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Climate Change Refugia Special Issue: Buying Time for Biodiversity to Adapt in a Changing World
Human-caused climate change will rapidly alter ecosystems in the Northwest and around the world, putting species that inhabit them under severe stress. These sweeping ecological changes will leave little time for species and ecosystems to adapt to new conditions, resulting in extinctions and large-scale ecosystem transformations.
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Improving Refugia Identification by Combining Landscape and Species-Based Approaches
Identifying and protecting climate change refugia — areas relatively buffered from climate change that can help species persist in a warming climate — is increasingly important for conservation planning. Until recently, the approaches used to identify refugia at broad scales mainly focused on landscape features and climate conditions.
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A Broader View of Disturbance Refugia in a Changing Climate
Many natural disturbances, like wildfires, which have helped to maintain ecosystem processes and biodiversity in the past, are worsening under climate change and are threatening biodiversity. There is increasing recognition of the role of disturbance refugia — locations disturbed less severely or less frequently than the surrounding landscape — as legacies important to sustaining species under rapid ecological change.
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Lynx on the Edge? Canada Lynx Occupancy in Washington
The Canada lynx (Lynx canadensis) is a sensitive indicator species for impacts of climate change, as it is adapted to forested, high-elevation and deep-snow environments. In Washington, part of its southern range, the endangered Canada lynx is especially threatened by increases in temperature and associated loss of snow cover.
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New NW CASC Synthesis Explores the Effects of Climate Change on Invasive Species in the Northwest
There is growing concern that changing climate conditions will amplify the negative impacts of non-native invasive species and facilitate their expansion. Despite the potential ecological and economic impacts of invasive species expansions in the Northwest, there has been no comprehensive synthesis on climate change effects on invasive species – until now.
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NW CASC Study Synthesizes What Climate Change Means for Northwest Wildfires
Recent years have brought unusually large and damaging wildfires to the Pacific Northwest, leaving many people wondering what this means for our region’s future. A University of Washington study, funded by the NW CASC and US Forest Service, takes a big-picture look at what climate change could mean for wildfires in the Northwest.
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New NW CASC-funded Synthesis Explores the Effects of Changing Climate Conditions on Wildfires and Forests of the Northwest
Forests are an iconic feature of Northwest landscapes. From dense forests of towering conifers in the west to ponderosa pine forests in the east, these ecosystems provide water, wildlife habitat, timber, recreation and other benefits.
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NW CASC Research Provides New Synthesis on Ecological Drought in the Northwest
As the climate changes in the Northwest, increasing temperatures and changing precipitation patterns are expected to significantly alter our annual snowpack, stream flows and water availability. Along with these changes comes an increased risk of ecological drought, or periods of water stress that significantly impact species, habitats, ecosystems and the services they provide.
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New Report on Makah Traditional Knowledge and Cultural Resource Assessment
Current Northwest Climate Adaptation Science Center (NW CASC) Fellow Laura Nelson is an author on a new report about “Makah Traditional Knowledge and Cultural Resource Assessment: A preliminary framework to utilize traditional knowledge into climate change planning.” Many Indigenous communities are planning for the protection of their natural resources and cultures in the face of climate change.
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NW CASC-Funded Research Explores Remote Sensing of Nitrogen in Dryland Ecosystems
Former Northwest Climate Adaptation Science Center (NW CASC) Fellow Hamid Dashti is the lead author of a new paper that evaluates methods for measuring nitrogen in dryland ecosystems. As the climate warms, dryland ecosystems in the western United States are already experiencing change and becoming more susceptible to fire-prone, invasive species such as cheatgrass.
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