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At least 1,135 records · Page 63Linked to original sources

USGS2014

Assessment of suitable habitat for Phragmites australis (common reed) in the Great Lakes coastal zone

In the Laurentian Great Lakes, the invasive form of Phragmites australis (common reed) poses a threat to highly productive coastal wetlands and shorelines by forming impenetrable stands that outcompete native plants. Large, dominant stands can derail efforts to restore wetland ecosystems degraded by other stressors. To be proactive, landscape-level management of Phragmites requires information on the current spatial distribution of the species and a characterization of areas suitable for future colonization. Using a recent basin-scale map of this invasive plant’s distribution in the U.S. coastal zone of the Great Lakes, environmental data (e.g., soils, nutrients, disturbance, climate, topography), and climate predictions, we performed analyses of current and predicted suitable coastal habitat using boosted regression trees, a type of species distribution modeling. We also investigated differential influences of environmental variables in the upper lakes (Lakes Superior, Michigan, and Huron) and lower lakes (Lakes St. Clair, Erie, and Ontario). Basin-wide results showed that the coastal areas most vulnerable to Phragmites expansion were in close proximity to developed lands and had minimal topographic relief, poorly drained soils, and dense road networks. Elevated nutrients and proximity to agriculture also influenced the distribution of Phragmites . Climate predictions indicated an increase in suitable habitat in coastal Lakes Huron and Michigan in particular. The results of this study, combined with a publicly available online decision support tool, will enable resource managers and restoration practitioners to target and prioritize Phragmites control efforts in the Great Lakes coastal zone.

Great Lakes↗

USGS1956

Status of sea lamprey control

Four experiments involving 873 bob-white quail (Colinus virginianus) chicks were conducted at the Patuxent Research Refuge, Laurel, Maryland. A comparison was made of calcium: phosphorus ratios of 1:1, 15:1, 1%: 1, 2:1, 2+:1,and 2%: 1in diets with phosphorus levels of 0.52, 0.75, 1.00, and 1.25 percent. The results indicate that the optimum level of phosphorus for growth is in the neighborhood of 0.75 per cent, and that of calcium is about 1.00 per cent, making a ratio of 1 1/3: 1....Although the greatest efficiency of feed utilization occurred on the phosphorus level of 0.52 per cent, the liveweight and bone-ash of the birds at the end of ten weeks were significantly lower than they were on the levels of 0.75 and 1.00 per cent, phosphorus. Bone-ash of birds on a Ca: P ratio of 1:1was significantly lower than that on any of the other five ratios, regardless of phosphorus level....There was a significant reverse correlation between the Ca: P ratio of the diet and the storage of vitamin A in the liver. Storage was especially low on the ratio of 2 2/3: 1....The low and high levels of calcium and phosphorus considered in these studies are abnormal, the low level especially being hard to obtain with common feedstuffs, if the protein requirements of the birds are met. Nevertheless, even on such levels, results were not disastrous. The growth of quail in the wild happens during a season when the birds have access to the minerals of the soil and in the abundant animal matter (mostly insects), as well as to minerals in plant material. Therefore, seemingly, calcium and phosphorus need not be critical nutrients for growing quail in the wild.

Wisconsin Conservation Bulletin↗

USGS2010

Micromorphology and stable-isotope geochemistry of historical pedogenic siderite formed in PAH-contaminated alluvial clay soils, Tennessee, U.S.A

Alluvial clay soil samples from six boreholes advanced to depths of 400-450 cm (top of limestone bedrock) from the Chattanooga Coke Plant (CCP) site were examined micromorphologically and geochemically in order to determine if pedogenic siderite (FeCO3) was present and whether siderite occurrence was related to organic contaminant distribution. Samples from shallow depths were generally more heavily contaminated with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) than those at greater depth. The upper 1 m in most boreholes consisted of mixtures of anthropogenically remolded clay soil fill containing coal clinker, cinder grains, and limestone gravel; most layers of coarse fill were impregnated with creosote and coal tar. Most undisturbed soil (below 1 m depth) consisted of highly structured clays exhibiting fine subangular blocky ped structures, as well as redox-related features. Pedogenic siderite was abundant in the upper 2 m of most cores and in demonstrably historical (< 100 years old) soil matrices. Two morphologies were identified: (1) sphaerosiderite crystal spherulites ranging from 10 to 200 um in diameter, and (2) coccoid siderite comprising grape-like "clusters" of crystals 5-20 ??n in diameter. The siderite, formed in both macropores and within fine-grained clay matrices, indicates development of localized anaerobic, low-Eh conditions, possibly due to microbial degradation of organic contaminants. Stable-isotope compositions of the siderite have ??13C values spanning over 25%o (+7 to - 18%o VPDB) indicating fractionation of DIC by multiple microbial metabolic pathways, but with relatively constant ??18O values from (-4.8 ?? 0.66%o VPDB) defining a meteoric sphaerosiderite line (MSL). Calculated isotope equilibrium water ??18O values from pedogenic siderites at the CCP site are from 1 to 5 per mil lighter than the groundwater ??18O values that we estimate for the site. If confirmed by field studies in progress, this observation might call for a reevaluation of low-temperature siderite-water 18O fractionations. Investigations at the CCP site thus provide valuable information on the geochemical conditions under which siderite can form in modern soils, and thus insight on controls on siderite formation in ancient soils. Copyright ?? 2010, SEPM (Society for Sedimentary Geology).

