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At least 1,387 records · Page 77Linked to original sources
USGS2024

Societal benefits of cyanobacteria harmful algal bloom management in Lake Okeechobee in Florida—Potential damages avoided during the 2018 event under U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Harmful Algal Bloom Interception, Treatment, and Transformation System scenarios

Freshwater harmful algal blooms (HABs) formed by blue-green algae, or cyanobacteria, have emerged as a global environmental problem. Their negative impacts on aquatic ecosystems can affect the benefits nature provides to human society by reducing water quality; inhibiting aquatic recreation; killing fish, wildlife, and pets; and posing a risk to human health. To manage harmful algal blooms, the Engineer Research and Development Center of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is developing an advanced technology called the Harmful Algal Bloom Interception, Treatment, and Transformation System (HABITATS), which has been tested in pilot demonstrations upstream of spillways at HAB-affected waterbodies in Florida. The U.S. Geological Survey and cooperators from the U.S. Department of the Interior Office of Policy Analysis investigated the societal benefits of HABITATS technology by using data from an actual 2018 harmful algal bloom in Lake Okeechobee to characterize the observed societal impacts and then comparing observed effects to hypothetical scenarios of HABITATS deployment. This study estimated an economic value of $5.5 million in foregone recreation as a result of closed boating ramp facilities and other restrictions on aquatic recreation such as fishing and swimming during the 2018 cyanobacteria harmful algal bloom outbreak. The change in housing sales prices that could have resulted from murky water or bad odor during that outbreak was estimated as $2.3 million. The team also investigated drinking water contamination and human illness but did not find significant societal impacts in this case. If HABITATS had been deployed, the avoided losses less the cost of management could have provided net societal benefits that ranged between negative $2.1 million and positive $0.8 million, depending on the vertical distribution of algae in the water column and the HABITATS version used. The study’s estimated societal benefit is undoubtedly a lower bound estimate because current scientific knowledge is inadequate to characterize, or monetize, all the impacts.

Florida↗
USGS2019

Using mobile GIS applications to support mineral resource investigations in the Eglab region, Algeria

The Algerian Geological Survey Agency – U.S. Geological Survey (ASGA-USGS) mineral resource assessment project in the Eglab region, Algeria, comprises the eastern part of the Reguibat Shield bounded by the Tindouf, Reggane, and Taoudeni basins to the north, east, and south, respectively. The use of mobile GIS applications on handheld tablets facilitated team coordination and ease of transition from field planning and preparation, data collection and integration, and transfer back into project GIS databases. Mobile GIS applications facilitated collaboration between teams collecting disparate data types to support the geologic, geochronological, geochemical, field spectral, and geophysical investigations. This technology was used in parallel with the traditional field investigation methods. These tailored applications on GPS-enabled tablets provided a platform for utilization of GIS data in the field and allowed for standardized data collection, picklists, fewer transcription errors, and the ability to store photos, coordinates, and field notes together in an integrated system. The suite of Environmental Systems Research Institute, Inc. (Esri™) mobile applications allowed for customized use on multiple platforms (Android/Windows/iOS) to streamline data collection, analysis, and storage.

Eglab region↗
USGS2013

Next generation of global land cover characterization, mapping, and monitoring

Land cover change is increasingly affecting the biophysics, biogeochemistry, and biogeography of the Earth's surface and the atmosphere, with far-reaching consequences to human well-being. However, our scientific understanding of the distribution and dynamics of land cover and land cover change (LCLCC) is limited. Previous global land cover assessments performed using coarse spatial resolution (300 m–1 km) satellite data did not provide enough thematic detail or change information for global change studies and for resource management. High resolution (∼30 m) land cover characterization and monitoring is needed that permits detection of land change at the scale of most human activity and offers the increased flexibility of environmental model parameterization needed for global change studies. However, there are a number of challenges to overcome before producing such data sets including unavailability of consistent global coverage of satellite data, sheer volume of data, unavailability of timely and accurate training and validation data, difficulties in preparing image mosaics, and high performance computing requirements. Integration of remote sensing and information technology is needed for process automation and high-performance computing needs. Recent developments in these areas have created an opportunity for operational high resolution land cover mapping, and monitoring of the world. Here, we report and discuss these advancements and opportunities in producing the next generations of global land cover characterization, mapping, and monitoring at 30-m spatial resolution primarily in the context of United States, Group on Earth Observations Global 30 m land cover initiative (UGLC).

