Transcript Atmospheric Change and Forests

NAFC Working Group Report
Atmospheric Change and Forests
XXIV Meeting of the North American Forest Commission
San Juan, Puerto Rico
June, 2008
Northern Hemisphere Carbon Emissions
Source: Climate Change Impacts on the US, NAST, 2000
Atmospheric CO2 Concentrations
Source: Climate Change Impacts on the US, NAST, 2000
Northern Hemisphere Surface Temperature
Source: Climate Change Impacts on the US, NAST, 2000
CLIMATE POLICY: SQUARING UP TO REALITY
Both emissions reduction and adaptation will need to be much
stronger than currently planned if dangerous global impacts of
climate change are to be avoided. June’s UN talks in Bonn and
July’s G8 summit present opportunities for world leaders to face
this challenge.
Martin Parry, Jean Palutikof, Clair Hanson and Jason Lowe.
Source: Nature Reviews: Climate Change. 29th May 2008
Bottom Line – Climate change, and the impacts of climate change are
progressing more rapidly than the majority of scientist believed possible
even a few years ago. Significant negative ecosystem damage now appears
Inevitable, and a much more aggressive approach needs to be implemented
Very soon if catastrophic damage is to be avoided.
Working Group Mission
The Atmospheric Change and Forests Working Group
promotes the knowledge of forest ecosystems through the
science and monitoring of the effects of atmospheric
pollutants on these forests, through international cooperation
and dissemination of new technologies and techniques
among the cooperating countries.
Working Group Meeting
2007 Annual Meeting, April 3-5, 2007 Guadalajara, Mexico.
Held in conjunction with the 39th Annual Air Pollution
Workshop
Collaborations with other organizations
40th Annual Air Pollution Workshop and Symposium Series:
Symposium title: Air Pollution in a Changing World, Raleigh,
North Carolina April 7-10, 2008
National Atmospheric Deposition Program Meeting April
Pensacola FL April 28 – May 1, 2008
Working Group Focus
• Interactions between climate change and
other stressors
• Development of “seamless” assessments
that span international borders
• Interactions with thematic working group,
especially ecosystem resiliency working
group
• Replace the loss of key members from
Canada
Outputs
McNulty, Steven, Roger Cox, Allen R. Riebau, Douglas G. Fox, Carlos Gonzales
Vicente. 2006. Interactions Between Climate Change and Other Environmental
Stresses on North American Forest and Rangeland Health XXIII Session of the North
American Forest Commission Report. October 2006
McNulty, Steven, Roger Cox, Allen R. Riebau. 2007. Interactions Between Climate
Change and Other Environmental Stresses on North American Forest and
Rangeland Health. International Panel of Climate Change. Fuji Meeting, June,
2007.
Paoletti E., Bytnerowicz A., Andersen C., Augustaitis A., Ferretti M., GünthardtGoerg M., Innes J., Johnson D., Karnosky D., Luangjame J., Matyssek R.,
McNulty S., Müller-Starck G., Musselmann R., and Percy K. 2007. Impacts of air
pollution and climate change on forest ecosystems - Emerging research needs.
The Scientific World Journal: 7(s1) 1-8.
McNulty, Steven G.; Strickland, Sara E.; and Moore Myers, Jennifer A. In Press.
Climate Change and Fire Impacts on Ecosystem Critical Nitrogen Load. In: Kafatos, F.
and Qu (Eds.). Remote Sensing and Modeling Applications to Wildland Fires.
Geosciences of Springer-Verlag.