Contact: Trevor Jones
A key part of a plant’s competitive edge is tolerance for changes in climatic and edaphic (soil moisture and nutrient availability) conditions. A species’ ability to out-reproduce, out-grow, and out-survive another species is determined by their relative ability to utilize resources in their environment and to tolerate reduced access to resources. Adding to the competitive challenge is the fact that the relative importance of resources changes across a species’ range.
Little is known about these tolerances in southern and central Ontario tree species, making it difficult to predict how well they would compete under various climate change scenarios. As a result, researchers are conducting a review of the scientific literature on these tree species’ requirements for successful survival and growth across a range of climatic and edaphic conditions.
This review is an early step towards understanding how forest succession could unfold under climate change in southern and central Ontario.
