Southwest

This report describes the potential vulnerability of specialty crops, field crops, forests, and animal agriculture to climate-driven environmental changes. Here, vulnerability is defined as a function of exposure to climate change effects, sensitivity to these effects, and adaptive capacity. The exposure of specific sectors of the agricultural and forestry industries varies across the region because the Southwest is climatically and topographically diverse. There is also variability in the sensitivity of different systems to the effects of climate change.

In June of 2016, the Gulf of Mexico Alliance released the Governors’ Action Plan III for Healthy and Resilient Coasts, the third in a series of action plans to address issues common to all five Gulf States in a voluntary and cooperative way. Action Plan III is an aggressive five-year plan combining new and ongoing regional priorities including coastal resilience, data and monitoring, education and engagement, habitat resources, water resources, and wildlife and fisheries.

Building on the tremendous success of the first plan, GOMA released its second plan, the Governors’ Action Plan II for Healthy and Resilient Coasts in 2009. This five-year plan was more aggressive with solutions to address the challenges of the time, including sustaining Gulf economies, improving ecosystem health, mitigating the impacts of climate change, and improving water quality.

In 2004, former Governor Jeb Bush of Florida reached out to the other four Gulf State Governors to encourage collaboration for the protection and restoration of their shared body of water. Two years later the five Gulf State Governors signed the first Governors’ Action Plan for Healthy and Resilient Coasts in 2006. The primary goal of Action Plan I was to increase integration of resources, knowledge, and expertise to address priorities identified by the five Gulf States.

The Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (CAMPO) covers a six-county region in Central Texas that includes the City of Austin. The area is rapidly growing, and extreme weather events—notably floods, droughts, extreme heat, wildfire, and extreme cold—are an added stressor on the region’s multi-modal transportation system. For this project, CAMPO partnered with the City of Austin Office of Sustainability to assess vulnerabilities to critical transportation assets in the region.

Arizona Department of Transportation conducted a pilot study to identify hotspots where highways are vulnerable to extreme weather, including high temperatures, drought, and intense storms. These factors can contribute to dust storms, wildfire, and flash floods, depending on the surrounding vegetation and landscape. The risks are different in the lower desert and grassland areas than in the forested mountain portions of the state.

Increasing aridity as a result of climate change is expected to exacerbate tree mortality. Reducing forest basal area – the cross-sectional area of tree stems within a given ground area – can decrease tree competition, which may reduce drought-induced tree mortality. However, neither the magnitude of expected mortality increases, nor the potential effectiveness of basal area reduction, has been quantified in dryland forests such as those of the drought-prone Southwest US.

This document represents an initial effort to identify adaptation actions for river and stream habitats in southern California based on stakeholder input and existing information. Specifically, the information presented below comprises stakeholder input during a two-day adaptation workshop, peer-review comments and revisions, and relevant examples from the literature or other similar efforts. The aim of this document is to expand understanding of possible adaptation actions for southern California river and stream habitats in response to climate change.

This document represents an initial effort to identify adaptation actions for riparian habitats in southern California based on stakeholder input and existing information. Specifically, the information presented below comprises stakeholder input during a two-day adaptation workshop, peer-review comments and revisions, and relevant examples from the literature or other similar efforts. The aim of this document is to expand understanding of possible adaptation actions for southern California riparian habitats in response to climate change.

This document represents an initial effort to identify adaptation actions for oak woodland habitats in southern California based on stakeholder input and existing information. Specifically, the information presented below comprises stakeholder input during a two-day adaptation workshop, peer-review comments and revisions, and relevant examples from the literature or other similar efforts. The aim of this document is to expand understanding of possible adaptation actions for southern California oak woodlands in response to climate change.