[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 29 (Friday, February 12, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 7497-7499]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-02927]


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 Notices
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  Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 29 / Friday, February 12, 2016 / 
Notices  

[[Page 7497]]



DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

National Institute of Food and Agriculture


Request for Public Engagement in the Interagency Special Report 
`2nd State of the Carbon Cycle Report (SOCCR-2)'

AGENCY: National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) on behalf of 
the United States Global Change Research Program (USGCRP), Department 
of Agriculture.

ACTION: Request for Public Comments on a Draft Report. Prospectus, 
Technical Input, and Nominations for Technical Contributors.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Carbon Cycle Science Program and the Carbon Cycle 
Interagency Working Group (CCIWG), under the auspices of the U.S. 
Global Change Research Program (USGCRP), are initiating an Interagency 
Special Report entitled the 2nd State of the Carbon Cycle Report 
(referred to as ``SOCCR-2'' or ``the Report'' throughout this notice). 
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has agreed to be 
lead agency for this report as it is relevant to USDA and USDA has 
experience in producing a similar highly successful report of Climate 
Change and Food Security. The focus of SOCCR-2 will be on U.S. and 
North American carbon cycle processes, stocks, and flows in the context 
of and interactions with global scale budgets and climate change 
impacts in managed and unmanaged systems. Carbon stocks and fluxes in 
soils, water (including oceans), vegetation, aquatic-terrestrial 
interfaces (e.g., coastal, estuaries, wetlands), human settlements, 
agriculture and forestry are included. The Report will consider 
relevant carbon management science perspectives and science-based tools 
for supporting and informing decisions, as addressed in and related to 
the U.S. Carbon Cycle Science Plan (2011), and other documents such as 
the USGCRP Strategic Plan (2012) and the White House Climate Action 
Plan (2013). The status of, and emerging opportunities for, improving 
measurements, observations and projections of stocks and fluxes in the 
carbon cycle, including uncertainty identification, will be part of the 
Report. SOCCR-2 will be a product of the USGCRP, organized and led by 
the Agency members of the CCIWG. This request for public engagement 
presents opportunities to (1) submit comments on the Draft Report 
Prospectus, (2) submit scientific/technical information to inform the 
assessment, and (3) nominate technical contributors.

DATES: Written comments on the Draft Prospectus, technical information, 
and nominations for technical contributors must be received by 5:00 
p.m., ET on March 14, 2016.

ADDRESSES: Comments on the Draft Prospectus, technical information, and 
nominations for technical contributors must be submitted electronically 
via https://www.globalchange.gov/notices.
    Instructions: Response to this notice is voluntary. Respondents 
need not reply to all components. Responses to this notice may be used 
by the government for program planning on a non-attribution basis. NIFA 
therefore requests that no business proprietary information or 
copyrighted information be submitted in response to this notice. Please 
note that the U.S. Government will not pay for response preparation, or 
for the use of any information contained in the response.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: USGCRP Contact: Dr. Gyami Shrestha; 
telephone 202-223-6262; or email: [email protected].
    NIFA Contact: Dr. Nancy Cavallaro; telephone 202-401-5176; or 
email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Request for Comments on the Draft Prospectus

A. How To Submit Comments on the Draft Prospectus

    The Draft Prospectus describes the proposed plans for scoping, 
drafting, reviewing, producing, and disseminating SOCCR-2. Comments are 
specifically sought on the Draft Report outline (including the draft 
table of contents), proposed topics, and process as outlined in the 
Draft Prospectus. The Draft Prospectus and instructions to submit 
comments can be found at http://www.globalchange.gov/notices. Section 
I(B) below provides a brief summary of the prospectus.

B. Summary of the Draft Prospectus for the Interagency Special Report 
`2nd State of the Carbon Cycle Report (SOCCR-2)'

1. Overview
    The SOCCR-2 report is a synthesis and assessment focusing on U.S. 
and North American carbon cycle processes, stocks, and flows in the 
context of and interactions with global scale budgets and climate 
change impacts in managed and unmanaged systems.
2. Proposed Focus Areas and Table of Contents
    Current status and near-term projections for each topic will be 
included. If and where possible, modeling and multi-model syntheses of 
the carbon cycle will be included. As appropriate, each chapter will 
address cross-cutting themes such as: Land use change, fluxes, 
feedbacks, historical context, indicators and trends, societal impacts, 
North American and global scales (based on the 2014 National Climate 
Assessment regions), carbon management, impacts of decisions, and 
research needs. The expanded draft table of contents can be found on 
http://www.globalchange.gov/notices.
    Preface--The Preface will explain the importance of the carbon 
cycle to climate, the scope and rationale for SOCCR-2, and key 
developments since SOCCR-1.
    Chapter 1: Global carbon cycle overview--Chapter 1 will contain an 
overview of major elements of the coupled global carbon cycle (i.e., 
carbon dioxide and methane) as well as discuss key interactions with 
climate forcing and feedback components from a global perspective.
    Chapter 2: Carbon cycle at scales--Chapter 2 will provide an 
assessment of the North American carbon cycle (scaled down from the 
global system in chapter 1), including updated regional, and local 
perspectives on key carbon stocks and flows.
    Chapter 3: Carbon in natural and anthropogenic systems--major 
stocks, flows, uncertainties, broader social

[[Page 7498]]

drivers, carbon decisions--Chapter 3 will provide an assessment of key 
carbon stocks (e.g., soils, aquatic systems, vegetation, urban, 
livestock, oceans, etc.) and the flows within and between these pools, 
including key uncertainties and social drivers. Example Focus Areas 
that may be incorporated in the above include urban carbon, Arctic 
carbon, livestock and wildlife.
    Chapter 4: Interactions/disturbance: Impacts to the carbon cycle--
Chapter 4 will focus on the role of disturbances, such as fire, ocean 
acidification, pathogens, land use change, etc. on the carbon cycle.
    Chapter 5: Carbon cycle information, management practices, tools 
and needs at various scales--Chapter 5 will assess the role of recent 
carbon management practices and highlight the current state of carbon 
data management, monitoring systems, tools, and carbon relevant 
modeling scenarios.
    Chapter 6: Synthesis, conclusions, gaps in knowledge, and (near) 
future outlook--Chapter 6 will provide an overarching synthesis of the 
current state of the carbon cycle while identifying key knowledge gaps/
opportunities and a near-term outlook on the North American Carbon 
cycle.

