Climate Change and North American Rangelands: Assessment of Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies |
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| Authors: | Linda A. Joyce David D. Briske Joel R. Brown H. Wayne Polley Bruce A. McCarl Derek W. Bailey |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Quantitative Ecologist, Human Dimensions Research Program, USDA Forest Service Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fort Collins, CO 80526, USA;;2. Professor, Department of Ecosystem Science and Management, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USA;;3. Rangeland Management Specialist, USDA-NRCS Jornada Experimental Range, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM 88003, USA;;4. Research Ecologist, USDA-ARS Grassland, Soil and Water Research Laboratory, Temple, TX 76502, USA;;5. Distinguished Professor, Department of Agricultural Economics, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USA;;6. Professor, Animal and Range Sciences Department, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM 88003, USA.;1. Postdoctoral Research Associate, Department of Natural Resource Ecology and Management, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK 74078, USA;2. Regents Professor, Department of Natural Resource Ecology and Management, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK 74078, USA;3. Associate Professor, and Department of Natural Resource Ecology and Management, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK 74078, USA;4. Sarkeys Distinguished Professor, Department of Natural Resource Ecology and Management, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK 74078, USA.;1. Professor, Department of Environmental Science and Policy, University of California, Davis, CA, 95616, USA;2. Assistant Professor, Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, IL 61820, USA;3. Postdoctoral Scholar, Department of Plant Sciences, University of California, Davis, CA, 95616, USA;4. Doctoral Student, Department of Environmental Science and Policy, University of California, Davis, CA, 95616, USA;5. Supervisory Research Rangeland Management Specialist and Research Leader, USDA-ARS Rangeland Resources Research Unit, Cheyenne, WY 82009, USA;6. Post-Doctoral Scholar, USDA-ARS Rangeland Resources Research Unit, Cheyenne, WY 82009, USA;7. Rangeland Watershed Specialist, Department of Plant Sciences, University of California, Davis, CA, 95616, USA.;1. School for Resource and Environmental Studies, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada;2. Institute of Agricultural and Forestry Economics, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, Austria.;1. Associate Professor, Department of Geography, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA;2. Conservationist and Author, Chamisal, NM 87521, USA;3. Research Ecologist, USDA-ARS, Jornada Experimental Range, Las Cruces, NM 88003, USA;4. Supervisory Scientist, USDA-ARS, Jornada Experimental Range, Las Cruces, NM 88003, USA;1. Assistant Professor, Department of Natural Resources in Arid Lands, Prince El-Hassan bin Talal Faculty for Arid Lands, The Hashemite University, Zarqa, Jordan;2. Professor, Department of Animal and Range Sciences, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM 88003, USA;3. Assistant Professor, Department of Animal and Range Sciences, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM 88003, USA;4. Graduate Research Assistant, Department of Animal and Range Sciences, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM 88003, USA;5. New Mexico Water Resources Research Institute, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM 88003, USA |
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| Abstract: | Recent climatic trends and climate model projections indicate that climate change will modify rangeland ecosystem functions and the services and livelihoods that they provision. Recent history has demonstrated that climatic variability has a strong influence on both ecological and social components of rangeland systems and that these systems possess substantial capacity to adapt to climatic variability. Specific objectives of this synthesis are to: 1) evaluate options to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions and future climate change; 2) survey actions that individuals, enterprises, and social organizations can use to adapt to climate change; and 3) assess options for system transformation when adaptation is no longer sufficient to contend with climate change. Mitigation for carbon sequestration does not appear economically viable, given the small and highly variable carbon dioxide fluxes of rangeland ecosystems and the high transaction costs that would be incurred. In contrast, adaptation strategies are numerous and provide a means to manage risks associated with climate change. Adaptation strategies are diverse, including altered risk perception by individuals, greater flexibility of production enterprises, and modifications to social organizations that emphasize climatic variability, rather than consistency. Many adaptations represent “no regrets” actions because their implementation can be justified without emphasis on pending climate change. Adaptations specific to livestock production systems can include flexible herd management, alternative livestock breeds or species, innovative pest management, modified enterprise structures, and geographic relocation. Social-ecological systems in which adaptation is insufficient to counter the adverse consequences of climate change might undergo transformative change to produce alternative ecosystem services, production enterprises, and livelihoods. The rangeland profession is in a pivotal position to provide leadership on this global challenge because it represents the intersection of management and scientific knowledge, includes diverse stakeholders who derive their livelihoods from rangelands, and interacts with organizations responsible for rangeland stewardship. |
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