Predicting Douglas-Fir’s Response to a Warming Climate

Photograph by Andrea Watts

U.S. Forest Service Pacific Northwest Research Station Science Findings
November 2015

Douglas-fir is an iconic tree in the Pacific Northwest. Although individual trees may appear to be identical, genetic differences within each tree have resulted from adaptation to the local environment. These genetic differences over time have resulted in differences among populations that are important to the species’ survival and growth in changing climates.

Researchers with the U.S. Forest Service Pacific Northwest Research Station tested how seedlings from different populations of Douglas-fir would grow in temperature and precipitation conditions unlike the climate of their current seed source. Read more…