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• Soil nutrients: Extreme rain events can reduce soil nutrient levels. • Acidity and alkalinity: An increase in precipitation and moisture is expected to increase soil acidity, which will affect natural ecosystems and agricultural productivity. iv. Climate Impact: Agricultural Productivity The agriculture industry and a rural lifestyle are both key elements of the Town of Aurora that residents seek to preserve. However, climate change projections indicate that average annual temperatures could increase by up to 10°F by the 2080s. Although it might at first glance sound like a benefit for farmers to have an extended growing season, other side effects of climate change can and do impact agriculture negatively. Warmer, longer growing seasons mean an increase in irrigation, slower plant growth, and greater potential for diseases and invasive species to flourish on agricultural crops. Bacteria, fungi, insects, and weeds tend to take advantage of warmer weather and often thrive in increased moisture. A longer season and hotter weather could also affect pollinators, such as bees and butterflies, and their lifecycles, which are generally matched with the timing of crop plantings – a crucial step for agricultural productivity, especially fruits and vegetables. Additionally, farm workers and livestock animals will be impacted by increased heat both in terms of physical effects but also by increased prevalence of pests (mosquitoes, ticks, etc.). For both human workers and livestock animals, resources will need to be increasingly dedicated to cooling down, namely, water availability and fans/air conditioning. The Town of Aurora and Erie County at large will be affected by warming weather trends, as the area is quite agriculturally productive – maple syrup, Christmas trees, apiaries, and autumn tree tourism are identified as Aurora’s largest agricultural markets. Local agriculture will also be affected by extreme cold, which may cause crop damage or kill crops entirely; early spring warming can also cause premature budding which can kill crops if it is followed by a freeze. v. Climate Impact: Invasive Species As mentioned above, invasive species are likely to become more of an issue as climate changes. As temperature and precipitation increase, species niches change, food chains shift, habitats move, and entire ecosystems are altered in a domino effect. Invasive species can cause significant damage to agricultural crops and even entire ecosystems for various reasons: lack of a natural check on the population such as a predator; they may fill a species niche that native species cannot, such as early or late season growth; they may thrive in a habitat that humans have altered; and, invasive species tend to have a high reproduction rate, disperse rapidly and effectively, and/or are able to tolerate many different environmental conditions. Invasive species can be plants, animals, insects, bacteria, and fungi. Importantly, invasive species can occasionally be vectors for diseases (both human and animal). Vector- borne diseases require infrastructure to prevent, treat, and eradicate, especially diseases that are new to a population that would have no history with understanding them. In Erie County, the deer tick, which carries Lyme disease, is already present, but may be replaced in the next few decades with the Asian longhorned tick, which causes the always-fatal East Coast Fever and other parasitic diseases in cattle. Invasive plants choke out native species and reduce biodiversity in wetlands and forests. In the Town of Aurora, several species are already present: Japanese knotweed and Japanese stiltgrass (both associated with aquatic areas), Tartarian honeysuckle, multiflora rose, and common buckthorn. Tree of Heaven is a popular residential landscape tree which is the preferred host plant to the devastating spotted lanternfly. Other invasive species that are present include the Norway maple, giant hogweed, 111