Northeast and Northern Forests Regional Climate Hub Assessment of Climate Change Vulnerability and Adaptation and Mitigation Strategies

Excerpts from the report Introduction: The northeastern United States is a diverse region containing the seven most densely populated States in the Nation. Agriculture in the Northeast is varied, including vegetable production, ornamentals and fruits, animal production, and field crops. Forests are a dominant land use in the northern parts of the region and in the Appalachian Mountains. Northeast farmers are already experiencing crop damage from extreme precipitation. Wet springs are delaying planting and harvest dates and reducing yields for grain and vegetables. Heavy rain in the Northeast has increased more than any other region in the country (Horton et al., 2014). The remainder of this report provides an overview of regional agriculture and forest system sensitivities to climate change and adaptation strategies, a greenhouse gas emissions and mitigation profile for the region, and a summary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) programs that are vulnerable to a changing climate and what is being done to build resilience on working lands through these programs.