International Journal of Applied Earth Observation↗
USGS2005

Missouri magnetic and gravity maps and data: A web site for distribution of data

Magnetic anomalies are due to variations in the Earth's magnetic field caused by the uneven distribution of magnetic minerals (primarily magnetite) in the rocks that make up the upper part of the Earth's crust. The features and patterns of the magnetic anomalies can be used to delineate details of subsurface geology, including the locations of buried faults and magnetite-bearing rocks and the depth to the base of sedimentary basins. This information is valuable for mineral exploration, geologic mapping, and environmental studies. The Missouri magnetic map is constructed from grids that combine information collected in 25 separate magnetic surveys conducted between 1943 and 1987. The data from these surveys are of varying quality. The design and specifications (terrain clearance, sampling rates, line spacing, and reduction procedures) varied from survey to survey depending on the purpose of the project and the technology of that time. Every attempt was made to acquire the data in digital form.

Missouri↗
USGS2005

Iowa magnetic and gravity maps and data: A web site for distribution of data

Magnetic anomalies are due to variations in the Earth's magnetic field caused by the uneven distribution of magnetic minerals (primarily magnetite) in the rocks that make up the upper part of the Earth's crust. The features and patterns of the magnetic anomalies can be used to delineate details of subsurface geology, including the locations of buried faults and magnetite-bearing rocks and the depth to the base of sedimentary basins. This information is valuable for mineral exploration, geologic mapping, and environmental studies. The Iowa magnetic map is constructed from grids that combine information collected in nine separate magnetic surveys conducted between 1953 and 1972. The data from these surveys are of varying quality. The design and specifications (terrain clearance, sampling rates, line spacing, and reduction procedures) varied from survey to survey depending on the purpose of the project and the technology of that time. Every attempt was made to acquire the data in digital form. All survey grids have been continued to 305 m (1,000 ft) above ground and merged together to form the State compilation.

Iowa↗
USGS2015

Trust Species and Habitat Branch: using the innovative approaches of today to conserve biodiversity for tomorrow

Some of the biggest challenges facing wildlife today are changes to their environment from both natural and anthropogenic causes. Natural resource managers, planners, policy makers, industry and private landowners must make informed decisions and policies regarding management, conservation, and restoration of species, habitats, and ecosystem function in response to these changes. Specific needs include (1) a better understanding of population status and trends; (2) understanding of species’ habitat needs and roles in supporting ecosystem functions; (3) the ability to assess species’ responses to environmental changes and predict future responses; and (4) the development of innovative techniques and tools to better understand, minimize or prevent any unintended consequences of environmental change. The Trust Species and Habitats Branch of the Fort Collins Science Center includes a diverse group of scientists encompassing both traditional and specialized expertise in wildlife biology, ecosystem ecology, quantitative ecology, disease ecology, molecular genetics, and stable isotope geochemistry. Using our expertise and collaborating with others around the world, our goal is to provide the information, tools, and technologies that our partners need to support conservation, management, and restoration of terrestrial vertebrate populations, habitats, and ecosystem function in a changing world.

