Adaptation Strategies and Approaches for California Forest Ecosystems

Forest health has never been a more urgent concern in California. A variety of forest ecosystem types have experienced extraordinary combinations of stressors and disturbances over the past century, which have resulted in significant changes to forest conditions. Current conditions are a product of multiple interacting factors, including fire exclusion, historic logging practices, increased wildland-urban-interface expansion and, more recently, the effects associated with climate change. The intersection of the factors has led to high severity fire, drought linked mortality, and pest infestation and disease in the affected forests. It’s increasingly clear that the expected effects of climate change will further impact California forest ecosystems, potentially compelling and, in some cases, forcing the application of targeted adaptation strategies and approaches in the years and decades to come.