Publications
FORT scientists have produced more than 2000 peer reviewed publications that are registered in the USGS Publications Warehouse, along with many others prior to their work at the USGS or in conjunction with other government agencies.
Filter Total Items: 2408
Estimating proximity effects to wildfire fuels treatments on house prices in Cibola National Forest, New Mexico, USA Estimating proximity effects to wildfire fuels treatments on house prices in Cibola National Forest, New Mexico, USA
Forested landscapes in the Western United States are subject to growing size and severity of wildfires, in part due to historical management strategies focusing on wildfire suppression. Forest restoration treatments and fuels reductions, including thinning and prescribed burning, can reduce the frequency and intensity of wildfires. Extensive restoration and fuels treatment efforts are...
Authors
Ryan A. Fitch, Julie M. Mueller, James R. Meldrum, Christopher Huber
Modeling habitat suitability across different levels of invasive plant abundance Modeling habitat suitability across different levels of invasive plant abundance
Predicting where invasive plants are likely to spread and become abundant is critical for informing invasive plant management. Species distribution models are a key tool for informing the geography of invasion risk, but most distribution models are limited by their use of presence data, including no information on invader population abundance. In this study, we ask how habitat...
Authors
Evelyn M. Beaury, Catherine S. Jarnevich, Ian S. Pearse, Annette E. Evans, Nathan Teich, Peder Engelstad, Jillian LaRoe, Bethany A. Bradley
Using state-and-transition simulation models to scope post-fire success in restoring greater sage-grouse habitat Using state-and-transition simulation models to scope post-fire success in restoring greater sage-grouse habitat
Wildfires are increasingly modifying wildlife habitat in the western United States and managers need ways to scope the pace and degree to which post-fire restoration actions can re-create habitat in dynamic landscapes. We developed a spatially explicit state-transition simulation model (STSM) to project post-fire revegetation and the potential for sage-grouse habitat restoration in...
Authors
Elizabeth Kari Orning, Julie A. Heinrichs, David A. Pyke, Peter S. Coates, Cameron L. Aldridge
U.S. Geological Survey Rocky Mountain Region 2022 science exchange, showcasing interdisciplinary and state-of-the-art USGS science U.S. Geological Survey Rocky Mountain Region 2022 science exchange, showcasing interdisciplinary and state-of-the-art USGS science
Introduction The Rocky Mountains and the Colorado River Basin in the Western United States represent complex, interconnected systems that sustain a number of species, including tens of millions of humans. These systems face several challenges, including worsening drought, altered wildfire regimes, climate change, and the spread of invasive species. These factors can exacerbate one...
Authors
Dana E. Peterson, Katherine L. French, Jeannette H. Oden, Patrick J. Anderson, Timothy N. Titus, Katharine G. Dahm, Jessica M. Driscoll, William J. Andrews
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Natural Hazards Mission Area, Water Resources Mission Area, Energy Resources Program, Mineral Resources Program, Astrogeology Science Center, Central Energy Resources Science Center, Colorado Water Science Center, Fort Collins Science Center, Geology, Geophysics, and Geochemistry Science Center, Geosciences and Environmental Change Science Center, Colorado River Basin: Actionable and Strategic Integrated Science and Technology
Plant traits poorly predict winner and loser shrub species in a warming tundra biome Plant traits poorly predict winner and loser shrub species in a warming tundra biome
Climate change is leading to species redistributions. In the tundra biome, shrubs are generally expanding, but not all tundra shrub species will benefit from warming. Winner and loser species, and the characteristics that may determine success or failure, have not yet been fully identified. Here, we investigate whether past abundance changes, current range sizes and projected range...
Authors
Mariana Garcia Criado, Isla H. Myers-Smith, Anne Bjorkman, Signe Normand, Anne Blach-Overgaard, Haydn J. D. Thomas, Anu Eskelinen, Konsta Happonen, Juha Alatalo, Alba Anadon-Rosell, Isabelle Aubin, Mariska te Beest, Katlyn R. Betway-May, Daan Blok, Allan Buras, Bruno E. L. Cerabolini, Katherine S. Christie, J. Hans C. Cornelissen, Bruce C. Forbes, Esther R. Frei, Paul Grogan, Luise Hermanutz, Robert D. Hollister, James Hudson, Maitane Iturrate-Garcia, Elina Kaarlejarvi, Michael Kleyer, Laurent J. Lamarque, Jonas J. Lembrechts, Esther Levesque, Miska Luoto, Petr Macek, Jeremy May, Janet S. Prevéy, Gabriela Schaepman-Strub, Serge N. Sheremetiev, Laura Siegwart Collier, Nadejda A. Soudzilovskaia, Andrew Trant, Susanna E. Venn, Anna-Maria Virkkala
Integrated rangeland fire management strategy actionable science plan completion assessment— Climate and weather topic, 2015–20 Integrated rangeland fire management strategy actionable science plan completion assessment— Climate and weather topic, 2015–20
Loss and degradation of sagebrush (Artemisia spp.) rangelands due to an accelerated invasive annual grass-wildfire cycle and other stressors are significant management, conservation, and economic issues in the western U.S. These sagebrush rangelands comprise a unique biome spanning 11 states, support over 350 wildlife species, and provide important ecosystem services that include...
Authors
Christopher R. Anthony, Matthew J Holloran, Mark A. Ricca, Steven E. Hanser, Sue L. Phillips, Paul F. Steblein, Lief A. Wiechman
Historical fire regimes and contemporary fire effects within sagebrush habitats of Gunnison Sage-grouse Historical fire regimes and contemporary fire effects within sagebrush habitats of Gunnison Sage-grouse
The historical role of fire in sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata) landscapes remains poorly understood, yet is important to inform management and conservation of obligate species such as the threatened Gunnison Sage-grouse (GUSG; Centrocercus minimus). We reconstructed fire histories from tree-ring fire scars at sagebrush–forest ecotones (10 sites, 111 trees) to better understand the role...
