Fundy Biosphere group sees dramatic change in Acadian forest

Climate change will have a dramatic impact on New Brunswick's Acadian forest, according to a new study.

The Fundy Biosphere Reserve completed an analysis of which native species have the best chance to thrive, and which could suffer under changing climate conditions over the next 100 years.

Ben Phillips, a conservation scientist,saysa two-degree difference in temperaturewould have a big impact on trees that prefer the cold.

"That puts us here in southeastern New Brunswick more in a Bostontype of climate," said Phillips.

"If you think of Boston, they have temperate forests there, the trees grow much faster, you don't see the coniferous softwoods down there."

Northern treespecies includingspruce, fir, birch, and poplarwill likely face more insects, disease, extreme weather, and competition, which willlead to slower growth and higher mortality, he said.

"We'll have more of those disturbances, those insect outbreaks, those types of things, but if we play the cards right then we should be able to still have a very productive forest," he said.

"But it is going to be aperiod of change and we need to think about this differently than we have in the past."

Top 8 trees of the future

Phillips says southern species such as red and sugar maples, red oak,whitepine, American beech, eastern hemlock, blackcherry and Ironwoodwill benefit from the longer growing season.

Phillips says anyone planting trees, including those on Crown land or private lots,should focus on those eight species, but says any healthy forest has to be diverse.

"So they want to focus on the eight, we want to also have a good diversity in the middle and then the ones on end, the spruces, the poplars, the birches, those ones look like they're not going to do very well so we want to try to start to thin some of those out of our forests."

Phillips says the goal is a forest that is more resilient to climate change.

"Overall it looks like the Acadian forest, a majority of the species will probably do worse with climate change," he said.

TheFundy Biosphere Reserve is a non-profit organization that includesan area of more than430,000 hectaresof the upper Bay of Fundy coast, from St. Martins to the Tantramar Marsh to Moncton.