Millions of acres of California’s forest cover have been lost due to severe wildfire and drought mediatedinsect outbreaks. These acres may not grow back as forests without management action, which could negatively impact carbon sequestration, access to clean drinking water, wildlife habitat and recreation opportunities. Various factors, including limited regeneration potential, hotter and more extreme climatic conditions, and the threat of reburning hinder forest recovery. In recent year researchers have developed numerous tools and resources to help forest managers prioritize where to reforest, and how to implement climate-adaptive strategies. However, forest managers lack the time and resources to review each tool to confidently select which is most appropriate for their specific location and needs. To address this, a team of researchers will create a searchable repository of decision-support resources suited for climate-informed reforestation applications, called the California Reforestation Management Toolshed.
The goal of the Toolshed is to provide a one-stop shop for forest managers in need of decision-support tools to support their reforestation efforts. Relevant tools will be organized and characterized by attributes stakeholders identify as important for selecting a tool suited to their objectives. The Toolshed website will feature user-friendly interface supporting easy navigation and querying of the compiled tools. As a result, users can quickly access tools intended to increase the implementation and success of reforestation projects.
By easing the burden for forest managers to locate, review, and compare decision-support tools suited to climate-informed reforestation efforts, the Toolshed will support the recovery and increased resilience of California’s forests.
