Climate Change May Cause Forests to Have a Makeover

Climate change may cause forests to have a makeover. Scientists have found that forest soils across New England will store fewer nutrients and metals-some beneficial and some harmful-as climate change prompts maples and other deciduous trees to replace the region's conifers.

In this latest study, the researchers looked at various climate and land-use scenarios. Under these scenarios, coniferous stands are expected to lost 71 percent to 100 percent of their current range to deciduous stands across New England by 2085, particularly in Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine. This is largely due to increased temperature and precipitation and changes in timber harvesting.

"Based upon our findings, we conclude that a shift form coniferous to deciduous vegetation could decrease the accumulation and retention of major metals," said Justin Richardson, one of the researchers, in a news release. "Our results can help forest managers and biogeochemists assess the future impact of changing vegetation type on plant-essential and pollutant metal cycling in forests across the region."

Under various climate and land-use scenarios, coniferous stands may lose 71 to 100 percent of their current range to deciduous stands across New England by 2085. This is particularly true for Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine, due to increased temperature and precipitation and changes in timber harvesting. Deciduous trees have very different ecological characteristics than conifers, so this switch could impact how they cycle nutrients and store toxic metals in their soil.

The findings reveal a bit more about what might happen to forests in the future. More specifically, it could cause major shifts in the ecology of a region.

The findings are published in the journal Plant and Soil.

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