Publications
Find out more about the Land Management Research Program through our publications.
The U.S. Geological Survey Landscape Science Strategy 2020-2030 gives an in-depth explanation of the focus and vision for USGS landscape science.
Filter Total Items: 261
Climate-mediated changes to linked terrestrial and marine ecosystems across the northeast Pacific coastal temperate rainforest margin
Coastal margins are important areas of materials flux that link terrestrial and marine ecosystems. Consequently, climate-mediated changes to coastal terrestrial ecosystems and hydrologic regimes have high potential to influence nearshore ocean chemistry and food web dynamics. Research from tightly coupled, high-flux coastal ecosystems can advance understanding of terrestrial–marine links and clima
Authors
Allison L. Bidlack, Sarah Bisbing, Brian Buma, Heida Diefenderfer, Jason Fellman, William Floyd, Ian Giesbrecht, Amritpal Lally, Ken Lertzman, Steven Perakis, David Butman, David D'Amore, Sean W. Fleming, Eran W. Hood, Brianna K. Hunt, Peter Kiffney, Gavin McNicol, Brian Menounos, Suzanne E. Tank
A watershed moment: Analysis of sub-basins refocuses the geography of turtle conservation across the globe
Conservation planners use a variety of decision-making tools, many of which require identifying and prioritizing spatial units based on their biodiversity and levels of imperilment. Turtles are highly imperiled, but present schemes for determining global priority areas are focused mostly on broad regional scales. We conduct the first global evaluation of turtle biodiversity and imperilment at a su
Authors
Joshua R. Ennen, Mickey Agha, Sarah C. Sweat, Wildredo A. Matamoros, Jeffrey E. Lovich, John B. Iverson, Anders G.J. Rhodin, Robert C. Thomson, H. Bradley Shaffer, Christopher W. Hoagstrom
Strategic habitat conservation for beach mice: Estimating management scenario efficiencies
The Perdido Key beach mouse (Peromyscus polionotus trissyllepsis), Choctawhatchee beach mouse (P. p. allophrys), and St. Andrew beach mouse (P. p. peninsularis) are 3 federally endangered subspecies that inhabit coastal dunes of Alabama and Florida, USA. Conservation opportunities for these subspecies are limited and costly. Consequently, well‐targeted efforts are required to achieve their downlis
Authors
James P. Cronin, Blair Tirpak, Leah L Dale, Virginia E Robenski, John M. Tirpak, Bruce G. Marcot
Analyzing vegetation change in a sagebrush ecosystem using long-term field observations and Landsat imagery in Wyoming
The importance of monitoring shrublands to detect and understand changes through time is increasingly recognized as critical to management. This research focuses on ecological change observed over 10 yr of field observation at 126 plots and over 35 yr of the Landsat archive in a shrubland ecosystem. Field data consisting of the fractional cover of shrubs, sagebrush, herbs, litter, and bare ground
Authors
Hua Shi, Collin Homer, Matthew B. Rigge, Kory Postma, George Z. Xian
Post-fire vegetation response in a repeatedly burned low-elevation sagebrush steppe protected area provides insights about resilience and invasion resistance
Sagebrush steppe ecosystems are threatened by human land-use legacies, biological invasions, and altered fire and climate dynamics. Steppe protected areas are therefore of heightened conservation importance but are few and vulnerable to the same impacts broadly affecting sagebrush steppe. To address this problem, sagebrush steppe conservation science is increasingly emphasizing a focus on resilien
Authors
Tom Rodhouse, Kathryn M. Irvine, Lisa Bowersock
Short-term impact of sediment addition on plants and invertebrates in a southern California salt marsh
The implementation and monitoring of management strategies is integral to protect coastal marshes from increased inundation and submergence under sea-level rise. Sediment addition is one such strategy in which sediment is added to marshes to raise relative elevations, decrease tidal inundation, and enhance ecosystem processes. This study looked at the plant and invertebrate community responses ove
Authors
Kaelin J McAtee, Karen M. Thorne, Christine R Whitcraft
Harvester ant seed removal in an invaded sagebrush ecosystem: Implications for restoration
A better understanding of seed movement in plant community dynamics is needed, especially in light of disturbance‐driven changes and investments into restoring degraded plant communities. A primary agent of change within the sagebrush‐steppe is wildfire and invasion by non‐native forbs and grasses, primarily cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum). Our objectives were to quantify seed removal and evaluate ec
Authors
Kelsey E Paolini, Matthew Modlin, Alexis A Suazo, David Pilliod, Robert Arkle, Kerri T. Vierling, Joseph D. Holbrook
Outsized nutrient contributions from small tributaries to a Great Lake
Excessive nutrient inputs from tributary streams and rivers contribute to harmful algal blooms and coastal ecosystem degradation worldwide. However, the role that small tributaries play in coastal nutrient dynamics remains unknown because most monitoring and regulatory efforts focus only on the largest tributaries. We combined a 6-d sampling effort with discharge modeling to characterize nutrient
Authors
Robert J Mooney, Emily H. Stanley, William C. Rosenthal, Peter C. Esselman, Anthony D Kendall, Peter B. McIntyre
Double exposure and dynamic vulnerability: Assessing economic well-being, ecological change and the development of the oil and gas industry in coastal Louisiana
The oil and gas industry has been a powerful driver of economic change in coastal Louisiana for the latter half of the 20th century and into the 21st. Yet, the overall impact of the industry on the economic well-being of host communities is varied, both spatially and temporally. While the majority of Louisiana’s oil and gas production now occurs offshore, processing the extracted product is an ene
Authors
Scott Hemmerling, Tim J. B. Carruthers, Ann Hijuelos, Harris C. Bienn
U.S. Geological Survey sagebrush ecosystem research annual report for 2020
The sagebrush (Artemisia spp.) ecosystem extends across 251,473 square miles over portions of 13 western States. Affected by multiple stressors, including interactions among fire, invasive plants, and human land uses, this ecosystem has experienced significant loss, fragmentation, and degradation of landscapes once dominated by sagebrush. In turn, wildlife populations have declined following these
Coastal marsh degradation into ponds induces irreversible elevation loss relative to sea level
Coastal marshes and their valuable ecosystem services are feared to be lost by sea level rise, yet the mechanisms of marsh degradation into ponds and potential recovery are poorly understood. We quantified and analyzed elevations of marsh surfaces and pond bottoms along a marsh loss gradient (Blackwater River, Maryland, USA). Our analyses show that ponds deepen with increasing tidal channel width
Authors
Lennert Schepers, Patrick Brennand, Matthew L. Kirwan, Glenn R. Guntenspergen, Stijn Temmerman
Assessing the ecological risks of per‐ and polyfluoroalkyl substances: Current state‐of‐the science and a proposed path forward
Per‐ and poly‐fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) encompass a large, heterogenous group of chemicals of potential concern to human health and the environment. Based on information for a few relatively well‐understood PFAS such as perfluorooctane sulfonate and perfluorooctanoate, there is ample basis to suspect that at least a subset can be considered persistent, bioaccumulative, and/or toxic. However, d
Authors
Gerald T. Ankley, Philippa Cureton, Robert A. Hoke, Magali Houde, Anupama Kumar, Jessy Kurias, Roman P. Lanno, Chris McCarthy, John L. Newsted, Christopher J. Salice, Bradley E. Sample, Maria S. Sepúlveda, Jeffery Steevens, Sara Valsecchi