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At least 397 records · Page 22Linked to original sources
USGS2015

Management of conservation reserve program grasslands to meet wildlife habitat objectives

Numerous studies document environmental and social benefits of the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP). This report offers a synopsis of findings regarding effects of establishing CRP conservation practices on the quality and distribution of wildlife habitat in agricultural landscapes. On individual farms, year-round provision of wildlife habitat by the CRP may appear relatively insignificant. However, considered from multi-farm to National scales, such improvements in habitat and wildlife response have proven to be extensive and profound. Because CRP acres historically have been dominated by plantings of introduced and native grasses, this report focuses on issues pertaining to wildlife response to grass-dominated conservation practices. While the majority of CRP acres have been concentrated largely in the Great Plains and Corn Belt regions, 47 states (and Puerto Rico) have participated, resulting in measurable environmental benefits throughout the United States. Numerous investigations of habitat use by a wide range of wildlife species reveal that periodic management of CRP lands can enhance benefits through and beyond a typical 10 year general CRP contract. Over its 28-year existence, the CRP has evolved into an effective integration of conservation and agricultural policies targeting fragile and environmentally-valuable lands. Landowners with fields enrolled in the CRP often are the first to observe improvement in the landscape, greater numbers and kinds of wildlife, cleaner water and air, less erosion, and they have the satisfaction of seeing fragile lands serve better purposes. There is persistent concern that improvement seen in wildlife habitat and other environmental profits delivered by the CRP are ephemeral and last only as long as funding supports the existence of the program and its vegetative cover is properly managed. An involved American population will continue to expect governmental policies to enhance long-term protection of natural resources and public health. Recent investigations furnish evidence that the collective economic value of environmental benefits delivered by the CRP likely exceed program costs. The mounting significance placed on environmentally-responsible land management is based in part on public recognition that social, aesthetic, and recreational values enhance the traditional uses of agricultural land.

Scientific Investigations Report↗
USGS2012

The U.S. Geological Survey Ecosystem Science Strategy, 2012-2022 - Advancing discovery and application through collaboration

