Forest Conservation in the Anthropocene: Science, Policy, and Practice

Description

Forest Conservation in the Anthropocene provides thought-provoking insight into the ongoing environmental crises that climate change is generating and raises critical questions about how public and private land managers in North America will adapt to the climatological disruptions that are already transforming the ecological structures of these forests. In this pathbreaking anthology, a team of leading environmental researchers probes the central dilemmas that ecologists, forest land managers, state and federal agencies, and grassroots organizations are confronting—and will continue to confront—in the coming century. Each chapter examines strategies that are currently being tested across the country as scientists, citizen-­scientists, policy makers, academics, and activists work to grasp their options and opportunities for a future that will be shaped by ongoing environmental upheaval. Successful adaptation to the challenges of climate change requires a transdisciplinary perspective. Forest Conservation in the Anthropocene provides a compelling set of arguments and case studies that underscores the need for innovative policies and energetic actions. Contributors: Craig D. Allen, Mark Anderson, Susan Beecher, R. Travis Belote,  Timothy J. Brown, Anne A. Carlson, Tim Caro, Grace K. Charles, Dave Cleaves, Dena J. Clink, Ayesha Dinshaw, R. Kasten Dumroese, Jonas Epstein, Alexander M. Evans, Todd Gartner, Jessica E. Halofsky, Nels Johnson, Linda A. Joyce, Paige Lewis, Laura Falk McCarthy, Heather McGray, Constance I. Millar, James Mulligan, Chadwick Dearing, David L. Peterson, Will Price, Janine M. Rice, Jason Riggio, Tania Schoennagel, Mark L. Shaffer, Curt Stager, Scott L. Stephens, Thomas W. Swetnam, Gary M. Tabor, Christopher Topik, Monica G. Turner, Thomas T. Veblen, Alexandra M. Weill, Anthony L. Westerling, Carolyn Whitesell, Mary I. Williams Contents Acknowledgments Introduction. Forest Conservation and Management in the Anthropocene / V. Alaric Sample Section I. Changing Climatic Regimes and Forest Ecosystems Chapter One. Climate Change in the Age of Humans / Curt Stager Chapter Two. Invasive Plants, Insects, and Diseases in the Forests of the Anthropocene / Alexander M. Evans Chapter Three. Climate and Wildfire in Western US Forests / Anthony L. Westerling, Timothy J. Brown, Tania Schoennagel, Thomas W. Swetnam, Monica G. Turner, and Thomas T. Veblen Chapter Four. Forest Ecosystem Reorganization Underway in the Southwestern United States: A Preview of Widespread Forest Changes in the Anthropocene? / Craig D. Allen Section II. Assessing Vulnerability and Threats to Current Management Regimes Chapter Five. Increasing Resiliency in Frequent Fire Forests: Lessons from the Sierra Nevada and Western Australia / Scott L. Stephens Chapter Six. Protected Areas under Threat / Tim Caro, Grace K. Charles, Dena J. Clink, Jason Riggio, Alexandra M. Weill, and Carolyn Whitesell Chapter Seven. Mitigating Anthropocene Influences in Forests in the United States / Chadwick Dearing Oliver Section III. Adaptation Strategies for Biodiversity Conservation and Water Protection Chapter Eight. Planning the Future’s Forests with Assisted Migration / Mary I. Williams and R. Kasten Dumroese Chapter Nine. Maintaining Forest Diversity in a Changing Climate: A Geophysical Approach / Mark Anderson and Nels Johnson Chapter Ten. Adaptation: Forests as Water Infrastructure in a Changing Climate / Todd Gartner, Heather McGray, James Mulligan, Jonas Epstein, and Ayesha Dinshaw Chapter Eleven. Water Source Protection Funds as a Tool to Address Climate Adaptation and Resiliency in Southwestern Forests / Laura Falk McCarthy Section IV. Transdisciplinarity in the Anthropocene Chapter Twelve. Implementing Climate Change Adaptation in Forested Regions of the Western United States / Jessica E. Halofsky, Linda A. Joyce, Constance I. Millar, David L. Peterson, and Janine M. Rice Chapter Thirteen. Challenges and Opportunities for Large Landscape-Scale Management in a Shifting Climate: The Importance of Nested Adaptation Responses across Geospatial and Temporal Scales / Gary M. Tabor, Anne A. Carlson, and R. Travis Belote Chapter Fourteen. Climate Change Effects on Forests, Water Resources, and Communities of the Delaware River Basin / Will Price and Susan Beecher Section V. Evolving Institutional and Policy Frameworks Chapter Fifteen. Policy Challenges for Wildlife Management in a Changing Climate / Mark L. Shaffer Chapter Sixteen. Evolving Institutional and Policy Frameworks to Support Adaptation Strategies / David Cleaves and R. Patrick Bixler Chapter Seventeen. Forest Conservation in the Anthropocene: Policy Recommendations / V. Alaric Sample, Christopher Topik, and Paige Lewis Works Cited List of Contributors Index