Publications
Listed here are publications, reports and articles by the Land Change Science Program in the USGS Ecosystems Mission Area.
Filter Total Items: 1145
Fine‐resolution conservation planning with limited climate‐change information Fine‐resolution conservation planning with limited climate‐change information
Climate‐change induced uncertainties in future spatial patterns of conservation‐related outcomes make it difficult to implement standard conservation‐planning paradigms. A recent study translates Markowitz's risk‐diversification strategy from finance to conservation settings, enabling conservation agents to use this diversification strategy for allocating conservation and restoration...
Authors
Payal Shah, Mindy Mallory, Amy Ando, Glenn Guntenspergen
A synthesis of radial growth patterns preceding tree mortality A synthesis of radial growth patterns preceding tree mortality
Tree mortality is a key factor influencing forest functions and dynamics, but our understanding of the mechanisms leading to mortality and the associated changes in tree growth rates are still limited. We compiled a new pan-continental tree-ring width database from sites where both dead and living trees were sampled (2970 dead and 4224 living trees from 190 sites, including 36 species)...
Authors
Maxime Cailleret, Steven Jansen, Elisabeth Robert, Lucia Desoto, Tuomas Aakala, Joseph Antos, Barbara Beikircher, Christof Bigler, Harald Bugmann, Marco Caccianiga, Vojtech Cada, Jesus Camarero, Paolo Cherubini, Herve Cochard, Marie Coyea, Katarina Cufar, Adrian J. Das, Hendrik Davi, Sylvain Delzon, Michael Dorman, Guillermo Gea-Izquierdo, Sten Gillner, Laurel Haavik, Henrik Hartmann, Ana-Maria Heres, Kevin Hultine, Pavel Janda, Jeffrey Kane, Vyacheslav I. Kharuk, Thomas Kitzberger, Tamir Klein, Koen Kramer, Frederic Lens, Tom Levanic, Juan Calderon, Francisco Lloret, Raquel Lobo-Do-Vale, Fabio Lombardi, Rosana Lopez Rodriguez, Harri Makinen, Stefan Mayr, IIona Meszaros, Juha Metsaranta, Francesco Minunno, Walter Oberhuber, Andreas Papadopoulos, Mikko Peltoniemi, Any M. Petritan, Brigitte Rohner, Gabriel Sanguesa-Barreda, Dimitrios Sarris, Jeremy Smith, Amanda Stan, Frank Sterck, Dejan Stojanovic, Maria Suarez, Miroslav Svoboda, Roberto Tognetti, Jose Torres-Ruiz, Volodymyr Trotsiuk, Ricardo Villalba, Floor Vodde, Alana Westwood, Peter Wyckoff, Nikolay Zafirov, Jordi Martínez-Vilalta
Application of decision science to resilience management in Jamaica Bay Application of decision science to resilience management in Jamaica Bay
This book highlights the growing interest in management interventions designed to enhance the resilience of the Jamaica Bay socio-ecological system. Effective management, whether the focus is on managing biological processes or human behavior or (most likely) both, requires decision makers to anticipate how the managed system will respond to interventions (i.e., via predictions or...
Authors
Mitchell Eaton, Angela Fuller, Fred Johnson, M. Hare, Richard Stedman
Temperature and hydrology affect methane emissions from Prairie Pothole Wetlands Temperature and hydrology affect methane emissions from Prairie Pothole Wetlands
The Prairie Pothole Region (PPR) in central North America consists of millions of depressional wetlands that each have considerable potential to emit methane (CH4). Changes in temperature and hydrology in the PPR from climate change may affect methane fluxes from these wetlands. To assess the potential effects of changes in climate on methane emissions, we examined the relationships...
Authors
Sheel Bansal, Brian Tangen, Raymond Finocchiaro
Interaction between climate, volcanism, and isostatic rebound in Southeast Alaska during the last deglaciation Interaction between climate, volcanism, and isostatic rebound in Southeast Alaska during the last deglaciation
Observations of enhanced volcanic frequency during the last deglaciation have led to the hypothesis that ice unloading in glaciated volcanic terrains can promote volcanism through decompression melting in the shallow mantle or a reduction in crustal magma storage time. However, a direct link between regional climate change, isostatic adjustment, and the initiation of volcanism remains to...
