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Land Change Science Program

The Land Change Science (LCS) Program strives to advance the understanding of the rates, causes, and consequences of climate and land use change, and the vulnerability and resilience of the Earth system to such changes.

News

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Ancient methods of preventing desertification and recovering from drought

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SBSC TRIBAL PARTNERSHIPS

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Ecological Drought Forecast Tool for Drylands

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Publications

Ecological Coastal Units – Standardized global shoreline characteristics

A new set of resources is now available that describe global shoreline characteristics. High resolution (30 m), globally comprehensive Coastal Segment Units (CSUs) and Ecological Coastal Units (ECUs) were developed in a collaboration between the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), Esri, and the Marine Biodiversity Observation Network (MBON). The data were produced from a segmentation and characterizati
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Roger Sayre, Kevin Butler, Keith Van Graafeiland, Sean Breyer, Dawn Wright
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Core Science Systems Mission Area, Land Change Science Program

Natural infrastructure in dryland streams (NIDS) can establish regenerative wetland sinks that reverse desertification and strengthen climate resilience

In this article we describe the natural hydrogeomorphological and biogeochemical cycles of dryland fluvial ecosystems that make them unique, yet vulnerable to land use activities and climate change. We introduce Natural Infrastructure in Dryland Streams (NIDS), which are structures naturally or anthropogenically created from earth, wood, debris, or rock that can restore implicit function of these
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Laura M. Norman, Rattan Lal, Ellen Wohl, Emily Fairfax, Allen Gellis, Michael M. Pollock
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Land Change Science Program, Western Geographic Science Center

A comprehensive assessment of mangrove species and carbon stock on Pohnpei, Micronesia

Mangrove forests are the most important ecosystems on Pohnpei Island, Federated States of Micronesia, as the island communities of the central Pacific rely on the forests for many essential services including protection from sea-level rise that is occurring at a greater pace than the global average. As part of a multi-component assessment to evaluate vulnerabilities of mangrove forests on Pohnpei,
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Victoria Woltz, Elitsa I. Peneva-Reed, Zhiliang Zhu, Eric L. Bullock, Richard A. MacKenzie, Maybeleen Apwong, Ken Krauss, Dean B. Gesch
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Core Science Systems Mission Area, Ecosystems Mission Area, Land Change Science Program, Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center , Wetland and Aquatic Research Center
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Science

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Logo with man's mugshot and satellite illustration

Eyes on Earth Episode 85 – Landsat 7 Extended Science Mission

Eyes on Earth is a podcast on remote sensing, Earth observation, land change and science, brought to you by the USGS Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center. In this episode, we learn more about Landsat 7’s extended science mission and the resulting circumstance of collecting data from three Landsat satellites.
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Core Science Systems Mission Area, Land Change Science Program, Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center , Landsat Legacy, Landsat Missions
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Eyes on Earth Episode 85 – Landsat 7 Extended Science Mission

Eyes on Earth is a podcast on remote sensing, Earth observation, land change and science, brought to you by the USGS Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center. In this episode, we learn more about Landsat 7’s extended science mission and the resulting circumstance of collecting data from three Landsat satellites.
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Biocrusts on the Colorado Plateau, Utah

Climate Adaptation Strategies for Arid Grasslands

Helping National Parks in the 4-Corners region manage grasslands in a changing climate.
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Land Change Science Program, Land Management Research Program, Southwest Biological Science Center
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Climate Adaptation Strategies for Arid Grasslands

Helping National Parks in the 4-Corners region manage grasslands in a changing climate.
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photo of a dam in a dry stream bed

Rancho Ancón – Water Cycle Augmentation

The USGS is working with partners to understand the impacts of installing structures made from rock, sandbags and wood in channels at a dryland ranch in southern Baja California. Hydrogeological instrumentation, recording observations, modeling hydrogeological scenarios, and an interdisciplinary scientific study of the watershed interactions between water, ecological systems, and human activities...
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Core Science Systems Mission Area, Water Resources Mission Area, Land Change Science Program, Western Geographic Science Center
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Rancho Ancón – Water Cycle Augmentation

The USGS is working with partners to understand the impacts of installing structures made from rock, sandbags and wood in channels at a dryland ranch in southern Baja California. Hydrogeological instrumentation, recording observations, modeling hydrogeological scenarios, and an interdisciplinary scientific study of the watershed interactions between water, ecological systems, and human activities...
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