Talk:Assisted migration of forests in North America

Few comments for GA

Hi @Mottezen! It's great you've nominated this for GA and worked on it so much. I don't have time to review this I think, but I thought I give some pointers to make you more easily pass.

• You're quoting a lot of scientists. We typically don't like quoting uncontroversial things on Wikipedia, but prefer paraphrasing (in what we call Wikivoice). Try to keep quotes under like 5% of the text and you're fine
• I've deleted quite a few instances of the word "recent", as this becomes quickly outdated (see MOS:RELTIME)
• You're using the word actually, which is a Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Words to watch
• On my computer, some of the images are Wikipedia:SANDWICHed, which may pose a problem for some people with accessibility needs per Wikipedia:ACCIM
• Defusing the controversy feels odd to me as section title. Not sure if it's applicable, but maybe 'acceptance' would be a better title.. FemkeMilene (talk) 20:40, 18 August 2021 (UTC)

Sorry, I got a bit confused, I meant to direct this more to our newer editor (Cbarlow), instead of the nominator, who probably knows these things already :). FemkeMilene (talk) 20:46, 18 August 2021 (UTC)

For the title "Defusing the controversy", I'm not sure there is a better title for the content it covers: communication strategies by assisted migration practitioners to... defuse the controversy. Or maybe more accurately, defuse the controversies. Indeed, think a bigger problem is that this section, along with the one above and below it, discusses both the name debate as well as the ethical/practical debate regarding assisted migration. I think some work has to be done to rewrite these sections to separate these two issues in two different sections. Also, the coverage on the practical/ethical debate needs to be expanded. Mottezen (talk) 22:42, 18 August 2021 (UTC)

Decide on spelling: US Forest Service or U.S. Forest Service

@Mottezen This is User CBarlow, and this is my first post on this particular talk page, so I hope I have typed in the correct way to alert Mottezen. Almost all the references say U.S. rather than US Forest Service, and most of the text does too. So if you agree we should ensure all text is U.S., I will do a find for US Forest Service and insert the periods. As I recall from a "Find" I did, I think there are 5 or 6. Let me know. Cbarlow (talk) 22:47, 21 August 2021 (UTC)CBarlowCbarlow (talk) 22:47, 21 August 2021 (UTC)

Yes please go ahead it’s important to have a coherent spelling of the U.S. Forest Service Mottezen (talk) 03:11, 22 August 2021 (UTC)

GA Review

This review is transcluded from Talk:Assisted migration of forests in North America/GA1. The edit link for this section can be used to add comments to the review.

Reviewer: Artem.G (talk · contribs) 16:08, 2 January 2022 (UTC)

Hi, I'll be reviewing this article, it would take me a few days to go through the text and sources, so i will post my comments in several bunches. Artem.G (talk) 16:08, 2 January 2022 (UTC)

I just noticed this effort was going on here. I don't have time to get involved here, except I needed to add a para to the Whitebark Pine section about when Canada declared it endangered (2012) and when U.S. declared it "threatened" (Dec 2022). (I did that earlier today.)

PLEASE DON'T CHANGE IT TOO MUCH for a week or two. 60 Minutes CBS news journalists (USA television) contacted me about this topic — and I keep sending them to elements on this wikipedia page. It and the references are very useful, exactly as they are. After 60 Minutes finishes their research for a program, then you all can go at it once again — and I will take the time then to see if I can assist in any way what you are doing.Cbarlow (talk) 22:46, 13 January 2023 (UTC)

