Caitlin Andrews is an ecologist with the Southwest Biological Science Center.
Science and Products
Modernizing sensor data workflows to leverage Internet of Things (IoT) and cloud-based technologies
Drought is a major problem in the American Southwest that is expected to worsen under the effects of climate change. Currently, the Southwest Biological Science Center is monitoring the effects of drought with soil moisture probes in a range of ecosystems across an elevational gradient on the Colorado Plateau. These data are used in multiple studies to analyze the effects of drought on vegetation
USGS Cloud Environment Cookbook
The cloud offers new and exciting opportunities for USGS employees to leverage computing resources and services that can quickly improve their workflows and reduce expenditures typically associated with establishing a comparable environment with physical infrastructure. However, due to the novelty of access to and use of the cloud environment, there is limited documentation and shared examples det
Integrating short-term climate forecast into a restoration management support tool
Natural resources managers are regularly required to make decisions regarding upcoming restoration treatments, often based on little more than business as usual practices. To assist in the decision-making process, we created a tool that predicts site-specific soil moisture and climate for the upcoming year, and provides guidance on whether common restoration activities (i.e. seeding, planting) wil
An Interactive Web-Based Tool for Anticipating Long-term Drought Risk
Droughts are becoming more frequent and severe and this trend is expected to continue in the coming century. Drought effects on natural resources include reduced water availability for plants and humans, as well as increased insect, disease, and vegetation mortality. Land managers need more information regarding how water availability may change and how drought will affect their sites in the futur
Limnology data from Lake Powell, desert southwest USA
These data were compiled as part of a long-term (1964 - 2021) water quality monitoring program at Lake Powell. Objectives of our study were to release a consistent record of long-term water quality data. The 58-year limnology dataset captures some water quality parameters (temperature, salinity, major ions, total suspended solids) from reservoir filling to present day. It also contains a 38-year r
Historical and future ecological drought conditions for rangelands of the western U.S.
These NetCDF data were compiled to investigate how rangelands in the western U.S. are limited by access to water. As a result, these ecosystems may be especially vulnerable to changes in water availability and drought as a result of climate change. This project utilized an ecosystem water balance model to quantify spatial and temporal patterns of rangeland ecological drought conditions under histo
Estimated tree mortality, basal area, climate, and drought conditions for ponderosa pine in forest inventory plots across the western U.S.
These data consist of environmental covariates and estimated plot-level mortality of ponderosa pine trees. Environmental covariates include growing season temperature and soil moisture, and values are summarized into long-term mean conditions, and anomalies observed between forest inventory sampling events for each plot. Data also include plot locations (with uncertainty introduced by the US Fores
Daily Climate and Soil Moisture Data for the Southern Colorado Plateau Network Parks, 1980 - 2018
These data are daily climate, water balance, and soil moisture data for 300 plots in the National Park Service (NPS) Southern Colorado Plateau Network (SCPN) Inventory & Monitoring (I&M) network. Climate data was collected from a gridded, daily climate dataset, Daymet (https://daymet.ornl.gov/). Climate, alongside field-collected soils (SoilDepthsByPlot.csv) and vegetation information, wer
Stand density and climate data in the Taylor Woods study area (Fort Valley Experimental Forest) on the Colorado Plateau in Northern Arizona, 1961-2011
These data were compiled for research pertaining to the effects of stand density on growth rates in semi-arid forests. Increasing heat and aridity in coming decades is expected to negatively impact tree growth and threaten forest sustainability in dry areas. Maintaining low stand density has the potential to mitigate the negative effects of increasingly severe droughts by minimizing competitive in
Ecological drought for sagebrush seedings in the Great Basin
Monthly Standardize Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI), Daily soil-water potential (MPa) and soil temperature (degree C) data for plots from SageSuccess. The SageSuccess Project is a joint effort between USGS, BLM, and FWS to understand how to establish big sagebrush and ultimately restore functioning sagebrush ecosystems. Improving the success of land management treatments to restore s
Simulated Soil Water Potential in National Parks and Monuments of the Southern Colorado Plateau, 1915-2099 - Data
These data were simulated using the SOILWAT model and were intended to characterize soil-water conditions at different ecological sites on the Southern Colorado Plateau. SOILWAT is a daily, site-specific, multi soil-layer, ecosystem water-balance model, driven by daily meteorology, as well as site soil texture and vegetation. The sites simulated correspond with Inventory and Monitoring (I&M) plots
Filter Total Items: 15
Proceedings of the Fiscal Year 2022 Annual Reporting Meeting to the Glen Canyon Dam Adaptive Management Program
(Hartwell) This report is prepared primarily to account for work conducted and products delivered in FY 2022 by GCMRC and to inform the Technical Work Group of science conducted by GCMRC and its cooperators in support of the Glen Canyon Dam Adaptive Management Program (GCDAMP).
