Wildlife Management
Wildlife Management
Some tree species may decline by the end of the century, including red spruce and balsam fir.
These are northern species near their southern range limits in New England and northern New York. Multiple forest impact models tend to agree that these species are more likely to decline in suitable habitat and biomass across a range of climate scenarios by the end of the century.
Some of the common tree species in transition hardwood forests are projected to have similar or increased habitat, including black cherry and yellow-poplar.
This forest system contains several tree species that are tolerant of warmer temperatures and are located in the central to northern portion of their range in New England and northern New York. Multiple forest impact models tend to agree that these species, such as sugar maple and eastern white pine are likely to increase or remain stable in suitable habitat and biomass under a mild climate scenario but may fare worse under a hotter, drier future climate scenario.
Previous human influences, including fragmentation, may have reduced the adaptive capacity of some transition hardwood forests.
This forest type is often located in areas that have (or have had) higher levels of human disturbance; fragmentation, invasive species, or other stressors may have reduced the capacity of forests in some locations to cope with changing conditions. Further, trends toward more mesic tree species and a lack of future-adapted regeneration species like oak may reduce adaptive capacity.