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CLIMATE CHANGE ALBERTAS BIODIVERSITY 45ADAPTATIONS FOR ECOSYSTEM SERVICES ON ALBERTAS RANGELAND Carbon modeling for Albertas rangeland suggests that climate change will result in long-term declines in aboveground biomass production and belowground carbon storage. Both processes are sensitive to grazing intensity however suggesting that grazing management has the potential to be a useful adaptation measure to maintain these ecosystem servicesonrangelandsoverthelong-term. Ecosystem services are the benefits people receive from nature that contribute to our health and well-being. Climate change is anticipated to have numerous and wide-ranging effects on the provision of many ecosystem services which will impact people communi- ties and industries that rely on those services. Understanding these impacts as well as the costs and benefits of potential adaptation strategies is therefore critical for long-term social environmental and economic planning. IncollaborationwithABMIsEcosystem ServicesAssessmentESAproject38 AmyNixon andcolleagues2015usedacarbondynamics modeltoexaminetheimpactsofrecentand futureclimatechangeontwoecosystemservices inAlbertasnativegrasslandssoilcarbonstorage forclimatechangemitigationandaboveground biomassproductioni.e.forageforlivestock grazing.Theyfurtherinvestigatedthepotential of grazing management low- moderate- orhigh-intensitygrazingasaclimatechange adaptationstrategytomaintaintheseprocesses overthelongterm. Inapreliminaryanalysisofmodelresults abovegroundbiomassandsoilcarbonstorage increasedorremainedstableinresponsetorecent climatechangedependingonthegrazingregime. Inresponsetoprojectedfutureclimatechangeto themid-century2050smodelledaboveground biomassincreasedbutsubsequentlydecreased inresponsetoclimatechangebytheendofthe century2080s.Low-intensitygrazingtypically resultedinhighermodelledvaluesofaboveground biomassandsoilcarboncomparedtohigher- intensitygrazing. Thissuggeststhatadjusting grazingintensityisonepotentialadaptation measuretomaintainorimproveaboveground biomassproductionandcarbonstoragein rangelandsoilsasclimatechangeprogresses. ThisworkiscontinuingundertheESAproject. 38 For more information visit www.ecosystemservices.abmi.ca