Informing climate adaptation strategies using ecological simulation models and spatial decision support tools

Introduction: Forest landscapes offer resources and ecosystem services that are vital to the social, economic, and cultural well-being of human communities, but managing for these provisions can require socially and ecologically relevant trade-offs. We designed a spatial decision support model to re...

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Published in:Frontiers in Forests and Global Change Vol. 6; p. 1269081
Main Authors: Furniss, Tucker J., Povak, Nicholas A., Hessburg, Paul F., Salter, R. Brion, Duan, Zhuoran, Wigmosta, Mark
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Lausanne Frontiers Media SA 23.11.2023
Frontiers Media S.A
Subjects:
Adaptation
carbon
Carbon sequestration
Climate adaptation
Climate change
Decision support systems
Ecological effects
ecological modeling
Ecosystem services
Ecosystems
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
forest landscape models
Forests
Hydrology
LANDIS-II
Landscape
landscape ecology
Neighborhoods
Planning
Precipitation
Simulation models
Spatial distribution
Strategic management
Stream flow
temperate forests
Tradeoffs
Wildfires
Wildland-urban interface
ISSN:2624-893X, 2624-893X
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:Introduction: Forest landscapes offer resources and ecosystem services that are vital to the social, economic, and cultural well-being of human communities, but managing for these provisions can require socially and ecologically relevant trade-offs. We designed a spatial decision support model to reveal trade-offs and synergies between ecosystem services in a large eastern Cascade Mountain landscape in Washington State, USA.Methods: We used process-based forest landscape (LANDIS-II) and hydrology (DHSVM) models to compare outcomes associated with 100 years of simulated forest and wildfire dynamics for two management scenarios, Wildfire only and Wildfire + Treatments. We then examined the strength and spatial distribution of potential treatment effects and trends in a set of resources and ecosystem services over the simulation period.Results: We found that wildfire area burned increased over time, but some impacts could be mitigated by adaptation treatments. Treatment benefits were not limited to treated areas. Interestingly, we observed neighborhood benefits where fire spread and severity were reduced not only in treated patches but in adjacent patches and landscapes as well, creating potential synergies among some resource benefits and services. Ordinations provided further evidence for two main kinds of outcomes. Positive ecological effects of treatments were greatest in upper elevation moist and cold forests, while positive benefits to human communities were aligned with drier, low- and mid-elevation forests closer to the wildland urban interface.Discussion: Our results contribute to improved understanding of synergies and tradeoffs linked to adaptation and restoration efforts in fire-prone forests and can be used to inform management aimed at rebuilding resilient, climate-adapted landscapes.
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SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
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AC05-76RL01830; SC0017519
PNNL-SA-189192
USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Office of Sustainable Transportation. Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO)
ISSN:2624-893X
2624-893X
DOI:10.3389/ffgc.2023.1269081