Landscape Partnership
https://www.landscapepartnership.org
Climate Effects and Adaption in Forests
https://www.landscapepartnership.org/maps-data/climate-context/news-announcements/webinars/climate-effects-and-adaption-in-forests
Dr. Christopher J. Fettig, Dr. Maria K. Janowiak, and Dr. Jessica E. Halofsky discuss how climate change driven increases in temperature and variation in precipitation are impacting U.S. forests and the wide range of ecosystem services they provide, sharing opportunities to proactively address risks to forests, and providing concrete examples of adaptation strategies and tactics that can be leveraged by the federal government and private landowners. No publisherClimateUSDAClimate AdaptationClimate ScienceClimate ChangeEcosystem ServicesForestsVideoWebinarLandownersPrivate Lands2022/10/27 16:00:00 GMT-4VideoWorkshops Introduce New Way to Evaluate Changes to Benefits of Nature
https://www.landscapepartnership.org/news/workshops-introduce-new-way-to-evaluate-changes-to-benefits-of-nature
The Appalachian LCC and the U.S. Forest Service held its initial workshops introducing a new way of evaluating ecosystem change and resilience via the Landscape Dynamics Assessment Tool (LanDAT). No publisherNewsEcosystem Services2017/07/24 18:43:17 GMT-4News ItemAppLCC/USFS Landscape Dynamics Assessment Tool Workshop
https://www.landscapepartnership.org/news/events/applcc-usfs-landscape-dynamics-assessment-tool-workshop
The Appalachian LCC and the U.S. Forest Service wish to invite you to attend or nominate a representative to attend a 1-day hands-on roll-out of the Landscape Dynamics Assessment Tool. No publisherEcosystem ServicesWorkshopEvents2017/06/01 14:39:37 GMT-4EventTools and Resources for Addressing Energy Development in the Appalachians
https://www.landscapepartnership.org/news/tools-and-resources-for-addressing-energy-development-in-the-appalachians
On July 20, Jessica Rhodes of the Appalachian LCC gave an in-depth presentation to the Appalachian Mountains Joint Venture (AMJV) community on LCC-funded tools and resources that can address potential impacts of various energy development technologies on birds and other wildlife.
No publisherNewsEcosystem ServicesEnergy ForecastEnergy2016/07/28 09:15:00 GMT-4News ItemUnderstanding Ecosystem Services from a Geosciences Perspective
https://www.landscapepartnership.org/news/understanding-ecosystem-services-from-a-geosciences-perspective
Assessment of ecosystem services—the benefits society receives from ecosystems—can be improved by including broader spatial and temporal scales of geosciences perspectives.No publisherNewsEcosystem Services2016/06/06 11:03:47 GMT-4News Item"Ecosystem Benefits and Risks" Research and Website Support Natural Resource Management across the Appalachians
https://www.landscapepartnership.org/news/ecosystem-benefits-and-risks-research-and-website-support-natural-resource-management-across-the-appalachians
The Appalachian Landscape Conservation Cooperative (LCC) and the U.S. Forest Service are releasing products from the first phase of an ongoing study assessing benefits of and risks to the region's "ecosystem services" -- natural assets valued by people such as clean drinking water, outdoor recreation, forest products, and biological conservation. No publisherNewsEcosystem Services2016/05/26 09:55:00 GMT-4News ItemApplying LCC Tools to Issues Impacting the Keystone State
https://www.landscapepartnership.org/news/applying-lcc-tools-to-issues-impacting-the-keystone-state
Pennsylvania is a landscape filled with abundant forests and wildlife, thousands of miles of rivers and streams, and home to a productive energy industry that includes the emergence of natural gas and alternative energy sources. Natural resource agencies and conservation organizations increasingly see the value for proactive science and tools that help inform decisions both locally and regionally in order to best protect and conserve the lands, waters, and wildlife of the state while harnessing resources that benefit society and the economy.
