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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

Long-term nitrogen addition shifts the soil nematode community to bacterivore-dominated and reduces its ecological maturity in a subalpine forest Long-term nitrogen addition shifts the soil nematode community to bacterivore-dominated and reduces its ecological maturity in a subalpine forest

Nitrogen deposition from anthropogenic sources is a global problem that reaches even the most remote ecosystems. Responses belowground vary by ecosystem, and have feedbacks to geochemical processes, including carbon storage. A long-term nitrogen addition study in a subalpine forest has shown carbon loss over time, atypical for a forest ecosystem. Loss of microbial biomass is likely...
Authors
E. Ashley Shaw, Claudia M. Boot, John C. Moore, Diana H. Wall, Jill Baron

Sediment trapping and carbon sequestration in floodplains of the lower Atchafalaya Basin, LA: Allochthonous vs. autochthonous carbon sources Sediment trapping and carbon sequestration in floodplains of the lower Atchafalaya Basin, LA: Allochthonous vs. autochthonous carbon sources

Recent studies suggest that about 2 Pg of organic C is stored on floodplains worldwide. The present study indicates the Atchafalaya River, fifth largest river in the United States in terms of discharge, traps 30 mm/y of sediment on average within its floodplain, which is the highest average non‐episodic rate of fluvial deposition on the U.S. Coastal Plain. We installed sediment sampling...
Authors
Cliff R. Hupp, Daniel E. Kroes, Gregory B. Noe, Edward R. Schenk, Richard H. Day

The mighty Susquehanna—extreme floods in Eastern North America during the past two millennia The mighty Susquehanna—extreme floods in Eastern North America during the past two millennia

The hazards posed by infrequent major floods to communities along the Susquehanna River and the ecological health of Chesapeake Bay remain largely unconstrained due to the short length of streamgage records. Here we develop a history of high‐flow events on the Susquehanna River during the late Holocene from flood deposits contained in MD99‐2209, a sediment core recovered in 26 m of water...
Authors
Michael Toomey, Meagan Cantwell, Steven Colman, Thomas M. Cronin, Jeffrey P. Donnelly, Liviu Giosan, Clifford Heil, Robert L. Korty, Marci E. Marot, Debra A. Willard

The potential role of very high-resolution imagery to characterise lake, wetland and stream systems across the Prairie Pothole Region, United States The potential role of very high-resolution imagery to characterise lake, wetland and stream systems across the Prairie Pothole Region, United States

Aquatic features critical to watershed hydrology range widely in size from narrow, shallow streams to large, deep lakes. In this study we evaluated wetland, lake, and river systems across the Prairie Pothole Region to explore where pan-sharpened high-resolution (PSHR) imagery, relative to Landsat imagery, could provide additional data on surface water distribution and movement, missed by...
Authors
Melanie K. Vanderhoof, Charles R. Lane

A bibliometric profile of the Remote Sensing Open Access Journal published by MDPI between 2009 and 2018 A bibliometric profile of the Remote Sensing Open Access Journal published by MDPI between 2009 and 2018

Remote Sensing Open Access Journal (RS OAJ) is an international leading journal in the field of remote sensing science and technology. It was first published in the year 2009 and is currently celebrating tenth year of publications. In this research, a bibliometric analysis of RS OAJ was conducted based on 5588 articles published during the 10-year (2009–2018) time-period. The...
Authors
YuYing Zhang, Prasad S. Thenkabail, Peng Wang

Adaptive management assists reintroduction as higher tides threaten an endangered salt marsh plant Adaptive management assists reintroduction as higher tides threaten an endangered salt marsh plant

In theory, extirpated plant species can be reintroduced and managed to restore sustainable populations. However, few reintroduced plants are known to persist for more than a few years. Our adaptive‐management case study illustrates how we restored the endangered hemiparasitic annual plant, Chloropyron maritimum subsp. maritimum (salt marsh bird's beak), to Sweetwater Marsh, San Diego Bay...
Authors
Gregory B. Noe, Meghan Fellows, Lorraine Parsons, Janelle West, John C. Callaway, Sally Trnka, Mark Wegener, Joy Zedler

