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USGS2010

How vegetation and sediment transport feedbacks drive landscape change in the Everglades and wetlands worldwide

Mechanisms reported to promote landscape self‐organization cannot explain vegetation patterning oriented parallel to flow. Recent catastrophic shifts in Everglades landscape pattern and ecological function highlight the need to understand the feedbacks governing these ecosystems. We modeled feedback between vegetation, hydrology, and sediment transport on the basis of a decade of experimentation. Results from more than 100 simulations showed that flows just sufficient to redistribute sediment from sparsely vegetated sloughs to dense ridges were needed for an equilibrium patterned landscape oriented parallel to flow. Surprisingly, although vegetation heterogeneity typically conveys resilience, in wetlands governed by flow/sediment feedbacks it indicates metastability, whereby the landscape is prone to catastrophic shifts. Substantial increases or decreases in flow relative to the equilibrium condition caused an expansion of emergent vegetation and loss of open‐water areas that was unlikely to revert upon restoration of the equilibrium hydrology. Understanding these feedbacks is critical in forecasting wetland responses to changing conditions and designing management strategies that optimize ecosystem services, such as carbon sequestration or habitat provision. Our model and new sensitivity analysis techniques address these issues and make it newly apparent that simply returning flow to predrainage conditions in the Everglades may not be sufficient to restore historic landscape patterns and processes.

American Naturalist↗

USGS2024

Vegetation responses to large dam removal on the Elwha River, Washington, USA

Large dam removal can trigger changes to physical and biological processes that influence vegetation dynamics in former reservoirs, along river corridors downstream of former dams, and at a river’s terminus in deltas and estuaries. We present the first comprehensive review of vegetation response to major fluvial disturbance caused by the world’s largest dam removal. After being in place for nearly a century, two large dams were removed along the Elwha River, Washington, USA, between 2011 and 2014. The exposure, erosion, transport, and deposition of large volumes of sediment and large wood that were impounded behind the dams created new fluvial surfaces where plant colonization and growth have occurred. In the former reservoirs, dam removal exposed ~290 ha of unvegetated sediment distributed on three main landforms: valley walls, high terraces, and dynamic floodplains. In addition to natural revegetation in the former reservoirs, weed control and seeding and planting of desirable plants influenced vegetation trajectories. In early years following dam removal, ~20.5 Mt of trapped sediment were eroded from the former reservoirs and transported downstream. This sediment pulse, in combination with transport of large wood, led to channel widening, an increase in gravel bars, and floodplain deposition. The primary vegetation responses along the river corridor were a reduction in vegetated area associated with channel widening, plant establishment on new gravel bars, increased hydrochory, and altered plant community composition on gravel bars and floodplains. Plant species diversity increased in some river segments. In the delta, sediment deposition led to the creation of ~26.8 ha of new land surfaces and altered the distribution and dynamics of intertidal water bodies. Vegetation colonized ~16.4 ha of new surfaces: mixed pioneer vegetation colonized supratidal beach, river bars, and river mouth bars, and emergent marsh vegetation colonized intertidal aquatic habitats. In addition to the sediment-dominated processes that have created opportunities for plant colonization and growth, biological processes such as restored hydrochory and anadromous fish passage with associated delivery of marine-derived nutrients may influence vegetation dynamics over time. Rapid changes to landforms and vegetation growth were related to the large sediment pulse in the early years following dam removal, and the rate of change is expected to attenuate as the system adjusts to natural flow and sediment regimes.

Washington↗

USGS2002

Rocky Mountain futures: An ecological perspective

The Rocky Mountain West is largely arid and steep, with ecological scars from past human use visible for hundreds of years. Just how damaging were the past 150 years of activity? How do current rates of disturbance compare with past mining, grazing, and water diversion activities? In the face of constant change, what constitutes a "natural" ecosystem? And can a high quality of life be achieved for both human and natural communities in this region. Rocky Mountain Futures presents a comprehensive and wide-ranging examination of the ecological consequences of past, current, and future human activities in the Rocky Mountain region of the United States and Canada. The book brings together 32 leading ecologists, geographers, and other scientists and researchers to present an objective assessment of the cumulative effects of human activity on the region's ecological health and to consider changes wrought by past human use. This combined view of past and present reveals where Rocky Mountain ecosystems are heading, and the authors project what the future holds based upon current economic and social trends and the patterns that emerge from them. The book: examines the biogeographic and paleoenvironmental setting and historical climate that have shaped Rocky Mountain ecosystems traces the direct human influences on landscapes and ecosystems over the past 150 years explores the cumulative effects of past, present, and projected future human activities on tundra, subalpine and montane forests, valleys, grasslands, and waters offers case studies that illustrate specific examples of human influence and current efforts to restore the environment Case studies focus on northern New Mexico; Summit County, Colorado; Flathead Valley, Montana; and Alberta, Canada. Among the contributors are Craig D. Allen, N. Thompson Hobbs, Linda L. Joyce, Robert E. Keane, David Schindler, Timothy R. Seastedt, David Theobald, Diana Tomback, William Travis, Cathy Whitlock, and Jack Stanford. The United Nations has proclaimed 2002 as the International Year of Mountains to increase international awareness of the global importance of mountain ecosystems. The case-based multidisciplinary approach of this book constitutes an important new model for understanding the implications of land-use practices and economic activity on mountains, and will serve a vital role in improving decisionmaking both in the Rocky Mountains and in other parts of the world that face similar challenges.

