Publications
Listed here are publications, reports and articles by the Land Change Science Program in the USGS Ecosystems Mission Area.
Filter Total Items: 1284
Influence of permafrost type and site history on losses of permafrost carbon after thaw Influence of permafrost type and site history on losses of permafrost carbon after thaw
We quantified permafrost peat plateau and post-thaw carbon (C) stocks across a chronosequence in Interior Alaska to evaluate the amount of C lost with thaw. Macrofossil reconstructions revealed three stratigraphic layers of peat: (1) a base layer of fen/marsh peat, (2) peat from a forested peat plateau (with permafrost) and, (3) collapse-scar bog peat (at sites where permafrost thaw has...
Authors
Kristen L. Manies, Miriam C. Jones, Mark Waldrop, Mary-Catherine Leewis, Christopher C. Fuller, Robert S. Cornman, Kristen Hoefke
Preface to book: Wetland carbon and environmental management Preface to book: Wetland carbon and environmental management
The idea for this book, including its organization and contents, has its origin in the latest environmental and climate policy requirements in the United States, as well as science advances. In 2007, the U.S. Congress passed the Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA), from which Section 712 required U.S. Federal agencies to provide a better understanding of carbon and greenhouse gas...
Authors
Ken Krauss, Zhiliang Zhu, Camille Stagg
Potential for carbon and nitrogen sequestration by restoring tidal connectivity and enhancing soil surface elevations in denuded and degraded south Florida mangrove ecosystems Potential for carbon and nitrogen sequestration by restoring tidal connectivity and enhancing soil surface elevations in denuded and degraded south Florida mangrove ecosystems
Mangroves are tidally dependent wetlands that are influenced often by alterations in hydrology associated with coastal developments that impact their distribution, health, and function. Alteration in frequency, depth, duration, and seasonality of tidal inundation can lead to changes in forest condition, although these stress-adapted ecosystems may persist for many years before succumbing...
Authors
N. Cormier, Ken Krauss, Amanda Demopoulos, Brita J. Jessen, Jennifer McClain Counts, Andrew From, Laura L. Flynn
Summary of wetland carbon and environmental management: Path forward Summary of wetland carbon and environmental management: Path forward
Wetlands around the world are under pressure from both anthropogenic sources such as land-use change and accelerating climate change (Erwin, 2009; Moomaw et al., 2018). Storage of carbon resources is a key ecosystem service of wetlands and offer natural solutions to climate change mitigation; policies and management actions could determine the fate of these resources and their...
Authors
Zhiliang Zhu, Ken Krauss, Camille Stagg, Eric Ward, Victoria Woltz
Joint effects of climate, tree size, and year on annual tree growth derived using tree-ring records of ten globally distributed forests Joint effects of climate, tree size, and year on annual tree growth derived using tree-ring records of ten globally distributed forests
Tree rings provide an invaluable long-term record for understanding how climate and other drivers shape tree growth and forest productivity. However, conventional tree-ring analysis methods were not designed to simultaneously account for the effects of climate, tree size, and other drivers on individual growth, which has limited the potential to use tree rings to understand forest...
Authors
Kristina J. Anderson-Teixeira, Valentine Herrmann, Christy Rollinson, Bianca Gonzales, Erika B. Gonzalez-Akre, Neil Pederson, M. Ross Alexander, Craig D. Allen, Raquel Alfaro-Sanchez, Tala Awada, Jennifer L. Baltzer, Patrick J. Baker, Joseph D. Birch, Sarayudh Bunyavejchewin, Paolo Cherubini, Stewart J. Davies, Cameron Dow, Ryan Helcoski, Jakub Kaspar, James A. Lutz, Ellis Q. Margolis, Justin Maxwell, Sean M. McMahon, Camille Piponiot, Sabrina E. Russo, Pavel Šamonil, Anastasia E. Sniderhan, Alan J. Tepley, Ivana Vasickova, Mart Vlam, Pieter A. Zuidema
Land management strategies influence soil organic carbon stocks of prairie potholes of North America Land management strategies influence soil organic carbon stocks of prairie potholes of North America
Soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks of Prairie Pothole Region (PPR) wetlands in the central plains of Canada and the United States are highly variable due to natural variation in biota, soils, climate, hydrology, and topography. Land-use history (cropland, grassland) and land-management practices (drainage, restoration) also affect SOC stocks. We conducted a region-wide assessment of...
