Climate Change and Its Impact on Adaptation and Intraspecific Variability of Conifer Species of the European North of Russia

Current climate change is affecting forests and requires a specific forest management strategy. The review aims to analyze the impact of observed and projected climate change on the tree species adaptation response with regard to their intraspecific differentiation to determine the potential for further research and develop forest management adjustments in the Russian European North. The article shows that long-term responses in forest ecosystems are related not only to thermal shifts, but also to changes in moisture regime, insolation, distribution of pathogens, etc. Changes in forest ecosystems may involve physiological and genetic mutations in all species and be extended over several generations. Species must undergo evolutionary adaptation due to genetic mutations. With steady warming and changes in air and soil moisture regimes, forest productivity may increase due to a change in the growing season length, increasing photosynthetic activity. On the other hand, productivity is likely to decrease as a result of reduced precipitation and drought. Climatic changes over the vast territory of Russia will occur gradually, and their level will be different in geographically diverse regions. The forest-forming tree species will exhibit various short-term responses associated with the geographical location of the population and the climatic conditions under which the plants evolved during the stable climatic period following their dispersal in the Holocene. At the same time, inherited growth and development parameters will respond to changing climatic conditions, which will be determined by the geographical location of the forest species and their population characteristics. The differential response of tree species needs to be considered when planning forest management measures, adapting them to possible climatic changes.