75 resources found

This document synthesizes evidence-based strategies for adapting western North American forests to the dual threats of climate change and uncharacteristic wildfires. The authors argue that over a century of fire exclusion has replaced historical, fire-resilient mosaics with dense, fuel-heavy landscapes that are increasingly vulnerable to high-severity, stand-replacing fires. To address this crisis, the authors advocate for a shift from aggressive suppression toward proactive management, including the strategic use of mechanical thinning and prescribed burning. This resource evaluates ten common questions that often cause public or scientific disagreement, such as the efficacy of treatments under extreme fire weather and the necessity of managing forests beyond the wildland urban interface.

This paper examines how extension, a dynamic process of knowledge exchange, can bridge the gap between scientific research and field application to support innovative silviculture in British Columbia. The authors outline a framework of five extension forms, ranging from one-way sharing to co-produced knowledge generation, designed to help foresters adapt to modern pressures such as climate change, wildfire severity, and the legal recognition of Indigenous Rights and Title. By reviewing the history of extension, this document acknowledges the field's colonial and anti-Indigenous origins while advocating for a future grounded in reciprocity and ethical collaboration. This document serves as a call to action for organizations to formally value and resource extension staff, ensuring that stewardship practices are effectively informed by a diverse range of social, economic, and ecological values.

This technical report evaluates the survival and growth of Western larch and Ponderosa pine when planted in regions north of their natural geographic ranges. The study was prompted by climate change predictions for British Columbia's Cariboo region, suggesting that human intervention through assisted migration may be necessary to maintain forest productivity as habitats shift. Researchers monitored seedlings across various biogeoclimatic units over two growing seasons to determine which environments best support these species outside their traditional territories. The findings indicate that Ponderosa pine generally showed better health and survival rates, however, both species faced significant challenges from growing-season frost and animal damage. This report highlights that the ICHmk3-SBSdw1 transition zone provided the most significant growth increments, though continued monitoring is required to assess long-term viability.

Out On A Limb is a series that uplifts trailblazers in BC communities who are leading innovative management practices for the betterment of the forests of tomorrow. In this episode of Out on a Limb, the SIP joins Harrop-Procter Community Forest to learn about their innovative approach to anticipate and adapt to climate change impacts. Harrop-Procter CF has spent the past 15 years adapting their forest management approach to respond to climate change impacts on their forest and surrounding landscape. Using a risk assessment approach, they are able to identify areas with varying risk to climate change and prioritize management actions. Erik Leslie, Forest Manager at Harrop-Procter, unpacks the three types of Operations Strategies he employs using his climate adaptation framework: Resistance, Resilience, and Transition. the SIP joins him in the field to visit three sites where these strategies have resulted in specific treatments to make the site either resistant, resilient, or completely transitioned on a new trajectory. Erik shows us how managers can integrate climate science and risk assessment into practical forestry decision making.

This technical report introduces a drought risk assessment tool designed to help forest managers in British Columbia navigate the challenges of a warming climate. By using a stand-level water-balance approach, the researchers calculated the ratio of water availability to evaporative demand to establish drought tolerance thresholds for ten common tree species. The study concludes that many species face significant threats of stress and mortality on drier sites, whereas moist, water-receiving areas may serve as critical climate refugia for conservation. This document provides a practical framework for applying this data to silvicultural decisions, such as selecting resilient species for reforestation and identifying areas at higher risk for wildfires or invasive species.

This document evaluates the early success of the Northern Wetbelt Silvicultural Systems Project, a long-term study comparing how different logging methods affect forest health in east-central British Columbia. Researchers analyzed initial survival rates of planted spruce and cedar alongside the frequency of wind damage to residual trees across various harvest intensities, ranging from clearcuts to partial-retention systems. Their preliminary findings indicate that seedling survival is exceptionally high across all sites, while the risk of trees snapping or uprooting increases moderately as more of the surrounding forest canopy is removed. By providing baseline climate data and specific monitoring recommendations, the document serves as a foundational assessment to guide sustainable forest management and ecological restoration in the interior cedar-hemlock subzones.

