Climate Change and Forest Restoration: How to Identify Change, Model Responses, and Approach Forest Restoration in the Asia Pacific Region View Digital Media

Colloquium
Guangyu Wang,  Ferretti Gallon Kalifi,  Anil Shrestha,  Tongli Wang  

Over the last few decades, climate change has rapidly transformed the landscape of forests that act as important sources of carbon sequestration and provide other important ecosystem services. Tree species distribution, growth rate, and densities are sensitive to climate conditions that vary by region and are increasingly subject to change. This climate change-induced emergence of novel forest ecosystems presents a challenge for large-scale restoration of degraded forest ecosystems and other efforts addressing global climate adaptation and mitigation targets. Over the last 8 years, the University of British Columbia’s Asia Forest Research Center has worked on degradation, climate change modeling, and tree species diversity in the Asia Pacific Region. We have partnered with different regional institutions, like the Asia Pacific Forest Research Network, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kyushu University, and National Taiwan Normal University. This colloquium brings key researchers together to discuss and synthesize current approaches and tools to identify change in tree species, model the impact of anticipated climate changes on forests, and approach site—specific restoration in the Asia Pacific Region. The objective of this effort is to help guide decision-makers on forest restoration and planning within the context of climate change.