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At least 145 records · Page 8Linked to original sources
USGS2021

Seasonally dynamic nutrient modeling quantifies storage lags and time-varying reactivity across large river basins

Nutrients that have gradually accumulated in soils, groundwaters, and river sediments in the United States over the past century can remobilize and increase current downstream loading, obscuring effects of conservation practices aimed at protecting water resources. Drivers of storage accumulation and release of nutrients are poorly understood at the spatial scale of basins to watersheds. Predicting water quality outcomes in large river basins demands modeling storage lags and time varying reactivity that models of mean conditions typically cannot elucidate. We developed a seasonally dynamic approach to large-scale nutrient modeling based on a multiscale framework and nutrient storage lags were quantified for the nearly 190 000 small catchments that feed the rivers across the northeastern United States where catchment mean transit times were found to be around 4.7 (2–10) years for nitrogen and 1.3 (0.7–2) years for phosphorus. Nutrient loads carried in river flow in the current season contained a significant—and sometimes dominant—portion of mass lagged in its release from catchment storage repositories. Our approach of integrating storage releases with seasonally dynamic hydroclimatic drivers sets the stage to assess the accumulated effects of nutrient storage and lagged releases to the river interacting with seasonally varying nutrient reactivity and societal management actions throughout large river basins.

Environmental Research Letters↗
USGS2020

Ecological status of aquatic communities in selected streams in the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District planning area of Wisconsin, 2004–13

A total of 14 wadable streams in urban or urbanizing watersheds near Milwaukee, Wisconsin, were sampled in 2004, 2007, 2010, and 2013 to assess the ecological status of aquatic communities (biota), including benthic algae and invertebrates, and fish. To assess temporal variation, additional community sampling was also done at a subset of three sites in 2011 and 2012. Relative abundances of each type of organism were used to calculate biological metrics, such as richness and diversity, percentages of intolerant and tolerant organisms, and indexes of biotic integrity for invertebrates and fish. Selected environmental (physical and chemical) data in the streams were collected to evaluate potential relations to the biota and the ecological health of the stream. Physical and chemical data included land use/land cover, stream discharge from U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) streamgages (except at 2 creeks that were not gaged), stream habitat, microhabitat at invertebrate collection locations, water quality (except at 2 creeks that were not gaged), field measurements of several water-quality constituents, measures of benthic algal biomass, and toxicity and chemical tests on extracts from passive samplers deployed at a subset of 6 sites. Relative abundances of organisms and biological metrics were compared among sampling years and with environmental metrics to evaluate the ecological status of these streams and determine primary stressors on the aquatic communities, with the aim of helping resource managers understand and work toward improving the ecological health of these and other urban and urbanizing rivers in the study area. Biological metrics for most sites indicated some level of diminished ecological status when compared across all sampled sites and when compared with rating scales for selected metrics. The least degraded sites among all those sampled—indicated by aggregate bioassessments for algae, invertebrates, and fish metrics and in order starting with the best overall condition—were the Milwaukee River near Cedarburg, Menomonee River at Menomonee Falls, Jewel Creek, and Milwaukee River at Milwaukee. The most degraded sites were Menomonee River at Wauwatosa, Root River at Greenfield, Lincoln Creek, and the Kinnickinnic River. Differences in aggregate bioassessments indicate that aquatic communities at the Menomonee River at Wauwatosa site and the Root River at Greenfield site were worse in 2013 than in 2004; however, Oak Creek and Honey Creek sites were better. In 2013, several sites had less than 30-percent pollution-sensitive diatoms indicating degraded algal assemblages. Invertebrate metrics for most of the 14 sites in 2013 were lower than in 2004 and indicate that invertebrate assemblages at most sampled sites were more degraded in 2013. Tolerant fish taxa made up more than 40 percent of assemblages at most sites and nearly 100 percent of assemblages at four sites. At times, in some smaller streams, too few fish were captured to compute an Index of Biotic Integrity with confidence, and invertebrates provided a better means for assessing the ecological status and water quality. With these few exceptions, the use of all three groups of biota provided the most robust assessments at the 14 sites in 2004–13. Physical and chemical stressors were correlated to adverse effects on aquatic biota at the sampled streams. Passive samplers were deployed at a subset of six sites in 2013. Microtox results indicated there was little or no toxicity at the Milwaukee River near Cedarburg site and at the Oak Creek site, slight toxicity at the Lincoln Creek and Honey Creek sites, and moderate toxicity at the Milwaukee River at Milwaukee site and the Little Menomonee River site; however, based on cytochrome-P450 reporter gene system toxicity tests, potential toxicity from hydrophobic organic contaminants was measured at all six sites. For all 14 sites, physical and chemical stressors related to urbanization correlated with biological metrics for algae, invertebrates, and fish. Most stressors for aquatic biota reflected an urban signature. Stressors related to ecological condition in our study were chemical and physical, such as developed land, impervious surface in the watershed, urban land in a buffer area around the stream (a 100-foot [30-meter]-wide area on each side of the stream, and maximum instantaneous discharge normalized by drainage area (a measure of flood and scour effects). Chemical stressors included low waterborne concentrations of dissolved oxygen and high concentrations of chloride, zinc and other metals, nutrients (nitrite and phosphorus), and fecal coliform bacteria. Although algae, invertebrates, and fish did not always demonstrate a significant response to the same stressors, higher abundances of high total phosphorus-indicator diatoms, lower ratings for invertebrate biotic integrity indexes and percentages of mayflies-stoneflies-caddisflies, and lower values for fish biotic integrity indexes underscored possible adverse effects of even low levels of developed land. Developed land is typically associated with more rapid runoff, which washes chemicals from impervious surfaces into area waterways and degrades stream habitat for aquatic communities. However, with respect to at least chloride from road salt, diatoms tolerant to dissolved salts were significantly lower with as little as 1-percent mixed forest in the watershed. Lower percentages of urban land in the stream buffer correlated with healthier aquatic assemblages of algae, invertebrates, and fish. The assessment of algal, invertebrate, and fish assemblages coupled with physical and chemical data were highly useful in evaluating the ecological status of aquatic communities at the 14 sites and for determining environmental stressors that may be contributing to reduced stream condition. Some of the stressors could potentially be removed or lessened with stream rehabilitation or changes in watershed management.

