Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation Management Options ─ A Guide for Natural Resource Managers in Southern Forest Ecosystems

Various management techniques and restoration activities being implemented in forests today will influence ecosystem responses to future climate conditions. This book reviews the prevalent methods for managing southern forests to mitigate the impact of current and future climate change. Chapters cover mitigation management techniques; economic and ecological vulnerability; management options to increase resistance and/or resilience; wildfire trends; insects, pathogens, and invasives; silvicultural tools; managing forest productivity, water quality, and carbon sequestration; as well as managing wildlife, aquatic, and plant species in southern forests.

James M. Vose, Ph.D., is a research ecologist and project leader of the USDA Forest Service, Southern Research Station, Center for Integrated Forest Science (CIFS) at North Carolina State University in Raleigh, North Carolina. Prior to his current appointment as project leader of CIFS, he spent 25 years at the Coweeta Hydrologic Laboratory studying watershed ecosystem responses to disturbances and forest management. He has authored more than 170 scientific papers and serves as adjunct faculty at the University of Georgia, Virginia Tech, and North Carolina State University. He recently served as a co-lead author for the USDA National Climate Assessment Forest Sector Report published in 2012.

Kier D. Klepzig, Ph.D., is an entomologist and assistant director of the USDA Forest Service, Southern Research Station in Asheville, North Carolina. Prior to his current appointment, he spent 14 years as a research entomologist and project leader of the Insects, Diseases, and Invasive Plants Research Unit in Pineville, Louisiana. He studied bark beetle fungal interactions and symbiosis. He has authored more than 90 scientific papers, and serves as an editor for Environmental Entomology. He recently served as a coeditor and coauthor of the landmark book SPBII. He is the most recent winner of the A.D. Hopkins Award for excellence in forest entomology.