Michigan Technological University's
School of
Forest Resources and
Environmental Science invited
Connie Barlow, advocate of "assisted migration", to speak about her experience interacting with foresters and with conservation biologists. Why are foresters more open than conservation biologists to moving trees in advance of climate change? Recorded
11 September 2015. Linked table of contents:
Title: "Assisted
Migration As a
Tool in
Natural Resources Management" (Barlow 2015)
0:22 Introduction:
Climate change forces worldview shifts in conservation
1:41 Assisted Migration is a tool — but a frightening tool
1:54
Chart in 2014
IPCC shows that trees cannot keep pace with climate
4:48 The IPCC chart horrifies wilderness and biodiversity proponents
5:18 Torreya
Guardians in 2008 moved a climate-endangered tree north
7:12 In 2009 assisted migration experiments for 15 tree species in
Canada
7:54 In 2014 the
Quino Checkerspot butterfly moved to a new habitat on its own
9:15 Summary of 3 assisted migration initiatives that led the way
9:30
Details and website re Torreya Guardians assisted migration actions
10:26 "Assisted Migration
Scholarly Links" thru TorreyaGuardians website
11:02 Why a "deep-time" paleoecological perspective compels action
11:58 "
Islands of wilderness in a sea of civilization" slows migration
12:18 Introduction to the 10 points pro and con assisted migration
13:02
Point 1: Assisted Migration =
Nature cannot take care of itself
14:28 Point 2:
Preservation &
Restoration to
Intervention &
Resilience
15:14
Thomas 2011: "
The End of Trying to
Recreate Past Communities"
17:57
Point 3:
Conservation biologists are worried about invasiveness
19:12 Mueller & Hellmann
2007: clarifies inter- v. intra-continental risks
20:20 Contradictory advice: fear of invasion v. help species migrate
20:45
Example of contradictory advice:
Black Locust, Robinia
21:57
Michigan forest publication lists tree species climate "winners" & "losers"
23:12
Northern Institute of Applied
Climate Science advises forest owners
23:33 Point 4:
Precautionary Principle hinders climate
adaptation
24:30 Multi-author conservation biology paper
2012: Managed Relocation
25:56 Foresters have their own papers and reports on assisted migration
26:04 Point 5:
Assisted migration undermines push for wildlife corridors
27:26
Climate adaptation disagreements divide conservation alliances
28:10 The battle between "New" versus "Old"
Conservation
30:58 Funding constraints in forestry will leave wilderness untouched
31:38 Summary of 5 pts of conservationist resistance to assisted migration
31:58
Begin forestry section: why foresters are open to assisted migration
32:27 Northern Institute of Applied Climate Science and
Chris Swanston
33:35 Forestry "no-regrets decision-making" trumps precautionary principle
34:25
Williams & Dumroese
2013: "Forestry and Assisted Migration"
35:29 Barlow says, "I found my tribe; now foresters are my tribe."
35:59 Foresters parsed "assisted migration" into 3 distinct types
36:29
Type 3. "Assisted
Species Migration" or "Species
Rescue" - Torreya
36:45 Type 2. "Assisted
Range Expansion" -
Ponderosa Pine
37:21 Type 1. "Assisted
Population Migration" -
Western Larch
37:52 Details on
Canada's "Assisted Migration
Adaptation Trial"
39:51
Science journal Aug 2015 issue on "Forestry in the Anthropocene"
40:26 Millar and Stephenson 2015 - chart on managing a forest re climate
41:19
US Forest Service website for habitat projections of 76 western trees
41:29
USFS projections for
Engelmann Spruce habitat range shift
42:47
Bark beetle devastation in
Colorado (how changes resident attitudes)
44:17 USFS projections for
Douglas Fir habitat range shift
44:53 USFS projections for
Alligator Juniper habitat range shift
45:35
Closing story:
Arizona firefighters saved champion tree; now their memorial
46:55 End of talk:
List of the 10 points presented.
47:04 QUESTION section begins
47:12 Q: What paleoecology teaches about range shifts at 400 ppm
CO2
48:11 Q: "Won't the wind help carry pollen of southern genotypes northward?"
48:58 Q: "How do we know if trees are already lagging in moving north?"
51:01 Q:
Consider value of rapid epigenetic adaptation (
Norway Spruce)
52:32 Q: "Why is there such a rush to begin planning to move trees north?"
52:58 Q: "Do we think about species or about communities migrating north?"
53:47 Q: Paleoecology shows forests will likely become "novel ecosystems"
54:40 Conservation confusion today reprises
Leopold / Pinchot debate
55:05 Q: It will be impossible for foresters to intervene as much as needed
56:25 Q: Isn't "invasive" concern overblown, especially if new arrivals are useful?
57:55 Q:
American Chestnut backcrossing controversy portends more debate?
59:07 Closing slides: intro, 10 points, online links for further study
http://www.torreyaguardians.org
http://www.torreyaguardians.org/assisted-migration
.html
http://thegreatstory.org/climate-trees-legacy.html
- published: 24 Oct 2015
- views: 217