Ecosystem science is critical to making informed decisions about natural resources that can sustain our Nation’s economic and environmental well-being. Resource managers and policy-makers are faced with countless decisions each year at local, state, tribal, territorial, and national levels on issues as diverse as renewable and non-renewable energy development, agriculture, forestry, water supply, and resource allocations at the urban-rural interface. The urgency for sound decision-making is increasing dramatically as the world is being transformed at an unprecedented pace and in uncertain directions. Environmental changes are associated with natural hazards, greenhouse gas emissions, and increasing demands for water, land, food, energy, mineral, and living resources. At risk is the Nation’s environmental capital, the goods and services provided by resilient ecosystems that are vital to the health and well-being of human societies. Ecosystem science—the study of systems of organisms interacting with their environment and the consequences of natural and human-induced change on these systems—is necessary to inform decision-makers as they develop policies to adapt to these changes. This Ecosystems Science Strategy is built on a framework that includes basic and applied science. It highlights the critical roles that USGS scientists and partners can play in building scientific understanding and providing timely information to decision-makers. The strategy underscores the connection between scientific discoveries and the application of new knowledge. The strategy integrates ecosystem science and decision-making, producing new scientific outcomes to assist resource managers and providing public benefits. The USGS is uniquely positioned to play an important role in ecosystem science. With its wide range of expertise, the agency can bring holistic, cross-scale, interdisciplinary capabilities to the design and conduct of monitoring, research, and modeling and to new technologies for data collection, management, and visualization. Collectively, these capabilities can be used to reveal ecological patterns and processes, explain how and why ecosystems change, and forecast change over different spatial and temporal scales. USGS science can provide managers with options and decision-support tools to use resources sustainably. The USGS has long-standing, collaborative relationships with the DOI and other partners in the natural sciences, in both conducting science and its application. The USGS engages these partners in cooperative investigations that otherwise would lack the necessary support or be too expensive for a single bureau to conduct. The heart of this strategy is a framework and vision for USGS ecosystems science that focuses on five long-term goals, which are seen as interconnected and reinforcing components: • Improve understanding of ecosystem structure, function, and processes. The focus for this goal is an understanding of how ecosystems work, including the dynamics of species, their populations, interactions, and genetics, and how they change across spatial and temporal scales. • Advance understanding of how drivers influence ecosystem change. The challenges here are explaining the drivers of ecosystem change, their spatio-temporal patterns, their uncertainties and interactions, and their influence on ecosystem processes and dynamics. • Improve understanding of the services that ecosystems provide to society. Here the emphasis is on the measurement of environmental capital and ecosystem services, and the identification of sources and patterns of change in space and time. • Develop tools, technologies, and capacities to inform decision-making about ecosystems. This includes developing new technologies and approaches for conducting applications-oriented ecosystem science. A principal challenge will be how to quantify uncertainty and incorporate it in decision analysis. • Apply science to enhance strategies for management, conservation, and restoration of ecosystems. These challenges include development of novel approaches to monitoring, assessment, and restoration of ecosystems; new methods to address species of concern and communities at risk; and innovations in decision analysis and support to address imminent ecosystem changes or those that are underway. Closely integrated with the five goals are four strategic approaches that provide the path forward for the USGS Ecosystems Mission Area. These approaches cross-cut all of the goals and are seen as essential to the implementation of this strategy: • Assess information needs for ecosystem science through enhanced partnerships. Work with the DOI and other agencies and institutions to identify, design, and implement priority decision-driven ecological research. • Promote the use of interdisciplinary ecosystem science. Design and conduct interdisciplinary process-oriented research in ecosystem science. • Enhance modeling and forecasting. Build models to forecast ecosystem change, assess future management scenarios, and reduce uncertainties through an adaptive learning process. • Support decision-making. Use quantitative approaches to assess the vulnerabilities of ecosystems, habitats, and species, and evaluate strategies for adaptation, restoration, and sustainable management. Following the strategic approaches are a set of proposed actions that represent a sampling of specific activities that align with this strategy and that address the Nation’s most pressing environmental needs. The strategy emphasizes coordination of activities across the USGS mission areas pursuant to these goals. Ecosystem science is inherently interdisciplinary and requires a broad perspective that incorporates the biological and physical sciences, climate science, information technology, and scientific capacity in mission areas across the Bureau. With its emphasis on coordination, this strategy can provide a critical underpinning for integrated science efforts with scientists from multiple mission areas of the USGS working together. Of course, the USGS will continue to conduct both discipline-specific and interdisciplinary investigations, and both will continue to be vital parts of the ecosystem science portfolio. Finally, the strategy stresses the importance of coordination with other Federal agencies and organizations in the natural resources community. The USGS collaborates with resource agencies in the DOI and other organizations throughout the world to meet societal needs for species and ecosystem management. Working with these agencies and organizations, the USGS will play a key role over the next decade in advancing the scientific foundation for sustaining the natural resources that diverse, productive, resilient ecosystems provide.

Open-File Report↗
USGS2007

Remote sensing of tidal chlorophyll-a variations in estuaries

Simultaneous acquisition of surface chlorophyll-a concentrations for 39 samples from boats and Daedalus 1260 Multispectral Scanner data from a U-2 aircraft was conducted in the northern reaches of San Francisco Bay on 28 August 1980. These data were used to develop regression models for predicting surface chlorophyll-a concentrations over the study area for ebb-tide (8.40 a.m. P.D.T. (Pacific Daylight Time)) and flood-tide (3.10 p.m. P.D.T.) conditions. After selection of a single ‘best fitting’ model for both morning and afternoon data sets, the chlorophyll-a concentration was predicted for ebb and flood tide for the entire study area at approximately 40m × 40m resolution. The predicted spatial display of chlorophyll-a revealed a localized area of high phytoplankton biomass that has been inferred from field surveys and appears to be a common summer phenomenon. Knowledge of the distribution of phytoplankton and the location of this zone of high biomass is valuable in establishing management policies for this ecologically important estuary. Furthermore, the techniques used here may provide an alternative cost-effective method for assessing water-quality conditions and they may prove useful for studying spatial variations (patchiness) and seasonal variations in phytoplankton biomass in other estuaries and coastal waters.

