Ecosystem Services

Ecosystem services are the direct and indirect benefits that ecosystems provide humans. Agroecosystems, rangelands, and forests provide suites of ecosystem services that support and sustain human livelihoods. Farms, forests, and ranches are most readily identified and valued for providing provisioning services that support food, forage, and raw materials production. However, when managed well, these systems can also be both providers and beneficiaries of a number of additional ecosystem services, including pest control, pollination, flood protection, improved soil health, and water filtration. Many of the additional services provided by farms, forests, and ranches, can be difficult to recognize and value. 

21st century

Growing Season Length Warmer temperatures have resulted in a longer freeze-free season and longer growing season across the region (Frumhoff et al. 2007, Kunkel et al. 2013). The freeze-free season, which is the period between the last occurrence of 32 °F in the spring and the…

Shifts in Growing Degree Days, Plant Hardiness Zones and Heat Zones

Tribal Adaptation Menu

Dibaginjigaadeg Anishinaabe Ezhitwaad - A Tribal Climate Adaptation Menu and resources.   Climate change has impacted and will continue to impact indigenous peoples, their lifeways and culture, and the natural world upon which they rely, in unpredictable and potentially…

Tribal Climate Adaptation Menu

trees with yellow fall colors

The economic, social, and environmental costs of drought can be significant, and vulnerability to drought in arid and semi-arid regions will likely increase in the future with a warming climate. To promote stronger drought resilience on federal lands, the National Drought…

Responding to Ecological Drought in the Intermountain Region

The U.S. Forest Service and USDA Climate Hubs convened regional workshops in many of the nine Forest Service regions throughout 2017. The workshops helped develop a set of local strategies and tactics to reduce, mitigate, and, in some cases, recover from the effects of…

Dealing with Drought in Forests, Grasslands, and Rangelands

The challenges facing specialty livestock are similar to what is experienced by larger livestock (swine, cattle): the ability to produce feed-grain, the quality of pastures and forage crop production, animal health, growth, and reproduction, and disease and pest distributions.…

Specialty Animals

NW Cattle

A changing climate introduces challenges for ranchers and natural resource managers. The following resources are designed to help them adjust their practices or even transform their operations: Adaptation Partners Adaptation Partners is a science-management partnership focused…

Climate Adaptation Resources for Northwest Rangelands

Ongoing changes in climate have substantial impacts on the $76 billion agricultural sector in the Midwest. Assisting producers with adaptation practices that can improve their water availability and maintain soil productivity, will also reduce the variation in crop production…

Agricultural Adaptation in a Changing Climate

The impacts of climate change on grazing lands and the livestock operations that depend on them will vary by region, type of grazing land, vegetation community, and the type of livestock. These impacts are superimposed upon other factors such as land ownership, historical and…

Grazing lands in a changing climate

Subscribe to Ecosystem Services