No publisherEcosystem ServicesEnergyRiparian RestorationConservation PlanningNews2016/05/09 14:50:00 GMT-4News ItemPalaeodata-informed modelling of large carbon losses from recent burning of boreal forests
https://www.landscapepartnership.org/maps-data/climate-context/cc-resources/ClimateSciPDFs/palaeodata-informed-modelling-of-large-carbon-losses-from-recent-burning-of-boreal-forests
Wildfires play a key role in the boreal forest carbon cycle(1,2), and models suggest that accelerated burning will increase boreal C emissions in the coming century (3). However, these predictions may be compromised because brief observational records provide limited constraints to model initial conditions (4). We confronted this limitation by using palaeoenvironmental data to drive simulations of long-term C dynamics in the Alaskan bo- real forest. Results show that fire was the dominant control on C cycling over the past millennium, with changes in fire frequency accounting for 84% of C stock variability. A recent rise in fire frequency inferred from the palaeorecord5 led to simulated C losses of 1.4 kg C m?2(12% of ecosystem C stocks) from 1950 to 2006. In stark contrast, a small net C sink of 0.3 kg C m?2 occurred if the past fire regime was assumed to be similar to the modern regime, as is common in models of C dynamics. Although boreal fire regimes are heterogeneous, recent trends6 and future projections (7) point to increasing fire activity in response to climate warming throughout the biome. Thus, predictions (8) that terrestrial C sinks of northern high latitudes will mitigate rising atmospheric CO2 may be over-optimistic.No publisherCarbon stocksForest fireForestsBiosphere–atmosphere feedbacksTemperatureClimate ImpactsHigh latitudeModelsSustainabilityHeatScientific PublicationsMorbidityEcosystem ServicesCarbon sinkClimate Changesink to sourcePositive feedbackcarbon sourcetree mortalityCO2HabitatLand UseBoreal2016/01/16 20:36:54 GMT-4FileSignificant anthropogenic-induced changes of climate classes since 1950
https://www.landscapepartnership.org/maps-data/climate-context/cc-resources/ClimateSciPDFs/significant-anthropogenic-induced-changes-of-climate-classes-since-1950
Anthropogenic forcings have contributed to global and regional warming in the last few decades and likely affected terrestrial precipitation. Here we examine changes in major Köppen climate classes from gridded observed data and their uncertainties due to internal climate variability using control simulations from Coupled Model Intercomparison Project 5 (CMIP5). About 5.7% of the global total land area has shifted toward warmer and drier climate types from 1950–2010, and significant changes include expansion of arid and high-latitude continental climate zones, shrinkage in polar and midlatitude continental climates, poleward shifts in temperate, continental and polar climates, and increasing average elevation of tropical and polar climates. Using CMIP5 multi-model averaged historical simulations forced by observed anthropogenic and natural, or natural only, forcing components, we find that these changes of climate types since 1950 cannot be explained as natural variations but are driven by anthropogenic factors.No publisherAgricultureEcosystem ServicesCarbon sinkTemperatureWarmer and drierClimate ChangeWatershedsKöppen climate classesTerrestrial precipitationCarbon cycleShiftExtremesStreamsWater supplySoilDroughtClimate typesPrecipitationEconomic risk(s)2016/01/16 20:36:53 GMT-4FileExperimental studies of dead-wood biodiversity — A review identifying global gaps in knowledge
https://www.landscapepartnership.org/maps-data/climate-context/cc-resources/ClimateSciPDFs/experimental-studies-of-dead-wood-biodiversity-2014-a-review-identifying-global-gaps-in-knowledge
The importance of dead wood for biodiversity is widely recognized but strategies for conservation exist only in some regions worldwide. Most strategies combine knowledge from observational and experimental studies but remain preliminary as many facets of the complex relationships are unstudied. In this first global review of 79 experimental studies addressing biodiversity patterns in dead wood, we identify major knowledge gaps and aim to foster collaboration among researchers by providing a map of previous and ongoing experiments. We show that research has focused primarily on temperate and boreal forests, where results have helped in developing evidence-based conservation strategies, whereas comparatively few such efforts have been made in subtropical or tropical zones. Most studies have been limited to early stages of wood decomposition and many diverse and functionally important saproxylic taxa, e.g., fungi, flies and termites, remain under-represented. Our meta-analysis confirms the benefits of dead-wood addition for biodiversity, particularly for saproxylic taxa, but shows that responses of non-saproxylic taxa are heterogeneous. Our analysis indicates that global conservation of organisms associated with dead wood would benefit most by prioritizing research in the tropics and other neglected regions, focusing on advanced stages of wood decomposition and assessing a wider range of taxa. By using existing experimental set-ups to study advanced decay stages and additional taxa, results could be obtained more quickly and with less effort compared to initiating new experiments.No publisherClimate AdaptationDecayRecreational FishingConservationDecompositionHabitat degradationTroutClimate ImpactsHabitat ImprovementRestorationEcosystemsHabitat qualityEcosystem ServicesWoody debrisClimate ChangeInstream Habitat ImprovementTributariesEcological FlowsStreamsDetritusLarge woody debrisDead woodSoilFishWatershedsRiversLitterDebrisHeadwaters2016/01/16 20:36:51 GMT-4FileDownstream Warming and Headwater Acidity May Diminish Coldwater Habitat in Southern Appalachian Mountain Streams