Fact Sheet↗
USGS2006

Remotely sensed data available from the US Geological Survey EROS Data Center

The Center for Earth Resources Observation Systems (EROS) is a field center of the geography discipline within the US geological survey (USGS) of the Department of the Interior. The EROS Data Center (EDC) was established in the early 1970s as the nation’s principal archive of remotely sensed data. Initially the EDC was responsible for the archive, reproduction, and distribution of black-and-white and color-infrared aerial photography acquired under numerous mapping programs conducted by various Federal agencies including the USGS, Department of Agriculture, Environmental Protection Agency, and NASA. The EDC was also designated the central archive for data acquired by the first satellite sensor designed for broad-scale earth observations in support of civilian agency needs for earth resource information. A four-band multispectral scanner (MSS) and a return-beam vidicon (RBV) camera were initially flown on the Earth Resources Technology Satellite-1, subsequently designated Landsat-1. The synoptic coverage, moderate spatial resolution, and multi-spectral view provided by these data stimulated scientists with an unprecedented perspective from which to study the Earth’s surface and to understand the relationships between human activity and natural systems.

Book chapter↗
USGS2026

DNA retention in sea lamprey digestive tracts: Insights from controlled feeding experiments

The sea lamprey ( Petromyzon marinus ), a non-native species in the Laurentian Great Lakes, has significantly impacted native fish communities and commercial fisheries, requiring population suppression efforts. While traditional control methods such as lampricides and barriers have reduced sea lamprey population abundance, questions remain regarding sea lamprey dietary composition given the focus of current damage assessments on economically and ecologically important host species. Recent advances in molecular technology offer promising methods of sea lamprey dietary assessment. Specifically, DNA metabarcoding enables species-specific identification of taxonomically diverse prey items from gut and fecal samples, and has proven effective in many taxa, including hematophagous species such as Arctic lamprey ( Lethenteron camtschaticum ) and sea lamprey. However, studies on DNA retention within digestive tracts are limited, particularly given the potential effects of environmental and dietary factors among hematophagous species. We used controlled feeding experiments to understand the effects these factors may have on DNA retention and host detectability within sea lamprey digestive tracts. Additionally, we evaluated the utility of metabarcoding for identifying multiple host species from consecutive feedings. Results indicate that host DNA can be detected up to 30 days post-feeding, with detection probability decreasing with increasing time following feeding. Temperature effects were dependent upon fasting periods, and host-switching trials indicated multiple previous host species could be detected from a single lamprey. Findings provide valuable insights for refining dietary analysis protocols for wild-caught sea lamprey within native and introduced ranges.

Environmental DNA↗
USGS2022

A framework to integrate innovations in invasion science for proactive management

Invasive alien species (IAS) are a rising threat to biodiversity, national security, and regional economies, with impacts in the hundreds of billions of U.S. dollars annually. Proactive or predictive approaches guided by scientific knowledge are essential to keeping pace with growing impacts of invasions under climate change. Although the rapid development of diverse technologies and approaches has produced tools with the potential to greatly accelerate invasion research and management, innovation has far outpaced implementation and coordination. Technological and methodological syntheses are urgently needed to close the growing implementation gap and facilitate interdisciplinary collaboration and synergy among evolving disciplines. A broad review is necessary to demonstrate the utility and relevance of work in diverse fields to generate actionable science for the ongoing invasion crisis. Here, we review such advances in relevant fields including remote sensing, epidemiology, big data analytics, environmental DNA (eDNA) sampling, genomics, and others, and present a generalized framework for distilling existing and emerging data into products for proactive IAS research and management. This integrated workflow provides a pathway for scientists and practitioners in diverse disciplines to contribute to applied invasion biology in a coordinated, synergistic, and scalable manner.

Biological Reviews↗
USGS1980

Isolation of uranium mill tailings and their component radionuclides from the biosphere; some earth science perspectives

Uranium mining and milling is an expanding activity in the. Western United States. Although the milling process yields a uranium concentrate, the large volume of tailings remaining contains about 85 percent of the radioactivity originally associated with the ore. By virtue of the physical and chemical processing of the ore and the redistribution of the contained radionuclides at the Earth's surface, these tailings constitute a technologically enhanced source of natural radiation exposure. Sources of potential human radiation exposure from uranium mill tailings include the emanation of radon gas, the transport of particles by wind and water, and the transport of soluble radionuclides, seeping from disposal areas, by ground water. Due to the 77,000 year half-life of thorium-230, the parent of radium-226, the environmental effects associated with radionuclides contained in these railings must be conceived of within the framework of geologic processes operating over geologic time. The magnitude of erosion of cover materials and tailings and the extent of geochemical mobilization of the contained radionuclides to the atmosphere and hydrosphere should be considered in the evaluation of the potential, long-term consequences of all proposed uranium mill tailings management plans.

