David Larson is the chief of science and resource management at Big Bend national Park. below are his answers to a series of questions related to climate change in big bend.
What is your job/role at Big Bend?
My title is Chief of Science and Resource Management. I am responsible for the supervision of programs involved with natural and cultural resources at Big Bend National Park and the Rio Grande Wild and Scenic River.
How long have you been working there?
3 years.
How would you define climate change?
Weather is a measurement of current conditions outside. Climate is a pattern of weather over a long period of time. Any change detected in that pattern over an extended period of time is what I have been calling climate change.
Does Big Bend do anything unique to prevent climate change?
As a park we are following Regional and National guidance provided by the National Park Service. See attached documents. We also follow the Green Parks Plan for strategies on sustainability. See attached.
Are any specific plants or animals being impacted by climate change currently, or that could be in the near future?
We are seeing some potential changes on the ground with vegetation and maybe wildlife. See attachments on research results associated with vegetation. It is too early to know, but black bears, for example, live in the uplands of Big Bend. Any future changes in weather patterns associated with rising temperatures and reduced rainfall amounts has the potential to cause stress on this species and many others that have adapted to a monsoon pattern of rain at Big Bend and mild winter temperatures.
Have you noticed/experienced any significant climate change or impacts of climate change at Big Bend in the time that you have worked there?
In 2011, the park experienced a significant weather event and 13 month drought that caused significant impacts on tree species in the highlands. See attached publication from Helen Poulos. The mortality of significant numbers of trees in the highlands was very surprising. When it comes to climate change, I have not worked here long enough to see significant change, but yes on significant weather events.
What has climate change impacted the most in Big Bend?
We are not sure yet, but vegetation will probably, in the short-term show some impacts. See attached references. Precipitation patterns and amounts, in the long-term may also be a result of climate change, but too early to tell at this time.
How will climate change impact specific ecosystems in the future?
We may see a shift where plants and animals currently at lower elevations move higher up into the Chisos mountains. We may see shifts in vegetation patterns across the Chihuahuan desert lowlands, maybe higher densities of exotic plant species across the ecosystem. See attachments.
What are some of Big Bend’s goals for preventing/mitigating climate change impacts?
This is a great question. We are using guidance from Regional National Park Service sources to begin working on this question. One question is how to manage the Chisos highlands vegetation in the face of climate change. We are working with scientists to figure out this question. Drinking water for visitors is another challenge and goal. How will we maintain drinking water supplies into the future? Studies are needed to see how the aquifers in the park will hold up to changing weather patterns/monsoon season.
What are you doing currently to prepare for or deal with climate change?
We are working currently on the question of changing vegetation patterns in the Chisos highlands and how to manage for a closed canopy forest into the future.
What is your favorite earth system and what is its role in the park?
The riparian zone found along the Rio Grande is one of my favorite habitats to watch birds, insects, amphibians and reptiles. I also really enjoy the Chisos highlands. In the end biology is my favorite focus, but most of the habitats in the park are fascinating to me and combined together they make up the primary reason for the high biological diversity found here.
How could climate change jeopardize historical/geographic evidence?
There is the potential for flooding to impact historic structures and prehistoric features found along the floodplain of the Rio Grande and tributaries. This also goes for types of soils in the park that are susceptible to erosion from changing rain patterns, such as grasslands.
Is your park educating the public about climate change issues? How?
Big Bend National Park has an environmental education program. There are opportunities for presenting climate change themes to the public. [email protected] can provide more detail. He is the responsible for the environmental education programs at Big Bend.
Are you protecting animal habitats from climate change?
To date we are in a research and study mode. Actual protection of habitats from climate change is not in effect. We are doing a number of restoration actions in the park that may, over time be a positive response to climate change - i.e., restoration of grasslands, removal of structures that prevent natural water flow, stream corridor restoration, removal of exotic plant species from along the Rio Grande (Arrundo donax).
Have any animals or plants gone extinct from climate change in Big Bend?
None that I know of. If you look far enough back in time, going back into the Pleistocene era, you will probably discover a large array of species. During the last century, the black bear is the most interesting species to talk about. It was eradicated from the area by the 1930s. In the 1980s the species reestablished here by coming across the Rio Grande from mountains in Mexico. There is probably no climate change connection with the black bear establishment.
Has climate change had a significant impact on the Rio Grande or could it in the future?
With the potential for changing monsoon patterns and winter precipitation, there could be some impacts. The Rio Grande has been impacted significantly by human actions over the last 100 years with reservoirs and municipal water use. In the future there is the potential for the Rio Grande to see reduced flows due to temperature increase and reduced rain fall patterns. More research is needed on this subject.
What environmental part of Big Bend (desert, mountains, river) will or has been impacted most by climate change? How?
As mentioned above, we can identify tree mortality events in the Chisos mountains as an example of impacts associated with recent weather. As one hikes the backcountry trails in the Chisos, you can see directly the results of this event.
Is there anything else you’d like to tell me about climate change in Big Bend or in general?
You have probably visited these sites, but here are a few resources to review. http://www.nature.nps.gov/climatechange
Also, a few documents are attached that provide guidance on how the NPS is moving forward on this subject.
The documents Mr. Larson mentioned in his answers are available to download below.
My title is Chief of Science and Resource Management. I am responsible for the supervision of programs involved with natural and cultural resources at Big Bend National Park and the Rio Grande Wild and Scenic River.
