Publications
Below are publications associated with the Southwest Biological Science Center's research.
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Filter Total Items: 1468
Sentinel-2 based estimates of rangeland fractional cover and canopy gap class for the western United States Sentinel-2 based estimates of rangeland fractional cover and canopy gap class for the western United States
Rangelands are extensive ecosystems, providing important ecosystem services while undergoing continuous change. As a result, improved monitoring technologies can help better characterize vegetation change. Satellite remote sensing has proven effective in this regard, tracking vegetation dynamics at broad and fine scales. We leveraged the spatial, spectral, and temporal resolution of...
Authors
Brady Allred, Sarah McCord, Timothy Assal, Brandon Bestelmeyer, Chad Boyd, Alexander Brooks, Samantha Cady, Michael Duniway, Samuel Fuhlendorf, Shane Green, Georgia Harrison, Eric Jensen, Emily Kachergis, Anna Knight, Chloe Mattilio, Brian Mealor, David Naugle, Dylan O’Leary, Peter Olsoy, Erika Peirce, Jason Reinhardt, Robert Shriver, Joseph Smith, Jason Tack, Ashley Tanner, Evan Tanner, Dirac Twidwell, Nicholas Webb, Scott Morford
Aridity reduces lag times between aquatic and terrestrial dry-down among watersheds and across years in the northwest US Aridity reduces lag times between aquatic and terrestrial dry-down among watersheds and across years in the northwest US
Landscapes encompass both aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems that experience the same climate but may respond to climate in divergent ways. For example, the time lag between seasonal dry-down of terrestrial soil moisture and decline in streamflow has important implications for species and ecosystem processes across the aquatic–terrestrial interface. How these lags between aquatic and...
Authors
Bradley Butterfield, Daniel Schlaepfer, Robert Al-Chokhachy, Jason B. Dunham, Jeremiah Groom, Clint Muhlfeld, Christian Torgersen, John B. Bradford
Sentinel-2 based estimates of rangeland fractional cover and canopy gap class for the western United States Sentinel-2 based estimates of rangeland fractional cover and canopy gap class for the western United States
Rangelands are extensive ecosystems, providing important ecosystem services while undergoing continuous change. As a result, improved monitoring technologies can help better characterize vegetation change. Satellite remote sensing has proven effective in this regard, tracking vegetation dynamics at broad and fine scales. We leveraged the spatial, spectral, and temporal resolution of...
Authors
Brady Allred, Sarah McCord, Timothy Assal, Brandon Bestelmeyer, Chad Boyd, Alexander Brooks, Samantha Cady, Michael Duniway, Samuel Fuhlendorf, Shane Green, Georgia Harrison, Eric Jensen, Emily Kachergis, Anna Knight, Chloe Mattilio, Brian Mealor, David Naugle, Dylan O’Leary, Peter Olsoy, Erika Peirce, Jason Reinhardt, Robert Shriver, Joseph Smith, Jason Tack, Ashley Tanner, Evan Tanner, Dirac Twidwell, Nicholas Webb, Scott Morford
Do bighorn sheep use desert tortoise burrow spoil piles as mineral licks in southern California? Do bighorn sheep use desert tortoise burrow spoil piles as mineral licks in southern California?
In a previous study, bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis) were periodically photographed by trail cameras when they visited desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii) burrows in the San Bernardino Mountains near Palm Springs, California, USA. The authors suggested that bighorn sheep may utilize the excavated spoil material from burrows as a mineral lick. To test that supposition, we collected soil...
Authors
Jeffrey Lovich, Danielle Cleveland, Charles Yackulic, Kristy Cummings, Michele Puffer, Molly Bechtel, Christopher Tracy, William Hoese, Gerardo Avila, Megan Peukert, Samantha Hubbard
Fall 2025 Fall 2025
In this newsletter, we are excited to share our recent publication, Bridging theory and practice to inform seed selection for restoration, which is part of an ongoing collaborative effort with land managers and restoration practitioners to synthesize lessons learned and identify future research directions for native seed development and use in the U.S. We would also like to say thank you...
Authors
Laura Shriver
Channel and floodplain cross-section and bed-elevation analyses of the Green River in Echo, Island, and Rainbow Parks, Dinosaur National Monument, Colorado and Utah Channel and floodplain cross-section and bed-elevation analyses of the Green River in Echo, Island, and Rainbow Parks, Dinosaur National Monument, Colorado and Utah
This report by the U.S. Geological Survey focuses on describing geomorphic changes in the alluvial segments of the Green River within Echo, Island, and Rainbow Parks of Dinosaur National Monument, between the 1990s and 2019. Substantial channel change occurred within these meandering alluvial segments following the construction and closure of Flaming Gorge Dam in 1962. Geomorphic...