Book↗

USGS2026

Watershed Continuum Monitoring Approach: Combining multiple water quality patterns along stream and river flowpaths to track sources, pathways, and processing of pollutants

There is a growing need to improve and expand water quality monitoring approaches to more accurately track the sources, fate, and transport of multiple chemicals and pollutants holistically and quantify the effects of best management practices (BMPs) at the watershed scale. An overarching question raised by scientists, environmental managers, and the general public is: how far can water quality impacts from disturbances or benefits from watershed management and restoration propagate along stream and river flowpaths? Many studies using the classic watershed approach focus on analyzing changes in water quality over time at one or a few sampling stations, whereas theories such as the River Continuum Concept focus on predicting shifts in energy sources and biological communities along rivers but have not been directly applied to water quality. We propose to merge these concepts to create a Watershed Continuum Monitoring Approach (WCMA) that combines both spatial and temporal monitoring in order to better detect and quantify trends and transitions in multiple water quality indicators along flowpaths. Specifically, an array of multiple water quality indicators are analyzed at multiple downstream points along a watershed flowpath over time. These multiple water quality indicators are analyzed together for making comparisons to infer hydrological, biological, and geochemical processes controlling sources, transport, and attenuation of pollutants ( e.g. , analagous to stream tracer studies at the watershed scale). The WCMA leverages the natural expansion of watershed areas along a flowpath, which reflect transitions in land use, land cover, and environmental management across spatial and temporal dimensions for making direct comparisons across different stream reaches and spatial trend analysis. WCMA facilitates monitoring of multiple water quality indicators together, and identifcation of hot spots in sources and attenuation of pollutants or mixtures of pollutants. We illustrate practical applications of the WCMA to analyze water quality trends, transitions, and tradeoffs ( i.e. , a tradeoff occurs when one pollutant is reduced but another is directly or indirectly increased downstream). We explore case studies that quantify: (1) downstream reductions in concentrations of multiple pollutants along a stream flowing to a major drinking water source due to engineered and nature-based solutions, (2) downstream reductions in multiple pollutants and water quality tradeoffs along streams experiencing stormwater BMPs and stream restoration, (3) comparisons in downstream reductions of multiple pollutants and nutrient uptake along streams draining into major drinking water sources based on types of stream restoration, (4) comparisons of downstream pollutant reductions along streams experiencing riparian forest conservation vs. stream restoration, and (5) mapping and visualizing hot spots of increasing water quality problems such as hypoxia, contaminant mobilization, and freshwater salinization that extend downstream to tidal rivers of the Chesapeake Bay. We explore future applications of WCMA for tracking decreasing trends in salinity, E. coli , and other pollutants of emerging concern. WCMA can holistically inform progress towards achieving multiple water quality goals and also be used as a screening tool for selecting monitoring sites and targeting management in strategic locations. Overall, WCMA enables the simultaneous quantification and comparison of sources and transport and attenuation rates for different chemicals and pollutants across a broader range of watershed sizes and flowpath lengths, which is critical for understanding ecological, hydrological, geochemical, and biogeochemical processes along human-impacted streams and rivers.

Ecological Engineering↗

USGS2021

Nesting, brood rearing, and summer habitat selection by translocated greater sage‐grouse in North Dakota, USA

Human enterprise has led to large‐scale changes in landscapes and altered wildlife population distribution and abundance, necessitating efficient and effective conservation strategies for impacted species. Greater sage‐grouse ( Centrocercus urophasianus ; hereafter sage‐grouse) are a widespread sagebrush ( Artemisia spp.) obligate species that has experienced population declines since the mid‐1900s resulting from habitat loss and expansion of anthropogenic features into sagebrush ecosystems. Habitat loss is especially evident in North Dakota, USA, on the northeastern fringe of sage‐grouse’ distribution, where a remnant population remains despite recent development of energy‐related infrastructure. Resource managers in this region have determined a need to augment sage‐grouse populations using translocation techniques that can be important management tools for countering species decline from range contraction. Although translocations are a common tool for wildlife management, very little research has evaluated habitat following translocation, to track individual behaviors such as habitat selection and fidelity to the release site, which can help inform habitat requirements to guide selection of future release sites. We provide an example where locations from previously released radio‐marked sage‐grouse are used in a resource selection function framework to evaluate habitat selection following translocation and identify areas of seasonal habitat to inform habitat management and potential restoration needs. We also evaluated possible changes in seasonal habitat since the late 1980s using spatial data provided by the Rangeland Analysis Platform coupled with resource selection modeling results. Our results serve as critical baseline information for habitat used by translocated individuals across life stages in this study area, and will inform future evaluations of population performance and potential for long‐term recovery.

Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming↗

USGS2009

Assessment tools for urban catchments: developing biological indicators based on benthic macroinvertebrates

Biological indicators, particularly benthic macroinvertebrates, are widely used and effective measures of the impact of urbanization on stream ecosystems. A multimetric biological index of urbanization was developed using a large benthic macroinvertebrate dataset (n = 1,835) from the Baltimore, Maryland, metropolitan area and then validated with datasets from Cleveland, Ohio (n = 79); San Jose, California (n = 85); and a different subset of the Baltimore data (n = 85). The biological metrics used to develop the multimetric index were selected using several criteria and were required to represent ecological attributes of macroinvertebrate assemblages including taxonomic composition and richness (number of taxa in the insect orders of Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera, and Trichoptera), functional feeding group (number of taxa designated as filterers), and habit (percent of individuals which cling to the substrate). Quantile regression was used to select metrics and characterize the relationship between the final biological index and an urban gradient (composed of population density, road density, and urban land use). Although more complex biological indices exist, this simplified multimetric index showed a consistent relationship between biological indicators and urban conditions (as measured by quantile regression) in three climatic regions of the United States and can serve as an assessment tool for environmental managers to prioritize urban stream sites for restoration and protection.

Journal of the American Water Resources Associatio↗

USGS2016

Prerequisites for understanding climate-change impacts on northern prairie wetlands

The Prairie Pothole Region (PPR) contains ecosystems that are typified by an extensive matrix of grasslands and depressional wetlands, which provide numerous ecosystem services. Over the past 150 years the PPR has experienced numerous landscape modifications resulting in agricultural conversion of 75–99 % of native prairie uplands and drainage of 50–90 % of wetlands. There is concern over how and where conservation dollars should be spent within the PPR to protect and restore wetland basins to support waterbird populations that will be robust to a changing climate. However, while hydrological impacts of landscape modifications appear substantial, they are still poorly understood. Previous modeling efforts addressing impacts of climate change on PPR wetlands have yet to fully incorporate interacting or potentially overshadowing impacts of landscape modification. We outlined several information needs for building more informative models to predict climate change effects on PPR wetlands. We reviewed how landscape modification influences wetland hydrology and present a conceptual model to describe how modified wetlands might respond to climate variability. We note that current climate projections do not incorporate cyclical variability in climate between wet and dry periods even though such dynamics have shaped the hydrology and ecology of PPR wetlands. We conclude that there are at least three prerequisite steps to making meaningful predictions about effects of climate change on PPR wetlands. Those evident to us are: 1) an understanding of how physical and watershed characteristics of wetland basins of similar hydroperiods vary across temperature and moisture gradients; 2) a mechanistic understanding of how wetlands respond to climate across a gradient of anthropogenic modifications; and 3) improved climate projections for the PPR that can meaningfully represent potential changes in climate variability including intensity and duration of wet and dry periods. Once these issues are addressed, we contend that modeling efforts will better inform and quantify ecosystem services provided by wetlands to meet needs of waterbird conservation and broader societal interests such as flood control and water quality.

Wetlands↗

USGS2009

Theory, methods and tools for determining environmental flows for riparian vegetation: Riparian vegetation-flow response guilds

Riparian vegetation composition, structure and abundance are governed to a large degree by river flow regime and flow-mediated fluvial processes. Streamflow regime exerts selective pressures on riparian vegetation, resulting in adaptations (trait syndromes) to specific flow attributes. Widespread modification of flow regimes by humans has resulted in extensive alteration of riparian vegetation communities. Some of the negative effects of altered flow regimes on vegetation may be reversed by restoring components of the natural flow regime. 2. Models have been developed that quantitatively relate components of the flow regime to attributes of riparian vegetation at the individual, population and community levels. Predictive models range from simple statistical relationships, to more complex stochastic matrix population models and dynamic simulation models. Of the dozens of predictive models reviewed here, most treat one or a few species, have many simplifying assumptions such as stable channel form, and do not specify the time-scale of response. In many cases, these models are very effective in developing alternative streamflow management plans for specific river reaches or segments but are not directly transferable to other rivers or other regions. 3. A primary goal in riparian ecology is to develop general frameworks for prediction of vegetation response to changing environmental conditions. The development of riparian vegetation-flow response guilds offers a framework for transferring information from rivers where flow standards have been developed to maintain desirable vegetation attributes, to rivers with little or no existing information. 4. We propose to organise riparian plants into non-phylogenetic groupings of species with shared traits that are related to components of hydrologic regime: life history, reproductive strategy, morphology, adaptations to fluvial disturbance and adaptations to water availability. Plants from any river or region may be grouped into these guilds and related to hydrologic attributes of a specific class of river using probabilistic response curves. 5. Probabilistic models based on riparian response guilds enable prediction of the likelihood of change in each of the response guilds given projected changes in flow, and facilitate examination of trade-offs and risks associated with various flow management strategies. Riparian response guilds can be decomposed to the species level for individual projects or used to develop flow management guidelines for regional water management plans. ?? 2009 Published.