Comments/questions

• "The Western Larch (Larix occidentalis) " - shouldn't be capitalized
• "Change in Photosynthetic Activity in Northern Forests 1982–2003; NASA Earth Observatory" - shouldn't be capitalized, and would be great to have a source cited
• drought in the Sierra mountains[disambiguation needed]
• "A classic paper " - why is it classic? I would remove this word, but I'm not a forestry expert.
• "She concluded, "To track climatic changes in the future, caused by the greenhouse effect, however, their range limit would need to move northward 100 km per °C warming.... Many species of trees may not be able to disperse rapidly enough to track climate, and woodland herbs, which have less efficient seed dispersal mechanisms, may be in danger of extinction."" - quotes should be referenced right after them.
• "A 2016 review article defines forestry assisted migration as" - why this source used for the definition? was that review highly influential in its field?
• Also maybe Assisted migration can be added as { {Main|} } article for that section?
• "Forestry assisted migration - 3 types (Williams and Dumroese 2013, USA Forest Service)" - Williams and Dumroese 2013 should be referenced
• "Native bark beetles are now able to kill even the highest elevation trees (Engelmann spruce)" - links to Engelmann spruce and Wolf Creek Pass
• "2012 paper led by John Pedlar (with seven other Canadian foresters as coauthors, plus one American)" - why should it be highlighted here?
• "The authors wrote, "Forestry assisted migration could be viewed as an example of the larger concept of ecosystem services assisted migration, in which species are moved with the primary goal of maintaining a flow of ecosystem services."" - please move reference right after the quote, and not only here, but everywhere.
  • for example, here "In addition to the usual attention to dominant canopy tree species, the authors wrote: "Understory plant species associating with tree species may also have significant influences on productivity, nutrient cycling, and ecosystem stability, and therefore could be a consideration for co-migration with trees to aid in successful establishment when they improve these forest attributes.""
• ""Transition" results from assisted migration of more southerly tree species. Figure 1 in Linda Nagel et al., 2017, "Adaptive Silviculture for Climate Change," Journal of Forestry." would be great to have a real ref with doi here
• "A collaborative team led by U.S. Forest Service staff published a climate-adaptation document in 2017 that included (p. 32) this list of tree species with ranges southward of Chicago that are already capable of living northward." - ref needed
• "(Asimina triloba)" - all latin names should be italized

That's all for now, will return to it tomorrow. Artem.G (talk) 16:08, 2 January 2022 (UTC)

Thank you @Artem.G: for accepting to review this article. I finally had some time this weekend to make the necessary changes you highlighted above. As for your question about the choice of the 2016 review article for the definition of Assisted migration, I will refer the question to user:cbarlow, who added this part in the article. Mottezen (talk) 22:36, 8 January 2022 (UTC)

Thanks for the changes, I will return to the article in the next few days, need to check sources. Artem.G (talk) 12:27, 9 January 2022 (UTC)

More comments:

