BC Journal of Ecosystems and Management

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Introduction to JEM 13(1).

This discussion paper builds on the synthesis component of the Future Forest Ecosystem Scientific Council (FFESC) project and discusses how current and projected changes in natural disturbance are being linked with existing decision frameworks within government and forest companies in British Columbia. Based on information gathered through an online survey, face-to-face discussion sessions, and a review of the literature, a proposed decision support framework is discussed. This framework is presented in the form of a mental model to provide strategic guidance on one possible way to integrate information related to projected changes in natural disturbance for on-the-ground actions and decisions.

It is predicted that climate change has increased the frequency and intensity of natural disturbances and weather related natural disasters. Rural forest-based communities are especially vulnerable to changes in natural disturbance regimes influenced by climate change because their economic, social, and cultural aspects of life are closely linked to the local environment and climate.

 

In this article, we discuss the impacts of wildfires on communities as an example of how natural disturbances impact humans. The impacts to humans of wildfire is indicative of the type of effects that other natural disturbances such as widespread insect infestation, landslides, floods, drought, storms, avalanches, permafrost melt, forest diseases, erosion, and gradual ecosystem change can have on communities. First Nations communities may be significantly and uniquely impacted by natural disturbances and climate change due to their remote location, strong connection, and heavy reliance on the environment for subsistence and in preserving their culture and their unique and often vulnerable economic situation.

 

We describe the uncertainty of predicting the frequency and intensity of natural disturbances in a particular location. We suggest that the most effective management response to address this uncertainty is to focus on reducing vulnerability and increasing community resilience. Finally, we list some of the management strategies and tools that communities and those that work with them have been using in British Columbia and elsewhere to increase community resilience to natural disturbances and climate change.

 

This extension note summarizes the key findings of the chapter entitled "A synthesis of the effects of natural disturbance and post-disturbance management on streamflow, stream temperature, suspended sediment, and aquatic invertebrate populations" of FORREX Series 28, which is an overview of the available research on the effects of climate change, natural disturbance (focused on wildfire and insect infestation), and post-disturbance management actions (primarily clearcut salvage harvesting) on key watershed processes and values. The scope of the synthesis was limited to the magnitude and timing of streamflow, stream temperature, suspended sediment, and aquatic invertebrate population dynamics. In general, the effects on hydrologic processes and watershed functions are greater following post-disturbance activities; climate change is anticipated to further negatively compound these natural disturbances. To maintain the resilience of watersheds(that is, the ability of natural systems to recover from perturbation), management activities should be designed to maintain natural hydrologic and ecosystem function wherever possible. Key considerations to maintain resilience include: planning management activities at the site, watershed and landscape scales, maximizing riparian overstory retention within 10 metres of streams, minimizing the introduction of fine sediments into surface water bodies, and monitoring the effects of disturbances and management interventions to support adaptive management. Using the best available information, along with advice from qualified watershed professionals, is key to ensuring effective management.

Biodiversity is a key component of forested ecosystems. It should be preserved not only for its own sake, but because biodiverse ecosystems are resilient and better able to respond to changing conditions. This extension note is a condensed version of a full synthesis paper and provides some background on how biodiversity can be managed and enhanced in the wake of natural and man-made disturbances.

One of the current climate change mitigation strategies is the management of forested ecosystems to ensure that they remain a sink for carbon now and into the future.  With British Columbia’s climate expected to continue to warm into the future, our forests will also change in response.  If a choice is made to manage for carbon as one of the many landscape objectives, forest managers will need to know how best to do so given the likely changes in natural disturbance regimes that may accompany the changing climate.

Natural and human-induced disturbance such as wildfire, insect and disease outbreak, windthrow, and forest harvesting are important drivers for forest renewal, post-disturbance stand structure, and ecosystem function. Each disturbance or combination of disturbances sets up a forest to proceed down a certain successional pathway in terms of structure and function. Using the context of Ecoprovinces and Ecosystem Types, successional pathways of a variety of ecosystems found in British Columbia are briefly described,and the ways in which forest management practices have affected those pathways are discussed. This Extension Note also describes how projected changes in temperature and precipitation may also affect these natural disturbance drivers. The information contained in this article is based on a larger synthesis report that is available in FORREX Series 28 and is designed to facilitate further conversation around building resistant and resilient forests for the future.