California↗
USGS2007

United States‐Mexican border watershed assessment: Modeling nonpoint source pollution in Ambos Nogales

Ecological considerations need to be interwoven with economic policy and planning along the United States‐Mexican border. Non‐point source pollution can have significant implications for the availability of potable water and the continued health of borderland ecosystems in arid lands. However, environmental assessments in this region present a host of unique issues and problems. A common obstacle to the solution of these problems is the integration of data with different resolutions, naming conventions, and quality to create a consistent database across the binational study area. This report presents a simple modeling approach to predict nonpoint source pollution that can be used for border watersheds. The modeling approach links a hillslopescale erosion‐prediction model and a spatially derived sediment‐delivery model within a geographic information system to estimate erosion, sediment yield, and sediment deposition across the Ambos Nogales watershed in Sonora, Mexico, and Arizona. This paper discusses the procedures used for creating a watershed database to apply the models and presents an example of the modeling approach applied to a conservation‐planning problem.

Arizona, Sonoma↗
USGS2001

The environment and human health; USGS science for solutions

Emerging infectious diseases, ground-water contamination, trace-metal poisoning...environmental threats to public health the world over require new solutions. Because of an increased awareness of the issues, greater cooperation among scientific and policy agencies, and powerful new tools and techniques to conduct research, there is new hope that complex ecological health problems can be solved. U.S. Geological Survey scientists are forming partnerships with experts in the public health and biomedical research communities to conduct rigorous scientific inquiries into the health effects of ecological processes.

Fact Sheet↗
USGS2005

Water resources data, Iowa, water year 2005

This volume of the annual hydrologic data report of Iowa is one of a series of annual reports that document hydrologic data gathered from the U.S. Geological Survey’s surface- and ground-water data-collection networks in each State, Puerto Rico, and the Trust Territories. These records of streamflow, ground-water levels, and quality of water provide the hydrologic information needed by local, State, and Federal agencies, and the public for developing and managing our Nation’s land and water resources. This report is the culmination of a concerted effort by dedicated personnel of the U.S. Geological Survey who collected, compiled, analyzed, verified, and organized the data, and who typed, edited, and assembled the report. The authors had primary responsibility for assuring that the information contained herein is accurate, complete, and adheres to U. S. Geological Survey policy and established guidelines.

Iowa↗
USGS2015

Getting ocean acidification on decision makers' to-do lists: dissecting the process through case studies

Much of the detailed, incremental knowledge being generated by current scientific research on ocean acidification (OA) does not directly address the needs of decision makers, who are asking broad questions such as: Where will OA harm marine resources next? When will this happen? Who will be affected? And how much will it cost? In this review, we use a series of mainly US-based case studies to explore the needs of local to international-scale groups that are making decisions to address OA concerns. Decisions concerning OA have been made most naturally and easily when information needs were clearly defined and closely aligned with science outputs and initiatives. For decisions requiring more complex information, the process slows dramatically. Decision making about OA is greatly aided (1) when a mixture of specialists participates, including scientists, resource users and managers, and policy and law makers; (2) when goals can be clearly agreed upon at the beginning of the process; (3) when mixed groups of specialists plan and create translational documents explaining the likely outcomes of policy decisions on ecosystems and natural resources; (4) when regional work on OA fits into an existing set of priorities concerning climate or water quality; and (5) when decision making can be reviewed and enhanced.