Freshwater Biology↗

USGS2015

Estimation of unaltered daily mean streamflow at ungaged streams of New York, excluding Long Island, water years 1961-2010

The lakes, rivers, and streams of New York State provide an essential water resource for the State. The information provided by time series hydrologic data is essential to understanding ways to promote healthy instream ecology and to strengthen the scientific basis for sound water management decision making in New York. The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with The Nature Conservancy and the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, has developed the New York Streamflow Estimation Tool to estimate a daily mean hydrograph for the period from October 1, 1960, to September 30, 2010, at ungaged locations across the State. The New York Streamflow Estimation Tool produces a complete estimated daily mean time series from which daily flow statistics can be estimated. In addition, the New York Streamflow Estimation Tool provides a means for quantitative flow assessments at ungaged locations that can be used to address the objectives of the Clean Water Act—to restore and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the Nation’s waters. The New York Streamflow Estimation Tool uses data from the U.S. Geological Survey streamflow network for selected streamgages in New York (excluding Long Island) and surrounding States with shared hydrologic boundaries, and physical and climate basin characteristics to estimate the natural unaltered streamflow at ungaged stream locations. The unaltered streamflow is representative of flows that are minimally altered by regulation, diversion, or mining, and other anthropogenic activities. With the streamflow network data, flow-duration exceedance probability equations were developed to estimate unaltered streamflow exceedance probabilities at an ungaged location using a methodology that equates streamflow as a percentile from a flow-duration curve for a particular day at a hydrologically similar reference streamgage with streamflow as a percentile from the flow-duration curve for the same day at an ungaged location. The reference streamgage is selected using map correlation, a geostatistical method in which variogram models are developed that correlate streamflow at one streamgage with streamflows at all other locations in the study area. Regression equations used to predict 17 flow-duration exceedance probabilities were developed to estimate the flow-duration curves at ungaged locations for New York using geographic information system-derived basin characteristics. A graphical user interface, with an integrated spreadsheet summary report, has been developed to estimate and display the daily mean streamflows and statistics and to evaluate different water management or water withdrawal scenarios with the estimated monthly data. This package of regression equations, U.S. Geological Survey streamgage data, and spreadsheet application produces an interactive tool to estimate an unaltered daily streamflow hydrograph and streamflow statistics at ungaged sites in New York. Among other uses, the New York Streamflow Estimation Tool can assist water managers with permitting water withdrawals, implementing habitat protection, estimating contaminant loads, or determining the potential affect from chemical spills.

New York↗

USGS2013

Identification of metrics to monitor salt marsh integrity on National Wildlife Refuges in relation to conservation and management objectives

