Publications
Publications, scientific literature, and information products from the Land Change Science Program.
Filter Total Items: 562
Evaluating rehabilitation efforts following the Milford Flat Fire: successes, failures, and controlling factors
Uncontrolled wildfire in arid and semiarid ecosystems has become an increasing concern in recent decades. Active rehabilitation of fire-affected areas is often quickly initiated to minimize long-term ecosystem damage. However, the complex soil-geomorphic-vegetation patterns and low and variable moisture conditions in these regions makes restoration challenging. To further inform these post-fire ma
Authors
Michael C. Duniway, Emily C. Palmquist, Mark E. Miller
Evapotranspiration trends over the eastern United States during the 20th century
Most models evaluated by the Intergovernmental Panel for Climate change estimate projected increases in temperature and precipitation with rising atmospheric CO2 levels. Researchers have suggested that increases in CO2 and associated increases in temperature and precipitation may stimulate vegetation growth and increase evapotranspiration (ET), which acts as a cooling mechanism, and on a global sc
Authors
Ryan J. Kramer, Lahouari Bounoua, Ping Zhang, Robert E. Wolfe, Thomas G. Huntington, Marc L. Imhoff, Kurt Thome, Genevieve L. Noyce
From patterns to causal understanding: Structural equation modeling (SEM) in soil ecology
In this perspectives paper we highlight a heretofore underused statistical method in soil ecological research, structural equation modeling (SEM). SEM is commonly used in the general ecological literature to develop causal understanding from observational data, but has been more slowly adopted by soil ecologists. We provide some basic information on the many advantages and possibilities associated
Authors
Nico Eisenhauer, Jeff R Powell, James B. Grace, Matthew A. Bowker
Towards a global terrestrial species monitoring program
Introduction: The Convention for Biological Diversity’s (CBD) Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020 envisions that “By 2050, biodiversity is valued, conserved, restored and wisely used, maintaining ecosystem services, sustaining a healthy planet and delivering benefits essential for all people.” Although 193 parties have adopted these goals, there is little infrastructure in place to monitor g
Authors
Dirk S. Schmeller, Romain Julliard, Peter J. Bellingham, Monika Böhm, Neil Brummitt, Alessandro Chiarucci, Denis Couvet, Sarah Elmendorf, David M. Forsyth, Jaime García Moreno, Richard D. Gregory, William E. Magnusson, Laura J. Martin, Melodie A. McGeoch, Jean-Baptiste Mihoub, Henrique M. Pereira, Vânia Proença, Chris A.M. van Swaay, Tetsukazu Yahara, Jayne Belnap
Glaciological and marine geological controls on terminus dynamics of Hubbard Glacier, southeast Alaska
Hubbard Glacier, located in southeast Alaska, is the world's largest non-polar tidewater glacier. It has been steadily advancing since it was first mapped in 1895; occasionally, the advance creates an ice or sediment dam that blocks a tributary fjord (Russell Fiord). The sustained advance raises the probability of long-term closure in the near-future, which will strongly impact the ecosystem of Ru
Authors
Leigh A. Stearns, Gordon S. Hamilton, C. J. van der Veen, D. C. Finnegan, Shad O'Neel, J. B. Scheick, D. E. Lawson
Precise interpolar phasing of abrupt climate change during the last ice age
The last glacial period exhibited abrupt Dansgaard–Oeschger climatic oscillations, evidence of which is preserved in a variety of Northern Hemisphere palaeoclimate archives1. Ice cores show that Antarctica cooled during the warm phases of the Greenland Dansgaard–Oeschger cycle and vice versa2, 3, suggesting an interhemispheric redistribution of heat through a mechanism called the bipolar seesaw4,
Authors
