Workshops

On October 5, 2022, Lauren Lyon (2022 USGS Science to Action Fellow and PhD candidate at University of Tennessee, Knoxville), her advisor Dr. Mona Papes (University of Tennessee), and Dr. Toni Lyn Morelli (USGS Northeast Climate Adaptation Science Center) hosted a virtual workshop to engage with stakeholders and practitioners on climate change work being conducted in the Appalachian ecoregion.

The meeting began with a presentation on Lauren’s work on mammals of conservation concern in the Appalachians and where their potential climate change refugia are located, as well as steps to implementing this science into action (i.e. producing a format most useful for an army of one to make conservation decisions as is so often the case). Following her talk, we heard from Science Coordinator at the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Paul Super, about work on climate change and case studies/specific examples of management incorporating climate change occurring in the park. Subsequently, attendees participated in a roundtable event to discuss areas where we introduced our systems, management branch, and climate change perspectives of important consideration as we look to the future. Many state agencies, federal agencies, academics, and nonprofits were able to share resources and address challenges in a number of Appalachian systems from mammal work, to fish conservation, to overlap and outreach on private lands. Finally, attendees moved into breakout rooms where practitioners were asked more detailed questions about day to day decision making and ways academics could make their data more useful, as well as general concerns going forward and incorporating climate change into management practices.

This work has been presented at a USGS early career workshop and the 2022 SEAFWA meeting in Charleston, WV, as well as followup meetings with individual practitioners who wish to remain engaged through the product creation process. Overall, the workshop was a very engaging, informative, and collaborative step toward the collective goal of improving the efficiency and impact of environmental work!

publications

Kivlin, S. N., Harpe, V. R., Turner, J. H., Moore, J. A., Moorhead, L. C., Beals, K. K., ... & Schweitzer, J. A. (2021). Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal response to fire and urbanization in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Elem Sci Anth, 9(1), 00037.

Le Bouille, D., Fargione, J., & Armsworth, P. R. (2022). Spatiotemporal variation in costs of managing protected areas. Conservation Science and Practice, e12697.

McKenzie, P. F., Iacona, G. D., Larson, E. R., & Armsworth, P. R. (2021). Partitioning tree diversity patterns to prioritize conservation investments. Environmental Conservation, 48(2), 75-83.

Zhu, G., Giam, X., Armsworth, P. R., Cho, S. H., & Papeş, M. (2022). Biodiversity conservation adaptation to climate change: protecting the actors or the stage. Ecological Applications, e2765.

Zhu, G., Papeş, M., Armsworth, P. R., & Giam, X. (2022). Climate change vulnerability of terrestrial vertebrates in a major refuge and dispersal corridor in North America. Diversity and Distributions.

Zhu, G., Papeş, M., Giam, X., Cho, S. H., & Armsworth, P. R. (2021). Are protected areas well-sited to support species in the future in a major climate refuge and corridor in the United States?. Biological Conservation, 255, 108982.