• "Forestry assisted migration - 3 types[25]" -> "3 types of ..." Y
• "Researchers in conservation biology were the first to publish papers on the pros and cons of using assisted migration" - I think that dates are needed here. "Where the first" - when it was? Y
• "Forestry professionals and scholars, of course, have debated the pros" - 'of course' is not needed Y
• " provoked immediate uproar and controversy in the scientific community." - need to be rephrased. The source cited is titled ""Why we disagree about assisted migration: Ethical implications of a key debate regarding the future of Canada's forests"." - disagreement is not exactly 'uproar' Y
• " Indeed, Assisted migration in forestry would not serve the purpose" - 'Indeed' seems to be unneeded here Y
• "The Canadian Forest Service also produced research showing foresters can benefit from also relocating forest understory plant" - second 'also' is not needed Y
• " The Northern Institute of Applied Climate Science (NIACS) focuses on the northeastern quadrant of the United States. " - their focus on that quandrant is not connected with the text, not sure it's needed Y
• "Conservation biologists who specialize in animal species have argued against the term assisted migration because, unlike trees and other plants, some animals undertake seasonal or annual migrations.[34]" - 'biologists' are plural, but the source is by Seddon, Philip J. Is this statement widespread? Y
• "In 2018 a review paper written by 43 international co-authors[57] (only two of whom are based in North America) stated," - why the gloss about two authors out of 43 is needed? Y
• "stated, "The term 'assisted colonization', adopted ..." - the quote is long, better to move it to < blockquote> Y
• " the term 'managed relocation' may also be offensive," - the ref is to Barlow, Connie. "Part 4. Decolonizing Scientific Language", so maybe it's better to write something like: "Connie Barlow wrote that ...". Y
• "The term "invasive species" was replaced either by a new term, "non-local beings," or by an Ojibwe phrase, "Bakaan ingoji ga-ondaadag," which is defined as "that which comes from somewhere else and now resides here." The document summarized the importance of word choice in this way:" and the quote are unsourced Y
• "Noah Jansen, conservationist staff, explains, "I don't know which of these species are going to thrive in 50 or 100 years. So we cast the net broad and try to have something there that creates habitat for wildlife, sources of cultural significance for tribal members and areas to hunt and gather."[63]" - deadlink, would be great if either archive or any other link be provided. YAdded archive though I can open the link just fine
• "Centuries ago, the arrival of colonizers" - can better range be provided? "From 1700s" or something similar, maybe? Y
• "Research, including study of provenance trials already in place, is ongoing " - 'ongoing' would benefit from some exact dateY
• "But there are also values and stakeholder priorities to consider." - what are these values and priorities? And who are these stakeholders? YI just removed that sentence
• "Oyamel Fir, Abies religiosa is the focal tree." - what is 'focal tree'? Y
• " indicated by weak recruitment of seedlings" - what does it mean? Y
• "First-year survival was strong for southerly sourced seedlings of both Douglas-fir and incense cedar." - unreferenced Y
• "Because deer herbivory of incense cedar, as well as western red-cedar," - can this be rephrased? YI just removed that paragraph because it goes into too much detail on a minor project
• "However, the photo at right shows" - in mobile browser it would be 'right'YSee above
• "Douglas-fir canopy" - is the dash needed? Dash is acceptable, see Douglas-fir
• "The tallest tree in the world is Coast redwood; the most massive tree is the closely related Giant sequoia. Both have non-overlapping native ranges limited to California, although coast redwood extends a few miles northward along the southern-most coast of Oregon. Both species have been planted as landscaping trees in urban areas hundreds of miles northward of their native ranges." - unreferenced Y
• " The legendary fire resistance " - if it's a quote, it need to be sourced. If not, rephrased. Y

@Mottezen: Please ping me once it's done, and mark what's done to track the progress. I will check sources now (I'm in the middle of this). Artem.G (talk) 07:23, 12 January 2022 (UTC)

@Artem.G: I finished all these corrections. As for your question on the definition, I emailed Connie Barlow about it and here was her answer:

As to the need to take another look at the BEST DEFINITION AND SOURCE for "assisted migration" specifically from a forestry in North America standpoint, I did a quick look at other possibilites than the existing 2016 review article definition that is there now.

I can't find anything that is a clear improvement — especially because we should be seeking out just the FORESTRY angle, and not contaminate it with the contentious and animal-centric, endangered species emphasis in conservation biology.

Ideally, we would take the DEFINITION from the two really key earliest FORESTRY papers with assisted migration in their titles: Williams and Dumroese 2013, Journal of Forestry ... OR... Pedlar et al. 2012 "Placing Forestry in the Assisted Migration Debate," but those definitions are technical and not memorable. (We already cite both of those papers elsewhere in the wkipedia page.)

Mottezen (talk) 23:00, 15 January 2022 (UTC)

Thanks for the changes, everything looks good! Images are fine, though some (File:Engelmann spruce killed by native beetles.jpg, File:Redwood-seabeck-wa.jpg, File:Laurelhurst-giant-sequoia.jpg) are not of the highest quality (though still are useful, so it's not a problem). I moved some images to the left, it was too many of them on one side. Sources are good, I've checked some and see no problems. Article is in good shape and so is a GA now, congratulations! Artem.G (talk) 11:22, 17 January 2022 (UTC)

