Global climate is undergoing a period of change. These shifts are expected to have complex interactions with ecosystems worldwide. Indeed, North American forest ecosystems are already showing signs of structural change in some regions. In order to guide the development of forest management strategies relevant under the upcoming period of climatic change, forest managers require reliable forest growth and yield information. This thesis offers an empirical study of the influence of climatic terms on tree productivity in Newfoundland and Labrador using spatially explicit global climate model datasets and rich historic records of tree growth. Given the historic relationships identified, the 21st century warming anticipated within the region might be expected to lead to increased productivity in cooler regions such as Labrador, but decreased productivity in warmer regions such as Newfoundland. Empirical and process-based techniques which could serve as inputs to a growth and yield modelling approach with ongoing value under periods of climate variability were also developed.
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