Circular↗
USGS2004

Cyanide hazards to plants and animals from gold mining and related water issues

Highly toxic sodium cyanide (NaCN) is used by the international mining community to extract gold and other precious metals through milling of high-grade ores and heap leaching of low-grade ores (Korte et al. 2000). The process to concentrate gold using cyanide was developed in Scotland in 1887 and was used almost immediately in the Witwatersrand gold fields of the Republic of South Africa. Heap leaching with cyanide was proposed by the U.S. Bureau of Mines in 1969 as a means of extracting gold from low-grade ores. The gold industry adopted the technique in the 1970s, soon making heap leaching the dominant technology in gold extraction (Da Rosa and Lyon 1997). The heap leach and milling processes, which involve dewatering of gold-bearing ores, spraying of dilute cyanide solutions on extremely large heaps of ores containing low concentrations of gold, or the milling of ores with the use of cyanide and subsequent recovery of the gold-cyanide complex, have created a number of serious environmental problems affecting wildlife and water management. In this account, we review the history of cyanide use in gold mining with emphasis on heap leach gold mining, cyanide hazards to plants and animals, water management issues associated with gold mining, and proposed mitigation and research needs.

Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxico↗
USGS2010

Development of inferential sensors for real-time quality control of water-level data for the Everglades Depth Estimation Network

The Everglades Depth Estimation Network (EDEN) is an integrated network of real-time water-level gaging stations, ground-elevation models, and watersurface models designed to provide scientists, engineers, and water-resource managers with current (2000-present) water-depth information for the entire freshwater portion of the greater Everglades. The generation of EDEN waterlevel surfaces is derived from real-time data. Real-time data are automatically checked for outliers using minimum, maximum, and rate-of-change thresholds for each station. Smaller errors in the real-time data, such as gradual drift of malfunctioning pressure transducers, are more difficult to immediately identify with visual inspection of time-series plots and may only be identified during on-site inspections of the gages. Correcting smaller errors in the data often is time consuming and water-level data may not be finalized for several months. To provide water-level surfaces on a daily basis, EDEN needed an automated process to identify errors in water-level data and to provide estimates for missing or erroneous waterlevel data. A technology often used for industrial applications is “inferential sensor.” Rather than installing a redundant sensor to measure a process, such as an additional waterlevel gage, an inferential sensor, or virtual sensor, is developed that estimates the processes measured by the physical sensor. The advantage of an inferential sensor is that it provides a redundant signal to the sensor in the field but without exposure to environmental threats. In the event that a gage does malfunction, the inferential sensor provides an estimate for the period of missing data. The inferential sensor also can be used in the quality assurance and quality control of the data. Inferential sensors for gages in the EDEN network are currently (2010) under development. The inferential sensors will be automated so that the real-time EDEN data will continuously be compared to the inferential sensor signal and digital reports of the status of the real-time data will be sent periodically to the appropriate support personnel. The development and application of inferential sensors is easily transferable to other real-time hydrologic monitoring networks.

Florida↗
USGS2002

HAZPAC: An interactive map of Pacific Rim natural hazards, population, and infrastructure

This is an online version of a CD-ROM publication. The text files that describe using this publication make reference to software provided on the disc. For this online version the software can be downloaded for free from Adobe Systems and Environmental Systems Research Institute, Inc. (ESRI). Welcome to HAZPAC! HAZPAC is an interactive map about natural hazard risk in the Pacific Rim region. It is intended to communicate to a broad audience the ideas of 'Crowding the Rim,' which is an international, public-private partnership that fosters collaborative solutions for regional risks. HAZPAC, which stands for 'HAZards of the PACific,' uses Geographic Information System (GIS) technology to help people visualize the socioeconomic connections and shared hazard vulnerabilities among Pacific Rim countries, as well as to explore the general nature of risk. Please refer to the 'INTRODUCTION TO HAZPAC' section of the readme file below to determine which HAZPAC project will be right for you. Once you have decided which HAZPAC project is suitable for you, please refer to the 'GETTING STARTED' sections in the readme file for some basic information that will help you begin using HAZPAC. Also, we highly recommend that you follow the Tutorial exercises in the project-specific HAZPAC User Guides. The User Guides are PDF (Portable Document Format) files that must be read with Adobe Acrobat Reader (a free copy of Acrobat Reader is available using the link near the bottom of this page).