Wisconsin↗
USGS2024

Integrating monitoring and modeling information to develop an indicator of watershed progress toward nutrient reduction goals

Eutrophication has been a major environmental issue in many coastal and inland ecosystems, which is primarily attributed to excessive anthropogenic inputs of nutrients. Restoration efforts have therefore focused on the reduction of watershed nutrient loads, including in the Chesapeake Bay (USA). To facilitate watershed management, watershed models are often developed and used to assess the expected impact of scenarios of past and future management policies and practices and the impact of watershed conditions. However, the level of load reductions estimated using monitoring data often does not match with model predictions, which may cast doubt on the effectiveness of the restoration efforts, the reliability of the model, and the prospect of achieving pre-established reduction goals. To better reconcile such inconsistencies between expectation (i.e., modeling estimates) and reality (i.e., monitoring information), a watershed-wide indicator was developed for the Chesapeake Bay watershed to explicitly quantify the progress toward nutrient reduction goals in the context of the Chesapeake Bay Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL). Results of the indicator show that since 1995 long-term progress has been made toward the TMDL planning targets for both nitrogen and phosphorus. Specifically, management practices that are implemented and realized (in monitoring data) have been increasing over time, whereas management practices that need to be implemented in the future to meet the goals have been decreasing. In addition, the progress of nutrient reduction toward meeting the goals has varied with source sectors and watershed locations: i.e., point source management has been fully or nearly fully implemented, whereas nonpoint source management has been implemented by 50%-70%. In summary, this indicator, which is largely based on monitoring data, can provide at least four benefits: (1) evaluating the validity of the modeled estimates of nutrient reductions by comparing them to monitoring information; (2) placing the monitored riverine trends into a management context; (3) comparing progress between different nutrient source sectors and watershed locations; and (4) facilitating communication of the progress to the Chesapeake Bay Program Partnership and the public. Although we focus on the indicator development and interpretation for the Chesapeake Bay watershed, the framework can be transferred to watersheds within and beyond this watershed, where similar modeling and monitoring information exists, to gauge expectations on the trajectory and pace of the progress toward meeting restoration goals.