Thank you @Artem.G:, It was a pleasure working with you throughout this process! Mottezen (talk) 22:10, 17 January 2022 (UTC)

A terrific 2-part new series (Aug & Sept 2022) to add to this page

@Mottezen - The Pacific NW (mostly WA and OR but also BC in these articles) was posted Aug and Sept by a journalist news service for that region. Part 1 was already picked up and printed here: https://columbiainsight.org/pac-nws-trees-of-life-are-dying-now-we-know-why/

Part 2 is just published on the news-share site (similar to Yale Environment360 that posts stuff for news and magazines to use). You can see Part 2 still on the journalist group site: https://www.invw.org/2022/09/15/the-forest-service-is-experimenting-with-relocating-tree-species-to-save-them-from-climate-change/

I haven't begun to think how to add the core of the content of these 2 articles to this wikipedia page. Do you want to handle that? Or shall I? Cbarlow (talk) 17:00, 20 September 2022 (UTC)

Did you know nomination

The following is an archived discussion of the DYK nomination of the article below. Please do not modify this page. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as this nomination's talk page, the article's talk page or Wikipedia talk:Did you know), unless there is consensus to re-open the discussion at this page. No further edits should be made to this page.

The result was: promoted by Theleekycauldron (talk) 05:53, 1 February 2022 (UTC)

(

• Comment or view
• Article history

)

• ... that guidelines for the assisted migration of forests in North America were created because Canadian policymakers feared that foresters would pursue an unregulated assisted migration strategy? Source: "proponents of AM argue for a measured and cautious deployment of the practice, in part because [...] of the risk that AM be implemented by private actors."(Klenk. 2015)
  • ALT1: ... that the Torreya Guardians contributed to the assisted migration of forests in North America by relocating the torreya taxifolia outside its native range? Source: "Torreya Guardians turn to assisted migration to help Florida torreyas keep pace with a warming climate" [1]
  • ALT2: ... that as part of the ongoing assisted migration of forests in North America, the western larch were selected for reforestation projects nearly 1,000 kilometers north of its native range? Source: "Meanwhile in BC, where 200 million trees are planted in the province every year, the upper range limit has already been extended by up to 400 km in some cases to allow the steady northward march of large populations—and in the case of the larch, an unprecedented thousand kilometer leap." [2]

Improved to Good Article status by Mottezen (talk) and Cbarlow (talk). Nominated by Mottezen (talk) at 22:06, 17 January 2022 (UTC).

• Wow, an interesting article on a topic I knew nothing about. Recent GA, it is well written and well referenced. The hooks are from the article, and appropriately referenced. Personally I think ALT2 is the more interesting one. QPQ is not needed. @Mottezen: If ALT2 is selected, the DYK might be accompanied by a picture and be eligible as the top hook. Otherwise this appears to be good to go. Constantine ✍ 19:53, 19 January 2022 (UTC)
  • Thank you. I like this high-quality picture of the western larch:

    

    Larix occidentalis

Mottezen (talk) 23:31, 19 January 2022 (UTC)

• @Mottezen: the picture has to be used in the article. How about File:Larix occidentalis 5.jpg? Constantine ✍ 14:04, 22 January 2022 (UTC)

Yea that works. Mottezen (talk) 21:25, 22 January 2022 (UTC)

• Great, then good to go with ALT3: ... that as part of the ongoing assisted migration of forests in North America, the western larch (pictured) were selected for reforestation projects nearly 1,000 kilometers north of its native range?

Western larch

ALT3 to T:DYK/P1 without image

Section on genetic maladaption to climate?

Would adding a section on genetic maladaptation to climate (i.e. what's happen to local tree population growth and survival in the absence of assisteg migration/gene flow) be of use in this article.

Figure's such at Fig. 1 (or a Fig 1 and Fig 2 mashup) on [this page](https://reforestationtools.org/climate-adapted-seed-tool/) could be an easy-to undertand visual aid. Josephaestewart (talk) 22:01, 13 January 2023 (UTC)