Biodiversity and Sustainable Forestry: State of the Science Review

Focuses on the importance of biological diversity in forest management on medium to large tracts of land in the U.S., including elements of diversity of ecosystems, the diversity between species, and genetic diversity in species

Effects of Drought on Forests and Rangelands in the United States: A Comprehensive Science Synthesis

This assessment provides input to the reauthorized National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS) and the National Climate Assessment (NCA), and it establishes the scientific foundation needed to manage for drought resilience and adaptation. Focal areas include drought characterization; drought impacts on forest processes and disturbances such as insect outbreaks and wildfire; and consequences on forest and rangeland values. Drought can be a severe natural disaster with substantial social and economic consequences. Drought becomes most obvious when large-scale changes are observed; however, even moderate drought can have long-lasting impacts on the structure and function of forests and rangelands without these obvious large-scale changes. Large stand-level impacts of drought are already underway in the West, but all U.S. forests are vulnerable to drought. Drought-associated forest disturbances are expected to increase with climatic change. Management actions can either mitigate or exacerbate the effects of drought. A first principal for increasing resilience and adaptation is to avoid management actions that exacerbate the effects of current or future drought. Options to mitigate drought include altering structural or functional components of vegetation, minimizing drought-mediated disturbance such as wildfire or insect outbreaks, and managing for reliable flow of water

Effects of Drought on Forests and Rangelands in the United States: A Comprehensive Science Synthesis

This assessment provides input to the reauthorized National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS) and the National Climate Assessment (NCA), and it establishes the scientific foundation needed to manage for drought resilience and adaptation. Focal areas include drought characterization; drought impacts on forest processes and disturbances such as insect outbreaks and wildfire; and consequences on forest and rangeland values. Drought can be a severe natural disaster with substantial social and economic consequences. Drought becomes most obvious when large-scale changes are observed; however, even moderate drought can have long-lasting impacts on the structure and function of forests and rangelands without these obvious large-scale changes. Large stand-level impacts of drought are already underway in the West, but all U.S. forests are vulnerable to drought. Drought-associated forest disturbances are expected to increase with climatic change. Management actions can either mitigate or exacerbate the effects of drought. A first principal for increasing resilience and adaptation is to avoid management actions that exacerbate the effects of current or future drought. Options to mitigate drought include altering structural or functional components of vegetation, minimizing drought-mediated disturbance such as wildfire or insect outbreaks, and managing for reliable flow of water

Agroforestry: Enhancing Resiliency in U.S. Agricultural Landscapes Under Changing Conditions

Excerpts from the Executive Summary: Agroforestry, the intentional integration of trees and shrubs into crop and animal production systems, is being deployed to enhance productivity, profitability, and environmental stewardship of agricultural operations and lands across the United States. This assessment provides a science-based synthesis on the use of agroforestry for mitigation and adaptation services in the face of climatic variability and change. It provides technical input to land-use sector issues in the National Climate Assessment (NCA) and serves as a framework for including agroforestry systems in agricultural strategies to improve productivity and food security and to build resilience in these landscapes. It also provides follow-up to the technical input report by Walthall et al. (2012) that established the need for innovative strategies to address significant climatic variability challenges faced by U.S. agriculture. The five widely recognized categories of agroforestry in the United States are (1) silvopasture, (2) alley cropping, (3) forest farming (or multistory cropping), (4) windbreaks, and (5) riparian forest buffers. Such practices can help to mitigate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and increase the resiliency of agricultural lands to address impacts from climatic variability. They can also enhance agricultural production; protect soil, air, and water quality; provide wildlife habitat; and allow for diversified income. This report provides a science-based assessment of adaptation and mitigation mechanisms that agroforestry can confer, all of which are important for food security. It reviews social, cultural, and economic aspects of agroforestry and the capacity of agroforestry systems to provide multipurpose solutions. In addition, it presents a comprehensive North American perspective on the strengths and limitations of agroforestry through U.S. regional overviews as well as overviews for Canada and Mexico

Effects of Climatic Variability and Change on Forest Ecosystems: A Comprehensive Science Synthesis for the U.S. Forest Sector

This report is a scientific assessment of the current condition and likely future condition of forest resources in the United States relative to climatic variability and change. It serves as the U.S. Forest Service forest sector technical report for the National Climate Assessment and includes descriptions of key regional issues and examples of a risk-based framework for assessing climate-change effects

National Climate Assessment Technical Report on the Impacts of Climate and Land Use and Land Cover Change

This technical report responds to the recognition by the U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP) and the National Climate Assessment (NCA) of the importance of understanding how land use and land cover (LULC) affects weather and climate variability and change and how that variability and change affects LULC. Current published, peer-reviewed, scientific literature and supporting data from both existing and original sources forms the basis for this report’s assessment of the current state of knowledge regarding land change and climate interactions. The synthesis presented herein documents how current and future land change may alter environment processes and in turn, how those conditions may affect both land cover and land use by specifically investigating, ● The primary contemporary trends in land use and land cover, ● The land-use and land-cover sectors and regions which are most affected by weather and climate variability, ● How land-use practices are adapting to climate change, ● How land-use and land-cover patterns and conditions are affecting weather and climate, and ● The key elements of an ongoing Land Resources assessment. These findings present information that can be used to better assess land change and climate interactions in order to better assess land management and adaptation strategies for future environmental change and to assist in the development of a framework for an ongoing national assessment