Rapid Retreat of the Pacific Maritime Forest

Abstract

The temperate maritime climate of the Pacific Northwest region of the United States supports the worlds tallest and most economically productive conifer forests. These forests are vital to local ecosystems and society, and climate perturbations are likely to adversely affect the services these forests provide. This study presents a simple, easily replicated methodology for assessing effects of climate change in these local forests, using species with differential climatic ranges as ecological barometers. A comparative analysis of warm-adapted and cool-adapted species co-occurring within a warming but otherwise climatically homogenous area near the southeast margin of the Pacific maritime forest reveals dramatic differences in tree health and mortality between these climatically differentiated species groups. Our results strongly suggest a rapid decline at the southeastern extent of the Pacific maritime temperate forest, and a need to immediately modify local land management practices to address this new reality.