This webinar explores strategies for mitigating wildfire severity through proactive fuel treatments, drawing on extensive research from large-scale fire events in the Pacific Northwest. It details how the accumulation of forest fuels due to decades of fire exclusion has created vulnerable landscapes prone to high-severity, stand-replacing fires. Findings demonstrate that while thinning alone is often insufficient, the combination of thinning and prescribed burning significantly increases tree survivorship and creates effective barriers to fire spread.

This casebook serves as a practical guide for the Harrop-Procter Community Co-operative to transition from theoretical climate science to site-specific forest management in British Columbia. The document is structured into three distinct phases: a risk assessment identifying threats like drought and wildfire, an operations strategy detailing adaptive tactics, and a timber supply analysis to determine sustainable harvest rates under changing conditions. By moving from generalities to specifics, the project aims to protect local priorities such as domestic water, biodiversity, and community safety through diverse silvicultural approaches. This document functions as a pilot study for other community forests, providing a framework to operationalize ecosystem resilience in the face of escalating environmental shifts.

This guidebook serves as a comprehensive manual for establishing and maintaining community forest agreements in British Columbia. This document outlines a governance framework that prioritizes local control, economic stability, and environmental stewardship to revitalize rural, forest-dependent economies. The guide is structured into two primary sections: Part One focuses on effective governance, covering legal structures, board recruitment, and foundational mission statements, while Part Two details operational management, including mapping tools and climate change adaptation. This guidebook aims to provide professional tools necessary to ensure transparency, accountability, and long-term sustainability in managing community forests and local natural resources.

This research study uses predictive modeling to demonstrate that harvesting intensity and climatic aridity are the primary drivers of future carbon loss in British Columbia's Douglas-fir forests. By simulating forest growth over a fifty-year period, the authors found that clearcutting significantly reduces total ecosystem carbon compared to lower-intensity methods like patch retention, which better preserve aboveground biomass. The data further reveals that forests in arid regions are more vulnerable to carbon depletion than those in humid climates, especially when high-intensity logging is applied. This document advocates for low-intensity harvesting systems and improved forest stewardship as essential strategies to maintain carbon sequestration and mitigate global warming.

This document investigates how various reforestation and afforestation strategies impact the climate within Canada's Taiga Plains, specifically focusing on the balance between carbon sequestration and surface albedo. By simulating forest growth over 250 years, the authors demonstrate that mixed-species stands at medium densities provide the greatest net cooling effect because they combine the rapid growth of deciduous trees with the long-term carbon storage of conifers. A crucial finding is that traditional conifer monocultures can lose a significant portion of their climate benefit due to albedo-driven warming, as their dark canopies absorb solar radiation that would otherwise be reflected by snow. This study advocates for climate-smart management such as partial harvesting and diverse replanting.

This research paper explores how the mountain pine beetle epidemic has transformed British Columbia's forests from carbon sinks into net carbon sources, necessitating a re-evaluation of forest management for climate change mitigation. By using the Carbon Budget Model of the Canadian Forest Sector, the authors analyze the temporal carbon dynamics of various harvesting strategies, specifically comparing the production of wood pellets and timber against natural decay or wildfire scenarios. The study challenges the simplistic assumption of carbon neutrality in bioenergy, demonstrating that the time required to achieve a carbon break-even point depends heavily on regional growth cycles and the specific type of fossil fuel being displaced. This paper argues that salvage logging of severely damaged pine stands provides a superior atmospheric benefit compared to unmanaged protection as it uses decaying biomass to offset coal emissions while facilitating faster forest regeneration.

This research paper investigates how different timber harvesting methods impact carbon storage and economic value in the temperate rainforests of British Columbia. By comparing long-term data from clearcuts, partial-cuts, and unharvested stands, the authors demonstrate that intensive logging transforms forests into significant carbon sources, whereas low-intensity partial harvesting allows ecosystems to remain closer to a neutral carbon balance. The study highlights a critical trade-off between immediate logging revenue and climate mitigation, noting that clearcutting is currently more profitable only because the environmental cost of carbon emissions is not yet factored into the market. This paper argues that if carbon pricing reaches approximately $70 per ton, preserving or lightly harvesting these forests becomes more economically viable than traditional clearcutting. Therefore, adopting nature-based solutions like variable retention forestry provides a pathway to meet net-zero goals while still supporting local economies through sustainable management.

