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Wildfire occurrence varies among regions and through time due to the long-term impacts of climate on fuel structure and short-term impacts on fuel flammability. Identifying the climatic conditions that trigger extensive fire years at regional scales can enable development of area burned models that are both spatially and temporally robust, which is crucial for understanding the impacts of past and future climate change. We identified region-specific thresholds in fire-season aridity that distinguish years with limited, moderate, and extensive area burned for 11 extensively forested ecoregions in the western United States. We developed a new area burned model using these relationships and demonstrate its application...
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Types: Citation
Abstract (from Springer): Nursery habitats promote the survival of juveniles to the adult population and are often targeted by conservation policies and restoration practices. Managers must choose where to focus limited resources, which is complicated when juveniles utilize multiple habitats. This is particularly applicable to the blue crab (Callinectes sapidus) population in North Carolina, USA, which uses three main habitats, low salinity ephemeral Ruppia maritima seagrass beds, high salinity mixed-species seagrass beds, and shallow marsh detrital habitat (SDH). Spatial variation in early juvenile blue crab density and size-class of blue crab instars (2.2–20 mm) was quantified within the Albemarle-Pamlico estuarine...
Categories: Publication;
Types: Citation
Led by university consortium institutions of the South Central Climate Adaptation Science Center (South Central CASC), this project builds on the successes of similar workshops in 2014, 2016, and 2018 to bring together a cohort of graduate students, post-docs, and early-career environmental professionals within the South Central CASC region and mentor this cohort to become the next generation of USGS leaders and partners. The objectives of the workshop were to: (1) develop the early-career participants’ knowledge, leadership skills, and interdisciplinary collaboration; (2) introduce participants to the goals, structure, and unique research-related challenges of the South Central CASC, its place within the U.S. Department...
Categories: Publication;
Types: Citation
Forests in the western US are increasingly impacted by climate change. Warm, dry conditions associated with climate change both increases fire activity in western forests and make it more difficult for forests to recover after wildfires. If forests fail to recover, they may shift to non-forest ecosystems like grasslands or shrublands. It is important to understand where fires may result in the loss of forests because forests provide a variety of ecosystem services, including carbon storage, water regulation and supply, and biodiversity. Western forests are also integral for the timber industry and valued for their recreation opportunities, which can also support local economies. The goal of this project is to identify...
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Types: Citation
Abstract Natural resource management intertwines with cultural practices and health outcomes for Indigenous peoples. Indigenous communities have managed and contributed to knowledge on ecosystems and sustainability since time immemorial. However, Indigenous communities in California face significant institutional constraints when implementing practices such as cultural burning. Indigenous-led research projects, programs, and political action are crucial to overcoming such constraints. It is important for non-Indigenous researchers to support Indigenous research agendas. This article helps to meet this need by identifying research procedures that respect Indigenous sovereignty and by using methods informed by Indigenous...
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Types: Citation
Abstract (from Nature Reviews Earth & Environment): Extreme heat, drought and moisture excess are increasingly co-occurring within a single growing season, impacting crop yields in global breadbasket regions. In this Review, we synthesize understanding of compound heat and moisture extremes, their impacts on global crop yields and implications for adaptation. Heat and moisture extremes and their impacts become compounded through crop-physiological interactions, heat–moisture couplings in the climate system and crop–atmosphere interactions. Since around 2000, these compound extremes, and hot droughts in particular, have been linked to especially poor harvests (up to 30% yield losses) in regions such as India, Ethiopia,...
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Types: Citation
Climate change is already affecting ecosystems, with the potential to trigger significant and permanent state changes in both natural and human systems. Ecological transformations may stem from gradual changes, or may occur rapidly; for an example, an extensive drought-related mortality event may be coupled with regeneration conditions that are no longer able to support the re-establishment of the historic ecosystem. In addition to climate change, patterns of land use and human water use, and site-scale management history may be important contributors to the degree or pace of change. This project focuses on climate-related risks in the Great Plains of the U.S., a grassland dominated region with a complex history...
Categories: Publication;
Types: Citation
Uncertainty and emerging threats associated with climate change necessitate the development of new approaches for managing forest ecosystems. To address this need the Adaptive Silviculture for Climate Change (ASCC) Network was established to examine the efficacy of three climate adaptation strategies in important forest types across North America: 1) resistance to change by increasing overstory tree health through reduced inter-tree competition, 2) resilience by creating conditions that allow change within the natural range of variability while encouraging greater abundance of native species considered suitable for projected future climate, and 3) transition which involves actively facilitating systems to have a...
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Abstract (from Conservation Science and Practice): Resource managers have rarely accounted for evolutionary dynamics in the design or implementation of climate change adaptation strategies. We brought the research and management communities together to identify challenges and opportunities for applying evidence from evolutionary science to support on-the-ground actions intended to enhance species' evolutionary potential. We amalgamated input from natural-resource practitioners and interdisciplinary scientists to identify information needs, current knowledge that can fill those needs, and future avenues for research. Three focal areas that can guide engagement include: (1) recognizing when to act, (2) understanding...
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Types: Citation
Abstract (from ScienceDirect): Increasing prevalence of hypoxia in shallow waters of U.S. Gulf of Mexico (GoM) estuaries can pose a serious threat to eastern oysters (Crassostrea virginica). Their tolerance to hypoxia, however, is not well characterized, especially at elevated temperatures (>30 °C) typical of GoM estuaries in summer. Moreover, it is unknown whether differences in hypoxia tolerance exist between GoM oyster populations growing in estuaries differing in local environmental conditions. Wild oyster broodstocks were collected from four estuarine sites in Texas (Packery Channel, PC and Aransas Bay, AB) and Louisiana (Calcasieu Lake, CL and Vermilion Bay, VB) and their adult progenies (F1) were tested (Study...
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Types: Citation
Changes in climate and land-use and land-cover (LULC) are expected to influence surface water runoff and nutrient characteristics of estuarine watersheds, but the extent to which estuaries are vulnerable to altered nutrient loading under future conditions is poorly understood. The present work aims to address this gap through the development of a new vulnerability assessment framework that accounts for (a) estuarine exposure to projected changes in total nitrogen (TN) and total phosphorus (TP) loads as a function of LULC and climate change under several scenarios, (b) sensitivity, and (c) adaptive capacity. The framework was applied to 112 estuaries and their contributing watersheds across the contiguous U.S., specifically...
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Abstract (from Springer): Little guidance is available to assist wetland managers in developing climate adaptation plans. To facilitate development of recommendations for adaptation strategies, it is essential to first determine if or how wetland managers are addressing these challenges. We used an online survey to solicit feedback from wetland managers and biologists in the Southern Great Plains of North America to gain information on perceptions of wetland managers regarding climate change; assess how the effects of climate change are being addressed through management; and identify barriers to implementing climate change adaptation. The majority of wetland managers (63%) agreed they are currently experiencing...
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Types: Citation
Abstract (from BioScience): With increasing impacts of climate change observed across ecosystems, there is an urgent need to consider climate change in all future environmental policy. But existing policy and management might be slow to respond to this challenge, leading to missed opportunities to incorporate climate change into practice. Furthermore, invasive species threats continue to rise and interact with climate change—exacerbating negative impacts. Enabling natural resource managers and individuals to be proactive about climate-driven invasive species threats creates a win–win for conservation. Recommendations include expanding opportunities for information sharing across borders, supporting proactive screening...
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