The interior of central Canada is expected to experience greater impacts of climate change than
many areas of Canada and the rest of the world (Field and Mortsch 2007). Impacts of particular
concern to forest managers include increased frequency and intensity of fires (Flannigan et al.
2005), increased outbreaks of forest pests, both insects and disease (Johnston et al. 2006),
increased frequency of drought leading to forest dieback, particularly on the southern fringe of
the boreal forest (Hogg and Bernier 2005), and changes to growth and amount of harvestable
wood volume (Johnston and Williamson 2005).
