Forest Service global change research strategy, 2009-2019 implementation plan

In keeping with the research goals of the U.S. Global Change Research Program, the climate change strategy of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), and the climate change framework of the Forest Service, this Forest Service Global Change Research Strategy, 2009-2019 Implementation Plan (hereafter called the Research Plan), was written by Forest Service Research and Development to help to define climate change policy and support best management practices for forests and woodlands (both rural and urban), grasslands, and their associated aquatic ecos stems (riparian systems, lakes, streams). The actions the Research Plan identifies will provide the scientific basis to sustain ecosystem health, adjust management for ecosystem services (“adaptation”) and increase carbon sequestration (“mitigation”), all under changing climate conditions. The fundamental research focus of the Research Plan is to increase scientists’ understanding of forest, woodland, and grassland ecosystems so that land managers can manage them in a way that sustains and provides ecosystem services for future generations.