Chesapeake Bay watershed↗
USGS2019

Nonlinearities in transmission dynamics and efficient management of vector-borne pathogens

Integrated Pest Management (IPM) is an approach to minimizing economic and environmental harm caused by pests, and Integrated Vector Management (IVM) uses similar methods to minimize pathogen transmission by vectors. The risk of acquiring a vector-borne infection is often quantified using the density of infected vectors. The relationship between vector numbers and risk of human infection is more or less linear when both vector numbers and pathogen prevalence in vectors are low, but the relationship is nonlinear when vector density and/or infection prevalence are high. Therefore, the density of infected vectors often does not accurately predict risk of human exposure to pathogens, and traditional estimates of % Control often overestimate the level of protection from infection resulting from management programs. We suggest a modified estimator, % Protection, which more accurately quantifies protection against human infection resulting from a management intervention. Cost-effectiveness of a management program is critical to protection of both public health and the environment, because the more efficiently available resources and funding are used, the fewer people get sick, and well-targeted efficient management programs minimize the need for poorly-targeted, expensive environmental interventions (e.g., broadscale pesticide applications) that tend to damage nontarget organisms and natural systems. Design of an efficient, cost-effective IVM program requires knowledge of the cost-effectiveness functions (the effectiveness of control methods at lowering vector bites and/or infection prevalence with different levels of application) of the various control methods to be applied. Alternative programs can be designed that optimize % Protection by integrating different control methods at different levels of investment, and environmental effects of these alternatives can be compared, allowing environmental considerations to be included explicitly in the decision process. IPM, IVM, and Adaptive Management share the characteristic that management decisions must be made with incomplete knowledge of the functioning of natural systems or the efficacies of interventions. IVM surveillance programs that assess the effects of individual control methods and of combinations of control methods on the numbers of vector bites and on infection prevalence in vectors, can increase knowledge of pathogen transmission dynamics and provide information to improve program effectiveness in subsequent applications.

Ecological Applications↗
USGS2007

Color shaded-relief and surface-classification maps of the Fish Creek Area, Harrison Bay Quadrangle, Northern Alaska

The northeastern part of the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska (NPRA) has become an area of active petroleum exploration during the past five years. Recent leasing and exploration drilling in the NPRA requires the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to manage and monitor a variety of surface activities that include seismic surveying, exploration drilling, oil-field development drilling, construction of oil-production facilities, and construction of pipelines and access roads. BLM evaluates a variety of permit applications, environmental impact studies, and other documents that require rapid compilation and analysis of data pertaining to surface and subsurface geology, hydrology, and biology. In addition, BLM must monitor these activities and assess their impacts on the natural environment. Timely and accurate completion of these land-management tasks requires elevation, hydrologic, geologic, petroleum-activity, and cadastral data, all integrated in digital formats at a higher resolution than is currently available in nondigital (paper) formats. To support these land-management tasks, a series of maps was generated from remotely sensed data in an area of high petroleum-industry activity (fig. 1). The maps cover an area from approximately latitude 70°00' N. to 70°30' N. and from longitude 151°00' W. to 153°10' W. The area includes the Alpine oil field in the east, the Husky Inigok exploration well (site of a landing strip) in the west, many of the exploration wells drilled in NPRA since 2000, and the route of a proposed pipeline to carry oil from discovery wells in NPRA to the Alpine oil field. This map area is referred to as the "Fish Creek area" after a creek that flows through the region. The map series includes (1) a color shaded-relief map based on 5-m-resolution data (sheet 1), (2) a surface-classification map based on 30-m-resolution data (sheet 2), and (3) a 5-m-resolution shaded relief-surface classification map that combines the shaded-relief and surface-classification data (sheet 3). Remote sensing datasets that were used to compile the maps include Landsat 7 Enhanced Thematic Mapper+ (ETM+), and interferometric synthetic aperture radar (IFSAR) data. In addition, a 1:250,000-scale geologic map of the Harrison Bay quadrangle, Alaska (Carter and Galloway, 1985, 2005) was used in conjunction with ETM+ and IFSAR data.

