Assisted migration of tree species and seed provenances as means to improve forest resilience in climate change

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200209153

Climate is predicted to change at a significantly faster pace than the natural migration and adaptation capacity of trees, thus disrupting the link between climate and local adaptations. Planting alternative tree species and utilizing the tree species intrinsic adaptive capacity are considered to be the most promising adaptation strategy. In Europe, the utilization of forest reproductive material is regulated by European and National legislation which define National Regions of Provenance. These regions differ among countries and do neither reflect climate conditions nor climate change. However, climate change may render the local seed sources maladapted, while optimum seed sources may be the ones located outside of these defined regions. Therefore a transnational approach is required to integrate the link between local adaptation and climate change into reforestation policies. Based on results of the cooperation project SUSTREE, we will demonstrate how transnational delineation models for forest seed transfer and genetic conservation can be used to improve the productivity and resilience of forest in climate change.
Keywords: Native tree, non-native trees, local adaptation, reforestation