-economic costs in the forest sector.  Adapting to these changes can help protect against losses and potentially generate benefits through new/enhanced wood products and services.  Realization of these opportunities, however, requires the willingness of the forest sector and communities to integrate such adaptation into their planning.


Objectives: 

  1. Assess the socio-economic costs from climate-induced changes to drought and wind regimes in N.B.’s forests;
  2. Assess the socio-economic costs and benefits from adapting to such changes; and
  3. Exchange knowledge learned from this research to the forest sector and forest-dependent/First Nations communities.


Project Team Members:

  • Van Lantz, Dean and Professor, Faculty of Forestry and Environmental Management, University of New Brunswick (UNB)
  • Gaetan Pelletier, Executive Director, Northern Hardwood Research Institute Inc.
  • Chris Hennigar, FORUS Research, Fredericton, NB
  • Charles Bourque, Professor, Faculty of Forestry and Environmental Management, UNB
  • Tom Beckley, Professor, Faculty of Forestry and Environmental Management, UNB
  • Louise Comeau, Honorary Research Associate, Faculty of Forestry and Environmental Management, UNB

 

Funding:

  • Natural Resources Canada’s Climate Change Adaptation Program

 

To learn more on this topic:

 

To view or participate in Workshops/Conferences/Training Sessions:

  • Atlantic Teacher’s tour introducing schoolteachers to adaptation to climate change in our forests in August 2022
  • Workshop on adaptive silviculture, delivered to woodlot owners on January 29th 2020.
  • Full course on adaptive silviculture in the context of a climate change, offered as an elective course (FORS3033), part of the Université de Moncton’s bachelor’s degree in forest management
  • Multimedia training course available to UNB, UMoncton and UMaine at Fort Kent
  • Webinar, presented in February of 2021 to forest practitioners: Cisco Webex Meetings – Replay Recorded Meeting 
  • UNB and NHRI will be co-hosting a large international conference in August 2022 and adaptive silviculture will be a significant component of the program. More than 300 participants are expected in Fredericton, New Brunswick. The announcement can be found in the last pages of the NHRI spring 2021 newsletter: TheLeaflet-Spring-2021.pdf (hardwoodsnb.ca)