Common use of Ecosystems Clause in Contracts

Ecosystems. Ecosystems provide humans with food, clean water, and a variety of other services that can be affected by climate change. The following seven indicators are related to ecosystems. o Wildfires – Since 1983, the National Interagency Fire Center has documented an average of 72,000 wildfires per year. The extent of area burned by wildfires each year appears to have increased since the 1980s. According to National Interagency Fire Center data, of the 10 years with the largest acreage burned, nine have occurred since 2000, including the peak year in 2015. o Streamflow – Annual average streamflow has increased at many sites in the Northeast and Midwest, while other regions have seen few substantial changes. Overall, sites show more increases than decreases. o Stream Temperature – From 1960 through 2014, water temperature increased at 79 percent of the stream sites measured in the Chesapeake Bay region. More than half of these increases were statistically significant. Only 5 percent of stations had a significant temperature decrease over the same period.