Ecological Drought in the Southwest United States
The
Department of the Interior Climate Science Centers (CSCs) have chosen the emerging climate science field of
Ecological Drought as a research focus area. This newsletter highlights the outcomes of a two-day workshop sponsored by the
Southwest CSC and held in Tucson, Arizona as part of a series of meetings at each of the nation's eight CSCs. Drought has long shaped the iconic landscapes of the Southwestern United States. However, the immediate threat of increasing temperatures are amplifying and accelerating the impacts of drought on humans and ecosystems. Ecological drought—the prolonged and widespread deficit in naturally available water for ecological processes—will drive ecosystems of the arid Southwest beyond natural thresholds, affecting ecosystem services, and triggering feedbacks in natural and human systems of the region.
