Environmental News Network - Climate Impacts Drive East-West Divide in Forest Seed Production

Details: By Duke University; 24.Feb

Younger, smaller trees that comprise much of North America’s eastern forests have increased their seed production under climate change, but older, larger trees that dominate forests in much of the West have been less responsive, a new Duke University-led study finds.

Julie Swatson

Younger, smaller trees that comprise much of North America’s eastern forests have increased their seed production under climate change, but older, larger trees that dominate forests in much of the West have been less responsive, a new Duke University-led study finds.

Declines in these trees’ seed production, or fecundity, could limit western forests’ ability to regenerate following the large-scale diebacks linked to rising temperatures and intensifying droughts that are now occurring in many states and provinces.

This continental divide, reported for the first time in the new study, “could dramatically alter the composition and structure of 21st century North American forests,” said James S. Clark, Nicholas Distinguished Professor of Environmental Science at Duke, who led the research.

Knowing the contrasting responses occur – and understanding why they happen – will help scientists more accurately predict future changes to North American forests and develop conservation and management strategies to mitigate the changes, he said.

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Climate Impacts Drive East-West Divide in Forest Seed Production