https://www.landscapepartnership.org/maps-data/climate-context/cc-resources/ClimateSciPDFs/downstream-warming-and-headwater-acidity-may-diminish-coldwater-habitat-in-southern-appalachian-mountain-streams
Stream-dwelling species in the U.S. southern Appalachian Mountains region are particularly vulnerable to climate change and acidification. The objectives of this study were to quantify the spatial extent of contemporary suitable habitat for acid- and thermally sensitive aquatic species and to forecast future habitat loss resulting from expected temperature increases on national forest lands in the southern Appalachian Mountain region. The goal of this study was to help watershed managers identify and assess stream reaches that are potentially vulnerable to warming, acidification, or both. To our knowledge, these results represent the first regional assessment of aquatic habitat suitability with respect to the combined effects of stream water temperature and acid-base status in the United States. Statistical models were developed to predict July mean daily maximum water temperatures and air-water tem- perature relations to determine potential changes in future stream water temperatures. The length of stream considered suitable habitat for acid- and thermally sensitive species, based on temperature and acid neutralizing capacity thresholds of 20°C and 50 μeq/L, was variable throughout the national forests considered. Stream length displaying temperature above 20°C was generally more than five times greater than the length predicted to have acid neutralizing capacity below 50 μeq/L. It was uncommon for these two stressors to occur within the same stream segment. Results suggested that species’ distributional shifts to colder, higher elevation habitats under a warming climate can be constrained by acidification of headwater streams. The approach used in this study can be applied to evaluate climate change impacts to stream water resources in other regions.No publisherTemperature sensitivityTemperatureAcidificationHabitat degradationAquatic ecosystemsMiningClimate ImpactsMinelandsFisheriesHeatHeadwater streamsWater qualityHeadwatersTroutWater temperatureEcosystem ServicesClimate ChangeStreamsSoutheastern USAcidityFishWatershedsRiversSouthern Appalachians2016/01/16 20:36:50 GMT-4FileIncreasing Northern Hemisphere water deficit
https://www.landscapepartnership.org/maps-data/climate-context/cc-resources/ClimateSciPDFs/increasing-northern-hemisphere-water-deficit
A monthly water-balance model is used with CRUTS3.1 gridded monthly precip- itation and potential evapotranspiration (PET) data to examine changes in global water deficit (PET minus actual evapotranspiration) for the Northern Hemisphere (NH) for the years 1905 through 2009. Results show that NH deficit increased dramatically near the year 2000 during both the cool (October through March) and warm (April through September) seasons. The increase in water deficit near 2000 coincides with a substantial increase in NH temperature and PET. The most pronounced increases in deficit occurred for the latitudinal band from 0 to 40°N. These results indicate that global warming has increased the water deficit in the NH and that the increase since 2000 is unprecedented for the 1905 through 2009 period. Additionally, coincident with the increase in deficit near 2000, mean NH runoff also increased due to increases in P. We explain the apparent contradiction of concurrent increases in deficit and increases in runoff.No publisherConsumptionStormsRecreational FishingPotential evapotranspirationWaterDroughtPrecipitationEcosystem ServicesHydrologyClimate ChangeTerrestrial precipitationStreamsRunoffIrrigationAquaticWatershedsWater supplyRiversStreamflowglobal changeAgricultureStream ClassificationEvapotranspiration2016/01/16 20:36:02 GMT-4FileFormation of soil organic matter via biochemical and physical pathways of litter mass loss
https://www.landscapepartnership.org/maps-data/climate-context/cc-resources/ClimateSciPDFs/formation-of-soil-organic-matter-via-biochemical-and-physical-pathways-of-litter-mass-loss