Projections for forest disturbance and damage under a changing climate in British Columbia are summarized, with the objective of collating regionally specific expectations so that land managers can take pro-active steps to avoid or adapt to the changes expected.  While some projections are based on extrapolations of recent multi-decadal trends, most are based on global climate models (GCMs) that must make assumptions about the range of CO2 emissions and the status of atmospheric greenhouse gas emissions over the next century. Regardless of emission scenarios, it is universally expected that British Columbia will experience warmer air temperatures, coupled with more precipitation in some regions and less in others. Forest fires are expected to be more frequent and more intense in the southern half of the province and in the Taiga Plains, but less important in other portions of the province.  Forest insects and fungal pathogens are expected to more fully occupy the current range of their host tree species and expand ranges northward and to higher elevations along with their hosts.  More frequent and detrimental pest outbreaks are expected in some regions when several years of favourable weather align.  Wind damage, floods, and landslides can be expected to increase on terrain where they are already a risk factor.  For many agents of tree mortality, expected changes in disturbance regime amount to an expansion or shifting of the seasonal window of activity, sometimes with different trends projected for different seasons and different regions of the province.  The prediction of future forest disturbance regimes is in its infancy, requiring a much more concerted effort in compiling both empirical and simulated data, but managers may wish to adjust plans accordingly where there is largely a consensus among current and projected trends.  

 

 

In these rather tumultuous social and economic times, Aboriginal groups and natural resource practitioners often express the real need to look more closely at the importance and complexities of cultural ecological knowledge (CEK). To understand these intricacies and apply these principles on the ground, some theoretical constructs and practical examples need to be highlighted. Such constructs and examples can help explain the divergent world views of Indigenous knowledge and Western science within natural resource management. The objective of this article is to synthesize current literature and contemporary thought on the importance and complexities of cultural ecological knowledge (CEK) in natural resource management. In addition, it examines practical examples of the differences and similarities between Indigenous knowledge and Western science. The scope of this article is the breadth of understanding of Indigenous peoples and non-Indigenous Western scientists the world over, with the intended audience being natural resource managers, scientists/academics, and traditional knowledge practitioners. The author takes the position that natural resource managers should create social legitimacy processes through collaborative learning and systems-thinking approaches. These processes can often be validated through transfer of oral and written “ways of knowing,” even when there are divergent world views. Success relies on designing clear objectives and outcomes when incorporating cultural/ecological knowledge in resource management as well as implementing systematic and culturally sensitive heritage assessments and characterizing cultural pluralism. Finally, there is a need for managers to incorporate CEK and to facilitate legislative, political, and ethical processes that help create social and cultural legitimacy in natural resource management.

 

 

 

Forest carbon management is rapidly evolving in British Columbia. The province is perhaps the most active jurisdiction on this front in Canada as it seeks to meet the requirements of its new suite of greenhouse gas legislation, regulations, and policies that influence the management of forest carbon.

This report provides an update since 2008 on British Columbia's position on managing for greenhouse gas emissions, with a focus on the role of forests. Essentially, it is an update of Carbon Management in British Columbia's Forests: Opportunities and Challenges, published as FORREX Series No. 24 (Greig and Bull 2008).

This report includes

• a summary of legislative changes since late 2007;
• a review of the evolving institutional and market rules needed for the further development of a carbon offset market, which would include forests;
• some recent advances in forest carbon management in the province; and
• important opportunities and challenges that lay ahead.

Forest carbon management policy and practices will continue to evolve. Forest carbon is now a recognized forest value, at both the carbon offset project level and the sustainable forest management landscape level. Although many pieces of forest carbon management are in place, more work is required to realize the full potential. It is clear that British Columbia's vast forests represent a significant opportunity to manage greenhouse gas emissions and mitigate climate change.