• Pine barrens are fire-adapted; the dominant non-climate stressor is fire suppression + suburban encroachment shrinking the burnable matrix.
• Southern pine beetle outbreaks have expanded north into the NJ Pinelands as overwintering cold-kill weakens; significant pitch pine mortality is now documented in Long Island and the Pinelands.
• Garden-relevant: pine-barrens natives (pitch pine, bear oak, sheep laurel, native blueberry, sweetfern) are climate-resilient by selection and underused in regional restoration palettes.