Journal of Sedimentary Research↗

USGS2022

Stormwater reduction and water budget for a rain garden on sandy soil, Gary, Indiana, 2016–18

Stormwater reduction measures, or green infrastructure, were implemented in the parking area at Gary City Hall, Gary, Indiana, with the intention of reducing stormwater discharge to the sewers. A study area, including a centrally located rain garden and the surrounding paved surfaces and green space, was instrumented during both a preconstruction and a postconstruction period to (1) develop water budgets to improve understanding of the rain garden hydrology and (2) determine the quantity of stormwater runoff that was diverted and retained by the green infrastructure instead of reaching the combined storm and sanitary sewer. The study was focused on warm-season precipitation and was monitored during spring, summer, and fall of 2016, 2017 and 2018. Before construction of the rain garden in the parking lot of Gary City Hall in 2017, nearly all precipitation was conveyed away from the parking lot by underground drains, discharged to the sewer, and treated as sanitary waste at the Gary Sanitary District’s treatment plant or discharged directly to local waterways if stormflow exceeded capabilities of the sewage treatment plant. A goal of the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative is the reduction of sewer overflows to local waterways to improve the quality of water entering the Great Lakes. Cities such as Gary benefit financially and environmentally by reducing discharges of stormwater runoff to the sewer system, eliminating the need for treatment. Before implementation of green infrastructure at Gary City Hall, approximately 25 percent of precipitation (approximately 10,200 cubic feet) discharged as stormwater to the sewers through the parking lot drain. After implementation, 2 percent of precipitation discharged to the sewers. For the spring, summer, and fall seasons of 2017 and 2018, 21–24 percent (about 10,700–19,700 cubic feet) of precipitation was captured by the newly installed rain garden. Stormwater discharged to the rain garden infiltrated the sandy soil and was later evaporated from the soil surface, was transpired by plants, or recharged the underlying groundwater aquifer. The percent reduction in stormwater discharged to the storm sewer after the construction of the rain garden was 80.3 percent, equating to approximately 21,400 and 39,300 gallons of stormwater in 2017 and 2018, respectively.

Indiana↗

USGS2020

Small-scale water deficits after wildfires create long-lasting ecological impacts

Ecological droughts are deficits in soil–water availability that induce threshold-like ecosystem responses, such as causing altered or degraded plant-community conditions, which can be exceedingly difficult to reverse. However, 'ecological drought' can be difficult to define, let alone to quantify, especially at spatial and temporal scales relevant to land managers. This is despite a growing need to integrate drought-related factors into management decisions as climate changes result in precipitation instability in many semi-arid ecosystems. We asked whether success in restoration seedings of the foundational species big sagebrush ( Artemisia tridentata ) was related to estimated water deficit, using the SoilWat2 model and data from >600 plots located in previously burned areas in the western United States. Water deficit was characterized by: (1) the standardized precipitation-evapotranspiration index (SPEI), a coarse-scale drought index, and (2) the number of days with wet and warm conditions in the near-surface soil, where seeds and seedlings germinate and emerge (i.e. days with 0–5 cm deep soil water potential >−2.5 MPa and temperature above 0 °C). SPEI, a widely used drought index, was not predictive of whether sagebrush had reestablished. In contrast, wet-warm days elicited a critical drought threshold response, with successfully reestablished sites having experienced seven more wet-warm days than unsuccessful sites during the first March following summer wildfire and restoration. Thus, seemingly small-scale and short-term changes in water availability and temperature can contribute to major ecosystem shifts, as many of these sites remained shrubless two decades later. These findings help clarify the definition of ecological drought for a foundational species and its imperiled semi-arid ecosystem. Drought is well known to affect the occurrence of wildfires, but drought in the year(s) after fire can determine whether fire causes long-lasting, negative impacts on ecosystems.

