A Look at "Climate Refugia"
Focusing on climate refugia could be an important strategy to help managers prioritize habitats for conservation in a changing climate
No Picnic for Our Parks
Will climate change impact our national parks and the species they protect?
USGS scientists work extensively with partners to collect and disseminate scientific and statistically reliable biological and ecological data to address drought-related scientific and management questions. Ecosystem scientists use this information and innovative technologies to synthesize, analyze, and model drought processes and biological responses to better understand the causes and associated impacts of drought on fish and wildlife.
Identifying Resilient Headwater Streams to Mitigate Impacts of Future Drought in the Northwest
The Northwest experienced an extraordinary drought in 2015 when higher than normal temperatures caused most precipitation to fall as rain rather than snow. Snow that did accumulate melted much earlier than normal causing reservoir levels and stream flows to drop below long-term averages. Resource managers need to know which headwater streams are particularly resilient to drought in order to place limited funds and resources into management of those streams. We are developing a Headwaters Intermittency Prediction (HIP) tool that will provide managers with a prediction map of the expected permanence of water flows in streams; utilizing citizen-science techniques to gather steamflow data across the Northwest region; and applying stream flow predictions to existing assessments of the vulnerability of aquatic species, such as the native bull trout, redband trout, and Lahontan cutthroat trout.
Identifying and Evaluating Refugia from Drought and Climate Change in the Pacific Northwest
Warmer temperatures and less precipitation in the western U.S. related to climate change are harming many important natural resources, including forests, rivers, and many fish and wildlife species. Climate refugia provide a potential opportunity for conserving resources and biodiversity in the face of climate change. These refugia are places where the climate will likely change less than the surrounding landscape and/or places in a landscape where species may move to find more suitable climates. We will use existing information on hydrology, soil characteristics, topography etc. to map areas of refugia that can protect wildlife from regional changes in temperature and precipitation. We will also explore and compare various types of refugia—e.g. from temperature change, drought, or wildfire—and will compile and synthesize scientific findings for use by natural resource managers.
Disappearing Refugia: Identifying Trends and Resilience in Unburned Islands under Climate Change
Wildfire activity is widely projected to increase in response to climate change in the Northwest, but we currently lack a comprehensive understanding of what this increase will look like or what its impacts will be on a variety of ecological and hydrologic systems. We are addressing one critical part of those impacts: the islands of unburned vegetation within wildfires. Unburned islands occur naturally as wildfires burn across landscapes, and are important habitat refuges for species; places where plants and animals survive the fire and subsequently regenerate across the recently burned landscape. Since they are naturally resistant to burning, understanding how climate change impacts these islands will help us understand what species may be in even more danger from wildfires if these refuges disappear. Studying them and copying their characteristics can also help humans build our homes and communities to be more resistant to wildfire. We aim to understand and model unburned islands within wildfires to inform both conservation and restoration planning and community wildfire protection planning efforts.
USGS scientists work extensively with partners to collect and disseminate scientific and statistically reliable biological and ecological data to address drought-related scientific and management questions. Ecosystem scientists use this information and innovative technologies to synthesize, analyze, and model drought processes and biological responses to better understand the causes and associated impacts of drought on fish and wildlife.
Identifying Resilient Headwater Streams to Mitigate Impacts of Future Drought in the Northwest
The Northwest experienced an extraordinary drought in 2015 when higher than normal temperatures caused most precipitation to fall as rain rather than snow. Snow that did accumulate melted much earlier than normal causing reservoir levels and stream flows to drop below long-term averages. Resource managers need to know which headwater streams are particularly resilient to drought in order to place limited funds and resources into management of those streams. We are developing a Headwaters Intermittency Prediction (HIP) tool that will provide managers with a prediction map of the expected permanence of water flows in streams; utilizing citizen-science techniques to gather steamflow data across the Northwest region; and applying stream flow predictions to existing assessments of the vulnerability of aquatic species, such as the native bull trout, redband trout, and Lahontan cutthroat trout.
Identifying and Evaluating Refugia from Drought and Climate Change in the Pacific Northwest
Warmer temperatures and less precipitation in the western U.S. related to climate change are harming many important natural resources, including forests, rivers, and many fish and wildlife species. Climate refugia provide a potential opportunity for conserving resources and biodiversity in the face of climate change. These refugia are places where the climate will likely change less than the surrounding landscape and/or places in a landscape where species may move to find more suitable climates. We will use existing information on hydrology, soil characteristics, topography etc. to map areas of refugia that can protect wildlife from regional changes in temperature and precipitation. We will also explore and compare various types of refugia—e.g. from temperature change, drought, or wildfire—and will compile and synthesize scientific findings for use by natural resource managers.
Disappearing Refugia: Identifying Trends and Resilience in Unburned Islands under Climate Change
Wildfire activity is widely projected to increase in response to climate change in the Northwest, but we currently lack a comprehensive understanding of what this increase will look like or what its impacts will be on a variety of ecological and hydrologic systems. We are addressing one critical part of those impacts: the islands of unburned vegetation within wildfires. Unburned islands occur naturally as wildfires burn across landscapes, and are important habitat refuges for species; places where plants and animals survive the fire and subsequently regenerate across the recently burned landscape. Since they are naturally resistant to burning, understanding how climate change impacts these islands will help us understand what species may be in even more danger from wildfires if these refuges disappear. Studying them and copying their characteristics can also help humans build our homes and communities to be more resistant to wildfire. We aim to understand and model unburned islands within wildfires to inform both conservation and restoration planning and community wildfire protection planning efforts.