Climate & Fire & Adaptation
Webinar join links and recordings.
11-week lecture series Lookout: Envisioning Futures with Wildfire, we’ll scan the horizon for the ideas and stories that can guide us through this critical and disorienting time. We’ve invited speakers who offer perspectives from across the arts, humanities, and environmental sciences to think about questions like: What can we learn about transformation from fire’s destructive and creative force? How should we live differently, both with each other and on the planet, in this era of wildfires? How can we honor fire as an ancient, rejuvenating element while also honoring all that has been lost to wildfire?
This series is hosted by the Spring Creek Project and the Environmental Arts and Humanities Initiative at Oregon State University and co-sponsored by OSU’s Center for the Humanities, OSU’s Sustainability Office, OSU’s Arts and Education Complex, and Terrain.org. Additional co-sponsors for individual talks are noted in the schedule below.
The talks in the series will be broadcast live on Zoom Tuesdays at 6 p.m. PST / 8 p.m. CST / 9 p.m. EST from January 4 to March 15. Free and open to everyone.
Webinar recording.
It seems the effects of climate change were all too clear in 2021. Yet, we know more change is expected. When trying to adapt to a changing climate, with all the inherent uncertainties about how the future may play out, resource managers often turn to scenario planning as a tool. Managers use scenario planning to explore plausible ways the climate may change, allowing them to work with climate change uncertainty rather than being paralyzed by it. Once identified, scenarios of the future are used to develop proactive measures to prepare for and adapt to scenarios of change.
A key part of scenario planning is generating a list of potential future climates we may deal with. These ‘climate futures’ serve as the foundation of each scenario explored in the planning process. For example, managers consider how they would respond to a warm, wet versus a hot, dry future. This webinar will describe and compare three approaches to generate the climate futures that feed into the scenario planning process. In doing so, this work identifies an approach to developing climate futures that captures a broad range of climate conditions (a key ingredient to developing scenarios) across both near and long-term planning horizons.
Summit summary.
In partnership with the La Jolla Band of Luiseño Indians, the Pala Band of Mission Indians, and the Institute for Tribal Environmental Professionals, the Climate Science Alliance co-hosted the 2022 Southwestern Tribal Climate Change Summit (SWTCCS) May 16-18, 2022. The 2022 theme: “Exploring the Fire Within Us”
The 2022 SWTCCS built upon key takeaways from the 2019 SWTCCS held in Idyllwild, CA. The 2022 summit brought together tribal leaders, professionals, and community members from across the Southwest to explore the kinship with fire and its role in community, conservation, and climate change adaptation while putting our own unique twist with hands-on activities, networking, and professional training opportunities.
View articles.
A Special Section in the journal BioScience provides an in-depth exposition of the Resist-Accept-Direct framework, a new approach to guide natural resource decision making. Articles in the Special Section explore the practical application of the framework, compatibility of existing tools, social barriers and opportunities, and future science needs.
Webinar recording.
Hear from tribal representatives who work in a variety of roles related to fire stewardship, research and management. These panelists share their goals around managing and stewarding fire, their perspectives on how scientists and managers can help ensure that collaborative fire projects meet the goals of tribal communities, how non-tribal scientists and managers can build trust with tribal communities, and the social and ecological challenges they face in their work.
View report.
Globally, more carbon is stored in the soil than in any other terrestrial form (Brevik 2013; Woodall et al. 2015). Soil organic carbon (SOC) may contain more than three times the carbon found in the atmosphere and terrestrial vegetation combined (Qafoku 2014). Soil organic carbon is derived from soil organic matter (i.e., decomposition of living organisms) and is generally about 58 percent of soil organic matter by weight (Pribyl 2010). Storage of SOC is limited by soil physical and chemical composition as well as microbial and plant community types, all of which are determined by soil moisture and temperature (Emmet et al. 2004; Kardol et al. 2010).
Webinar recording for Day 1.
Webinar recording for Day 2.
Climate change in the Great Basin poses many challenges to land management. This webinar series will discuss recent research and observations of climate and drought-driven changes in pinyon-juniper woodland dynamics. Tune in to better understand what changes may be in store. These one-hour webinars will begin at 11 PST/12 MST.
Day 1: Recent Pinyon-Juniper Responses to Climate Change
Great Basin pinyon-juniper responses to climate change: Woodland expansion, contraction, or transformation? – Peter Weisberg, UNR
PJ woodland management changes after two decades of drought: Perspective from Four Corners – Ian Barrett, BLM
Q&A and discussion
Day 2: Understory Response and Management Implications
Fire impacts in pinyon-juniper woodlands: Recovery, plant invasions, and restoration opportunities – Ali Urza, USFS
Anticipating future climate-driven changes in pinyon-juniper woodlands – Bob Shriver, UNR
Q&A and discussion
Webinar recording.
The Nature Conservancy (TNC) in Idaho recently partnered with GS Strategy Group to conduct a public opinion survey in North Idaho to gauge public perceptions on forest health, wildfire, controlled burning, and climate change. Please join for a virtual presentation and discussion of the results. Kari Kostka, Director of External Affairs for TNC and IFRP Board member, will join Robert Jones, Partner with GS Strategy Group, to share the results and answer questions.
Conference website.
AGU Fall Meeting 2021 will be held in-person in New Orleans, Louisiana as well as online everywhere from 13-17 December.
Check forum webpage for recordings or resources.
This year’s Forum focused on drought impacts for Idaho rangelands and strategies for moving landscapes and communities towards resilience. A diverse group of panelists and speakers presented on the economic, social, and ecological implications of drought, as well as solutions.