Modeling Threats to the Nation’s Forests Driven by Global Change

Hosted by: Dr. Adam Terando

Summary: Forests across the U.S. support biodiversity and provide ecosystem services, including water quality and carbon storage. Knowledge about the impacts of global change drivers, including climate and land-use change, on forested landscapes in the U.S. is therefore important for informing forest research and policy priorities. This talk will provide an overview of recent regional and national assessments of forests that incorporate climate, land-use change, and socioeconomic scenarios. I will show how geospatial approaches are used, with a focus on two research studies: one on future drought exposure and the other on projection of future impervious surfaces across the U.S.

About the speaker: Dr. Jennifer Costanza is a Research Ecologist with the USDA Forest Service, Southern Research Station and the Center for Integrated Forest Science. Dr. Costanza’s research aims to understand how forests and landscapes have changed in the past, and the ways in which they may change in the future. More specifically, her research includes 1) modeling forest dynamics in response to disturbance, management, climate, and land-use change, 2) understanding and quantifying the effects of climate and land-use change on forest disturbances, including drought and fire, and 3) relating landscape patterns and connectivity to services derived from forests and other ecosystems, including wildlife habitat, biodiversity, and water.

Recording: https://youtu.be/dUwd9TmaYLw