AVIRIS image of Rush Ranch, Suisun Marsh, CA
Kristin Byrd, Ph.D.
Landscape Ecology, Remote Sensing, and Decision Support for Natural Resources Management
Current Position
I am an applied landscape ecologist with expertise in vegetation ecology, remote sensing, integrated landscape modeling and stakeholder engagement. I lead interdisciplinary teams in landscape-scale studies of Nature-based Climate Solutions provided by wetlands and working lands. Research topics address coastal ecosystem controls on hurricane impacts and sustainability of ecosystem services. I integrate models of land use and management, climate and hydrological change to identify climate adaptation opportunities. I analyze multispectral and hyperspectral imagery to quantify ecosystem condition. My work spans U.S. coastal wetlands, the State of California and the Central Valley, California and Puget Sound, Washington. I emphasize the use of open data and open source software to easily reproduce, update and transfer information. All projects feature extensive outreach to land managers to aid natural resources decision making.
Current Projects
Team Member, Philippines Counter Wildlife Trafficking & Protected Area Management Project, U.S. Dept. of Interior International Technical Assistance Program short-term assignment. 2023 – 2024.
PI: “Climate-related impacts and restoration opportunities for culturally significant Klamath River willow riparian species.” USGS Southwest Climate Adaptation Science Center. 2024 – 2027.
Co-PI: "Triage and Decision Support Tool for Evaluating Vulnerability of Indigenous Shell Middens and Loss of Marsh Habitat Diversity to Sea Level Rise. USGS Southeast Climate Adaptation Science Center. 2024 – 2026. PI: Kathryn Smith, USGS St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center.
Senior Personnel: “Shifting Culture and Mitigating Inequities in Landscape Ecology Through a Collaborative Network of Professional Societies.” NSF Leading Culture Change Through Professional Societies of Biology (BIO-LEAPS). 2024 – 2029. PI: Kusum Naithani, University of Arkansas.
PI: “Remote Sensing of Mercury Speciation in South San Francisco Bay: Applications of Emerging Technologies to Track Management and Climate Impacts." USGS Bay-Delta Priority Ecosystem Studies Program. 2022 – 2026.
Co-PI: “Coastal wetland vulnerability to climate change and sea-level rise: understanding ecological thresholds and ecosystem transformations.” USGS Large Landscapes Priority Ecosystem Studies Program. 2023 – 2025. PI: Michael Osland, USGS Wetland and Aquatic Research Center.
Co-PI: SHIFT (NASA Surface Biology and Geology High Density Time Series) Field Campaign. NASA SBG. 2022 - 2023. Lead: Caltech Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
Co-PI: "Coastal Elevation Models and Land Surface Variables for Use in Forecasting Hurricane Impacts." Hurricane Coastal Impacts, Task 1, National Oceanographic Partnership Program. 2021 – 2024. PI: Dean Gesch, USGS EROS.
PI: "Remote Sensing and Forecasting Wetland and Watershed Ecosystem Services." USGS National Land Imaging Program. Ongoing.