Executive Summary Most salt marshes in the US have been degraded by human activities, and threats from physical alterations, surrounding land-use, species invasions, and global climate change persist. Salt marshes are unique and highly productive ecosystems with high intrinsic value to wildlife, and many National Wildlife Refuges (NWRs) have been established in coastal areas to protect large tracts of salt marsh and wetland-dependent species. Various management practices are employed routinely on coastal NWRs to restore and enhance marsh integrity and ensure ecosystem sustainability. Prioritizing NWR salt marshes for application of management actions and choosing among multiple management options requires scientifically-based methods for assessing marsh condition. Monitoring is integral to structured decision-making (SDM), a formal process for decomposing a decision into its essential elements. Within a natural resource context, SDM involves identifying management objectives, alternative management actions, and expected management outcomes. The core of SDM is a set of criteria for measuring system performance and evaluating management responses. Therefore, use of SDM to frame natural resource decisions leads to logical selection of monitoring attributes that are linked explicitly to management needs. We used SDM to guide selection of variables for monitoring the ecological integrity of salt marshes within the National Wildlife Refuge System (NWRS). Our objectives were to identify indicators of salt marsh integrity that are effective across large geographic regions, responsive to a wide range of threats, and feasible to implement within funding and staffing constraints of the NWRS. In April, 2008, we engaged interdisciplinary experts in a week-long rapid prototyping SDM workshop to define the essential elements of salt marsh management decisions on refuges throughout the northeastern, southwestern, and northwestern US, corresponding to respective Regions 5, 2, and 1 of the US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS). Through this process we identified measurable attributes for monitoring salt marsh ecosystems that are integrated into conservation practice and target management objectives. The following salt marsh attributes were identified through the SDM process either for describing state condition to determine management needs or for evaluating the achievement of management objectives: historical condition and geomorphic setting; ditch density; surrounding land use; ratio of open water area to vegetation area; rate of pesticide application; environmental contaminant concentration; change in marsh surface elevation relative to sea level rise; tidal range and groundwater level; surface topography; salinity; and species composition and abundance of vegetation, invasive species, invertebrates, nekton, and breeding and wintering birds. The identified attributes were too broadly defined to serve as operational monitoring variables. Therefore, we tested specific metrics for quantifying most of these attributes in summers of 2008 and 2009. The first four attributes in the above list can be characterized by office-based analysis of existing GIS data layers. The remaining attributes require field-based methods for assessment. We were forced to exclude a small number of attributes from field tests due to inconsistent data (pesticide application rate, environmental contaminant concentrations) or requirements that exceeded the scope of this project (change in marsh surface elevation; surface topography; benthic invertebrates; wintering birds). We evaluated potential metrics for evaluating all remaining field attributes. In partnership with NWRS biologists, we tested rapid versus intensive metrics for monitoring field attributes (tidal range and groundwater level; marsh surface elevation; salinity; and species composition and abundance of vegetation, invasive species, nekton, and breeding birds) at coastal refuges throughout FWS Region 5. Seven refuges participated in metric testing in 2008: Rachel Carson (ME), Parker River (MA), Wertheim (NY), E. B. Forsythe (NJ), Bombay Hook (DE), Prime Hook (DE), and Eastern Shore of Virginia Complex (VA). These seven and two additional refuges participated in metric testing in 2009: Rhode Island Complex (RI) and Stewart B. McKinney (CT). We based all field metrics on existing protocols for salt marsh assessment. Sampling locations were determined randomly within delineated marsh study units (MSUs) at each refuge. Detailed field methods are provided in appendices to this report. Measurements for individual metrics were averaged across samples within MSUs during each year of sampling. Each year, correlation or regression analysis was conducted on average measurements across MSUs within each attribute set to identify redundant metrics. Statistical redundancy between a pair of metrics within an attribute set (i.e., correlation or regression slopes with p-values < 0.05) was considered justification for eliminating one of the pair from the regional set of monitoring metrics. Decisions regarding metric elimination versus retention were based on feasibility of monitoring, considering such factors as sampling time, resources required, and potential for regional standardization in implementation. The result of these tests is a reduced suite of monitoring metrics that targets NWRS management decisions and is practicable for implementing on a regional scale. Based on these tests, we recommend the following list of metrics for monitoring integrity of NWRS salt marshes (marsh attribute category is in parentheses): (historical condition and geomorphic setting) position of marsh in the landscape, marsh shape, degree of fill and/or fragmentation, degree of tidal flushing, amount of aquatic edge; (ditch density) ranking of ditch density from none to severe; (surrounding land use) relative proportion of agricultural land in a 150-m buffer around the marsh, relative proportion of natural land in a 150-m buffer around the marsh, relative proportion of natural land in a 1-km buffer around the marsh; (ratio of open water area to vegetation area) ratio of open water to emergent herbaceous wetlands within the marsh; (marsh surface elevation) elevation referenced to NAVD88 in a representative area of the marsh; (tidal range and groundwater level) percent of time the marsh surface is flooded during deployment of a continuous water-level monitor at a representative marsh location, mean depth of surface flooding as measured by a continuous water-level monitor at a representative location; (salinity) salinity measured in surface water; (vegetation community) vegetation species richness using the point-intercept method in 100-m diameter survey plots, percent cover of various marsh community types within 100-m diameter survey plots; (invasive species abundance) percent cover of invasive plant species measured using the point-intercept method in 100-m diameter survey plots; (nekton community) nekton density, nekton species richness, length of Fundulus heteroclitus ; (breeding bird community) abundance of Willets counted per point during standard call-broadcast surveys, summed abundance of tidal marsh obligate species (Clapper Rail, Willet, Saltmarsh Sparrow, Seaside Sparrow) counted per point during standard call-broadcast surveys. Metrics describing the historical condition, geomorphic setting, and broad landscape features can be assessed using existing GIS databases. Our results support use of rapid methods to assess the majority of field metrics; only those used to describe the nekton community must be measured using intensive methods (throw traps or ditch nets, dependant on habitat configuration). Implementation of these metrics for quantitative assessment of NWRS salt marsh integrity in FWS Region 5 requires developing sampling designs for each refuge. Additionally, it is important to determine how the monitoring information will be used within a management context. SDM should be used to complete the analysis of salt marsh management decisions. The next steps would involve 1) prioritizing and weighting the management objectives; 2) predicting responses to individual management actions in terms of objectives and metrics; 3) using multiattribute utility theory to convert all measurable attributes to a common utility scale; 4) determining the total management benefit of each action by summing utilities across objectives; and 5) maximizing the total management benefits within cost constraints for each refuge. This process would allow the optimum management decisions for NWRS salt marshes to be selected and implemented based directly on monitoring data and current understanding of marsh responses to management actions. Monitoring the outcome of management actions would then allow new monitoring data to be incorporated into subsequent decisions.

Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Massachusetts, New J↗

USGS2016

Preserving prairies: Understanding temporal and spatial patterns of invasive annual bromes in the Northern Great Plains

Two Eurasian invasive annual brome grasses, cheatgrass ( Bromus tectorum ) and Japanese brome ( Bromus japonicus ), are well known for their impact in steppe ecosystems of the western United States where these grasses have altered fire regimes, reduced native plant diversity and abundance, and degraded wildlife habitat. Annual bromes are also abundant in the grasslands of the Northern Great Plains (NGP), but their impact and ecology are not as well studied. It is unclear whether the lessons learned from the steppe will translate to the mixed-grass prairie where native plant species are adapted to frequent fires and grazing. Developing a successful annual brome management strategy for National Park Service units and other NGP grasslands requires better understanding of (1) the impact of annual bromes on grassland condition; (2) the dynamics of these species through space and time; and (3) the relative importance of environmental factors within and outside managers' control for these spatiotemporal dynamics. Here, we use vegetation monitoring data collected from 1998 to 2015 in 295 sites to relate spatiotemporal variability of annual brome grasses to grassland composition, weather, physical environmental characteristics, and ecological processes (grazing and fire). Concern about the impact of these species in NGP grasslands is warranted, as we found a decline in native species richness with increasing annual brome cover. Annual brome cover generally increased over the time of monitoring but also displayed a 3- to 5-yr cycle of reduction and resurgence. Relative cover of annual bromes in the monitored areas was best predicted by park unit, weather, extant plant community, slope grade, soil composition, and fire history. We found no evidence that grazing reduced annual brome cover, but this may be due to the relatively low grazing pressure in our study. By understanding the consequences and patterns of annual brome invasion, we will be better able to preserve and restore these grassland landscapes for future generations.

Ecosphere↗

USGS2015

Near-surface stratigraphy and morphology, Mississippi Inner Shelf, northern Gulf of Mexico

Over the past decade, the Mississippi Barrier Islands have been the focus of a comprehensive geologic investigation by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in collaboration with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and the National Park Service (NPS). The islands (Dauphin, Petite Bois, Horn, East Ship, West Ship, and Cat) are part of the Gulf Islands National Seashore (GUIS), and provide a diverse ecological habitat, protect the mainland from storm waves, and help maintain estuarine conditions within Mississippi Sound. Over the past century, the islands have been in a state of decline with respect to elevation and land-area loss. In 2005, the islands were severely impacted by Hurricane Katrina, which inundated them with a storm surge of 8 meters, causing severe shoreface erosion and widening breaches in Dauphin, West Ship, and Cat Islands. To evaluate the impact and fate of the islands, understanding their evolution and resiliency became a priority for the USGS under the Northern Gulf of Mexico Ecosystem Change and Hazard Susceptibility Project. The project formed the basis for collaboration with the USACE Mississippi Coastal Improvement Project, which is intended to restore portions of coastal Mississippi and GUIS affected by storm impact. Since then, many studies have contributed to our understanding of the islands’ morphology and nearshore stratigraphy. This report expands upon the nearshore component to provide a stratigraphic and morphologic assessment offshore of Petit Bois Island. In June 2013, as part of the MsCIP project, the USGS conducted a geophysical survey consisting of about 650 line-kilometers (km), encompassing an area of approximately 212 square kilometers (km 2 ). The survey area extended from 1 to 13 km offshore of Petite Bois Island. The geophysical investigation included interferometric swath bathymetry, sidescan sonar, and chirp subbottom profiling. The intent of the survey was to provide geologic information that would assist the USACE in developing a sediment sampling strategy for identifying deposits suitable for shoreline restoration operations. The data from the geophysical survey would also further our understanding of the geologic framework along the inner shelf. Numerous seafloor and subbottom features were identified. At the surface, shoals and shelf sand sheets of various sizes and orientations are the predominant morphology. In the subsurface, Holocene- and Pleistocene-age features include marine transgressive deposits infilling older fluvia distributary systems. These interpretations from the geophysical research were integrated with sediment cores collected by the USGS and USACE to provide textural and volumetric information.

Mississippi-Alabama shelf↗

USGS2013

Landscape-scale effects of fire severity on mixed-conifer and red fir forest structure in Yosemite National Park

While fire shapes the structure of forests and acts as a keystone process, the details of how fire modifies forest structure have been difficult to evaluate because of the complexity of interactions between fires and forests. We studied this relationship across 69.2 km2 of Yosemite National Park, USA, that was subject to 32 fires ⩾40 ha between 1984 and 2010. Forests types included ponderosa pine ( Pinus ponderosa ), white fir-sugar pine ( Abies concolor/Pinus lambertiana ), and red fir ( Abies magnifica ). We estimated and stratified burned area by fire severity using the Landsat-derived Relativized differenced Normalized Burn Ratio (RdNBR). Airborne LiDAR data, acquired in July 2010, measured the vertical and horizontal structure of canopy material and landscape patterning of canopy patches and gaps. Increasing fire severity changed structure at the scale of fire severity patches, the arrangement of canopy patches and gaps within fire severity patches, and vertically within tree clumps. Each forest type showed an individual trajectory of structural change with increasing fire severity. As a result, the relationship between estimates of fire severity such as RdNBR and actual changes appears to vary among forest types. We found three arrangements of canopy patches and gaps associated with different fire severities: canopy-gap arrangements in which gaps were enclosed in otherwise continuous canopy (typically unburned and low fire severities); patch-gap arrangements in which tree clumps and gaps alternated and neither dominated (typically moderate fire severity); and open-patch arrangements in which trees were scattered across open areas (typically high fire severity). Compared to stands outside fire perimeters, increasing fire severity generally resulted first in loss of canopy cover in lower height strata and increased number and size of gaps, then in loss of canopy cover in higher height strata, and eventually the transition to open areas with few or no trees. However, the estimated fire severities at which these transitions occurred differed for each forest type. Our work suggests that low severity fire in red fir forests and moderate severity fire in ponderosa pine and white fir-sugar pine forests would restore vertical and horizontal canopy structures believed to have been common prior to the start of widespread fire suppression in the early 1900s. The fusion of LiDAR and Landsat data identified post-fire structural conditions that would not be identified by Landsat alone, suggesting a broad applicability of combining Landsat and LiDAR data for landscape-scale structural analysis for fire management.

