- Fisheries and Aquaculture
- Forestry
- Natural Resources Recreation & Tourism
- Water & Soil
- Wildlife Ecology & Management
- Facilities/Labs
- Overview
- Aquatic Biotechnology & Environmental Laboratory (ABEL)
- Aquatic Toxiciology Lab
- B. F. Grant Memorial Forest
- Charles Terrell Memorial Timber Farm
- Cohutta Fisheries Center
- Cooper Tract
- Denmark Forest
- Dorothy Warnell Research, Education and Demonstration Forest
- Fiber Supply Assessment
- GIS and Spatial Analysis Lab
- Hardman Memorial Park
- Herpetology Lab
- Oconee Forest Park
- Pete Phillips Laboratory for Nutrient Cycling Science
- Tree Health Care Outreach Laboratory
- Thompson Mills Forest (State Arboretum)
- Watson Springs Forest
- Whitehall Forest
- Wildlife Damage Laboratory
- Centers
- Center for Forest Business
- Center for Invasive Species and Ecosystem Health
- Consortium for Accelerated Pine Productivity Studies (CAPPS)
- Piedmont-South Atlantic Coast Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (PSAC CESU)
- Plantation Management Research Cooperative (PMRC)
- Southern Forest Research Partnership (SFRP)
- Southern Regional Extension Forestry
- Timber Mart-South
- Wood Quality Consortium
- USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS)
- USGS Georgia Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Unit
- USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center
- Faculty
Research
Forest Planning in an Era of Climate Change
Dr. Pete Bettinger was recently invited to present a summary of issues for forest planners to consider, as they relate to potential changes in the world's climate, at the 2009 IUFRO International Conference on Multipurpose Forest Management in Niigata, Japan. In sum, changes in the world's climate may alter the state of forests across broad areas, through changes in tree species composition, tree productivity rates, and natural disturbance regimes. These changes could have a cascading effect on associated environmental services, such water yield, wildlife habitat composition, and biodiversity. The location, extent, and magnitude of potential changes to the climate will vary according to current regional climatic conditions. Recognizing that some tree species may be less able to adapt to changing conditions, and adding socio-economic change projections (development and recreational opportunities) to forest plans are two ways in which forest planners may need to adjust their planning processes. There also seems to be a need to assess broad-scale forest management scenarios that minimize adverse impacts and vulnerability to the uncertainties associated with insect, disease, drought, windthrow, and wildfire. This type of planning process would need to account for changes in climatic variables and associated changes in disturbance regimes, and the recognize that some forests may be more vulnerable during the adjustment period. This discussion paper was recently (2011) published in the Journal of Forest Planning. For a copy, please contact Dr. Pete Bettinger (pbettinger@warnell.uga.edu).