Darius Semmens is a Research Physical Scientist with the Geosciences and Environmental Change Science Center
He received a B.S. in Geology from The University of Minnesota (1995), an M.S. in Geology (emphasis in Geomorphology) from Northern Arizona University (1998), and a Ph.D. in Watershed Management (minor in Remote Sensing and Spatial Analysis) from The University of Arizona (2004). From 2004-2007, he was a postdoctoral fellow with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Research and Development. During this time he was also an adjunct professor and part-time instructor in the Department of Landscape Architecture at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. He joined the Rocky Mountain Geographic Science Center in 2008 as a research physical scientist. His current research interests include the development of new methods and tools for the assessment and valuation of ecosystem goods and services - the specific benefits that we derive from nature. More specifically, his work involves developing methods and tools that can account for the spatial and temporal dynamics of service production and incorporate that and other information into more rigorous analyses of the tradeoffs associated with landscape management. Darius is the USGS Co-Director of the Science Impact Laboratory for Policy and Economics (SILPE) at the University of New Mexico.
Science and Products
Social Values for Ecosystem Services (SolVES)
Ecosystem Services Assessment and Valuation
Ecosystem Services Valuation Pilot Study
Spatial Subsidies: Quantifying Linkages between Human and Natural Systems with Migratory Species
Monarch Conservation Science Partnership
Animal Migration and Spatial Subsidies: Establishing a Framework for Conservation Markets
Developing the next generation of USGS resource assessments
Spatial social value distributions for multiple user groups in a coastal national park
Multi-species, multi-country analysis reveals North Americans are willing to pay for transborder migratory species conservation, data
Multi-species, multi-country analysis reveals North Americans are willing to pay for transborder migratory species conservation, code
Perceived Social Value of the Sonoita Creek Watershed using the Social Values for Ecosystem Services (SolVES) Tool, Arizona, U.S.A.
Data release for Using social-context matching to improve transfer performance for cultural ecosystem service models
Data release for ecosystem service flows from a migratory species: spatial subsidies of the northern pintail
Review of articles pertaining to landscape perceptions
Using ecosystem services to identify inequitable outcomes in migratory species conservation
Spatial social value distributions for multiple user groups in a coastal national park
Multi-species, multi-country analysis reveals North Americans are willing to pay for transborder migratory species conservation
Social Values for Ecosystem Services (SolVES): Open-source spatial modeling of cultural services
TrendPowerTool: A lookup tool for estimating the statistical power of a monitoring program to detect population trends
Social Values for Ecosystem Services, version 4.0 (SolVES 4.0)—Documentation and user manual
Quantifying the contribution of habitats and pathways to a spatially structured population facing environmental change
Mapping perceived social values to support a respondent-defined restoration economy: Case study in southeastern Arizona, USA
Challenges for leveraging citizen science to support statistically robust monitoring programs
Sustaining Environmental Capital Initiative summary report
Is the timing, pace and success of the monarch migration associated with sun angle?
Quantifying source and sink habitats and pathways in spatially structured populations: A generalized modelling approach
Non-USGS Publications**
**Disclaimer: The views expressed in Non-USGS publications are those of the author and do not represent the views of the USGS, Department of the Interior, or the U.S. Government.
