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372 assessment of climate change in the southwest united statesClimatic factors including higher average temperatures since the 1970s and extensivedroughts have contributed to conditions for increased wildfire, as have land-usechanges and fire-suppression strategies (Williams et al. 2010). The seasonality of temperatureand precipitation changes is especially critical; higher temperatures, earlierspring warming, and decreased surface water contribute to an increase in wildfires(MacDonald 2010). Drought-related bark beetle damage has had devastating effects onSouthwest forests. Overall, Williams and colleagues (2010) estimate that approximately2.7% of Southwestern forest and woodland area experienced substantial mortality dueto wildfires from 1984 to 2006, and approximately 7.6% experienced mortality due tobark beetles or wildfire during this period.Wildfire and land-use management play a large role in controlling the outbreak ofwildfires, and climate information should be an important aspect of the planning process.Expected climatic changes will alter future forest productivity, disturbance regimes, andspecies ranges throughout the Southwest (Williams et al. 2010). Peak fire-suppressionperiods vary from region to region, with important implications for decision makingaround wildfire (Corringham, Westerling, and Morehouse 2008; Westerling et al. 2011).While fire managers in the Southwest United States are integrating short-term weatherand climate information into their planning, long-term forecasts are less utilized dueto a perceived lack of reliability (Corringham, Westerling, and Morehouse 2008). Transborderemergency response to wildfires is another critical element of effective management.Events such as wildfires “do not respect administrative boundaries” (GNEB 2008,2). Trans-border communication-sharing and response systems (as appropriate) can addto regional resilience and improve forest sustainability.ReferencesAdger, W. N. 2006. Vulnerability. Global Environmental Change 16:268–281.Adger, W. N., N. W. Arnell, and E. L. Tompkins. 2005. Successful adaptation across scales. GlobalEnvironmental Change 15:77–86.Adger, W. N., S. Dessai, M. Goulden, M. Hulme, I. Lorenzoni, D. R. Nelson, L. O. Naess, J. Wolf,and A. Wreford. 2009. Are there social limits to adaptation to climate change? ClimaticChange 93:335–354, doi:10.1007/s10584-008-9520-z.Anzaldúa, G. 1987. Borderlands/La Frontera. San Francisco: Aunt Lute Press.Austin, D. E., E. Mendoza, M. Guzmán, and A. Jaramillo. 2004. Partnering for a new approach:Maquiladoras, government agencies, educational institutions, non-profit organizations,and residents in Ambos Nogales. In Social costs of industrial growth in northern Mexico, ed. K.Kopinak, 251–281. San Diego: University of California–San Diego, Center for U.S.–MexicanStudies.Beibighauser, T. R. 2007. Wetland drainage, restoration, and repair. Lexington: The University Pressof Kentucky.Border Environment Cooperation Commission (BECC). 2007. An analysis of program impactsand pending needs. http://www.cocef.org/english/VLibrary/Publications/SpecialReports/White%20Paper%20Analysis%20of%20US-MEX%20Border%20Program.pdf.Brito-Castillo, L., A. Leyva-Contreras, A. V. Douglas, and D. Lluch-Belda. 2002. Pacific DecadalOscillation and the filled capacity of dams on the rivers of the Gulf of California continentalwatershed. Atmósfera 15:121–136.