PARENT SESSION
Symposium #5: Forest edges: unifying concepts and key research needs..

Organized by: CR Nelson and J Chen
Monday, August 5. 1:00 PM to 3:45 PM. Crystal Ballroom, TCC.

Effects of climate change on carbon cycling and species migration in landscapes with different edges .

Birdsey, Richard^*,1, Iverson, Louis², Riitters, Kurt³, Riemann, Rachel⁴, Pan, Yude¹, ¹ USDA Forest Service, Newtown Square, PA² USDA Forest Service, Delaware, OH³ USDA Forest Service, Research Triangle Park, NC⁴ USDA Forest Service, Troy, NY

ABSTRACT- Changes in carbon cycling and species migration are among the principal effects of climate change on ecosystems. Landscape-scale simulations of the effects of climate change on carbon storage and species migration have distinct patterns associated with landscape characteristics such as degree of fragmentation and associated numbers and kinds of edges. We illustrate these effects using two recent climate change scenarios, extensive field data collected by the USDA Forest Service forest inventory, and landscape-scale simulation models of biogeochemistry and species migration. We analyze the potential effects of climate change on carbon storage in the Delaware River Basin in the Eastern U.S., which can be broadly divided into two landscape types with very different edge characteristics: continuous forest and highly fragmented forest. We analyze the potential effects of climate change on species migration in the State of Ohio in the Midwestern U.S., and compare migration rates for the current fragmented landscape and the landscape of 1800, which was mostly continuous forest. Based on these simulations, we discuss the implications for future carbon cycling and species composition in landscapes with different edge characteristics, and highlight research needs to improve our ability to monitor and project changes, and to provide advice to land managers.

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