[PCA] National Ecological Observatory Network: Ecologists Embark on a Nationwide Quest to Measure America?s Ecological Health

[Patricia_DeAngelis at fws.gov]

Ecologists Embark on a Nationwide Quest to Measure America?s Ecological 
Health
November 28th, 2011 

Some of the consequences of climate change are pretty straightforward: 
temperatures go up, ice melts, sea level rises. Scientists have powerful 
evidence that all of these are happening, and good reason to think they?ll 
keep happening if we continue adding greenhouse gases to the atmosphere.

But other consequences are a lot harder to measure and a lot harder to 
predict. One of the toughest is the disruption and reshaping of ecosystems 
as plants and animals try to adjust to changing temperatures, new patterns 
of precipitation and more. It?s complicated because some species are more 
sensitive to climate change than others. And it?s even more complicated 
because climate change is only one of many things that are wreaking havoc 
on the natural world ? factors like deforestation, agriculture, pollution 
and human-aided invasions by non-native species (think boa constrictors in 
Florida, zebra mussels in the Great Lakes and the voracious kudzu vine all 
over the Southeast).  


Full story:  
http://www.climatecentral.org/news/new-ecological-network-aims-to-revolutionize-environmental-monitoring-forec/


Patricia S. De Angelis, Ph.D.
Botanist, Division of Scientific Authority-US Fish & Wildlife Service
Chair, Medicinal Plant Working Group-Plant Conservation Alliance
4401 N. Fairfax Dr., Suite 110
Arlington, VA  22203
703-358-1708 x1753
FAX: 703-358-2276

Promoting sustainable use and conservation of our native medicinal plants.
<www.nps.gov/plants/medicinal>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.plantconservation.org/pipermail/native-plants_lists.plantconservation.org/attachments/20111129/a4b96cbf/attachment.html>