Alaska↗
USGS2014

Status and trends of Caribbean coral reefs: 1970-2012

This it the 9th status report since the Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network (GCRMN) was founded in 1995 was the data arm of the International Coral Reef Initiative (ICRI) to document the ecological condition or corral reefs, strengthen monitoring efforts, and link existing organizations and people working on reefs worldwide. The US Government provided the initial funding to help set up a global network of coral reef workers and has continued to provide core support. Since then, the series of reports have aimed to present the current status of coral reefs of the world or particular regions, the major threats to reefs and their consequences, and any initiative undertaken under the auspices of ICRI or other bodies to arrest or reverse the decline of coral reefs. IUCN assumed responsibility for hosting the global coordination of the GCRMN in 2010 under the scientific direction of Jeremy Jackson with the following objectives: 1. Document quantitatively the global status and trends for corals, macroalgae, sea urchins, and fishes based on available data from individual scientists as well as the peer reviewed scientific literature, monitoring programs, and report. 2. Bring together regional experts in a series of workshops to involve them in data compilation, analysis, and synthesis. 3. Integrate coral reef status and trends with independent environmental, management, and socioeconomic data to better understand the primary factors responsible for coral reef decline, the possible synergies among factors that may further magnify their impacts, and how these stresses may be more effectively alleviated. Work with GCRMN partners to establish simple and practical standardized protocols for future monitoring and assessment. Disseminate information and results to help guide member state policy and actions. The overarching objective is to understand why some reefs are much healthier than others, to identify what kinds of actions have been particularly beneficial or harmful, and to vigorously communicate results in simple and straightforward terms to foster more effective conservation and management. This and subsequent reports will focus on separate biogeographic regions in a stepwise fashion and combine all of the results for a global synthesis in the coming years. We began in the wide Caribbean region because the historical data are so extensive and to refine methods of analysis before moving on to other regions. This report documents quantitative trends for Caribbean reef corals, macroalgae, sea urchins, and fishes based on data from 90 reef locations over the past 43 tears. This is the first report to combine all these disparate kinds of data in a single place to explore how the different major components of coral reef ecosystems interact on a broadly regional oceanic scale. We obtained data from more than 35,000 ecological surveys carried out by 78 principal investigators (PIs) and some 200 colleagues working in 34 countries, states, and territories throughout the wide Caribbean region. We conducted two workshops in Panama and Brisbane, Australia to bring together people who provided the data to assist in data quality control, analysis, and synthesis. The first workshop at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI) in the Republic of Panama 29 April to 5 May, 2012 included scientists from 18 countries and territories to verify and expand the database and to conduct exploratory analyses of status and trends. Preliminary results based on the Panama workshop were presented to the DC Marine Community and Smithsonian Institution Senate of Scientists in May 2012 and at the International Coral Reef Symposium (ICRS) and annual ICRI meeting in Cairns, Australia in July 2012. The second workshop in Brisbane, Australia in December 2012 brought together eight coral reef scientists for more detailed data analysis and organization of results for this report and subsequent publications. Subsequent presentations to solicit comments while the report was being finalized were made in 2013-2014 at the ICRI General meeting in Belize, the biennial meeting of the Association of Island Marine Laboratories in Jamaica, the Panamerican Coral Reef Congress in Merida, Mexico, the annual meeting of he Western Society of Naturalists, and numerous universities in Costa Rica, the USA and Europe. The main body of the report is in two sections. Part I provides an overview of overall status and trends and detailed analyses of the multiple factors responsible for the decline of reef corals throughout the entire wider Caribbean region. The editors are grateful to all the people who have so generously provided data and expertise, but we assume responsibility for the many statements, conclusions and recommendations and final wording of the text. Part II provides a more detailed analysis of the status and trends of coral reef ecosystems in the 32 countries, states, and territories for which we have data. The format includes maps indicating all locations sampled, a detailed table of data sources and sites surveyed, timelines of ecologically important evens, and relevant references. Each of these reports was compiled in consultation with local experts and all those who provided data and advice are listed as authors of each country report.

Report↗
USGS2010

Spatial and stage-structured population model of the American crocodile for comparison of comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP) alternatives

