Management actions that promote resilience to disturbance are becoming increasingly important in the sagebrush biome. Throughout the U.S, temperatures have warmed over the last 50 years. Temperatures are likely continue to warm along with other changes in climate, such as greater numbers of extreme events. These potential changes require careful consideration in management actions for the sagebrush biome. The Science Framework for Conservation and Restoration of the Sagebrush Biome: Linking the Department of the Interior�s Integrated Rangeland Fire Management Strategy to Long-Term Strategic Conservation Actions, provides a strategic, multiscale approach for prioritizing areas for management and determining effective management strategies across the sagebrush biome. Managing natural resources within the context of climate adaptation is consistent with the approach described in the Science Framework, but requires the necessary flexibility to modify management actions as environmental conditions change. A conceptual approach for addressing climate adaptation focuses on climate resistance, resilience, and response strategies. Using these concepts to manage for changes in climate involves examining whether current assumptions about the effects of weather and climate on environmental responses and underlying assumptions about the expected result of management actions are still viable in a changing environment. Assessing ongoing and projected climate change using the best available data is integral to evaluating priority areas for management at mid scales and to determining appropriate management treatments at local scales. An understanding of the rates and magnitude of projected change can help managers prioritize areas for different types of management actions. This presentation reviews the current understanding of how climate change is affecting drought, insects and disease, and fire regimes in the sagebrush biome. Climate change adaptation strategies for the sagebrush biome have been developed that build on the sage-grouse resilience and resistance habitat matrix and the sagebrush ecosystem management strategies.
Oral presentation and poster titles, abstracts, and authors from the Society for Range Management (SRM) Annual Meetings and Tradeshows, from 2013 forward.