Vulnerability Assessments of U.S. Agriculture and Forests (2018)

The Climate Hubs and their partners’ work was published in two special issues of the scientific journal Climatic Change. These articles shed light on region and sector-specific vulnerabilities on working lands, and offer paths forward to help land managers and rural communities adapt, mitigate risk, and build resilience in a changing climate.

Syntheses
Navigating climate-related challenges on working lands: a special issue by the USDA Climate Hubs and their partners
Diverse landscapes, diverse risks: synthesis of the special issue on climate change and adaptive capacity in a hotter, drier Southwestern United States
County-level climate change information to support decision-making on working lands
Grazing, livestock, beef and dairy cattle
Estimating climate change effects on grazing management and beef cattle production in the Pacific Northwest
Vulnerability of grazing and confined livestock in the Northern Great Plains to projected mid- and late-twenty-first century climate
Vulnerabilities of Southwestern U.S. Rangeland-based animal agriculture to climate change
Climate change effects on livestock in the Northeast US and strategies for adaptation
Assessing climate vulnerabilities and adaptive strategies for resilient beef and dairy operations in the tropics
Forests
Assessing vulnerabilities and adapting to climate change in northwestern U.S. forests
Climate change vulnerability assessment of forests in the Southwest USA
Native and agricultural forests at risk to a changing climate in the Northern Plains
Vulnerability of forests of the Midwest and Northeast United States to climate change
Adaptation pathways: ecoregion and land ownership influences on climate adaptation decision-making in forest management
Agriculture
Vulnerability of California specialty crops to projected mid-century temperature changes
Specialty fruit production in the Pacific Northwest: adaptation strategies for a changing climate
Erratum to: Specialty fruit production in the Pacific Northwest: adaptation strategies for a changing climate
Evaluating opportunities for an increased role of winter crops as adaptation to climate change in dryland cropping systems of the U.S. Inland Pacific Northwest
Vulnerability of field crops to midcentury temperature changes and yield effects in the Southwestern USA
Cascading impacts of climate change on southwestern US cropland agriculture
Groundwater depletion and climate change: future prospects of crop production in the Central High Plains Aquifer
Vulnerability of crops and croplands in the US Northern Plains to predicted climate change
Vulnerability of Southern Plains agriculture to climate change
Vulnerability of grain crops and croplands in the Midwest to climatic variability and adaptation strategies
Vulnerability of specialty crops to short-term climatic variability and adaptation strategies in the Midwestern USA
Unique challenges and opportunities for northeastern US crop production in a changing climate
Climate change and coffee: assessing vulnerability by modeling future climate suitability in the Caribbean island of Puerto Rico
Fire
Fire weather and likelihood: characterizing climate space for fire occurrence and extent in Puerto Rico
Carbon
Translating national level forest service goals to local level land management: carbon sequestration
 
The USDA Climate Hubs also published a series of regional vulnerability assessments in 2016 to provide their stakeholders with a baseline “snapshot” of current climate vulnerabilities, along with specific adaptive management strategies to increase the resilience of working lands in each region. They also include regional greenhouse gas profiles, which identify opportunities to reduce emissions and increase carbon sequestration. Each document also gives an overview of how partner USDA agencies are being affected by and addressing changing climate conditions.
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