The region's forests will be affected by a changing climate during this century, but individual tree species will respond uniquely to climate change, depending on their particular silvics and ecological tolerances. These handouts summarize general climate change projections for tree species across several large landscapes in New England and northern New York based on future projections from the USFS Climate Change Tree Atlas. The general trends derived from these models can be combined with local knowledge and management experience to judge risk on a particular site.
The following documents provide summarized lists of projected tree species responses to climate change, updated in 2020 to reflect new model results.
The New England and New York Forest Ecosystem Vulnerability Assessment contains additional information on regional climate change impacts on forests. The USFS Climate Change Tree Atlas website contains more detailed information on projected changes for 125 eastern tree species and additional regional summary tables.