| Climate change is expected to significantly impact temperate forests. One of the few practical options to maintain productivity of managed forests is to reforest harvested areas with resilient trees better adapted to future climate. Such reforestation strategies include: (a) increasing species and genetic diversity; (b) facilitating the migration of species and populations; (c) managing for species with shorter-rotations; and (d) selecting and breeding for adaptation to environmental stresses. The benefits and limitations of these strategies vary, although facilitated migration can be used to increase forest resilience and productivity. BC's forest policy framework has sufficient flexibility to implement most of these strategies. However, policies that drive forest management to meet short-term results, such as free growing, serve as barriers. Government, professionals, forest companies, and others need to find solutions to these barriers and develop reliable information and strategies at scales appropriate for forest management and planning purposes. |
