Climate change

The impact of climate change is expected to be severe in Southwestern forests like the Pajarito Plateau and surrounding areas. This theme is concerned with understanding and mitigating this impact.

See all blog posts on this theme.

Current issues

• Clean energy such as solar power is critical for limiting climate change; local policy must encourage rather than hinder it. See all blog posts on this issue.

Potential future issues

• Identify and support microclimates of refuge, such as cooler north-facing slopes and favorable drainage patterns, to help pockets of current native ecosystems survive a long period of poor conditions.
• Identify and support privately owned microclimates that might be favorable. For example, watered yards might be an opportunity to preserve ecosystems in the face of climate change.
• Seed banking may preserve native flora and fauna to be re-introduced if conditions become favorable again.
• Metagenomic DNA sequencing of local ecosystems will help understand them, which will in turn help with preservation, repair, and re-introduction.