Linking landscapes and people—Projecting the future of the Great Plains Linking landscapes and people—Projecting the future of the Great Plains

We developed a unique set of landscape projections for the Great Plains that use real land-management parcels to represent landscape patterns at high spatial and thematic resolution.Both anthropogenic land use and natural vegetation respond in the model to projected changes in groundwater availability and climate change.Thirty-three scenario combinations were modeled, facilitating...
Authors
Terry L. Sohl, Jordan Dornbierer, Steve Wika

Considerations for Globigerinoides ruber (white and pink) paleoceanography: Comprehensive insights from a long‐running sediment trap Considerations for Globigerinoides ruber (white and pink) paleoceanography: Comprehensive insights from a long‐running sediment trap

We present a detailed analysis of the seasonal distribution, size, morphological variability and geochemistry of co‐occurring pink and white chromotypes of Globigerinoides ruberfrom a high‐resolution (1–2 weeks) and long‐running sediment trap time series in the northern Gulf of Mexico. We find no difference in the seasonal flux of the two chromotypes. Although flux of G. ruber is...
Authors
Julie N. Richey, Kaustubh Thirumalai, Deborah Khider, Caitlin E. Reynolds, Judson W. Partin, Terrence M. Quinn

Climate change, coral loss, and the curious case of the parrotfish paradigm: Why don't marine protected areas improve reef resilience? Climate change, coral loss, and the curious case of the parrotfish paradigm: Why don't marine protected areas improve reef resilience?

Scientists have advocated for local interventions, such as creating marine protected areas and implementing fishery restrictions, as ways to mitigate local stressors to limit the effects of climate change on reef-building corals. However, in a literature review, we find little empirical support for the notion of managed resilience. We outline some reasons for why marine protected areas...
Authors
John F. Bruno, Isabelle M. Cote, Lauren T. Toth

Changes in the active, dead, and dormant microbial community structure across a Pleistocene permafrost chronosequence Changes in the active, dead, and dormant microbial community structure across a Pleistocene permafrost chronosequence

Permafrost hosts a community of microorganisms that survive and reproduce for millennia despite extreme environmental conditions such as water stress, subzero temperatures, high salinity, and low nutrient availability. Many studies focused on permafrost microbial community composition use DNA-based methods such as metagenomic and 16S rRNA gene sequencing. However, these methods do not...
Authors
Alexander Burkert, Thomas A. Douglas, Mark Waldrop, Rachel Mackelprang

Effect of permafrost thaw on plant and soil fungal community in the boreal forest: Does fungal community change mediate plant productivity response? Effect of permafrost thaw on plant and soil fungal community in the boreal forest: Does fungal community change mediate plant productivity response?

Permafrost thaw is leading to rapid shifts in boreal ecosystem function. Permafrost thaw affects soil carbon turnover through changes in soil hydrology, however, the biotic mechanisms regulating plant community response remain elusive. Here, we measured the response of fungal community composition and soil nutrient content in an intact permafrost plateau forest soil and an adjacent...
Authors
Ursel M.E Schütte, Jeremiah A. Henning, Yuzhen Ye, A. Bowling, James D. Ford, Helene Genet, Mark Waldrop, Merritt R. Turetsky, Jeffrey R. White, James D Bever

Biological and mineralogical controls over cycling of low molecular weight organic compounds along a soil chronosequence Biological and mineralogical controls over cycling of low molecular weight organic compounds along a soil chronosequence

Low molecular weight organic compounds (LMWOC) represent a small but critical component of soil organic matter (SOM) for microbial growth and metabolism. The fate of these compounds is largely under microbial control, yet outside the cell, intrinsic soil properties can also significantly influence their turnover and retention. Using a chronosequence representing 1200 ka of pedogenic...
Authors
Jack McFarland, Mark P. Waldrop, Daniel Strawn, Courtney Creamer, Corey R. Lawrence, Monica Haw
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