Professional Experience
Research Physical Scientist, USGS Western Geographic Science Center, 2016 - present
Physical Scientist, USGS Western Geographic Science Center, 2009 - 2016
GIS Coordinator, California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco, CA, 2007 - 2008
Post-doctoral Researcher, Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management, U.C. Berkeley, 2006
Education and Certifications
Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley
Environmental Science, Policy, and ManagementM.A., San Francisco State University
Ecology and SystematicsB.S., Cornell University, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
Environmental Science
Affiliations and Memberships*
Co-Chair, California Biodiversity Network Systematic Conservation Planning Roundtable, 2023 - present
Councillor-at-Large and Chair, Equity, Inclusion and Diversity Committee, International Association of Landscape Ecology-North America, 2019 - 2023
Member, San Francisco Bay Wetlands Regional Monitoring Program People & Wetlands Working Group, 2024 - present
NASA Biodiversity and Ecological Forecasting Team member, 2017 - 2021
USGS Spectroscopy and Hyperspectral Imaging Collaboration member, 2019 - present
Member, Society for Conservation Biology, International Association for Landscape Ecology-North America, Ecological Society of America
Honors and Awards
Distinguished Service Award, International Association for Landscape Ecology - North American Region, 2022
USGS Environmental Achievement Award, 2024
Science and Products
After the Dams: Fire Impacts and Restoration Opportunities for a Culturally Important Klamath River Willow
Developing General Coastal Vegetation Maps for Coastal Morphodynamic Models
Remote Sensing of Mercury Pollution in South San Francisco Bay
A Tool for Rapid-Repeat High-Resolution Coastal Vegetation Maps to Improve Forecasting of Hurricane Impacts and Coastal Resilience
Assessing the Benefits and Vulnerability of Current and Future Potential Ecosystem Services of the Nisqually River Delta and other Puget Sound Estuaries
Integrating Remote-Sensing and Ecological Forecasting into Decision-Support for Wetland Wildlife Management in the Central Valley of California
Applied Landscape Ecology and Remote Sensing
Biomass Carbon Stock and Net Primary Productivity in Tidal Herbaceous Wetlands of the Conterminous United States
Intertidal biofilm presence, quantity, nutritional quality, and composition maps derived from AVIRIS-Next Generation 3.7-meter airborne imagery, South San Francisco Bay, California
Biofilm Percent Cover Maps in San Francisco Bay, 2020-2022
Baseline High Resolution Land Cover Map for the Mainstem Klamath River Corridor Downstream of Iron Gate Dam, Klamath River, CA, 2018
Projected future habitat, elevation change, and carbon accumulation of coastal wetlands in the Nisqually River Delta, Washington
Model Output Tabular Summaries for Central Valley Water and Land Use Futures: Land Use Change, Flooded Area, and Flooded Habitat Change
Integrated modeling of climate and land change impacts on future dynamic wetland habitat – a case study from California’s Central Valley
Sediment mobility and river corridor assessment for a 140-km segment of the mainstem Klamath River below Iron Gate Dam, CA - vegetation mapping
Tidal marsh biomass field plot and remote sensing datasets for six regions in the conterminous United States (ver. 2.0, June 2020)
Habitat Structure Maps for the California Central Valley 2013-2017
Wetland Moist Soil Seed Maps for the Central Valley of California 2007-2017
Tidal marsh biomass field plot and remote sensing datasets for six regions in the conterminous United States
AVIRIS image of Rush Ranch, Suisun Marsh, CA
Birdwatching preferences reveal synergies and tradeoffs among recreation, carbon, and fisheries ecosystem services in Pacific Northwest estuaries, USA
Nisqually River Delta—Humans and nature benefiting together
Translating stakeholder narratives for participatory modeling in landscape ecology
Capturing patterns of evolutionary relatedness with reflectance spectra to model and monitor biodiversity
Knowledge coproduction on the impact of decisions for waterbird habitat in a changing climate
Above- and belowground biomass carbon stock and net primary productivity maps for tidal herbaceous marshes of the United States
Variation in leaf reflectance spectra across the California flora partitioned by evolutionary history, geographic origin, and deep time
Changes in habitat suitability for wintering dabbling ducks during dry conditions in the Central Valley of California
Can coastal habitats rise to the challenge? Resilience of estuarine habitats, carbon accumulation, and economic value to sea-level rise in a Puget Sound estuary
Climate and land change impacts on future managed wetland habitat: A case study from California’s Central Valley
Both real-time and long-term environmental data perform well in predicting shorebird distributions in managed habitat
Carbon flux, storage, and wildlife co-benefits in a restoring estuary
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.
Decision Support for Wetland and Wildlife Management
USGS Scientists published a StoryMap showing projected changes in land use, flooded area, and wildlife habitat in California’s Central Valley for five scenarios of future climate and water management.
