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Publications

Listed here are publications, reports and articles by the Land Change Science Program in the USGS Ecosystems Mission Area.

Filter Total Items: 1284

Parsing complex terrain controls on mountain glacier response to climate forcing Parsing complex terrain controls on mountain glacier response to climate forcing

Glaciers are a key indicator of changing climate in the high mountain landscape. Glacier variations across a mountain range are ultimately driven by regional climate forcing. However, changes also reflect local, topographically driven processes such as snow avalanching, snow wind-drifting, and radiation shading as well as the initial glacier conditions such as hypsometry and ice...
Authors
Caitlyn Elizabeth Florentine, Joel T. Harper, Daniel B. Fagre

A critical assessment of human-impact indices based on anthropogenic pollen indicators A critical assessment of human-impact indices based on anthropogenic pollen indicators

Anthropogenic pollen indicators in pollen records are an established tool for reconstructing the history of human impacts on vegetation and landscapes. They are also used to disentangle the influence of human activities and climatic variability on ecosystems. The comprehensive anthropogenic pollen-indicator approach developed by Behre (1981) has been widely used, including beyond its...
Authors
Mara Deza-Araujo, Cesar Morales-Molino, Willy Tinner, Paul D. Henne, Caroline Heitz, Gianni B Pezzatti, Albert Hafner, Marco Conedera

Atmospheric dust deposition varies by season and elevation in the Colorado Front Range, USA Atmospheric dust deposition varies by season and elevation in the Colorado Front Range, USA

As atmospheric dust deposition continues to increase across the southwestern United States, it has the potential to alter ecosystem productivity and structure by delivering nutrients, base cations, and pollutants to remote mountain sites. Due to the sparse distribution of dust monitoring sites, open questions remain about the spatial and temporal variability of dust fluxes and...
Authors
Ruth C. Heindel, Annie L. Putman, Sheila F. Murphy, Deborah A. Repert, Eve-Lyn S. Hinckley

Evaluating indicators of marsh vulnerability to sea level rise along a historical marsh loss gradient Evaluating indicators of marsh vulnerability to sea level rise along a historical marsh loss gradient

Sea level rise (SLR) is threatening coastal marshes, leading to large‐scale marsh loss in several micro‐tidal systems. Early recognition of marsh vulnerability to SLR is critical in these systems to aid managers to take appropriate restoration or mitigation measures. However, it is not clear if current marsh vulnerability indicators correctly assess long‐term stability of the marsh...
Authors
Lennert Schepers, Matt L. Kirwan, Glenn R. Guntenspergen, Stijn Temmerman

Explaining mass balance and retreat dichotomies at Taku and Lemon Creek Glaciers, Alaska Explaining mass balance and retreat dichotomies at Taku and Lemon Creek Glaciers, Alaska

We reanalyzed mass balance records at Taku and Lemon Creek Glaciers to better understand the relative roles of hypsometry, local climate and dynamics as mass balance drivers. Over the 1946–2018 period, the cumulative mass balances diverged. Tidewater Taku Glacier advanced and gained mass at an average rate of +0.25±0.28 m w.e. a–1, contrasting with retreat and mass loss of –0.60±0.15 m w...
Authors
Christopher J. McNeil, Shad O’Neel, Michael Loso, Mauri Pelto, Louis C. Sass, Emily Baker, Seth Campbell

Carbon stock losses and recovery observed for a mangrove ecosystem following a major hurricane in Southwest Florida Carbon stock losses and recovery observed for a mangrove ecosystem following a major hurricane in Southwest Florida

Studies integrating mangrove in-situ observations and remote sensing analysis for specific sites often lack precise estimates of carbon stocks over time frames that include disturbance events. This study quantifies change in mangrove area from 1985 to 2018 with Landsat time series analysis, estimates above and belowground stored carbon using field data, and evaluates aboveground carbon...
Authors
Elitsa I. Peneva-Reed, Ken Krauss, Eric L. Bullock, Zhiliang Zhu, Victoria Woltz, Judith Z. Drexler, Jeremy R. Conrad, Stephen V. Stehman

Climate and local environment structure asynchrony and the stability of primary production in grasslands Climate and local environment structure asynchrony and the stability of primary production in grasslands

