STRATEGY 4.2.3: Climate Change

Assess and forecast climate change and its effects.

Other Information:

The extent to which U.S. communities and ecosystems may be affected by climate change will depend on the nature of the impacts and the sensitivity of the ecosystem to the changes. Successful adaptation to climate change will depend on access to a variety of options for effective management responses. The Department will support research and monitoring initiatives of carbon, nitrogen, and water cycles, and their effects on ecosystems. The USGS will provide tools for managers to develop, implement, and test adaptive strategies, reduce risk, and increase the potential for ecological systems to be self-sustaining, resilient, and adaptable to environmental changes. Interior also considers the application of traditional knowledge when making decisions affecting tribal communities. The USGS will, through its existing scientific assets and the new DOI Landscape Conservation Cooperatives and Climate Science Centers, implement partner-driven science to improve understanding of past and present land use change, develop relevant climate and land use forecasts, and identify lands, resources, and communities that are most vulnerable to adverse impacts of change from the local to global scale.

Stakeholder(s):

• USGS


• Tribal Communities


• Landscape Conservation Cooperatives


• Climate Science Centers

Indicator(s):

Indicator:1

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