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Erica Fleishman et al. (E., J. Belnap, N. Cobb, C. A. F. Enquist, K. Ford, G. MacDonald, M. Pellant, T. Schoennagel, L. M. Schmit, M. Schwartz, S. van Drunick, A. L. Westerling, A. Keyser, and R. Lucas) used LANDFIRE Existing Vegetation Type data in their assessment of Southwest vegetation responses to climate change.

Existing relations among land cover, species distributions, ecosystem processes (such as the flow of water and decomposition of organic matter), and human land use are the basis for projecting ranges of ecological responses to different scenarios of climate change.However, because such relations evolve, projections based on current relations are likely to be inaccurate. Additionally, changes in climate, land use, species distributions, and disturbance regimes (such as fire and outbreaks of disease) will affect the ability of ecosystems to provide habitat for animals and plants that society values, to maintain ecosystem processes, and to serve as reservoirs of carbon.

Published in 2013 by the Southwest Climate Alliance.  Assessment of Climate Change in the Southwest United States: A Report Prepared for the National Climate Assessment, edited by G. Garfin, A. Jardine, R. Merideth, M. Black, and S. LeRoy, 148–167.