Southwest climate vulnerability
Description: Webinar discusses the vulnerability of southwestern landscapes to climate change. Climate change has created new challenges for resource managers with broad and often complex effects that make it difficult to accurately predict and design management options to minimize undesirable impacts.To address a gap in climate vulnerability assessments available for the Southwest, Friggens and Triepke developed a modeling study for all major upland ecosystem types at spatial and thematic scales applicable to local administrative units and landscapes.
Vulnerability was determined by comparing the pre-1990 climate with the 2090 forecasted climate for all lands in Arizona and New Mexico. Results suggest the majority of lands in Arizona and New Mexico are highly vulnerable to future climate impacts, but that vulnerability varies considerably by location and ecosystem type.
Presenters: Megan Friggens, RMRS ecologist and Jack Triepke, FS southwestern region