Global warming in the next century — DNR and other managers of forests look ahead that far — could increase the productivity of the Pacific Northwest’s high-elevation forests but also decrease growth at lower elevations (below 3,000 feet), a new study suggests. Those lower elevation forests have provided more than 80 percent of the region’s timber harvest in recent years. The study was just published in the professional journal Forest Ecology and Management by researchers from the College of Forestry at Oregon State University and the Pacific Northwest Research Station. The researchers used several climate scenarios. The study is worth noting for at least three reasons: (1) the private forestlands that account for most of the Pacific Northwest’s timber harvests over the past decade are concentrated at lower elevations; (2) the majority of high elevation forestland is publicly owned; and (3) forests at all elevations could play a big role in the possible use of ‘carbon credits” and future efforts to reduce greenhouse warming. No conclusions here, but definitely more questions to answer. Read about the study.
DNR has several efforts aimed at studying and improving forest health — both public and private — in Washington State. Read highlights of our latest report (2008) with the U.S. Forest Service on forest health in Washington.