Data Series↗
USGS2022

Hydrological and lock operation conditions associated with paddlefish and bigheaded carp dam passage on a large and small scale in the Upper Mississippi River (Pools 14–18)

Movement and dispersal of migratory fish species is an important life-history characteristics that can be impeded by navigation dams. Although habitat fragmentation may be detrimental to native fish species, it might act as an effective and economical barrier for controlling the spread of invasive species in riverine systems. Various technologies have been proposed as potential fish deterrents at locks and dams to reduce bigheaded carp (i.e., silver carp and bighead carp ( Hypophthalmichthys spp.)) range expansion in the Upper Mississippi River (UMR). Lock and Dam (LD) 15 is infrequently at open-river condition (spillway gates completely open; hydraulic head across the dam <0.4 m) and has been identified as a potential location for fish deterrent implementation. We used acoustic telemetry to evaluate paddlefish passage at UMR dams and to evaluate seasonal and diel movement of paddlefish and bigheaded carp relative to environmental conditions and lock operations at LD 15. We observed successful paddlefish passage at all dams, with the highest number of passages occurring at LDs 17 and 16. Paddlefish residency events in the downstream lock approach of LD 15 occurred more frequently and for longer durations than residency events of bigheaded carp. We documented upstream passages completed by two individual paddlefish through the lock chamber at LD 15, and a single bighead carp completed upstream passage through the lock chamber during two separate years of this study. We identified four bigheaded carp and 19 paddlefish that made upstream passages through the spillway gates at LD 15 during this study. The majority of the upstream passages through the spillway gates for both species occurred during open river conditions. When hydraulic head was approximately 1-m or greater, we observed these taxa opt for upstream passage through the lock chamber more often than the dam gates. In years with infrequent open-river condition, a deterrent placed in the downstream lock approach may assist in meeting the management goal of reducing upstream passage of bigheaded carps but could also potentially affect paddlefish residency and passage. Continued study to understand the effects of deterrents on native fish could be beneficial for implementing an integrated bigheaded carp control strategy. Understanding fish behavior at UMR dams is a critical information need for river managers as they evaluate potential tools or technologies to control upstream expansion of bigheaded carp in the UMR.

Illinois, Iowa↗
USGS2013

Monitoring to assess progress toward meeting the total maximum daily load for phosphorus in the Assabet River, Massachusetts: phosphorus loads, 2008 through 2010

