Developing management strategies for tree improvement programs under climate change: Insights gained from long-term field trials with lodgepole pine

Abstract

The growing concern of the impact of climate change in forestry has prompted tree improvement programs and regulatory agencies to integrate climate change adaptation in the production and use of tree seed. In support of such adaptation strategies, we conducted a case study for lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta Dougl.) in Alberta, Canada. We compared the tree height for populations and families planted across 37 progeny and provenance trials when transferred among six physiogeographically and climatically distinct breeding regions. Based on these results we infer how lodgepole populations and families are adapted to current climate conditions and how they might respond to future changes in climate. Interestingly, in almost all regions we found that local populations grew better than introduced sources, suggesting that in the current climate the use of local populations is still an appropriate reforestation strategy with some exceptions. Notably, in cool and wet higher elevation environments (between 1050 and 1650m), local populations were outgrown by populations originating from warmer lower elevation regions. Moreover, these higher elevation populations were always outgrown when transferred to other regions. A number of transfers among regions were identified that ensure productivity gains under recent climate conditions, and simultaneously represent a short term adaptation measure for warming of about +0.5°C. Further, we provide a database for selection of families within breeding populations to enhance their resilience to climate change.