Cliff Hupp
Cliff Hupp is a Scientist Emeritus at the Florence Bascom Geoscience Center.
Dr. Cliff R. Hupp is the Lead Scientist of the Vegetation and Hydrogeomorphology Project of the U.S. Geological Survey, National Research Program in Reston, Virginia, where he has been since 1978. Presently, he is the Research Advisor for the Geomorphology and Sediment Transport Group. He has investigated fluvial geomorphology and riparian vegetation ecology in relation to landforms and hydrologic processes for 35 years. Additional research includes studies on forested wetland biogeochemistry, channel evolution, floodplain processes and forms, sedimentation dynamics, and carbon sequestration in riparian ecosystems in the U.S. and Europe.
C.R. Hupp's background is in both plant ecology and fluvial geomorphology, and importantly the transition area(s) between these two fields. Specific areas include: vegetation patterns (species distribution) in the face of hydrogeomorphic form and process, dynamic equilibrium in fluvial (and occasionally hillslope) systems, sediment deposition and erosion in riparian areas (in channel and on floodplains), wetland hydrogeomorphic interactions with plant ecology, channel/riparian zone evolution, eco-hydrogeomorphic impacts from human alteration, organic material (carbon) dynamics in biogeochemical based studies, dendrogeomorphology, large wood dynamics in lowland rivers, vegetation-derived channel/floodplain roughness, and once upon a time-- flood frequency/magnitude analyses. He has published widely in refereed papers of journals, books, and symposia proceedings. Cliff was a student of the late John T. Hack at the George Washington University, where he received his doctorate in 1984 in plant ecology and geomorphology. He received his M.S. degree from George Mason University in plant ecology (1979). Dr. Hupp is the 1993 recipient of the Ecological Society of America, W.C. Cooper Award for outstanding research in physiographic ecology. He received the U.S. Department of Interior Superior Service Award in 2006 and the Senior Research Award of the Association of Southeastern Biologists in 2010. He served as section editor for the ESA journals “Ecology” and “Ecological Monographs” from 1999 until 2009 and is co-editor of the Ecogeomorphology Volume of the Treatise in Geomorphology. This project’s research in the cross-disciplinary field of geomorphic forms and processes and vegetation ecology, particularly (but not limited to) in alluvial areas is recognized within the Division, the USGS, and worldwide as a leader in this field. A paper on riparian vegetation and fluvial geomorphology (Hupp and Osterkamp, 1996) is the third most frequently cited paper published in the journal Geomorphology. Since 1992 this project has greatly increased the number of wetlands studied for sedimentation rates, and has been instrumental in providing guidance to other researchers both inside and outside the USGS who have also dramatically increased this number. This has lead to a worldwide greater appreciatio
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Storms, channel changes, and a sediment budget for an urban-suburban stream, Difficult Run, Virginia, USA
Altered hydrologic and geomorphic processes and bottomland hardwood plant communities of the lower White River Basin
Contemporary deposition and long-term accumulation of sediment and nutrients by tidal freshwater forested wetlands impacted by sea level rise
Vegetation as a tool in the interpretation of fluvial geomorphic processes and landforms
Head-of-tide bottleneck of particulate material transport from watersheds to estuaries
The influence of logjams on largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) concentrations on the lower Roanoke River, a large sand-bed river
Coastal and wetland ecosystems of the Chesapeake Bay watershed: Applying palynology to understand impacts of changing climate, sea level, and land use
Sources of fine-grained sediment in the Linganore Creek watershed, Frederick and Carroll Counties, Maryland, 2008-10
Soil greenhouse gas emissions and carbon budgeting in a short-hydroperiod floodplain wetland
Patterns of floodplain sediment deposition along the regulated lower Roanoke River, North Carolina: annual, decadal, centennial scales
Vegetation composition, nutrient, and sediment dynamics along a floodplain landscape
Sediment accretion in tidal freshwater forests and oligohaline marshes of the Waccamaw and Savannah Rivers, USA
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Storms, channel changes, and a sediment budget for an urban-suburban stream, Difficult Run, Virginia, USA
Determining erosion and deposition rates in urban-suburban settings and how these processes are affected by large storms is important to understanding geomorphic processes in these landscapes. Sediment yields in the suburban and urban Upper Difficult Run are among the highest ever recorded in the Chesapeake Bay watershed, ranging from 161 to 376 Mg/km2/y. Erosion and deposition of streambanks, chaAuthorsAllen C. Gellis, Michael Myers, Gregory B. Noe, Cliff R. Hupp, Edward Shenk, Luke MyersAltered hydrologic and geomorphic processes and bottomland hardwood plant communities of the lower White River Basin
Introduction The work explained in this report was conducted to assess geomorphic adjustment of the lower White River, Arkansas, to hydrologic modifications and establish forest age and community structure within selected communities within the floodplain. Also, the HEC–GeoRAS model was evaluated for predicting flood depth and duration within the floodplain. Hydrologic modeling using HEC–GeoRAS isAuthorsSammy L. King, Richard F. Keim, Cliff R. Hupp, Brandon L. Edwards, Whitney A. Kroschel, Erin L. Johnson, J. Wesley CochranContemporary deposition and long-term accumulation of sediment and nutrients by tidal freshwater forested wetlands impacted by sea level rise