C. Process

1. Audience and Communications
    The audience includes scientists, decision-makers in the public and 
private sectors and the general interested community across the U.S., 
extending to North American and global regions. The report may 
ultimately be used to inform policies but will not prescribe or 
recommend them.
2. Technical Contributors and Required Expertise
    The SOCCR-2 Report will be a federal interagency report. Technical 
contributors may be federal employees, academic scientists, private and 
nonprofit sector representatives, and others as appropriate and in 
alignment with federal requirements. The technical contributors will be 
selected based on their scientific expertise; demonstrated 
accomplishments; academic interests and knowledge in the thematic areas 
specified in the draft outline; time availability; and technical 
capability to work in this type of broad interdisciplinary and cross-
cutting scientific assessment setting. The main roles and 
responsibilities of the technical contributors may include compiling 
the necessary background literature; synthesizing, analyzing and 
interpreting the existing science; and contributing intellectual and 
technical input. The process for nominating technical contributors is 
provided in Section III below.
3. Agency Roles
    A Federal Steering Committee of the USGCRP's SOCCR-2 has been 
established to provide guidance and coordination to the report authors 
and staff. The Committee members represent CCIWG member departments and 
agencies including National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 
(NOAA), National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), 
Department of Energy (DOE), United States Department of Agriculture 
(USDA), U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and Environmental Protection 
Agency (EPA).
4. Information Quality and Peer Review
    The USGCRP's 2nd State of the Carbon Cycle Report will use 
referenced materials derived primarily from the existing, peer-reviewed 
scientific literature and consistent with guidance regarding the use of 
other literature. This report will follow the USDA Information Quality 
Guidelines and administrative processes (http://nifa.usda.gov/resource/usda-information-quality) including the Office of Management and Budget 
(OMB) federal information quality, transparency, and accessibility 
guidelines appropriate for a Highly Influential Scientific Assessment 
(HISA) (http://www.cio.noaa.gov/services_programs/pdfs/OMB_Peer_Review_Bulletin_m05-03.pdf). The report will undergo peer 
review by the National Academy of Sciences, public review, and final 
interagency clearance.
5. Process for Public Engagement
    The written comments on the Draft Prospectus, technical 
information, and nominations for technical contributors called for in 
this notice are the first opportunities for public participation in the 
SOCCR-2 report process. Federal Steering committee will provide several 
opportunities for public engagement with the scientific community 
throughout the report scoping, planning and writing process via special 
presentations, sessions, town hall meetings and side-events at national 
and international scientific conferences. A public review period for 
the Draft SOCCR-2 will also be announced via a Federal Register notice, 
after its completion. Updates will be provided on https://www.carboncyclescience.us/ as available.
6. Proposed Timing
    SOCCR-2, with a likely release in 2017, is designed to inform the 
next quadrennial National Climate Assessment (due in 2018).

II. Call for Relevant Scientific Information To Inform the Special 
Report

    Interested parties are invited to assist in contributing, 
collecting and refining the scientific information base for this 
special report. To do so, parties are asked to submit recent, relevant 
scientific and/or technical research studies including observed, 
modeled and/or projected carbon cycle science information that have 
been peer reviewed and published or accepted for publication in 
scientific journals and/or government reports. All scientific 
literature submitted in response to this call for information must be 
received by 5:00 p.m., ET on March 14, 2016.
    Submissions must be uploaded electronically via the link provided 
on http://www.globalchange.gov/notices.

III. Call for Nominations for Technical Contributors

    This notice seeks nominations for technical contributors to SOCCR-2 
with pertinent subject matter expertise and scientific background. 
Potential technical contributors should be accomplished scholarly 
writers and have demonstrated scientific and technical expertise and 
academic proficiency in at least one of the carbon cycle science topics 
outlined in the prospectus (available via www.globalchange.gov/notices), including the human dimensions of carbon cycle sciences. 
Submissions must demonstrate that nominees have demonstrated technical 
backgrounds, such that they could contribute to the development of a 
robust scientific, technical assessment as subject matter experts in 
one or more of the topics listed under Section 2 above and in the Draft 
Prospectus.
    Responses to this request must be received by 5:00 p.m., ET on 
March 14, 2016. Please follow instructions on www.globalchange.gov/notices. Interested persons may nominate themselves or third parties, 
and may nominate more than one person. Each nomination must include: 
(1) The nominee's full name, title, institutional affiliation, and 
contact information; (2) the nominee's area(s) of expertise; (3) a 
short description of his/her qualifications relative to contributing to 
SOCCR-2; and (4) a current resume (maximum length four [4] pages). 
Nominations will be reviewed, and

[[Page 7499]]

nominees may be invited to participate as technical contributors to 
SOCCR-2.

    Done at Washington, DC, this 8th day of February, 2016.
Sonny Ramaswamy,
Director, National Institute of Food and Agriculture.
[FR Doc. 2016-02927 Filed 2-11-16; 8:45 am]
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