Oregon, Idaho, Nevada, Utah↗

USGS2002

Photosynthesis of the cyanobacterial soil-crust lichen Collema tenax from arid lands in southern Utah, USA: Role of water content on light and temperature responses of CO2 exchange

1. The gelatinous cyanobacterial Collema tenax is a dominant lichen of biotic soil crusts in the western United States. In laboratory experiments, we studied CO 2 exchange of this species as dependent on water content (WC), light and temperature. Results are compared with performance of green-algal lichens of the same site investigated earlier. 2. As compared with published data, photosynthetic capacity of C. tenax is higher than that of other cyanobacterial and green-algal soil-crust species studied. At all temperatures and photon flux densities of ecological relevance, net photosynthesis (NP) shows a strong depression at high degrees of hydration; maximal apparent quantum-use efficiency of CO 2 fixation is also reduced. Water requirements (moisture compensation point, WC for maximal NP) are higher than that of the green-algal lichens. Collema tenax exhibits extreme ‘sun plant’ features and is adapted to high thallus temperatures. 3. Erratic rain showers are the main source of moisture for soil crusts on the Colorado Plateau, quickly saturating the lichens with liquid water. High water-holding capacity of C. tenax ensures extended phases of favourable hydration at conditions of high light and temperature after the rain for substantial photosynthetic production. Under such conditions the cyanobacterial lichen appears superior over its green-algal competitors, which seem better adapted to habitats with high air humidity, dew or fog as prevailing source of moisture.

Utah↗

USGS2019

Patterns of primary production and ecological drought in Yellowstone

Introduction: Photosynthesis converts sunlight into stored energy in millions of leaves, flowers and seeds that maintain the web of life in Yellowstone. This transformation of energy fixes carbon, supplies organic matter to soils, and can become fuel for wildfire. As the first link of the food chain, new plant biomass is called primary production and provides energy to consumers, including wildlife. While Yellowstone is a mountain environment with deep winter snowpack, the park can get very dry in some years as evidenced by massive wildfires in 1988 and 2016. Droughts like these not only contribute to fire potential, but they affect primary production, the food chain and likely will play an increasingly important role in transforming vegetation structure and composition in the future. Meteorological, agricultural, and hydrological drought have been assessed quantitatively for many years, but key indicators of drought in wildland ecosystems have not been formally defined until recently (Crausbay et al., 2017). One promising new method to do this is by measuring how vegetation responds to negative effects of drought, and positive effects of favorable conditions that offset negative effects of drought. The balance of drought stress and growth has important implications for future vegetation condition as the climate of Yellowstone changes. Monitoring primary production, and predicting future vegetation changes are needed to provide a comprehensive view of park health and anticipate future ecosystem changes (Crabtree et al. 2009, Nemani et al. 2009). Although an important indicator of ecosystem condition, primary production can be time and resource-intensive to monitor in wildland settings using traditional ground-based methods such as clipping and weighing. Fortunately, ground-based methods can be complemented and enhanced by monitoring primary production with satellite imagery. Measurements of solar radiation reflectance in visible and near infra-red wavelengths can indicate primary production at frequent weekly intervals from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MODIS) on satellites operated by NASA. The Greater Yellowstone Inventory and Monitoring Network (GRYN) uses this information to track changes in primary production across Yellowstone over time. They link these measurements to vegetation types, soils, and climate to understand where and when changes in production have occurred and may occur in the future.

Yellowstone National Park↗

USGS2012

Inferring local competition intensity from patch size distributions: a test using biological soil crusts

Dryland vegetation is inherently patchy. This patchiness goes on to impact ecology, hydrology, and biogeochemistry. Recently, researchers have proposed that dryland vegetation patch sizes follow a power law which is due to local plant facilitation. It is unknown what patch size distribution prevails when competition predominates over facilitation, or if such a pattern could be used to detect competition. We investigated this question in an alternative vegetation type, mosses and lichens of biological soil crusts, which exhibit a smaller scale patch-interpatch configuration. This micro-vegetation is characterized by competition for space. We proposed that multiplicative effects of genetics, environment and competition should result in a log-normal patch size distribution. When testing the prevalence of log-normal versus power law patch size distributions, we found that the log-normal was the better distribution in 53% of cases and a reasonable fit in 83%. In contrast, the power law was better in 39% of cases, and in 8% of instances both distributions fit equally well. We further hypothesized that the log-normal distribution parameters would be predictably influenced by competition strength. There was qualitative agreement between one of the distribution's parameters (μ) and a novel intransitive (lacking a 'best' competitor) competition index, suggesting that as intransitivity increases, patch sizes decrease. The correlation of μ with other competition indicators based on spatial segregation of species (the C-score) depended on aridity. In less arid sites, μ was negatively correlated with the C-score (suggesting smaller patches under stronger competition), while positive correlations (suggesting larger patches under stronger competition) were observed at more arid sites. We propose that this is due to an increasing prevalence of competition transitivity as aridity increases. These findings broaden the emerging theory surrounding dryland patch size distributions and, with refinement, may help us infer cryptic ecological processes from easily observed spatial patterns in the field.

