Publications
Listed here are publications, reports and articles by the Land Change Science Program in the USGS Ecosystems Mission Area.
Filter Total Items: 1284
Stress gradients structure spatial variability in coastal tidal marsh plant composition and diversity in a major Pacific coast estuary Stress gradients structure spatial variability in coastal tidal marsh plant composition and diversity in a major Pacific coast estuary
Understanding the drivers of variability in plant diversity from local to landscape spatial scales is a challenge in ecological systems. Environmental gradients exist at several spatial scales and can be nested hierarchically, influencing patterns of plant diversity in complex ways. As plant community dynamics influence ecosystem function, understanding the drivers of plant community...
Authors
Lyndsay L. Rankin, Scott F. Jones, Christopher N. Janousek, Kevin J. Buffington, John Takekawa, Karen M. Thorne
Observing coastal wetland transitions using national land cover products Observing coastal wetland transitions using national land cover products
Over the coming century, climate change and sea-level rise are predicted to cause widespread change to coastal wetlands. Estuarine vegetated wetlands can adapt to sea-level rise through both vertical development (i.e., biophysical feedbacks and sedimentation) and upslope/horizontal migration. Quantifying changes to estuarine vegetated wetlands over time can help to inform current and...
Authors
Nicholas Enwright, Michael Osland, Karen M. Thorne, Glenn R. Guntenspergen, James Grace, Gregory Steyer, Nate Herold, Bogdan Chivoiu, Minoo Han
Aquatic carbon export and dynamics in mountain headwater streams of the western U.S. Aquatic carbon export and dynamics in mountain headwater streams of the western U.S.
Mountain headwater streams actively cycle carbon, receiving it from terrestrial landscapes and exporting it through downstream transport and gas exchange with the atmosphere. Although their importance is now widely recognized, aquatic carbon fluxes in headwater streams remain poorly characterized. In this study, aquatic carbon fluxes were measured in 15 mountain headwater streams and...
Authors
David W. Clow, Garrett Alexander Akie, Robert G. Striegl, Colin Penn, Graham A. Sexstone, Gabrielle L. Keith
Global dataset of soil organic carbon in tidal marshes Global dataset of soil organic carbon in tidal marshes
Tidal marshes store large amounts of organic carbon in their soils. Field data quantifying soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks provide an important resource for researchers, natural resource managers, and policy-makers working towards the protection, restoration, and valuation of these ecosystems. We collated a global dataset of tidal marsh soil organic carbon (MarSOC) from 99 studies that...
Authors
Tania L. Maxwell, Andre S. Rovai, Maria Fernanda Adame, Janine B. Adams, Jose Alvarez-Rogel, William E.N. Austin, Kim Beasy, Francesco Boscutti, Michael E. Bottcher, Tjeerd J. Bouma, Richard H. Bulmer, Annette Burden, Shannon A. Burke, Saritta Camacho, Doongar R. Chaudhary, Gail L. Chmura, Margareth Copertino, Grace M. Cott, Christopher Craft, John W. Day, Carmen B. de los Santos, Lionel Denis, Weixin Ding, Joanna C. Ellison, Carolyn J. Ewers Lewis, Luise Giani, Maria Gispert, Swanne Gontharet, Jose A. Gonzalez-Perez, M. Nazaret Gonzalez-Alcaraz, Connor Gorham, Anna Elizabeth L. Graversen, Anthony Grey, Roberta Guerra, Qiang He, James R. Holmquist, Alice R. Jones, Jose A. Juanes, Brian P. Kelleher, Karen E. Kohfeld, Dorte Krause-Jensen, Anna Lafratta, Paul S. Lavery, Edward A. Laws, Carmen Leiva-Duenas, Pei Sun Loh, Catherine E. Lovelock, Carolyn J. Lundquist, Peter I. Macreadie, Ines Mazarrasa, J. Patrick Megonigal, Joao M. Neto, Juliana Nogueira, Michael Osland, Jordi F. Pages, Nipuni Perera, Eva-Maria Pfeiffer, Thomas Pollmann, Jacqueline L. Raw, Maria Recio, Ana Carolina Ruiz-Fernández, Sophie K. Russell, John M. Rybczyk, Marek Sammul, Christian Sanders, Rui Santos, Oscar Serrano, Matthias B. Siewert, Craig Smeaton, Zhaoliang Song, Carmen Trasar-Cepeda, Robert R. Twilley, Marijn Van de Broek, Stefano Vitti, Livia Vittori Antisari, Baptiste Voltz, Christy N. Wails, Raymond D. Ward, Melissa Warden, Jaxine Wolfe, Renmin Yang, Sebastian Zubrzycki, Emily Landis, Lindsey Smart, Mark Spalding, Thomas A. Worthington
Characterizing performance of freshwater wetland methane models across time scales at FLUXNET-CH4 sites using wavelet analyses Characterizing performance of freshwater wetland methane models across time scales at FLUXNET-CH4 sites using wavelet analyses
Process-based land surface models are important tools for estimating global wetland methane (CH4) emissions and projecting their behavior across space and time. So far there are no performance assessments of model responses to drivers at multiple time scales. In this study, we apply wavelet analysis to identify the dominant time scales contributing to model uncertainty in the frequency...
