From: Wesley Roe and Santa Barbara Permaculture Network <lakinroe@silcom.com>
To: permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org, permaculture@openpermaculture.org
Subject: [permaculture] Final Report The Effects of Climate Change on Agriculture, Land Resources, Water Resources, and Biodiversity in the USA Report (USDA)
The U.S. Climate Change Science Program report
Synthesis and Assessment Product 4.3 (SAP 4.3):
The Effects of Climate Change on Agriculture,
Land Resources, Water Resources, and Biodiversity
in the United States integrates the Federal
research efforts of 13 agencies on climate and global change.
The report has 38 authors from the universities,
national laboratories, non-governmental
organizations, and Federal service. SAP 4.3 has
undergone expert peer review by 14 scientists
through a Federal Advisory Committee formed by
the USDA, and includes over 1,000 references.
USDA was the lead agency for this report as part of its commitment to CCSP.
The report focuses on the next 25 to 50 years,
and finds that climate change is already
affecting U.S. water resources, agriculture, land
resources, and biodiversity, and will continue to do so.
USDA Climate Change Activities (Fact Sheets):
Agricultural Research Service
Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service
Economic Research Service
Farm Service Agency
Forest Service
Natural Resources Conservation Service
Risk Management Agency
USDA is using the reports findings in the
development of a new Strategic Plan for Climate
Change research. The Forest Service is
integrating climate change into National Forest
Service Management Plans and is providing
guidance to Forest Managers on how to respond and
adapt to climate change. The Natural Resources
Conservation Service and Farm Services Agency are
encouraging actions to reduce GHG emissions and
increase carbon sequestration through
conservation programs. USDAs Risk Management
Agency has prepared tools to manage drought
risks, and is conducting an assessment of the
risks of climate change on the crop insurance
program. USDA is also providing guidance to
landowners to enable them to estimate their greenhouse gas footprints.
The effects of climate change on agriculture,
land resources, water resources, and biodiversity in the United States
Final Report, Synthesis and Assessment Product 4.3
land resources, water resources, and biodiversity in the United States
Final Report, Synthesis and Assessment Product 4.3
The effects of climate change on agriculture,
land resources, water resources, and biodiversity in the United States
Final Report, Synthesis and Assessment Product 4.3
A Report by the U.S. Climate Change Science
Program and the Subcommittee on Global Change Research
CONVENING LEAD AUTHORS: Peter Backlund, Anthony Janetos, and David Schimel
MANAGING EDITOR: Margaret Walsh
The effects of climate change on agriculture,
land resources, water resources, and biodiversity in the United States
Final Report, Synthesis and Assessment Product 4.3
William Hohenstein (202-720-6698)
Brenda Chapin (202-720-5447)
U.S. Climate Change Science Program RELEASES
REPORT ON THE EFFECTS OF Climate Change ON
AGRICULTURE, LAND AND WATER RESOURCES AND BIODIVERSITY
WASHINGTON, May 27, 2008 -- The U.S.
Climate Change Science Program (CCSP) today
released Synthesis and Assessment Product 4.3
(SAP 4.3): The Effects of Climate Change on
Agriculture, Land Resources, Water Resources, and
Biodiversity in the United States. The CCSP
integrates the federal research efforts of 13
agencies on climate and global change. Todays
report is one of the most extensive examinations
of climate impacts on U.S. ecosystems. USDA is
the lead agency for this report and coordinated
its production as part of its commitment to CCSP.
The report issued today provides
practical information that will help land owners
and resource managers make better decisions to
address the risks of climate change, said
Agriculture Chief Economist Joe Glauber.
The report was written by 38 authors
from the universities, national laboratories,
non-governmental organizations, and federal
service. The report underwent expert peer review
by 14 scientists through a Federal Advisory
Committee formed by the USDA. The National
Center for Atmospheric Research also coordinated
in the production of the report. It is posted on the CCSP Web site at:
http://www.climatescience.gov/Library/sap/sap4-3/default.php.
The report finds that climate change is
already affecting U.S. water resources,
agriculture, land resources, and biodiversity,
and will continue to do so. Specific findings include:
· Grain and oilseed crops will mature more
rapidly, but increasing temperatures will
increase the risk of crop failures, particularly
if precipitation decreases or becomes more variable.
· Higher temperatures will negatively
affect livestock. Warmer winters will reduce
mortality but this will be more than offset by
greater mortality in hotter summers. Hotter
temperatures will also result in reduced
productivity of livestock and dairy animals.
· Forests in the interior West, the
Southwest, and Alaska are already being affected
by climate change with increases in the size and
frequency of forest fires, insect outbreaks and
tree mortality. These changes are expected to continue.
· Much of the United States has experienced
higher precipitation and streamflow, with
decreased drought severity and duration, over the
20th century. The West and Southwest, however,
are notable exceptions, and increased drought
conditions have occurred in these regions.
· Weeds grow more rapidly under elevated
atmospheric CO2. Under projections reported in
the assessment, weeds migrate northward and are
less sensitive to herbicide applications.
· There is a trend toward reduced mountain
snowpack and earlier spring snowmelt runoff in the Western United States.
· Horticultural crops (such as tomato,
onion, and fruit) are more sensitive to climate
change than grains and oilseed crops.
· Young forests on fertile soils will
achieve higher productivity from elevated
atmospheric CO2 concentrations. Nitrogen
deposition and warmer temperatures will increase
productivity in other types of forests where water is available.
· Invasion by exotic grass species into
arid lands will result from climate change,
causing an increased fire frequency. Rivers and
riparian systems in arid lands will be negatively impacted.
· A continuation of the trend toward
increased water use efficiency could help
mitigate the impacts of climate change on water resources.
· The growing season has increased by 10 to
14 days over the last 19 years across the
temperate latitudes. Species distributions have also shifted.
· The rapid rates of warming in the Arctic
observed in recent decades, and projected for at
least the next century, are dramatically reducing
the snow and ice covers that provide denning and
foraging habitat for polar bears.
USDA agencies are responding to the
risks of climate change. For example, the Forest
Service is incorporating climate change risks
into National Forest Management Plans and is
providing guidance to forest managers on how to
respond and adapt to climate change. The Natural
Resources Conservation Service and Farm Services
Agency are encouraging actions to reduce
greenhouse gas emissions and increase carbon
sequestration through conservation
programs. USDAs Risk Management Agency has
prepared tools to manage drought risks and is
conducting an assessment of the risks of climate
change on the crop insurance program.
[permaculture] Final Report The Effects of Climate Change on Agriculture, Land Resources, Water Resources, and Biodiversity in the USA Report (USDA),
Wesley Roe and Santa Barbara Permaculture Network, 06/25/2008