Adaptation Options for Climate-sensitive Resources and Ecosystems: Synthesis and Assessment
Linda Joyce
USDA Forest Service Rocky Mountain Research Station
I. BACKGROUND
III. CASE STUDIES
US Climate Change Science Program: Calls for the preparation of 21
Detailed exploration of:
synthesis and assessment products (SAPs) to support policy making and
adaptation decisions
Adaptation
Synthesis and Assessment Product 4.4: Preliminary Review of
Adaptation Options for Climate-Sensitive Ecosystems and Resources
Lead Agency: Environmental Protection Agency
Lead Authors: Susan Julius and Jordan West, US EPA
Office of Research and Development, Washington, DC
Objectives:
− Review options for adaptation to climate change
− Identify ecosystem characteristics and adaptation responses that
promote successful implementation
Audience:
Adaptation is defined as an
adjustment in ecological, social,
or economic systems in response
to climate stimuli and their effects.
Adaptation options seek to reduce
the risk of adverse outcomes
through activities that increase the
ecosystem resilience to climate
change.
II. GENERAL APPROACH
Adaptation options for enhancing
ecosystems resilience include
changes in processes, practices
or structures to reduce anticipated
damages or enhance beneficial
response associated with climate
change.
Structure: Focus on ecosystems and resources in:
• National Parks
• National Estuaries
• Wild and Scenic Rivers
• National Wildlife Refuges
• Marine Protected Areas
• National Forests
Adaptive capacity is the ability of a
system, region, or community to
adapt to the effects of climate
change. Feasibility and effectiveness
will depend on the adaptive
capacity of the ecological system
or social entity.
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Federal, State, and local resource managers
Tribes
Non-governmental organizations
Others involved in management decisions
Questions for each management system:
1. What are the: management goals for the system; ecosystem characteristics on which those
goals depend; stressors of concern; methods currently used to address those stressors; and
ways that climate change could affect attainment of management goals?
2. For selected ecosystem case studies: what are the currently-available management options for
adaptation to climate change?
3. For each case study: how should we define and measure the environmental outcomes of
management actions and their effect on the resilience of ecosystems to climate change?
4. Looking across case studies: what are the factors that affect the successful implementation of
management actions to address impacts from climate change?
5. What are: the research priorities that will yield the necessary tools to protect climate-sensitive
ecosystems and resources?
1. Specific management goals
2. Current condition and stresses
3. Methods being used to meet management goals
- Whether a climate vulnerability is being addressed, and if so,
- How the system’s natural adaptive capacity is considered
4. Effectiveness of current methods in reaching management goals
5. Physical, biological, or human factors that affect successful
implementation
6. Effectiveness of current management practices given future climate
change
7. Methods to alter or supplement current practices to address impacts of
climate change
IV. NATIONAL FORESTS
Established in 1905, the Forest Service manages public lands in
national forests and grasslands – 193 million acres.
Mission of the USDA Forest Service -- to sustain the health, diversity,
and productivity of the Nation’s forests and grasslands to meet the
needs of present and future generations.
In the 21st century, the nation’s forests and grasslands face four threats. Forest
Service Chief Dale Bosworth names them as: (a) fire and fuels, (b) invasive
species, (c) loss of open space, and (d) unmanaged recreation.
Strategic Plan Goals
1. Reduce the risk from catastrophic wildland fire. Restore the health of the Nation’s forests
and grasslands to increase resilience to the effects of wildland fire.
2. Reduce the impacts from invasive species. Restore the health of the Nation’s forests
and grasslands to be resilient to the effects of invasive insects, pathogens, plants, and
pests.
3. Provide outdoor recreational opportunities. Provide high-quality outdoor recreational
opportunities on forests and grasslands, while sustaining natural resources, to meet the
Nation’s recreational demands.
4. Help meet energy resource needs. Contribute to meeting the Nation’s need for energy.
5. Improve watershed condition. Increase the number of forest and grassland watersheds
that are in fully functional hydrologic condition.
6. Conduct mission-related work in addition to that which supports the agency goals.
Conduct research and other mission-related work to fulfill statutory stewardship and
assistance requirements.
Please contact Linda Joyce if you are aware of any work where Forest Service management or
planning has incorporated consideration of climate change or climate variability.
Poster Title: Adaptation Options for Climate-sensitive Ecosystems and Resources: Synthesis and Assessment,
presented at the MTNCLIM meeting, 2006
Contact Information: Linda Joyce 970-498-2560, ljoyce@fs.fed.us