Publications
Publications, scientific literature, and information products from the Land Change Science Program.
Filter Total Items: 565
Life history characteristics may be as important as climate projections for defining range shifts: An example for common tree species in the intermountain western US Life history characteristics may be as important as climate projections for defining range shifts: An example for common tree species in the intermountain western US
Aim Predictions of future suitable habitat for plant species with climate change are known to be affected by uncertainty associated with statistical approaches, climate models and occurrence records. However, life history characteristics related to dispersal and establishment processes as well as sensitivity to barriers created by land‐use may also play important roles in shaping future
Authors
Stella Copeland, John Bradford, Michael Duniway, Bradley Butterfield
Amendments fail to hasten biocrust recovery or soil stability at a disturbed dryland sandy site Amendments fail to hasten biocrust recovery or soil stability at a disturbed dryland sandy site
In most drylands, biological soil crusts (biocrusts), an assemblage of lichens, bryophytes, fungi, green algae, and cyanobacteria, are critical to healthy ecosystem function. However, they are extremely sensitive to disturbance and attempts to facilitate their recovery have had variable success. In this study, we applied soil amendments designed to improve soil surface stability and...
Authors
David Chandler, Natalie Day, Matthew Madsen, Jayne Belnap
Fish Lake limnology and watershed aqueous geochemistry, Fish Lake Plateau, Utah Fish Lake limnology and watershed aqueous geochemistry, Fish Lake Plateau, Utah
Fish Lake is located at 2696 m elevation on the Fish Lake Plateau with a bedrock geology of Oligocene to Pliocene age volcanics and Cretaceous to Eocene age sedimentary rocks. Lake bathymetry indicates a maximum depth of ~27 m and volume of 2.31 x 108 m3. The lake is dimictic with summer water column temperature declines of 13˚C between 7 to 15 m depth, whereas in spring and fall water...
Authors
David Marchetti, Lesleigh Anderson, Joseph Donovan, M. Harris, Tyler Huth
Evaluating the relationship among wetland vertical development, elevation capital, sea-level rise and tidal marsh sustainability Evaluating the relationship among wetland vertical development, elevation capital, sea-level rise and tidal marsh sustainability
Accelerating sea-level rise and human impacts to the coast (e.g., altered sediment supply and hydrology, nutrient loading) influence the accumulation of sediment and organic matter, and thereby impact the ability of coastal tidal wetlands to maintain an elevation consistently within the vegetation growth range. Critical components of marsh sustainability are the marsh elevation within...
Authors
Donald Cahoon, James Lynch, Charles Roman, John Schmit, Dennis Skidds
Global and Arctic climate sensitivity enhanced by changes in North Pacific heat flux Global and Arctic climate sensitivity enhanced by changes in North Pacific heat flux
Arctic amplification is a consequence of surface albedo, cloud, and temperature feedbacks, as well as poleward oceanic and atmospheric heat transport. However, the relative impact of changes in sea surface temperature (SST) patterns and ocean heat flux sourced from different regions on Arctic temperatures are not well constrained. We modify ocean-to-atmosphere heat fluxes in the North...
Authors
Summer Praetorius, Maria Rugenstein, Geeta Persad, Ken Caldeira
Lake sediment fecal and biomass burning biomarkers provide direct evidence for prehistoric human-lit fires in New Zealand Lake sediment fecal and biomass burning biomarkers provide direct evidence for prehistoric human-lit fires in New Zealand
Deforestation associated with the initial settlement of New Zealand is a dramatic example of how humans can alter landscapes through fire. However, evidence linking early human presence and land-cover change is inferential in most continental sites. We employed a multi-proxy approach to reconstruct anthropogenic land use in New Zealand’s South Island over the last millennium using fecal...
Authors
Elena Argiriadis, Dario Battistel, David McWethy, Marco Vecchiato, Torben Kirchgeorg, Natalie Kehrwald, Cathy Whitlock, Janet Wilmshurst, Carlo Barbante
Improving understanding of soil organic matter dynamics by triangulating theories, measurements, and models Improving understanding of soil organic matter dynamics by triangulating theories, measurements, and models
Soil organic matter (SOM) turnover increasingly is conceptualized as a tension between accessibility to microorganisms and protection from decomposition via physical and chemical association with minerals in emerging soil biogeochemical theory. Yet, these components are missing from the original mathematical models of belowground carbon dynamics and remain underrepresented in more recent
Authors
Joseph Blankinship, Susan Crow, Asmeret Berhe, Jennifer Druhan, Katherine Heckman, Marco Keiluweit, Corey Lawrence, Erika Marin-Spiotta, Alain Plante, Craig Rasmussen, Christina Schadel, Joshua Schmiel, Carlos Sierra, Aaron Thomson, Rota Wagai, William Weider
A new high-resolution map of world mountains and an online tool for visualizing and comparing characterizations of global mountain distributions A new high-resolution map of world mountains and an online tool for visualizing and comparing characterizations of global mountain distributions
Answers to the seemingly straightforward questions “what is a mountain?” and “where are the mountains of the world?” are in fact quite complex, and there have been few attempts to map the mountains of the earth in a consistent and rigorous fashion. However, knowing exactly where mountain ecosystems are distributed on the planet is a precursor to conserving them, as called for in...
