Best Native Trees for our Changing Climate
Climate change has many impacts on the natural environment and there are many ways we can help reduce climate change. There is yet another way to help with the impacts of climate change. Planting a diversity of trees that are predicted to thrive in a changing climate will help the landscape adapt and become more resilient.
Minnesota's climate is changing. Average temperatures have increased 1 - 3 ◦F statewide with the greatest temperature increases in the winter. Total precipitation has increased with more intense rainfalls. Despite the increase in total precipitation, there have been more days between precipitation events, which increases the potential for drought. The US National Climate Assessment predicts that these trends will continue in Minnesota. By the end of the century, Minnesota will likely have the summer climate of Nebraska and Kansas (Figure 1). Plant communities and habitat types will change along with the changing climate. Most tree species northward range are predicted to shift about 300 miles by the end of the century (McKenney et al. 2007). The change in tree cover alters the understory and the habitat for wildlife. One way to help the landscape adapt and become more resilient is to plant a diversity of trees and include species from more southern areas.
US Forest Service climate change models predict these trees are likely to thrive in a changing climate in the Metro region:
| Tree Species | Habitat |
| American elm * | Average – Moist soil, floodplains, deciduous forest, swamps |
| Basswood | Deciduous forests, woodland edges |
| Black Oak | Savanna |
| Black Walnut | Mixed forest, Savannas, banks |
| Bur Oak | Forest to open prairie |
| Cottonwood | Lowland forests along along lakes and streams, floodplains |
| Hackberry | Average – Moist soil, Hardwood forest, floodplains, river bank |
| Shagbark hickory | Upland dry forest |
| Silver maple | Floodplain forest, riverbanks |
| White Oak | Upland dry forest |
| * disease resistant needed Consider the habitat, moisture, soil, and sun conditions when selecting trees for your property. | |
https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/treecare/best-native-yard-trees.html
McKenney DW Pedlar JH Lawrence K Campbell K Hutchinson MF. 2007. Potential impacts of climate change on the distribution of North American trees. BioScience 57:939-948.