Authors
David Dean, Paul Grams, Shannon Leigh Sartain, Christy Leonard, Ronald Griffiths, Joel A. Unema, David Topping, John Schmidt
Controls on sediment transport and storage in the Little Snake, Yampa, and Green Rivers in the vicinities of Dinosaur National Monument and Ouray National Wildlife Refuge, Colorado and Utah, with implications for fish habitat in the middle Green River Controls on sediment transport and storage in the Little Snake, Yampa, and Green Rivers in the vicinities of Dinosaur National Monument and Ouray National Wildlife Refuge, Colorado and Utah, with implications for fish habitat in the middle Green River
The transport of sand and finer sediment in the Yampa and Green river network is typically in disequilibrium with the local sediment supply because of the partial decoupling of the sources of water and sediment: most of the water is supplied farther upstream than most of the sediment. This decoupling leads to sand being transported in the main-stem rivers as elongating sand waves...
Authors
David Topping, Ronald Griffiths, Joel Unema, David Dean
Supporting dryland restoration success with applied ecological forecasting of seeding outcomes Supporting dryland restoration success with applied ecological forecasting of seeding outcomes
IntroductionEcological restoration is increasingly used to sustain biodiversity and ecosystem services. In drylands of the western United States (US), post-disturbance restoration often involves seeding treatments to promote the recovery of native plant communities. Spatial and temporal variability in environmental conditions influences plant establishment and contributes to low...
Authors
Gregor-Fausto Siegmund, Daniel Schlaepfer, Caitlin Andrews, Leland Bennion, Jacob Ferguson, Michelle Jeffries, Peggy Olwell, David Pilliod, Allison B. Simler-Williamson, Alice Stears, Regina Zweng, John Bradford
Reservoir operational strategies for sustainable sand management in the Colorado River Reservoir operational strategies for sustainable sand management in the Colorado River
Climate change and increasing societal demands for water pose challenges for the management of dam-regulated rivers. Management decisions impact the environment of these rivers, creating the need to balance societal needs with environmental conservation. Here we present a modeling framework that optimizes resource benefits within imposed water use goals for the Colorado River in Grand...
Authors
Gerard Salter, David Topping, Jianghao Wang, John Schmidt, Charles Yackulic, Lucas Bair, Erich R. Mueller, Paul Grams
Warming induces unexpectedly high soil respiration in a wet tropical forest Warming induces unexpectedly high soil respiration in a wet tropical forest
Tropical forests are a dominant regulator of the global carbon cycle, exchanging more carbon dioxide with the atmosphere than any other terrestrial biome. Climate models predict unprecedented climatic warming in tropical regions in the coming decades; however, in situ field warming studies are severely lacking in tropical forests. Here we present results from an in situ warming...
Authors
Tana Wood, Colin Lee Tucker, Aura Alonso-Rodríguez, M. Loza, Iana Grullón-Penkova, Molly Cavaleri, Christine O'Connell, Sasha Reed
Changes in aeolian saltation cloud properties with wind speed and ripples Changes in aeolian saltation cloud properties with wind speed and ripples
Aeolian sediment transport shapes landscapes on Earth and other planetary surfaces, yet key uncertainties remain in how the near-bed saltation cloud responds to changing wind and surface conditions. Leveraging recent advances in image-based particle tracking, we conducted wind tunnel experiments using high-speed imaging and Particle Tracking Velocimetry to quantify sand grain...
Authors
Madeline Margaret Kelley, Ian Walker, Mark Schmeeckle, Christy Swann, Ron Dorn, Michaela Roberts, Patrick O'Brien
The Benefits Knowledges Learning Framework: A tool for learning across diverse knowledge systems in ecosystem valuation The Benefits Knowledges Learning Framework: A tool for learning across diverse knowledge systems in ecosystem valuation
Sustainable and just environmental management depends on meaningful consideration of the plural values of nature, as they arise in association with diverse worldviews and understandings of well-being. To achieve value pluralism in decision-making, we must also attend to knowledge pluralism, in terms of recognizing the validity and decision relevance of a broader suite of knowledge forms...
Authors
Kristin Hoelting, Doreen Martinez, Lucas Bair, Rudy Schuster, Michael Gavin