Abstract
Climate change will likely have significant effects on forest ecosystems worldwide. In Mediterranean regions, such as that in southwestern Oregon, USA, changes will likely be driven mainly by wildfire and drought. To minimize the negative effects of climate change, resource managers require tools and information to assess climate change vulnerabilities and to develop and implement adaptation actions. We developed an approach to facilitate development and implementation of climate change adaptation options in forest management. This approach, applied in a southwestern Oregon study region, involved establishment of a science–manager partnership, a science-based assessment of forest and woodland vulnerabilities to climate change, climate change education in multiple formats, hands-on development of adaptation options, and application of tools to incorporate climate change in planned projects. Through this approach, we improved local manager understanding of the potential effects of climate change in southwestern Oregon, and enabled evaluation of proposed management activities in the context of climatic stressors. Engaging managers throughout the project increased ownership of the process and outcomes, as well as the applicability of the adaptation options to on-the-ground actions. Science–management partnerships can effectively incorporate evolving science, regardless of the socio-political environment, and facilitate timely progress in adaptation to climate change.
Highlights
Climate change poses significant challenges to the sustainable management of forest ecosystems in the United States
To communicate information from the climate change vulnerability assessment, we developed and delivered an engagement strategy for local managers that included a series of five webinars, building to a one-day hands-on workshop and a field trip to facilitate applied adaptation planning
Using thinning and prescribed fire to reduce risk of high-severity fire was a clear focus of adaptation actions developed by resource managers in our workshop, as it has been in other similar efforts [84]
Summary
Climate change poses significant challenges to the sustainable management of forest ecosystems in the United States. With warming temperatures over the last few decades, changes in physical and ecological processes are already becoming apparent. There have been declines in snowfall in many parts of the country [1]. In the western U.S, there have been declines in snowpack [2], mountain precipitation [3], and streamflows [4]. Drought severity has increased in several regions [5,6]. The area affected by disturbances, such as insect outbreaks [7,8] and wildfire [9], has increased
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