Illinois

A mapping tool that allows the user to model climate, hydrology, agriculture, or fire with a variety of variables. The user can choose the time scale, variable, and calendar time period.

Ecosystems will increasingly be affected by a changing climate. Understanding these potential impacts is an important first step to sustaining healthy forests in the face of changing conditions. As part of the Central Hardwoods Climate Change Response Framework project, more than 30 scientists and forest managers collaborated to assess the vulnerability of forest ecosystems in this region to the likely range of climate change.

Many landowners have begun to ask how their forest management strategy affects the carbon within their forest and thus the forest’s ability to mitigate climate change. Every strategy has its tradeoffs; therefore, to meet all of society’s needs, we will ultimately need a mix of passive and active strategies across the region.

The tool provides a rapid and simple process to assess forest resiliency. This publication contains background information on important characteristics of resilient and healthy forests and examples of potential adaptation strategies. It is accompanied by a scorecard to be used in the field to evaluate the resiliency of a forest.