Landscape Partnership Resources Library
Progress Report
Quarterly Report from vendor NatureServe for Climate Change Vulnerability Project.
Q1 2013 TOT Review Summary
Reviews from Technical Oversight Team on this Quarterly Report.
Progress Report
1st Quarter Report of 2013 from Vendor of Ecological Flows Project.
Progress Report
Fourth Quarter report of 2012 from vendor of Ecological Flows Project.
2013 SN Portfolio (Full Report)
In February 2013, almost 50 experts from a wide range of technical background in both natural and social sciences, as well as geographic expertise across the entire region, volunteered to participate in the annual review of the Appalachian LCC Science Needs Portfolio. 2013 marked the first revision of the Portfolio.
Climate Change
2013 SN Portfolio: Mission to create an effective adaptation strategy for climate change based on the best available science.
Human Dimensions
2013 SN Portfolio: Mission is to incorporate ecosystem services values into natural resource decision-making.
Working Lands
2013 SN Portfolio: Mission is to improve planning and integration of “working lands” (which include urbanized, agricultural, forestry, industrial, and energy development) and conservation interests.
Openlands
2013 SN Portfolio: Mission is to maintain native habitats and native species in their current locations or support these as they migrate in response to land use and climate changes in the future.
Forest Lands
2013 SN Portfolio: Mission is to identify and prioritize regional forest habitats and natural communities to foster resiliency in the face of current and future threats while supporting a larger multijurisdictional framework for planning and management.
Wetlands
2013 SN Portfolio: Science Objective is to inventory significant regional wetland habitats, evaluate the condition and importance of these habitats, and identify regional threats impacting those resources. Management Objective is so that LCC partners and stakeholders can develop and implement cohesive regional management strategies to protect and manage wetlands across jurisdictions.
Cave, Karst & Minelands
2013 SN Portfolio: Mission to conserve and manage cave/karst and restored mine land (CKM) communities across jurisdictions.
Aquatic
2013 SN Portfolio: Mission is to maintain native habitats and endemic aquatic species in their current locations or support these as they migrate with land use and climate changes in the future.
Clark, J.S. et al. Climate change vulnerability of forest biodiversity: climate and competition tracking of demographic rates
Author's Abstract Forest responses to climate change will depend on demographic impacts in the context of competition. Current models used to predict species responses, termed climate envelope models (CEMs), are controversial, because (i) calibration and prediction are based on correlations in space (CIS) between species abundance and climate, rather than responses to climate change over time (COT), and (ii) they omit competition. To determine the relative importance of COT, CIS, and competition for light, we applied a longitudinal analysis of 27 000 individual trees over 6–18 years subjected to experimental and natural variation in risk factors. Sensitivities and climate and resource tracking identify which species are vulnerable to these risk factors and in what ways. Results show that responses to COT differ from those predicted based on CIS. The most important impact is the effect of spring temperature on fecundity, rather than any input variable on growth or survival. Of secondary importance is growing season moisture. Species in the genera Pinus, Ulmus, Magnolia, and Fagus are particularly vulnerable to climate variation. However, the effect of competition on growth and mortality risk exceeds the effects of climate variation in space or time for most species. Because sensitivities to COT and competition are larger than CIS, current models miss the most important effects. By directly comparing sensitivity to climate in time and space, together with competition, the approach identifies which species are sensitive to climate change and why, including the heretofore overlooked impact on fecundity.
Do geographic distribution, niche property and life form explain plants' vulnerability to global change?
Author's abstract: We modelled the future distribution in 2050 of 975 endemic plant species in southern Africa distributed among seven life forms, including new methodological insights improving the accuracy and ecological realism of predictions of global changes studies by: (i) using only endemic species as a way to capture the full realized niche of species, (ii) considering the direct impact of human pressure on landscape and biodiversity jointly with climate, and (iii) taking species' migration into account. Our analysis shows important promises for predicting the impacts of climate change in conjunction with land transformation. We have shown that the endemic flora of Southern Africa on average decreases with 41% in species richness among habitats and with 39% on species distribution range for the most optimistic scenario. We also compared the patterns of species' sensitivity with global change across life forms, using ecological and geographic characteristics of species. We demonstrate here that species and life form vulnerability to global changes can be partly explained according to species' (i) geographical distribution along climatic and biogeographic gradients, like climate anomalies, (ii) niche breadth or (iii) proximity to barrier preventing migration. Our results confirm that the sensitivity of a given species to global environmental changes depends upon its geographical distribution and ecological proprieties, and makes it possible to estimate a priori its potential sensitivity to these changes.
FL: Addressing the Challenge of Climate Change in the Greater Everglades Landscape
“Addressing the Challenge of Climate Change in the Greater Everglades Landscape” is a research initiative funded by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and carried out by a group of researchers at the Department of Urban Studies and Planning at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). The study investigates possible trajectories of future transformation in the Greater Everglades Landscape relative to four main drivers: climate change, shifts in planning approaches and regulations, population change, and variations in financial resources. Through a systematic exploration at the landscape-scale, this research identifies some of the major challenges to future conservation efforts and illustrates a planning method which can generate conservation strategies resilient to a variety of climatic and socioeconomic conditions.
DU: Confronting the Challenges of Climate Change for Waterfowl and Wetlands
Browne, Dawn M. and Dale D. Humburg. 2010. Confronting the Challenges of Climate Change for Waterfowl and Wetlands. Ducks Unlimited, Inc. Memphis, TN.
Site Assessment Tool
The Site Assessment Tool (.xls, 499KB) enables WSHRN sites to systematically review their state of conservation, the threats they are facing, the responses needed and the effectiveness of site management. The results of the assessments will lead to priority setting and strategic actions for WHSRN to respond effectively to the main needs and issues of the network, with the ultimate goal of conserving healthy shorebird populations. (print of web page)
Coastal: Vunerability Assessment - Shorebird Habitat
Instructions Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment for Shorebird Habitat. Coastal Version. 7/03/2010 Manomet Center for Conservation Sciences/U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. By Dorie Stolley
Manomet: Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment for Shorebird
The Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment for Shorebird Habitat (CCVASH) is an innovative, Excel-based assessment and decision-making tool that was developed during 2009/2010 by the Manomet Center for Conservation Sciences's Shorebird Recovery Project [4] in partnership with the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS [5]) Northeast Region’s Division of Refuges. This partnership, funded in large part by the generosity of individual Manomet donors concerned about climate change impacts on shorebirds, enabled Refuge Biologist Dorie Stolley to develop and pilot the tool during a one-year assignment to Manomet.
