Adaptation Strategies and Actions
Promote drought and heat-tolerant species: Promote adapted trees in oak/pine forests
Promote drought and heat-tolerant species, based on your forest type.
Forests are likely to experience increased temperature and decreased moisture conditions as the climate changes. Therefore, it is important to promote species that are well adapted to these new conditions. Maintaining and promoting a diversity of tree species is generally a good practice to ensure these forests have multiple ways to sustain important functions as climate and disturbance impacts progress.
Action
Promote adapted trees in oak/pine forests
The species composition of oak/pine transition hardwood forest types are typically a combination of species from the oak/hickory central hardwoods and beech-birch-maple northern hardwood forests. Promote the species from these forest types that prefer warmer sites such as red and white oak, white pine, and black birch. In some cases, high levels of deer browse or abundant invasive plants may limit your ability to recruit diverse tree seedlings in these forests. Refer to the resources below on strategies for increasing tree regeneration of future-adapted trees and minimizing these impacts.
