Potential impacts of climate change on the habitat of boreal woodland caribou

Abstract

2018. Potential impacts of climate change on the habitat of boreal woodland caribou. Ecosphere 9(10):Abstract. Boreal woodland caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou) are currently listed as threatened in Canada, with populations in the province of Alberta expected to decline as much as 50 percent over the next 8-15 yr. We assessed the future of caribou habitat across a region of northeast Alberta using a model of habitat-quality and projections of future climate from three general circulation models. We used mapped climatic and topo-edaphic properties to project future upland vegetation cover and a fire simulation model to project the frequency and extent of wildfires. Based on those projections, we quantified the future habitat of caribou according to estimates of nutritional resources and predation risk derived from vegetation cover type and stand age. Grassland vegetation covered up to half of the study area by the 2080s, expanding from <1% in the present and contributing to a significant contraction in mixedwood and coniferous forests. This change in vegetation would increase the risk of predation and disease, as habitat becomes more suitable for white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) and, consequently, gray wolves (Canis lupus). Borne out, these changes would severely compromise the long-term persistence of caribou in the boreal forest of Alberta.

Scientists’ warning on wildfire — a Canadian perspective

“…However, increases in future wildfire activity may severely impact negatively affected species. One such species is the boreal woodland caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou (Gmelin, 1788)), which faces consequential loss of habitat in Alberta under future climate change and wildfire regimes (Barber et al 2018). Furthermore, the synergistic effects of climate change and wildfire are expected to favour invasive species and reduce fire refugia, further altering current patterns of plant and animal biodiversity (McKenzie et al 2004).…”

“We’re Made Criminals Just to Eat off the Land”: Colonial Wildlife Management and Repercussions on Inuit Well-Being

“…Indigenous Peoples around the world continue to rely on wildlife and the natural environment for food security [1], cultural continuity [2], intergenerational learning and sharing [3], livelihoods [4,5], and physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health, and often have deep and enduring relationships with the lands, waters, and wildlife in their homelands [6,7]. Human-induced activities, such as resource extraction [8], deforestation [9], and climate change [10][11][12], are threatening these relationships through habitat degradation and species decline [7,[13][14][15]. Indeed, a recent global assessment conducted by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services [16] documented and reported rapidly deteriorating ecosystems and biodiversity loss.…”

Applications of simulation-based burn probability modelling: a review

“…Combining external models with BP models is not limited to a single-model coupling; Stralberg et al (2018) merged statistical models of future fire potential and future vegetation with BP models to examine how wildfire might catalyse vegetation transitions under future climates. A similar framework was used in a wildlife management application to assess temporal projections of climate and wildfire-mediated changes to caribou habitat quality (Barber et al 2018). The scope of the problems to which BP and coupled secondary models have been applied is broad, encompassing numerous practical forest management applications such as the spatial optimisation of fuel treatments to protect WUI communities (Bar Massada et al 2011), the appraisal of the financial consequences of alternate fire management decisions (Thompson et al 2015;Thompson et al 2017) and the integration of timber harvest planning with fire mitigation activities (Acuna et al 2010).…”