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The article describes the development of the web-based Canadian Forest Service climate change indicator system, referred to as the Forest Change Tracking System. This indicator system was established in 2011 with financial support from the Adaptation theme of the Government of Canada Clean Air Agenda. The objectives of the Forest Change Tracking System are to (a) raise awareness and inform on the occurrence and scope of ongoing changes across Canadian forests associated with climate change and to (b) support the inclusion of adaptation into forest management planning and forest-related policies. The development strategy was to focus on a limited number of most relevant indicators and to build on existing capacity in order to produce information on current and future climate change impacts across Canada's vast forests. An initial list of 141 potential indicators relevant to forestry was compiled through a series of workshops with more than 100 researchers and forest sector stakeholders and through a global scan of climate change indicator initiatives. A rating system based on each indicator's potential relevance, sensitivity, and feasibility of measurement was used to select a subset of 35 indicators. These indicators fall within three broad systems—climate, forest, and human. Each indicator web page contains information on the relevance of the indicator, graphs, or maps on past trends and future projections across Canada and related links and references. This paper also presents lessons learned, discusses challenges and opportunities, and reviews potential next steps related to the broadening of this indicator system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change is a likely addition to the unpredictable challenges urban communities will face. Enhancing urban forests has gained prominence as a climate adaptation tool in cities. The fact that urban forests are also vulnerable is now starting to emerge. Many urban forest management professionals do not know how to take climate change into account and what aspects of urban forest vulnerability to climate change to prioritize. Bringing climate change to the forefront of the decision-making process in urban forest management, and urban forests to the forefront of urban climate issues, is important to urban forest success. This paper presents an exploratory assessment of vulnerability to climate change in the Canadian urban forests of Halifax, London, and Saskatoon. The objectives of the assessment were to: 1) identify the elements of urban forest exposure and sensitivity to climate change, the nature of the expected impact, and the adaptive capacities that exist in these three urban forests; 2) assess which of these elements contributes more to urban forest vulnerability to climate change; and, 3) elicit adaptive strategies based on this information. The method used was participatory and expert-based and allowed for a systematic evaluation of vulnerability. Exposures related to drought, heat stress, and wind, susceptibility of urban trees to insects and diseases, and the sensitivity of young trees and tree species with specific temperature and moisture requirements, are the main concerns regarding the vulnerability of urban forests to climate change in these three cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent interest in sustainable forest management planning in the Yukon has coincided with growing public awareness of climate change, providing an opportunity to explore how forestry plans are incorporating climate change. In this paper, the Strategic Forest Management Plans for the Champagne and Aishihik First Nations Traditional Territory (CATT) and the Teslin Tlingit Traditional Territory (TTTT) are examined for evidence of adaptation to climate change. For each plan, management policies and practices that are also recognized as ways to adapt to climate change are identified to provide information on the incremental costs and benefits of additional adaptation efforts. A typology for classifying sustainable forest management plans according to how they address climate change is proposed and applied to the CATT and TTTT plans. This typology, which may be useful to any future retrospective assessments on how successful these or other sustainable forest management plans have been in addressing and managing the risks posed by climate change, consists of a matrix that categorizes plans into one of four types; (1) proactive-direct, (2) proactive-indirect, (3) reactive-direct, and (4) reactive-indirect. Neither of the plans available for the southern Yukon explicitly identifies climate change vulnerabilities and actions that will be taken to reduce those vulnerabilities and manage risks. However, both plans have incorporated some examples of 'best management practices' for sustainable forest management that are also consistent with appropriate climate adaptation responses. Even in a jurisdiction facing rapid ecological changes driven by climate change, where there is a relatively high level of awareness of climate change and its implications, forestry planning processes have yet to grapple directly with the risks that climate change may pose to the ability of forest managers to achieve the stated goals and objectives of sustainable forest management plans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context: Forest landscapes at the southern boreal forest transition zone are likely to undergo great alterations due to projected changes in regional climate. Objectives: We projected changes in forest landscapes resulting from four climate scenarios (baseline, RCP 2.6, RCP 4.5 and RCP 8.5), by simulating changes in tree growth and disturbances at the southern edge of Canada's boreal zone. Methods: Projections were performed for four regions located on an east-west gradient using a forest landscape model (LANDIS-II) parameterized using a forest patch model (PICUS). Results: Climate-induced changes in the competitiveness of dominant tree species due to changes in potential growth, and substantial intensification of the fire regime, appear likely to combine in driving major changes in boreal forest landscapes. Resulting cumulative impacts on forest ecosystems would be manifold but key changes would include (i) a strong decrease in the biomass of the dominant boreal species, especially mid- to late-successional conifers; (ii) increases in abundance of some temperate species able to colonize disturbed areas in a warmer climate; (iii) increases in the proportions of pioneer and fire-adapted species in these landscapes and (iv) an overall decrease in productivity and total biomass. The greatest changes would occur under the RCP 8.5 radiative forcing scenario, but some impacts can be expected even with RCP 2.6. Conclusions: Western boreal forests, i.e., those bordering the prairies, are the most vulnerable because of a lack of species adapted to warmer climates and major increases in areas burned. Conservation and forest management planning within the southern boreal transition zone should consider both disturbance- and climate-induced changes in forest communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates soil N2O dynamics in forest soils representing early (3-years) and late (>50 years) post-harvest succession in Atlantic Canada over a 9-month snow-free period in order to develop a better understanding of the role of managed forests as sources and sinks of N2O. We couple measurement of surface flux with detailed measurements of subsurface N2O concentrations at four mineral soil depths (0, 5, 20 and 35 cm) at 40 plots located within four sites. Median surface fluxes were similar at all sites regardless of the management stage (−5 to +19 ugN2O–N/m2/day), with all sites behaving as net sinks and sources of N2O over the measurement period. Subsurface mineral soil N2O concentrations at early (3-year) post-harvest succession sites, which ranged from median values of 362 ppbv at 0 cm to 1783 ppbv at 35 cm depth, were significantly higher than late post-harvest succession sites where median concentrations ranged from 329 ppbv at 0 cm to 460 ppbv at 35 cm depth. Examination of relationships between subsurface gas storage and surface flux magnitudes, suggested although recently harvested forest soils may be producing N2O at a greater rate than mature forest soils, observed patterns are consistent with a strong sink for this gas that prevents its conservative transport through the soil profile, and ultimate emission to the atmosphere through the majority of the measurement period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]