Mitigating climate change in the American Southwest

New Mexico Climate Change Ecology and Adaptation Workshop; Albuquerque, New Mexico, 22 October 2007; Climate change has had greater impacts on the American Southwest than perhaps anywhere else in the contiguous United States. The future likely holds even more dramatic impacts for the region's ecosystems. Managers of deserts, forests, grasslands, rivers, and streams in this vast and scenic region are under pressure to respond to the unprecedented wildfires, forest dieback, and insect outbreaks that have resulted from years of record warm temperatures and drought. Already faced with urban encroachment and water shortages, managers need to better understand the regional implications of global climate change in order to take informed action to build the adaptive capacity of the landscapes that provide ecosystem services to our communities and habitat for a great diversity of species.