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Land Management Research Program

Our research focus is on ecosystems, the biological communities of interacting organisms and their physical environment. Much of our research is about how to restore and manage ecosystems while maximizing their ability to support biodiversity and services (e. g. coastal protection, water availability, pollination, food, erosion control etc.) and preparing for anticipated climate change impacts.

Read the Landscape Science Strategy

Ecosystem Research

Looking towards mountain peaks from shore of Knox Lake

The Nation’s ecosystems are complex, dynamic, and exposed to a rapidly changing climate among other threats.  USGS scientists study how ecosystems function, the impacts of stressors, and make predictions about their future to improve restoration and management outcomes.

Explore Ecosystem Research

Firelight

Wildfire in Mason Valley, Nevada

Firelight provides updates on the latest USGS fire science for a changing world. Each issue features a variety of our wildland fire science, providing information, data and tools for use by managers before, during, and after fires.

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Publications

Symbiotic nitrogen fixation does not stimulate soil phosphatase activity under temperate and tropical trees

Symbiotic nitrogen (N)-fixing plants can enrich ecosystems with N, which can alter the cycling and demand for other nutrients. Researchers have hypothesized that fixed N could be used by plants and soil microbes to produce extracellular phosphatase enzymes, which release P from organic matter. Consistent with this speculation, the presence of N-fixing plants is often associated with high phosphata
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Land Management Research Program, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center

Experimental manipulation of soil-surface albedo alters phenology and growth of Bromus tectorum (cheatgrass)

PurposeThe sensitivity of wildland plants to temperature can be directly measured using experimental manipulations of temperature in situ. We show that soil surface temperature and plant density (per square meter) have a significant impact on the germination, growth, and phenology of Bromus tectorum L., cheatgrass, a short-statured invasive winter-annual grass, and assess a new experimental temper
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Land Management Research Program, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center

Effects of structure and volcanic stratigraphy on groundwater and surface water flow: Hat Creek basin, California, USA

Hydrogeologic systems in the southern Cascade Range in California (USA) develop in volcanic rocks where morphology, stratigraphy, extensional structures, and attendant basin geometry play a central role in groundwater flow paths, groundwater/surface-water interactions, and spring discharge locations. High-volume springs (greater than 3 m3/s) flow from basin-filling (
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Water Resources Mission Area, Land Management Research Program, Volcano Hazards Program, California Water Science Center, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center, Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center, Volcano Science Center
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Science

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Vegetation patterns affect both soil moisture and the amount of sunlight that reaches the soil.

Ecosystems We Study: Forests

Forests are a key component of a healthy ecosystem. Management of these resources is vital to their protection as a recreational resource as well as an environmental resource.
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Land Management Research Program
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Ecosystems We Study: Forests

Forests are a key component of a healthy ecosystem. Management of these resources is vital to their protection as a recreational resource as well as an environmental resource.
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Everglades National Park

USGS Everglades Research Office - Florida

The Daniel Beard Center in Everglades National Park provides the base for most of the field work done on the control of invasive reptiles by USGS Fort Collins Science Center staff. The team works in Everglades National Park, Big Cypress National Preserve, Crocodile Lake National Wildlife Refuge, and other parts of the Greater Everglades Ecosystem focusing on, among other species of concern...
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Biological Threats and Invasive Species Research Program, Land Management Research Program, Fort Collins Science Center
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USGS Everglades Research Office - Florida

The Daniel Beard Center in Everglades National Park provides the base for most of the field work done on the control of invasive reptiles by USGS Fort Collins Science Center staff. The team works in Everglades National Park, Big Cypress National Preserve, Crocodile Lake National Wildlife Refuge, and other parts of the Greater Everglades Ecosystem focusing on, among other species of concern...
Learn More
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Dryland, shrub-dominated plant community typical of sandy substrates

Informing seed transfer guidelines and native plant materials development: Research supporting restoration across the Colorado Plateau and beyond

As restoration needs for natural landscapes grow due to higher frequency and/or intensity disturbances, pressure from invasive species, and impacts resulting from changing climates, considerable time and resources are being invested to guide the development and deployment of native plant materials (NPMs). Across lower elevations of the Colorado Plateau, a region composed primarily of public land...
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Land Management Research Program, Southwest Biological Science Center
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Informing seed transfer guidelines and native plant materials development: Research supporting restoration across the Colorado Plateau and beyond

As restoration needs for natural landscapes grow due to higher frequency and/or intensity disturbances, pressure from invasive species, and impacts resulting from changing climates, considerable time and resources are being invested to guide the development and deployment of native plant materials (NPMs). Across lower elevations of the Colorado Plateau, a region composed primarily of public land...
Learn More
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