Sue Phillips
I've been with the USGS since 1997, working as a manager, supervisory biologist and now FRESC's Center Director.
Before joining FRESC's management team, my research focused on the plant, soil, and physiological ecology of arid and semiarid ecosystems, primarily those of the southwestern U.S., but also Africa, the Middle East, Australia, Ecuador, and central Mexico. Before joining the USGS, I spent eight years as a Research Associate at the University of Utah, where I received my M.S. in Plant Physiological Ecology. I received my B.S. in Biology in 1986 from the University of Colorado and worked as a field and lab assistant, then Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) sub-project manager, at the Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research.
Professional Experience
2019-present: Center Director, USGS Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center, Corvallis, OR
2009-2019: Aridlands Research Manager, USGS Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center, Corvallis, OR
2007-2009: Supervisory Biologist, USGS Canyonlands Field Station, Moab, UT
1997-2007: Biologist, USGS Canyonlands Field Station, Moab, UT
1996-1997: Biologist, National Park Service, Moab ,UT
1996-1997: Research Associate, Biology Department, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT
1989-1996: Senior Research Specialist, Biology Department, University of Utah, Salt Lake City ,UT
1985-1987: LTER Subproject Manager, Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research, Boulder, CO
1983-1985: Research Assistant, Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research, Boulder, CO
Education and Certifications
M.S., Biology major with an emphasis in Plant Physiological Ecology,University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT (1996)
B.S., Environmental, Population and Organismal Biology major with an emphasis in Plant Ecology, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO (1986)
Science and Products
If you are unable to access or download a product, email fresc_outreach@usgs.gov a request, including the full citation, or call (541) 750-1030.
Filter Total Items: 32
Long-term plant responses to climate are moderated by biophysical attributes in a North American desert
Recent elevated temperatures and prolonged droughts in many already water-limited regions throughout the world, including the southwestern U.S., are likely to intensify according to future climate-model projections. This warming and drying can negatively affect perennial vegetation and lead to the degradation of ecosystem properties.
To better understand these detrimental effects, we formulate a
Authors
Seth M. Munson, Robert H. Webb, David C. Housman, Kari E. Veblen, Kenneth E. Nussear, Erik A. Beever, Kristine B. Hartney, Maria N. Miriti, Susan L. Phillips, Robert E. Fulton, Nita G. Tallent
Pedological and geological relationships with soil lichen and moss distribution in the eastern Mojave Desert, CA, USA
Biological soil crusts (biocrusts) are ubiquitous in drylands globally. Lichens and mosses are essential biocrust components and provide a variety of ecosystem services, making their conservation and management of interest. Accordingly, understanding what factors are correlated with their distribution is important to land managers. We hypothesized that cover would be related to geologic and pedolo
Authors
Jayne Belnap, David M. Miller, David R. Bedford, Susan L. Phillips
Golden eagle records from the Midwinter Bald Eagle Survey: information for wind energy management and planning
The purpose of this Data Series report is to provide the occasions, locations, and counts when golden eagles were recorded during the annual Midwinter Bald Eagle Surveys. Golden eagles (Aquila chrysaetos) are protected by Federal statutes including the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act (BGEPA) (16 USC 668-668c) and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA) (16 USC 703-12). The U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Authors
Wade Eakle, Patti Haggerty, Mark Fuller, Susan L. Phillips
Successional stage of biological soil crusts: an accurate indicator of ecohydrological condition
Biological soil crusts are a key component of many dryland ecosystems. Following disturbance, biological soil crusts will recover in stages. Recently, a simple classification of these stages has been developed, largely on the basis of external features of the crusts, which reflects their level of development (LOD). The classification system has six LOD classes, from low (1) to high (6). To determi
Authors
Jayne Belnap, Bradford P. Wilcox, Matthew V. Van Scoyoc, Susan L. Phillips
Elevated CO2 did not mitigate the effect of a short-term drought on biological soil crusts
Biological soil crusts (biocrusts) are critical components of arid and semi-arid ecosystems that contribute significantly to carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) fixation, water retention, soil stability, and seedling recruitment. While dry-land ecosystems face a number of environmental changes, our understanding of how biocrusts may respond to such perturbation remains notably poor. To determine the effec
Authors
Timothy M. Wertin, Susan L. Phillips, Sasha C. Reed, Jayne Belnap
Wind energy and wildlife research at the Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center
The United States has embarked on a goal to increase electricity generation from clean, renewable sources by 2012. Towards this end, wind energy is emerging as a widely distributed form of renewable energy throughout the country. The national goal is for energy from wind to supply 20 percent of the country's electricity by 2030. As with many land uses, trade-offs exist between costs and benefits.
