Modelling forest development in the Mackenzie Basin under a changing climate ...

• Main Author: Hartley, Mary Isobel
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: University of British Columbia 2009
• Subjects: Mackenzie Basin
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.14288/1.0075231; https://doi.library.ubc.ca/10.14288/1.0075231

The purpose of this study was to explore relationships between baseline climate conditions (1951- 1980), and forest composition and productivity, over the Mackenzie Basin at the forest inventory unit level, for use in the development of a forest productivity model. The Mackenzie Basin Forest Productivity model (MBFP model) was then constructed to project the climate-related forest attributes through climate change conditions, as predicted by global circulation models (GCMs). The tree species studied were black and white spruce (Picea mariana (Mill.) B.S.P. and Picea glauca (Moench) Voss.), jack pine (Pinus banksiana Lamb.), lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta Dougl.) trembling aspen (Populus tremuloides Michx.), and paper birch (Betulapapyrifera Marsh.). Only 18% of the area within the Mackenzie Basin had adequate forest inventory information for use in building the climate relationships and the MBFP model. The aggregation method used for multiple stand records within inventory units was described, with the ...