Seventy questions of importance to the conservation of the North Central grasslands of the United States in a changing climate

Conservation Science and Practice
By: , and 

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Abstract

Successful conservation of ecosystems in a changing climate requires actionable research that directly supports the rethinking and revising of management approaches to address changing risks and opportunities. As an important first step toward actionable research, we reviewed and synthesized grassland management-related documents to identify broadly shared questions that, if answered, would help to support collective conservation of the grasslands in the northern Great Plains of the United States in a changing climate. A Management Priorities Working Group reviewed 183 grassland-relevant management documents and identified 70 questions. Feedback was iteratively provided by a Climate and Ecology Working Group, an Advisory Committee, and representatives from grassland management agencies and organizations. The identified questions generally fall under 15 topics: land conversion; restoration; disturbance regimes; woody encroachment; herbaceous invasives; grazing; water quality, quantity, and availability; animal species; private land; public understanding; legal and policy changes; economic incentives; coordination across management entities; accessibility of science and tools; and novel ways of thinking. These questions can inform a research agenda for researchers looking to conduct actionable science in the Great Plains grassland ecosystems. Both the approach and the questions presented here can also be adapted and applied in other regions and ecosystems.

Study Area

Publication type Article
Publication Subtype Journal Article
Title Seventy questions of importance to the conservation of the North Central grasslands of the United States in a changing climate
Series title Conservation Science and Practice
DOI 10.1111/csp2.12998
Volume 5
Issue 9
Year Published 2023
Language English
Publisher Society for Conservation Biology
Contributing office(s) North Central Climate Adaptation Science Center
Description e12998, 23 p.
Country United States
State Colorado, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming
Other Geospatial North Central grasslands
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