A team of natural resource specialists, managers, and scientists representing the Driftless Area came together for a virtual three-day workshop in December of 2021 to develop the study design for the ASCC project site. The team developed a set of Desired Future Condition statements, Objectives, and Tactics for each climate adaptation option (resistance, resilience, transition). These three treatments are summarized briefly below:
RESISTANCE
![Researchers touring the Driftless ASCC project site during the workshop](/sites/default/files/inline-images/Driftless%20Area%204.jpeg)
maintain relatively unchanged conditions over time
Management Goals:
- Maintain northern red oak and white oak > 50% BA
- Stocking maintained around 70%
- Increase size and quality of overstory trees
- Maintain sparse and native midstory, allowing for advance regeneration of oak and hickory species
- Reduce prevalence of invasive species
Strategies & Approaches:
- Invasive shrub treatment (honeysuckle, buckthorn, garlic mustard)
- Midstory removal
- Free thinning (~70% stocking)
- Prioritize species as follows: white oak, other oak species (mainly northern red oak), and black walnut
- Repeat thinning in future years; maintain full stocking ~65-70%
RESILIENCE
![Dry mesic forest in the Driftless Area ASCC site](/sites/default/files/inline-images/Driftless%20Area%207.jpeg)
allow some change in current conditions, but encourage eventual return to original
conditions
Management Goals:
- Multi-cohort stand with greater structural complexity, larger trees, and maintained or increased quality
- Favor native mast-producers that are drought, fire, frost, disease, and wind tolerant
- Increase genetic diversity of tree community
- Maintain spare and native midstory, allowing for advance regeneration of oak and hickory species
- Provide hard and soft mast for wildlife
- Reduce prevalence of invasive species
Strategies & Approaches:
- Invasive shrub treatment
- Midstory removal
- Site preparation including prescribed fire if conditions allow
- Underplant intermediate, shade-tolerant, fire-adapted native species
- Continuous cover irregular shelterwood: first and subsequent establishment cuttings will create three 0.75-acre opening and three 0.75-acre patches 40-50% cover
- Free thinning matrix to ~70% stocking
- Retain some dominants as seed trees, plant additional seedlings (chinkapin oak, white oak, northern red oak, black walnut, bur oak, shagbark hickory, black oak, black cherry)
TRANSITION
![The team developing the treatments for the Driftless Area](/sites/default/files/inline-images/Driftless%20Area%205_0.jpeg)
actively facilitate change to encourage adaptive responses
Management Goals:
- Two-cohort stand with greater structural complexity
- Encourage native and novel future-adapted species that are drought tolerant, disease resistant, and/or adapted to fire
- Increase species that are absent or minimal
- Increase species and functional diversity of tree community
- Provide hard mast for wildlife
- Encourage future-adapted species with potential economic value
- Reduce prevalence of invasive species
Strategies & Approaches:
- Invasive shrub treatment
- Midstory removal
- Site preparation including prescribed fire if conditions allow
- Underplant with future-adapted species
- Clearcutting with reserves (a.k.a. variable retention harvest): retain 20% overstory; some aggregated (0.25-0.5 acres in area) and some dispersed
- Increase future-adapted species, including native and new, future-adapted species (white oak, northern red oak, black walnut, bur oak, shagbark hickory, mockernut hickory, pignut hickory, Shumard oak, post oak, tulip poplar, shortleaf pine)