Climate Change & Conservation

Adaptation Resources for Agriculture

2016
Changes in climate and extreme weather are already increasing challenges for agriculture nationally and globally, and many of these impacts will continue into the future. This technical bulletin contains information and resources designed to help agricultural producers, service providers, and educators in the Midwest and Northeast regions of the United States integrate climate change considerations and action-oriented decisions into existing farm and conservation plans.
Last Modified
Apr 11, 2019
Viewed
2133 times

Agriculture, Climate Change, and Carbon Sequestration

2009
Carbon sequestration and reductions in greenhouse gas emissions can occur through a variety of agriculture practices. This publication provides an overview of the relationship between agriculture, climate change and carbon sequestration. It also investigates possible options for farmers and ranchers to have a positive impact on the changing climate and presents opportunities for becoming involved in the emerging carbon market.
Last Modified
Nov 05, 2019
Viewed
1079 times

Carbon Sequestration to Mitigate Climate Change

2008
Organizations/Sources: United States Geologic Service
Overview of how carbon sequestration in vegetation, soils, and geological features can reduce carbon emissions.
Last Modified
Nov 05, 2019
Viewed
1242 times

Climate Change and Land Conservation

2019
Authors: Nate Lotze
Land trusts and governments may tailor their land conservation work to help both reduce carbon in the atmosphere and mitigate the harm of climate change. (Print version of ConservationTools.org guide)
Last Modified
Jun 17, 2019
Viewed
1500 times

Climate Change Science-to-Policy Fact Sheets

Organizations/Sources: Conservation International
Series of fact sheets outlining different nature-based climate change solutions.
Last Modified
Apr 11, 2019
Viewed
1320 times

Climate Risk Management Practices

2018
Detailed overview of various risks posed by climate change to land and water resources, and conservation practices to mitigate those risks.
Last Modified
Apr 11, 2019
Viewed
1286 times

Confronting Climate Change in Pennsylvania

2009
Authors: Andrew Pitz
Organizations/Sources: Natural Lands Trust
Presentation focusing on how to take action on climate change.
Last Modified
Jul 03, 2019
Viewed
3967 times

Conservation Easements at the Climate Change Crossroads

2011
Study examining perpetual conservation easements in light of a changing climate. What happens when a conservation easement sets rules pertaining to the treatment of a landscape on a property (i.e., coastline) that may drastically change or even disappear due to climate change?
Last Modified
Apr 11, 2019
Viewed
1482 times

Conserving Land in a Changing Climate

Organizations/Sources: Open Space Institute and Land Trust Alliance
This guide provides a resource for land trusts and other conservation organizations to fulfill their critical missions, even in the face of so many unknowns. With a basic knowledge of relevant climate science and the tools described in this guide, conservation leaders can both revise their land protection goals if appropriate, and confidently explain to funders, board members, and landowners why their efforts matter now more than ever. This guide focuses on the Northeast United States.
Last Modified
Apr 11, 2019
Viewed
1955 times

Family Forests: Vanishing Pieces of the Puzzle

2016
Organizations/Sources: United States Forest Service
Report shows that family woodlands in the United States store 14 billion tons of carbon.
Last Modified
Nov 05, 2019
Viewed
1388 times

Forest Adaptation Resources: Climate Change Tools and Approaches for Land Managers

2016
Organizations/Sources: United States Forest Service
Forests across the United States are expected to undergo numerous changes in response to the changing climate. This guide explains a variety of tools and strategies designed to help forest managers incorporate climate change considerations into management and devise adaptation tactics.
Last Modified
Apr 11, 2019
Viewed
1904 times

Forests and Climate Change

2017
Forests’ role in climate change is two-fold. They act as both a cause and a solution for greenhouse gas emissions. Around 25% of global emissions come from the land sector, the second largest source of greenhouse gas emissions after the energy sector. About half of these come from deforestation and forest degradation. Forests are also one of the most important solutions to addressing the effects of climate change. Approximately 2.6 billion tons of carbon dioxide, one-third of the CO2 released from burning fossil fuels, is absorbed by forests every year. Estimates show that nearly two billion hectares of degraded land across the world – an area the size of South America – offer opportunities for restoration. Increasing and maintaining forests is therefore an essential solution to climate change.
Last Modified
Nov 05, 2019
Viewed
1122 times

Fourth National Climate Assessment

2018
Organizations/Sources: U.S. Global Change Research Program
Comprehensive analysis of climate change risks, threats, and impacts in the United States.
Last Modified
Apr 11, 2019
Viewed
2184 times

Land Management Restrictions and Options for Change in Perpetual Conservation Easements

2013
Authors: Adena R. Rissman
Conservation organizations rely on conservation easements for diverse purposes, including protection of species and natural communities, working forests, and open space. This research investigated how perpetual conservation easements incorporated property rights, responsibilities, and options for change over time in land management. Many conservation easements involved significant constraints on easement holders’ options for altering land management to achieve conservation purposes over time. This study suggests the need for greater attention to easement drafting, monitoring, and ongoing decision processes to ensure the public benefits of land conservation in changing landscapes.
Last Modified
Apr 11, 2019
Viewed
1247 times

