From Theory to Practice: D’Amato Organizes Tour of Forest Adaptation Experiment with NIACS Partners to Advance Climate Adaptation in White and Green Mountain National Forests
More than twenty resource managers from the White and Green Mountain National Forests recently participated in a Northern Institute of Applied Climate Science (NIACS) and NE CASC-led tour of the 400-acre Adaptive Silviculture for Climate Change (ASCC) site at Dartmouth’s Second College Grant Forest in New Hampshire. Organized by NE CASC PI Anthony D’Amato and Katie Frerker of NIACS, the tour guided participants through an eight-year-old, operational-scale forest adaptation experiment that uses the NIACS Climate Change Response Framework to implement resistance, resilience and transition strategies. By illustrating how adaptation strategies are impacting the ecology, species, and values provided by the site’s northern hardwood and mixedwood forest ecosystems, D’Amato, Frerker and their research partners sought to advance climate adaptive management in New England’s two national forests while simultaneously strengthening ties between the research and management communities.
During the visit, managers heard from a team of researchers–including wildlife biologists, forest ecologists, silviculturists, and carbon specialists–who shared monitoring data they have collected from the site. “It was great to have the opportunity to discuss the ASCC experiment with so many team members from the White and Green Mountain National Forests,” said D’Amato. “Since these forests have prioritized integrating climate adaptation into their management strategies through the Climate Change Response Framework, our research team wanted to make the tour a valuable experience for them by accomplishing two objectives. First, we aimed to provide managers with a firsthand understanding of what these theoretical frameworks look like in practice. And second, we were eager to share how our experimental treatments have brought about a range of changes in forest vegetation, carbon and nitrogen cycling, and fungal, bird, and mammal communities.”
Ultimately, the tour spurred discussion about how managers can use data from the ASCC experiment to inform their decision making, helped researchers better understand the issues managers must navigate in light of climate change and other emerging challenges, and provided a foundation for future interactions between the national forests and ASCC teams. “This visit was successful in mutually educating managers and researchers about the approaches our groups are independently using to ensure the persistence of northeastern forests,” D’Amato said. “Equally important, it also provided a template for integrating those approaches with one another to achieve a shared goal. This outcome is particularly exciting to me because it signifies the emergence of a collaborative network that will help advance climate adaptation in New England’s national forests.”
