In a new book titled Drivers of Landscape Change in the Northwest Boreal Region, the Alaska Center for Climate Assessment and Policy (ACCAP), a CPO RISA team, co-authored a chapter covering communication as a driver of landscape change. The northwest boreal region of North America is a land of extremes, encompassing the entire spectrum between inundated wetlands below sea level to the tallest peak in North America. Glacial melt, erosion, fires, permafrost dynamics, and wind-blown loess are among the shaping forces of the landscape. As a result, species interactions and ecosystem processes are shifting across time. However, the northwest boreal region is data-poor, and historical baseline data describing the economic and social relationships in association with the ecological condition of the region’s landscape, for instance, are often lacking. Likewise, the size and remoteness of this region make it challenging to measure basic biological information, such as species population sizes or trends. The paucity of weather and climate monitoring stations also compound the ability to model future climate trends and impacts, which is part of the nature of working in the north. The book aims to create a resource for regional land and resource managers and researchers that synthesizes the latest research on the historical and current status of landscape-scale drivers (including anthropogenic activities) and ecosystem processes, future projected changes of each, and the effects of changes on important resources in the region. Generally, each chapter is co-authored by researchers and land and natural resource managers from the United States and Canada.
CPO’s Alaska RISA team co-authors book chapter on drivers of landscape change in the Northwest Boreal Region