Authors
Susan L. Phillips
The influence of stream channels on distributions of Larrea tridentata and Ambrosia dumosa in the Mojave Desert, CA, USA: Patterns, mechanisms and effects of stream redistribution
Drainage channels are among the most conspicuous surficial features of deserts, but little quantitative analysis of their influence on plant distributions is available. We analysed the effects of desert stream channels (‘washes’) on Larrea tridentata and Ambrosia dumosa density and cover on an alluvial piedmont in the Mojave Desert, based on a spatial analysis of transect data encompassing a total
Authors
S. Schwinning, D.R. Sandquist, D. M. Miller, D. R. Bedford, S. L. Phillips, J. Belnap
Sediment losses and gains across a gradient of livestock grazing and plant invasion in a cool, semi-arid grassland, Colorado Plateau, USA
Large sediment fluxes can have significant impacts on ecosystems. We measured incoming and outgoing sediment across a gradient of soil disturbance (livestock grazing, plowing) and annual plant invasion for 9 years. Our sites included two currently ungrazed sites: one never grazed by livestock and dominated by perennial grasses/well-developed biocrusts and one not grazed since 1974 and dominated by
Authors
Jayne Belnap, Richard L. Reynolds, Marith C. Reheis, Susan L. Phillips, Frank Urban, Harland L. Goldstein
Global change and biological soil crusts: Effects of ultraviolet augmentation under altered precipitation regimes and nitrogen additions
Biological soil crusts (BSCs), a consortium of cyanobacteria, lichens, and mosses, are essential in most dryland ecosystems. As these organisms are relatively immobile and occur on the soil surface, they are exposed to high levels of ultraviolet (UV) radiation and atmospheric nitrogen (N) deposition, rising temperatures, and alterations in precipitation patterns. In this study, we applied treatmen
Authors
J. Belnap, S. L. Phillips, S. Flint, J. Money, M. Caldwell
Visually assessing the level of development and soil surface stability of cyanobacterially dominated biological soil crusts
Biological soil crusts (BSCs) are an integral part of dryland ecosystems and often included in long-term ecological monitoring programs. Estimating moss and lichen cover is fairly easy and non-destructive, but documenting cyanobacterial level of development (LOD) is more difficult. It requires sample collection for laboratory analysis, which causes soil surface disturbance. Assessing soil surface
Authors
J. Belnap, S. L. Phillips, D.L. Witwicki, M. E. Miller
Wind erodibility of soils at Fort Irwin, California (Mojave Desert), USA, before and after trampling disturbance: Implications for land management
Recently disturbed and 'control' (i.e. less recently disturbed) soils in the Mojave Desert were compared for their vulnerability to wind erosion, using a wind tunnel, before and after being experimentally trampled. Before trampling, control sites had greater cyanobacterial biomass, soil surface stability, threshold friction velocities (TFV, i.e. the wind speed required to move soil particles), and
Authors
J. Belnap, S. L. Phillips, J. E. Herrick, J.R. Johansen
Dynamics of cover, UV-protective pigments, and quantum yield in biological soil crust communities of an undisturbed Mojave Desert shrubland
Biological soil crusts are an integral part of dryland ecosystems. We monitored the cover of lichens and mosses, cyanobacterial biomass, concentrations of UV-protective pigments in both free-living and lichenized cyanobacteria, and quantum yield in the soil lichen species Collema in an undisturbed Mojave Desert shrubland. During our sampling time, the site received historically high and low levels
Authors
Jayne Belnap, Susan L. Phillips, Stanley D. Smith
Non-USGS Publications**
Brooks, J.R., Buchmann, N., Phillips, S.L., Ehleringer, B., Evans, R.D., Lott, M., Martinelli, L.A., Pockman, W.T., Sandquist, D.R., Sparks, J.P., Sperry, L., Williams, D., Ehleringer, J.R., 2002, Heavy and light beer- A carbon isotope approach to detect C4 carbon in beers of different origins, styles, and prices: Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, v. 50, p. 6413-6418.