Oikos↗

USGS2010

Plant population and habitat characteristics of the endemic Sonoran Desert cactus Peniocereus striatus in Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, Arizona

Peniocereus striatus (Brandegee) Buxb. (Cactaceae) is an endemic Sonoran Desert cactus that reaches its northern range limit in southwestern Arizona. One U.S. population occupies a small area of Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument near the U.S./Mexico international boundary, which has been monitored since 1939. An extensive survey conducted in 2002, covering 177 ha, resulted in the discovery of 88 new plants, in addition to the relocation of 57 plants found in previous surveys. Despite potential increases in population size and spatial distribution, mean plant height and number of basal stems has not significantly changed in recent years. Bud scars revealed that a majority of the population was sexually mature. Peniocereus striatus occurrence increased with decreasing slope, spanned every slope aspect, and was highest on rocky soils, but was noticeably low on west and northwest slopes and areas where severe land degradation had previously occurred. Over half of P. striatus plants were nursed by shrubs and subshrubs, while 40% occurred under leguminous trees. A severe frost in January 2002 top-killed 19% of the population, with the greatest damage in drainage bottoms. However, long-term (1944–2002) climate records show that there has been an overall increase in the number of frost free days in the region, which, coupled with land use change, has implications for the future health of this population.

Arizona↗

USGS2008

The coral reef of South Moloka'i, Hawai'i— Portrait of a sediment-threatened fringing reef

Moloka‘i, with the most extensive coral reef in the main Hawaiian Islands, is especially sacred to Hina, the Goddess of the Moon. As Hinaalo, she is the Mother of the Hawaiian people; as Hinapuku‘a, she is the Goddess of Fishermen; and in the form Hina‘opuhalako‘a, she is the Goddess who gave birth to coral, coral reefs, and all spiny marine organisms. Interdependence between the reef’s living resources, the people, and their cosmology was the basis for management of Moloka‘i’s coastal waters for over a thousand years. The ancient residents of Moloka‘i built the greatest concentration of fishponds known anywhere, but their mastery of mariculture, something needed now more than ever, was lost after near genocide from exotic Western diseases. Subsequent destruction of the native vegetation for exotic cattle, goats, pigs, sugar cane, and pineapple caused soil erosion and sedimentation on the reef flat. This masterful volume clearly documents that soil washing into the sea is the major threat to the reef today. Abandoned fishponds, choked with sediment, now act as barriers and mud traps, making damage to corals less than it would otherwise would have been. The role of mud and freshwater from land in preventing coral reef growth, clearly articulated in Charles Darwin’s first book, The Structure and Distribution of Coral Reefs, is the major theme of this book. All around the tropics, coral reefs have died from huge increases in terrestrial sedimentation that resulted from destruction of hillside forests for cash-crop agriculture and pastures in the colonial era, especially in Latin America, Asia, and the islands of the Caribbean and Indo-Pacific. It is obvious that one cannot manage the coastal zone as a unit separate from the watersheds that drain into it. Yet there has been surprisingly little comprehensive scientific study of these impacts. In this landmark volume, U.S. Geological Survey researchers and their colleagues have developed and applied a remarkably integrated approach to the reefs of Moloka‘i, combining geology, oceanography, and biology to provide an in-depth understanding of the processes that have made these reefs grow and that now limit them. They have joined old fashioned natural history of marine animals and plants with study of the geological evolution of the island, hydrology, meteorology, and land-use history, to an arsenal of new methods of remote sensing, including aerial photography, laser ranging, infrared thermal mapping, seismic reflection, in-situ instrumentation to measure chemical parameters of water quality, and direct measurements of the physical driving forces affecting them—such as wave energy, currents, sedimentation, and sediment transport. They provide a level of documentation and insight that has never been available for any reef before. A remarkable feature of this book is that it is aimed at the people of Moloka‘i to inform them of what is happening to their reef and what they might do to preserve their vital resources. The scientific data and interpretations are expressed in unusually clear and comprehensible language, free of the professional jargon that makes most technical publications impenetrable to the public that most needs to know about them, yet without loss of scientific rigor. Here readers will see clearly explained the whole path of soil loss, from the impacts of wild pigs and goats at higher elevations, deforestation of the hills for cattle pasture at lower levels, and denudation of low lands for cash crops. The resulting biological impoverishment has bared the soils, which wash away in flash storms, smothering the inshore reefs, whose growth was already limited because they had grown right up to sea level. The data in this book show that the mud doesn’t get far if it is washed into the sea during a big storm with heavy waves. Afterwards this mud keeps getting stirred up by every succeeding storm, spreading and affecting corals over wider areas until it is finally washed out of the system—and that only happens if there is no more new mud washing onto the reef. I saw this myself a few years ago in Pila‘a Bay on Kaua‘i, where a bulldozed hillside of abandoned sugar cane fields had slumped right on top of a coral reef following exceptional rains. Years later, the algae species were zoned in a way that clearly mapped the distribution of nutrients washed into the bay, most likely from fertilizers bound to the eroded soils. That pattern closely mimics, on a small scale, that shown in Moloka‘i in this volume, where the inner reef is covered with algae, zoned by species in a way that points to land-based sources of nutrients, while the outermost reef slope is still coral dominated, and the deep algae seem to indicate deep-water nutrient upwelling. What of the future? The Hawaiian Islands have been exceptionally fortunate to be spared the worst coral heatstroke death from high temperatures, at least to date. So far, the worst global warming impacts have luckily been small in this region, and the small number of people on Moloka‘i has kept population densities, and sewage pollution, low compared to the more developed islands. Nutrients from years of sugar and pineapple fertilization, and the washing of this soil onto the reefs, show clear influences on the pattern of algae on the reef. Even at very low levels of nutrients, well below that which drives algae to smother and kill coral reefs, more algae is present. Soil erosion control is therefore the key to better management of both nutrients and turbidity on Moloka‘i reefs. To that end land management actions mentioned in this book, such as suppressing wild fires and eliminating wild goats and pigs, could be made even more effective if supplemented by active erosion control using plants whose roots bind the soil effectively in place. Through all of these efforts, Hina and the people of Moloka‘i could be happy again!

Hawaii↗

USGS1995

Ecotoxicological damage from zinc smelting at Palmerton, Pennsylvania

The two zinc smelters at Palmerton, PA emitted huge amounts of contaminants ( 260,000 t of Zn, 3,300 t of Cd, 6,800 t of Pb) to the air and severely damaged the forest on Blue Mountain. The high Zn concentrations in soil killed tree seedlings by inhibiting root elongation. The result was a forest with too few young trees. When natural stresses such as fire challenged the forest, the forest failed to regenerate, and the exposed soil eroded down the steep slopes. Tree species that could sprout were favored over those that developed from seeds. As a result of high zinc concentrations, the lichen and moss communities were depauperate for at least 20 km along Blue Mountain. The denuded areas are in the process of being reclaimed with the addition of a mixture of fly ash and sewage sludge, which is seeded with grasses tolerant to the harsh conditions. In preliminary experiments, the fly ash and sewage sludge mixture was stable, despite the steepness of the slopes of the reclaimed sites on Blue Mountain. Zinc emissions reduced the decomposition rate of plant material on Blue Mountain. The partially decomposed litter, in particular, accumulated on the surface of the mineral soil. The populations of both microorganisms and arthropods were greatly reduced in soils near the smelters. Samples of litter collected from sites spanning 30 km were toxic to woodlice, and Zn was shown to be the toxic factor. A white-tailed deer examined had a very high renal Zn concentration and an articular lesion in one of its hind legs that closely resembled the lesions reported in Zn-poisoned horses. Zinc concentrations were regulated in wildlife tissues and were not reliable indicators of exposure, except in extreme cases. Two songbirds, a shrew, and several rabbits contained Pb concentrations that were suggested to be toxic. Shrews and ground-feeding songbirds accumulated relatively high concentrations of Pb. Exposure to Pb seemed to be related to the amount of soil that an animal ingests. Some white-tailed deer and cottontails had renal Cd concentrations near 600 ppm w.w., which is associated with renal damage in other mammals. The accumulation of Cd was greatest in wildlife that lived longest. The destruction of the habitat for wildlife on Blue Mountain decreased wildlife populations. Populations of insectivorous birds, however, were depressed well beyond the area of obvious damage to the forest. Forest-floor salamanders were completely absent from study sites spanning 18 km along Blue Mountain. Actual reductions in wildlife populations were much greater than would have been predicted from habitat suitability models alone.

