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Stream Classification System for the Appalachian LCC
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Research
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Funded Projects
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Toward rigorous use of expert knowledge in ecological research
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Practicing ecologists who excel at their work (‘‘experts’’) hold a wealth of knowledge. This knowledge offers a wide range of opportunities for application in ecological research and natural resource decision-making. While experts are often consulted ad-hoc, their contributions are not widely acknowledged. These informal applications of expert knowledge lead to concerns about a lack of transparency and repeatability, causing distrust of this knowledge source in the scientific community. Here, we address these concerns with an exploration of the diversity of expert knowledge and of rigorous methods in its use. The effective use of expert knowledge hinges on an awareness of the spectrum of experts and their expertise, which varies by breadth of perspective and critical assessment. Also, experts express their knowledge in different forms depending on the degree of contextualization with other information. Careful matching of experts to application is therefore essential and has to go beyond a simple fitting of the expert to the knowledge domain. The standards for the collection and use of expert knowledge should be as rigorous as for empirical data. This involves knowing when it is appropriate to use expert knowledge and how to identify and select suitable experts. Further, it requires a careful plan for the collection, analysis and validation of the knowledge. The knowledge held by expert practitioners is too valuable to be ignored. But only when thorough methods are applied, can the application of expert knowledge be as valid as the use of empirical data. The responsibility for the effective and rigorous use of expert knowledge lies with the researchers.
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Reports & Documents
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Ecosystem Benefits and Risks
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Ecosystem Benefits & Risks
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Understanding the complete and diverse benefits society receives from nature as well as risks to their sustainability will allow managers, industry, and the public to adopt policies that encourage protection and investments in these resources. To meet this need, the FWS collaborated with the Forest Service on cutting edge research that fully integrates society’s value of ecosystems with future threats to better inform natural resource planning and management across the Appalachian landscape. This unique work provides a comprehensive resource to partners at a regional level, serving as a model for the LCC Network to deliver ecosystem services conservation science.
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Energy Assessment News Release
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A new study and online mapping tool by the Appalachian Landscape Conservation Cooperative (LCC) and The Nature Conservancy are intended to inform discussions among conservation agencies and organizations, industry, policy makers, regulators and the public on how to protect essential natural resources while realizing the benefits of increased domestic energy production.
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Tools & Resources
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Assessing Future Energy Development
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Assessing Future Energy Development across the Appalachian LCC. Final Report
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In this study funded by the Appalachian LCC, The Nature Conservancy assessed current and future energy development across the entire region. The research combined multiple layers of data on energy development trends and important natural resource and ecosystem services to give a comprehensive picture of what future energy development could look like in the Appalachians. It also shows where likely energy development areas will intersect with other significant values like intact forests, important streams, and vital ecological services such as drinking water supplies.
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Tools & Resources
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Assessing Future Energy Development
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Interactive Conservation Planning for the Appalachian LCC
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The Appalachian LCC is currently engaged in an effort to develop a draft regional conservation plan for the Cooperative using an interactive and iterative spatial prioritization framework. Using available data and modeling approaches that are well supported in the literature, researchers from Clemson University are developing conservation planning models that include site selection, ecological threat assessments, and broad ranging habitat and ecological connectivity analyses.
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Research
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Ensuring Climate Resilient Aquatic Communities
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Partners of the Appalachian LCC presented the “Riparian Restoration Climate Change Resilience Tool” to the aquatic management and research community at the Annual Eastern Brook Trout Joint Venture (EBTJV) meeting in early September.
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News & Events
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Reviewing Studies of Caves and Subterranean Biodiversity
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A status review of studies from the cave and karst classification and mapping research project examined an array of research regarding cave environments, cave/karst biodiversity, and previous techniques for mapping and modeling such ecosystems.
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News & Events
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Acquiring Information on the Climate Vulnerability of Appalachian Species and Habitats
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A new report out of the Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment research project addresses how the Cooperative should acquire information about the climate vulnerability of Appalachian species and habitats and share with its partners.
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News & Events
