Drought Adaptation Strategies for Arid Grasslands
Helping National Parks in the 4-Corners region manage grasslands in a changing world.
Extended drought and ecosystem change are altering ecosystems and have rapidly become a significant challenge for natural resource managers and policy makers. In recent decades, perennial grasslands in arid and semiarid regions of the southwestern United States are declining coincident with substantial aridification, and future projections for the region suggest more frequent and severe droughts driven by growing seasons that are both longer and hotter.
As a result, sustaining grasslands is an increasingly complex challenge for land managers and conventional management practices may not be sufficient to meet objectives. In addition, landscape scale ecosystem change caused by aridification appears to be occurring more rapidly than resource management agencies can adapt procedures and policies to enable effective field-based responses.
To confront these evolving challenges, managers require not only access to the best available knowledge on impacts and adaptation options, but also tools that connect information to action in the context of local conditions and circumstances. We are developing a suite of traditional, unconventional, and nuanced management options that address novel ecological conditions.
Why Grasslands?
This project launched in December 2018 when 30+ researchers & National Park Service (NPS) staff met in Moab to develop a climate adaptation plan for SE Utah Group parks (Arches, Canyonlands, Hovenweep, and Natural Bridges). The group decided to focus on grasslands because of their ecological importance, the pressures they face from ongoing drought, and the vast portfolio of science.
Products
New report assesses climate impacts to grasslands on the Colorado Plateau
This report describes research focused on Southeast Utah Group park units (Arches and Canyonlands National Parks, Hovenweep and Natural Bridges National Monuments) designed to provide information about exposure and sensitivity of perennial grasses to aridification. Analyses at larger regional scales are also reported for context and comparison.
This report is a product of an ongoing climate adaptation collaboration between the USGS, NPS, and Northern Arizona University. The study it summarizes contributes quantitative information for vulnerability assessments that are needed by the Climate-Smart Conservation framework many NPS units have adopted. As such, the results informed a series of climate adaptation workshops conducted between 2018 and 2021 for Colorado Plateau scientists and managers. This is a giant step forward in science-informed management. The information in this report can be used to craft management strategies that can be implemented at the right place and time for individual species of concern.
Southeast Utah Group climate and drought adaptation report: Exposure and perennial grass sensitivity—cooperator report: U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service, Natural Resource Report NPS/NCPN/NRR—2022/2432.
Divergent climate impacts on grasses across the Colorado Plateau
This paper shows niche modeling outcomes for priority grass species chosen for their importance for restoration and ecosystem function.
Divergent climate impacts on C3 versus C4 grasses imply widespread 21st century shifts in grassland functional composition — Diversity and Distributions.
Climate adaptation menu for grasslands on the Colorado Plateau
This document is a culmination of long-standing partnerships between NPS and USGS, which engaged over 150 land managers, researchers, and climate adaptation experts over five years. The Arid Grassland Menu is a suite of traditional, unconventional, and nuanced management options that address novel ecological conditions and drought impacts. The Colorado Plateau Grassland Menu is designed to represent a broad range of adaptation possibilities for achieving natural resource management goals under various scenarios, where uncertainty about specific future impacts persists. Users should keep in mind that not all options contained within the menu will be appropriate for a specific project, goal, or initiative. The options are intended to represent a range of possible actions, from those commonly used currently in management, to more novel or unconventional ideas. Most of all, this menu is intended to be a starting point from which managers can articulate their own choices, even if they are not explicitly listed, and the use and development of this menu, like any adaptation strategy, should be considered an ongoing and iterative process.
Southeast Utah Group climate and drought adaptation report: Exposure and perennial grass sensitivity — cooperator report: U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service, Natural Resource Report NPS/NCPN/NRR—2022/2432.
Workshops
Since 2018, the project has engaged over 150 land managers, researchers, and climate adaptation experts over five years.