Authors
Zhen Zhang, Sheel Bansal, Kuang-Yu Chang, Etienne Fluet-Chouinard, Kyle B. Delwiche, Mathias Goeckede, Adrian Gustafson, Sara Knox, Antii Leppanen, Licheng Liu, Jinxun Liu, Avni Malhotra, Tiina Markkanen, Gavin McNicol, Joe R. Melton, Paul A Miller, Changhui Peng, Maarit Raivonen, William Riley, Oliver Sonnentag, Tuula Aalto, Rodrigo Vargas, Wenxin Zhang, Qing Zhu, Qiuan Zhu, Qianlai Zhuang, Lisamarie Windham-Myers, Robert B. Jackson, Benjamin Poulter
Snag dynamics and surface fuel loads in the Sierra Nevada: Predicting the impact of the 2012–2016 drought Snag dynamics and surface fuel loads in the Sierra Nevada: Predicting the impact of the 2012–2016 drought
Forest die-backs linked to extreme droughts are expected to increase as the climate dries and warms. An example is the 2012-2016 hotter drought in California that induced widespread tree mortality in the Sierra Nevada, California. The sudden increase in snags (i.e., standing dead trees) raised immediate concerns about their impact on wildfire hazard and longer-term questions about their...
Authors
Hudson Northrop, Jodi N. Axelson, Adrian J. Das, Nathan L. Stephenson, Emilio Vilanova, Scott L. Stephens, John J. Battles
Two centuries of southwest Iceland annually-resolved marine temperature reconstructed from Arctica islandica shells Two centuries of southwest Iceland annually-resolved marine temperature reconstructed from Arctica islandica shells
Iceland's exposure to major ocean current pathways of the central North Atlantic makes it a useful location for developing long-term proxy records of past marine climate. Such records provide more detailed understanding of the full range of past variability which is necessary to improve predictions of future changes. We constructed a 225-year (1791–2015 CE) master shell growth chronology...
Authors
Madelyn Jean Mette, Carin Andersson, Bernd Schöne, Fabian Bonitz, Vilde Melvik, Tamara Trofimova, Martin Miles
Probabilistic source classification of large tephra producing eruptions using supervised machine learning: An example from the Alaska-Aleutian arc Probabilistic source classification of large tephra producing eruptions using supervised machine learning: An example from the Alaska-Aleutian arc
Alaska contains over 130 volcanoes and volcanic fields that have been active within the last 2 million years. Of these, roughly 90 have erupted during the Holocene, with many characterized by at least one large explosive eruption. These large tephra-producing eruptions (LTPEs) generate orders of magnitude more erupted material than a “typical” arc explosive eruption and distribute ash...
Authors
Jordan Edward Lubbers, Matthew W. Loewen, Kristi L. Wallace, Michelle L. Coombs, Jason A. Addison
Foundations of modeling resilience of tidal saline wetlands to sea-level rise along the U.S. Pacific Coast Foundations of modeling resilience of tidal saline wetlands to sea-level rise along the U.S. Pacific Coast
Context Tidal saline wetlands (TSWs) are highly threatened from climate-change effects of sea-level rise. Studies of TSWs along the East Coast U.S. and elsewhere suggest significant likely losses over coming decades but needed are analytic tools gauged to Pacific Coast U.S. wetlands. Objectives We predict the impacts of sea-level rise (SLR) on the elevation capital (vertical) and...
Authors
Bruce G. Marcot, Karen M. Thorne, Joel A. Carr, Glenn R. Guntenspergen
Warming-induced changes in benthic redox as a potential driver of increasing benthic algal blooms in high-elevation lakes Warming-induced changes in benthic redox as a potential driver of increasing benthic algal blooms in high-elevation lakes
Algal blooms appear to be increasing on benthic substrates of naturally nutrient-poor lakes worldwide, yet common drivers across these systems remain elusive. The phenomenon has been notable in high-elevation mountain lakes, which is enigmatic given their relative remoteness from human disturbance. We suggest that warming-induced changes in redox conditions that promote nutrient release...
Authors
Stephanie E. Hampton, Jill Baron, Robert Ladwig, Ryan P. McClure, Michael Frederick Meyer, Isabella Oleksy, Anna Shampain
Submersed macrophyte density regulates aquatic greenhouse gas emissions Submersed macrophyte density regulates aquatic greenhouse gas emissions
Shallow freshwater ecosystems emit large amounts of greenhouse gases (GHGs), such as carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4), yet emissions are highly variable. The role that aquatic macrophytes play in regulating aquatic GHG emissions is uncertain despite their ability to dominate shallow waterbodies. Here, we studied the effects of submersed macrophyte (Ceratophyllum demersum) density...
Authors
Meredith E. Theus, Nicholas E. Ray, Sheel Bansal, Meredith A. Holgerson
Late glacial–Younger Dryas climate in interior Alaska as inferred from the isotope values of land snail shells Late glacial–Younger Dryas climate in interior Alaska as inferred from the isotope values of land snail shells
The isotope values of fossil snail shells can be important archives of climate. Here, we present the first carbon (δ13C) and oxygen (δ18O) isotope values of snail shells in interior Alaska to explore changes in vegetation and humidity through the late-glacial period. Snail shell δ13C values were relatively consistent through the late glacial. However, late-glacial shell δ13C values are 2...
Authors
Catherine B. Nield, Yurena Yanes, Joshua D. Reuther, Daniel R. Muhs, Jeffrey S. Pigati, Joshua D. Miller, Patrick. S. Druckenmiller