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Climate Change Resource Center

From 2008 to 2020, the Climate Change Resource Center (CCRC) was the primary source of Forest Service climate change information for management audiences. The CCRC, a joint effort of Forest Service Research & Development and the Office of Sustainability & Climate, compiled and created educational resources, climate change and carbon tools, video presentations, literature, and briefings on management-relevant topics, ranging from basic climate change information to details on specific management responses.

As the agency has built an integrated approach to addressing climate change throughout all of its systems and management actions, the need for the Climate Change Resource Center in its original form has diminished. Climate change is now broadly integrated into Forest Service programs and information on addressing climate change as it relates to a variety of resources and programs can be found throughout Forest Service resources and the USDA Climate Hubs. The USDA Climate Hubs are an interagency collaborative effort to deliver science-based, region-specific climate change information and technologies to agricultural and natural resource managers that enable climate-informed decision-making, and to provide access to assistance to implement those decisions. As the Climate Hubs have grown and evolved over the past decade, the CCRC has become a redundant effort. In order to provide the best user experience, the CCRC is being decommissioned but its resources will continue to be available through the Forest Service Office of Sustainability & Climate and the USDA Climate Hubs.

Education Modules

These comprehensive education modules were created using a curriculum developed by the Office of Sustainability and Climate and the Northern Institute of Applied Climate Science. They give an in-depth introduction to basic climate change science, the effects of climate change on forest and grassland ecosystems, and how we can respond to climate change with management. In module 3, you will review the adaptation options, resistance, resilience, and transition, and learn how to incorporate them into natural resource planning.

graphics representing rising temps, changing tree species, and management actions

For USDA employees, the modules are available through AgLearn: Course: 1300 FS National Climate Change (usda.gov).

Topic Pages, previously published on CCRC

In each Topic Page, expert authors provide a brief introduction to the topic with opportunities for exploring more detail through recommended readings, links, and other resources.

Trees are adapted to specific combinations of environmental and climatic conditions that allow them to grow, thrive, and reproduce. Climate change is already altering conditions across the planet, and changes are expected to continue in the decades to come. The rapid pace of climate change may exceed the ability of many species to adapt in place or migrate to suitable habitats, and this fundamental mismatch raises the possibility of extinction or local extirpation. Assisted migration, human-assisted movement of species in response to climate change, is one management option that is available to address this challenge. This topic page will examine some of the scientific background and management considerations related to assisted migration, focused primarily on tree species.

Read the full text PDF from the Climate Change Resource Center.

Urban forests play an important role in climate change mitigation and adaptation. Active stewardship of a community’s forestry assets can strengthen local resilience to climate change while creating more sustainable and desirable places to live.

Read the full text PDF from the Climate Change Resource Center.