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.
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
Reducing the rate of biodiversity loss and averting precipitous ecosystem changes are internationally shared goals. Through its funding to DIVERSITAS, USGCRP supports the international Group on Earth Observation’s Biodiversity Observation Network (GEO BON) in building a global, scientifically robust framework for detecting biodiversity change, intended to fill gaps in existing data and create links between globally dispersed observing systems. To meet
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