It includes a summary of accomplishments, modifications to work plans, results, and recommendations related to projects i
Over half a century record of limnology data from Lake Powell, desert southwest United States: From reservoir filling to present day (1964–2021)
Lake Powell is a large water storage reservoir in the arid southwestern United States. Here, we present a 58-yr limnology dataset that captures water quality parameters from reservoir filling to present day (temperature, salinity, major ions, total suspended solids), as well as a 38-yr record of Secchi depth, and a ~ 30-yr record of nutrients, phytoplankton, and zooplankton assemblages. The datase
Landscape-scale forest restoration decreases vulnerability to drought mortality under climate change in southwest USA ponderosa forest
Drought-induced tree mortality is predicted to increase in dry forests across the western USA as future projections show hotter, drier climates potentially resulting in large-scale tree die-offs, changes in species composition, and loss of forest ecosystem services, including carbon storage. While some studies have found that forest stands with greater basal areas (BA) have higher drought mortalit
Are drought indices and climate data good indicators of ecologically relevant soil moisture dynamics in drylands?
Droughts are disproportionately impacting global dryland regions where ecosystem health and function are tightly coupled to moisture availability. Drought severity is commonly estimated using algorithms such as the standardized precipitation-evapotranspiration index (SPEI), which can estimate climatic water balance impacts at various hydrologic scales by varying computational length. However, the
Tree mortality response to drought-density interactions suggests opportunities to enhance drought resistance
The future of dry forests around the world is uncertain given predictions that rising temperatures and enhanced aridity will increase drought-induced tree mortality. Using forest management and ecological restoration to reduce density and competition for water offers one of the few pathways that forests managers can potentially minimize drought-induced tree mortality. Competition for water during
Non-analog increases to air, surface, and belowground temperature extreme events due to climate change
Air temperatures (Ta) are rising in a changing climate, increasing extreme temperature events. Examining how Ta increases are influencing extreme temperatures at the soil surface and belowground in the soil profile can refine our understanding of the ecological consequences of rising temperatures. In this paper, we validate surface and soil temperature (Ts: 0–100-cm depth) simulations in the SOILW
Landscape‐scale restoration minimizes tree growth vulnerability to 21st century drought in a dry forest
Increasing aridity is a challenge for forest managers and reducing stand density to minimize competition is a recognized strategy to mitigate drought impacts on growth. In many dry forests, the most widespread and common forest management programs currently being implemented focus on restoration of historical stand structures, primarily to minimize fire risk and enhance watershed function. The imp
Community for data integration 2018 funded project report
The U.S. Geological Survey Community for Data Integration annually funds small projects focusing on data integration for interdisciplinary research, innovative data management, and demonstration of new technologies. This report provides a summary of the 10 projects funded in fiscal year 2018, outlining their goals, activities, and accomplishments.
Low stand density moderates growth declines during hot droughts in semi-arid forests
Increasing heat and aridity in coming decades is expected to negatively impact tree growth and threaten forest sustainability in dry areas. Maintaining low stand density has the potential to mitigate the negative effects of increasingly severe droughts by minimizing competitive intensity.However, the direct impact of stand density on the growing environment (i.e. soil moisture), and the specific d
Small-scale water deficits after wildfires create long-lasting ecological impacts
Ecological droughts are deficits in soil–water availability that induce threshold-like ecosystem responses, such as causing altered or degraded plant-community conditions, which can be exceedingly difficult to reverse. However, 'ecological drought' can be difficult to define, let alone to quantify, especially at spatial and temporal scales relevant to land managers. This is despite a growing need
Stand density, drought, and herbivory constrain ponderosa pine regeneration pulse
Trees in dry forests often regenerate in episodic pulses when wet periods coincide with ample seed production. Factors leading to success or failure of regeneration pulses are poorly understood. We investigated the impacts of stand thinning on survival and growth of the 2013 cohort of ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa Douglas ex P. Lawson & C. Lawson) seedlings in northern Arizona, United States. We
Transient population dynamics impede restoration and may promote ecosystem transformation after disturbance
The apparent failure of ecosystems to recover from increasingly widespread disturbance is a global concern. Despite growing focus on factors inhibiting resilience and restoration, we still know very little about how demographic and population processes influence recovery. Using inverse and forward demographic modelling of 531 post‐fire sagebrush populations across the western US, we show that demo
Science and Products
- Science
Modernizing sensor data workflows to leverage Internet of Things (IoT) and cloud-based technologies
Drought is a major problem in the American Southwest that is expected to worsen under the effects of climate change. Currently, the Southwest Biological Science Center is monitoring the effects of drought with soil moisture probes in a range of ecosystems across an elevational gradient on the Colorado Plateau. These data are used in multiple studies to analyze the effects of drought on vegetationUSGS Cloud Environment Cookbook