This webinar explores the landscape-level effectiveness of fuel treatments in the Southern Blue Mountains of Oregon. Using the Landis-II simulation model, the study evaluates how different management strategies such as mechanical thinning and prescribed burning impact wildfire spread and severity under both contemporary and extreme weather scenarios. A primary finding is that while treatments work at a local scale, tripling the current levels of prescribed fire is necessary to significantly shift wildfire behavior across the broader landscape. The research suggests that spatially optimizing treatments in high-risk zones can be just as effective as distributing them widely, offering a more efficient way to manage resources while preparing for a future of increased wildfire activity driven by climate change.

This paper addresses the increasing need for forestry practices to adapt to predicted climate changes. The authors explore assisted migration, defined as the purposeful movement of species to mimic natural range expansion, as a key strategy within forest management to ensure the resilience and productivity of future forests. Recognizing that many tree species cannot naturally migrate quickly enough to keep pace with climate shifts, the paper argues that proactive interventions like assisted migration are essential. The authors discuss different forms of assisted migration, weigh the associated risks and benefits, particularly within the context of British Columbia's forestry, and outline crucial policy and research needs to effectively implement this adaptation approach.

This paper investigates how different forest harvesting methods impact both the amount of carbon stored and the variety of plant and tree life. The study compared the effects of clearcutting, varying levels of partial tree retention, and no harvesting across different climatic regions in British Columbia's Douglas-fir forests, ranging from humid to semi-arid. The central finding is that the intensity of harvesting significantly influences carbon storage and biodiversity, but importantly, the magnitude of these effects is strongly linked to the regional climate.

This extension note outlines the successional pathways of various forest ecosystems in British Columbia and how these natural trajectories are influenced by natural disturbances, forest management practices, and projected climate change. The document describes typical post-disturbance development, the impacts of human interventions like harvesting, and potential future shifts due to altered temperature and precipitation regimes. The primary aim is to provide natural resource managers with a concise overview to inform strategies for building resistant and resilient forests in the face of ongoing environmental change.

This paper explores the future of carbon storage within these vital ecosystems of British Columbia. Using a computer model, the researchers investigated how interactions between tree species, fire, forest management, and a changing climate might affect the ability of these forests to absorb and store carbon until 2050. A key aspect of their work was the introduction of a new metric, net sector productivity, which offers a more comprehensive way to account for carbon by including not only forest ecosystems but also harvested wood products. The study aimed to provide a better understanding for developing effective climate change mitigation and adaptive management strategies in these forests.

This study explores the critical role of fire as a natural process in shaping and sustaining the diverse ecosystems of British Columbia. The first describes the various historical fire regimes across different ecosystem types in the province, categorized by the frequency and intensity of fire events. It then emphasizes the ecological importance of fire, highlighting its contributions to biodiversity, ecosystem complexity, and nutrient cycling. Finally, the text examines ecological approaches to fire management, advocating for strategies that recognize and maintain the beneficial presence of fire on the landscape, while also considering factors like climate change and the presence of species at risk. This report serves as a guide for land managers and decision-makers to integrate ecological perspectives into fire management plans for the long-term health and resilience of British Columbia's forests and rangelands.

This report details an initiative undertaken to understand and address the impacts of climate change on ecosystems and forest management in the West Kootenay region of British Columbia. The project aimed to assess ecological vulnerability using local climate projections, collaboratively learn with forest practitioners and scientists, and case study relevant concepts like vulnerability, resilience, and risk management. The report outlines the methodologies employed - including climate modeling and bioclimate envelope analysis - and the findings regarding projected climate changes, potential impacts on ecosystems, and an initial assessment of ecosystem vulnerability across different subregions. The report serves as a foundation for identifying potential adaptation options for forest management and discusses barriers, incentives, and opportunities for implementing these changes in the face of a changing climate.