Table 5. Judgments of forest practitioners on the importance of adaptation options to maintain the productive capacity of forest ecosystems in the Champagne and Aishihik Traditional Territory for each of three scenarios: “current climate conditions,” “low scenario of future climate change by the 2050s,” and “high scenario of future climate change by the 2050s.” Scale of 1 to 10 (0 = no importance, 1 = low importance, 10 = high importance) or don’t know. Results shown are the average rank and standard deviation (s.d.) of participants who provided a ranking. The percentage of participants who agree or strongly agree with the statement “this management option is currently being practiced in the Yukon” is also provided. Adaptation options in bold are considered to be “no-regrets” (option is ranked 7 or higher across range of scenarios).
| |
| |
|
Adaptation Option |
Current Practice |
Current
Importance |
Importance Considering Projected Change 2050s
|
|
Low Scenario |
High Scenario |
|
(%) |
Average Rank
(s.d.) |
Average Rank
(s.d.) |
Average Rank
(s.d.) |
| |
|
Practice high-intensity plantation forestry in selected
areas to promote growth of commercial tree species. |
10 |
4.3 (3.4) |
5.1 (3.2) |
5.9 (3.3) |
|
Assist in tree regeneration |
53 |
5.6 (2.2) |
6.3 (3.0) |
7.1 (2.7) |
|
Employ vegetation control techniques to offset drought
|
3 |
3.7 (2.3) |
4.9 (2.4) |
6.0 (2.9) |
|
Plant genetically modified species and identify more
suitable genotypes |
7 |
4.2 (3.6) |
5.0 (3.5) |
5.7 (3.5) |
|
Enhance forest growth through forest fertilization
|
0 |
1.6 (2.2) |
2.1 (2.4) |
2.4 (2.8) |
|
Apply silvicultural techniques that maintain a diversity
of age stands and mix of species |
66 |
7.6 (1.9) |
8.2 (1.6) |
8.5 (1.6) |
|
Actively manage forest pests |
7 |
4.4 (3.2) |
5.0 (3.3) |
5.5 (3.7) |
|
Underplant with other species or genotypes where the current
advanced regeneration is unacceptable as a source for the future forest
|
7 |
4.1 (3.8) |
4.8 (3.6) |
5.4 (3.5) |
|
Selectively remove suppressed, damaged, or poor-quality
individuals to increase resource availability to the remaining trees
(precommercial thinning) |
7 |
4.1 (3.6) |
4.6 (3.4) |
5.1 (3.4) |
|
Reduce the rotation age followed by planting to speed the
establishment of better-adapted forest types |
16 |
3.4 (3.3) |
4.1 (3.2) |
4.8 (3.4) |
|
Control those undesirable plant species that will become
more competitive in a changed climate |
13 |
4.1 (2.8) |
5.2 (2.7) |
5.9 (3.0) |
|
Relax rules governing the movement of seed stocks from one
area to another; examine options for modifying seed transfer limits and
systems |
20 |
3.3 (3.1) |
4.3 (2.9) |
5.0 (3.2) |
|
Include climate variables in growth and yield models in
order to have more specific predictions on the future development of
forests |
33 |
6.7 (2.9) |
7.5 (2.3) |
8.2 (2.1) |
|
Design and establish a long-term multi-species / seedlot
trial to test improved genotypes across a diverse array of climatic and
latitudinal environments |
30 |
6.4 (2.8) |
7.0 (2.3) |
7.7 (2.3) |
|
Minimize disturbance to forest soils |
70 |
7.6 (2.8) |
7.9 (2.6) |
8.2 (2.5) |
|
| |
|