Plants and Climate Change
Planting (and Planning) for Climate Change
The distribution of forest regions themselves are based on climate as well as topography. Changes in climate affect the distribution of plant species, which thereby change the composition of forests, like PEI's Acadian Forests. Species differ in the way they interact with the environment around them and, therefore, have an impact on the ecosystem properties themselves.
Fullerton's Creek Conservation Park, Stratford, PE
It is imperative that forest management practices take changing climate into account when planning for forest longevity. For example, there are some plant species that may not be able to migrate or adapt quickly enough to thrive in or simply tolerate a rapidly changing climate.
The problem we face, however, is that experts are still learning how to accurately forecast these changes and study the ability of each tree species to adapt to the new conditions.
Island watershed groups like SAWIG are taking these concerns into account and aim to plant tree species that follow the predicted distribution and forest composition changes caused by climate change.