Balancing climate change and financial objectives: Exploring management strategies for small woodlot owners in the Maritime provinces

Abstract

Climate change will impact forest dynamics in the Acadian (Wabanaki) Forest Region, necessitating adaptive strategies for sustainable forest management of small woodlots of the Maritime provinces. Using strategic forest management model Remsoft® Woodstock, this study explores the multifaceted impacts of climate change on forest dynamics, management regimes, and revenue in UNB’s Taymouth Woodlot. A comparison of results between the ‘baseline’ and ‘climate adjusted’ scenarios found that climate informed forest management practices may allow small woodlot owners to maintain nearly equivalent annual revenues under conditions of RCP 8.5, with sustainable harvest levels within 5% of baseline conditions. Despite declining productivity in softwood-dominant stand types, harvest levels were maintained by balancing selection harvesting in mixed wood stands, and clearcutting in increasingly productive hardwood stands. However, the declining availability of spruce-fir forest products highlights the potential for supply constraints if local value chains are not adjusted to adapt to the changing climate.