Canadian Forest Service Publications
Forest Change — the Canadian Forest Service program on adaptation on climate change. 2015. Ste-Marie, C.; Bernier, P.; Eddy, B.; Edwards, J.; Gauthier, S.; Mathey, A.-H.; McKenney, D.; Parfett, R.; Pedlar, J.; Price, D.; Stinson, G. XIV World Forestry Congress, Durban, South Africa, 7-11 September 2015. 8 p.
Year: 2015
Issued by: National Capital Region
Catalog ID: 36344
Language: English
Availability: PDF (request by e-mail)
Abstract
Past climate change has affected Canada’s forests and forest sector, and more impacts are projected in the future. Because of their northern location, Canada’s forests are being exposed to more severe changes in climate than the global average. As well, Canada’s forests grow slowly, and those regenerating today will experience a very different climate as they mature, particularly in 60 to 100 years. Thus, forest management decisions taken today have long-term consequences. Monitoring and reporting on climate change impacts is especially challenging in Canada, given the extent and remoteness of its forest landscape. Forest Change, a Government of Canada program run by the Canadian Forest Service of Natural Resources Canada, is designed to provide integrated information that can be incorporated into operational, strategic, and policy decision-making for climate change adaptation. Forest Change delivers information on past trends and future projections of climate change impacts on the forest and the forest sector. Multidisciplinary knowledge on future forest conditions (disturbance regimes, productivity, and composition) is also being generated within an integrated framework to assess and communicate the biophysical, socioeconomic, and policy implications of climate change. This paper presents the approach and the key knowledge products of Forest Change as well as the specific challenges and lessons learned through the delivery of the program.
Plain Language Summary
This paper to be submitted for presentation at the 2015 World Forestry Congress describes the approach and the key knowledge products of the program Forest Change as well as the specific challenges and lessons learned through the delivery of the program. Forest Change, a Government of Canada program administered by the Canadian Forest Service (CFS) of Natural Resources Canada, is designed to deliver integrated information that can be incorporated into operational, strategic, and policy decision making for climate change adaptation. Forest Change delivers information on past trends and projections of climate change impacts on the forest and the forest sector. Multidisciplinary knowledge on future forest conditions (disturbances, productivity, and composition) is also being generated within an integrated framework to assess the biophysical, socioeconomic, and policy implications of climate change. In the first four years of Forest Change, the CFS established its three foundational components, the tracking system, the adaptation toolkit, and the integrated assessment, to support Canada’s climate change adaptation. Providing dedicated resources, clear priorities, and timelines, as well as governance structures that included both scientists and management, improves the focus and coordination of the CFS research agenda on climate change adaptation.
