Highlights

Since 1989, the U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP) has submitted annual reports to Congress called Our Changing Planet. The reports describe the status of USGCRP research activities, provide progress updates, and document recent accomplishments.

In particular, Our Changing Planet highlights progress and accomplishments in interagency activities. These highlights represent the broad spectrum of USGCRP activities that extend from Earth system observations, modeling, and fundamental research through synthesis and assessment, decision support, education, and public engagement.

Three moments in a year of farming north of St. Louis, Missouri

USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) and Economic Research Service (ERS) track U.S. crop production each year, relying in large part on producer surveys and ground observations to estimate acreage and yields at state and county levels. During the growing season, production data inform estimates of crop acreage and yields that help farmers and traders set prices. Satellite data offer a useful method for validating statistics collected on the ground, and can help fill in gaps in ground observations, particularly in years where planting is delayed or disrupted due to weather...

Analysis of the costs and benefits of switching to paddy rice production suggests that farmers could increase profits while reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Drainage of organic soils for agriculture has resulted in widespread soil subsidence (sinkage relative to surrounding areas) and increased greenhouse gas emissions. The Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta in California, once an expansive wetland, was drained and converted to agricultural production in the mid-1800s, and has since experienced subsidence rates that are among the highest in...

Researchers are improving understanding of how shifts in climate conditions affect agricultural production, as well as the value of providing advance climate information to producers.

Climate variability and change affect agricultural yields and livelihoods^[1]. Improving our understanding of how the interaction of climate variability and change affects agricultural production, particularly on regional scales that are more relevant to decision making, is an important research frontier. As part of the joint NSF-USDA...

The Strawberry Advisory System tool, which shows risk levels for climate-related disease in strawberry crops, helps growers make decisions about fungicide application.

Interagency efforts develop and deliver science-based information and technologies to help agricultural producers and natural resource managers make optimal management decisions.

Farmers, ranchers, and land managers across the country rely on weather and climate information in their management decisions. To help producers and managers better understand the risks and opportunities that extreme weather events and climate change present for their operations, interagency efforts produce and deliver a range of information tools and resources that help guide climate risk...

VegDRI (left) and QuickDRI (right) for weeks in May and July depicting the evolution of the “flash” drought over eastern Montana, North Dakota, and South Dakota in 2017.

Monitoring tools help resource managers prepare for and reduce the impacts of drought.

The impacts of drought on water resources, plants and wildfire, agriculture, and the economy are complex and occur over many timescales, underscoring the value of a range of drought monitoring tools that support different types of decisions. To help meet this need, two complementary weekly drought monitoring and mapping tools—the Vegetation Drought Response Index (VegDRI) and the Quick Drought Response Index (QuickDRI)—were...

Federally coordinated regional science centers work individually and together on projects that support tangible outcomes in their regions. For example, Western Water Assessment (WWA, a NOAA RISA team) is partnering with the DOI North Central CSC on a coll

Climate change affects every region of the United States differently, and no single Federal program can tackle the full range of regional decision-support needs. Coordination at the regional scale is vital to ensuring that Federally supported science and risk management efforts best meet the information requirements of decision makers in a variety of sectors. USDA, NOAA, and DOI individually support a portfolio of complementary regional networks that deliver climate science and tools to public officials, agricultural producers, natural resource managers, and

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A farmer works a plot in Accra, Ghana. Agriculture in urban and peri-urban (or urban–rural transition) zones can contribute to food security for cities in the developing world, but UPA systems face pressure from the impacts of urbanization and climate cha

Food security is a critical challenge in rapidly urbanizing, low-income regions of the world. Climate change is likely to increase disruptions to food availability and prices, further exacerbating food insecurity for the urban poor. Urban and peri-urban agriculture (UPA) can serve as an important food source for cities in the developing world, contributing to dietary diversity and economic activity. However, UPA systems are stressed by factors such as rapid urban growth, weak governance over land and water allocation, and pollution. Moreover, the potential of

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The severe, sustained drought affecting the Central Valley of California has caused a shortage of water for irrigation and crop production. The effect of this shortage is most immediately evident as an increase in the extent of fallowed farmland (or land taken out of agricultural production), which in turn serves as a proxy for socioeconomic impacts. Decision makers can use information about fallowed land to better understand the severity of drought impacts and to support requests for USDA drought disaster designations or emergency proclamations. USDA

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This graph shows projected impacts of climate change on crop productivity (darker blue) and related agricultural and economic responses. Black dots indicate the average percent change in each variable by 2050, relative to no climate change; the height of

Agricultural production is a critical sector of the domestic and global economy that is affected directly by climate change. The Agricultural Model Intercomparison and Improvement Project (AgMIP)—supported in part by DOE, NASA, USAID, and USDA—is a major international effort linking the climate, crop, and economic modeling communities to produce improved projections of climate impacts on the agricultural sector, thereby enhancing capacity to prepare for and respond to these climate-driven changes. To learn more about AgMIP, visit: http://goo.gl/ZmU82S

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The Transboundary Flathead River Watershed, home to key trout and salmon species, extends from British Columbia into Montana. (Credit: G. Lenz, USGS)

Trout and salmon are economically and ecologically important stream-dwelling species. Researchers from USGS, NOAA, and the University of Montana are working together to assess the effects of current and future climate change on these species’ freshwater habitats throughout the Pacific Northwest, with the goal of providing tools to help managers predict and respond to potential climate impacts on habitats, populations, and the economy.

Research to date indicate that increasing stream water temperatures may lead to fragmentation of suitable habitat for

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Highlights

Satellite and ground data track status of the nation’s food supply

Informing agricultural emissions management

Modeling the impacts of climate variability on agriculture

Providing climate information tools to agricultural communities

Supporting informed responses to drought

Regional Science Networks for Climate-Smart Decision Making

Urban Agriculture and Food Security: A Nine-City Assessment

Mapping Fallowed Farmland During Drought

Modeling Climate Impacts on Agriculture and Adaptation by the Agro-Economy

Assessing Risks to Freshwater Fish