Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Book Chapters

Browse more than 5,500 book chapters authored by our scientists over the past 100+ year history of the USGS and refine search by topic, location, year, and advanced search.

Filter Total Items: 6071

Soil phosphorus cycling in tropical soils: An ultisol and oxisol perspective

Phosphorus (P) is essential for life. It is the backbone of our DNA, provides energy for biological reactions, and is an integral component of cell membranes. As such, it is no surprise that P availability plays a strong role in regulating ecosystem structure and function (Wassen et al. 2005, Elser et al. 2007, Condit et al. 2013), and in determining our capacity to grow food for a burgeoning huma
Authors
Sasha C. Reed, Tana E Wood

South Park, Colorado: The interplay of tectonics and sedimentation creates one of Colorado’s crown jewels

Recent mapping efforts and hydrocarbon exploration in the South Park Basin have brought to light the magnitude in complexity of a structural basin already recognized for its unique sedimentary and tectonic setting. This fi eld trip to one of Colorado’s scenic gems will examine how Paleozoic, Mesozoic, and Cenozoic strata record the tectonic signatures of at least three orogenic episodes. We will c
Authors
Peter E Barkmann, Edward J Sterne, Marieke Dechesne, Karen J. Houck

Space and habitat use by breeding Golden-winged Warblers in the central Appalachian Mountains

Spot-mapping, or recording locations of observed use by territorial songbirds, is often used to delineate core breeding territories. However, a recent radiotelemetry study in Minnesota found that male Golden-winged Warblers (Vermivora chrysoptera) occurring in high-density populations used resources outside their spot-mapped territories. We compared differences in space use and quantified vegetati
Authors
Mack W. Frantz, Kyle R. Aldinger, Petra Wood, Joseph Duchamp, Timothy Nuttle, Andrew Vitz, Jeffrey L. Larkin

Spatially explicit models of full-season productivity and implications for landscape management of Golden-winged Warblers in the western Great Lakes Region

The relationship between landscape structure and composition and full-season productivity (FSP) is poorly understood for most birds. For species of high conservation concern, insight into how productivity is related to landscape structure and composition can be used to develop more effective conservation strategies that increase recruitment. We monitored nest productivity and fledgling survival of
Authors
Sean M. Peterson, Henry M. Streby, David E. Andersen

State-and-transition models: Conceptual versus simulation perspectives, usefulness and breadth of use, and land management applications

State-and-Transition Simulation Modeling (STSM) is a quantitative analysis method that can consolidate a wide array of resource management issues under a “what-if” scenario exercise. STSM can be seen as an ensemble of models, such as climate models, ecological models, and economic models that incorporate human dimensions and management options. This chapter presents STSM as a tool to help synthesi
Authors
Louis Provencher, Leonardo Frid, Christina Czembor, Jeffrey T. Morisette

Streamflow data

The importance of streamflow data to the world’s economy, environmental health, and public safety continues to grow as the population increases. The collection of streamflow data is often an involved and complicated process. The quality of streamflow data hinges on such things as site selection, instrumentation selection, streamgage maintenance and quality assurance, proper discharge measurement t
Authors
Robert R. Holmes

Streamflow ratings

Autonomous direct determination of a continuous time series of streamflow is not economically feasible at present (2014). As such, surrogates are used to derive a continuous time series of streamflow. The derivation process entails developing a streamflow rating, which can range from a simple, single-valued relation between stage and streamflow to a fully dynamic one-dimensional model based o
Authors
Robert R. Holmes

Structural geometry of the Valley and Ridge and Plateaus provinces

The Valley and Ridge physiographic province comprises the area between the Blue Ridge province on the east and the Appalachian Plateau province on the west. The province consists of Paleozoic carbonate and clastic rocks that were folded and thrust faulted during the Alleghanian orogeny. The Appalachian Plateau province consists of mostly flat lying to gently dipping upper Paleozoic rocks, with the
Authors
Mark A. Evans, Randall C. Orndorff, William S. Henika

Subsidence induced by underground extraction

Subsidence induced by underground extraction is a class of human-induced (anthropogenic) land subsidence that principally is caused by the withdrawal of subsurface fluids (groundwater, oil, and gas) or by the underground mining of coal and other minerals.
Authors
Devin L. Galloway

Succession in wetlands

Succession refers to the change in vegetation over time driven by disturbances and the maturation of plant species. In wetlands, these disturbances include water and salinity level changes along other factors that can alter vegetation. The historical view of succession (Clementsian) was that vegetation change represented the linear progression of through stages of vegetation toward a climax state.
Authors
Beth A. Middleton

Tectonic tremor

Tectonic, non-volcanic tremor is a weak vibration of ground, which cannot be felt by humans but can be detected by sensitive seismometers. It is defined empirically as a low-amplitude, extended duration seismic signal associated with the deep portion (∼20–40 km depth) of some major faults. It is typically observed most clearly in the frequency range of 2–8 Hz and is depleted in energy at higher fr
Authors
David R. Shelly