Climate Adaptive Silviculture Pilot Demonstration Project

Forest managers and landowners need robust examples of how to integrate climate-informed management into traditional silvicultural planning and on-the-ground management actions. This project, funded through the Fred Russ Endowment Fund, will develop a pilot demonstration site at the Fred Russ Experimental Forest in southwestern Michigan.

The long-term demonstration site will showcase various approaches to managing forests for climate change considerations, including variable harvest treatments to promote regeneration and adaptive capacity, control of invasive species, assisted migration and tree plantings, as well as a control site to inform stand-level response to forest adaptation interventions. The demonstration site will feature a set of permanent monitoring plots to track carbon dynamics and other traditional forest metrics, providing valuable information about how management actions can alter future forest dynamics.

This funding also allows for the development of education and outreach materials seeking to introduce forest managers, landowners, and the general public to concepts, approaches, and tools that help integrate climate change considerations into forest management decision-making support the health and biodiversity of forests through the Midwest.

The Fred Russ Experimental Forest (FREF) was established in 1942 as a gift of 580-acres of forested land to MSU’s Department of Forestry. The FREF has grown to more than 900 acres in Volinia and Newberg Townships, encompassing a diversity of forest ecosystems including old growth, young forest, plantation trials, and recently harvested plantations. FREF is also listed on the National Park Service National Natural Landmark. FREF has recently experienced some forest health issues related to oak species, leading to widespread white oak mortality in certain areas. Fred Russ Forest has a unique quality that combines forestry research in a setting that is also conducive to forest recreation. The diversity of sites offers numerous opportunities for research, outreach/extension, and teaching. FREF is accessible to the public via foot and by non-motor vehicles via a country roadside park and remains popular with hikers, runners, and local nature enthusiasts.