Extreme Weather and Climate Events

Project Overview Atolls in the tropical Pacific and Indian Oceans are experiencing significant changes to their landscapes and biodiversity due to climate change. Researchers supported by this Pacific Islands CASC will use historical data to study a 50+ year window of change in both islet size and the occurrence of lizard species. This work will better inform lizard distribution in light...

Project Overview Guam’s forests are vital to the ecosystem and local communities, but they face threats from wildfires, water quality, and invasive species, among others. To restore these ecosystems, researchers supported by this Pacific Islands CASC project will research the roles of native plants by identifying their “functional traits,” and using that knowledge to select species for

The Bonnet Carré spillway (BCS) is a flood-control structure along the Lower Mississippi River designed to prevent flooding in the city of New Orleans by diverting excess water into the nearby Lake Pontchartrain estuary. Alarmingly, the BCS was opened as many times over the past decade (2011–2020) as it had been over the six prior decades combined (1951–2010), with devastating effects on...

Amphibians in the US Caribbean, like the well-known coquí frog, are particularly vulnerable to climate change. Coquí frogs are represented by 17 species across Puerto Rico and US Virgin Islands and include several mountainous and coastal species that are threatened by extreme heat and drying, loss of coastal freshwater marshes through saltwater intrusion, or both. Over the past decade...

Aspen is a highly valued tree species in western forests, but it has been declining due to drought, herbivory, and fire suppression. Fire suppression has contributed to aspen’s decline because post-fire environments provide more opportunities for aspen to regenerate, both by resprouting and by seed. Regeneration from seed in these post-fire settings is particularly valuable because it...

Invasions of exotic annual grasses (EAGs like cheatgrass have caused major losses of native shrubs and grasses in western U.S. rangelands. They also decrease the productivity and carbon storage in these ecosystems, which is expected to create dryer soils that may cause further losses in plant productivity. This cycle is the hallmark of desertification – or, fertile lands turning into...

Prescribed burning – planned, controlled fires conducted under weather and fuel conditions designed for safety and effectiveness – is a common practice used to maintain and restore native prairies in the Northern Great Plains. However, climate change will affect the number of days in a year, and when, suitable conditions for prescribed fires occur. For instance, warmer temperatures may...

In Hawaiʻi, a large percentage of historically forested areas have been lost, driven in part by changes in land use, such as the conversion of forests into pastures for livestock. This transformation has not only resulted in widespread loss of native biodiversity and important ecosystem functions but has also increased the risk of fire on the landscape. Though targeted restoration...

Managing water resources in arid regions is increasingly important in the face of more frequent droughts and desertification that is occurring with climate change. These challenges of climate change intersect with potential environmental contamination from naturally occurring sources and legacy human activity (such as mining) and create a need for sustainable land and water management...

Ecological drought impacts ecosystems across the U.S. that support a wide array of economic activity and ecosystem services. Managing drought-vulnerable natural resources is a growing challenge for federal, state and Tribal land managers. Plant communities and animal populations are strongly linked to patterns of drought and soil moisture availability. As a result, ecosystems may be...

Project Overview Streams in Southeast Alaska are changing rapidly due to climate change. Warmer temperatures are bringing more rain, less snow, and causing glaciers to retreat, all of which affects stream flow and food sources for young salmon. Researchers supported by this Alaska CASC project will study whether juvenile salmon can adapt by moving between different types of streams...

Despite the pandemic, Future of Fire postdoc Dr. Nina Fontana developed and contributed to a range of projects with cultural fire practitioners from 2021-2023. This funding will provide her an additional year to complete and grow projects started with partners as a Future of Fire fellow. Fontana’s work focuses on two broad areas: (1) improving best practices in teaching and learning...