How Monitoring Informs Park Conservation in a Changing Climate

When coupled with climate trends, long-term monitoring can help us understand what to expect over the next few decades and provide park managers with time and tools to plan for a range of scenarios. With the information we have now, the Inventory & Monitoring Division can describe how sensitive and vulnerable ecosystems and species are to climate factors such as warming temperatures, drought, and the shift in seasons. We can model and forecast trends into the future to help park managers explore climate change scenarios. By providing park managers with the specifically tailored information and tools they need for decisionmaking, we can help them manage parks within the context of a changing climate.

  • A group of people in a meeting room.
    Climate Adaptation Planning

    How long-term monitoring helps inform park-based climate adaptation planning.

  • A weather station being set up on a ridge with a storm coming in.
    Climate Trends and Models

    Climate information from an extensive network of weather stations is the basis for understanding climate trends and extreme events.

  • A flooded coastline due to sea level rise.
    Vulnerability Assessments

    Species and ecosystems respond differently to climate change. Long-term monitoring helps identify where and when they are most vulnerable.

  • A giant sequoia wrapped in fire-protective covering.
    Management Action

    Long-term monitoring provides park managers with information they need to make difficult decisions.

  • A woman fits a camera into the belly of a small plane.
    Remote Sensing and Climate Change

    In some cases, remote sensing can be a useful tool to see bigger patterns of climate change on the landscape.

  • A pika with a mouthful of forbes perches on a rock.
    More About Climate Change

    Learn more about what we are learning from long-term monitoring about how parks are impacted by climate change.

Last updated: November 6, 2024

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