Central Appalachians Forest Ecosystem Vulnerability Assessment and Synthesis: A Report from the Central Appalachians Climate Change Response Framework Project

Organizational

General Information:

Author: US Forest Service

Year of publication: 2015

Available languages: English

Details of Assessment:

Type of assessment: Vulnerability assessment

Format of assessment: Report

Estimated costs for conducting: No information

Estimated duration of assessment: No information

To be carried out by whom: Scientists/researchers

Institutional scale of use: Regional

Details: Forest ecosystems

Assesment to be used by which target audience: Multiple actors

Details: Forest managers and scientists

Output: Report

Methodological

Coverage & Methodology:

Region of origin: North America

Developed by which sector: State-run

Applied in practice: Yes

Geographic coverage in analysis: North America

Potential geographic coverage: Location specific data is needed as input

Sectors covered: Forestry

Details: Forest Ecosystems

Method used: Mixed method approach

Description of methodology: Downscaling of simulated climate models for temperature and precipitation to the Apalachian region, and scientific literature review to describe possible trends in climate related events

Risk framework used: No explicit use of risk framework

Risk components incorporated: All

Hazards and impacts considered in the assessment: Changing precipitation patterns, Changing temperature patterns, Extreme temperatures, Extreme rainfall, Drought, Flood, Wildfire

Source of required data: Secondary (available data is used)

Details: Data on the ecosystem environment, topography, precipitation and heat stress

Temporal scale: Forward looking

Participatory elements: No

Consideration of interconnectedness and -dependencies of risks: Partly

Details: Multiple hazards are considred and their effects on forest ecosystems, but no direct mention of interdependencies

Adressing uncertainty: Yes

Scope of assessment: Identification of risks, assessment of impacts

Details: Impacts were assessed in order to identify vulnerability

Relevance for losses and damages:

Economic/Non-Economic losses incorporated: Both

Applicability for entire risk spectrum (from extreme weather events to slow onset processes): Yes

Applicability

Recommendations for Adaptation measures included in Climate Risk Assessment: No

Applied by whom: US Forest Services

Open access: Yes