Organized Oral Session
Tyler Refsland, PhD
Michigan State University
Windham, Maine, United States
Alison D. Munson
Professor
Centre for Forest Research, Faculty de Forestry, Geography and Geomatics, Laval University
Quebec, Quebec, Canada
Patricia Raymond
Forest Researcher
Ministère des Forêts, de la Faune et des Parcs du Québec
Québec, Quebec, Canada
Alejandro Royo
Research Ecologist
U.S. Forest Service, Northern Research Station, Pennsylvania, United States
Jean-Pierre Tremblay
Professor
Département de biologie, Université Laval, Quebec, Canada
Jessica Miesel
Associate Professor
Department of Plant Soil and Microbial Sciences, Michigan State University
East Lansing, United States
Tyler Refsland, PhD
Michigan State University
Windham, Maine, United States
Trees must migrate, adapt or go extinct in face of climate change. Hotter temperatures and changes in precipitation patterns threaten forest ecosystem functioning and many services that they provide. Increasingly, ecologists and resource managers are pursuing adaptive management techniques to improve forest resilience and mitigate the impacts of climate change on biodiversity. One such approach is assisted migration, the intentional movement of genotypes, populations, or species to new environments, sometimes outside of the species’ extant range. Challenges include uncertainty about suitable species and their degree of adaptability or invasiveness, as well as the abiotic and biotic constraints on assisted migration success. Additionally, there are important social aspects to consider, including the public perception of assisted migration and the intentional changes the practice may bring to traditional landscapes. In this session, we present current research from diverse perspectives addressing assisted tree species migration, including improvements to climate modeling, results from pioneering field trials, and research into social acceptability. Anthropogenic climate change presents enormous challenges for biodiversity conservation and raises several critical questions: how can we leverage climate models to gauge the urgency of climate-adaptive forestry and select suitable species? Can we synthesize results from field trials to identify critical biotic and abiotic constraints to tree species establishment in novel environments? What are the major social concerns regarding the use of assisted migration? The answers to these important questions require input from ecologists and resource managers to inform future decisions about potential implementation of assisted migration.
Presenting Author: Bryce Adams – USDA Forest Service
Co-author: Alejandro A. Royo – U.S. Forest Service, Northern Research Station
Co-author: Christel Kern – U.S. Forest Service, Northern Research Station
Co-author: Dustin Bronson – USDA Forest Service, Northern Research Station
Co-author: Jessica Miesel – Department of Plant Soil and Microbial Sciences, Michigan State University
Co-author: Amanda McGraw – Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
Co-author: Tyler K. Refsland, PhD – Michigan State University
Co-author: Paula Marquardt – USDA Forest Service, Northern Research Station
Presenting Author: Emilie Champagne – Direction de la recherche forestière, Ministère des Forêts, de la Faune et des Parcs du Québec
Co-author: Emilie Champagne – Direction de la recherche forestière, Ministère des Forêts, de la Faune et des Parcs du Québec
Co-author: Alejandro A. Royo – U.S. Forest Service, Northern Research Station
Co-author: Jean-Pierre Tremblay – Département de biologie, Université Laval
Co-author: Patricia Raymond – Ministère des Forêts, de la Faune et des Parcs du Québec
Presenting Author: Anthony W. D'Amato – University of Vermont
Co-author: Peter Clark – University of Vermont
Co-author: Brian J. Palik – USDA Forest Service Northern Research Station
Co-author: Alissa Freeman – Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources, The University of Vermont
Co-author: Christopher W. Woodall – USDA, Forest Service
Presenting Author: Loic D’Orangeville – University of New Brunswick
Co-author: Loic D’Orangeville – University of New Brunswick
Co-author: Jessé Moura Dos Santos – University of New Brunswick
Co-author: Malcolm Itter – UMass Amherst
Co-author: Anthony R. Taylor – University of New Brunswick
Co-author: Neil Pederson – Harvard Forest
Presenting Author: Shannon Hagerman – University of British Columbia
Presenting Author: Robert Silvestro – Université du Québec à Chicoutimi
Co-Author: Claudio Mura – Université du Québec à Chicoutimi
Co-Author: Xiali Guo – Guangxi University
Co-Author: Anam Usmani – University of Chinese Academy of Sciences
Co-Author: Shaokang Zhang – Chinese Academy of Sciences
Co-Author: Marcin Klisz – Forest Research Institute
Co-Author: Radoslaw Puchalka – Nicolaus Copernicus University
Co-Author: Valentina Butto – Université du Québec en Outaouais and Université du Québec en Abitibi-Témiscamin
Co-Author: Maurizio Mencuccini – CREAF
Co-Author: Annie Deslauriers – Université du Québec à Chicoutimi
Co-Author: Guillaume Charrier – Université Clermont Auvergne, INRAE, UMR PIAF
Co-Author: Patrick Faubert – Université du Québec à Chicoutimi
Co-Author: Patricia Raymond – Ministère des Forêts, de la Faune et des Parcs du Québec
Co-Author: Antonio Saracino – Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II
Co-Author: Jianguo Huang – Zhejiang University
Co-Author: Sergio Rossi – Université du Québec à Chicoutimi