Winter 2018
In December of 2018, the Southeast Utah Group Climate Adaptation Working Group met for the first time in Moab, Utah, for a 3-day workshop. Thirty-six people attended, representing the U.S. Geological Survey’s (USGS) Southwest Biological Science Center, seven national park units, two NPS inventory and monitoring networks (I&M), and one university. The workshop objectives were to (1) build a shared vision for climate adaptation management strategies and research needs; (2) refine targets for focus of climate adaptation planning and research; (3) generate an initial set of management options that could be implemented in affected areas, either given current knowledge or contingent on additional information; (4) identify existing data, tools, and research that can support management needs; (5) identify high priority information gaps and how they can be filled; and (6) agree on a path forward and a strategy to stay coordinated. Workshop participants learned about the Climate-Smart Conservation framework as a method of climate adaptation planning and worked through an example of planning for grassland resources. Participants also shared current research on climate trajectory for the region, discussed existing information and data gaps, and explored ideas for using forecasting to develop tools for restoration and adaptation planning. Outcomes of the workshop included committing to move forward on several next steps to further climate adaptation planning efforts, using an adaptive management approach to experiment with seed sources for restoration, developing partnerships, and cultivating Tribal involvement in climate adaptation planning. Participants expressed an interest in meeting again, potentially at the next Northern Colorado Plateau I&M Network meeting, in order to further knowledge sharing, continue climate adaptation planning efforts, and explore ways to implement adaptation strategies across multiple park units and jurisdictions.
Fall 2019
The second workshop was held in September 2019 in Flagstaff, Arizona. The half-day workshop was held in conjunction with the Biennial Conference for Science and Management on the Colorado Plateau and Southwest Region. The meeting objectives were to share updates and provide feedback on several ongoing projects, including the following: (1) a project funded by the Natural Resource Preservation Program, which is a collaboration between NPS and USGS; (2) Southeast Utah Group (SEUG) and partner adaptation planning efforts; and (3) related projects and information. The workshop was attended by 15 NPS staff, eight USGS research scientists, one academic, two ranchers, and two Tribal environmental professionals. Participants were provided updates on this exposure and sensitivity analysis, and they were asked to give feedback on the process to make it more relevant for management needs. Specifically, this included feedback on vegetation maps and species for the NPS restoration species list. All participants gave updates on projects relevant to southwestern dryland climate adaptation and management.
Winter 2019
The third workshop was held in December 2019 in Moab, Utah, as a half-day gathering. Attendees included 45 people representing 10 NPS units, two NPS I&M networks, the USGS, and two universities. The meeting was held in conjunction with the NPS Northern Colorado Plateau I&M Network annual meeting. The objectives of the meeting were to (1) share project updates and get feedback on current products and future decision points, (2) exchange knowledge and updates about related projects and research, (3) discuss outreach and engagement strategies with Tribes and other partners, and (4) conduct a related workshop focused on pinon-juniper woodlands. Participants received updates on ongoing exposure, sensitivity, and vulnerability modeling; identified products that could be useful for management decisions; discussed related projects; and developed a list of partners who may be interested in this project.
Winter 2020
The fourth workshop took the form of a 2-hour working group meeting held virtually in December 2020. This meeting involved 15 participants representing SEUG, NPS Northern and Southern Colorado Plateau I&M networks, USGS, Northern Arizona University, and Colorado State University. The objectives of the meeting were to develop a suite of management strategies and tactics for SEUG grasslands, called a management menu. Representatives from the Northern Institute of Applied Climate Science (NIACS) joined the group to introduce and help facilitate the creation of a climate adaptation management menu. The climate adaptation menu builds capacity for management actions by offering resource managers possibilities that they may not have considered for managing ecosystem transitions and transformations. The menu is a key tool in the NIACS framework, which combines climate science, resource vulnerabilities, and management options into one centralized resource that can be quickly and simply used to make quick and effective decisions across scales. The menu process connects broad ideas to specific actions, makes actions intentional, helps managers and scientists communicate ideas, and boosts creativity in the process. The menu contains six strategies, or broad adaptation responses, that consider ecological conditions and overarching management goals, each with their own set of site-level approaches and tactics, or management actions.
Summer 2021
The NPS Southeast Utah Group, USGS, Northern Arizona University, and the Northern Institute of Applied Climate Science held a Climate Adaptation Workshop focused on tangible management actions to address land challenges. This workshop series was a continuation of the workshops held over the past three years that included assessing vulnerabilities to extreme drought and developing management options. The workshop was held virtually over four days on June 17, August 23,
August 25, and August 30.The June meeting was a science webinar where researchers synthesized climate impacts from drought and sensitivity analyses on Colorado Plateau grasslands. Attendees included 83 natural resource managers and scientists from across the Colorado Plateau.
