Our nation’s forest and grassland ecosystems provide drinking water and clean air for millions of people, influence the global carbon balance, supply food, support rural and urban jobs, offer places to recreate, and are home to diverse fish and wildlife populations. Climate change is already having substantial impacts on these systems, which are increasingly stressed by severe wildfires, invasive species, diseases, drought, seasonal shifts, and other climate-driven disturbances.

Over the last decade, Forest Service R&D has built interdisciplinary teams to understand and respond to the expected, accelerated, and unprecedented changes associated with climate change. The Forest Service undertakes this research because:

• In contrast to other research institutions, Forest Service R&D is mandated to develop practical applications of new knowledge. As active leaders and participants in the USDA Climate Hubs, Forest Service researchers help create and deliver proactive, practical climate-informed knowledge and tools to better predict and understand the effects of climate change.

• Minorities and low-income populations are most vulnerable to negative quality of life impacts associated with climate change. Forest Service scientists are working to help eliminate environmental disparities for low-income and disadvantaged urban residents throughout the United States. Agency research addresses inequities, such as disproportionately lower tree canopy cover, reduced access to green space, and increased exposure to heat in minority and lower income communities.

• Climate change has altered fire regimes, increasing the frequency and severity of wildfire. Forest Service R&D is a world leader in wildfire research. Scientists have pioneered fire behavior and prediction technology, improved firefighter safety, developed novel spatial planning and risk management tools, and worked with communities to improve protections against catastrophic fire.