Ehleringer, J.R., Phillips, S.L., 1996, Ecophysiological factors contributing to the distributions of several Quercusspecies in the Intermountain West: Annales des Sciences Forestieres, v. 53, p. 291-302.
Ehleringer JR, Sandquist DR, Phillips SL. 1997. Burning coal seams in southern Utah: a natural system for studies of plant responses to elevated CO2. In: A. Raschi, F. Migleietta, R. Tugnetti and P. van Gardingen (eds), Plant Responses to Elevated CO2: Evidence from Natural Springs. Cambridge Univ Press. pp 56-68.
Ehleringer JR, Phillips SL. 1996. Ecophysiological factors contributing to the distributions of several Quercus species in the Intermountain West. Ann For. Sci. 53:291-302.
Lin G, Phillips SL, Ehleringer JR. 1996. Monsoonal precipitation responses of shrubs in a cold desert community on the Colorado Plateau. Oecologia 106:8-17.
Phillips SL, Ehleringer JR. 1995. Limited uptake of summer precipitation by bigtooth maple (Acer grandidentatum Nutt.) and Gambel’s oak (Quercus gambelii Nutt.). Trees 9:214-219.
Schuster WSF, Sandquist DR, Phillips SL, Ehleringer JR. 1994. High levels of genetic variation in populations of four dominant aridland plant species in Arizona. J. of Arid Environ. 27:159-167.
Flanagan LB, Phillips SL, Ehleringer JR, Lloyd J, Farquhar GD. 1994. Effect of changes in leaf water oxygen isotopic changes on discrimination against C18O16O during photosynthetic gas exchange. Aust. J. Plant Phys. 21:221-234.
Sandquist DR, Schuster WSF, Donovan LA, Phillips SL, Ehleringer JR. 1993. Differences in carbon isotope discrimination between seedlings and adults of southwestern desert perennial plants. Southwestern Nat. 38(3):212-217.
Schuster WSF, Phillips SL, Sandquist DR, Ehleringer JR. 1992. Heritability of carbon isotope discrimination in Gutierrezia microcephala (Asteraceae). Amer. J. Bot. 79(2):216-221.
Schuster WSF, Sandquist DR, Phillips SL, Ehleringer JR. 1992. Comparisons of carbon isotope discrimination in populations of aridland plant species differing in lifespan. Oecologia 91:332-337.
Ehleringer JR, Phillips SL, Comstock JP. 1992. Seasonal variation in the carbon isotopic composition of desert plants. Functional Ecology 6:396-404.
Ehleringer JR, Phillips SL, Schuster WSF, Sandquist DR. 1991. Differential utilization of summer rains by desert plants. Oecologia 88(3): 430-434.
Phillips SL. 1996. Comparative water use patterns of Quercus gambelii and Acer grandidentatum in Red Butte Canyon, Utah. MS Thesis, University of Utah.
Pollak O, Phillips SL, Shaw K, Herger L. 1988. Procedures manual for plant community dynamics subproject. Long-Term Ecological Research Data Report 88/1, Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research, Boulder, CO.
