Ten Years of Adaptive Silviculture for Climate Change: An Applied, Coproduced Experimental Framework

Area of Science:

• Forestry science
• Climate change adaptation
• Ecosystem management

Background:

• Climate change poses significant challenges to forest management, requiring adaptive strategies.
• There is a need for experimentally robust and credible examples of climate-adaptive forest management.

Purpose of the Study:

• To establish the Adaptive Silviculture for Climate Change (ASCC) Network to address the need for climate-adaptive forest management strategies.
• To test a framework for climate adaptation in forest ecosystems through operational-scale experimental trials.

Main Methods:

• The ASCC Network employs a replicated resistance-resilience-transition and no-action framework.
• Experimental trials incorporate locally specific desired future conditions and adaptation tactics tailored to different forest types.
• The study emphasizes coproduced, operational-scale experimental trials involving manager-scientist collaboration.

Main Results:

• The ASCC Network provides timely, practical, and scientifically rigorous climate adaptation actions.
• The framework fosters collaboration between forest managers and scientists.
• Experimental outcomes can directly inform current and future local management actions.

Conclusions:

• The ASCC Network serves as a model for the coproduction of adaptation science applicable to various contexts and ecosystems.
• It demonstrates a practical approach to implementing climate adaptation in forest management.
• The collaborative framework ensures the relevance and applicability of research findings to practitioners.