Science and Products
- Science
Social Values for Ecosystem Services (SolVES)
In response to the need for incorporating quantified and spatially explicit measures of social values into ecosystem service assessments, the geographic information system (GIS) application, Social Values for Ecosystem Services (SolVES), was developed. SolVES is designed to assess, map, and quantify the perceived social values of ecosystem services. Social values, the perceived, nonmarket values...Ecosystem Services Assessment and Valuation
Ecosystem services are the benefits that nature provides to human well-being: clean air and water, protection from natural disasters, fisheries, crop pollination and control of pests and disease, and outdoor places for recreation, solitude, and renewal. Ecosystem services underlie the functioning of our entire economy. They are neither worthless nor priceless, and by integrating the physical...Ecosystem Services Valuation Pilot Study
This project will use newly-collected data on human use and values, paired with existing ecological data and open source software tools to map what, where, and how people value the Cape Lookout National Seashore, North Carolina (CALO) landscape for a variety of different social value types. In addition, we will model and map biophysical features, the provision and use of key ecosystem services...Spatial Subsidies: Quantifying Linkages between Human and Natural Systems with Migratory Species
Animal migration occurs because it allows animals to exploit resources where and when they are most abundant by moving seasonally between habitats. Where humans have come to exploit, enjoy or otherwise benefit from migratory species, we too are capitalizing on the seasonal bounty of distant ecosystems. The benefits we derive from migratory species are economically and culturally important; they...Monarch Conservation Science Partnership
The Challenge Over the last two decades, the Eastern migratory population of monarch butterflies has declined by about 80%, leading many scientists to consider how to best conserve and rebuild monarch populations. Conservation efforts can be challenging to design and execute because of the multi-generational migration of monarchs that spans North America. Conservationists must consider many...Animal Migration and Spatial Subsidies: Establishing a Framework for Conservation Markets
Migratory species may provide more ecosystem goods and services to humans in certain parts of their range than others. These areas may or may not coincide with the locations of habitat on which the species is most dependent for its continued population viability. This situation can present significant policy challenges, as locations that most support a given species may be in effect subsidizing thDeveloping the next generation of USGS resource assessments
Resource assessments constitute a key part of the USGS mission, and represent a crucial contribution toward Department of the Interior (DOI) and broader Federal objectives. Current USGS energy and mineral assessment methods evaluate total technically recoverable resources (energy) or economically exploitable materials (minerals); the fiscal year 2010 budget for this work is $82M. To help stakehol - Data
Spatial social value distributions for multiple user groups in a coastal national park
Public participation geographic information systems (PPGIS) is increasingly used in coastal settings to inform natural resource management and spatial planning. Social Values for Ecosystem Services (SolVES), a PPGIS tool that systematizes the mapping and modeling of social values and cultural ecosystem services, is promising for use in coastal settings but has seen relatively limited applicationsMulti-species, multi-country analysis reveals North Americans are willing to pay for transborder migratory species conservation, data
Migratory species often provide ecosystem service benefits to people in one country while receiving habitat support in other countries. The multinational cooperation necessary to ensure continued provisioning of these benefits by migrational processes may be informed by understanding the benefits that people in different countries derive from migratory wildlife. We conducted stated preferences surMulti-species, multi-country analysis reveals North Americans are willing to pay for transborder migratory species conservation, code
Migratory species often provide ecosystem service benefits to people in one country while receiving habitat support in other countries. The multinational cooperation necessary to ensure continued provisioning of these benefits by migrational processes may be informed by understanding the benefits that people in different countries derive from migratory wildlife. We conducted stated preferences surPerceived Social Value of the Sonoita Creek Watershed using the Social Values for Ecosystem Services (SolVES) Tool, Arizona, U.S.A.