As part of the U.S. Geological Survey Priority Ecosystems Science (PES) initiative to provide the ecological science required during Everglades restoration, we have integrated current regional hydrologic models with American crocodile (Crocodylus acutus) research and monitoring data to create a model that assesses the potential impact of Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP) efforts on the American crocodile. A list of indicators was created by the Restoration Coordination and Verification (RECOVER) component of CERP to help determine the success of interim restoration goals. The American crocodile was established as an indicator of the ecological condition of mangrove estuaries due to its reliance upon estuarine environments characterized by low salinity and adequate freshwater inflow. To gain a better understanding of the potential impact of CERP restoration efforts on the American crocodile, a spatially explicit crocodile population model has been created that has the ability to simulate the response of crocodiles to various management strategies for the South Florida ecosystem. The crocodile model uses output from the Tides and Inflows in the Mangroves of the Everglades (TIME) model, an application of the Flow and Transport in a Linked Overland/Aquifer Density Dependent System (FTLOADDS) simulator. TIME has the capability to link to the South Florida Water Management Model (SFWMM), which is the primary regional tool used to assess CERP restoration scenarios. A crocodile habitat suitability index and spatial parameter maps that reflect salinity, water depth, habitat, and nesting locations are used as driving functions to construct crocodile finite rate of increase maps under different management scenarios. Local stage-structured models are integrated with a spatial landscape grid to display crocodile movement behavior in response to changing environmental conditions. Restoration efforts are expected to affect salinity levels throughout the habitat of the American crocodile. This modeling effort examines how CERP restoration alternatives will affect growth and survival rates of hatchling and juvenile crocodiles, hatchling dispersal to suitable nursery habitat, and relative abundance and distribution in response to changing salinity and water depth for all stage classes of crocodiles. The response of the American crocodile to restoration efforts will provide a quantifiable measure of restoration success. By applying the crocodile model to proposed restoration alternatives and predicting population responses, we can choose alternatives that approximate historical conditions, enhance habitat for multiple species, and identify future research needs.

Open-File Report↗
USGS2011

Aeolian and fluvial processes in dryland regions: The need for integrated studies

Aeolian and fluvial processes play a fundamental role in dryland regions of the world and have important environmental and ecological consequences from local to global scales. Although both processes operate over similar spatial and temporal scales and are likely strongly coupled in many dryland systems, aeolian and fluvial processes have traditionally been studied separately, making it difficult to assess their relative importance in drylands, as well as their potential for synergistic interaction. Land degradation by accelerated wind and water erosion is a major problem throughout the world's drylands, and although recent studies suggest that these processes likely interact across broad spatial and temporal scales to amplify the transport of soil resources from and within drylands, many researchers and land managers continue to view them as separate and unrelated processes. Here, we illustrate how aeolian and fluvial sediment transport is coupled at multiple spatial and temporal scales and highlight the need for these interrelated processes to be studied from a more integrated perspective that crosses traditional disciplinary boundaries. Special attention is given to how the growing threat of climate change and land‐use disturbance will influence linkages between aeolian and fluvial processes in the future. We also present emerging directions for interdisciplinary needs within the aeolian and fluvial research communities that call for better integration across a broad range of traditional disciplines such as ecology, biogeochemistry, agronomy, and soil conservation.