The cloud offers new and exciting opportunities for USGS employees to leverage computing resources and services that can quickly improve their workflows and reduce expenditures typically associated with establishing a comparable environment with physical infrastructure. However, due to the novelty of access to and use of the cloud environment, there is limited documentation and shared examples detIntegrating short-term climate forecast into a restoration management support tool
Natural resources managers are regularly required to make decisions regarding upcoming restoration treatments, often based on little more than business as usual practices. To assist in the decision-making process, we created a tool that predicts site-specific soil moisture and climate for the upcoming year, and provides guidance on whether common restoration activities (i.e. seeding, planting) wilAn Interactive Web-Based Tool for Anticipating Long-term Drought Risk
Droughts are becoming more frequent and severe and this trend is expected to continue in the coming century. Drought effects on natural resources include reduced water availability for plants and humans, as well as increased insect, disease, and vegetation mortality. Land managers need more information regarding how water availability may change and how drought will affect their sites in the futur - Data
Limnology data from Lake Powell, desert southwest USA
These data were compiled as part of a long-term (1964 - 2021) water quality monitoring program at Lake Powell. Objectives of our study were to release a consistent record of long-term water quality data. The 58-year limnology dataset captures some water quality parameters (temperature, salinity, major ions, total suspended solids) from reservoir filling to present day. It also contains a 38-year rHistorical and future ecological drought conditions for rangelands of the western U.S.
These NetCDF data were compiled to investigate how rangelands in the western U.S. are limited by access to water. As a result, these ecosystems may be especially vulnerable to changes in water availability and drought as a result of climate change. This project utilized an ecosystem water balance model to quantify spatial and temporal patterns of rangeland ecological drought conditions under histoEstimated tree mortality, basal area, climate, and drought conditions for ponderosa pine in forest inventory plots across the western U.S.
These data consist of environmental covariates and estimated plot-level mortality of ponderosa pine trees. Environmental covariates include growing season temperature and soil moisture, and values are summarized into long-term mean conditions, and anomalies observed between forest inventory sampling events for each plot. Data also include plot locations (with uncertainty introduced by the US ForesDaily Climate and Soil Moisture Data for the Southern Colorado Plateau Network Parks, 1980 - 2018
These data are daily climate, water balance, and soil moisture data for 300 plots in the National Park Service (NPS) Southern Colorado Plateau Network (SCPN) Inventory & Monitoring (I&M) network. Climate data was collected from a gridded, daily climate dataset, Daymet (https://daymet.ornl.gov/). Climate, alongside field-collected soils (SoilDepthsByPlot.csv) and vegetation information, werStand density and climate data in the Taylor Woods study area (Fort Valley Experimental Forest) on the Colorado Plateau in Northern Arizona, 1961-2011
These data were compiled for research pertaining to the effects of stand density on growth rates in semi-arid forests. Increasing heat and aridity in coming decades is expected to negatively impact tree growth and threaten forest sustainability in dry areas. Maintaining low stand density has the potential to mitigate the negative effects of increasingly severe droughts by minimizing competitive inEcological drought for sagebrush seedings in the Great Basin
Monthly Standardize Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI), Daily soil-water potential (MPa) and soil temperature (degree C) data for plots from SageSuccess. The SageSuccess Project is a joint effort between USGS, BLM, and FWS to understand how to establish big sagebrush and ultimately restore functioning sagebrush ecosystems. Improving the success of land management treatments to restore sSimulated Soil Water Potential in National Parks and Monuments of the Southern Colorado Plateau, 1915-2099 - Data
These data were simulated using the SOILWAT model and were intended to characterize soil-water conditions at different ecological sites on the Southern Colorado Plateau. SOILWAT is a daily, site-specific, multi soil-layer, ecosystem water-balance model, driven by daily meteorology, as well as site soil texture and vegetation. The sites simulated correspond with Inventory and Monitoring (I&M) plots - Publications
Filter Total Items: 15
Proceedings of the Fiscal Year 2022 Annual Reporting Meeting to the Glen Canyon Dam Adaptive Management Program
(Hartwell) This report is prepared primarily to account for work conducted and products delivered in FY 2022 by GCMRC and to inform the Technical Work Group of science conducted by GCMRC and its cooperators in support of the Glen Canyon Dam Adaptive Management Program (GCDAMP). It includes a summary of accomplishments, modifications to work plans, results, and recommendations related to projects iOver half a century record of limnology data from Lake Powell, desert southwest United States: From reservoir filling to present day (1964–2021)
Lake Powell is a large water storage reservoir in the arid southwestern United States. Here, we present a 58-yr limnology dataset that captures water quality parameters from reservoir filling to present day (temperature, salinity, major ions, total suspended solids), as well as a 38-yr record of Secchi depth, and a ~ 30-yr record of nutrients, phytoplankton, and zooplankton assemblages. The dataseLandscape-scale forest restoration decreases vulnerability to drought mortality under climate change in southwest USA ponderosa forest
Drought-induced tree mortality is predicted to increase in dry forests across the western USA as future projections show hotter, drier climates potentially resulting in large-scale tree die-offs, changes in species composition, and loss of forest ecosystem services, including carbon storage. While some studies have found that forest stands with greater basal areas (BA) have higher drought mortalitAre drought indices and climate data good indicators of ecologically relevant soil moisture dynamics in drylands?
