The Pacific Southwest Research Station (PSW) plays a leadership role
in climate change and greenhouse gas science at national and international
levels. Research of PSW scientists focuses on assessing climates, evaluating
ecosystem responses, promoting approaches to sequester carbon and reduce
greenhouse-gas emissions, and developing adaptation strategies to manage
natural resources in the face of changing climates.
The PSW coordinates research with the western Forest Service Research
Stations in the Pacific Northwest and Rocky Mountains, and with Federal,
State, academic, and non-governmental partners.
Through collaborations, PSW has taken key leadership roles in catalyzing
coordinated and integrated research:
Global
Change Research Strategy . USFS Research and Development updated
in February 2009, a strategic approach for research on global change
over the next decade. The strategy represents input from scientists throughout
the agency.
Westwide
Climate Initiative: PSW is a lead partner in a current proposal
of the three western Forest Service Research Stations to assess climates
at scales relevant to national forest management, develop tools to quantify
effects of climate change on natural resources, and promote new strategies
for national forest planning and management. A key product of this partnership
is the Climate
Change Resource Center website. CCRC is a reference website for
resource managers and decisionmakers who need information and tools
to address climate change in planning and project implementation on
lands in the West.
CIRMOUNT (Consortium for Integrated
Climate Research in Western Mountains): PSW is a founding member
of CIRMOUNT, a diverse network of scientists, resource managers, and
policy makers committed to promoting coordinated climate monitoring,
integrated research, communication and education, and decision support
in western North American mountain regions.
Forest
Service Strategic Framework for Responding to Climate Change (version
1.0)
Strategic
Aspirations - FS National Leadership Council:
PSW is integral to the design and implimentation of Forest Service policy
for climate change at the national level.
Climate
Change Science Program: PSW contributes directly to ongoing national
assessments of the joint Federal climate research program, especially
in developing the Synthesis and Assessment Products.
Research Emphasis Areas
Assessing Climate Variability
and Change
PSW scientists study historic climates and also assess recent climate
in relation to forest composition, structure, and health.
Evaluating Ecosystem
Effects
A long-standing strength of PSW science has been to evaluate natural
process and disturbance effects on diverse physical and ecological attributes
of natural resources.
Investigating Carbon Cycles
PSW scientists research carbon relations in the environment (soil and
vegetation) as a crucial step to understanding of carbon effects.
Developing Strategies
for Mitigation and Adaptation
Mitigation opportunities for sequestering carbon and reducing atmospheric
emissions are key topics of emerging science at PSW. New approaches
to planning and national-forest management in the face of global change
rely on input from PSW interdisciplinary and focused science.
Research is conducted by: