Global Change Research in the
USDA Forest Service
PROGRAM OBJECTIVES
By the end of the next century, the global average
temperature is expected to have increased by 1.0 to 3.5°C
(1.8 to 6.3°F), according to the Intergovernmental Panel
on Climate Change. As carbon dioxide (CO2),
methane (CH4), and other
greenhouse gases increase, so too will the impacts of air
pollution, increased ultraviolet (UV-B) radiation, and
intensified land use. One inevitable result will be rapid
ecosystem changes. These changes will compel society to
make important and far reaching decisions regarding the
management and allocation of natural resources to adapt
to and mitigate global change. As the steward of more
than 191 million acres of national forests and grassland,
the USDA Forest Service is committed to making informed
decision and responsibly implementing them.
The Forest
Service Global Change Research Program (FSGCRP), as
described in the most recent program plan, provides the
scientific basis to address three broad questions
concerning global change and forest ecosystems (USDA For.
Serv. 1993):
What
processes in forest ecosystems are sensitive to
physical and chemical changes in the atmosphere?
Or in policy terms: Is there
a problem?
How
will future physical and chemical climate changes
influence the structure, function, and
productivity of forest and related ecosystems,
and to what extent will forest ecosystems change
in response to atmospheric changes?
Or in policy terms: How
serious is the problem?
What
are the implications for forest management and
how must forest management activities be altered
to sustain forest productivity, health, and
diversity?
Or in policy terms: What can
be done about the problem?
Through
participation in the U.S. Department of Agriculture's
Global Change Research Program, the FSGCRP is a part of
the U.S. Government's Global Change Research Program ( USGCRP ). The USGCRP has been
developed under the direction of the Executive Office of
the President, through the National Science and
Technology Council (NSTC) and its Committee on
Environment and Natural Resources (CENR). The FSGCRP also
maintains extensive contacts with international and
private programs and, thus, contributes to global change
science worldwide.
PROGRAM ELEMENTS
In order to meet its objectives of providing a sound
scientific basis for policy and management decisions,
FSGCRP research focuses on four scientific program
elements and two crosscutting activities. Scientific
program elements include: (1) atmosphere/biosphere gas
and energy exchange, (2) ecosystem dynamics, (3)
disturbance ecology, and (4) human activities and natural
resource interactions. Crosscutting activities include
assessment and modeling, and data quality assessment. The
national program is implemented through regional programs.
ASSESSMENT AND MODELING
Results
from experimental studies, monitoring and modeling
research....
DATA QUALITY ASSESSMENT
FSGCRP
data quality assessment activities ensure that the data
produced for the program....
LITERATURE CITED
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. 1992. Forest Service
Global Change Research Program - program plan update. PA-1497. Washington, DC: U.S.
Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. 36 p.
CONTACT
Richard Birdsey
Program
Manager NGCRP
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