Key projected climate change impacts that the project team considered for The Jones Center at Ichauway include:
Increased temperatures and drought severity
Changing precipitation amounts and extreme weather events
Increased insects, pathogens, and invasive species
Reduced ability to use prescribed fire as a management tool and potentially more wildfires
Climate change will present challenges and opportunities for accomplishing the management objectives of The Jones Center at Ichauway, including:
Altered vulnerability to future climatic conditions in pine plantations and hardwood forests
Increased mortality rates in pine species from drought
Increased abundance of hardwood stems of all size classes
Longleaf pine is highly resilient to drought and insect-induced mortality and may be suitable on a wider range of sites under projected climate change