California↗
USGS2012

Coordinated bird monitoring: Technical recommendations for military lands

The Department of Defense (DoD) is subject to several rules and regulations establishing responsibilities for monitoring migratory birds. The Sikes Act requires all military installations with significant natural resources to prepare and implement Integrated Natural Resources Management Plans (INRMPs). These plans guide the conservation and long-term management of natural resources on military lands in a manner that is compatible with and sustains the military mission. An INRMP also supports compliance with all legal requirements and guides the military in fulfilling its obligation to be a good steward of public land.The management and conservation of migratory birds is addressed in installation INRMPs. The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) requires federal agencies to evaluate and disclose the potential environmental impacts of their proposed actions. More recently, DoD signed an MOU (http://www.dodpif.org/downloads/EO13186_MOU-DoD.pdf) for migratory birds, under Executive Order 13186, with the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) in July 2006 and a Migratory Bird Rule (http://www.dodpif.org/downloads/MigBirdFINALRule_FRFeb2007.pdf) was passed by Congress in February 2007. The Migratory Bird Rule addresses the potential impacts of military readiness activities on populations of migratory birds and establishes a process to implement conservation measures if and when a military readiness activity is expected to have a significant adverse impact on a population of migratory bird species (as determined through the NEPA process). The MOU states that for nonmilitary readiness activities, prior to initiating any activity likely to affect populations of migratory birds DoD shall (1) identify the migratory bird species likely to occur in the area of the proposed action and determine if any species of concern could be affected by the activity, and (2) assess and document, using NEPA when applicable, the effect of the proposed action on species of concern. By following these procedures, DoD will minimize the possibility for a proposed action to unintentionally take migratory birds at a level that would violate any of the migratory bird treaties and potentially impact mission activities. In addition, implementing conservation and monitoring programs for migratory birds supports the ecosystem integrity necessary to sustain DoD's natural resources for the military mission.Non-compliance with the procedural requirements of the MBTA could result in a private party lawsuit under the Administrative Procedures Act (APA). A lawsuit filed under APA involving a Navy bombing range is the basis for a court ruling that unintentional take of migratory birds applies to federal actions. Ensuring the necessary data is available to adequately assess impacts of a proposed action will help avoid lawsuits or help ensure such lawsuits have no grounds. The data gathered in a bird monitoring program will provide the best scientific data available to assess the expected impacts of a proposed action on migratory bird species through the NEPA process. This report presents recommendations developed by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) for the Department of Defense (DoD) on establishing a "Coordinated Bird Monitoring (CBM) Plan." The CBM Plan is intended to ensure that DoD meets its conservation and regulatory responsibilities for monitoring birds (Chapter 1). The report relies heavily on recommendations in the report, "Opportunities for improving avian monitoring" (http://www.nabci-us.org/aboutnabci/monitoringreportfinal0307.pdf), by the U.S. North American Bird Conservation Initiative (U.S. NABCI Monitoring Subcommittee, 2007) and on a review of 358 current DoD bird monitoring programs carried out as part of this project (Chapter 2). This report contains 12 recommendations which, if followed, would result in a comprehensive, efficient, and useful approach to bird monitoring. The recommendations are based on the entire report but are presented together at the end of Chapter 1. DoD has agreed to consider implementing these recommendations; however, final decisions will be based upon such factors as the availability of resources and military mission considerations. These recommendations from USGS can be summarized into 6 major themes: A major report on monitoring was released in 2007 by the U.S. North American Bird Conservation Initiative (http://www.nabci-us.org/main2.html). DoD can be consistent with this report by establishing policy that monitoring will be explicitly acknowledged as an integral element of bird management and conservation (Recommendation 1). The design of monitoring and assessment programs for birds should include the following steps: Preparation of a document describing the program's goals, objectives, and methods similar to a format we provide (Recommendation 2, Chapter 4). Selection of field methods using an "expert system" developed in this project (Recommendation 3, Chapter 5) or another well-documented system. Preparation and storage of metadata describing the monitoring program in the Natural Resources Monitoring Partnership (NRMP), and other appropriate databases Recommendation 4, Chapter 6). Entry of the survey data using eBird (http://ebird.org/content/dod) or the Coordinated Bird Monitoring Database (CBMD) and long-term storage of the data in the CBMD and the Avian Knowledge Network (AKN; Recommendation 5, Chapter 6; http://www.avianknowledge.net/). Submission of major results from the monitoring program for publication in a peer reviewed journal (Recommendation 6). The DoD Legacy Resource Management Program (Legacy; https://www.dodlegacy.org), Environmental Security Technology Certification Program (ESTCP; http://www.serdp.org/), and Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program (SERDP; http://www.serdp.org/) should be encouraged to continue their significant contributions to the foundations of bird monitoring (Recommendation 7, Chapters 1 and 3). Appropriate monitoring should be conducted to identify species of concern on installations. A year-round, one-time survey of birds on installations with habitat for migratory birds would provide the most information to assist compliance with the MOU, the Final Rule, and the NEPA analyses of proposed actions. However, less intensive survey efforts can still be conducted to yield useful information. We describe how various levels of survey effort might be organized and conducted. In addition, continuing surveys, as feasible, would further assist in documenting effects of military readiness and non-readiness activities on species of concern (SOC) (Recommendation 8, Chapter 7). Participation in well-designed, large-scale surveys [(e.g., North American Breeding Bird Survey (BBS; http://www.pwrc.usgs.gov/bbs/), Monitoring Avian Productivity and Survivorship (MAPS; http://www.birdpop.org/maps.htm)] on land that DoD manages or on lands where the results will be of high interest to DoD, will provide DoD and other NABCI members with information important to bird conservation (Recommendation 9, Chapter 8). Review and implementation of the CBM Plan should involve both higher level management and installation-level natural resources managers (Recommendation 11), be implemented through cooperative partnerships (Recommendation 12), and be followed on U.S territory lands and Army Corps of Engineers projects (Recommendation 10).Additional recommendations that pertain to implementing the DoD CBM Plan are discussed in Chapter 9.

