State of the Science

When:

Jun 14, 2011 1:30 pm US/Eastern

Length: 01:30   (hh:mm)

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Attendees:

By Invitation ONLY (A passcode is required to attend this live webinar session.)

Author(s)/Presenter(s):

• Steve McNulty, Ecologist, Eastern Forest Environmental Threat Assessment Center, Southern Research Station, USDA Forest Service, Raleigh, NC.

Credits:

• None have been applied for or approved at this time.

Webinar Format:

• Multiple Media Formats Supported

The International Panel on Climate Change concluded that as the atmosphere warms the potential for more frequent and potentially more severe events increases. Following the hottest year ever recorded on Earth, the US is now experiencing numerous extreme events such as a record month for number of tornadoes (April) , a record for loss of life from a single tornado (the May F5 tornado in Joplin MO), a record amount of wildfire acreage burned to date, record drought in New Mexico and Oklahoma, and record snows causing record flooding in the Midwest. But how do we differentiate weather (even extreme weather) from climate and climate change? Additionally, what about associated stresses such as insect and disease outbreaks, forest fragmentation, multiple resource use, and other factors? How can we manage our forests to reduce risks to forest health, even if we do not know what, when or where these risks will occur? In truth, foresters always have, and always will need to assess risk as part of their forest management planning and practice. Climate change will likely add to and increase some risks to forest health, but there are many new tools that are becoming available to assist the land managers in coping and adapting to these risks. This presentation will discuss the potential threats associated with climate change to eastern US forests, and provide a list of tools to assess and address these developing risks.