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Publications

Publications, scientific literature, and information products from the Land Change Science Program.

Filter Total Items: 562

Export of photolabile and photoprimable dissolved organic carbon from the Connecticut River

Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) impacts water quality, the carbon cycle, and the ecology of aquatic systems. Understanding what controls DOC is therefore critical for improving large-scale models and best management practices for aquatic ecosystems. The two main processes of DOC transformation and removal, photochemical and microbial DOC degradation, work in tandem to modify and remineralize DOC wi
Authors
B. Yoon, Jacob D. Hosen, Ethan Kyzivat, Jennifer H Fair, Lisa C. Weber, Kelly S. Aho, Rachel Lowenthal, Serena Matt, W. V. Sobczak, James B. Shanley, Jonathan Morrison, James E. Saiers, Aron Stubbins, Peter A. Raymond

Improving Landsat predictions of rangeland fractional cover with multitask learning and uncertainty

Operational satellite remote sensing products are transforming rangeland management and science. Advancements in computation, data storage and processing have removed barriers that previously blocked or hindered the development and use of remote sensing products. When combined with local data and knowledge, remote sensing products can inform decision‐making at multiple scales.We used temporal conv
Authors
Brady W. Allred, Brandon T. Bestelmeyer, Chad S. Boyd, Christopher Brown, Kirk W. Davies, Michael C. Duniway, Lisa M. Ellsworth, Tyler A. Erickson, Samuel D. Fuhlendorf, Timothy V. Griffiths, Vincent Jansen, Matthew O. Jones, Jason W. Karl, Anna C Knight, Jeremy D. Maestas, Jonathan J. Maynard, Sarah E. McCord, David E. Naugle, Heath D. Starns, Dirac Twidwell, Daniel R. Uden

Changing climate drives future streamflow declines and challenges in meeting water demand across the southwestern United States

Society and the environment in the arid southwestern United States depend on reliable water availability, yet current water use outpaces supply. Water demand is projected to grow in the future and climate change is expected to reduce supply. To adapt, water managers need robust estimates of future regional water supply to support management decisions. To address this need, we estimate future strea
Authors
Olivia L. Miller, Annie L. Putman, Jay R. Alder, Matthew P. Miller, Daniel Jones, Daniel Wise

Does geomorphology determine vulnerability of mangrove coasts to sea-level rise?

The greatest climate-based threat to coastlines worldwide is sea-level rise. We tested the hypothesis that tropical coasts fringed by mangroves and receiving high inputs of terrigenous sediment are less vulnerable to sea-level rise than biogenic systems dependent upon peat formation for vertical land development. An analysis of published data spanning a range of geomorphic settings showed that min
Authors
Karen L. McKee, Ken Krauss, Donald Cahoon

USGS permafrost research determines the risks of permafrost thaw to biologic and hydrologic resources

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in collaboration with university, Federal, Tribal, and independent partners, conducts fundamental research on the distribution, vulnerability, and importance of permafrost in arctic and boreal ecosystems. Scientists, land managers, and policy makers use USGS data to help make decisions for development, wildlife habitat, and other needs. Native villages and cities
Authors
Mark P. Waldrop, Lesleigh Anderson, Mark Dornblaser, Li H. Erikson, Ann E. Gibbs, Nicole M. Herman-Mercer, Stephanie R. James, Miriam C. Jones, Joshua C. Koch, Mary-Cathrine Leewis, Kristen L. Manies, Burke J. Minsley, Neal J. Pastick, Vijay Patil, Frank Urban, Michelle A. Walvoord, Kimberly P. Wickland, Christian Zimmerman

Wildfires: Identification of a new suite of aromatic polycarboxylic acids in ash and surface water

Ash and surface water samples collected after wildfires in four different geographical locations (California, Colorado, Kansas and Alberta) were analyzed. The ash samples were leached with deionized water, and leachates were concentrated by solid phase extraction and analyzed by liquid chromatography/time-of-flight mass spectrometry. In addition, three surface water samples and a lysimeter water s
Authors
Imma Ferrer, E. Michael Thurman, Jerry A. Zweigenbaum, Sheila F. Murphy, Jackson P. Webster, Fernando L. Rosario-Ortiz