Oceanography↗
USGS1990

Opportunities to protect instream flows and wetland uses of water in Florida

This document combines the efforts of several individuals, agencies, and organizations toward a common objective: the identification, description, and preliminary evaluation of promising opportunities for protecting instream uses of water under existing laws in Florida. this report is intended for the use of State and Federal planning and management personnel who need an overview of potential opportunities for preserving instream flows. It is not intended to replace or challenge the advice of agency counsel, nor is it written to provide legal advice. Instead, it is designed as a guide for the person trying to find his way among sometimes bewildering State statutes and administrative practices. This report is not, and should not be taken as, official policy or prediction of future actions by any agency. It is simply a summary of some potential opportunities for protecting instream uses. Toward these objectives, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, through its Water Resource Analysis Project, contracted in 1977 with R. Dewsnup and D. Jensen to identify available strategies under State and Federal laws, interstate compacts, and water quality laws. A second firm, Enviro Control, Inc., was contracted to evaluate the most promising strategies. The resulting documents reported instream flow strategies for 11 States. These reports have been revised, updated, and combined in a number of new monographs, and the Service has added more States to this service over the years. The discussion of instream flow programs and opportunities for each State is written so that each report can be read independently, with minimal cross-referencing from one State report to another. The opportunities for Florida are summarized in the table.

Report↗
USGS2007

Investigating the Environmental Effects of Agriculture Practices on Natural Resources: Scientific Contributions of the U.S. Geological Survey to Enhance the Management of Agricultural Landscapes

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) enhances and protects the quality of life in the United States by advancing scientific knowledge to facilitate effective management of hydrologic, biologic, and geologic resources. Results of selected USGS research and monitoring projects in agricultural landscapes are presented in this Fact Sheet. Significant environmental and social issues associated with agricultural production include changes in the hydrologic cycle; introduction of toxic chemicals, nutrients, and pathogens; reduction and alteration of wildlife habitats; and invasive species. Understanding environmental consequences of agricultural production is critical to minimize unintended environmental consequences. The preservation and enhancement of our natural resources can be achieved by measuring the success of improved management practices and by adjusting conservation policies as needed to ensure long-term protection.

Fact Sheet↗
USGS1978

Risk analyses for a water-supply system; Occoquan Reservoir, Fairfax and Prince William counties, Virginia

This report demonstrates two techniques for evaluating risks in the operation of a water-supply system. Both rely on reconstructed historical streamflow data to develop estimates of the probabilities of certain specific events occurring in the future. These techniques are applied to the Occoquan Reservoir which was experiencing an unprecedented low level of storage in the autumn of 1977. The two techniques are used respectively to evaluate the overall adequacy of the existing reservoir and to evaluate the risks in the 1977 crisis. In the first technique, the general risk analysis model (GRAM), simulations of the reservoir's contents are carried out under a set of assumptions about withdrawal rates and emergency procedures. The results of the GRAM simulation for the Occoquan Reservoir are in the form of estimates of the probabilities that in any year certain emergency procedures will have to be invoked. These estimates are given for a range of rates of withdrawals and for four different stages of emergency actions. Also given are the estimated probabilities of entering emergency conditions in one year given that an emergency had occurred in the previous year. Due to the year-to-year persistence of low flows, these latter (conditional) probabilities are higher than the former (marginal) probabilities. The second technique used is position analysis. In this procedure probability distributions of future storages are estimated under existing storage conditions and an assumed rate of withdrawal from the reservoir. The position analysis which was initialized at the October 1, 1977, conditions indicates that the probability of entering a Stage III emergency (the prohibition of all uses of water nonessential to life, health, and safety) in the autumn of 1977 or winter of 1978 was 10 percent at that time. However, with a reduction in water use by 8 million gallons per day, this probability would have fallen to 4 percent. If a long reconstructed historical streamflow record is available to a water supply agency, then the agency will have the capability to undertake its own risk analyses. It can carry out comparisons of alternative operating policies by using techniques such as GRAM. It can also evaluate short-term risk of different plans of operation during crisis situations by using position analysis.