Contemporary deposition (artificial marker horizon, 3.5 years) and long-term accumulation rates (210Pb profiles, ~150 years) of sediment and associated carbon (C), nitrogen (N), and phosphorus (P) were measured in wetlands along the tidal Savannah and Waccamaw rivers in the southeastern USA. Four sites along each river spanned an upstream-to-downstream salinification gradient, from upriver tidal fAuthorsGregory B. Noe, Cliff R. Hupp, Christopher E. Bernhardt, Ken W. KraussVegetation as a tool in the interpretation of fluvial geomorphic processes and landforms
This chapter exemplifies that vegetation can be used as a tool for geomorphic interpretation in several major ways. It presents a general overview: through dendrogeomorphic analysis (tree rings) to estimate the timing of important geomorphic events including floods and mass wasting and to estimate rates of erosion and sedimentation; through the documentation and interpretation of species distributAuthorsCliff R. Hupp, S Dufour, G BornetteHead-of-tide bottleneck of particulate material transport from watersheds to estuaries
We measured rates of sediment, C, N, and P accumulation at four floodplain sites spanning the nontidal through oligohaline Choptank and Pocomoke Rivers, Maryland, USA. Ceramic tiles were used to collect sediment for a year and sediment cores were collected to derive decadal sedimentation rates using 137Cs. The results showed highest rates of short- and long-term sediment, C, N, and P accumulationAuthorsScott H. Ensign, Gregory B. Noe, Cliff R. Hupp, Katherine SkalakThe influence of logjams on largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) concentrations on the lower Roanoke River, a large sand-bed river
This study examines the relation between logjams and largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) on the alluvial sand-bed lower Roanoke River. Disparate data sets from previous bank erosion, fisheries, and large wood studies were used to compare the distribution of largemouth bass with logjam frequency. Logjams are related to the frequency of bank mass wasting increasing from near an upstream dam to tAuthorsEdward R. Schenk, Jeremy W. McCargo, Bertrand Moulin, Cliff R. Hupp, Jean M. RichterCoastal and wetland ecosystems of the Chesapeake Bay watershed: Applying palynology to understand impacts of changing climate, sea level, and land use
The mid-Atlantic region and Chesapeake Bay watershed have been influenced by fluctuations in climate and sea level since the Cretaceous, and human alteration of the landscape began ~12,000 years ago, with greatest impacts since colonial times. Efforts to devise sustainable management strategies that maximize ecosystem services are integrating data from a range of scientific disciplines to understaAuthorsDebra A. Willard, Christopher E. Bernhardt, Cliff R. Hupp, Wayne L. NewellSources of fine-grained sediment in the Linganore Creek watershed, Frederick and Carroll Counties, Maryland, 2008-10
Sediment fingerprinting quantifies the delivery of fine-grained sediment from a watershed and sediment-budget measurements quantify the erosion and deposition of fine-grained sediment. Both approaches were used in the agricultural and forested 147-square-kilometer (km2) Linganore Creek watershed in Maryland from August 1, 2008 through December 31, 2010, to determine the sources of fine-grained (leAuthorsAllen C. Gellis, Gregory B. Noe, John W. Clune, Michael K. Myers, Cliff R. Hupp, Edward R. Schenk, Gregory E. SchwarzSoil greenhouse gas emissions and carbon budgeting in a short-hydroperiod floodplain wetland
Understanding the controls on floodplain carbon (C) cycling is important for assessing greenhouse gas emissions and the potential for C sequestration in river-floodplain ecosystems. We hypothesized that greater hydrologic connectivity would increase C inputs to floodplains that would not only stimulate soil C gas emissions but also sequester more C in soils. In an urban Piedmont river (151 km2 watAuthorsJackie Batson, Gregory B. Noe, Cliff R. Hupp, Ken W. Krauss, Nancy B. Rybicki, Edward R. SchenkPatterns of floodplain sediment deposition along the regulated lower Roanoke River, North Carolina: annual, decadal, centennial scales
The lower Roanoke River on the Coastal Plain of North Carolina is not embayed and maintains a floodplain that is among the largest on the mid-Atlantic Coast. This floodplain has been impacted by substantial aggradation in response to upstream colonial and post-colonial agriculture between the mid-eighteenth and mid-nineteenth centuries. Additionally, since the mid-twentieth century stream flow hasAuthorsCliff R. Hupp, Edward R. Schenk, Daniel Kroes, Debra A. Willard, Phil A. Townsend, Robert K. PeetVegetation composition, nutrient, and sediment dynamics along a floodplain landscape
Forested floodplains are important landscape features for retaining river nutrients and sediment loads but there is uncertainty in how vegetation influences nutrient and sediment retention. In order to understand the role of vegetation in nutrient and sediment trapping, we quantified species composition and the uptake of nutrients in plant material relative to landscape position and ecosystem attrAuthorsNancy B. Rybicki, Gregory B. Noe, Cliff R. Hupp, Myles RobinsonSediment accretion in tidal freshwater forests and oligohaline marshes of the Waccamaw and Savannah Rivers, USA
Sediment accretion was measured at four sites in varying stages of forest-to-marsh succession along a fresh-to-oligohaline gradient on the Waccamaw River and its tributary Turkey Creek (Coastal Plain watersheds, South Carolina) and the Savannah River (Piedmont watershed, South Carolina and Georgia). Sites included tidal freshwater forests, moderately salt-impacted forests at the freshwater–oligohaAuthorsScott H. Ensign, Cliff R. Hupp, Gregory B. Noe, Ken W. Krauss, Camille L. Stagg - News