Authors
Sheel Bansal, Brian Tangen, Robert A. Gleason, Pascal Badiou, Irena F. Creed
Rapa Nui (Easter Island) Rano Raraku crater lake basin: Geochemical characterization and implications for the Ahu-Moai Period Rapa Nui (Easter Island) Rano Raraku crater lake basin: Geochemical characterization and implications for the Ahu-Moai Period
Rano Raraku, the crater lake constrained by basaltic tuff that served as the primary quarry used to construct the moai statues on Rapa Nui (Easter Island), has experienced fluctuations in lake level over the past centuries. As one of the only freshwater sources on the island, understanding the present and past geochemical characteristics of the lake water is critical to understand if the...
Authors
Elena Argiriadis, Mara Bortolini, Natalie M. Kehrwald, Marco Roman, Clara Turetta, Shahpara Hanif, Evans Osayuki Erhendi, Jose Miguel Ramirez Aliaga, David B. McWethy, Amy E. Myrbo, Anibal Pauchard, Carlo Barbante, Dario Battistel
Simulated atmospheric response to four projected land-use land-cover change scenarios for 2050 in the north-central United States Simulated atmospheric response to four projected land-use land-cover change scenarios for 2050 in the north-central United States
Land-use land-cover change (LULCC) has become an important topic of research for the central United States because of the extensive conversion of the natural prairie into agricultural land, especially in the northern Great Plains. As a result, shifts in the natural climate (minimum/maximum temperature, precipitation, etc.) across the north-central United States have been observed, as...
Authors
Paul Xavier Flanagan, Rezaul Mahmood, Terry L. Sohl, Mark Svoboda, Brian D. Wardlow, Michael Hayes, Eric Rappin
Tamm review: Postfire landscape management in frequent-fire conifer forests of the southwestern United States Tamm review: Postfire landscape management in frequent-fire conifer forests of the southwestern United States
The increasing incidence of wildfires across the southwestern United States (US) is altering the contemporary forest management template within historically frequent-fire conifer forests. An increasing fraction of southwestern conifer forests have recently burned, and many of these burned landscapes contain complex mosaics of surviving forest and severely burned patches without surviving...
Authors
Jens T. Stevens, Collin Haffey, Jonathan D. Coop, Paula J. Fornwalt, Larissa Yocom, Craig D. Allen, Anne Bradley, Owen T. Burney, Dennis Carril, Marin E. Chambers, Theresa B. Chapman, Sandra L. Haire, Matthew D. Hurteau, Jose M. Iniguez, Ellis Q. Margolis, Christopher Marks, Laura A. E. Marshall, Kyle C. Rodman, Camille S. Stevens-Rumann, Andrea E. Thode, Jessica J. Walker
Emergent biogeochemical risks from Arctic permafrost degradation Emergent biogeochemical risks from Arctic permafrost degradation
The Arctic cryosphere is collapsing, posing overlapping environmental risks. In particular, thawing permafrost threatens to release biological, chemical and radioactive materials that have been sequestered for tens to hundreds of thousands of years. As these constituents re-enter the environment, they have the potential to disrupt ecosystem function, reduce the populations of unique...
Authors
Kimberly R. Miner, Rachel Mackelprang, Juliana D’Andrilli, Arwyn Edwards, Michael J. Malaska, Mark P. Waldrop, Charles E. Miller
Evidence for humans in North America during the Last Glacial Maximum Evidence for humans in North America during the Last Glacial Maximum
Archaeologists and researchers in allied fields have long sought to understand human colonization of North America. When, how, and from where did people migrate, and what were the consequences of their arrival for the established fauna and landscape are enduring questions. Here, we present evidence from excavated surfaces of in situ human footprints from White Sands National Park (New...
Authors
Matthew R. Bennett, David Bustos, Jeffrey S. Pigati, Kathleen B. Springer, Thomas. M. Urban, Vance T. Holliday, Sally C. Reynolds, Marcin Budka, Jeffrey S. Honke, Adam M. Hudson, Brendan Fenerty, Clare Connelly, Patrick J. Martinez, Vincent L. Santucci, Daniel Odess
Evaluating streamwater dissolved organic carbon dynamics in context of variable flowpath contributions with a tracer-based mixing model Evaluating streamwater dissolved organic carbon dynamics in context of variable flowpath contributions with a tracer-based mixing model
This study focuses on characterizing the contributions of key terrestrial pathways that deliver dissolved organic carbon (DOC) to streams during hydrological events and on elucidating factors governing variation in water and DOC fluxes from these pathways. We made high-frequency measurements of discharge, specific conductance (SC), and fluorescent dissolved organic matter (FDOM) during...
Authors
James E. Saiers, Jennifer H. Fair, James B. Shanley, J.D. Hosen, Serena Matt, Kevin A Ryan, P.A. Raymond