Ecosystem productivity and the impact of climate change

Abstract

Earlier analyses of the supply and demand of timber assumed the continuation of historical climate and thus, did not explicitly incorporate factors such as temperature or precipitation into the projections of timber growth. Forests are adapted to local climates and changes in these climates are likely to impact future forest growth and timber outputs. Within the strategic planning process of the Forest Service, the analysis of ecosystem productivity, as influenced by climatic factors, has been identified as a critical question in order to address the challenging problems associated with climate change: What are the likely effects of increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide and prospective climate change on ecosystem productivity, as measured by changes in net primary productivity? Individual chapters from this publication

Parent Publication

• The impact of climate change on America's forests

Citation

Joyce, Linda A.; Nungesser, Martha. 2000. Ecosystem productivity and the impact of climate change. In: Joyce, Linda A.; Birdsey, Richard, technical editors. 2000. The impact of climate change on America''s forests: a technical document supporting the 2000 USDA Forest Service RPA Assessment. Gen. Tech. Rep. RMRS-GTR-59. Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. p. 45-68