We’re down to the last few entries in our look at the Georgia Climate Project Roadmap of important questions we need to address in research on changing climate. This week’s entry is about what we need to know to effectively manage terrestrial ecosystems and protect important habitats from the effects of warmer temperatures and more variable rainfall. You can see all of the roadmap questions at https://roadmap.georgiaclimateproject.org/.
9. What are the most ecologically sound and costeffective options for terrestrial ecosystem management to reduce the effects of climate change on ecosystems?
Why this question is important: Many strategies are possible for managing terrestrial farmlands, wetlands, and forests, emphasizing different ecological traits and management tools. For example, some strategies emphasize protecting habitats or ecosystems of high importance, while others emphasize the preservation of connectivity, which would allow species to migrate through landscapes of mixed land use as the climate changes. The management of Georgia ecosystems can potentially be financed using a variety of methods (e.g., tax incentives, payments for ecosystem services, land purchases, encouraging or regulating agriculture and forestry best management practices), but such methods may vary greatly in cost and levels of acceptability for various management agencies, stakeholders, and citizens. Information about the trade-offs that groups are willing to make in terms of costs and management outcomes is needed to help evaluate the appropriateness of different management options (e.g., Nalle et al. 2004).
