SCIENCE APPLICATIONS
The Adaptive Silviculture for Climate Change (ASCC) Network is a replicated, operational-scale experiment testing the effectiveness of climate adaptation strategies in a diversity of forest ecosystem types across North America.
The Adaptive Silviculture for Climate Change (ASCC) Network is a collaborative effort led by Linda Nagel at Colorado State University (but NIACS claims her, too!) to establish a series of experimental silvicultural trials in various forest ecosystem types across the United States and Canada. Scientists, land managers, and key partners have co-developed a network of fully-replicated, operational sites and new affiliate sites to study long-term ecosystem responses to a range of climate change adaptation actions. Silvicultural treatments at each study site were developed using the NIACS set of Adaptation Resources and encompass treatments that approximate three broad climate adaptation options: resistance, resilience, and transition.
2020 ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Although the COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way we can do research and work on-the-ground, the ASCC Network continues to find innovative solutions for continuing climate adaptation efforts at the experimental trials across the United States and Canada. From drafting manuscripts, to data collection, to planting future-adapted seedlings, the ASCC Network continues to “adapt” to changing conditions.
LOOKING FORWARD
Interest in ASCC continues to grow. We are working with many collaborators on potential ASCC core and affiliate sites at the following locations:
- The Colorado State Forest, located in a high-elevation spruce-fir forest near Walden, CO
- The John Prince Research Forest, a dry, sub-boreal spruce forest managed cooperatively between Tl’azt’en First Nation and the University of Northern British Columbia, Canada
- An ex-urban affiliate ASCC site at the Mohegan State Forest, CT with the University of Connecticut and the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection
- A series of affiliate ASCC sites in the Driftless Area in IA, WI, and MN
We will also be convening another ASCC Network-wide virtual meeting in winter 2020-21 to continue building collaboration opportunities across sites.
