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How tree species are affected by climate change By Frank Gallagher, Ph.D.* O n December 16, 1773, the Boston Tea Party became the recognized event in the revolt against British taxation and catalyst for the American Revolution. Lesser known, but of equal if not greater significance, was the seizure of the colonies' largest trees by King George I. With most of the forests of the British Isles harvested many times over by the 17th Century, England was forced to look elsewhere for timber. In particular, the majestic white pine trees, used in many aspects of construction, were marked by surveyors with three hatchet slashes known as the King's Broad Arrow, claiming them as property of the Royal Navy. The White Pine Riot was an armed conflict that occurred when a warrant was being served to a colonist using marked trees just prior to the Boston Tea Party. The outline of the white pine became a symbol of the American Revolution and adorned many revolutionary war flags, including those flown at the battle of Bunker Hill. While our reliance on trees has always been strong, both economically and socially, their future during this era of climate change is uncertain. The warming climate is undoubtedly facilitating a shift in the range of many tree species to more northern latitudes and higher elevations. The USDA Forest Service has predicted a northern march of the northeastern forest communities, such as those dominated by loblolly pine and some oaks and hickories, by up to four degrees by the end of the century, while the more northern assemblages of black spruce, balsam fir, northern white cedar and red spruce will significantly decrease their 18 ANJEC REPORT – Autumn 2024 range . Such generalizations provide a solid contextual understanding at a large scale, but decision making that considers conditions at the site and species level becomes more nuanced. The gray birch (Betula populifolia), for example, is an early colonizer of disturbed sites with a broad tolerance in both hydrologic and edaphic conditions. We have studied this species in an abandoned railyard within Jersey City since the early 1990's and have looked at its distribution, production, and growth in relationship to the area's metal-contaminated soils. An amazingly resilient species, the gray birch dominated much of the site for the past thirty years. Tolerant of high soil metals, it was found to

relationship to the area's metal-contaminated soils. An amazingly resilient species, the gray birch dominated much of the site for the past thirty years. Tolerant of high soil metals, it was found to colonize the site earlier than expected and appears to be resilient despite disturbances such as Superstorm Sandy. In fact, while the forest canopy of the site lost density because of the physical stress of the storm, it recovered quickly. Ten years later, the forest covers a larger area with greater canopy density than it did before the storm. Red pine (Pinus resinosa), on the other hand, is a northeastern species that naturally occurs just north of New Jersey into Canada and throughout the Great Lakes Region. Prized as a fast-growing tree used for timber production, the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) planted it in many areas along or close to the Appalachian Mountain range. Remnants of Roosevelt's New Deal, many red pine stands in New Jersey were planted by the CCC to help put people to work and "improve" timber production during the Great Depression.