Virginia↗
USGS1987

Opportunities to protect instream flows in Colorado and Wyoming

This document combines the efforts of several individuals, agencies, and organizations toward a common objective: the identification, description, and preliminary evaluation of promising opportunities for protecting instream uses of water under existing laws in Colorado and Wyoming. This report is intended for the use of State and Federal planning and management personnel who need an overview of potential opportunities for preserving instream flows. It is not intended to replace or challenge the advice of agency counsel, nor it is written to provide legal advice. Instead, it is designed as a guide for the person trying to find his or her way among sometimes bewildering State statues and administrative practices. This report is not, and should not be taken as, official policy or prediction of future actions by any agency. It is simply a summary of some potential opportunities for protecting instream uses. Toward these objectives, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, through its Water Resources Analysis Project, contracted in 1977 with Richard Dewsnup and Dallin Jensen to identify available strategies under State and Federal laws, interstate compacts, and water quality laws. A second firm, Enviro Control, Inc., was contracted to evaluate the most promising strategies. Two of the resulting documents were Instream Flow Strategies for Colorado and Instream Flow Strategies for Wyoming , which have been revised, updated, and combined in this report. Discussion of instream flow programs ad opportunities for each State--Colorado and Wyoming-- are written so that each report can be read independently, with minimal cross referencing from one State report to another.

Colorado;Wyoming↗
USGS2011

Valuation of rangeland ecosystem services

Economic valuation lends itself well to the anthropocentric orientation of ecosystem services. An economic perspective on ecosystems portrays them as natural assets providing a flow of goods and services valuable to individuals and society collectively. A few examples include the purification of drinking water, reduced risk from flooding and other extreme events, pollination of agricultural crops, climate regulation, and recreation opportunities from plant and animal habitat maintenance, among many others. Once these goods and services are identified and quantified, they can be monetized to complete the valuation process. The monetization of ecosystem goods and services (in the form of dollars) provides a common metric that allows for cross-comparison of attributes and evaluation of differing ecological scenarios. Complicating the monetization process is the fact that most of these goods and services are public and non-market in nature; meaning they are non-rival and non-exclusive and are typically not sold in a traditional market setting where monetary values are revealed. Instead, one must employ non-market valuation techniques, with primary valuation methods typically being very time and resource consuming, intimidating to non-economists, and often impractical. For these reasons, benefit transfer methods have gained popularity. This methodology harnesses the primary collection results of existing studies to make inferences about the economic values of non-market goods and services at an alternative policy site (in place and/or in time). For instance, if a primary valuation study on oak reestablishment on rangelands in southern California yielded a value of $30 per-acre associated with water regulation, this result can be transferred, with some adjustments, to say something about the value of an acre of oaks on rangelands in northern portions of the state. The economic valuation of rangeland ecosystem services has many roles. Economic values may be used as input into analyzing the costs and benefits associated with policies being proposed, or possibly already implemented. For example, with monetized values acting as a common metric, one could compare the 'benefits' of converting a rangeland ecosystem for commercial development (perhaps estimated at the market value of the developed land) with the foregone ecosystem service values (in addition to any land income lost) resulting from that land conversion. Similarly, ecosystem service values can be used to determine the level of return on an investment. rhis is a primary objective for private land conservation organizations who typically have very limited resources. Ecosystem service valuation can also have a role in damage assessments from incidents that require compensation such as oil spills. Additionally, valuation can be very informative when investigating regulatory programs that trade ecological assets such as wetland mitigation programs. Typically these programs are based simply on an 'acre for acre' criterion, and do not take into consideration varying welfare values associated with that ecosystem. Lastly, and most fundamental, ecosystem service valuation serves as a recognition tool for people of all backgrounds. Identifying and valuing ecosystem goods and services on rangelands brings to light the value these natural assets have to human welfare that often remain hidden do to their public and non-market attributes. This type of recognition is vital to the preservation of rangeland ecosystems in the future and the many ecological benefits they provide.

