Climate Vulnerabilities
Vulnerability assessments determine the effects of climate change on natural or human system. To understand system susceptibility, these assessments consider exposure, sensitivity, and capacity to adapt. The USDA Climate Hubs, as a science delivery and a listening and learning organization, continually assess aspects of climate vulnerability in forestry, agriculture, and rural communities. The Climate Hubs published a series of regional vulnerability assessments which provide a baseline “snapshot” of climate vulnerabilities, along with management strategies to increase the resilience of working lands. These assessments also identify opportunities to reduce emissions and increase carbon storage. The USDA Climate Hubs contribute to the National Climate Assessments that assess how climate change affects regions and sectors across the U.S., now and throughout this century.
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Climate Change Impacts to Coastal Forests
Rising sea levels and intense storms along the mid-Atlantic and southern New England coast are damaging and killing…
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Landowner Forest Climate and Action Scorecards
Forest Climate and Action Scorecards are designed to help private landowners consider the climate change in the context…
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Climate Change and Aquaculture in Connecticut’s Long Island Sound
Aquaculture farms are especially vulnerable to climate change as organisms and operations are continually exposed to…
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Saltwater Intrusion: A Growing Threat to Coastal Agriculture
Researchers are showing that large storms are becoming more frequent, high tides are reaching farther inland, and…
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Farming the Floodplain: Trade-offs and Opportunities
Climate change will alter rainfall patterns in New England in the coming decades. Storms will likely become more…
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Northern Plains Contributions: Vulnerability Assessment of US Agriculture and Forests developed by the USDA Climate Hubs
The USDA Northern Plains Climate Hub (NPCH) contributed three articles to the "Vulnerability Assessment of US…
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An Assessment of the Impacts of Climate Change on the Great Lakes
The largest and most robust freshwater ecosystem in the world is succumbing to the stresses of climate change,…
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Drought Vulnerability Assessment to Inform Grazing Practices on Rangelands
The USDA Southwest Climate Hub and Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) worked together to produce two drought…
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Northern Forests Vulnerability
Forests of the Midwest and Northeast significantly define the character, culture, and economy of this large…