Flanagan LB, Phillips SL, Ehleringer JR, Lloyd J, Farquhar GD. 1994. Effect of changes in leaf water oxygen isotopic changes on discrimination against C18O16O during photosynthetic gas exchange. Aust. J. Plant Phys. 21:221-234.
**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.
To request an interview, contact fresc_outreach@usgs.gov or call (541) 750-1030.
New Center Director at the Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center
CORVALLIS, Ore. — The U.S. Geological Survey has selected Sue Phillips as the new center director of the Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center. FRESC is headquartered in Corvallis, Oregon, with research offices in Corvallis; Boise, Idaho; Seattle, Washington; and Olympic National Park in Port Angeles, Washington.
Science and Products
- Science
- Publications
If you are unable to access or download a product, email fresc_outreach@usgs.gov a request, including the full citation, or call (541) 750-1030.
Filter Total Items: 32Long-term plant responses to climate are moderated by biophysical attributes in a North American desert
Recent elevated temperatures and prolonged droughts in many already water-limited regions throughout the world, including the southwestern U.S., are likely to intensify according to future climate-model projections. This warming and drying can negatively affect perennial vegetation and lead to the degradation of ecosystem properties. To better understand these detrimental effects, we formulate aAuthorsSeth M. Munson, Robert H. Webb, David C. Housman, Kari E. Veblen, Kenneth E. Nussear, Erik A. Beever, Kristine B. Hartney, Maria N. Miriti, Susan L. Phillips, Robert E. Fulton, Nita G. TallentPedological and geological relationships with soil lichen and moss distribution in the eastern Mojave Desert, CA, USA
Biological soil crusts (biocrusts) are ubiquitous in drylands globally. Lichens and mosses are essential biocrust components and provide a variety of ecosystem services, making their conservation and management of interest. Accordingly, understanding what factors are correlated with their distribution is important to land managers. We hypothesized that cover would be related to geologic and pedoloAuthorsJayne Belnap, David M. Miller, David R. Bedford, Susan L. PhillipsGolden eagle records from the Midwinter Bald Eagle Survey: information for wind energy management and planning
The purpose of this Data Series report is to provide the occasions, locations, and counts when golden eagles were recorded during the annual Midwinter Bald Eagle Surveys. Golden eagles (Aquila chrysaetos) are protected by Federal statutes including the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act (BGEPA) (16 USC 668-668c) and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA) (16 USC 703-12). The U.S. Fish and WildlifeAuthorsWade Eakle, Patti Haggerty, Mark Fuller, Susan L. PhillipsSuccessional stage of biological soil crusts: an accurate indicator of ecohydrological condition
Biological soil crusts are a key component of many dryland ecosystems. Following disturbance, biological soil crusts will recover in stages. Recently, a simple classification of these stages has been developed, largely on the basis of external features of the crusts, which reflects their level of development (LOD). The classification system has six LOD classes, from low (1) to high (6). To determiAuthorsJayne Belnap, Bradford P. Wilcox, Matthew V. Van Scoyoc, Susan L. PhillipsElevated CO2 did not mitigate the effect of a short-term drought on biological soil crusts
Biological soil crusts (biocrusts) are critical components of arid and semi-arid ecosystems that contribute significantly to carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) fixation, water retention, soil stability, and seedling recruitment. While dry-land ecosystems face a number of environmental changes, our understanding of how biocrusts may respond to such perturbation remains notably poor. To determine the effecAuthorsTimothy M. Wertin, Susan L. Phillips, Sasha C. Reed, Jayne BelnapWind energy and wildlife research at the Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center