Book chapter↗

USGS2024

Homogenization of soil seed bank communities by fire and invasive species in the Mojave Desert

Soil seed banks help maintain species diversity through temporal storage effects and function as germination pools that can optimize fitness across varying environmental conditions. These characteristics promote the persistence of native plant communities, yet disturbances such as fire and associated invasions by non-native species can disrupt these reserves, fundamentally altering successional trajectories. This may be particularly true in deserts, where native plant communities are less adapted to fire. While studies of fire effects on desert plant communities are not uncommon, information regarding the short- and long-term effects of fire on seed banks is less available. To better understand the influence of fire and invasive species on desert seed banks, we investigated soil seed bank biodiversity from 30 wildfires that burned between 1972 and 2010 across the Mojave Desert ecoregion of North America. We assessed how characteristics of fire regimes (frequency, time since fire, and burn severity) interacted with climate and invasive plants on measures of α-, β-, and γ-diversities. Because β-diversity is a direct measure of community variability and reveals important information about biodiversity loss, we further examined the nestedness and turnover components of β-diversity. Mean α- and γ-diversities were generally higher for burned locations than in unburned reference sites, however individual fire variables had little influence on patterns of seed bank diversity. Burned area seed banks tended to be dominated by non-native invasive species, primarily two grasses, ( Bromus rubens , Bromus tectorum ), as well as an invasive forb ( Erodium cicutarium ). The most striking pattern we observed was a collective sharp decline in α-, β-, and γ-diversities with increased invasive species dominance, indicating the homogenization of seed bank communities with the colonization of invasive species after fire. Evidence of homogenization was further supported by reduced turnover and increased nestedness in burn areas compared to reference areas indicating potential biodiversity loss. Our findings highlight how biological processes such as plant invasions can combine with disturbance from fire to alter patterns of seed bank composition and diversity in desert ecosystems.

Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution↗

USGS2007

A virus in a fungus in a plant: Three-way symbiosis required for thermal tolerance

A mutualistic association between a fungal endophyte and a tropical panic grass allows both organisms to grow at high soil temperatures. We characterized a virus from this fungus that is involved in the mutualistic interaction. Fungal isolates cured of the virus are unable to confer heat tolerance, but heat tolerance is restored after the virus is reintroduced. The virus-infected fungus confers heat tolerance not only to its native monocot host but also to a eudicot host, which suggests that the underlying mechanism involves pathways conserved between these two groups of plants.

Science↗

USGS2013

Disturbance metrics predict a wetland Vegetation Index of Biotic Integrity

Indices of biological integrity of wetlands based on vascular plants (VIBIs) have been developed in many areas in the USA. Knowledge of the best predictors of VIBIs would enable management agencies to make better decisions regarding mitigation site selection and performance monitoring criteria. We use a novel statistical technique to develop predictive models for an established index of wetland vegetation integrity (Ohio VIBI), using as independent variables 20 indices and metrics of habitat quality, wetland disturbance, and buffer area land use from 149 wetlands in Ohio, USA. For emergent and forest wetlands, predictive models explained 61% and 54% of the variability, respectively, in Ohio VIBI scores. In both cases the most important predictor of Ohio VIBI score was a metric that assessed habitat alteration and development in the wetland. Of secondary importance as a predictor was a metric that assessed microtopography, interspersion, and quality of vegetation communities in the wetland. Metrics and indices assessing disturbance and land use of the buffer area were generally poor predictors of Ohio VIBI scores. Our results suggest that vegetation integrity of emergent and forest wetlands could be most directly enhanced by minimizing substrate and habitat disturbance within the wetland. Such efforts could include reducing or eliminating any practices that disturb the soil profile, such as nutrient enrichment from adjacent farm land, mowing, grazing, or cutting or removing woody plants.