RUSH: Rapid Remote Sensing Updates of landcover for Storm and Hurricane forecasts (Version 1.0.0)
Science and Products
After the Dams: Fire Impacts and Restoration Opportunities for a Culturally Important Klamath River Willow
Developing General Coastal Vegetation Maps for Coastal Morphodynamic Models
Remote Sensing of Mercury Pollution in South San Francisco Bay
A Tool for Rapid-Repeat High-Resolution Coastal Vegetation Maps to Improve Forecasting of Hurricane Impacts and Coastal Resilience
Assessing the Benefits and Vulnerability of Current and Future Potential Ecosystem Services of the Nisqually River Delta and other Puget Sound Estuaries
Integrating Remote-Sensing and Ecological Forecasting into Decision-Support for Wetland Wildlife Management in the Central Valley of California
Applied Landscape Ecology and Remote Sensing
Biomass Carbon Stock and Net Primary Productivity in Tidal Herbaceous Wetlands of the Conterminous United States
Intertidal biofilm presence, quantity, nutritional quality, and composition maps derived from AVIRIS-Next Generation 3.7-meter airborne imagery, South San Francisco Bay, California
Biofilm Percent Cover Maps in San Francisco Bay, 2020-2022
Baseline High Resolution Land Cover Map for the Mainstem Klamath River Corridor Downstream of Iron Gate Dam, Klamath River, CA, 2018
Projected future habitat, elevation change, and carbon accumulation of coastal wetlands in the Nisqually River Delta, Washington
Model Output Tabular Summaries for Central Valley Water and Land Use Futures: Land Use Change, Flooded Area, and Flooded Habitat Change
Integrated modeling of climate and land change impacts on future dynamic wetland habitat – a case study from California’s Central Valley
Sediment mobility and river corridor assessment for a 140-km segment of the mainstem Klamath River below Iron Gate Dam, CA - vegetation mapping
Tidal marsh biomass field plot and remote sensing datasets for six regions in the conterminous United States (ver. 2.0, June 2020)
Habitat Structure Maps for the California Central Valley 2013-2017
Wetland Moist Soil Seed Maps for the Central Valley of California 2007-2017
Tidal marsh biomass field plot and remote sensing datasets for six regions in the conterminous United States
AVIRIS image of Rush Ranch, Suisun Marsh, CA
AVIRIS image of Rush Ranch, Suisun Marsh, CA
Birdwatching preferences reveal synergies and tradeoffs among recreation, carbon, and fisheries ecosystem services in Pacific Northwest estuaries, USA
Nisqually River Delta—Humans and nature benefiting together
Translating stakeholder narratives for participatory modeling in landscape ecology
Capturing patterns of evolutionary relatedness with reflectance spectra to model and monitor biodiversity
Knowledge coproduction on the impact of decisions for waterbird habitat in a changing climate
Above- and belowground biomass carbon stock and net primary productivity maps for tidal herbaceous marshes of the United States
Variation in leaf reflectance spectra across the California flora partitioned by evolutionary history, geographic origin, and deep time
Changes in habitat suitability for wintering dabbling ducks during dry conditions in the Central Valley of California
Can coastal habitats rise to the challenge? Resilience of estuarine habitats, carbon accumulation, and economic value to sea-level rise in a Puget Sound estuary
Climate and land change impacts on future managed wetland habitat: A case study from California’s Central Valley
Both real-time and long-term environmental data perform well in predicting shorebird distributions in managed habitat
Carbon flux, storage, and wildlife co-benefits in a restoring estuary
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.
Decision Support for Wetland and Wildlife Management
USGS Scientists published a StoryMap showing projected changes in land use, flooded area, and wildlife habitat in California’s Central Valley for five scenarios of future climate and water management.
RUSH: Rapid Remote Sensing Updates of landcover for Storm and Hurricane forecasts (Version 1.0.0)
*Disclaimer: Listing outside positions with professional scientific organizations on this Staff Profile are for informational purposes only and do not constitute an endorsement of those professional scientific organizations or their activities by the USGS, Department of the Interior, or U.S. Government