Publications
This list of publications includes peer-review journal articles, official USGS publications series, reports and more authored by scientists in the Ecosystems Mission Area. A database of all USGS publications, with advanced search features, can be accessed at the USGS Publications Warehouse.
Filter Total Items: 42874
A synthesis of radial growth patterns preceding tree mortality A synthesis of radial growth patterns preceding tree mortality
Tree mortality is a key factor influencing forest functions and dynamics, but our understanding of the mechanisms leading to mortality and the associated changes in tree growth rates are still limited. We compiled a new pan-continental tree-ring width database from sites where both dead and living trees were sampled (2970 dead and 4224 living trees from 190 sites, including 36 species)...
Authors
Maxime Cailleret, Steven Jansen, Elisabeth M.R. Robert, Lucia Desoto, Tuomas Aakala, Joseph A. Antos, Barbara Beikircher, Christof Bigler, Harald Bugmann, Marco Caccianiga, Vojtech Cada, Jesus J. Camarero, Paolo Cherubini, Herve Cochard, Marie R. Coyea, Katarina Cufar, Adrian J. Das, Hendrik Davi, Sylvain Delzon, Michael Dorman, Guillermo Gea-Izquierdo, Sten Gillner, Laurel J. Haavik, Henrik Hartmann, Ana-Maria Heres, Kevin R. Hultine, Pavel Janda, Jeffrey M. Kane, Vyacheslav I. Kharuk, Thomas Kitzberger, Tamir Klein, Koen Kramer, Frederic Lens, Tom Levanic, Juan C. Linares Calderon, Francisco Lloret, Raquel Lobo-Do-Vale, Fabio Lombardi, Rosana Lopez Rodriguez, Harri Makinen, Stefan Mayr, IIona Meszaros, Juha M. Metsaranta, Francesco Minunno, Walter Oberhuber, Andreas Papadopoulos, Mikko Peltoniemi, Any M. Petritan, Brigitte Rohner, Gabriel Sanguesa-Barreda, Dimitrios Sarris, Jeremy M. Smith, Amanda B. Stan, Frank Sterck, Dejan B. Stojanovic, Maria L. Suarez, Miroslav Svoboda, Roberto Tognetti, Jose M. Torres-Ruiz, Volodymyr Trotsiuk, Ricardo Villalba, Floor Vodde, Alana R. Westwood, Peter H. Wyckoff, Nikolay Zafirov, Jordi Martínez-Vilalta
Competitive exclusion over broad spatial extents is a slow process: Evidence and implications for species distribution modeling Competitive exclusion over broad spatial extents is a slow process: Evidence and implications for species distribution modeling
There is considerable debate about the role of competition in shaping species distributions over broad spatial extents. This debate has practical implications because predicting changes in species' geographic ranges in response to ongoing environmental change would be simpler if competition could be ignored. While this debate has been the subject of many reviews, recent literature has...
Authors
Charles B. Yackulic
Climate change impacts on ecosystems and ecosystem services in the United States: Process and prospects for sustained assessment Climate change impacts on ecosystems and ecosystem services in the United States: Process and prospects for sustained assessment
The third United States National Climate Assessment emphasized an evaluation of not just the impacts of climate change on species and ecosystems, but also the impacts of climate change on the benefits that people derive from nature, known as ecosystem services. The ecosystems, biodiversity, and ecosystem services component of the assessment largely drew upon the findings of a...
Authors
Nancy B. Grimm, Peter M Groffman, Michelle D. Staudinger, Heather Tallis
Sea level driven marsh expansion in a coupled model of marsh erosion and migration Sea level driven marsh expansion in a coupled model of marsh erosion and migration
Coastal wetlands are among the most valuable ecosystems on Earth, where ecosystem services such as flood protection depend nonlinearly on wetland size and are threatened by sea level rise and coastal development. Here we propose a simple model of marsh migration into adjacent uplands and couple it with existing models of seaward edge erosion and vertical soil accretion to explore how...
Authors
Matthew L. Kirwan, David C. Walters, William G. Reay, Joel A. Carr
Alaska geology revealed Alaska geology revealed
This map shows the generalized geology of Alaska, which helps us to understand where potential mineral deposits and energy resources might be found, define ecosystems, and ultimately, teach us about the earth history of the State. Rock units are grouped in very broad categories on the basis of age and general rock type. A much more detailed and fully referenced presentation of the...
Authors
Frederic H. Wilson, Keith A. Labay
Integrating remote sensing with species distribution models; Mapping tamarisk invasions using the Software for Assisted Habitat Modeling (SAHM) Integrating remote sensing with species distribution models; Mapping tamarisk invasions using the Software for Assisted Habitat Modeling (SAHM)
Early detection of invasive plant species is vital for the management of natural resources and protection of ecosystem processes. The use of satellite remote sensing for mapping the distribution of invasive plants is becoming more common, however conventional imaging software and classification methods have been shown to be unreliable. In this study, we test and evaluate the use of five...