Conference Paper↗
USGS2024

Best practices for incorporating climate change science into Department of the Interior analyses, consultations, and decision making

The purpose of this document is to provide technical guidance, practical application examples, and resource lists for those who conduct, manage, and/or interpret technical workflows within the Department of the Interior. This document is intended to support implementation of Department of the Interior policy 526 DM 1 and establish best practices for using climate change science to inform analysis, consultation, and decision making. The Earth’s climate is an interconnected system that distributes energy, heat, and water around the planet. Due to human-driven increases in long-lived greenhouse gases, the Earth’s climate is now changing. For Departmental decision-making purposes, assuming a static, unchanging baseline climate is no longer consistent with current knowledge about the climate system. There are uncertainties about future climate and how resources or assets (RoAs) will respond to new conditions. To depict the possibilities, the global climate science community develops scenarios and models to explore how future climate may respond to socioeconomic and technological development in the world. Principles for informing policy development, planning and decisions, and regulatory processes using climate change science must: 1) consider the effects of future climate change, 2) characterize the risks, and 3) characterize the uncertainties. Best practices include: Use multiple scenarios to assess risks from a range of plausible societal pathways. When constraints prevent the use of multiple scenarios or if decision makers are risk averse, ensure that the chosen scenario considers higher risk outcomes. This is particularly important for large investments or irreversible decisions and reduces the chances of overconfident decision making. Use multiple climate models within each scenario to account for the range of outcomes due to model uncertainty. Do not rely solely on a single model or an ensemble average. Use relevant climate data . Use a time-period for model projections of the future climate change consistent with the relevant timeframe of the policy, action, or decision being considered. Historical observations are useful for understanding past conditions and climate trends for the next several years, but not beyond the next decade. Consult with climate data and modeling experts to assess which data and model resources are most appropriate for any given application. Clearly describe key analysis uncertainties (including with any climate observations, models, and scenarios used), and how they were addressed in the analysis and/or decision process. This ensures transparency and learning among analysts and decision makers.

Report↗
USGS2022

Fifty years of Landsat science and impacts

Since 1972, the Landsat program has been continually monitoring the Earth, to now provide 50 years of digital, multispectral, medium spatial resolution observations. Over this time, Landsat data were crucial for many scientific and technical advances. Prior to the Landsat program, detailed, synoptic depictions of the Earth's surface were rare, and the ability to acquire and work with large datasets was limited. The early years of the Landsat program delivered a series of technological breakthroughs, pioneering new methods, and demonstrating the ability and capacity of digital satellite imagery, creating a template for other global Earth observation missions and programs. Innovations driven by the Landsat program have paved the way for subsequent science, application, and policy support activities. The economic and scientific value of the knowledge gained through the Landsat program has been long recognized, and despite periods of funding uncertainty, has resulted in the program's 50 years of continuity, as well as substantive and ongoing improvements to payload and mission performance. Free and open access to Landsat data, enacted in 2008, was unprecedented for medium spatial resolution Earth observation data and substantially increased usage and led to a proliferation of science and application opportunities. Here, we highlight key developments over the past 50 years of the Landsat program that have influenced and changed our scientific understanding of the Earth system. Major scientific and programmatic impacts have been realized in the areas of agricultural crop mapping and water use, climate change drivers and impacts, ecosystems and land cover monitoring, and mapping the changing human footprint. The introduction of Landsat collection processing, coupled with the free and open data policy, facilitated a transition in Landsat data usage away from single images and towards time series analyses over large areas and has fostered the widespread use of science-grade data. The launch of Landsat-9 on September 27, 2021, and the advanced planning of its successor mission, Landsat-Next, underscore the sustained institutional support for the program. Such support and commitment to continuity is recognition of both the historic impact the program, and the future potential to build upon Landsat's remarkable 50-year legacy.

