Successional Responses to Natural Disturbance, Forest Management and Climate Change in British Columbia Forests

Natural and human-induced disturbance such as wildfire, insect and disease outbreak, windthrow, and forest harvesting are important drivers for forest renewal, post-disturbance stand structure, and ecosystem function. Each disturbance or combination of disturbances sets up a forest to proceed down a certain successional pathway in terms of structure and function. Using the context of Ecoprovinces and Ecosystem Types, successional pathways of a variety of ecosystems found in British Columbia are briefly described,and the ways in which forest management practices have affected those pathways are discussed. This Extension Note also describes how projected changes in temperature and precipitation may also affect these natural disturbance drivers. The information contained in this article is based on a larger synthesis report that is available in FORREX Series 28 and is designed to facilitate further conversation around building resistant and resilient forests for the future.