Guest Speaker Maria Janowiak Presented: "Forests in a Changing Climate"

On Thursday, October 25, 2012 CMN welcomed guest lecturer Maria Janowiak. Janowiak is a Climate Change Adaptation and Carbon Management Scientist at the Northern Institute of Applied Climate Science. She spoke to about 25 students, staff and faculty on “Forests in a Changing Climate.”

Janowiak presented data which supports evidence of a warming climate and said that large-scale data shows that the earth is the warmest it has been in over 400,000 years. She noted the pressing importance to reduce greenhouse gas emissions globally.

One of the most noticeable areas climate change is seen is via season change. “The biggest changes we've seen in our region in the last 50-100 years is in winter,” said Janowiak  People have been measuring ice for years and locals are recognizing huge changes. "Not only does it affect the ecology of lakes, but also the community like in winter recreation and ice road access," said Janowiak  Additionally, shorter winters mean conditions will increasingly become more unsuitable for wildlife, causing disease and population decline. 

Summer precipitation is difficult to predict, but data supports rainfall changes. "When you dig down to what it looks like at a seasonal viewpoint, it looks like it’ll be wetter in spring and fall," said Janowiak  There will also be more extreme events, such as storms like 'Superstorm Sandy.' Although they can't be predicted and recorded as quantifiable as temperature change, "what you can do is look at trends over time and intensity and severity," said Janowiak.

Forests are particularly in danger because they cannot adapt as quickly as animals, for example, in the case of migrating. "The pace climate change is going is moving much faster," said Janowiak  "It's uncertain if trees can keep up." Based on weather predictions, scientists and foresters are starting to think about planting vegetation in different regions to acclimate. "In the case of moving trees, the question right now is, how are they going to get there," said Janowiak.

In all cases, scientists are developing different storylines and scenarios and Janowiak says that although some ecosystems are in serious risk, some, thankfully, are not. CMN thanks Maria Janowiak for presenting as a guest lecturer.