Climate change resilience in temperate hardwood forests: Implications for forest management

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Temperate hardwood stands are of particular importance to the Shareholder Mills in the Northshore Forest dueto their high-value products and global demand. When managed properly, they can produce high veneer gradewood, which carries considerable global market value. If managed improperly, they produce low-grade wood(e.g., firewood) and forestry companies, like Northshore Forest Inc., make minimal, or negative return oninvestments. However, there is a growing understanding that species' responses under changing climate can becomplex and unexpected. As such, in order to properly manage the inherent risks of harvest policies / plans,managers must evaluate the potential for threshold or surprise effects that result from climatic change outsidethe range of historical conditions.In the summer of 2016 we sampled five pure sugar maple stands in the Sault Ste. Marie area, Elliot Lake areaand Haliburton forest. Tree cores from these stands were used to estimate long term growth trajectories.Further isotopic analysis of these tree cores will help determine the roles of carbon fertilization andenvironmental variation on growth trends in sugar maple stands. The information gained from analysis willhelp (1) identify whether forests are likely to be stressed directly by climate (water, temperature) or if someother stressor may be present and (2) present recommendations for future management to increase productivityunder climate change scenarios.It is well understood that management decisions regarding hardwood selection treatments, i.e. intensity andfrequency, have effects on wood quality and value. As such, economic, social and environmental benefits canbe expected through improved forest management strategies in the face of climate change. Further, due to thevast importance of forests to Canada and the severe realities of climate changes impacts, even an incrementalinsight has the potential to have noticeable improvements in the coming decades.