Ecosystems Mission Area
Land Management Research Program
Our focus is ecosystems, the biological communities of interacting organisms and their physical environment. Much of our research is about how to restore and manage ecosystems while maximizing their ability to support biodiversity and services (e.g. coastal protection, water availability, pollination, erosion control etc) and preparing for anticipated climate change impacts.
Environments
Our scientists work in landscapes from Alaska to Florida to predict how systems respond to change, evaluate restoration, improve habitat for biodiversity and provide services including clean water, food, and storm protection.
EXPLORE
Sage-grouse & Sagebrush Ecosystem
We bring a diversity of expertise and capabilities to address a wide variety of science needs at multiple spatial scales across the sagebrush ecosystem and are committed to providing high quality science to our management partners.
EXPLOREStatus and Trends
To protect, conserve, and restore the living resources—plants, animals, habitats, ecosystems—entrusted to their care, land and resource managers must understand the condition, or status of those resources as well as their trends.
EXPLOREThis work requires a broad set of capabilities such as identifying stressors, predicting future conditions, developing and evaluating management alternatives, making difficult trade-offs, and predicting fish and wildlife habitat use. Managing natural resources on behalf of the public usually impacts multiple stakeholders in different ways, so we work with partners to use decision analysis as an approach to structure their decisions and navigate difficult choices in a transparent way.
Related Content
USGS Wildland Fire Science: an Overview
This is a Story Map that provides a broad overview of the research performed at USGS that is relevant to the field of wildland fire science.