Aim Climate variability threatens to destabilize production in many ecosystems. Asynchronous species dynamics may buffer against such variability when a decrease in performance by some species is offset by an increase in performance of others. However, high climatic variability can eliminate species through stochastic extinctions or cause similar stress responses among species that...
Authors
B. Gilbert, A.S. MacDougall, T. Kadoya, M. Akasaka, J. R. Bennett, E.M. Lind, H. Flores-Moreno, J. Firn, Y. Hautier, E.T. Borer, E.W. Seabloom, P.B. Adler, E.E. Cleland, James B. Grace, W.S. Harpole, E.H. Esch, J.L. Moore, J. Knops, R. McCulley, B. Mortensen, J. Bakker, P.A. Fay

Scientific contributions of the Mangrove Macrobenthos and Management (MMM) conference series, 2000-2019 Scientific contributions of the Mangrove Macrobenthos and Management (MMM) conference series, 2000-2019

The conservation of mangrove forests has become an important international policy priority in recent decades, and is mirrored by a large increase in research interest. Multiple disciplines now use mangroves as a study system, from molecular biology to social science. The variety of research conducted in mangroves is exemplified by the Mangrove Macrobenthos & Management (MMM) conference...
Authors
Daniel A. Friess, Farid Dahdouh-Guebas, Behara Satyanarayana, Stefano Cannicci, Marco Vannini, Siew Chin Chua, Norman Duke, Ilka C. Feller, Zeehan Jaafer, L.P. Jayatissa, Nico Koedam, Ken Krauss, Shing Yip Lee, Jose Ernesto Mancera Pineda, Renison Ruwa, Erik S. Yando

Climatically driven displacement on the Eglington fault, Las Vegas, Nevada Climatically driven displacement on the Eglington fault, Las Vegas, Nevada

The Eglington fault is one of several intrabasinal faults in the Las Vegas Valley, Nevada and is the only one recognized as a source for significant earthquakes. Its broad warp displaces late Pleistocene paleo-spring deposits of the Las Vegas Formation, which record hydrologic fluctuations that occurred in response to millennial and submillennial-scale climate oscillations throughout the...
Authors
Kathleen B. Springer, Jeffrey S. Pigati

Climate explorer: Improved access to local climate projections Climate explorer: Improved access to local climate projections

The goal of the U.S. Climate Resilience Toolkit’s (CRT) Climate Explorer (CE) is to provide information at appropriate spatial and temporal scales to help practitioners gain insights into the risks posed by climate change. Ultimately, these insights can lead to groups of local stakeholders taking action to build their resilience to a changing climate. Using CE, decision-makers can...
Authors
Fredric Lipschultz, David Herring, Andrea J. Ray, Jay R. Alder, LuAnn Dahlman, Arthur DeGaetano, James F. Fox, Edward Gardiner, Jamie Herring, Jeff Hicks, Forrest Melton, Philip E. Morefield, William Sweet

Implementation of a surface water extent model in Cambodia using cloud-based remote sensing Implementation of a surface water extent model in Cambodia using cloud-based remote sensing

Mapping surface water over time provides the spatially explicit information essential for hydroclimatic research focused on droughts and flooding. Hazard risk assessments and water management planning also rely on accurate, long-term measurements describing hydrologic fluctuations. Stream gages are a common measurement tool used to better understand flow and inundation dynamics, but gage...
Authors
Christopher E. Soulard, Jessica J. Walker, Roy E. Petrakis

Quantifying interregional flows of multiple ecosystem services – A case study for Germany Quantifying interregional flows of multiple ecosystem services – A case study for Germany

Despite a growing number of national-scale ecosystem service (ES) assessments, few studies consider the impacts of ES use and consumption beyond national or regional boundaries. Interregional ES flows – ecosystem services “imported” from and “exported” to other countries – are rarely analyzed and their importance for global sustainability is little known. Here, we provide a first multi...
Authors
Janina Kleeman, Matthias Schroter, Kenneth J. Bagstad, Christian Kuhlicke, Thomas Kastner, Dor Fridman, Catharina J. E. Schulp, Sarah Wolff, Javier Martinez-Lopez, Thomas Koellner, Sebastian Arnhold, Berta Martin-Lopez, Alexandra Marques, Laura Lopez-Hoffman, Jianguo Liu, Meidad Kissinger, Carlos Guerra, Aletta Bonn
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