Framework for Linking Climate, Resource Inventories, and Ecosystem Monitoring

Gray, Stephen

A protocol for the study of climate in its role within the ecosystem at large, including identifying and assessing user needs, and strategies for data analysis and study. Climate is one of the strongest factors controlling ecosystem processes and, in turn, so-called “vital signs” within National Park Service units. The importance of climate as a primary driver of park ecosystems, combined with ongoing droughts and the threat of climate change, emphasize the need to integrate knowledge of climate into the NPS’ Inventory and Monitoring (I&M) Program. Limited access to climate data and a paucity of efforts to convert raw observations into a form that can be used by most I&M personnel have greatly limited this integration. The following report contains a series of recommendations for bridging the gap between climate-data providers and personnel involved in the inventory and monitoring of NPS resources. More specifically this report concentrates on the needs of NPS-I&M personnel and cooperators involved in ecologically-oriented work. Key recommendations include: • Establishing a three-tiered system that would provide basic climate summaries at the park and network level; improved access to basic climate data; and a variety of tools to aid in the analysis of these climate data. • Developing “climate atlases” that would serve as a reference for those seeking general information about park and network-scale climates. • Developing education and outreach components to help NPS personnel and cooperators locate, analyze, and interpret climate-related products. Overall, this report emphasizes the pressing need for improved data access, and the creation of a variety of products that track and summarize park to network-level climate. Many of these recommendations—especially those related to the creation of a data-distribution portal—are currently being implemented as part of the NPClime program (see http://science.nature.nps.gov/im/inventory/climate/). Important future steps include the continued funding and development of NPClime, and the regular production of “climate almanacs” that describe conditions at the park to network or regional level.

Framework for Linking Climate, Resource Inventories, and Ecosystem Monitoring

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