USDA Forest Service Northern Research Station

Mid-Atlantic Forest Ecosystem Vulnerability Assessment and Synthesis: A Report from the Mid-Atlantic Climate Change Response Framework

Forest ecosystems will be affected directly and indirectly by a changing climate over the 21st century. This assessment evaluates the vulnerability of 11 forest ecosystems in the Mid-Atlantic region (Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, eastern Maryland, and southern New York) under a range of future climates. We synthesized and summarized information on the contemporary landscape, provided information on past climate trends, and described a range of projected future climates.

New England and Northern New York Forest Ecosystem Vulnerability Assessment and Synthesis: A Report from the New England Climate Change Response Framework Project

This region contains about 40 million acres of forest, which provide numerous cultural, economic, and environmental benefits. Climate change is already having an impact on the region’s forests, increasing damage from extreme precipitation events and insect pests. Future changes could dramatically alter the landscape that characterizes the region.

Forest Adaptation Resources: Climate change tools and approaches for land managers, 2nd Edition

This document provides a suite of materials to help land managers to consider climate change and to develop adaptation actions. It does not provide specific recommendations, but rather serves as a decision-support tool for incorporating adaptation considerations into current management objectives.

The role of reforestation in carbon sequestration

This article describes research on reforestation of cultivated lands and its effect on carbon sequestration in the US. It finds that soils store most of the carbon in ecosystems, and reforesting cultivated lands increases the carbon storage of topsoil. Carbon sequestration also doubles to triples in woody biomass after planting for at least 20 to 30 years.

Chicago Wilderness region urban forest vulnerability assessment and synthesis: A report from the Urban Forestry Climate Change Response Framework Chicago Wilderness pilot project

The urban forest of the Chicago Wilderness region, a 7-million-acre area covering portions of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Wisconsin, will face direct and indirect impacts from a changing climate over the 21st century. This assessment evaluates the vulnerability of urban trees and natural and developed landscapes within the Chicago Wilderness region to a range of future climates. We synthesized and summarized information on the contemporary landscape, provided information on past climate trends, and illustrated a range of projected future climates.