California↗

USGS2016

A trans-national monarch butterfly population model and implications for regional conservation priorities

1. The monarch has undergone considerable population declines over the past decade, and the governments of Mexico, Canada, and the United States have agreed to work together to conserve the species. 2. Given limited resources, understanding where to focus conservation action is key for widespread species like monarchs. To support planning for continental-scale monarch habitat restoration, we address the question of where restoration efforts are likely to have the largest impacts on monarch butterfly ( Danaus plexippus Linn.) population growth rates. 3. We present a spatially explicit demographic model simulating the multi-generational annual cycle of the eastern monarch population, and use the model to examine management scenarios, some of which focus on particular regions of North America. 4. Improving the monarch habitat in the north central or southern parts of the monarch range yields a slightly greater increase in the population growth rate than restoration in other regions. However, combining restoration efforts across multiple regions yields population growth rates above 1 with smaller simulated improvements in habitat per region than single-region strategies. 5. S ynthesis and applications: These findings suggest that conservation investment in projects across the full monarch range will be more effective than focusing on one or a few regions, and will require international cooperation across many land use categories.

Ecological Entomology↗

USGS2014

The interactive effects of climate change, riparian management, and a non-native predators on stream-rearing salmon

Predicting how climate change is likely to interact with myriad other stressors that threaten species of conservation concern is an essential challenge in aquatic ecosystems. This study provides a framework to accomplish this task in salmon-bearing streams of the northwestern United States, where land-use related reductions in riparian shading have caused changes in stream thermal regimes, and additional warming from projected climate change may result in significant losses of coldwater fish habitat over the next century. Predatory non-native smallmouth bass have also been introduced into many northwestern streams and their range is likely to expand as streams warm, presenting an additional challenge to the persistence of threatened Pacific salmon. The goal of this work was to forecast the interactive effects of climate change, riparian management, and non-native species on stream-rearing salmon, and to evaluate the capacity of restoration to mitigate these effects. We intersected downscaled global climate forecasts with a local-scale water temperature model to predict mid- and end-of-century temperatures in streams in the Columbia River basin; we compared one stream that is thermally impaired due to the loss of riparian vegetation and another that is cooler and has a largely intact riparian corridor. Using the forecasted stream temperatures in conjunction with fish-habitat models, we predicted how stream-rearing Chinook salmon and bass distributions would change as each stream warmed. In the highly modified stream, end-of-century warming may cause near total loss of Chinook salmon rearing habitat and a complete invasion of the upper watershed by bass. In the less modified stream, bass were thermally restricted from the upstream-most areas. In both systems, temperature increases resulted in higher predicted spatial overlap between stream-rearing Chinook salmon and potentially predatory bass in the early summer (2-4-fold increase) and greater abundance of bass. We found that riparian restoration could prevent the extirpation of Chinook salmon from the more altered stream, and could also restrict bass from occupying the upper 31 km of salmon rearing habitat. The proposed methodology and model predictions are critical for prioritizing climate-change adaptation strategies before salmonids are exposed to both warmer water and greater predation risk by non-native species.

