Publications
Publications, scientific literature, and information products from the Land Change Science Program.
Filter Total Items: 565
Organic carbon burial in lakes and reservoirs of the conterminous United States Organic carbon burial in lakes and reservoirs of the conterminous United States
Organic carbon (OC) burial in lacustrine sediments represents an important sink in the global carbon cycle; however, large-scale OC burial rates are poorly constrained, primarily because of the sparseness of available data sets. Here we present an analysis of OC burial rates in water bodies of the conterminous U.S. (CONUS) that takes advantage of recently developed national-scale data...
Authors
David Clow, Sarah Stackpoole, Kristine Verdin, David Butman, Zhi-Liang Zhu, David Krabbenhoft, Robert Striegl
Landscape disturbance from unconventional and conventional oil and gas development in the Marcellus Shale region of Pennsylvania, USA Landscape disturbance from unconventional and conventional oil and gas development in the Marcellus Shale region of Pennsylvania, USA
The spatial footprint of unconventional (hydraulic fracturing) and conventional oil and gas development in the Marcellus Shale region of the State of Pennsylvania was digitized from high-resolution, ortho-rectified, digital aerial photography, from 2004 to 2010. We used these data to measure the spatial extent of oil and gas development and to assess the exposure of the extant natural...
Authors
Terry Slonecker, Lesley E. Milheim
Effects of ungulate disturbance and weather variation on Pediocactus winkleri: Insights from long-term monitoring Effects of ungulate disturbance and weather variation on Pediocactus winkleri: Insights from long-term monitoring
Population dynamics and effects of large ungulate disturbances on Winkler cactus (Pediocactus winkleri K.D. Heil) were documented annually over a 20-year time span at one plot within Capitol Reef National Park, Utah. This cactus species was federally listed as threatened in 1998. The study began in 1995 to gain a better understanding of life history aspects and threats to this species...
Authors
Deborah Clark, Thomas Clark, Michael Duniway, Cody Flagg
Evaluating rehabilitation efforts following the Milford Flat Fire: successes, failures, and controlling factors 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...
Authors
Michael Duniway, Emily Palmquist, Mark Miller
Evapotranspiration trends over the eastern United States during the 20th century 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...
Authors
Ryan Kramer, Lahouari Bounoua, Ping Zhang, Robert Wolfe, Thomas Huntington, Marc Imhoff, Kurt Thome, Genevieve Noyce
From patterns to causal understanding: Structural equation modeling (SEM) in soil ecology 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...
Authors
Nico Eisenhauer, Jeff Powell, James Grace, Matthew Bowker
Towards a global terrestrial species monitoring program 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...
Authors
Dirk Schmeller, Romain Julliard, Peter Bellingham, Monika Böhm, Neil Brummitt, Alessandro Chiarucci, Denis Couvet, Sarah Elmendorf, David Forsyth, Jaime Moreno, Richard D. Gregory, William Magnusson, Laura Martin, Melodie McGeoch, Jean-Baptiste Mihoub, Henrique Pereira, Vânia Proença, Chris van Swaay, Tetsukazu Yahara, Jayne Belnap
Glaciological and marine geological controls on terminus dynamics of Hubbard Glacier, southeast Alaska 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...
Authors
Leigh Stearns, Gordon Hamilton, C. van der Veen, D. C. Finnegan, Shad O’Neel, J. Scheick, D. Lawson
Precise interpolar phasing of abrupt climate change during the last ice age 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...
Authors
Christo Buizert, Betty Adrian, Jinho Ahn, Mary Albert, Richard Alley, Daniel Baggenstos, Thomas Bauska, Ryan Bay, Brian Bencivengo, Charles Bentley, Edward Brook, Nathan Chellman, Gary Clow, Jihong Cole-Dai, Howard Conway, Eric Cravens, Kurt Cuffey, Nelia Dunbar, Jon Edwards, John M. Fegyveresi, Dave Ferris, Joan Fitzpatrick, T. Fudge, Chris Gibson, Vasileios Gkinis, Joshua Goetz, Stephanie Gregory, Geoffrey Hargreaves, Nels Iverson, Jay A. Johnson, Tyler Jones, Michael Kalk, Matthew Kippenhan, Bess Koffman, Karl Kreutz, Tanner Kuhl, Donald Lebar, James E. Lee, Shaun Marcott, Bradley R. Markle, Olivia Maselli, Joseph R. McConnell, Kenneth McGwire, Logan Mitchell, Nicolai Mortensen, Peter Neff, Kunihiko Nishiizumi, Richard M. Nunn, Anais Orsi, Daniel Pasteris, Joel Pedro, Erin Pettit, P. Price, John Priscu, Rachael Rhodes, Julia Rosen, Andrew Schauer, Spruce Schoenemann, Paul Sendelbach, Jeffrey Severinghaus, Alexander Shturmakov, Michael Sigl, Kristina Slawny, Joseph M. Souney, Todd Sowers, Matthew Spencer, Eric Steig, Kendrick Taylor, Mark Twickler, Bruce Vaughn, Donald Voigt, Edwin Waddington, Kees Welten, Anthony Wendricks, James White, Mai Winstrup, Gifford Wong, Thomas Woodruff
Adaptive management of social-ecological systems: The path forward 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...
Authors
Ahjond Garmestani, Craig Allen
Patterns and causes of observed piñon pine mortality in the southwestern United States 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...
Authors
Arjan Meddens, Jeff Hicke, Alison Macalady, P.C. Buotte, T.R. Cowles, Craig Allen
Radar attenuation and temperature within the Greenland Ice Sheet 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...
Authors
Joseph MacGregor, Jilu Li, John Paden, Ginny Catania, Gary Clow, Mark Fahnestock, Prasad Gogineni, Robert Grimm, Mathieu Morlighem, Soumyaroop Nandi, Helene Seroussi, David Stillman