The United States has embarked on a goal to increase electricity generation from clean, renewable sources by 2012. Towards this end, wind energy is emerging as a widely distributed form of renewable energy throughout the country. The national goal is for energy from wind to supply 20 percent of the country's electricity by 2030. As with many land uses, trade-offs exist between costs and benefits.AuthorsSusan L. PhillipsThe influence of stream channels on distributions of Larrea tridentata and Ambrosia dumosa in the Mojave Desert, CA, USA: Patterns, mechanisms and effects of stream redistribution
Drainage channels are among the most conspicuous surficial features of deserts, but little quantitative analysis of their influence on plant distributions is available. We analysed the effects of desert stream channels (‘washes’) on Larrea tridentata and Ambrosia dumosa density and cover on an alluvial piedmont in the Mojave Desert, based on a spatial analysis of transect data encompassing a totalAuthorsS. Schwinning, D.R. Sandquist, D. M. Miller, D. R. Bedford, S. L. Phillips, J. BelnapSediment losses and gains across a gradient of livestock grazing and plant invasion in a cool, semi-arid grassland, Colorado Plateau, USA
Large sediment fluxes can have significant impacts on ecosystems. We measured incoming and outgoing sediment across a gradient of soil disturbance (livestock grazing, plowing) and annual plant invasion for 9 years. Our sites included two currently ungrazed sites: one never grazed by livestock and dominated by perennial grasses/well-developed biocrusts and one not grazed since 1974 and dominated byAuthorsJayne Belnap, Richard L. Reynolds, Marith C. Reheis, Susan L. Phillips, Frank Urban, Harland L. GoldsteinGlobal change and biological soil crusts: Effects of ultraviolet augmentation under altered precipitation regimes and nitrogen additions
Biological soil crusts (BSCs), a consortium of cyanobacteria, lichens, and mosses, are essential in most dryland ecosystems. As these organisms are relatively immobile and occur on the soil surface, they are exposed to high levels of ultraviolet (UV) radiation and atmospheric nitrogen (N) deposition, rising temperatures, and alterations in precipitation patterns. In this study, we applied treatmenAuthorsJ. Belnap, S. L. Phillips, S. Flint, J. Money, M. CaldwellVisually assessing the level of development and soil surface stability of cyanobacterially dominated biological soil crusts
Biological soil crusts (BSCs) are an integral part of dryland ecosystems and often included in long-term ecological monitoring programs. Estimating moss and lichen cover is fairly easy and non-destructive, but documenting cyanobacterial level of development (LOD) is more difficult. It requires sample collection for laboratory analysis, which causes soil surface disturbance. Assessing soil surfaceAuthorsJ. Belnap, S. L. Phillips, D.L. Witwicki, M. E. MillerWind erodibility of soils at Fort Irwin, California (Mojave Desert), USA, before and after trampling disturbance: Implications for land management
Recently disturbed and 'control' (i.e. less recently disturbed) soils in the Mojave Desert were compared for their vulnerability to wind erosion, using a wind tunnel, before and after being experimentally trampled. Before trampling, control sites had greater cyanobacterial biomass, soil surface stability, threshold friction velocities (TFV, i.e. the wind speed required to move soil particles), andAuthorsJ. Belnap, S. L. Phillips, J. E. Herrick, J.R. JohansenDynamics of cover, UV-protective pigments, and quantum yield in biological soil crust communities of an undisturbed Mojave Desert shrubland
Biological soil crusts are an integral part of dryland ecosystems. We monitored the cover of lichens and mosses, cyanobacterial biomass, concentrations of UV-protective pigments in both free-living and lichenized cyanobacteria, and quantum yield in the soil lichen species Collema in an undisturbed Mojave Desert shrubland. During our sampling time, the site received historically high and low levelsAuthorsJayne Belnap, Susan L. Phillips, Stanley D. SmithNon-USGS Publications**
