Publications
Listed here are publications, reports and articles by the Land Change Science Program in the USGS Ecosystems Mission Area.
Filter Total Items: 1145
Frequency of extreme freeze events controls the distribution and structure of black mangroves (Avicennia germinans) near their northern range limit in coastal Louisiana Frequency of extreme freeze events controls the distribution and structure of black mangroves (Avicennia germinans) near their northern range limit in coastal Louisiana
Aim Climate change is expected to result in the tropicalization of coastal wetlands in the northern Gulf of Mexico, as warming winters allow tropical mangrove forests to expand their distribution poleward at the expense of temperate salt marshes. Data limitations near mangrove range limits have hindered understanding of the effects of winter temperature extremes on mangrove distribution...
Authors
Michael Osland, Richard Day, Thomas Michot
Small gradients in salinity have large effects on stand water use in freshwater wetland forests Small gradients in salinity have large effects on stand water use in freshwater wetland forests
Salinity intrusion is responsible for changes to freshwater wetland watersheds globally, but little is known about how wetland water budgets might be influenced by small increments in salinity. We studied a forested wetland in South Carolina, USA, and installed sap flow probes on 72 trees/shrubs along a salinity gradient. Species investigated included the trees baldcypress (Taxodium...
Authors
Jamie A. Duberstein, Ken Krauss, M.J. Baldwin, Scott Allen, William Conner, John Salter, Michael Miloshis
The Fire and Tree Mortality Database, for empirical modeling of individual tree mortality after fire The Fire and Tree Mortality Database, for empirical modeling of individual tree mortality after fire
Wildland fires have a multitude of ecological effects in forests, woodlands, and savannas across the globe. A major focus of past research has been on tree mortality from fire, as trees provide a vast range of biological services. We assembled a database of individual-tree records from prescribed fires and wildfires in the United States. The Fire and Tree Mortality (FTM) database...
Authors
C. Alina Cansler, Sharon Hood, J. Morgan Varner, Phillip J. van Mantgem, Michelle Agne, Robert Andrus, Matthew Ayres, Bruce Ayres, Jonathan D. Bakker, Michael Battaglia, Barbara Bentz, Carolyn Breece, James Brown, Daniel Cluck, Tom Coleman, R. Corace, W. Covington, Douglas Cram, James Cronan, Joseph Crouse, Adrian Das, Ryan Davis, Darci Dickinson, Stephen Fitzgerald, Peter Z. Fule, Lisa Ganio, Lindsay Grayson, Charles Halpern, Jim Hanula, Brian Harvey, J. Hiers, David Huffman, MaryBeth Keifer, Tara Keyser, Leda Kobziar, Thomas Kolb, Crystal Kolden, Karen Kopper, Jason Kreitler, Jesse Kreye, Andrew Latimer, Andrew Lerch, Maria Lombardero, Virginia McDaniel, Charles McHugh, Joel McMillin, Jason Moghaddas, Joseph O’Brien, Daniel Perrakis, David Peterson, Susan Pritchard, Robert Progar, Kenneth Raffa, Elizabeth Reinhardt, Joseph Restaino, John Roccaforte, Brendan Rogers, Kevin Ryan, Hugh Safford, Alyson Santoro, Timothy Shearman, Alice Shumate, Carolyn H. Sieg, Sheri Smith, Rebecca Smith, Nathan Stephenson, Mary Stuever, Jens Stevens, Michael Stoddard, Walter Thies, Nicole Vaillant, Shelby Weiss, Douglas Westlind, Travis Woolley, Micah Wright
Sediment dynamics and implications for management: State of the science from long‐term research in the Chesapeake Bay watershed, USA Sediment dynamics and implications for management: State of the science from long‐term research in the Chesapeake Bay watershed, USA
This review aims to synthesize the current knowledge of sediment dynamics using insights from long‐term research conducted in the watershed draining to the Chesapeake Bay, the largest estuary in the U.S., to inform management actions to restore the estuary and its watershed. The sediment dynamics of the Chesapeake are typical of many impaired watersheds and estuaries around the world...
Authors
Gregory Noe, Matthew Cashman, Katherine Skalak, Allen Gellis, Kristina Hopkins, Douglas Moyer, James Webber, Adam Benthem, Kelly Maloney, John Brakebill, Andrew Sekellick, Michael Langland, Qian Zhang, Gary Shenk, Jennifer Keisman, Cliff Hupp
Divergent biotic and abiotic filtering of root endosphere and rhizosphere soil fungal communities along ecological gradients Divergent biotic and abiotic filtering of root endosphere and rhizosphere soil fungal communities along ecological gradients
Plant roots assemble two distinct microbial compartments: the rhizosphere (microbes in soil surrounding roots) and the endosphere (microbes within roots). Our knowledge of fungal community assembly in these compartments is limited, especially in wetlands. We tested the hypothesis that biotic factors would have direct effects on rhizosphere and endosphere assembly, while abiotic factors...
