Massachusetts Climate Changes and Species of Greatest Conservation Need
Chapter 5 in the State Wildlife Action Plan for Massachusetts
Forest
FAR2
Taxonomy Machine Name
niacs_strategy_far2
Taxonomy Alias
far2
Massachusetts Wildlife Climate Action Tool
The Massachusetts Wildlife Climate Action Tool is designed to inform and inspire local action to protect the Commonwealth’s natural resources in a changing climate. It was developed for local decision-makers, conservation practitioners, large landowners, and community leaders across the state.
Forest health is not greatly challenged by pests and pathogens, but could become more problematic if the system becomes very drought-stressed.
Shale bedrock restricts the number of species that could compete with this community type, although invasive trees and shrubs are an increasing problem. Some invasive species can become very competitive in this forest community, including some nonnative grasses, spotted knapweed, Japanese honeysuckle, Chinese bush clover, and ailanthus. These invasive species may become more problematic if they can outcompete native species.
Most dominant species are projected to increase or remain stable, including eastern redcedar, eastern redbud, hackberry, northern red oak, pignut hickory, pitch pine, scrub oak, Virginia pine, and white oak.
Many of the species in this ecosystem are projected to do well under a range future climate scenarios. Sugar maple is projected to decline in a substantially warmer and drier climate, and would be the most likely to disappear from this community type due to moisture deficit. This community is characterized by fewer than a dozen species, which vary based on the presence of shale or limestone bedrock.
This community is adapted to extreme weather and natural disturbance, and already occupies some of the driest and hottest habitat in the region; all of these reasons suggest that it can adapt to various climate-related stressors.
This community is adapted to extreme weather and natural disturbance, and already occupies some of the driest and hottest habitat in the region. This community is geographically constrained due to these extreme site conditions, which may benefit this community by reducing the encroachment of novel species. However, although this community is generally tolerant of short periods of severe drought, longer or more extreme drought can delay germination or kill seedlings and even long-established trees.
Extreme precipitation events may increase the rate of erosion or disintegration of the shale parent material.
This forest community thrives in the hottest, driest, and most exposed slopes underlain by shale and limestone. Because the bedrock sheds water easily, increases in extreme precipitation events may increase erosion or result in the disintegration of shale or limestone downslope.
Warmer, drier summers are likely to increase the risk of drought and fire in these locations, which would help maintain the open conditions favoring this community type.
The presence of fire, either natural or managed, is an important disturbance process that maintains open conditions in the barrens, glades, and woodlands. This community type can change very quickly in the absence of fire, which may allow eastern red cedarredcedar, red maple, and nonnative buckthorn to establish or increase. Both drought and fire can benefit this community, keeping an open state where it is currently present, and even potentially gaining new habitat where adjacent oak-pine forest declines.
Insect pests, pathogens, and interactions with drought and other disturbances may cause damage in the near term, with the Asian longhorned beetle posing a serious threat to northern hardwood species.
Ash, hemlock, and beech have already declined on the landscape due to insect pests such as emerald ash borer, hemlock wooly adelgid, and beech bark disease. There are many invasive plant species, insect pests, and forest diseases that have negative impacts on central hardwood-pine forests, many of which are expected to increase through the direct and indirect effects of climate change.
Invasive species such as buckthorn, honeysuckle, garlic mustard, and Japanese stiltgrass are expected to expand in newly formed gaps and compete with native species in northern hardwood forests.
Invasive species such as buckthorn, honeysuckle, and garlic mustard are already threats to some forests, and these species are expected to increase in abundance under climate change, particularly where forests are disturbed. Invasive species can also impair regeneration of native species and alter understory and midstory composition.
Deer herbivory is currently limiting to seedling establishment and growth in northern hardwood forests, and deer populations are not expected to change dramatically due to climate alone.
Changes in snowfall amount and duration throughout the assessment area may change the wintertime foraging behavior for herbivores such as white-tailed deer and snowshoe hare. Where present, deer may benefit in many parts of the region as warmer winter temperatures and reduced snow depth increase access to winter forage.