The final workshop held in August was an active hands-on training where participants used their management goals and knowledge of ecosystem impacts as a guide to identify potential adaptation actions for specific projects inside a national park on the Colorado Plateau.
The goals of that workshop were to
- discuss information on the current and anticipated effects of ecosystem change on grasslands in national parks across the Colorado Plateau,
- describe resources and tools that can be used to integrate ecosystem change into resource conservation and management,
- test a new “Adaptation Menu of Strategies and Approaches for Colorado Plateau Arid Grasslands,” and
- identify adaptation actions that can be incorporated into current and future NPS projects.
The final workshop brought together a breadth of park managers from across the Colorado Plateau interested in incorporating land change adaptation into their on-the-ground planning. The 45 participants worked in groups on specific projects in these parks: Cedar Breaks NM, Southeast Utah Group parks, Capital Reef NP, Grand Canyon NP, Pipe Spring NM, Zion NP, and Chaco Culture NHP. The group followed steps outlined in Chapter 5 (pp. 74–89) of Forest Adaptation Resources: Tools and Approaches for Land Managers, 2nd Edition. An online version of the workbook is available at https://www.adaptationworkbook.org. This process included: defining the area of interest, program, goals and objectives, and timeframes (step 1); identifying ecosystem change impacts at the regional and local levels (step 2); identifying management challenges and opportunities from ecosystem change (step 3); identifying arid grassland adaptation approaches and tactics (step 4); and identifying metrics for monitoring and evaluating effectiveness (step 5). In the final day of the workshop, each group presented on their project and the informed management actions they were going to take. Overall, workshop participants walked away armed with new information, resources, and an adaptation menu for thinking about ecosystem change impacts and adaptive management strategies for arid grasslands in their national parks across the Colorado Plateau.
This project builds upon years of research and collaboration across the Colorado Plateau.
Informing seed transfer guidelines and native plant materials development
Drought & Grazing Experiment: Understanding Impacts and Identifying Mitigation Strategies
GrassCast: A multi-agency tool using remote sensing, modeling, and on-the-ground science to forecast grassland productivity in the Southwest
Learning From the Past and Planning for the Future: Experience-Driven Insight Into Managing for Ecosystem Transformations Induced by Drought and Wildfire
Drylands are highly vulnerable to climate and land use changes: what ecosystem changes are in store?
Long-Term Vegetation Change on the Colorado Plateau
RestoreNet: Distributed Field Trial Network for Dryland Restoration
Colorado Plateau Futures: Understanding Agents of Change on the Colorado Plateau to Facilitate Collaborative Adaptation
Colorado Plateau Native Plant Program Field Trial Study
Soil water and drought impacts in dryland regions of the Southwest
Helping National Parks in the 4-Corners region manage grasslands in a changing world.
Extended drought and ecosystem change are altering ecosystems and have rapidly become a significant challenge for natural resource managers and policy makers. In recent decades, perennial grasslands in arid and semiarid regions of the southwestern United States are declining coincident with substantial aridification, and future projections for the region suggest more frequent and severe droughts driven by growing seasons that are both longer and hotter.
As a result, sustaining grasslands is an increasingly complex challenge for land managers and conventional management practices may not be sufficient to meet objectives. In addition, landscape scale ecosystem change caused by aridification appears to be occurring more rapidly than resource management agencies can adapt procedures and policies to enable effective field-based responses.
To confront these evolving challenges, managers require not only access to the best available knowledge on impacts and adaptation options, but also tools that connect information to action in the context of local conditions and circumstances. We are developing a suite of traditional, unconventional, and nuanced management options that address novel ecological conditions.
Why Grasslands?
This project launched in December 2018 when 30+ researchers & National Park Service (NPS) staff met in Moab to develop a climate adaptation plan for SE Utah Group parks (Arches, Canyonlands, Hovenweep, and Natural Bridges). The group decided to focus on grasslands because of their ecological importance, the pressures they face from ongoing drought, and the vast portfolio of science.
Products
New report assesses climate impacts to grasslands on the Colorado Plateau
This report describes research focused on Southeast Utah Group park units (Arches and Canyonlands National Parks, Hovenweep and Natural Bridges National Monuments) designed to provide information about exposure and sensitivity of perennial grasses to aridification. Analyses at larger regional scales are also reported for context and comparison.