Soil organic matter is the largest terrestrial carbon pool (1). The pool size depends on the balance between formation of soil organic matter from decomposition of plant litter and its mineralization to inorganic carbon. Knowledge of soil organic matter formation remains limited (2) and current C numerical models assume that stable soil organic matter is formed primarily from recalcitrant plant litter (3) . However, labile components of plant litter could also form mineral-stabilized soil organic matter (4). Here we followed the decomposition of isotopically labelled above-ground litter and its incorporation into soil organic matter over three years in a grassland in Kansas, USA, and used laboratory incubations to determine the decay rates and pool structure of litter-derived organic matter. Early in decomposition, soil organic matter formed when non-structural compounds were lost from litter. Soil organic matter also formed at the end of decomposition, when both non-structural and structural compounds were lost at similar rates. We conclude that two pathways yield soil organic matter efficiently. A dissolved organic matter–microbial path occurs early in decomposition when litter loses mostly non-structural compounds, which are incorporated into microbial biomass at high rates, resulting in efficient soil organic matter formation. An equally efficient physical-transfer path occurs when litter fragments move into soil.No publisherHabitat qualityEcosystem ServicesCO2Carbon stocksLand atmosphere couplingClimate ChangeLand UseForestsCarbon Capture and StorageSustainabilityLitterEcological FlowsConservationVegetationSoilDebrisCarbon sink2016/01/16 20:36:00 GMT-4FileNovel climates, no-analog communities, and ecological surprises
https://www.landscapepartnership.org/maps-data/climate-context/cc-resources/ClimateSciPDFs/novel-climates-no-analog-communities-and-ecological-surprises
No-analog communities (communities that are compositionally unlike any found today) occurred frequently in the past and will develop in the greenhouse world of the future. The well documented no-analog plant communities of late-glacial North America are closely linked to “novel” climates also lacking modern analogs, characterized by high seasonality of temperature. In climate simulations for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change A2 and B1 emission scenarios, novel climates arise by 2100 AD, primarily in tropical and subtropical regions. These future novel climates are warmer than any present climates globally, with spatially variable shifts in precipitation, and increase the risk of species reshuffling into future no-analog communities and other ecological surprises. Most ecological models are at least partially parameterized from modern observations and so may fail to accurately predict ecological responses to these novel climates. There is an urgent need to test the robustness of ecological models to climate conditions outside modern experience.No publisherHabitat qualityEcosystem ServicesBiodiversityTemperatureClimate AdaptationModelsClimate ChangeLand UseCO2ForestsExtreme scenariosSustainabilityLand surfacenovelConservation PlanningEcosystemsPrecipitationClimate ImpactsMortalityno-analog2016/01/16 20:36:00 GMT-4FileHuman domination of the biosphere: Rapid discharge of the earth-space battery foretells the future of humankind
https://www.landscapepartnership.org/maps-data/climate-context/cc-resources/ClimateSciPDFs/human-domination-of-the-biosphere-rapid-discharge-of-the-earth-space-battery-foretells-the-future-of-humankind
Earth is a chemical battery where, over evolutionary time with a trickle-charge of photosynthesis using solar energy, billions of tons of living biomass were stored in forests and other ecosystems and in vast reserves of fossil fuels. In just the last few hundred years, humans extracted exploitable energy from these living and fossilized biomass fuels to build the modern industrial-technological-informational economy, to grow our population to more than 7 billion, and to transform the biogeochemical cycles and biodiversity of the earth. This rapid discharge of the earth’s store of organic energy fuels the human domination of the biosphere, including conversion of natural habitats to agricultural fields and the resulting loss of native species, emission of carbon dioxide and the resulting climate and sea level change, and use of supplemental nuclear, hydro, wind, and solar energy sources. The laws of thermodynamics governing the trickle-charge and rapid discharge of the earth’s battery are universal and absolute; the earth is only temporarily poised a quantifiable distance from the thermodynamic equilibrium of outer space. Although this distance from equilibrium is comprised of all energy types, most critical for humans is the store of living biomass. With the rapid depletion of this chemical energy, the earth is shifting back toward the inhospitable equilibrium of outer space with fundamental ramifications for the biosphere and humanity. Because there is no substitute or replacement energy for living biomass, the remaining distance from equilibrium that will be required to support human life is unknown.No publisherTemperatureConsumptionExtreme scenariosThermodynamicsEnvironmental PolicyCoal MiningEconomyEarth-space batteryCarbon Capture and StorageSustainabilityEcosystemsNature and SocietyHuman DimensionsEcosystem ServicesExtreme riskLand atmosphere couplingClimate ChangeCarbon stocksEcological FlowsBiological AssessmentCO2SequestrationEvolutionary biologyAgriculture2016/01/16 20:35:59 GMT-4File