Brooks, J.R., Buchmann, N., Phillips, S.L., Ehleringer, B., Evans, R.D., Lott, M., Martinelli, L.A., Pockman, W.T., Sandquist, D.R., Sparks, J.P., Sperry, L., Williams, D., Ehleringer, J.R., 2002, Heavy and light beer- A carbon isotope approach to detect C4 carbon in beers of different origins, styles, and prices: Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, v. 50, p. 6413-6418.Ehleringer, J.R., Phillips, S.L., 1996, Ecophysiological factors contributing to the distributions of several Quercusspecies in the Intermountain West: Annales des Sciences Forestieres, v. 53, p. 291-302.Ehleringer JR, Sandquist DR, Phillips SL. 1997. Burning coal seams in southern Utah: a natural system for studies of plant responses to elevated CO2. In: A. Raschi, F. Migleietta, R. Tugnetti and P. van Gardingen (eds), Plant Responses to Elevated CO2: Evidence from Natural Springs. Cambridge Univ Press. pp 56-68.Ehleringer JR, Phillips SL. 1996. Ecophysiological factors contributing to the distributions of several Quercus species in the Intermountain West. Ann For. Sci. 53:291-302.Lin G, Phillips SL, Ehleringer JR. 1996. Monsoonal precipitation responses of shrubs in a cold desert community on the Colorado Plateau. Oecologia 106:8-17.Phillips SL, Ehleringer JR. 1995. Limited uptake of summer precipitation by bigtooth maple (Acer grandidentatum Nutt.) and Gambel’s oak (Quercus gambelii Nutt.). Trees 9:214-219.Schuster WSF, Sandquist DR, Phillips SL, Ehleringer JR. 1994. High levels of genetic variation in populations of four dominant aridland plant species in Arizona. J. of Arid Environ. 27:159-167.Flanagan LB, Phillips SL, Ehleringer JR, Lloyd J, Farquhar GD. 1994. Effect of changes in leaf water oxygen isotopic changes on discrimination against C18O16O during photosynthetic gas exchange. Aust. J. Plant Phys. 21:221-234.Sandquist DR, Schuster WSF, Donovan LA, Phillips SL, Ehleringer JR. 1993. Differences in carbon isotope discrimination between seedlings and adults of southwestern desert perennial plants. Southwestern Nat. 38(3):212-217.Schuster WSF, Phillips SL, Sandquist DR, Ehleringer JR. 1992. Heritability of carbon isotope discrimination in Gutierrezia microcephala (Asteraceae). Amer. J. Bot. 79(2):216-221.Schuster WSF, Sandquist DR, Phillips SL, Ehleringer JR. 1992. Comparisons of carbon isotope discrimination in populations of aridland plant species differing in lifespan. Oecologia 91:332-337.Ehleringer JR, Phillips SL, Comstock JP. 1992. Seasonal variation in the carbon isotopic composition of desert plants. Functional Ecology 6:396-404.Ehleringer JR, Phillips SL, Schuster WSF, Sandquist DR. 1991. Differential utilization of summer rains by desert plants. Oecologia 88(3): 430-434.Phillips SL. 1996. Comparative water use patterns of Quercus gambelii and Acer grandidentatum in Red Butte Canyon, Utah. MS Thesis, University of Utah.Pollak O, Phillips SL, Shaw K, Herger L. 1988. Procedures manual for plant community dynamics subproject. Long-Term Ecological Research Data Report 88/1, Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research, Boulder, CO.Flanagan LB, Phillips SL, Ehleringer JR, Lloyd J, Farquhar GD. 1994. Effect of changes in leaf water oxygen isotopic changes on discrimination against C18O16O during photosynthetic gas exchange. Aust. J. Plant Phys. 21:221-234.**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.
- News
To request an interview, contact fresc_outreach@usgs.gov or call (541) 750-1030.
New Center Director at the Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center
CORVALLIS, Ore. — The U.S. Geological Survey has selected Sue Phillips as the new center director of the Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center. FRESC is headquartered in Corvallis, Oregon, with research offices in Corvallis; Boise, Idaho; Seattle, Washington; and Olympic National Park in Port Angeles, Washington.