Publications
Listed here are publications, reports and articles by the Land Change Science Program in the USGS Ecosystems Mission Area.
Filter Total Items: 1145
The effect of drying boreal lakes on plants, soils, and microbial communities in lake margin habitats The effect of drying boreal lakes on plants, soils, and microbial communities in lake margin habitats
Decadal scale lake drying in interior Alaska results in lake margin colonization by willow shrub and graminoid vegetation, but the effects of these changes on plant production, biodiversity, soil properties, and soil microbial communities are not well known. We studied changes in soil organic carbon (SOC) and nitrogen (N) storage, plant and microbial community composition, and soil...
Authors
Vijay P. Patil, Jack McFarland, Kimberly Wickland, Kristen L. Manies, Mark Winterstein, Teresa N. Hollingsworth, Eugénie S. Euskirchen, Mark Waldrop
Glaciers and ice caps outside Greenland Glaciers and ice caps outside Greenland
No abstract available.
Authors
D. Burgess, G. Wolken, B. Wouters, L.M. Andreassen, Caitlyn Florentine, J. Kohler, B. Luks, F. Palsson, Louis C. Sass, L. Thomson, T. Thorsteinsson
Observing glacier elevation changes from spaceborne optical and radar sensors – an inter-comparison experiment using ASTER and TanDEM-X data Observing glacier elevation changes from spaceborne optical and radar sensors – an inter-comparison experiment using ASTER and TanDEM-X data
Observations of glacier mass changes are key to understanding the response of glaciers to climate change and related impacts, such as regional runoff, ecosystem changes, and global sea level rise. Spaceborne optical and radar sensors make it possible to quantify glacier elevation changes, and thus multi-annual mass changes, on a regional and global scale. However, estimates from a...
Authors
Livia Piermattei, Michael Zemp, Christian Sommer, Fanny Brun, Matthias H. Braun, Liss M. Andreassen, Joaquin M. C. Belart, Etienne Berthier, Atanu Bhattacharya, Laura Boehm Vock, Tobias Bolch, Amaury Dehecq, Ines Dussaillant, Daniel Falaschi, Caitlyn Florentine, Dana Floricioiu, Christian Ginzler, Gregoire Guillet, Romain Hugonnet, Andreas Kaab, Owen King, Christoph Klug, Friedrich Knuth, Lukas Krieger, Jeff La Frenierre, Robert McNabb, Christopher McNeil, Rainer Prinz, Louis C. Sass, Thorsten Seehaus, David Shean, Desiree Treichler, Anja Wendt, Ruitang Yang
Projected changes in mangrove distribution and vegetation structure under climate change in the southeastern United States Projected changes in mangrove distribution and vegetation structure under climate change in the southeastern United States
Aim The climate change-induced transition from grass-dominated marshes to woody-plant-dominated mangrove forests has the potential to impact the ecosystem goods and services provided by coastal wetlands. To better anticipate and prepare for these impacts, there is a need to advance understanding of future changes in mangrove distribution and coastal wetland vegetation structural...
Authors
Remi Bardou, Michael Osland, Jahson B. Alemu I, Laura Colleen Feher, David P. Harlan, Steven B. Scyphers, Christine C. Shepard, Savannah H. Swinea, Kalaina Thorne, Jill E. Andrew, A. Randall Hughes
Seasonal drought treatments impact plant and microbial uptake of nitrogen in a mixed shrub grassland on the Colorado Plateau Seasonal drought treatments impact plant and microbial uptake of nitrogen in a mixed shrub grassland on the Colorado Plateau
For many drylands, both long- and short-term drought conditions can accentuate landscape heterogeneity at both temporal (e.g., role of seasonal patterns) and spatial (e.g., patchy plant cover) scales. Furthermore, short-term drought conditions occurring over one season can exacerbate long-term, multidecadal droughts or aridification, by limiting soil water recharge, decreasing plant...
Authors
Rebecca A Finger-Higgens, David L. Hoover, Anna C. Knight, Savannah Wilson, Tara Boyce Belnap Bishop, Robin H. Reibold, Sasha C. Reed, Michael C. Duniway
The geochronology of White Sands Locality 2 is resolved The geochronology of White Sands Locality 2 is resolved
Rhode et al. (2024) allege that there are many “unresolved issues” with the geochronology of White Sands National Park (WHSA) Locality 2. They suggest there are substantial age offsets due to hard-water effects in the aquatic plants that were dated and that radiocarbon ages of pollen may be anomalously old due to reworking. In their view, the luminescence ages are likely to be maximum...