Ecological Indicators↗

USGS2013

Litter quality versus soil microbial community controls over decomposition: a quantitative analysis

The possible effects of soil microbial community structure on organic matter decomposition rates have been widely acknowledged, but are poorly understood. Understanding these relationships is complicated by the fact that microbial community structure and function are likely to both affect and be affected by organic matter quality and chemistry, thus it is difficult to draw mechanistic conclusions from field studies. We conducted a reciprocal soil inoculum × litter transplant laboratory incubation experiment using samples collected from a set of sites that have similar climate and plant species composition but vary significantly in bacterial community structure and litter quality. The results showed that litter quality explained the majority of variation in decomposition rates under controlled laboratory conditions: over the course of the 162-day incubation, litter quality explained nearly two-thirds (64 %) of variation in decomposition rates, and a smaller proportion (25 %) was explained by variation in the inoculum type. In addition, the relative importance of inoculum type on soil respiration increased over the course of the experiment, and was significantly higher in microcosms with lower litter quality relative to those with higher quality litter. We also used molecular phylogenetics to examine the relationships between bacterial community composition and soil respiration in samples through time. Pyrosequencing revealed that bacterial community composition explained 32 % of the variation in respiration rates. However, equal portions (i.e., 16 %) of the variation in bacterial community composition were explained by inoculum type and litter quality, reflecting the importance of both the meta-community and the environment in bacterial assembly. Taken together, these results indicate that the effects of changing microbial community composition on decomposition are likely to be smaller than the potential effects of climate change and/or litter quality changes in response to increasing atmospheric CO 2 concentrations or atmospheric nutrient deposition.

Oecologia↗

USGS2019

Climate-driven shifts in soil temperature and moisture regimes suggest opportunities to enhance assessments of dryland resilience and resistance

Assessing landscape patterns in climate vulnerability, as well as resilience and resistance to drought, disturbance, and invasive species, requires appropriate metrics of relevant environmental conditions. In dryland systems of western North America, soil temperature and moisture regimes have been widely utilized as an indicator of resilience to disturbance and resistance to invasive plant species by providing integrative indicators of long-term site aridity, which relates to ecosystem recovery potential and climatic suitability to invaders. However, the impact of climate change on these regimes, and the suitability of the indicator for estimating resistance and resilience in the context of climate change have not been assessed. Here we utilized a daily time-step, process-based, ecosystem water balance model to characterize current and future patterns in soil temperature and moisture conditions in dryland areas of western North America, and evaluate the impact of these changes on estimation of resilience and resistance. Soil temperature increases in the twenty-first century are substantial, relatively uniform geographically, and robust across climate models. Higher temperatures will expand the areas of mesic and thermic soil temperature regimes while decreasing the area of cryic and frigid temperature conditions. Projections for future precipitation are more variable both geographically and among climate models. Nevertheless, future soil moisture conditions are relatively consistent across climate models for much of the region. Projections of drier soils are expected in most of Arizona and New Mexico, as well as the central and southern U.S. Great Plains. By contrast, areas with projections of increasing soil moisture include northeastern Montana, southern Alberta and Saskatchewan, and many areas dominated by big sagebrush, particularly the Central and Northern Basin and Range and the Wyoming Basin ecoregions. In addition, many areas dominated by big sagebrush are expected to experience pronounced shifts toward cool season moisture, which will create more area with xeric moisture conditions and less area with ustic conditions. In addition to indicating widespread geographic shifts in the distribution of soil temperature and moisture regimes, our results suggest opportunities for enhancing the integration of these conditions into a quantitative framework for assessing climate change impacts on dryland ecosystem resilience and resistance that is responsive to long-term projections.