Wastewater discharges to the Assabet River contribute substantial amounts of phosphorus, which support accumulations of nuisance aquatic plants that are most evident in the river’s impounded reaches during the growing season. To restore the Assabet River’s water quality and aesthetics, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency required the major wastewater-treatment plants in the drainage basin to reduce the amount of phosphorus discharged to the river by 2012. From October 2008 to December 2010, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection and in support of the requirements of the Total Maximum Daily Load for Phosphorus, collected weekly flow-proportional, composite samples for analysis of concentrations of total phosphorus and orthophosphorus upstream and downstream from each of the Assabet River’s two largest impoundments: Hudson and Ben Smith. The purpose of this monitoring effort was to evaluate conditions in the river before enhanced treatment-plant technologies had effected reductions in phosphorus loads, thereby defining baseline conditions for comparison with conditions following the mandated load reductions. The locations of sampling sites with respect to the impoundments enabled examination of the impoundments’ effects on phosphorus sequestration and on the transformation of phosphorus between particulate and dissolved forms. The study evaluated the differences between loads upstream and downstream from the impoundments throughout the sampling period and compared differences during two seasonal periods of relevance to aquatic plants: April 1 through October 31, the growing season, and November 1 through March 31, the nongrowing season, when existing permit limits allowed average monthly wastewater-treatment-plant-effluent concentrations of 0.75 milligram per liter (growing season) or 1.0 milligram per liter (nongrowing season) for total phosphorus. At the four sampling sites during the growing season, median weekly total phosphorus loads ranged from 110 to 190 kilograms (kg) and median weekly orthophosphorus loads ranged from 17 to 41 kg. During the nongrowing season, median weekly total phosphorus loads ranged from 240 to 280 kg and median weekly orthophosphorus loads ranged from 56 to 66 kg. During periods of low and moderate streamflow, estimated loads of total phosphorus upstream from the Hudson impoundment generally exceeded those downstream during the same sampling periods throughout the study; orthophosphorus loads downstream from the impoundment were typically larger than those upstream. When storm runoff substantially increased the streamflow, loads of total phosphorus and orthophosphorus both tended to be larger downstream than upstream. At the Ben Smith impoundment, both total phosphorus and orthophosphorus loads were generally larger downstream than upstream during low and moderate streamflow, but the differences were not as pronounced as they were at the Hudson impoundment. High flows were also associated with substantially larger total phosphorus and orthophosphorus loads downstream than those entering the impoundment from upstream. In comparing periods of growing- and nongrowing-season loads, the same patterns of loads entering and leaving were observed at both impoundments. That is, at the Hudson impoundment, total phosphorus loads entering the impoundment were greater than those leaving it, and orthophosphorus loads leaving the impoundment were greater than those entering it. At the Ben Smith impoundment, both total phosphorus and orthophosphorus loads leaving the impoundment were greater than those entering it. However, the loads were greater during the nongrowing seasons than during the growing seasons, and the net differences between upstream and downstream loads were about the same. The results indicate that some of the particulate fraction of the total phosphorus loads is sequestered in the Hudson impoundment, where particulate phosphorus probably undergoes some physical and biogeochemical transformations to the dissolved form orthophosphorus. The orthophosphorus may be taken up by aquatic plants or transported out of the impoundments. The results for the Ben Smith impoundment are less clear and suggest net export of total phosphorus and orthophosphorus. Differences between results from the two impoundments may be attributable in part to differences in their sizes, morphology, unmonitored tributaries, riparian land use, and processes within the impoundments that have not been quantified for this study.

Massachusetts↗
USGS2003

Seabird tissue archival and monitoring project: Egg collections and analytical results 1999-2002

In 1998, the U.S. Geological Survey Biological Resources Division (USGS-BRD), the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge (AMNWR), and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) began the Seabird Tissue Archival and Monitoring Project (STAMP) to collect and cryogenically bank tissues from seabirds in Alaska for future retrospective analysis of anthropogenic contaminants. The approach of STAMP was similar to that of the Alaska Marine Mammal Tissue Archival Project (AMMTAP). AMMTAP was started in 1987 by NIST and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) as part of the Outer Continental Shelf Environmental Assessment Program sponsored by the Minerals Management Service. Presently sponsored by the USGS-BRD, AMMTAP continues its work as part of a larger national program, the Marine Mammal Health and Stranding Response Program. AMMTAP developed carefully designed sampling and specimen banking protocols. Since 1987, AMMTAP has collected tissues from marine mammals taken in Alaska Native subsistence hunts and has cryogenically banked these tissues at the NIST National Biomonitoring Specimen Bank (NBSB). Through its own analytical work and working in partnership with other researchers both within and outside Alaska, AMMTAP has helped to develop a substantial database on contaminants in Alaska marine mammals. In contrast, data and information is limited on contaminants in Alaska seabirds, which are similar to marine mammals in that they feed near the top of the food chain and have the potential for accumulating anthropogenic contaminants. During its early planning stages, STAMP managers identified the seabird egg as the first tissue of choice for study by the project. There is a relatively long history of using bird eggs for environmental monitoring and for investigating the health status of bird populations. Since 1998, protocols for collecting and processing eggs, and cryogenically banking egg samples have been developed by STAMP (see York et al. 2001). Eggs are being collected on an annual basis for several species at nesting colonies throughout Alaska. Aliquots of these egg samples are being analyzed on a regular basis for persistent organic pollutants and mercury. Results of this work have been published in scientific journals (Christopher et al. 2002) and in conference proceedings (Kucklick et al. 2002; Vander Pol et al. 2002a, 2002b). The intent of this report is to provide an up-to-date description of STAMP. The report contains the most recent egg collection inventory, analytical data, preliminary interpretations based on these data, and a discussion of possible future directions of the project.