Remote Sensing of Environment↗
USGS2025

Land use strategies for achieving Chile’s nationally determined contributions

Chile’s Nationally determined contributions (NDCs) commit to carbon neutrality by 2050, with measures to reduce emissions and natural hazards while enhancing water security. The Forestry and Other Land Uses (FOLU) sectors are critical to Chile’s goal of carbon neutrality, as they serve as a net carbon sink. In this paper, we conduct policy scenario analysis focusing on FOLU strategies for meeting the NDCs. We implement the Integrated Economic-Environmental Modeling framework linked with spatial Land Use-Land Cover and Ecosystem Services (ES) Modeling (IEEM + ESM) to assess impacts on economic, environmental and social indicators. Our results show that the implementation of Chile’s FOLU strategies would reduce emissions, enhance wealth and economic growth and increase future flows of ES. Carbon dioxide emissions would be reduced (by 151 million tons by 2050) to levels that would be considerably better than current Government expectations. Gross Domestic Product and wealth would be bolstered by US$16 065 million and US$22 731 million, respectively. Water-related ES would improve including the quality of potable water, while more water would be maintained within forested ecosystems, thereby reducing the future risk of natural hazards such as landslides and floods. The FOLU strategies would create 72 800 new jobs and reduce poverty by 15 586 individuals. Analysis with IEEM + ESM demonstrates that reducing wildfire-driven forest loss would have outsized impacts and be the most effective and expedient way to contribute to meeting NDC targets. The IEEM + ESM approach is an example of an analytical framework that is meeting growing demand from Government institutions and multilateral development banks for understanding the effects and transition pathways of NDC strategies on economic, social and environmental outcomes.

Environmental Research: Ecology↗
USGS1999

The east coast petroleum province: Science and society

The U.S. Atlantic offshore, especially the mid-Atlantic, was an exciting exploration area from the 1970s into the 1980s. Much pioneering 'frontier' activity in both scientific and policy matters occurred in this area. Although production was not achieved, objective geological evidence indicates that the province does have potential. Major population centers of the mid-Atlantic area demand large amounts of energy and enormous amounts of crude and product are shipped through East Coast waters. Nevertheless, exploration has been shut down by moratoria, environmental concerns, and international pricing. It is suggested that the province will be revisited in the future and that the geologic and environmental information that has been generated at great cost should be preserved for use by the next generation of explorationists and policy-makers.

Northeastern Geology and Environmental Sciences↗
USGS2020

Testing ecosystem accounting in the United States: A case study for the Southeast

Ecosystem accounts, as formalized by the System of Environmental-Economic Accounting Experimental Ecosystem Accounts (SEEA EEA), have been compiled in a number of countries, yet there have been few attempts to develop them for the U.S. We explore the potential for U.S. ecosystem accounting by compiling ecosystem extent, condition, and ecosystem services supply and use accounts for a ten-state region in the Southeast. The pilot accounts address air quality, water quality, biodiversity, carbon storage, recreation, and pollination for selected years from 2001 to 2015. Results illustrate how information from ecosystem accounts can contribute to policy and decision-making. Using an example from Atlanta, we also show how ecosystem accounts can be considered alongside other SEEA accounts to give a more complete picture of a local area’s environmental-economic trends. The process by which we determined where to place metrics within the accounting framework, which was strongly informed by the National Ecosystem Services Classification System (NESCS), can provide guidance for future ecosystem accounts in the U.S. and other countries. Finally, we identify knowledge gaps that limit the inclusion of certain ecosystem services in the accounts and suggest future research that can close these gaps and improve future U.S. ecosystem accounts.

Missouri, Arkansas, Louisiana, Tennessee, Mississi↗
USGS2010

Great Basin Integrated Landscape Monitoring Pilot Summary Report

The Great Basin Integrated Landscape Monitoring Pilot project (GBILM) was one of four regional pilots to implement the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Science Thrust on Integrated Landscape Monitoring (ILM) whose goal was to observe, understand, and predict landscape change and its implications on natural resources at multiple spatial and temporal scales and address priority natural resource management and policy issues. The Great Basin is undergoing rapid environmental change stemming from interactions among global climate trends, increasing human populations, expanding and accelerating land and water uses, invasive species, and altered fire regimes. GBLIM tested concepts and developed tools to store and analyze monitoring data, understand change at multiple scales, and forecast landscape change. The GBILM endeavored to develop and test a landscape-level monitoring approach in the Great Basin that integrates USGS disciplines, addresses priority management questions, catalogs and uses existing monitoring data, evaluates change at multiple scales, and contributes to development of regional monitoring strategies. GBILM functioned as an integrative team from 2005 to 2010, producing more than 35 science and data management products that addressed pressing ecosystem drivers and resource management agency needs in the region. This report summarizes the approaches and methods of this interdisciplinary effort, identifies and describes the products generated, and provides lessons learned during the project.

Open-File Report↗