Research is needed to disentangle and clarify the uncertainties of clima te change projections, to assess alternative coping strategies, and to provide better info rmation to stakeholder groups in the region. The scope of this research includes a broad s pectrum of sectors and disciplines. The discussion of the working groups highlighted a few research areas where better information and analysis could be developed to guide the stakeholde r community in coping with climate change impacts. In addition to research efforts, a fundam ental research consideration that pertains to most of the issues is the importance of maintaini ng and augmenting strategically selected long-term monitoring systems.
In the social, political and economic sectors, research is needed to bet ter understand how we can utilize existing structures or develop new social structures to cope with climate change impacts. Results from research on water, environmental protection, and c onservation could help resolve issues arising in these sectors. New ways of defining commun ity goals for resource use among a diverse set of stakeholders are needed in order to better r esolve or negotiate issues.
Diverse water needs of the region compound the difficulty in managing wa ter use among the various consuming sectors. The research community should develop bett er methods to assess competition for water among agricultural, urban and industrial, and na tural ecosystems needs. A detailed understanding of water budgets and cycles at region al scales is needed. Regional water budgets could be quantified so that temporal and spatial distribution of water availability, storage, and demand is better understood. These budgets sho uld address all components of the water cycle, including water content in the atmosphere, soils, surface and groundwater reservoirs, and vegetative cover. Wetlands research needs include b oth preservation of species habitat and biogeochemical cycling. Additionally, both of these are functions of the hydrological regime of wetland systems, how these systems are a ltered by climate change, and how these changes interact with other human stressors.
The current understanding of what aquatic systems need for survival unde r present conditions and climate is incomplete. Water apportionment decision making betwe en aquatic ecosystems and human uses should be reassessed. We need to begin evaluating the effects that projected climate change will have on Great Plains aquatic ecosystems. These re search issues should include agricultural demands and water management. Research on agricultu ral water use efficiency will be needed for assessing future water demand and allocation t o this sector relative to other sectors. Research on water use efficiency should be integrate d with that on water quality. Changes in land use and climate will affect water quality. For example, we need to know how best to manage livestock wastes during extreme precipitation ev ents.
Many of the diverse biological communities populating the Great Plains a re sensitive to changes in habitat and climate patterns. Many of the species which thrive in th e Great Plains have adapted to the variable rainfall patterns and the warm moist summers. The agricultural and livestock industries have also adapted to these climate regimes. Changing c limate patterns will lead to changes in habitat extent and species mixtures for crops and livest ock activities. As the climate changes, expansion of weeds and pests may also occur. Research is needed to increase our understanding of what effects exotic species can have on habitats a nd of how climate change might affect vulnerability of different habitats to invasion. Res earch on effective methods for control of known invasive and disruptive species needs to be accelerated. Methods developed should comply with the principles of integrated pest managemen t (IPM).
The impact of climate change on biodiversity and on habitat needs to be better understood. First, we need to inventory the biotic status and existing informat ion on biotic resources to be able to monitor changes in species and communities. We need to design experiments for testing hypotheses over long time periods, and to evaluate veget ation and faunal assemblages, including predator-prey relationships, environmental control s on community structures, and impacts of changing landscape heterogeneity on habitat integrity.
In agricultural systems the genetic stock is critical to developing new strains of crops and livestock. Historically, agricultural geneticists have improved cultivars o f crop species making them more drought- and temperature-tolerant as well as greatly improving yields. "Precision agriculture" will continue to improve crop varieties making them even more resilient to drought, extreme heat, pests, pathogens, diseases and other stresse s, especially under elevated CO2 atmospheres. An element essential to genetic engi neering is maintaining populations of the crops' ancestral gene pools. In many cases, those ancestral populations are found only in remote regions of the world. Conserving this wealth of biodiversi ty may enable geneticists to breed new and improved varieties which will be better able to cop e with climate change.
Agricultural and rangeland research has focused on improving soil conser vation and land management. The agricultural experiments have studied the benefits of gras s/legume mixtures incorporated into dryland crop rotations, different cropping systems to improve soil carbon levels and reduce trace gas emissions, improved water management, and int egrated farming analysis, to evaluate the effects of changes in farm management on the c onservation of natural resources. These efforts need to be expanded to include varied climate changes in different regions of the Great Plains.
Rangeland research is needed to better understand the relationship betwe en livestock dynamics and rangeland condition. The roles that plant and animal diversity pla y in maintaining good rangeland condition demand more attention. Studies are needed on the impacts of climate and CO2 changes on vegetation and animal dynamics to understand the ecosystem level response to these changes. Research in rangeland management stra tegies for coping with climate change should include alteration of frequency and intensity of grazing for rangeland sustainability.
The role of disturbance has been an area of research for many years, but few ecologists consider how extant disturbance regimes might change within the context of clima te change and land use change scenarios. Ecosystem and habitat changes resulting from cli mate change and other human generated perturbations need to be viewed in a context integrate d with possible scenarios of climate change and of various human activities. Human ext raction of coal, gas, and other mineral resources cause changes in natural systems that imp act water, air and land resources. The impacts of these changes to ecosystems need to be studi ed and evaluated, to determine how such ecosystems might be reclaimed or maintained und er a changing climate scenario.