Seed production patterns of surviving Sierra Nevada conifers show minimal change following drought

Reproduction is a key component of ecological resilience in forest ecosystems, so understanding how seed production is influenced by extreme drought is key to understanding forest recovery trajectories. If trees respond to mortality-inducing drought by preferentially allocating resources for reproduction, the recovery of the stand to pre-drought conditions may be enhanced accordingly. We used a 20
Authors
Micah C. Wright, Phillip J. van Mantgem, Nathan L. Stephenson, Adrian Das, Jon Keeley

Upland burning and grazing as strategies to offset climate-change effects on wetlands

Wetland ecosystems perform a multitude of services valued by society and provide critical habitat for migratory birds and other wildlife. Despite their importance, wetlands have been lost to different local, regional, and global drivers. Remaining wetlands are extremely sensitive to changing temperature and precipitation regimes. Management of grassland areas in wetland catchments may be an effect
Authors
Owen P. McKenna, David A. Renton, David M. Mushet, Edward S. DeKeyser

Identification of Global Priorities for New Mountain Protected and Conserved Areas

Mountain ecosystems are extremely diverse and fragile. They include astonishing biodiversity in terms of number of taxa and endemicity, and globally provide the most diverse range of ecosystem services. The world’s system of protected and conserved areas includes many outstanding areas within the earth’s mountainous landscape: about 19% of mountain areas are protected or conserved, globally. Furth
Authors
Peter Jacobs, Erik A. Beever, Clinton Carbutt, Marc Foggin, Diego Juffe-Bignoli, Madeline Thomas Martin, Shane Orchard, Roger Sayre

Atmospheric processing of iron-bearing mineral dust aerosol and its effect on growth of a marine diatom, Cyclotella meneghiniana

Iron (Fe) is a growth-limiting micronutrient for phytoplankton in major areas of oceans and deposited wind-blown desert dust is a primary Fe source to these regions. Simulated atmospheric processing of four mineral dust proxies and two natural dust samples followed by subsequent growth studies of the marine planktic diatom Cyclotella meneghiniana in artificial sea-water (ASW) demonstrated higher g
Authors
Eshani Hettiarachchi, Sergei Ivanov, Thomas L. Kieft, Harland L. Goldstein, Bruce M. Moskowitz, Richard L. Reynolds, Gayan Rubasinghege

Forest management under megadrought: Urgent actions needed at finer-scale and higher intensity

Drought and warming increasingly are causing widespread tree die-offs and extreme wildfires. Forest managers are struggling to improve anticipatory forest management practices given more frequent, extensive, and severe wildfire and tree die-off events triggered by “hotter drought”—drought under warmer than historical conditions. Of even greater concern is the increasing probability of multi-year d
Authors
Jason P. Field, David D. Breshears, John B. Bradford, Darin J. Law, Xiaohui Feng, Craig D. Allen

Subsea permafrost carbon stocks and climate change sensitivity estimated by expert assessment

The continental shelves of the Arctic Ocean and surrounding seas contain large stocks of organic matter (OM) and methane (CH4), representing a potential ecosystem feedback to climate change not included in international climate agreements. We performed a structured expert assessment with 25 permafrost researchers to combine quantitative estimates of the stocks and sensitivity of organic carbon in
Authors
Sara Sayedi, Benjamin Abbott, B.F. Thornton, Jennifer M. Frederick, Jorien E. Vonk, Paul Overduin, Christina Schadel, E.A.G. Schuur, A. Bourbonnais, N. Demidova, Anatoly Gavrilov, Shengping He, Gustaf Gustaf Hugelius, Martin Jakobsson, Miriam C. Jones, DoongJoo Joung, Gleb Kraev, Robie W. Macdonald, A. David McGuire, Cuicui Mu, M. O'Regan, Kathryn M. Schreiner, Christian Stranne, Elena Pizhankova, A. Vasiliev, S. Westermann, Jay P. Zarnetske, Tingjun Zhang, M Ghandehari, Sarah Baeumler, Brian C. Brown, Rebecca J. Frei