Publications
Listed here are publications, reports and articles by the Land Change Science Program in the USGS Ecosystems Mission Area.
Filter Total Items: 1284
Fire history across forest types in the southern Beartooth Mountains, Wyoming Fire history across forest types in the southern Beartooth Mountains, Wyoming
Fire is a critical ecosystem process that has played a key role in shaping forests throughout the Beartooth Mountains in northwestern Wyoming. The highly variable topography of the area provides ideal conditions to compare fire regimes across contiguous forest types, yet pyro-dendrochronological research in this area is limited. We reconstructed fire frequency, tree age structure, and...
Authors
Sabrina R. Brown, Ashley Baysinger, Peter M. Brown, Justin L. Cheek, Jeffrey M. Diez, Christopher M. Gentry, Thomas A. Grant, Jeannine-Marie St-Jacques, David A. Jordan, Morgan L. Leef, Mary K. Rourke, James H. Speer, Carrie E. Spradlin, Jens T. Stevens, Jeffery R. Stone, Brian Van Winkle, Nickolas E. Zeibig-Kichas
Disentangling the potential effects of land-use and climate change on stream conditions Disentangling the potential effects of land-use and climate change on stream conditions
Land‐use and climate change are significantly affecting stream ecosystems, yet understanding of their long‐term impacts is hindered by the few studies that have simultaneously investigated their interaction and high variability among future projections. We modeled possible effects of a suite of 2030, 2060, and 2090 land‐use and climate scenarios on the condition of 70,772 small streams...
Authors
Kelly O. Maloney, Kevin P. Krause, Claire Buchanan, Lauren Hay, Gregory J. McCabe, Zachary M. Smith, Terry L. Sohl, John A. Young
Soil surface elevation dynamics in a mangrove-to-marsh ecotone characterized by vegetation shifts Soil surface elevation dynamics in a mangrove-to-marsh ecotone characterized by vegetation shifts
Mangrove forest encroachment into coastal marsh habitats has been described in subtropical regions worldwide in recent decades. To better understand how soil processes may influence vegetation change, we studied soil surface elevation change, accretion rates, and soil subsurface change across a coastal salinity gradient in Florida, USA, an area with documented mangrove encroachment into...
Authors
Rebecca J. Howard, Andrew From, Ken W. Krauss, Kimberly D. Andres, Nicole Cormier, Larry K. Allain, Michael Savarese
Habitat of the endangered salt marsh harvest mouse (Reithrodontomys raviventris) in San Francisco Bay Habitat of the endangered salt marsh harvest mouse (Reithrodontomys raviventris) in San Francisco Bay
Understanding habitat associations is vital for conservation of at‐risk marsh‐endemic wildlife species, particularly those under threat from sea level rise. We modeled environmental and habitat associations of the marsh‐endemic, Federally endangered salt marsh harvest mouse (Reithrodontomys raviventris, RERA) and co‐occurrence with eight associated small mammal species from annual trap...
Authors
Bruce G. Marcot, Isa Woo, Karen M. Thorne, Chase M. Freeman, Glenn R. Guntenspergen
An open source database for the synthesis of soil radiocarbon data: ISRaD version 1.0 An open source database for the synthesis of soil radiocarbon data: ISRaD version 1.0
Radiocarbon is a critical constraint on our estimates of the timescales of soil carbon cycling that can aid in identifying mechanisms of carbon stabilization and destabilization and improve the forecast of soil carbon response to management or environmental change. Despite the wealth of soil radiocarbon data that have been reported over the past 75 years, the ability to apply these data...
