Climate-Smart Forestry: Characteristics, Benefits and Trade-offs (BN-26-01)

 Authored by:

Sara Correa García, PhD, Senior Research Scientist, Canadian Forestry / Chercheuse scientifique senior, Foresterie canadienne Kevin Solarik, PhD, Director, Canadian Forest Sustainability – Directeur, Durabilité des forêts canadiennes

Abstract

Climate change is transforming Canada’s forest ecosystems, with its boreal and temperate forests across the country expected to experience major shifts in temperature and precipitation patterns. Consequently, increased drought, wildfire, and insect and disease outbreaks are already being observed, contributing to higher carbon emissions, tree mortality, and regeneration challenges. These stressors threaten forest ecosystem integrity, long-term productivity, and the capacity of forests to provide multiple ecosystem services, including habitat for wildlife, carbon storage, timber, water regulation, and cultural values.

Canada’s forestry sector has traditionally relied on sustainable forest management (SFM) to balance the environmental, social, and economic values of forests. Despite SFM increasing recognition of climate risks and growing efforts to strengthen adaptation to climate-related disturbances, recent assessments indicate that conventional SFM has struggled to fully integrate adaptation and mitigation objectives cohesively, particularly under accelerating natural disturbances and emerging uncertainties.

In this context, climate-smart forestry (CSF) has emerged as a strategic evolution of SFM, explicitly integrating strategies to (1) improve forest adaptation to a changing climate, (2) advance climate change mitigation through forests and forests products, and (3) ensure the continued provision of social values from forests. This Briefing Note introduces CSF, summarizes how its components align with and extend SFM in Canada, reviews key ecosystem services trade-offs among CSF objectives, and identifies major barriers and opportunities for advancing climate-responsive forest management in Canada.

Keywords

Adaptation, Climate Change, Climate-Smart Forestry, Ecosystem Services, Forestry, Forest Management, Mitigation, Sustainable Forest Management, Social Values, Trade-Offs

Related Resources

Technical Bulletin No. 1097: Climate-Smart Forestry: Characteristics, Benefits, and Trade-Offs