Disturbance and Climate Change in the Interior West (Chapter 6)

Abstract

Within the continental United States, average annual temperature increased during the Twentieth Century by approximately 0.65 ºC. The most extreme warming occurred throughout the northern and western United States (IPCC 2007a; Williams and others 2010). Disturbances such as fire, drought, grazing, urbanization, and energy development are predicted to have a heightened impact on the western United States under a changing climate. For example, extreme drought conditions accompanied by rising temperatures characterized the American Southwest during the past decade (Floyd and others 2009).

Parent Publication

• Climate change in grasslands, shrublands, and deserts of the interior American West: a review and needs assessment

Citation

Ford, Paulette L.; Chambers, Jeanne K.; Coe, Sharon J.; Pendleton, Burton C. 2012. Disturbance and Climate Change in the Interior West (Chapter 6). In: Finch, Deborah M., ed. Climate change in grasslands, shrublands, and deserts of the interior American West: a review and needs assessment. Gen. Tech. Rep. RMRS-GTR-285. Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. p. 80-96.