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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.

Ecosystems & Biodiversity, Adaptation

Drought and wildfire research supports adaptation planning in the western United States

A natural-color image captured by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aboard NASA’s Terra satellite on August 27, 2017, shows dozens of wildfires burning in the western United States.
Wildfires affect communities throughout the United States each year, threatening lives, property and infrastructure, and ecosystems.[1] Understanding the climatic conditions that influence wildfire patterns can improve our ability to predict the occurrence and severity of future wildfires, and ultimately support the development of effective adaptation strategies. 
 
In response to this need, multiple programs within the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the Department of the Interior’s...
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Observations, Land Use & Land Cover, Ecosystems & Biodiversity, Arctic

Monitoring change in Alaskan forests

G-LiHT measurements for an area within Bonanza Creek Experimental Forest near Fairbanks, Alaska.

Scientists are using aerial and ground survey methods to measure change in Alaska’s interior forests and its impact on ecosystem services. 

The boreal forests of interior Alaska are changing rapidly as the climate warms. Wildfires are more frequent and more severe, and declines in growth of spruce trees may be driving a shift towards ecosystems normally found in warmer climates. These changes can have significant impacts on the quality of wildlife habitat and ecosystem services that support the subsistence economies of many native Alaskan...

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Observations, Land Use & Land Cover, Ecosystems & Biodiversity, Arctic

Detecting the drivers of forest change in Alaska and the Arctic

Using 29 years of data from Landsat satellites, researchers at NASA found extensive greening in the vegetation across Alaska and Canada.

Scientists are using satellites to collect detailed data on forest change in remote parts of Alaska and the Arctic.

Rapid warming in the Arctic and boreal regions of Alaska is affecting boreal forests and tundra ecosystems in a number of ways. Higher temperatures and changes in precipitation have led to a higher incidence of wildfire and increased tree mortality from drought, insects, and disease. Increases in the length of the growing season and the amount of energy produced by vegetation have also been observed. While tracking how climate...

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Observations, Land Use & Land Cover, Ecosystems & Biodiversity

Measuring ecosystem response to changing environments in Pacific Northwest forests

Scientists are combining satellite remote sensing and ground survey data to better understand the impacts of climate change and other disturbances on the health of Pacific Northwest forests and the ecosystem services they provide. 

Pacific Northwest forests are sensitive to temperature and drought stress and face increased vulnerability to insect pests, diseases, and fires in a changing climate. The frequency and severity of climate-related forest disturbances are expected to continue to increase over the 21st...

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Observations, Modeling, Ecosystems & Biodiversity, Carbon Cycle, Arctic

Understanding carbon cycling in Arctic ecosystems

Map shows the average active layer thickness (ALT) at the end of the growing season for the Barrow, Alaska region that contains the NGEE Arctic study site.

Scientists are gaining new understanding of processes that control greenhouse gas emissions from Arctic permafrost, a potential driver of significant future warming.

Rapid warming in the Arctic is causing carbon-rich soils known as permafrost, previously frozen for millennia, to thaw. As thawing soils decompose, the greenhouse gases carbon dioxide and methane are released into the atmosphere in varying proportions depending on the conditions under which decomposition occurs. Permafrost emissions could contribute significantly to future warming...

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Ecosystems & Biodiversity, Carbon Cycle

Understanding carbon cycling in warming northern peatlands

Figure shows how methane production changes with temperature in (a) surface and (b) deep peat samples that were anaerobically (without oxygen) incubated

Researchers are experimentally warming northern peatlands to understand carbon cycling in the climate of the future. 

Northern peatlands hold large stocks of organic carbon in their soils that are vulnerable to release into the atmosphere as the greenhouse gases carbon dioxide and methane as the climate warms. Emissions of methane, which has about 28 times the warming power...

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Ecosystems & Biodiversity, Carbon Cycle

Assessing Alaska’s carbon resources

Spatial distribution of A, annual carbon loss and gain across upland Alaska 1950–2009 and B, historical fire scars from 2000–2009 among the five Landscape Conservation Cooperative (LCC) regions.

An assessment of carbon stocks in Alaska’s soils and vegetation helped set a baseline for monitoring future change.

Alaska’s soils and vegetation store vast quantities of carbon. Increases in temperature throughout the 21st century may increasingly expose these stores to loss from increased wildfire, permafrost thaw, and other changes that could turn Alaska’s ecosystems into a net source of carbon to the atmosphere. However, much of Alaska has previously not been considered in any major national...

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Ecosystems & Biodiversity, Carbon Cycle

Predicting the future of tropical forests

A warmed TRACE plot in the USDA-Forest Service Luquillo Experimental Forest in Puerto Rico.

Field research provides new data advancing our ability to project how tropical forests will respond to a changing climate.

Tropical forests store vast amounts of carbon and play a key role in regulating Earth’s climate. As climate changes, these ecosystems have the potential to become a net contributor to global warming if they shift to releasing more carbon to the atmosphere than they absorb[1]. However, how these forests will be affected by a warming climate and changing atmosphere is still uncertain¾and is critical...

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Ecosystems & Biodiversity, Carbon Cycle

Understanding carbon flows in vulnerable coastal wetlands

Mangrove forests store large amounts of carbon, protect the coastline from erosion, and provide shelter for many species.

A new research network aims to accelerate discoveries in the science of these important natural carbon sources and sinks.

Coastal wetlands provide protection from wind and waves, support habitats and fisheries, and store large amounts of atmospheric carbon dioxide for centuries to millennia. These ecosystems can also be sources of greenhouse gas emissions to the atmosphere; wetlands that do not have the capacity to keep pace with sea-level rise, for example, can erode and release soil carbon rapidly to the atmosphere. Freshwater and brackish wetlands also emit methane, a...

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Ecosystems & Biodiversity

Protecting Fish, Wildlife, Plants, and Ecosystems in a Changing Climate

Protecting Fish, Wildlife, Plants, and Ecosystems in a Changing Climate

As climate change and other stressors increasingly threaten ecosystem health, natural-resource agencies and their partners and stakeholders are wrestling with similar management challenges and seeking common, coordinated solutions. Called for by both Congress and the Executive Branch, the National Fish, Wildlife, and Plants Climate Adaptation Strategy (NFWPCAS or Strategy) was developed collectively by diverse teams of experts from Federal, state, and tribal conservation agencies and through an extensive national...

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