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Climate Change Resource Center

The Climate Change Resource Center (CCRC) connects land managers and decision makers with useable science to address climate change in natural resources planning and management.

a green icon with trees and Climate Change Resource center.

From 2008 to 2020, the Climate Change Resource Center (CCRC) was the primary source of Forest Service climate change information for management audiences. The CCRC, a joint effort of Forest Service Research and Development and the Office of Sustainability and Climate, compiled and created educational resources, climate change and carbon tools, video presentations, scientific literature, and briefings on management-relevant topics, ranging from basic climate change information to details on specific management responses. 

As the agency has built an integrated approach to addressing climate change throughout all of its systems and management actions, the need for the Climate Change Resource Center in its original form has diminished. Climate change is now broadly integrated into Forest Service programs, and information on addressing climate change as it relates to a variety of resources and programs can be found throughout Forest Service resources and the USDA Climate Hubs. The USDA Climate Hubs are an interagency collaborative effort to deliver science-based, region-specific climate change information and technologies to agricultural and natural resource managers that enable climate-informed decision-making. The Hubs now maintain a website that offers many of the same resources as the CCRC, making the need for a separate CCRC website increasingly redundant. To provide the best user experience, the CCRC is being phased out, but its resources will continue to be available through the Forest Service Office of Sustainability & Climate website and the USDA Climate Hubs.

These comprehensive education modules were created using a curriculum developed by the Office of Sustainability and Climate and the Northern Institute of Applied Climate Science. They give an in-depth introduction to basic climate change science, the effects of climate change on forest and grassland ecosystems, and how we can respond to climate change with management. In module 1, you will learn about the climate system, greenhouse gases, climate models, current climate impacts, and future projections. In module 2, you will explore current and projected climate effects on water resources, vegetation, wildlife, and disturbances for forest and grassland ecosystems. In module 3, you will review the adaptation options, resistance, resilience, and transition, and learn how to incorporate them into natural resource planning.

Climate Change Education Modules

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For USDA employees, the modules are available through AgLearn: Course: 1300 FS National Climate Change (usda.gov).

Office of Sustainability and Climate

For information on how the Forest Service is using the best available science to adjust behaviors and actions to help our forests and grasslands continue to deliver values, products, and services both now and in the future, the following resources are provided by the Office of Sustainability and Climate: 

  • Adaptation Information: This page includes information about the agency’s adaptation plan, definitions, and resources. 
  • Carbon Information: This page includes definitions, assessments, and resources related to forest and rangeland carbon. 
  • Climate Data Dashboard: The OSC Climate Tools and Data page includes links to major OSC applications, including the Climate Gallery, home to data, tools, story maps, and other useful information.

USDA Climate Hubs 

The Climate Hubs link USDA research and program agencies in their regional delivery of timely and authoritative tools and information to agricultural producers and professionals. Find resources previously published on the CCRC through the USDA Climate Hubs website: 

Compendium of Climate Change Adaptation Approaches 

Coming soon to the USDA Climate Hubs 

  • The Compendium of Adaptation Approaches is a tool to help natural resource managers and landowners identify actions for responding to climate change. It provides a curated list of adaptation actions that helps natural resource managers move from broad ideas to specific actions. Many illustrative examples of adaptation actions are included in this tool, but it is not a comprehensive list of all available options. 

Topic Pages, previously published on the CCRC 

In each Topic Page, expert authors provide a brief introduction to the topic with information on the impacts of climate change on the subject matter and management options under the projected future conditions.

Adaptation Examples 

See specific examples of actions that are taking place on forests and grasslands to respond to climate change. These examples include projects at a variety of scales and stages of action. 

Tools 

These represent a portion of the tools available for the climate, agriculture, and forestry sectors, ranging from specialized calculators to maps, models and datasets estimating a variety of outputs (e.g., crop production, greenhouse gas flux, and species distribution). 

Forest Service Research & Development 

Find the latest research and publications on climate change from the Forest Service within Treesearch.

Last updated January 24, 2024
https://www.fs.usda.gov/research/centers/ccrc