[MCN] Latest Forest Service stance on drought and US forests

[Lance Olsen]

http://blogs.usda.gov/2016/02/12/new-report-usda-climate-hubs-offer-help-to-address-forest-drought-in-the-u-s/

Excerpt

Moisture/drought dictates the state of most ecosystems; the amount of 
precipitation is a key driver that often determines what vegetation 
type is the most prevalent. So it is no surprise that drought is 
impacting our forests and rangelands in adverse ways. Not only does 
productivity decrease in times of drought, but the structure of the 
forest/rangeland can change as drought changes the competitive 
advantage of species, alters fire regimes and can make keystone 
species more susceptible to pests, pathogens and invasive species.

What options can help land managers? To answer that question the 
Climate Hubs have developed regional two-pagers to help land managers 
understand what the report means for them in their region and offers 
adaptation strategies to help them overcome regional vulnerabilities.

Regional "two-pagers" available at bottom of this page:
http://www.climatehubs.oce.usda.gov/content/forest-rangeland-drought



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Deforestation could dry out the Amazon, but a warmer climate might do the same.

The length of the dry season here is expected to increase due to 
climate change, and in fact, that already seems to be happening in 
some Amazon regions. And this, in turn, could not only threaten 
regional hydrology but push a transition to less carbon-dense forests 
- in some cases even exacerbating the possibility of wildfires that 
could transform tropical forests into a different, savannah-like 
environment.

The forests section of the recent Paris climate agreement wasn't one 
of the most noted or debated sections. And it wasn't as strong as 
some would have liked. But the mere fact that it was there was a 
landmark, Lovejoy said.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2016/02/11/the-solution-to-climate-change-that-has-nothing-to-do-with-cars-or-coal/

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"Up until the late 1950s, tillage (plowing) released more carbon 
dioxide into the atmosphere than all the burning of oil and coal in 
history."

" ...   not tilling the soil begins to build up the carbon content of 
the soil. You might call this 'carbon farming'."

"Obviously, these programs are currently not big money-makers for farmers."

"Energy agriculture - carbon farming" Don Hofstrand co-director AgMRC
Iowa State University
https://www.extension.iastate.edu/agdm/articles/hof/HofAug07.html


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