Droughts are disproportionately impacting global dryland regions where ecosystem health and function are tightly coupled to moisture availability. Drought severity is commonly estimated using algorithms such as the standardized precipitation-evapotranspiration index (SPEI), which can estimate climatic water balance impacts at various hydrologic scales by varying computational length. However, theTree mortality response to drought-density interactions suggests opportunities to enhance drought resistance
The future of dry forests around the world is uncertain given predictions that rising temperatures and enhanced aridity will increase drought-induced tree mortality. Using forest management and ecological restoration to reduce density and competition for water offers one of the few pathways that forests managers can potentially minimize drought-induced tree mortality. Competition for water duringNon-analog increases to air, surface, and belowground temperature extreme events due to climate change
Air temperatures (Ta) are rising in a changing climate, increasing extreme temperature events. Examining how Ta increases are influencing extreme temperatures at the soil surface and belowground in the soil profile can refine our understanding of the ecological consequences of rising temperatures. In this paper, we validate surface and soil temperature (Ts: 0–100-cm depth) simulations in the SOILWLandscape‐scale restoration minimizes tree growth vulnerability to 21st century drought in a dry forest
Increasing aridity is a challenge for forest managers and reducing stand density to minimize competition is a recognized strategy to mitigate drought impacts on growth. In many dry forests, the most widespread and common forest management programs currently being implemented focus on restoration of historical stand structures, primarily to minimize fire risk and enhance watershed function. The impCommunity for data integration 2018 funded project report
The U.S. Geological Survey Community for Data Integration annually funds small projects focusing on data integration for interdisciplinary research, innovative data management, and demonstration of new technologies. This report provides a summary of the 10 projects funded in fiscal year 2018, outlining their goals, activities, and accomplishments.Low stand density moderates growth declines during hot droughts in semi-arid forests
Increasing heat and aridity in coming decades is expected to negatively impact tree growth and threaten forest sustainability in dry areas. Maintaining low stand density has the potential to mitigate the negative effects of increasingly severe droughts by minimizing competitive intensity.However, the direct impact of stand density on the growing environment (i.e. soil moisture), and the specific dSmall-scale water deficits after wildfires create long-lasting ecological impacts
Ecological droughts are deficits in soil–water availability that induce threshold-like ecosystem responses, such as causing altered or degraded plant-community conditions, which can be exceedingly difficult to reverse. However, 'ecological drought' can be difficult to define, let alone to quantify, especially at spatial and temporal scales relevant to land managers. This is despite a growing needStand density, drought, and herbivory constrain ponderosa pine regeneration pulse
Trees in dry forests often regenerate in episodic pulses when wet periods coincide with ample seed production. Factors leading to success or failure of regeneration pulses are poorly understood. We investigated the impacts of stand thinning on survival and growth of the 2013 cohort of ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa Douglas ex P. Lawson & C. Lawson) seedlings in northern Arizona, United States. WeTransient population dynamics impede restoration and may promote ecosystem transformation after disturbance
The apparent failure of ecosystems to recover from increasingly widespread disturbance is a global concern. Despite growing focus on factors inhibiting resilience and restoration, we still know very little about how demographic and population processes influence recovery. Using inverse and forward demographic modelling of 531 post‐fire sagebrush populations across the western US, we show that demo - News