ESZF Webinar: Using Provenance Test Data to Guide Seed Movement in a Changing Climate
The eleventh installment of the Eastern Seed Zone Forum's online lecture and discussion series aimed at providing both information about the creation of seed zones in general and a forum in which professionals, experts, and interested parties discuss the possibility of drafting seed zone guidelines for the eastern United States. In this webinar, Dr. Leites will discuss efforts to recover and re-analyze provenance tests data for northeastern forest tree species and illustrate how new analyses can inform seed movement under a changed climate.
Data from provenance testing in forestry research conducted in the 1950s-1980s provide a unique opportunity to understand climate adaptation in forest trees and model populations’ responses to climate change. Even though much work has been done in conifers, studies on deciduous tree species adaptation to climate, particularly species of the Northeastern forests, are scarce. By recovering and re-analyzing data from these tests, we can start filling in this gap. Dr. Leites will present results for five deciduous species and one conifer: Acer rubrum (red maple), Betula alleghaniensis (yellow birch), Juglans nigra (black walnut), Prunus serotine(black cherry), Quercus rubra (northern red oak), and Pinus strobus (eastern white pine). She will also discuss implications of these results for reforestation and conservation under a changing climate.
About Dr. Laura Leites
Dr. Laura Leites is an Assistant Professor of Quantitative Forest Ecology at Penn State, Department of Ecosystem Science and Management. Her research focuses on quantitative modeling of forest ecosystem processes and attributes. Studies in her lab include modeling forest tree populations’ responses to climate using data from provenance tests established between the 50s and the 80s. Using modern analytical techniques, her research provides new insights about northeastern tree species adaptation to climate and their potential responses to a changing climate.
About the ESZF
The National Forest System needs your help to develop seed zones for the eastern United States! With the input of forestry and natural resource professionals like you, these seed zones have the potential to provide a common frame of reference for nurseries, arboreta, state and federal agencies, and other natural resource organizations to address sustainable forest management and ecosystem restoration challenges across regional and political boundaries. Visit easternseedzones.com for more information (ezsf.sref.info if you're using the Forest Service's VPN).
ESZF is currently in the process of developing a draft of seed zones for the eastern United States based on 8 areal divisions. If you'd like to join (or LEAD!) an Eastern Seed Zone Forum Seed Zone Team to help with this effort, please REGISTER HERE.
