Plants

Indigenous peoples and nations are on the front lines of climate change impacts and are leading the way in innovative adaptation action, such as in the use of traditional burning. Traditional burning has been recognized as a robust adaptation strategy, increasing the resiliency of ecosystems and the local communities that depend on them for their economic and social well-being...

Riparian systems are critical to the human and ecological communities that interact with them. For the members of San Carlos Apache Tribe, this is particularly true, as riparian systems provide immense cultural and natural values such as ceremonial grounds and recreation areas. However, the riparian areas within the San Carlos Apache Reservation are at risk of degradation due to climate...

The National Park Service is responsible for managing livestock grazing on 94 locations across the country and several grazing management planning efforts for this work are underway. However, there is a recognized need to update grazing management plans to address potential future effects of climate change on related resources and practices. This is the second phase of a project that is...

Clear Lake, California’s largest freshwater lake, is an important site for seven federally recognized Tribal Nations and numerous related Tribes and Tribal communities, where they hold lakeside cultural ceremonies, fish and recreate, and gather tule reeds. Today, climate change has amplified ecological imbalances within the lake, endangering aquatic wildlife and threatening the health...

Climate change is expected to worsen the harmful effects of invasive species on native wildlife. This presents a growing conservation challenge for invasive species managers in the southeastern United States where thousands of invasive species exist. While many of these invasive species currently have relatively small ranges in the southeastern U.S., climate change may allow them to...

Managing species and habitat in a changing climate requires locally specific information about expected changes in the physical environment, key stressors and related ecological changes. Federal investments have supported the development of a significant scientific knowledge base detailing potential future conditions for many Northwest ecosystem types and geographies. Yet scientists...

Pollinator restoration requires information about what species to plant and when to plant them to ensure food sources are available throughout the periods when pollinators are active. Changes in climate, including earlier spring warming and warmer fall temperatures, may cause flowering to become out of sync with pollinator activity. When restoring land to support pollinators, managers...

California black oak (Quercus kelloggii) groves are a fundamental part of the landscape in Yosemite Valley and the tree is a cultural keystone species for associated Tribal Nations. For centuries, tribal members have planted, tended, burned, and gathered around black oak. Before Euro-American settlers, the tribes actively maintained a sacred, reciprocal relationship with these groves...

California black oak (Quercus kelloggii) groves are a fundamental part of the landscape in Yosemite Valley and the tree is a cultural keystone species for associated Tribal Nations. For centuries, tribal members have planted, tended, burned, and gathered around black oak. Before Euro-American settlers, the tribes actively maintained a sacred, reciprocal relationship with these groves...

The Southwest is projected to face significant climate challenges in coming decades; and many of these stresses have already begun. In recent years, multiple climate assessments have been developed for the Southwest that corroborate forecasts of remarkable change to vegetation pattern and the vulnerability of regional ecosystems and suggest that measurable change is already ongoing...

In the Peninsular and Transverse Mountain Ranges of Southern California, montane forests (above 1200 m/4000 ft in elevation) are primarily restricted to “sky islands” of mixed conifer and hardwood species. Montane forests protect the upper watersheds of all the region’s major rivers, providing about 40% of the water used for human, agricultural, and industrial purposes in Southern...

Species are on the move as they respond to climate change. This includes many native species, but also species with high costs to society such as disease vectors, pests, and nonnative invasive species (an invasive species is a species that is not native to a specific location but is spreading with the tendency of causing damage to native plants and animals). Currently there are hundreds...