Project Area
This 12-acre stand is typed as Northern Dry-Mesic Red Pine/ White Pine Woodland (FDn33a1), according to the Minnesota DNR Ecological Classification System. Prior to treatment, the overstory was dense and dominated by 70-year-old red pine, with small amounts of jack and white pine, paper birch, red maple, and spruce. Regeneration was very limited, and hazel dominated the understory.
Management Goals
Staff from CFC initiated this project to address current and future challenges to forest management including the effects of climate change. The primary goals were to:
- reduce competition among the overstory pines,
- promote new mixes of native tree species, (red, white, and bur oak, and white pine),
- retain large live and dead trees and sensitive plant communities,
- decrease woody competition (hazel),
- protect against herbivory, and
- increase structural diversity (vertical and horizontal).
Climate Change Impacts
Adaptation Actions
After considering the menu of adaptation strategies and approaches from the Adaptation Workbook, CFC staff generated several possible adaptation actions that could be implemented within Stand 57. The foresters opted for a blend of “resistance” and “transition” adaptation actions, because they’re trying to improve the health of existing mature trees and promote development of a new cohort composed of currently present native species and native species on the edge of their northern range. Their ideas were further refined by CFC staff and faculty at the University of Minnesota. The final harvest prescription included the following adaptation ideas:
2.1. Maintain or improve the ability of forests to resist pests and pathogens.
3.1. Alter forest structure or composition to reduce risk or severity of wildfire.
9.1. Favor or restore native species that are expected to be adapted to future conditions.
9.2. Establish or encourage new mixes of native species.