Landscape Partnership Resources Library
Progress Report
1st Quarter Report of 2013 from Vendor of Ecological Flows Project.
Progress Report
Fourth Quarter report of 2012 from vendor of Ecological Flows Project.
2013 SN Portfolio (Full Report)
In February 2013, almost 50 experts from a wide range of technical background in both natural and social sciences, as well as geographic expertise across the entire region, volunteered to participate in the annual review of the Appalachian LCC Science Needs Portfolio. 2013 marked the first revision of the Portfolio.
Climate Change
2013 SN Portfolio: Mission to create an effective adaptation strategy for climate change based on the best available science.
Human Dimensions
2013 SN Portfolio: Mission is to incorporate ecosystem services values into natural resource decision-making.
Working Lands
2013 SN Portfolio: Mission is to improve planning and integration of “working lands” (which include urbanized, agricultural, forestry, industrial, and energy development) and conservation interests.
Openlands
2013 SN Portfolio: Mission is to maintain native habitats and native species in their current locations or support these as they migrate in response to land use and climate changes in the future.
Forest Lands
2013 SN Portfolio: Mission is to identify and prioritize regional forest habitats and natural communities to foster resiliency in the face of current and future threats while supporting a larger multijurisdictional framework for planning and management.
Wetlands
2013 SN Portfolio: Science Objective is to inventory significant regional wetland habitats, evaluate the condition and importance of these habitats, and identify regional threats impacting those resources. Management Objective is so that LCC partners and stakeholders can develop and implement cohesive regional management strategies to protect and manage wetlands across jurisdictions.
Cave, Karst & Minelands
2013 SN Portfolio: Mission to conserve and manage cave/karst and restored mine land (CKM) communities across jurisdictions.
Aquatic
2013 SN Portfolio: Mission is to maintain native habitats and endemic aquatic species in their current locations or support these as they migrate with land use and climate changes in the future.
Clark, J.S. et al. Climate change vulnerability of forest biodiversity: climate and competition tracking of demographic rates
Author's Abstract Forest responses to climate change will depend on demographic impacts in the context of competition. Current models used to predict species responses, termed climate envelope models (CEMs), are controversial, because (i) calibration and prediction are based on correlations in space (CIS) between species abundance and climate, rather than responses to climate change over time (COT), and (ii) they omit competition. To determine the relative importance of COT, CIS, and competition for light, we applied a longitudinal analysis of 27 000 individual trees over 6–18 years subjected to experimental and natural variation in risk factors. Sensitivities and climate and resource tracking identify which species are vulnerable to these risk factors and in what ways. Results show that responses to COT differ from those predicted based on CIS. The most important impact is the effect of spring temperature on fecundity, rather than any input variable on growth or survival. Of secondary importance is growing season moisture. Species in the genera Pinus, Ulmus, Magnolia, and Fagus are particularly vulnerable to climate variation. However, the effect of competition on growth and mortality risk exceeds the effects of climate variation in space or time for most species. Because sensitivities to COT and competition are larger than CIS, current models miss the most important effects. By directly comparing sensitivity to climate in time and space, together with competition, the approach identifies which species are sensitive to climate change and why, including the heretofore overlooked impact on fecundity.
Do geographic distribution, niche property and life form explain plants' vulnerability to global change?
Author's abstract: We modelled the future distribution in 2050 of 975 endemic plant species in southern Africa distributed among seven life forms, including new methodological insights improving the accuracy and ecological realism of predictions of global changes studies by: (i) using only endemic species as a way to capture the full realized niche of species, (ii) considering the direct impact of human pressure on landscape and biodiversity jointly with climate, and (iii) taking species' migration into account. Our analysis shows important promises for predicting the impacts of climate change in conjunction with land transformation. We have shown that the endemic flora of Southern Africa on average decreases with 41% in species richness among habitats and with 39% on species distribution range for the most optimistic scenario. We also compared the patterns of species' sensitivity with global change across life forms, using ecological and geographic characteristics of species. We demonstrate here that species and life form vulnerability to global changes can be partly explained according to species' (i) geographical distribution along climatic and biogeographic gradients, like climate anomalies, (ii) niche breadth or (iii) proximity to barrier preventing migration. Our results confirm that the sensitivity of a given species to global environmental changes depends upon its geographical distribution and ecological proprieties, and makes it possible to estimate a priori its potential sensitivity to these changes.
NWF: How Restoring Longleaf Pine Can Help Prepare the SE for Global Warming
Longleaf pine (Pinus palustris) forests are one of America’s natural treasures, yet past exploitation has left them hanging by a thread, now covering just 3 percent of their pre-settlement range. Because other pine species in the Southeast may be more susceptible to global warming, longleaf pine forests have an opportunity to reclaim some of their former glory. Indeed, re-establishing longleaf pine ecosystems will benefit all Americans by improving climate resilience, economic opportunity, and ecosystem vitality. This report provides a summary of recent literature on how global warming will affect forests in the Southeastern United States and how longleaf pine is expected to be resilient to many of these changes. It makes a strong case for why longleaf pine ecosystem restoration should be the centerpiece of forest-based climate adaptation and carbon sequestration efforts in the region, as well as efforts to improve the economic opportunities of traditionally underserved landowners.
National Climate Assessement: Northeast
(Draft for public review) National Climate Assessment. Chapter 16. Northeast
IPCC: Technical Report - Climate Change and Biodiversity
Technical Report of the IPCC. 2002
National Climate Assesment: Ecosystems, Biodiversity, and Ecosystem Services
(Draft - review copy for public comment). Chapter 8.
Iowa: Climate Change Impacts - 2010
Report to the Governor and General Assembly
FL: Addressing the Challenge of Climate Change in the Greater Everglades Landscape
“Addressing the Challenge of Climate Change in the Greater Everglades Landscape” is a research initiative funded by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and carried out by a group of researchers at the Department of Urban Studies and Planning at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). The study investigates possible trajectories of future transformation in the Greater Everglades Landscape relative to four main drivers: climate change, shifts in planning approaches and regulations, population change, and variations in financial resources. Through a systematic exploration at the landscape-scale, this research identifies some of the major challenges to future conservation efforts and illustrates a planning method which can generate conservation strategies resilient to a variety of climatic and socioeconomic conditions.
USFS-NRS: The Impacts of Climate Change on Forests of the Northeastern United States and Eastern Canada
Changing Climate, Changing Forests: The Impacts of Climate Change on Forests of the Northeastern United States and Eastern Canada. By Lindsey Rustad, John Campbell, Jeffrey S. Dukes, Thomas Huntington, Kathy Fallon Lambert, Jacqueline Mohan, and Nicholas Rodenhouse