Authors
Corey R. Lawrence, Jeffrey Beem-Miller, Alison Hoyt, Grey Monroe, Carlos Sierra, Shane Stoner, Katherine Heckman, Joseph Blankinship, Susan Crow, Gavin McNichol, Susan Trumbore, Paul Levine, Olga Vinduskova, Katherine Todd-Brown, Craig Rasmussen, Caitlin Hicks Pries, Christina Schadel, Karis J. McFarlane, Sebastian Doetterl, Christine Hatte, Yujie He, Claire C. Treat, Jennifer W. Harden, Margaret S. Torn, Cristian Estop-Aragonés, Asmeret A. Berhe, Marco Keiluweit, Agatha Della Rosa Kuhnen, Erika Marin-Spiotta, Alain F. Plante, Aaron Thompson, Zheng Shi, Joshua P. Schimel, Lydia J.S. Vaughn, Sophie F. von Fromm, Rota Wagai
Patterns of denitrification potential in tidal freshwater forested wetlands Patterns of denitrification potential in tidal freshwater forested wetlands
Limited evidence for spatial patterns of denitrification in tidal freshwater forested wetlands (TFFWs), seemingly due to high spatial variability in the process, is surprising considering the various spatial gradients of its biogeochemical and hydrogeomorphic controls in these ecosystems. Because certain physical environmental gradients may be useful for the prediction of denitrification...
Authors
Alicia R. Korol, Gregory B. Noe
Soil microbial communities and global change Soil microbial communities and global change
Soils and soil microbial communities mediate the biogeochemical processes that underly ecosystem-level changes. This chapter examines why soils and soil microbial communities are important for understanding impacts and feedbacks to global change. It discusses the technological approaches and challenges that are at the frontiers of this research area. Global change impacts on microbial...
Authors
Mark P. Waldrop, Courtney Creamer
Holocene sedimentary architecture and paleoclimate variability at Mono Lake, California Holocene sedimentary architecture and paleoclimate variability at Mono Lake, California
Mono Lake occupies an internally drained basin on the eastern flank of the Sierra Nevada, and it is sensitive to climatic changes affecting precipitation in the mountains (largely delivered in the form of snowpack). Efforts to recover cores from the lake have been impeded by coarse tephra erupted from the Mono Craters, and by disruption of the lake floor due to the uplift of Paoha Island...
Authors
Susan H Zimmerman, Sidney R. Hemming, Scott W. Starratt
Scientist’s guide to developing explanatory statistical models using causal analysis principles Scientist’s guide to developing explanatory statistical models using causal analysis principles
Recent discussions of model selection and multimodel inference highlight a general challenge for researchers, which is how to clearly convey the explanatory content of a hypothesized model or set of competing models. The advice from statisticians for scientists employing multimodel inference is to develop a well‐thought‐out set of candidate models for comparison, though precise...
Authors
James B. Grace, Kathryn Irvine
Invertebrate communities of Prairie-Pothole wetlands in the age of the aquatic Homogenocene Invertebrate communities of Prairie-Pothole wetlands in the age of the aquatic Homogenocene
Simplification of communities is a common consequence of anthropogenic modification. However, the prevalence and mechanisms of biotic homogenization among wetland systems require further examination. Biota of wetlands in the North American Prairie Pothole Region are adapted to high spatial and temporal variability in ponded-water duration and salinity. Recent climate change, however, has...
Authors
Kyle I. McLean, David M. Mushet, Jon N. Sweetman, Michael J. Anteau, Mark T. Wiltermuth
Alternative stable states in inherently unstable systems Alternative stable states in inherently unstable systems
Alternative stable states are nontransitory states within which communities can exist. However, even highly dynamic communities can be viewed within the framework of stable‐state theory if an appropriate “ecologically relevant” time scale is identified. The ecologically relevant time scale for dynamic systems needs to conform to the amount of time needed for a system's community to...
Authors
David M. Mushet, Owen P. McKenna, Kyle I. McLean
Traversing the wasteland: A framework for assessing ecological threats to drylands Traversing the wasteland: A framework for assessing ecological threats to drylands
Drylands cover 41% of the Earth's terrestrial surface, play a critical role in global ecosystem function, and are home to over two billion people. Like other biomes, drylands face increasing pressure from global change, but many of these ecosystems are close to tipping points, which, if crossed, can lead to abrupt transitions and persistent degraded states. Their limited but variable...
Authors
David L. Hoover, Brandon T. Bestelmeyer, Nancy B. Grimm, Travis E. Huxman, Sasha C. Reed, Osvaldo E. Sala, Timothy Seastedt, Hailey Wilmer, Scott Ferrenberg