How long have you been working there?
3 years.
How would you define climate change?
Weather is a measurement of current conditions outside. Climate is a pattern of weather over a long period of time. Any change detected in that pattern over an extended period of time is what I have been calling climate change.
Does Big Bend do anything unique to prevent climate change?
As a park we are following Regional and National guidance provided by the National Park Service. See attached documents. We also follow the Green Parks Plan for strategies on sustainability. See attached.
Are any specific plants or animals being impacted by climate change currently, or that could be in the near future?
We are seeing some potential changes on the ground with vegetation and maybe wildlife. See attachments on research results associated with vegetation. It is too early to know, but black bears, for example, live in the uplands of Big Bend. Any future changes in weather patterns associated with rising temperatures and reduced rainfall amounts has the potential to cause stress on this species and many others that have adapted to a monsoon pattern of rain at Big Bend and mild winter temperatures.
Have you noticed/experienced any significant climate change or impacts of climate change at Big Bend in the time that you have worked there?
In 2011, the park experienced a significant weather event and 13 month drought that caused significant impacts on tree species in the highlands. See attached publication from Helen Poulos. The mortality of significant numbers of trees in the highlands was very surprising. When it comes to climate change, I have not worked here long enough to see significant change, but yes on significant weather events.
What has climate change impacted the most in Big Bend?
We are not sure yet, but vegetation will probably, in the short-term show some impacts. See attached references. Precipitation patterns and amounts, in the long-term may also be a result of climate change, but too early to tell at this time.
How will climate change impact specific ecosystems in the future?
We may see a shift where plants and animals currently at lower elevations move higher up into the Chisos mountains. We may see shifts in vegetation patterns across the Chihuahuan desert lowlands, maybe higher densities of exotic plant species across the ecosystem. See attachments.
What are some of Big Bend’s goals for preventing/mitigating climate change impacts?
This is a great question. We are using guidance from Regional National Park Service sources to begin working on this question. One question is how to manage the Chisos highlands vegetation in the face of climate change. We are working with scientists to figure out this question. Drinking water for visitors is another challenge and goal. How will we maintain drinking water supplies into the future? Studies are needed to see how the aquifers in the park will hold up to changing weather patterns/monsoon season.
What are you doing currently to prepare for or deal with climate change?
We are working currently on the question of changing vegetation patterns in the Chisos highlands and how to manage for a closed canopy forest into the future.
What is your favorite earth system and what is its role in the park?
The riparian zone found along the Rio Grande is one of my favorite habitats to watch birds, insects, amphibians and reptiles. I also really enjoy the Chisos highlands. In the end biology is my favorite focus, but most of the habitats in the park are fascinating to me and combined together they make up the primary reason for the high biological diversity found here.
How could climate change jeopardize historical/geographic evidence?
There is the potential for flooding to impact historic structures and prehistoric features found along the floodplain of the Rio Grande and tributaries. This also goes for types of soils in the park that are susceptible to erosion from changing rain patterns, such as grasslands.
Is your park educating the public about climate change issues? How?
Big Bend National Park has an environmental education program. There are opportunities for presenting climate change themes to the public. [email protected] can provide more detail. He is the responsible for the environmental education programs at Big Bend.
Are you protecting animal habitats from climate change?
To date we are in a research and study mode. Actual protection of habitats from climate change is not in effect. We are doing a number of restoration actions in the park that may, over time be a positive response to climate change - i.e., restoration of grasslands, removal of structures that prevent natural water flow, stream corridor restoration, removal of exotic plant species from along the Rio Grande (Arrundo donax).
Have any animals or plants gone extinct from climate change in Big Bend?
None that I know of. If you look far enough back in time, going back into the Pleistocene era, you will probably discover a large array of species. During the last century, the black bear is the most interesting species to talk about. It was eradicated from the area by the 1930s. In the 1980s the species reestablished here by coming across the Rio Grande from mountains in Mexico. There is probably no climate change connection with the black bear establishment.
Has climate change had a significant impact on the Rio Grande or could it in the future?
With the potential for changing monsoon patterns and winter precipitation, there could be some impacts. The Rio Grande has been impacted significantly by human actions over the last 100 years with reservoirs and municipal water use. In the future there is the potential for the Rio Grande to see reduced flows due to temperature increase and reduced rain fall patterns. More research is needed on this subject.
What environmental part of Big Bend (desert, mountains, river) will or has been impacted most by climate change? How?
As mentioned above, we can identify tree mortality events in the Chisos mountains as an example of impacts associated with recent weather. As one hikes the backcountry trails in the Chisos, you can see directly the results of this event.
Is there anything else you’d like to tell me about climate change in Big Bend or in general?
You have probably visited these sites, but here are a few resources to review. http://www.nature.nps.gov/climatechange
Also, a few documents are attached that provide guidance on how the NPS is moving forward on this subject.
The documents Mr. Larson mentioned in his answers are available to download below.
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robertson_at_al_-_precipitation_timing_and_magnitude_differentially_affect_aboveground_annual_net_primary_productivity_in_three_perennial_species_in_a_chihuahuan_desert_grassland.pdf | |
File Size: | 407 kb |
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chihuahuan_desert_plant_responses_to_climate_change_-_i&m_brief_2013.pdf | |
File Size: | 1623 kb |
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