Mapping the spatial dynamics of perceived social value across the landscape can help develop a restoration economy that can support ecosystem services in the region. Many different methods have been used to map perceived social value. We used the Social Values for Ecosystem Services (SolVES) GIS tool, version 3.0, which uses social survey responses and various environmental variables to map socialData release for Using social-context matching to improve transfer performance for cultural ecosystem service models
Spatial planning is becoming an increasingly important component of managing natural resources in the face of growing demands upon and threats to our public lands. Efforts to model and map the goods and services derived from ecosystems provide important information to planning efforts, permitting the analysis of tradeoffs or costs and benefits associated with management alternatives. Much progressData release for ecosystem service flows from a migratory species: spatial subsidies of the northern pintail
Migratory species provide important benefits to society, but their cross-border conservation poses serious challenges. By quantifying the economic value of ecosystem services (ES) provided across a species range and ecological data on a species habitat dependence, we estimate spatial subsidieshow different regions support ES provided by a species across its range. We illustrate this method for migReview of articles pertaining to landscape perceptions
This data file contains a list of journal articles found in a recent search for research relevant to studying landscape perceptions. We collected all peer reviewed academic articles containing the keywords landscape and perception on the web of science resulting in 3497 records. To eliminate studies not directly addressing landscape perception we filtered out medical journal articles (n=1211). We - Publications
Filter Total Items: 71
Using ecosystem services to identify inequitable outcomes in migratory species conservation
Biodiversity conservation efforts have been criticized for generating inequitable socio-economic outcomes. These equity challenges are largely analyzed as place-based problems affecting local communities directly impacted by conservation programs. The conservation of migratory species extends this problem geographically since people in one place may benefit while those in another bear the costs ofSpatial social value distributions for multiple user groups in a coastal national park
Managing public lands to maximize societal benefits requires spatially explicit understanding of societal valuation, and public participation geographic information systems (PPGIS) are increasingly used in coastal settings to accomplish this task. Social Values for Ecosystem Services (SolVES), a PPGIS tool that systematizes the mapping and modeling of social values and cultural ecosystem services,Multi-species, multi-country analysis reveals North Americans are willing to pay for transborder migratory species conservation
Migratory species often provide ecosystem service benefits to people in one country while receiving habitat support in other countries. The multinational cooperation that could help ensure continued provisioning of these benefits by migration may be informed by understanding the economic values people in different countries place on the benefits they derive from migratory wildlife.We conducted conSocial Values for Ecosystem Services (SolVES): Open-source spatial modeling of cultural services
Social Values for Ecosystem Services (SolVES) version 4.0 is a fully open-source, GIS-based tool designed to aid in the creation of quantitative, spatially explicit models of the nonmonetary values attributed to cultural ecosystem services, such as aesthetics and recreation, specifically to facilitate their incorporation into larger ecosystem service assessments. Newly redeveloped for QGIS, SolVESTrendPowerTool: A lookup tool for estimating the statistical power of a monitoring program to detect population trends
A simulation-based power analysis can be used to estimate the sample sizes needed for a successful monitoring program, but requires technical expertise and sometimes extensive computing resources. We developed a web-based lookup app, called TrendPowerTool (https://www.usgs.gov/apps/TrendPowerTool/), to provide guidance for ecological monitoring programs when resources are not available for a simulSocial Values for Ecosystem Services, version 4.0 (SolVES 4.0)—Documentation and user manual
The geographic information system tool, Social Values for Ecosystem Services (SolVES), was developed to incorporate quantified and spatially explicit measures of social values into ecosystem service assessments. SolVES 4.0 provides an open-source version of SolVES, which was designed to assess, map, and quantify the social values of ecosystem services. Social values—the perceived, nonmarket valuesQuantifying the contribution of habitats and pathways to a spatially structured population facing environmental change
The consequences of environmental disturbance and management are difficult to quantify for spatially structured populations because changes in one location carry through to other areas as a result of species movement. We develop a metric, G, for measuring the contribution of a habitat or pathway to network-wide population growth rate in the face of environmental change. This metric is different frMapping perceived social values to support a respondent-defined restoration economy: Case study in southeastern Arizona, USA
Investment in conservation and ecological restoration depends on various socioeconomic factors and the social license for these activities. Our study demonstrates a method for targeting management of ecosystem services based on social values, identified by respondents through a collection of social survey data. We applied the Social Values for Ecosystem Services (SolVES) geographic information sysChallenges for leveraging citizen science to support statistically robust monitoring programs
Large samples and long time series are often needed for effective broad-scale monitoring of status and trends in wild populations. Obtaining those sample sizes can be more feasible when volunteers contribute to the dataset, but volunteer-selected sites are not always representative of a population. Previous work to account for biased site selection has relied on knowledge of covariates to explainSustaining Environmental Capital Initiative summary report
Federal agencies need credible scientific information to determine the production and value of ecosystem services in an efficient and timely manner. The U.S. Geological Survey addresses this scientific information need through the Sustaining Environmental Capital Initiative project. The project has relied on U.S. Geological Survey expertise related to water, fisheries, advanced modeling, and econoIs the timing, pace and success of the monarch migration associated with sun angle?
