FRESC Snake River Field Station
FRESC Cascadia Field Station
FRESC Olympic Field Station
Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center
Scientists from the Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center capitalize on their diverse expertise to answer scientific questions shaped by the environments of the western United States. We collaborate with each other and with partners to provide rigorous, objective, and timely information and guidance to support sound management, conservation, and restoration of the Nation's natural resource
FRESC Research Teams
FRESC Research Teams
FRESC scientists, individually or collaboratively with partners, investigate high-priority questions about biological systems.
News
Trout, beavers, drought, and a “precious” frog
Trout, beavers, drought, and a “precious” frog
Land Treatment Exploration Tool Version 2.1 Launch
Land Treatment Exploration Tool Version 2.1 Launch
USGS and partners publish the second in a series of structured science syntheses: the effects of culverts on stream habitat connectivity
USGS and partners publish the second in a series of structured science syntheses: the effects of culverts on stream habitat connectivity
Publications
Carbon isotope trends across a century of herbarium specimens suggest CO2 fertilization of C4 grasses.
Increasing atmospheric CO2 is changing the dynamics of tropical savanna vegetation. C3 trees and grasses are known to experience CO2 fertilization, whereas responses to CO2 by C4 grasses are more ambiguous.Here, we sample stable carbon isotope trends in herbarium collections of South African C4 and C3 grasses to reconstruct 13C discrimination.We found that C3 grasses showed no trends in 13C discri
Structural heterogeneity predicts ecological resistance and resilience to wildfire in arid shrublands
ContextDynamic feedbacks between physical structure and ecological function drive ecosystem productivity, resilience, and biodiversity maintenance. Detailed maps of canopy structure enable comprehensive evaluations of structure–function relationships. However, these relationships are scale-dependent, and identifying relevant spatial scales to link structure to function remains challenging.Objectiv
Browsing the literature
For this edition of Browsing the Literature, we have two new papers from Rangeland Ecology & Management, a series of basic ecology papers with an international scope from journals such as the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (USA), Science, and Nature, and several papers advancing our understanding of drought and carbon at global scales. Additionally, several papers on sagebrush-st
Science
The Impact of Climate-Driven Phenological Shifts on Cheatgrass in Western North America
Climate change-induced warming can alter plant phenology and disrupt ecosystems like the sagebrush steppe in western North America. The invasive annual grass cheatgrass can thrive under these altered conditions, exacerbating wildfires and threatening wildlife habitat, carbon storage, and other important ecosystem services. We are studying how different densities of cheatgrass respond to increased...
Social and Institutional Aspects of Natural Resource Decision Making Team (FRESC)
Our work uses a range of social science methods including interviews, surveys, listening sessions, workshops, and document analysis, to understand how Department of the Interior land managers and others make natural resource decisions.
USGS Team Science Curriculum
USGS scientists are developing a team science curriculum to teach researchers from different fields and backgrounds how to work collaboratively and creatively to address complex environmental challenges, such as the impacts of climate change.