Authors
Roger Sayre, Charlie Frye, Deniz Karagulle, Jurg Krauer, Sean Breyer, Peter Aniello, Dawn Wright, Davnah Payne, Carolina Adler, Harumi Warner, D. Van Sistine, Jill Cress
Monitoring mountains in a changing world: New horizons for the Global Network for Observations and Information on Mountain Environments (GEO-GNOME) Monitoring mountains in a changing world: New horizons for the Global Network for Observations and Information on Mountain Environments (GEO-GNOME)
Mountains are globally distributed environments that provide significant societal benefits, a function that is increasingly compromised by climatic change, environmental stress, political and socioeconomic transformations, and unsustainable use of natural resources. Gaps in our understanding of these processes and their interactions limit our capacity to inform decisions, where both...
Authors
Carolina Adler, Elisa Palazzi, Aino Kulonen, Jorg Balsiger, Guido Colangeli, Douglas Cripe, Nathan Forsythe, Grace Goss-Durant, Yaniss Guigoz, Jurg Krauer, Davnah Payne, Nicholas Pepin, Manuel Peralvo, Jose Romero, Roger Sayre, Maria Shahgedanova, Rolf Weingartner, Marc Zebisch
Limits to ponderosa pine regeneration following large high-severity forest fires in the United States Southwest Limits to ponderosa pine regeneration following large high-severity forest fires in the United States Southwest
High-severity fires in dry conifer forests of the United States Southwest have created large (>1000 ha) treeless areas that are unprecedented in the regional historical record. These fires have reset extensive portions of Southwestern ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa Lawson & C. Lawson var. scopulorum Engelm.) forest landscapes. At least two recovery options following high-severity fire...
Authors
Collin Haffey, Thomas Sisk, Craig Allen, Andrea Thode, Ellis Margolis
Drivers and mechanisms of tree mortality in moist tropical forests Drivers and mechanisms of tree mortality in moist tropical forests
Tree mortality rates appear to be increasing in moist tropical forests (MTFs) with significant carbon cycle consequences. Here, we review the state of knowledge regarding MTF tree mortality, create a conceptual framework with testable hypotheses regarding the drivers, mechanisms and interactions that may underlie increasing MTF mortality rates, and identify the next steps for improved
Authors
Nate McDowell, Craig Allen, Kristina Anderson‐Teixeira, Paulo Brando, Roel Brienen, Jeff Chambers, Brad Christoffersen, Stuart Davies, Chris Doughty, Alvaro Duque, Fernando Espirito-Santo, Rosie Fisher, Clarissa Fontes, David Galbraith, Devin Goodsman, Charlotte Grossiord, Henrik Hartmann, Jennifer Holm, Daniel J. Johnson, Abd. Kassim, Michael Keller, Charles Koven, Lara Kueppers, Tomo’omi Kumagai, Yadvinder Malhi, Sean McMahon, Maurizio Mencuccini, Patrick Meir, Paul Moorcroft, Helene Muller-Landau, Oliver Phillips, Thomas Powell, Carlos Sierra, John Sperry, Jeff Warren, Chonggang Xu, Xiangtao Xu
International Society for Aeolian Research Distinguished Career Award, 2018 Joseph M. Prospero, Dr. Professor Emeritus, University of Miami International Society for Aeolian Research Distinguished Career Award, 2018 Joseph M. Prospero, Dr. Professor Emeritus, University of Miami
It is a pleasure and an honor to present Dr. Joseph M. Prospero of the University of Miami with the International Society for Aeolian Research(ISAR) Distinguished Career Award for 2018. Joe was born at home in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, one of three sons of Italian immigrant parents. He got interested in science, and particularly chemistry, not only out of curiosity, but also because of “...
Authors
Daniel R. Muhs