Authors
Jeffrey S. Pigati, Kathleen B. Springer, Harrison J. Gray, Matthew R. Bennett, David Bustos
Permafrost history in the sporadic zone as context for recent carbon loss using acryostratigraphy, plant macrofossil, and stable isotope approach Permafrost history in the sporadic zone as context for recent carbon loss using acryostratigraphy, plant macrofossil, and stable isotope approach
Permafrost and landscape history, in addition to ground ice content, are increasingly identified as important components in predicting permafrost thaw trajectories. Together with cryostratigraphy, plant remains and stable isotopes can provide useful information about past permafrost aggradation and thaw. We applied these methods with radiocarbon dating on peat and permafrost cores in the...
Authors
Miriam C. Jones, Lesleigh Anderson, Eva Anne Stephani, Benjamin M. Jones
Freshwater biogeochemical hotspots: High primary production and ecosystem respiration in shallow waterbodies Freshwater biogeochemical hotspots: High primary production and ecosystem respiration in shallow waterbodies
Ponds, wetlands, and shallow lakes (collectively “shallow waterbodies”) are among the most biogeochemically active freshwater ecosystems. Measurements of gross primary production (GPP), respiration (R), and net ecosystem production (NEP) are rare in shallow waterbodies compared to larger and deeper lakes, which can bias our understanding of lentic ecosystem processes. In this study, we...
Authors
Joseph Rabaey, Meredith Holgerson, David Richardson, Mikkel R. Andersen, Sheel Bansal, Lauren E Bortolotti, James Cotner, Daniel Hornbach, Kenneth T. Martinsen, Eric Moody, Olivia F. Schloegel
Significant challenges to the sustainability of the California coast considering climate change Significant challenges to the sustainability of the California coast considering climate change
Climate change is an existential threat to the environmental and socioeconomic sustainability of the coastal zone and impacts will be complex and widespread. Evidence from California and across the United States shows that climate change is impacting coastal communities and challenging managers with a plethora of stressors already present. Widespread action could be taken that would...
Authors
Karen M. Thorne, Glen M. MacDonald, Francisco P. Chavez, Richard F. Ambrose, Patrick L. Barnard
Crop type classification, trends, and patterns of central California agricultural fields from 2005 to 2020 Crop type classification, trends, and patterns of central California agricultural fields from 2005 to 2020
California produces many key agricultural products in the United States. Current geospatial agricultural datasets are limited in mapping accuracy, spatial context, or observation period. This study uses machine learning and high-resolution imagery to produce a time series of crop maps to assess crop type trends and patterns across central California from 2005 to 2020. National...
Authors
Britt Windsor Smith, Christopher E. Soulard, Jessica J. Walker
Isotopic evidence against North Pacific Deep Water formation during late Pliocene warmth Isotopic evidence against North Pacific Deep Water formation during late Pliocene warmth
Several modelling and observational studies suggest deep water formation in the subpolar North Pacific as a possible alternative mode of thermohaline circulation that occurred in the warm Pliocene, a time when global atmospheric partial pressure of carbon dioxide was like the modern atmosphere (~400 ppm). We test this hypothesis by measuring the δ13C of the benthic foraminifer...
Authors
Joseph Novak, Rocio Caballero-Gill, Rebecca Rose, Timothy D. Herbert, Harry J. Dowsett
Urban tree cover provides consistent mitigation of extreme heat in arid but not humid cities Urban tree cover provides consistent mitigation of extreme heat in arid but not humid cities
Urban land cover types influence the urban microclimates. However, recent work indicates the magnitude of land cover's microclimate influence is affected by aridity. Moreover, this variation in cooling and warming potentials of urban land cover types can substantially alter the exposure of urban areas to extreme heat. Our goal is to understand both the relative influences of urban land...
Authors
Peter Christian Ibsen, Benjamin Crawford, Lucila Marie Corro, Kenneth J. Bagstad, Brandon E McNellis, G. Darrel Jenerette, James E. Diffendorfer