This report is a product of an ongoing climate adaptation collaboration between the USGS, NPS, and Northern Arizona University. The study it summarizes contributes quantitative information for vulnerability assessments that are needed by the Climate-Smart Conservation framework many NPS units have adopted. As such, the results informed a series of climate adaptation workshops conducted between 2018 and 2021 for Colorado Plateau scientists and managers. This is a giant step forward in science-informed management. The information in this report can be used to craft management strategies that can be implemented at the right place and time for individual species of concern.
Southeast Utah Group climate and drought adaptation report: Exposure and perennial grass sensitivity—cooperator report: U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service, Natural Resource Report NPS/NCPN/NRR—2022/2432.
Divergent climate impacts on grasses across the Colorado Plateau
This paper shows niche modeling outcomes for priority grass species chosen for their importance for restoration and ecosystem function.
Divergent climate impacts on C3 versus C4 grasses imply widespread 21st century shifts in grassland functional composition — Diversity and Distributions.
Climate adaptation menu for grasslands on the Colorado Plateau
This document is a culmination of long-standing partnerships between NPS and USGS, which engaged over 150 land managers, researchers, and climate adaptation experts over five years. The Arid Grassland Menu is a suite of traditional, unconventional, and nuanced management options that address novel ecological conditions and drought impacts. The Colorado Plateau Grassland Menu is designed to represent a broad range of adaptation possibilities for achieving natural resource management goals under various scenarios, where uncertainty about specific future impacts persists. Users should keep in mind that not all options contained within the menu will be appropriate for a specific project, goal, or initiative. The options are intended to represent a range of possible actions, from those commonly used currently in management, to more novel or unconventional ideas. Most of all, this menu is intended to be a starting point from which managers can articulate their own choices, even if they are not explicitly listed, and the use and development of this menu, like any adaptation strategy, should be considered an ongoing and iterative process.
Southeast Utah Group climate and drought adaptation report: Exposure and perennial grass sensitivity — cooperator report: U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service, Natural Resource Report NPS/NCPN/NRR—2022/2432.
Workshops
Since 2018, the project has engaged over 150 land managers, researchers, and climate adaptation experts over five years.
Winter 2018
In December of 2018, the Southeast Utah Group Climate Adaptation Working Group met for the first time in Moab, Utah, for a 3-day workshop. Thirty-six people attended, representing the U.S. Geological Survey’s (USGS) Southwest Biological Science Center, seven national park units, two NPS inventory and monitoring networks (I&M), and one university. The workshop objectives were to (1) build a shared vision for climate adaptation management strategies and research needs; (2) refine targets for focus of climate adaptation planning and research; (3) generate an initial set of management options that could be implemented in affected areas, either given current knowledge or contingent on additional information; (4) identify existing data, tools, and research that can support management needs; (5) identify high priority information gaps and how they can be filled; and (6) agree on a path forward and a strategy to stay coordinated. Workshop participants learned about the Climate-Smart Conservation framework as a method of climate adaptation planning and worked through an example of planning for grassland resources. Participants also shared current research on climate trajectory for the region, discussed existing information and data gaps, and explored ideas for using forecasting to develop tools for restoration and adaptation planning. Outcomes of the workshop included committing to move forward on several next steps to further climate adaptation planning efforts, using an adaptive management approach to experiment with seed sources for restoration, developing partnerships, and cultivating Tribal involvement in climate adaptation planning. Participants expressed an interest in meeting again, potentially at the next Northern Colorado Plateau I&M Network meeting, in order to further knowledge sharing, continue climate adaptation planning efforts, and explore ways to implement adaptation strategies across multiple park units and jurisdictions.
Fall 2019
The second workshop was held in September 2019 in Flagstaff, Arizona. The half-day workshop was held in conjunction with the Biennial Conference for Science and Management on the Colorado Plateau and Southwest Region. The meeting objectives were to share updates and provide feedback on several ongoing projects, including the following: (1) a project funded by the Natural Resource Preservation Program, which is a collaboration between NPS and USGS; (2) Southeast Utah Group (SEUG) and partner adaptation planning efforts; and (3) related projects and information. The workshop was attended by 15 NPS staff, eight USGS research scientists, one academic, two ranchers, and two Tribal environmental professionals. Participants were provided updates on this exposure and sensitivity analysis, and they were asked to give feedback on the process to make it more relevant for management needs. Specifically, this included feedback on vegetation maps and species for the NPS restoration species list. All participants gave updates on projects relevant to southwestern dryland climate adaptation and management.