Mid-Atlantic Forest Ecosystem Vulnerability Assessment and Synthesis

2018
Organizations/Sources: United States Forest Service
Forest ecosystems will be affected directly and indirectly by a changing climate over the 21st century. This assessment evaluates the vulnerability of 11 forest ecosystems in the Mid-Atlantic region (Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, eastern Maryland, and southern New York) under a range of future climates. The report synthesizes and summarizes information on the contemporary landscape, provides information on past climate trends, and describes a range of projected future climates. This information is used to parameterize and run multiple forest impact models, which provides a range of potential tree responses to climate. Finally, these results were brought before two multidisciplinary panels of scientists and land managers familiar with the forests of this region to assess ecosystem vulnerability through a formal consensus-based expert elicitation process.
Last Modified
Apr 11, 2019
Viewed
1363 times

Millennium Ecosystem Assessment

2005
Organizations/Sources: United Nations
The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment was called for by the United Nations. It assessed the consequences of ecosystem change for human wellbeing and the scientific basis for action needed to enhance the conservation and sustainable use of those systems and their contribution to human wellbeing. The findings provide a state-of-the-art scientific appraisal of the condition and trends in the world’s ecosystems, the services they provide, and the options to restore, conserve or enhance the sustainable use of ecosystems.
Last Modified
Jul 03, 2019
Viewed
5501 times

Natural Climate Solutions

2017
In the Paris Climate Agreement, nations agreed to hold global average temperature rise to well below 2 °C. This study examines how much climate mitigation nature can contribute to this goal with a comprehensive analysis of “natural climate solutions”(NCS): 20 conservation, restoration, and/or improved land management actions that increase carbon storage and/or avoid greenhouse gas emissions across global forests, wetlands, grasslands, and agricultural lands. It shows that NCS can provide over one-third of the cost-effective climate mitigation needed before 2030 to stabilize warming to below 2 °C. Alongside aggressive fossil fuel emissions reductions, NCS offer a powerful set of options for nations to deliver on the Paris Climate Agreement whilei mproving soil productivity, cleaning our air and water, and maintaining biodiversity.
Last Modified
Apr 12, 2019
Viewed
1263 times

Natural Climate Solutions for the United States

2018
Organizations/Sources: The Nature Conservancy
Groundbreaking study analyzes the potential of 21 natural solutions—such as growing taller trees, preserving grassland, and improve agricultural practices—to store carbon and reduce greenhouse-gas emissions.
Last Modified
Jul 02, 2019
Viewed
1746 times

Pennsylvania Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation Plan

2018
While climate change presents some very significant challenges, conservation practices can do much to both limit its effects and cope with the impacts. This plan provides an overview of the current and projected impacts of climate change on DCNR’s lands and mission. It also lays out a framework for implementing the department’s climate change strategy.
Last Modified
Apr 11, 2019
Viewed
2300 times

Pennsylvania Climate Impacts Assessment Update

2015
Detailed and thorough report assessing the current and future impacts of climate change on Pennsylvania, including impacts on water resources, outdoor recreation, farmland, and more.
Last Modified
Apr 11, 2019
Viewed
1705 times

Private Land Conservation in the Face of Climate Change

2013
Authors: Adena R. Rissman
Researchers from six universities across the country reached out to the land conservation community to learn how organizations are addressing climate change, if at all, and to assess the effectiveness of conservation easements in the face of a changing climate. The white paper suggests five strategies conservation organizations can follow to continue effectively protecting land in a changing climate.
Last Modified
Apr 11, 2019
Viewed
2076 times

Quantification of Carbon Sequestration Benefits of Restoring Degraded Montane Meadows

2007
A study of the carbon-sequestration capability of restored meadows compared to degraded meadows indicates that restored meadows contain twice as much total carbon as degraded meadows; on average approximately 40 tons more carbon per acre. Virtually all of the additional carbon in restored meadows occurs in the soil, and is thus protected from loss via grazing, haying, wildfire, etc.
Last Modified
Nov 05, 2019
Viewed
1238 times

Reshaping the Energy Future: Renewable Energy and Land Trusts

2019
Organizations/Sources: Land Trust Alliance
Land trusts are already addressing climate in a variety of ways — integrating climate resilience science into strategic planning, advancing natural climate solutions and developing carbon offset projects. Renewable energy presents another opportunity for land trusts to address climate change, to become valued community partners in helping to solve a complex issue and, ultimately, to safeguard our nation’s natural assets. In this document the Land Trust Alliance articulates the important role that land trusts can play in renewable energy development and offers specific guidance on ways that land trusts can participate in this important issue to support improved conservation outcomes in the context of a changing climate.
Last Modified
Oct 28, 2019
Viewed
1277 times