A basic question concerning the monarch butterfly’s fall migration is which monarchs succeed in reaching overwintering sites in Mexico, which fail—and why. We document the timing and pace of the fall migration, ask whether the sun’s position in the sky is associated with the pace of the migration, and whether timing affects success in completing the migration. Using data from the Monarch Watch tagQuantifying source and sink habitats and pathways in spatially structured populations: A generalized modelling approach
The ability to classify habitats and movement pathways as sources or sinks is an important part of the decision making process for the conservation of spatially structured populations. Diverse approaches have been used to quantify the importance of habitats and pathways in a spatial network, however these approaches have been limited by a lack of general applicability across life histories and movNon-USGS Publications**
Liu, Y., Mahmoud, M., Hartmann, H., Stewart, S., Wagener, T., Semmens, D., Stewart, R., Gupta, H., Dominguez, D., Hulse, D., Letcher, R., Rashleigh, B., Smith, C., Street, R., Ticehurst, J., Twery, M., van Delden, H., Waldick, R., White, D., and Winter, L., 2008, Formal scenario development for environmental impact assessment studies, in Jakeman, A., A. Voinov, A. E. Rizzoli, and S. Chen, (Eds.) Environmental Modelling, Software and Decision Support, 3. IDEA Book Series, Elsevier, 338 pp.Kepner, W.G., Hernandez, M., Semmens, D.J., and Goodrich D.C.,2008, The Use of Scenario Analysis to Assess Future Landscape Change on Watershed Condition in the Pacific Northwest (USA), in Use of Landscape Sciences for Environmental Security: NATO Security through Science Series, Springer Publishers, The Netherlands. ISBN 978-1-4020-6588-0, pp. 237-261.Kepner, W.G., Semmens, D.J., Hernandez, M., and Goodrich, D.C., 2008, Evaluating Hydrological Response to Forecasted Land-use Change, Chapter 15 in Special Issue of Association of American Geographers. North American Land Cover Summit. Washington, DC. pp. 275-292. ISBN 978-0-89291-271-1.Semmens, D.J., Goodrich, D.C., Unkrich, C.L., Smith, R.E., Woolhiser, D.A., and Miller, S.N., 2008, KINEROS2 and the AGWA modeling framework, in Wheater, H., Sorooshian, S., and Sharma, K.D., eds., Hydrological Modelling In Arid and Semi-Arid Areas: Cambridge University Press, New York, 206pp.Miller, S.N., Semmens, D.J., Goodrich, D.C., Hernandez, M., Miller, R.C., Kepner, W.G., and Guertin, D.P., 2007, The Automated Geospatial Watershed Assessment tool: Environmental Modeling and Software, v. 22, n. 3, p. 365-377.Nikolova, M., S. Nedkov, D. Semmens, and S. Iankov, 2007, Environmental quality and landscape-risk assessment in the Yantra River Basin, in W. Kepner, W., Müller, F., Petrosillio, I., Jones, B., Krauze, K., Victorov, S., and Zurlini, G., (eds.), Use of Landscape Sciences for the Assessment of Environmental Security: NATO Security Through Science Series, Springer Publications, p. 202-217.Kepner, W.G., Semmens, D.J., Basset, S.D., Mouat, D.A., Goodrich, D.C., 2004, Scenario analysis for the San Pedro River, analyzing hydrological consequences for a future environment: Environmental Modeling and Assessment, v. 94, p. 115-127.**Disclaimer: The views expressed in Non-USGS publications are those of the author and do not represent the views of the USGS, Department of the Interior, or the U.S. Government.