Drought, Fire and Extreme Weather

Millions of acres of California’s forest cover have been lost due to severe wildfire and drought mediatedinsect outbreaks. These acres may not grow back as forests without management action, which could negatively impact carbon sequestration, access to clean drinking water, wildlife habitat and recreation opportunities. Various factors, including limited regeneration potential, hotter...

Floodplain forests along the Upper Mississippi River are heavily managed but understudied systems that provide critical ecosystem services, including habitat for endangered species. Impacts of a changing climate, such as warmer winters and wetter summers with extreme precipitation events, are already influencing hydrologic patterns in these ecosystems, including altering the duration...

Fire has always been a part of life in southern California. Climate change and current fire management practices have led to catastrophic losses and impacts to human health, infrastructure and ecosystems, as seen, for example, in the 2018 Montecito debris flow. Indigenous wisdom instructs that rather than suppressing fire, we should seek to be in good relationship with fire. This project...

Drought is a common result of climate variability in the south-central United States. With increasing temperatures and more variable precipitation patterns expected in the future, drought will continue to stress water quantity and quality in this region. University of Oklahoma researchers have demonstrated that the Palmer Drought Severity Index (PDSI), a measure of long-term drought...

Surface-water availability has been identified as one of the biggest issues facing society in the 21st century. Where and when water is on the landscape can have profound impacts on the economy, wildlife behavior, recreational use, industrial practices, energy development, and many other aspects of life, society, and the environment. Projections indicate that surface-water availability...

Snow avalanches alter mountain environments and have both beneficial and harmful effects on wildlife. Avalanches can benefit wildlife by creating open areas for grazing but can also be deadly when animals are buried in avalanche debris. Avalanches pose high risks to mountain goats because they inhabit rugged and steep terrain, but the actual impacts of avalanches on mountain goats remain...

In ecosystems of the southwestern US intensifying wildfires and climatic shifts are causing widespread tree mortality and slowed recovery after fires. Ecological refugia are areas that retain intact biological features or ecological processes after disturbance. These refugia are essential for the survival of a wide array of species and communities and aid in ecosystem recovery by...

State and federal agencies are negotiating long-term water-supply agreements for the Colorado River basin, but current policies prioritize water supply over ecological factors due to limited knowledge about how water storage strategies impact ecosystems. Researchers supported by this Southwest CASC project will develop a tool to evaluate river ecosystem outcomes of various patterns of...

Climate Change is making our environment unpredictable. Increased persistence of drought is causing deaths of plants and animals across our landscapes. However, drought amongst the western United States is not a new thing. Native American populations have been living with drought since time immemorial and practiced culturally prescribed fire practices to foster the landscape for an...

As wildfire activity surges in the western U.S., managers are increasingly challenged by decisions surrounding managing post-fire environments. Changing fire regimes and warmer, drier post-fire conditions are increasing the likelihood of post-fire vegetation transitions, for example, from forest to grassland. Given the economic and ecological importance of these ecosystems...

CASC experts are often requested to provide technical assistance to other Federal agencies, including the U.S. Department of State, as well as national and international partners. The U.S. Consulate in Thailand solicited leadership and guidance from the CASCs to help develop community-supported recommendations for increasing resiliency for fishing communities in the Mekong River Basin...

The warming climate combined with a century of fuel build up (i.e. burnable plant materials found in the forest) due to fire suppression are driving megafires that threaten life and property and are severely altering ecosystems. Many of these fires are converting large areas of forest to shrub fields or grasslands, termed “ecological transformations.” Although uncharacteristically severe...