Forest ecosystems provide many benefits and services, including clean water essential for life on Earth. Water supplies control plant growth and carbon storage to help regulate climate, as well as the variety of plant and animal species that exist in an ecosystem. Water availability, carbon sequestration, and biodiversity are closely related ecosystem services and are influenced by human and environmental factors. To help natural resource planners and managers evaluate the balances and tradeoffs among these ecosystem services and make informed decisions in light of changing environmental conditions, EFETAC scientists are developing a web-based planning tool known as the Water Supply Stress Index (WaSSI) model. 

WaSSI can predict how climate, land use, and human population change may impact water availability, carbon sequestration, and biodiversity at the watershed level and across the lower 48 United States. WaSSI users can select and adjust temperature, precipitation, land cover, and water use factors to simulate an unlimited number of global change scenarios for user-determined timeframes through 2100. Simulation results are available as downloadable graphs and data files that users can apply to their unique information and project needs.

Click here to begin exploring WaSSI.

For more information, please contact Ge Sun, EFETAC research hydrologist, at gesun@fs.fed.us or (919) 515-9498.