Authors
Petar Simic, Jonathan Coop, Ellis Q. Margolis, Jessica R. Young, Manuel K. Lopez
Putting down roots: Afforestation and bank cohesion of Icelandic Rivers Putting down roots: Afforestation and bank cohesion of Icelandic Rivers
Riparian vegetation is widely recognized as a critical component of functioning fluvial systems. Human pressures on woody vegetation including riparian areas have had lasting effects, especially at high latitude. In Iceland, prior to human settlement, native downy birch woodlands covered approximately 15%–40% of the land area compared to 1%–2% today. Afforestation efforts include...
Authors
Sara L. Rathburn, Prostur Eysteinsson, Thorsteinn Saemundsson, John T. Kemper, Celeste D. Wieting, Jonathan M. Friedman
Pollinator conservation and climate science at the U.S. Geological Survey Pollinator conservation and climate science at the U.S. Geological Survey
Introduction Ecosystems—whether agricultural, urban, or natural—depend on pollinators, great and small. Pollinators in the form of bees, birds, butterflies, bats, and even moths provide vital, but often invisible services, from contributing to biodiverse terrestrial wildlife and plant communities to supporting healthy watersheds. Pollinator declines worldwide have been noted as land-use...
Authors
Elise R. Irwin, Jonathan R. Mawdsley
Dynamic spatiotemporal modeling of a habitat-defining plant species to support wildlife management at regional scales Dynamic spatiotemporal modeling of a habitat-defining plant species to support wildlife management at regional scales
Sagebrush (Artemisia spp.) ecosystems provide critical habitat for the Greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus), a species of conservation concern. Thus, future loss of sagebrush habitat because of land use change and global climate change is of concern. Here, we use a dynamic additive spatiotemporal model to estimate the effects of climate on sagebrush cover dynamics at 32 sage...
Authors
Andrew T. Tredennick, Adrian P. Monroe, Thomas J. Prebyl, John Lombardi, Cameron L. Aldridge
Increased aridity is associated with stronger tradeoffs in ponderosa pine vital functions Increased aridity is associated with stronger tradeoffs in ponderosa pine vital functions
Trees must allocate resources to core functions like growth, defense, and reproduction. These allocation patterns have profound effects on forest health, yet little is known about how core functions trade off over time, and even less is known about how a changing climate will impact tradeoffs. We conducted a 21-year survey of growth, defense, and reproduction in 80 ponderosa pine...
Authors
Angela Gonzalez, Ian S. Pearse, Miranda D. Redmond
Masting is uncommon in trees that depend on mutualist dispersers in the context of global climate and fertility gradients Masting is uncommon in trees that depend on mutualist dispersers in the context of global climate and fertility gradients
The benefits of masting (volatile, quasi-synchronous seed production at lagged intervals) include satiation of seed predators, but these benefits come with a cost to mutualist pollen and seed dispersers. If the evolution of masting represents a balance between these benefits and costs, we expect mast avoidance in species that are heavily reliant on mutualist dispersers. These effects...
Authors
Tong Qiu, Marie-Claire Aravena Acuna, Davide Ascoli, Yves Bergeron, Michal Mogdziewicz, Thomas Biovin, Raul Bonal, Thomas Caignard, Maxime Cailleret, Rafael Calama, Sergio Donoso Calderon, J. Julio Camarero, Chia-Hua Chang-Yang, Jerome Chave, Francesco Chianucci, Benoit Courbaud, Andrea Cutini, Adrian Das, Nicolas Delpierre, Sylvain Delzon, Michael Dietze, Laurent Dormont, Josep Maria Espelta, Timothy J. Fahey, William Farfar-Rios, Jerry F. Franklin, Catherine A. Gehring, Gregory S. Gilbert, Georg Gratzner, Cathryn H. Greenberg, Arthur Guignabert, Qinfeng Guo, Andrew Hacket-Pain, Arndt Hampe, Qingmin Han, Jan Holik, Kazuhiko Hoshizaki, Ines Ibanez, Jill F. Johnstone, Valentin Journé, Thomas Kitzberger, Jean Knops, Georges Kunstler, Hiroko Kurokawa, Jonathan G. A. Lageard, Jalene M. LaMontagne, Francois Lefevre, Theodor Leininger, Jean-Marc Limousin, James A. Lutz, Diana Macias, Anders Marell, Eliot J. B. McIntire, Christopher Moore, Emily V. Moran, Renzo Motta, Jonathan A. Myers, Thomas A. Nagel, Shoji Naoe, Mohoko Noguchi, Michio Oguro, Robert Parmenter, Ignacio M. Perez-Ramos, Lukasz Piechnik, Tomasz Podforski, John Poulsen, Miranda D. Redmond, Chad Reid, Kyle C. Rodman, Fransisco Rodrigues-Sanchez, Pavel Samonil, Javier Sanguinetto, Lane Scher, Barbara Seget, Shubhi Sharma, Mitsue Shibata, Miles Silman, Michael A. Steele, Nathan L. Stephenson, Jacob N. Straub, Samantha Sutton, Jennifer J. Swenson, Margaret Swift, Peter A. Thomas, Maria Uriarte, Giorgio Vacchiano, Amy V. Whipple, Thomas G. Whitham, Andreas Wion, Joseph Wright, Kai Zhu, Jess Zimmermann, Magdalena Zywiec, James S. Clark