Communicating Ecological Drought Information using the EcoDri Framework

Ecological drought can cause changes to natural ecosystems such as loss of productivity and permanent landcover transitions that directly impact human systems (e.g., loss of food and fiber). Ecological drought events appear as direct manifestations of deficits in water availability compounded with increases in air temperature, resulting in ecosystems reaching or passing the threshold of an ecological tipping point. Thus, we need better monitoring of ecological drought. Adaptation plans need forecasts of potential impacts, and understanding impacts requires identification of their cause and relationship with observed drought conditions. Moreover, enhancing the ability of impacted communities to benefit from ecological drought information requires understanding how these communities perceive, utilize, and respond to such natural hazards. This analysis presents the EcoDri framework to provide and bridge the gap between currently available knowledge (and developing new understanding) and affected communities’ needs. Feedback from these communities and other stakeholders about the performance of the EcoDri framework will be evaluated to tailor information towards their needs. The information that will be shared through the EcoDri framework will include 1) existing and newly developed monitoring tools that can appropriately depict ecological drought, 2) predictions of ecosystem change such as land degradation across space and time, and 3) forecasts of drought impacts. The EcoDri framework utilizes artificial intelligence and data science approaches to address these needs. The framework is being developed using data from New Mexico with the expectation of transferability to other regions across the western United States.