This project will build upon a recently completed synthesis product for the Southwest and review and analyze vulnerability assessments of aquatic species and habitats within the Southern Rockies Landscape Conservation Cooperative. Southwestern riparian systems support a disproportionate amount of the regional biodiversity and are likely to be strongly affected by changes in climate with a concordant disproportionate effect on surrounding landscapes and features. The SRLCC encompasses the Upper Colorado River Basin and a portions of the Lower Colorado and Rio Grande Basins. These systems represent some of the most critical water sources in the west and are likely to experience some of the most extreme changes in climate.
Our recent review of terrestrial-based systems found 14 assessments that consider the vulnerability of Western or Southwestern riparian species or habitats to climate change. These assessments identify several issues including increased water temperatures with multiple effects for temperature dependent species, changes in precipitation events, decreased snowpack, changes to the timing of flood regimes, less flow, reduced water tables, and the spread of invasive species in both aquatic and riparian habitats.
FY2013This project will build upon a recently completed synthesis product for the Southwest and review and analyze vulnerability assessments of aquatic species and habitats within the Southern Rockies Landscape Conservation Cooperative. Southwestern riparian systems support a disproportionate amount of the regional biodiversity and are likely to be strongly affected by changes in climate with a concordant disproportionate effect on surrounding landscapes and features. The SRLCC encompasses the Upper Colorado River Basin and a portions of the Lower Colorado and Rio Grande Basins. These systems represent some of the most critical water sources in the west and are likely to experience some of the most extreme changes in climate.
Our recent review of terrestrial-based systems found 14 assessments that consider the vulnerability of Western or Southwestern riparian species or habitats to climate change. These assessments identify several issues including increased water temperatures with multiple effects for temperature dependent species, changes in precipitation events, decreased snowpack, changes to the timing of flood regimes, less flow, reduced water tables, and the spread of invasive species in both aquatic and riparian habitats.
