Spread of Invasive Vegetation under Climate Change in the National Parks of the Klamath Region

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Whiskeytown National Recreation Area in California after the 2018 Carr Fire. Image credit: USGS.

Project Summary

Project Overview 

The Klamath Region of Oregon and California is a global hotspot of biodiversity, but invasive species, climate change, and severe fires threaten native biodiversity, even within national parks. Scientists supported by this Southwest CASC project will create early-warning maps of where invasive plants are most likely to spread, helping national park managers target their detection and control efforts to use resources more effectively.  

Summary:  

The Klamath Region in Oregon and California is a globally recognized hotspot of plant biodiversity. Six national parks and monuments within the region are key to preserving this biodiversity and providing recreation opportunities to the public. However, even within these parks invasive species may outcompete and displace native vegetation, creating novel landscapes, especially as severe fires alter the landscape.

Using long-term vegetation monitoring data from the National Park Service, this project team will identify how current climate and fire promotes or hinders the spread of invasive vegetation across the national parks in the Klamath Region. The team will combine these results with fine-scale predictions of future climate to create maps that identify potential areas of invasive vegetation spread.

The “early warning” maps produced from this project will give managers climate-informed scenarios of where their efforts may be most needed to search for and to control the spread of invasive vegetation to limit impacts on native biodiversity, allowing them to target scarce resources. This project is a co-production between USGS and NPS scientists and resource managers, ensuring that science products are useful for ongoing detection and control efforts.