Alberta, Arizona, British Columbia, California, Co↗

USGS2001

Green fluorescent protein is lighting up fungal biology

Prasher ( 42 ) cloned a cDNA for the green fluorescent protein (GFP) gene from the jellyfish Aequorea victoria in 1992. Shortly thereafter, to the amazement of many investigators, this gene or derivatives thereof were successfully expressed and conferred fluorescence to bacteria and Caenorhabditis elegans cells in culture ( 10 , 31 ), followed by yeast ( 24 , 39 ), mammals ( 40 ), Drosophila ( 66 ), Dictyostelium ( 23 , 30 ), plants ( 28 , 49 ), and filamentous fungi ( 54 ). The tremendous success of GFP as a reporter can be attributed to unique qualities of this 238-amino-acid, 27-kDa protein which absorbs light at maxima of 395 and 475 nm and emits light at a maximum of 508 nm. The fluorescence of GFP requires only UV or blue light and oxygen, and therefore, unlike the case with other reporters (β-glucuronidase, β-galacturonidase, chloramphenicol acetyltransferase, and firefly luciferase) that rely on cofactors or substrates for activity, in vivo observation of gfp expression is possible with individual cells, with cell populations, or in whole organisms interacting with symbionts or environments in real time. Complications caused by destructive sampling, cell permeablization for substrates, or leakage of products do not occur. Furthermore, the GFP protein is extremely stable in vivo and has been fused to the C or N terminus of many cellular and extracellular proteins without a loss of activity, thereby permitting the tagging of proteins for gene regulation analysis, protein localization, or specific organelle labeling. The mature protein resists many proteases and is stable up to 65°C and at pH 5 to 11, in 1% sodium dodecyl sulfate or 6 M guanidinium chloride (reviewed in references 17 and 67 ), and in tissue fixed with formaldehyde, methanol, or glutaraldehyde. However, GFP loses fluorescence in methanol-acetic acid (3:1) and can be masked by autofluorescent aldehyde groups in tissue fixed with glutaraldehyde. Fluorescence is optimal at pH 7.2 to 8.0 ( 67 ). Limitations on GFP as a reporter for some applications are its low turnover rate, 2-h lag time for autoactivation of its chromophore, improper folding at high temperatures (37°C), which results in nonfluorescent and insoluble forms of the protein, and requirement for oxygen, which is not present in equal concentrations in all subcellular locations or cell types (reviewed in references 17 and 67 ). These characteristics of GFP, however, have not posed a problem for many applications, and mutant forms of GFP that have an ability to fold properly at high temperatures, increased solubility and fluorescence, reduced photobleaching ( 16 , 17 , 51 ), and reduced half-lives ( 1 ) have been developed. Coupled with fluorescence-activated cell sorting, confocal microscopy or quantitative image analysis techniques, GFP technology can be used to isolate transformed cells or specific cell types from populations of cells ( 14 ), to quantify gene expression of individual cells within whole organisms ( 8 ), or to assess the dispersal and biomass of organisms in complex environments, such as in animal or plant hosts ( 38 , 59 ), in biofilms ( 55 ), in fermentors ( 41 ), on leaf surfaces ( 53 , 61 ), or in soils ( 2 ). The vast majority of studies utilizing GFP expression in fungi have been with yeast (reviewed in reference 13 ). Ustilago maydis was the first filamentous fungus for which successful expression of gfp was reported ( 54 ), followed closely by Aspergillus nidulans ( 22 , 57 ) and Aureobasidium pullulans ( 61 ). Presently, gfp expression has been reported for 16 species comprising 12 genera of filamentous fungi, including Colletotrichum ( 21 , 44 ), Mycosphaerella ( 52 ), Magnaporthe ( 32 , 35 ), Cochliobolus ( 38 ), Trichoderma ( 2 , 70 ), Podospora ( 5 ), Sclerotinia ( 63 ), Schizophyllum ( 37 ), Aspergillus ( 20 , 47 , 50 ) and Phytophthora ( 7 , 62 ). In this review we draw on published reports, with the goal of providing an overview of GFP technology as it applies to the biology of filamentous fungi. These reports are not exhaustive of potential applications of GFP technology, as examples of genomic approaches to utilizing GFP in bacterial and yeast systems attest ( 4 , 46 , 60 , 65 ). Expression of gfp in filamentous fungi requires a gfp variant that is efficiently translated in fungi, a transformation system, and a fungal promoter that satisfies the requirements of a given experimental objective. Transformation of fungi has recently been reviewed by Gold et al. ( 26 ). Robinson and Sharon ( 44 ) suggest that GFP can actually be used to optimize transformation protocols. In addition to reporting the construction of a new fungal transformation vector that expresses SGFP under the control of the ToxA gene promoter from Pyrenophora tritici-repentis ( 12 ) and demonstrating its use in plant pathogens belonging to eight different genera of filamentous fungi ( Fusarium, Botrytis, Pyrenophora, Alternaria, Cochliobolus, Sclerotinia, Colletotrichum , and Verticillium ), in this review we also enumerate and describe a comprehensive list of vectors for expressing GFP in fungi.

Applied and Environmental Microbiology↗

USGS1990

Soil-vegetation correlations in the Connecticut River floodplain of Western Massachusetts

As part of a national study analyzing the relation between hydric soils and wetland vegetation, the vegetation associated with a series of known soils was sampled along the Connecticut River floodplain in Massachusetts. Weighted average and index average (presence/absence) values were calculated for vegetation using wetland ecological index values from the National List of Plant Species that Occur in Wetlands developed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and procedures developed by T. R. Wentworth and G. P. Johnson at North Carolina State University. Good correspondence between soils and vegetation was recorded with two exceptions. Two typically nonhydric soils were determined to be hydric based on vegetation analyses. Examination of the groundwater hydrology of these two soils confirmed their hydric nature. The authors suggested that one of these soils may need to be redefined and they also suggested that the assigned index values for a few species of vegetation should be reexamined. However, in general the index average values of vegetation based on published wetland index values corresponded with the hydric and nonhydric nature of soils.

Massachusetts↗