Climate Change, Forest Mortality, and the Need for a Solid Scientific Foundation in Forestry

Abstract

Tree mortality is becoming more common in wild forests, plantations, and orchards. Remedial or preventative counteracting measures are limited because, before the onset of overt dying, reliable methods to distinguish intrinsically healthy trees from unhealthy trees are lacking. Survivotypes within dead populations can nevertheless be identified and conserved in support of achieving suitably adapted future forests.

Keywords

• adaptation
• afforestation
• biodiversity
• environment
• fitness
• forest dynamics