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Also available: PDF Version of entire document (6.7 Mb)
For details see the
Ecosystems chapter of
the Strategic Plan for the Climate Change Science Program (2003)
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CCSP Research Element:
Ecosystems
Ecosystems shape our societies and nations by providing
essential renewable resources and other benefits including food, fiber, timber,
energy, biodiversity, clean air and water, and non-material (e.g., aesthetic)
values. Their capacity to provide such benefits is affected by climate
variability and change, and by human influences. Improving projections of future
climate and global changes depends on improved understanding of ecosystem
processes under multiple natural and human influences.
Research on ecosystems conducted and supported by Federal agencies under the
CCSP focuses on how natural and human-induced changes in the environment
interact to affect the structure, functioning, and services of ecosystems --
including those ecosystem processes that in turn influence regional and global
environmental changes. Research also focuses on what options society may have to
ensure that ecosystem goods and services are sustained or enhanced. Specific
focus areas include key processes that link ecosystems with climate;
consequences of global change for ecosystems at different scales; and options
for managing agricultural lands, forests, and other ecosystems.
Benefits from this research include:
Quantification of important feedbacks from ecological systems to climate
and atmospheric composition to improve the accuracy of climate projections
Updated information on the sensitivity and adaptability of key ecosystems
to climate variability and change, including the potential for abrupt change
Comprehensive indicators of ecosystem change and health
Information to support management decisions for agricultural lands,
forests, fisheries, and other ecosystems under conditions of environmental
change.
Elevated CO2 Concentration Experiment. The Smithsonian
Environmental Research Center (SERC) is conducting a series of innovative
experiments that expose portions of salt marsh and forest ecosystems to elevated
CO2 concentrations in outdoor chambers. Source: Smithsonian
Environmental Research Center. |
For details see the Ecosystems
chapter of the Strategic Plan for the Climate Change Science Program
(2003)
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