Secretariat of the CBD Technical Series No. Convention on Biological Diversity Forest Resilience, Biodiversity, and Climate Change A Synthesis of the Biodiversity/Resilience/ Stability Relationship43 in Forest Ecosystems FOREST RESILIENCE, BIODIVERSITY, AND CLIMATE CHANGE A Synthesis of the Biodiversity/Resilience/Stability Relationship in Forest Ecosystems Ian Thompson, Canadian Forest Service, 1219 Queen St. East, Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada P6A 2E5 Brendan Mackey, The Australian National University, The Fenner School of Environment and Society, College of Medicine, Biology and Environment, Canberra ACT, 200 Australia Steven McNulty, USDA Forest Service, Southern, Global Change Program, Department of Forestry and Environ- mental Resources, North Carolina State University, 920 Main Campus Dr., Suite 300, Raleigh, NC 27606 USA Alex Mosseler, Canadian Forest Service, 1350 Regent Street South, Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada E3B 5P7 Forest Resilience, Biodiversity, and Climate Change Acknowledgements This document was prepared by Ian Thompson (Canadian Forest Service), Brendan Mackey (The Australian National University and The Fenner School of Environment and Society), Steven McNulty (USDA Forest Service), and Alex Mosseler (Canadian Forest Service). The authors would like to thank the following persons and organizations for providing comments on an earlier draft of this paper: Z. Bennadji (FAO), A. Campbell (WCMC), T. Christophersen (CBD), P. Dewees (World Bank), S. Ferrier (CSIRO), V. Kapos (WCMC), P. Mayer (IUFRO), R. Nasi (CIFOR), J. Parrotta (U.S. Forest Service), O.L. Phillips (University of Leeds), J.A. Prado (FAO), C. Saint-Laurent (IUCN), B. Schamp (Algoma University), the International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO), and the United Na- tions Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). This document has been produced with the financial assistance of the Government of Norway. The views expressed herein can in no way be taken to reflect the official opinion of the Government of Norway. Published by the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity. ISBN 92-9225-137-6 Copyright © 2009, Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity Cover photo credits (from top to bottom): A. Couillaud, A. Zemdega, P. Skubisz, T. Gage The designations employed and the presentation of material in this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the copyright holders concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. This publication may be reproduced for educational or non-profit purposes without special permission from the copyright holders, provided acknowledgement of the source is made. Citation: Thompson, I., Mackey, B., McNulty, S., Mosseler, A. (2009). Forest Resilience, Biodiversity, and Climate Change. A synthesis of the biodiversity/resilience/stability relationship in forest ecosystems. Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity, Montreal. Technical Series no. 43, 67 pages. For further information please contact: Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity World Trade Centre 413 St. Jacques, Suite 800 Montreal, Quebec, Canada H2Y 1N9 Phone: 1 (514) 288 2220 Fax: 1 (514) 288 6588 E-mail: [email protected] Website: http://cbd.int 2 Forest Resilience, Biodiversity, and Climate Change Table of Contents Glossary .......................................................................................................................................................................4 Foreword ......................................................................................................................................................................6 Summary for Policy-makers .....................................................................................................................................7 1. Introduction ............................................................................................................................................................9 1.1 Forests, climate, and climate change ......................................................................................................9 1.2 Definitions of and related to resilience ................................................................................................10 1.3 Components of biodiversity and definitions ......................................................................................12 1.4 Issues of scale and resilience .................................................................................................................13 2. Genetic diversity and resilience to change ........................................................................................................13 3. The relationships among biodiversity, productivity and function, and resilience and stability ................17 3.1 Theoretical background .........................................................................................................................17 3.2 Evidence of a diversity productivity relationship in forests ..............................................................18 3.2.1 Diversity-productivity relationships and forest resilience .........................................................21 3.3 Diversity and stability ............................................................................................................................22 3.3.1 Diversity and invasion of ecosystems ...........................................................................................23 3.3.2 Diversity and insect pests ...............................................................................................................24 3.3.3 Diversity and stability of processes in forests ..............................................................................25 3.4 Summary of diversity-resilience processes .........................................................................................25 4. Resilience, biodiversity, and forest carbon dynamics ......................................................................................25 4.1 Forests and the global carbon cycle .....................................................................................................25 4.2 Biodiversity and resilience of forest-carbon dynamics......................................................................27 5. Case studies of forest resilience and comparisons under climate change by forest biome .........................30 5.1 Boreal forest biome ................................................................................................................................30 5.1.1 Climate change and boreal forest resilience.................................................................................31 5.1.2 Case-study: western North American lodgepole pine ...............................................................31 5.1.3 Case-study: North American boreal mixedwoods .....................................................................31 5.2 Temperate forest biome .........................................................................................................................34 5.2.1 Temperate Forests and Environmental Stressors ........................................................................34 5.2.2 Case-study: Moist evergreen temperate forests ...........................................................................34 5.2.3 Case-study: southern Europe ........................................................................................................37 5.2.4 Case-study: eastern North American deciduous forests ............................................................37 5.3 Tropical forests ........................................................................................................................................39 5.3.1 Climate change and tropical forest resilience ..............................................................................41 5.3.2 Case study: Amazon rain forest .....................................................................................................41 5.4 Summary among forest biomes ............................................................................................................43 6. Conclusions and ecological principles ..............................................................................................................43 6.1 Ecological principles to foster forest ecosystem resilience and stability under climate change ...44 7. Literature cited ......................................................................................................................................................46 3 Forest Resilience, Biodiversity, and Climate Change Glossary Term Definition Source Adaptation Adjustment in natural or human systems in response to actual or ex- UNFCCC pected climatic stimuli or their effects, which moderates harm or ex- ploits beneficial opportunities. Adaptive The ultimate source of adaptive capacity in an ecosystem is the genetic capacity diversity within the populations of its component Biodiversity The variability among living organisms from all sources including ter- CBD or biological restrial, marine, and other aquatic ecosystems and the ecological com- diversity plexes of which they are part; this includes diversity within species, among species, and of ecosystems. Biomass Organic material both above ground and