Authors
Amanda M. West, Paul H. Evangelista, Catherine S. Jarnevich, Nicholas E. Young, Thomas J. Stohlgren, Colin Talbert, Marian Talbert, Jeffrey Morisette, Ryan Anderson
Stakeholder views of management and decision support tools to integrate climate change into Great Lakes Lake Whitefish management Stakeholder views of management and decision support tools to integrate climate change into Great Lakes Lake Whitefish management
Decision support tools can aid decision making by systematically incorporating information, accounting for uncertainties, and facilitating evaluation between alternatives. Without user buy-in, however, decision support tools can fail to influence decision-making processes. We surveyed fishery researchers, managers, and fishers affiliated with the Lake Whitefish Coregonus clupeaformis...
Authors
Abigail J. Lynch, William W. Taylor, Aaron M. McCright
Detection limits of quantitative and digital PCR assays and their influence in presence-absence surveys of environmental DNA Detection limits of quantitative and digital PCR assays and their influence in presence-absence surveys of environmental DNA
A set of universal guidelines is needed to determine the limit of detection (LOD) in PCR-based analyses of low concentration DNA. In particular, environmental DNA (eDNA) studies require sensitive and reliable methods to detect rare and cryptic species through shed genetic material in environmental samples. Current strategies for assessing detection limits of eDNA are either too stringent...
Authors
Margaret Hunter, Robert M. Dorazio, John S. Butterfield, Gaia Meigs-Friend, Leo Nico, Jason A. Ferrante
Impacts of shore expansion and catchment characteristics on lacustrine thermokarst records in permafrost lowlands, Alaska Arctic Coastal Plain Impacts of shore expansion and catchment characteristics on lacustrine thermokarst records in permafrost lowlands, Alaska Arctic Coastal Plain
Arctic lowland landscapes have been modified by thermokarst lake processes throughout the Holocene. Thermokarst lakes form as a result of ice-rich permafrost degradation, and they may expand over time through thermal and mechanical shoreline erosion. We studied proximal and distal sedimentary records from a thermokarst lake located on the Arctic Coastal Plain of northern Alaska to...
Authors
Josefine Lenz, Benjamin M. Jones, Sebastian Wetterich, Rik Tjallingii, Michael Fritz, Christopher D. Arp, Natalia Rudaya, Guido Grosse
Deposition, accumulation, and alteration of Cl−, NO3−, ClO4− and ClO3− salts in a hyper-arid polar environment: Mass balance and isotopic constraints Deposition, accumulation, and alteration of Cl−, NO3−, ClO4− and ClO3− salts in a hyper-arid polar environment: Mass balance and isotopic constraints
The salt fraction in permafrost soils/sediments of the McMurdo Dry Valleys (MDV) of Antarctica can be used as a proxy for cold desert geochemical processes and paleoclimate reconstruction. Previous analyses of the salt fraction in MDV permafrost soils have largely been conducted in coastal regions where permafrost soils are variably affected by aqueous processes and mixed inputs from...
Authors
Andrew Jackson, Alfonso F. Davila, John Karl Böhlke, Neil C. Sturchio, Ritesh Sevanthi, Nubia Estrada, Maeghan Brundrett, Denis Lacelle, Christopher P. McKay, Armen Poghosyan, Wayne Pollard, Kris Zacny
Bounded fractional diffusion in geological media: Definition and Lagrangian approximation Bounded fractional diffusion in geological media: Definition and Lagrangian approximation
Spatiotemporal Fractional-Derivative Models (FDMs) have been increasingly used to simulate non-Fickian diffusion, but methods have not been available to define boundary conditions for FDMs in bounded domains. This study defines boundary conditions and then develops a Lagrangian solver to approximate bounded, one-dimensional fractional diffusion. Both the zero-value and non-zero-value...
Authors
Yong Zhang, Christopher T. Green, Eric M. LaBolle, Roseanna M. Neupauer, Hong-Guang Sun
The automated reference toolset: A soil-geomorphic ecological potential matching algorithm The automated reference toolset: A soil-geomorphic ecological potential matching algorithm
Ecological inventory and monitoring data need referential context for interpretation. Identification of appropriate reference areas of similar ecological potential for site comparison is demonstrated using a newly developed automated reference toolset (ART). Foundational to identification of reference areas was a soil map of particle size in the control section (PSCS), a theme in US Soil...
Authors
Travis W. Nauman, Michael C. Duniway