Report↗
USGS2024

Critical considerations for communicating environmental DNA science

The economic and methodological efficiencies of environmental DNA (eDNA) based survey approaches provide an unprecedented opportunity to assess and monitor aquatic environments. However, instances of inadequate communication from the scientific community about confidence levels, knowledge gaps, reliability, and appropriate parameters of eDNA-based methods have hindered their uptake in environmental monitoring programs and, in some cases, has created misperceptions or doubts in the management community. To help remedy this situation, scientists convened a session at the Second National Marine eDNA Workshop to discuss strategies for improving communications with managers. These include articulating the readiness of different eDNA applications, highlighting the strengths and limitations of eDNA tools for various applications or use cases, communicating uncertainties associated with specified uses transparently, and avoiding the exaggeration of exploratory and preliminary findings. Several key messages regarding implementation, limitations, and relationship to existing methods were prioritized. To be inclusive of the diverse managers, practitioners, and researchers, we and the other workshop participants propose the development of communication workflow plans, using RACI (Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, Informed) charts to clarify the roles of all pertinent individuals and parties and to minimize the chance for miscommunications. We also propose developing decision support tools such as Structured Decision-Making (SDM) to help balance the benefits of eDNA sampling with the inherent uncertainty, and developing an eDNA readiness scale to articulate the technological readiness of eDNA approaches for specific applications. These strategies will increase clarity and consistency regarding our understanding of the utility of eDNA-based methods, improve transparency, foster a common vision for confidently applying eDNA approaches, and enhance their benefit to the monitoring and assessment community.

Environmental DNA↗
USGS2022

Next-generation technologies unlock new possibilities to track rangeland productivity and quantify multi-scale conservation outcomes

Historically, relying on plot-level inventories impeded our ability to quantify large-scale change in plant biomass, a key indicator of conservation practice outcomes in rangeland systems. Recent technological advances enable assessment at scales appropriate to inform management by providing spatially comprehensive estimates of productivity that are partitioned by plant functional group across all contiguous US rangelands. We partnered with the Sage Grouse and Lesser Prairie-Chicken Initiatives and the Nebraska Natural Legacy Project to demonstrate the ability of these new datasets to quantify multi-scale changes and heterogeneity in plant biomass following mechanical tree removal, prescribed fire, and prescribed grazing. In Oregon's sagebrush steppe, for example, juniper tree removal resulted in a 21% increase in one pasture's productivity and an 18% decline in another. In Nebraska's Loess Canyons, perennial grass productivity initially declined 80% at sites invaded by trees that were prescriptively burned, but then fully recovered post-fire, representing a 492% increase from nadir. In Kansas' Shortgrass Prairie, plant biomass increased 4-fold (966,809 kg/ha) in pastures that were prescriptively grazed, with gains highly dependent upon precipitation as evidenced by sensitivity of remotely sensed estimates (SD ± 951,308 kg/ha). Our results emphasize that next-generation remote sensing datasets empower land managers to move beyond simplistic control versus treatment study designs to explore nuances in plant biomass in unprecedented ways. The products of new remote sensing technologies also accelerate adaptive management and help communicate wildlife and livestock forage benefits from management to diverse stakeholders.

Kansas, Nebraska, Oregon↗