Authors
Summer Praetorius, Alan Mix, Britta Jensen, Duane Froese, Glenn Milne, Matthew Wolhowe, Jason Addison, Fred Prahl
On the importance of stratigraphic control for vertebrate fossil sites in Channel Islands National Park, California, USA: Examples from new Mammuthus finds on San Miguel Island On the importance of stratigraphic control for vertebrate fossil sites in Channel Islands National Park, California, USA: Examples from new Mammuthus finds on San Miguel Island
Quaternary vertebrate fossils, most notably mammoth remains, are relatively common on the northern Channel Islands of California. Well-preserved cranial, dental, and appendicular elements of Mammuthus exilis (pygmy mammoth) and Mammuthus columbi (Columbian mammoth) have been recovered from hundreds of localities on the islands during the past half-century or more. Despite this...
Authors
Jeffery S. Pigati, Daniel R. Muhs, John McGeehin
Groundwater level trends and drivers in two northern New England glacial aquifers Groundwater level trends and drivers in two northern New England glacial aquifers
We evaluated long-term trends and predictors of groundwater levels by month from two well-studied northern New England forested headwater glacial aquifers: Sleepers River, Vermont, 44 wells, 1992-2013; and Hubbard Brook, New Hampshire, 15 wells, 1979-2004. Based on Kendall Tau tests with Sen slope determination, a surprising number of well-month combinations had negative trends...
Authors
James Shanley, Ann Chalmers, Thomas Mack, Thor Smith, Philip Harte
Climate change and dissolved organic carbon export to the Gulf of Maine Climate change and dissolved organic carbon export to the Gulf of Maine
Ongoing climate change is affecting the concentration, export (flux), and timing of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) exported to the Gulf of Maine (GoM) through changes in hydrologic regime. DOC export was calculated for water years 1950 through 2013 for 20 rivers and for water years 1930 through 2013 for 14 rivers draining to the GoM. DOC export was also estimated for the 21st century...
Authors
Thomas Huntington, William Balch, George Aiken, Justin Sheffield, Lifeng Luo, Collin Roesler, Philip Camill
Seismic evidence of glacial-age river incision into the Tahaa barrier reef, French Polynesia Seismic evidence of glacial-age river incision into the Tahaa barrier reef, French Polynesia
Rivers have long been recognized for their ability to shape reef-bound volcanic islands. On the time-scale of glacial–interglacial sea-level cycles, fluvial incision of exposed barrier reef lagoons may compete with constructional coral growth to shape the coastal geomorphology of ocean islands. However, overprinting of Pleistocene landscapes by Holocene erosion or sedimentation has...
Authors
Michael Toomey, Jonathan Woodruff, Andrew Ashton, J. Perron
Calcareous microfossil-based orbital cyclostratigraphy in the Arctic Ocean Calcareous microfossil-based orbital cyclostratigraphy in the Arctic Ocean
Microfaunal and geochemical proxies from marine sediment records from central Arctic Ocean (CAO) submarine ridges suggest a close relationship over the last 550 thousand years (kyr) between orbital-scale climatic oscillations, sea-ice cover, marine biological productivity and other parameters. Multiple paleoclimate proxies record glacial to interglacial cycles. To understand the climate...
Authors
Rachel Marzen, Lauren DeNinno, Thomas Cronin
Status and trends of land change in the Eastern United States—1973 to 2000 Status and trends of land change in the Eastern United States—1973 to 2000
Preface U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Professional Paper 1794–D is the fourth in a four-volume series on the status and trends of the Nation’s land use and land cover, providing an assessment of the rates and causes of land-use and land-cover change in the Eastern United States between 1973 and 2000. Volumes A, B, and C provide similar analyses for the Western United States, the Great...
Radiocarbon constraints imply reduced carbon uptake by soils during the 21st century Radiocarbon constraints imply reduced carbon uptake by soils during the 21st century
Soil is the largest terrestrial carbon reservoir and may influence the sign and magnitude of carbon cycle-climate feedbacks. Many Earth system models (ESMs) estimate a significant soil carbon sink by 2100, yet the underlying carbon dynamics determining this response have not been systematically tested against observations. We used 14C data from 157 globally distributed soil profiles...
Authors
Yujie He, Susan E. Trumbore, Margaret Torn, Jennifer Harden, Lydia J.S. Vaughn, Steven Allison, J. Randerson