Winter 2019
The third workshop was held in December 2019 in Moab, Utah, as a half-day gathering. Attendees included 45 people representing 10 NPS units, two NPS I&M networks, the USGS, and two universities. The meeting was held in conjunction with the NPS Northern Colorado Plateau I&M Network annual meeting. The objectives of the meeting were to (1) share project updates and get feedback on current products and future decision points, (2) exchange knowledge and updates about related projects and research, (3) discuss outreach and engagement strategies with Tribes and other partners, and (4) conduct a related workshop focused on pinon-juniper woodlands. Participants received updates on ongoing exposure, sensitivity, and vulnerability modeling; identified products that could be useful for management decisions; discussed related projects; and developed a list of partners who may be interested in this project.
Winter 2020
The fourth workshop took the form of a 2-hour working group meeting held virtually in December 2020. This meeting involved 15 participants representing SEUG, NPS Northern and Southern Colorado Plateau I&M networks, USGS, Northern Arizona University, and Colorado State University. The objectives of the meeting were to develop a suite of management strategies and tactics for SEUG grasslands, called a management menu. Representatives from the Northern Institute of Applied Climate Science (NIACS) joined the group to introduce and help facilitate the creation of a climate adaptation management menu. The climate adaptation menu builds capacity for management actions by offering resource managers possibilities that they may not have considered for managing ecosystem transitions and transformations. The menu is a key tool in the NIACS framework, which combines climate science, resource vulnerabilities, and management options into one centralized resource that can be quickly and simply used to make quick and effective decisions across scales. The menu process connects broad ideas to specific actions, makes actions intentional, helps managers and scientists communicate ideas, and boosts creativity in the process. The menu contains six strategies, or broad adaptation responses, that consider ecological conditions and overarching management goals, each with their own set of site-level approaches and tactics, or management actions.
Summer 2021
The NPS Southeast Utah Group, USGS, Northern Arizona University, and the Northern Institute of Applied Climate Science held a Climate Adaptation Workshop focused on tangible management actions to address land challenges. This workshop series was a continuation of the workshops held over the past three years that included assessing vulnerabilities to extreme drought and developing management options. The workshop was held virtually over four days on June 17, August 23,
August 25, and August 30.The June meeting was a science webinar where researchers synthesized climate impacts from drought and sensitivity analyses on Colorado Plateau grasslands. Attendees included 83 natural resource managers and scientists from across the Colorado Plateau.
The final workshop held in August was an active hands-on training where participants used their management goals and knowledge of ecosystem impacts as a guide to identify potential adaptation actions for specific projects inside a national park on the Colorado Plateau.
The goals of that workshop were to
- discuss information on the current and anticipated effects of ecosystem change on grasslands in national parks across the Colorado Plateau,
- describe resources and tools that can be used to integrate ecosystem change into resource conservation and management,
- test a new “Adaptation Menu of Strategies and Approaches for Colorado Plateau Arid Grasslands,” and
- identify adaptation actions that can be incorporated into current and future NPS projects.
The final workshop brought together a breadth of park managers from across the Colorado Plateau interested in incorporating land change adaptation into their on-the-ground planning. The 45 participants worked in groups on specific projects in these parks: Cedar Breaks NM, Southeast Utah Group parks, Capital Reef NP, Grand Canyon NP, Pipe Spring NM, Zion NP, and Chaco Culture NHP. The group followed steps outlined in Chapter 5 (pp. 74–89) of Forest Adaptation Resources: Tools and Approaches for Land Managers, 2nd Edition. An online version of the workbook is available at https://www.adaptationworkbook.org. This process included: defining the area of interest, program, goals and objectives, and timeframes (step 1); identifying ecosystem change impacts at the regional and local levels (step 2); identifying management challenges and opportunities from ecosystem change (step 3); identifying arid grassland adaptation approaches and tactics (step 4); and identifying metrics for monitoring and evaluating effectiveness (step 5). In the final day of the workshop, each group presented on their project and the informed management actions they were going to take. Overall, workshop participants walked away armed with new information, resources, and an adaptation menu for thinking about ecosystem change impacts and adaptive management strategies for arid grasslands in their national parks across the Colorado Plateau.
This project builds upon years of research and collaboration across the Colorado Plateau.