Oregon↗

USGS2008

Protocol for Monitoring Fish Assemblages in Pacific Northwest National Parks

Rivers and streams that drain from Olympic, Mount Rainier, and North Cascades National Parks are among the most protected corridors in the lower 48 States, and represent some of the largest tracts of contiguous, undisturbed habitat throughout the range of several key fish species of the Pacific Northwest. These watersheds are of high regional importance as freshwater habitat sanctuaries for native fish, where habitat conditions are characterized as having little to no disturbance from development, channelization, impervious surfaces, roads, diversions, or hydroelectric projects. Fishery resources are of high ecological and cultural importance in Pacific Northwest National Parks, and significantly contribute to economically important recreational, commercial, and tribal fisheries. This protocol describes procedures to monitor trends in fish assemblages, fish abundance, and water temperature in eight rivers and five wadeable streams in Olympic National Park during summer months, and is based on 4 years of field testing. Fish assemblages link freshwater, marine, and terrestrial ecosystems. They also serve as focal resources of national parks and are excellent indicators of ecological conditions of rivers and streams. Despite the vital importance of native anadromous and resident fish populations, there is no existing monitoring program for fish assemblages in the North Coast and Cascades Network. Specific monitoring objectives of this protocol are to determine seasonal and annual trends in: (1) fish species composition, (2) timing of migration of adult fish, (3) relative abundance, (4) age and size structure, (5) extent of non-native and hatchery fish, and (6) water temperature. To detect seasonal and annual trends in fish assemblages in reference sites, we rely on repeated and consistent annual sampling at each monitoring site. The general rationale for the repeated sampling of reference sites is to ensure that we account for the high interannual variability in fish movements and abundances in rivers. One underlying assumption is that the monitoring program is designed in perpetuity, and consequently our capability to detect trends substantially increases with time. The protocol describes sampling designs, methods, training procedures, safety considerations, data management, data analysis, and reporting. The allocation of sampling effort represents a balance between ecological considerations, a sound monitoring approach, and practical limitations caused by logistical constraints and a limited annual budget of $55,000. The widespread declines of native fish species in western North America highlights the importance and urgency of understanding trends in fish assemblages from undisturbed habitats. Seasonal and annual trends in fish assemblages will provide insights at the individual, population, and assemblage level. This protocol will allow managers to detect increases and decreases in abundance of priority management species, and occurrence of non-native, hatchery, and federally listed fish. The detection of trends in fish assemblages will allow for specific management actions that may include: implementation of more appropriate fishing regulations, evaluation of existing hatchery releases, control of non-native fish species, and prioritization of habitat restoration projects. Dissemination and communication of scientific findings on North Coast and Cascades Network fish assemblages will be a core product of this protocol, which will have much relevance to decision makers, park visitors, researchers, and educators.

Techniques and Methods↗

USGS2025

The scientific benefits of a statewide, standardized, coastal wetland monitoring program in Hawaiʻi

In this viewpoint, we provide a scientific justification for a statewide, standardized, coastal wetland monitoring program for Hawaiʻi, USA. Hawaiian coastal wetlands provide important habitat for endangered waterbirds, invertebrates, plants, and the Hawaiian hoary bat (ʻōpeʻapeʻa; Lasiurus semotus ) as well as support Indigenous food systems. Currently, numerous agencies and groups in Hawaiʻi collect data on coastal wetlands, but information is not typically shared and methods are not standardized. A statewide, standardized, coastal wetland monitoring program with a centralized database would allow managers to keep better track of progress toward restoration goals, population changes of conservation-reliant species, outbreaks and impacts of avian botulism, rates of coastal salinization, and many other critical issues across space and time. Monitoring combined with targeted research could fill critical knowledge gaps about the types, functions, values, and biodiversity of Hawaiian coastal wetlands. Ultimately, the improved knowledge gained from long-term coastal wetland monitoring could inform landscape-scale restoration actions and adaptive management of coastal wetlands under sea-level rise and climate change.

Hawaii↗

USGS2011

USDA conservation program and practice effects on wetland ecosystem services in the Prairie Pothole Region

Implementation of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) and Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP) has resulted in the restoration of >2 million ha of wetland and grassland habitats in the Prairie Pothole Region (PPR). Restoration of habitats through these programs provides diverse ecosystem services to society, but few investigators have evaluated the environmental benefits achieved by these programs. We describe changes in wetland processes, functions, and ecosystem services that occur when wetlands and adjacent uplands on agricultural lands are restored through Farm Bill conservation programs. At the scale of wetland catchments, projects have had positive impacts on water storage, reduction in sedimentation and nutrient loading, plant biodiversity, carbon sequestration, and wildlife habitat. However, lack of information on the geographic location of restored catchments relative to landscape‐level factors (e.g., watershed, proximity to rivers and lakes) limits interpretation of ecosystem services that operate at multiple scales such as floodwater retention, water quality improvement, and wildlife habitat suitability. Considerable opportunity exists for the USDA to incorporate important landscape factors to better target conservation practices and programs to optimize diverse ecosystem services. Restoration of hydrologic processes within wetlands (e.g., hydroperiod, water level dynamics) also requires a better understanding of the influence of conservation cover composition and structure, and management practices that occur in uplands surrounding wetlands. Although conservation programs have enhanced delivery of ecosystem services in the PPR, the use of programs to provide long‐term critical ecosystem services is uncertain because when contracts (especially CRP) expire, economic incentives may favor conversion of land to crop production, rather than reenrollment. As demands for agricultural products (food, fiber, biofuel) increase, Farm Bill conservation programs will become increasingly important to ensure provisioning of ecosystem services to society, especially in agriculturally dominated landscapes. Thus, continued development and support for conservation programs legislated through the Farm Bill will require a more comprehensive understanding of wetland ecological services to better evaluate program achievements relative to conservation goals.

Ecological Applications↗