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Home → Publications → Forest Nursery Notes → 2013 Summer Forest Nursery Notes → 2013 Summer Forest Nursery Notes Publications by Article → Climatic change and assisted migration: Strategic options for forest and conservation nurseries

Climatic change and assisted migration: Strategic options for forest and conservation nurseries

Land managers are being advised to acknowledge climate change predictions in their reforestation plans, but uncertainty about predictions, current client demands, and existence of current plant transfer guidelines constraint active measures (Tepe and Meretsky 2011). The practice of restricting native plant movement to environments similar to their source has a long history in forest management (Langlet 1971), however, transfers must now factor in climate change because plant materials guided by current guidelines and zones will likely face unfavorable growing conditions by the end of this century. Seed transfer guidelines and zones are used to determine the safest distance that a population can be moved to avoid maladaptation (Johnson and others 2004). To facilitate adaptation and migration, we will need to modify transfer guidelines in the direction of climatic change – to suit target tree species and populations. This is going to require more information than we currently have, but now is the time to address the issue.


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Author(s): Mary I. Williams, R. Kasten Dumroese

Publication: Forest Nursery Notes - 2013 Summer - 2013 Summer Forest Nursery Notes Publications by Article