Authors
Candice Lumibao, Elizabeth Kimbrough, Richard Day, William Conner, Ken Krauss, Sunshine Van Bael
Hurricane Sandy effects on coastal marsh elevation change Hurricane Sandy effects on coastal marsh elevation change
High-magnitude storm events such as Hurricane Sandy are powerful agents of geomorphic change in coastal marshes, potentially altering their surface elevation trajectories. But how do a storm’s impacts vary across a large region spanning a variety of wetland settings and storm exposures and intensities. We determined the short-term impacts of Hurricane Sandy at 223 surface elevation table...
Authors
Alice Yeates, James Grace, Jennifer Olker, Glenn Guntenspergen, Donald Cahoon, Susan Adamowicz, Shimon Anisfeld, Nels Barrett, Alice Benzecry, Linda Blum, Rober Christian, Joseph Grzyb, Ellen Kracauer Hartig, Kelly Hines Leo, Scott Lerberg, James Lynch, Nicole Maher, J Patrick Megonigal, William Reay, Drexel Siok, Adam Starke, Vincent Turner, Scott Warren
Structural impacts, carbon losses, and regeneration in mangrove wetlands after two hurricanes on St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands Structural impacts, carbon losses, and regeneration in mangrove wetlands after two hurricanes on St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands
Hurricanes Irma and Maria ravaged the mangroves of St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands, in 2017. Basal area losses were large (63–100%) and storm losses of carbon associated with aboveground biomass amounted to 11.9–43.5 Mg C/ha. Carbon biomass of dead standing trees increased 8.1–18.3 Mg C/ha among sites, and carbon in coarse woody debris on the forest floor increased 1.9–18.2 Mg C/ha, with...
Authors
Ken Krauss, Andrew From, Caroline Rogers, Kevin Whelan, Kristen Grimes, Robert C. Dobbs, Thomas Kelley
Increased drought severity tracks warming in the United States’ largest river basin Increased drought severity tracks warming in the United States’ largest river basin
Across the Upper Missouri River Basin, the recent drought of 2000 to 2010, known as the “turn-of-the-century drought,” was likely more severe than any in the instrumental record including the Dust Bowl drought. However, until now, adequate proxy records needed to better understand this event with regard to long-term variability have been lacking. Here we examine 1,200 y of streamflow...
Authors
Justin Martin, Gregory Pederson, Connie Woodhouse, Edward Cook, Gregory McCabe, Kevin Anchukaitis, Erika Wise, Patrick Erger, Larry Dolan, Marketa McGuire, Subhrendu Gangopadhyay, Katherine Chase, Jeremy Littell, Stephen Gray, Scott St. George, Jonathan Friedman, David Sauchyn, Jeannine-Marie St. Jacques, John C. King
Changes in climate and land cover affect seasonal streamflow forecasts in the Rio Grande headwaters Changes in climate and land cover affect seasonal streamflow forecasts in the Rio Grande headwaters
Seasonal streamflow forecast bias, changes in climate, snowpack, and land cover, and the effects of these changes on relations between basin‐wide snowpack, SNOw TELemetry (SNOTEL) station snowpack, and seasonal streamflow were evaluated in the headwaters of the Rio Grande, Colorado. Results indicate that shifts in the seasonality of precipitation and changing climatology are consistent...
Authors
Colin Penn, David Clow, Graham Sexstone, Sheila Murphy
Using information from global climate models to inform policymaking—The role of the U.S. Geological Survey Using information from global climate models to inform policymaking—The role of the U.S. Geological Survey
This report provides an overview of model-based climate science in a risk management context. In addition, it summarizes how the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) will continue to follow best scientific practices and when and how the results of this research will be delivered to the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) and other stakeholders to inform policymaking. Climate change is a risk...
Authors
Adam Terando, David Reidmiller, Steven Hostetler, Jeremy Littell, Beard, Sarah Weiskopf, Jayne Belnap, Geoffrey Plumlee
Scaling responses of leaf nutrient stoichiometry to the lakeshore flooding duration gradient across different organizational levels Scaling responses of leaf nutrient stoichiometry to the lakeshore flooding duration gradient across different organizational levels
Most wetlands have been subject to changes in flooding regimes by climate change and human activities, resulting in widespread alteration of wetland plants at different organizational levels. However, scaling the responses of wetland plants to changes in flooding regimes is still challenging, because flooding could indirectly affect wetland plants through affecting environment factors (e...
Authors
Yasong Chen, Camille Stagg, Yongjiu Cai, Xiaotao Lü, Xiaolong Wang, Ruichang Shen, Zhichun Lan
A tropical cyclone-induced ecological regime shift: Mangrove forest conversion to mudflat in Everglades National Park (Florida, USA) A tropical cyclone-induced ecological regime shift: Mangrove forest conversion to mudflat in Everglades National Park (Florida, USA)
The ecological effects of tropical cyclones on mangrove forests are diverse and highly location- and cyclone-dependent. Ecological resistance, resilience, and enhancement are terms that describe most mangrove forest responses to tropical cyclones. However, in the most extreme cases, tropical cyclones can trigger abrupt and irreversible ecological transformations (i.e., ecological regime...
Authors
Michael Osland, Laura Feher, Gordon Anderson, William Vervaeke, Ken Krauss, Kevin Whelan, Karen Balentine, G. Tiling-Range, Thomas J. Smith, Donald Cahoon