Christo Buizert, Betty M. Adrian, Jinho Ahn, Mary Albert, Richard B. Alley, Daniel Baggenstos, Thomas K. Bauska, Ryan C. Bay, Brian B. Bencivengo, Charles R. Bentley, Edward J. Brook, Nathan J. Chellman, Gary D. Clow, Jihong Cole-Dai, Howard Conway, Eric Cravens, Kurt M. Cuffey, Nelia W. Dunbar, Jon S. Edwards, John M. Fegyveresi, Dave G. Ferris, Joan J. Fitzpatrick, T. J. Fudge, Chris J. Gibson, Vasileios Gkinis, Joshua J. Goetz, Stephanie Gregory, Geoffrey Mill Hargreaves, Nels Iverson, Jay A. Johnson, Tyler R. Jones, Michael L. Kalk, Matthew J. Kippenhan, Bess G. Koffman, Karl Kreutz, Tanner W. Kuhl, Donald A. Lebar, James E. Lee, Shaun A. Marcott, Bradley R. Markle, Olivia J. Maselli, Joseph R. McConnell, Kenneth C. McGwire, Logan E. Mitchell, Nicolai B. Mortensen, Peter D. Neff, Kunihiko Nishiizumi, Richard M. Nunn, Anais J. Orsi, Daniel R. Pasteris, Joel B. Pedro, Erin C. Pettit, P. Buford Price, John C. Priscu, Rachael H. Rhodes, Julia L. Rosen, Andrew J. Schauer, Spruce W. Schoenemann, Paul J. Sendelbach, Jeffrey P. Severinghaus, Alexander J. Shturmakov, Michael Sigl, Kristina R. Slawny, Joseph M. Souney, Todd A. Sowers, Matthew K. Spencer, Eric J. Steig, Kendrick C. Taylor, Mark S. Twickler, Bruce H. Vaughn, Donald E. Voigt, Edwin D. Waddington, Kees C. Welten, Anthony W. Wendricks, James W. C. White, Mai Winstrup, Gifford J. Wong, Thomas E. Woodruff
Adaptive management of social-ecological systems: The path forward
Adaptive management remains at the forefront of environmental management nearly 40 years after its original conception, largely because we have yet to develop other methodologies that offer the same promise. Despite the criticisms of adaptive management and the numerous failed attempts to implement it, adaptive management has yet to be replaced with a better alternative. The concept persists becau
Authors
Ahjond S. Garmestani, Craig R. Allen
Patterns and causes of observed piñon pine mortality in the southwestern United States
Recently, widespread piñon pine die-off occurred in the southwestern United States. Here we synthesize observational studies of this event and compare findings to expected relationships with biotic and abiotic factors. Agreement exists on the occurrence of drought, presence of bark beetles and increased mortality of larger trees. However, studies disagree about the influences of stem density, elev
Authors
Arjan J.H. Meddens, Jeff H. Hicke, Alison K. Macalady, P.C. Buotte, T.R. Cowles, Craig D. Allen
Radar attenuation and temperature within the Greenland Ice Sheet
The flow of ice is temperature-dependent, but direct measurements of englacial temperature are sparse. The dielectric attenuation of radio waves through ice is also temperature-dependent, and radar sounding of ice sheets is sensitive to this attenuation. Here we estimate depth-averaged radar-attenuation rates within the Greenland Ice Sheet from airborne radar-sounding data and its associated radio
Authors
Joseph A MacGregor, Jilu Li, John D Paden, Ginny A Catania, Gary D. Clow, Mark A Fahnestock, Prasad S. Gogineni, Robert E. Grimm, Mathieu Morlighem, Soumyaroop Nandi, Helene Seroussi, David E Stillman
U.S. Geological Survey Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Roadmap 2014
The U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) is responsible for protecting the natural resources and heritage contained on almost 20 percent of the land in the United States. This responsibility requires acquisition of remotely sensed data throughout vast lands, including areas that are remote and potentially dangerous to access. One promising new technology for data collection is unmanned aircraft s
Authors
Jill J. Cress, Michael E. Hutt, Jeff L. Sloan, Mark A. Bauer, Mark R. Feller, Susan E. Goplen
Long-term controls of soil organic carbon with depth and time: a case study from the Cowlitz River Chronosequence, WA USA
Over timescales of soil development (millennia), the capacity of soils to stabilize soil organic carbon (SOC) is linked to soil development through changes in soil mineralogy and other soil properties. In this study, an extensive dataset of soil profile chemistry and mineralogy is compiled from the Cowlitz River Chronosequence (CRC), WA USA. The CRC soils range in age from 0.25 to 1200 kyr, spanni
Authors
Corey R. Lawrence, Jennifer W. Harden, Xiaomei Xu, Marjorie S. Schulz, Susan E. Trumbore
Assessment of the use of sorbent amendments for reduction of mercury methylation in wetland sediments at Acadia National Park, Maine
Mercury is a contaminant of ecological concern because of its ubiquity and toxicity to fish and wildlife, and is considered a severe and ongoing threat to biota at Acadia National Park in Maine. The formation and biomagnification of methylmercury is the primary concern of resource managers at Acadia, and information is needed to develop strategies for remediation or mitigation of this contaminant.
Authors
Thomas G. Huntington, Ariel Lewis, Aria Amirbahman, Mark C. Marvin-DiPasquale, Charles W. Culbertson