Assessing the Future of Sagebrush Ecosystems to Inform Climate Adaptation

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Sagebrush rangelands occupy 76 million hectares across western North America and provide a wide range of ecosystem services, notably wildlife habitat.  However, these sagebrush rangelands are being transformed by combinations of wildfire, invasive species, and drought.  Our work seeks to understand the potential impacts of climate change on these important ecosystems that have been decreasing by ~0.53 million hectares per year.  In this webinar, we will present results about future long-term changes in ecological drought, widespread declines in ecological resilience and resistance, and potential geographic shifts in sagebrush plant community structure and ecological integrity.  We will also describe our current research efforts related to climate adaptation in sagebrush.  These analyses are coproduced with natural resource managers and are designed to provide actionable information to maximize the long-term value of sagebrush ecosystem conservation and restoration investments.