Climate Resilience of Tulip Poplars in Blind Brook Forest

Abstract

As climate change increases stress on ecosystems, there is greater chance of regime shifts within ecological communities that alters their original function, structure, and identity. Forests are a particularly vulnerable regime shift; The impacts of climate change are compounded with urbanization which leaves forests at risk of additional stress factors, such as higher chance of invasive species and pathogenic takeover. Research was conducted in Blind Brook Forest of SUNY Purchase Campus to understand how climate change is impacting forests at a local level. Utilizing dendrochronology, Tulip Poplar growth over the past century was analyzed to determine how changes in precipitation levels are impacting tree growth. Research found that Tulip Poplar growth rates have declined over the last fifty years as the Northeast experiences increased precipitation due to climate changes. This data highlights a gap in climate change research regarding the investigation of increased precipitation on tree growth rates in the Northeastern United States. It additionally can inform climate change mitigation strategies within Blind Brook Forest. It suggests that, without intervention, Blind Brook Forest may experience a regime shift specifically in its structure due to the loss of fast-growing Tulip Poplars. To preserve this forest's identity, an overstory species that is resilient to increased precipitation must be introduced.