Open-File Report↗
USGS2024

A data exchange standard for wadeable stream habitat monitoring data

Data from wadeable streams collected by monitoring programs are used to assess watershed condition status and trends. Federally managed programs collect a suite of similar habitat measurements using compatible methods and produce individual program datasets for their prescribed geographic and temporal range. We identified four programs that produce similar data: the Bureau of Land Management Assessment, Inventory, and Monitoring lotic division, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency National Aquatic Resource Surveys National Rivers and Streams Assessment survey section, the Federal interagency Aquatic and Riparian Effectiveness Monitoring Program, and the PacFish/InFish Biological Opinion Monitoring Program. Their datasets answer agency-specific management questions and fulfill reporting requirements, but the datasets are not released in full, or at all, and in some cases, there was no method to integrate data from the four programs to provide data at a larger spatial scale. The Pacific Northwest Aquatic Monitoring Partnership (PNAMP) led a working group of experts from the four monitoring programs to determine data compatibility, develop a Stream Habitat Metrics Integration (SHMI) data exchange standard, and integrate compatible wadeable stream data. The resulting SHMI data exchange standard contains a data mapping file used to transform data from the source program data to a conformed format based on a controlled vocabulary. After extensive discussions assessing and comparing program collection and analyses methods, the working group found 26 stream habitat metrics to be sufficiently comparable to be integrated into a meaningful dataset. Furthermore, a subset of PIBO MP data previously available only by request and AREMP data available only as a proprietary ESRI ArcGIS geodatabase were made publicly available in non-proprietary formats via the integrated SHMI dataset. A selection of data from the four programs determined to be compatible among 14 datasets were filtered, transformed, standardized, and combined using R code to create the integrated SHMI dataset containing about 12,000 locations, 19,000 events, and 200,000 measurements from 2000 to 2022. This report describes the SHMI data exchange standard and its development, the metric compatibility assessment, and the data integration process, so that others may reuse the SHMI data exchange standard and its components as well as the data integration processes.

Techniques and Methods↗
USGS2012

An economic value of remote-sensing information—Application to agricultural production and maintaining groundwater quality

Does remote-sensing information provide economic benefits to society, and can a value be assigned to those benefits? Can resource management and policy decisions be better informed by coupling past and present Earth observations with groundwater nitrate measurements? Using an integrated assessment approach, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) applied an established conceptual framework to answer these questions, as well as to estimate the value of information (VOI) for remote-sensing imagery. The approach uses moderate-resolution land-imagery (MRLI) data from the Landsat and Advanced Wide Field Sensor satellites that has been classified by the National Agricultural Statistics Service into the Cropland Data Layer (CDL). Within the constraint of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's public health threshold for potable groundwater resources, the USGS modeled the relation between a population of the CDL's land uses and dynamic nitrate (NO3-) contamination of aquifers in a case study region in northeastern Iowa. Employing various multiscaled, multitemporal geospatial datasets with MRLI to maximize the value of agricultural production, the approach develops and uses multiple environmental science models to address dynamic nitrogen loading and transport at specified distances from specific sites (wells) and at landscape scales (for example, across 35 counties and two aquifers). In addition to the ecosystem service of potable groundwater, this effort focuses on the use of MRLI for the management of the major land uses in the study region-the production of corn and soybeans, which can impact groundwater quality. Derived methods and results include (1) economic and dynamic nitrate-pollution models, (2) probabilities of the survival of groundwater, and (3) a VOI for remote sensing. For the northeastern Iowa study region, the marginal benefit of the MRLI VOI (in 2010 dollars) is $858 million ±$197 million annualized, which corresponds to a net present value of $38.1 billion ±$8.8 billion for that flow of benefits in perpetuity. Given that these economic estimates are derived from one case study in a part of only one State, the estimates provide a lower estimate related to the potential value of the Landsat Data Continuity Mission.

Professional Paper↗
USGS2022

The hydroclimate niche: A tool for predicting and managing riparian plant community responses to streamflow seasonality

Habitat suitability is a consequence of interacting environmental factors. In riparian ecosystems, suitable plant habitat is influenced by interactions between stream hydrology and climate, hereafter referred to as “hydroclimate”. We tested the hypothesis that hydroclimate variables would improve the fit of ecological niche models for a suite of riparian species using occurrence data from the western United States. We focus on the climate conditions (temperature, precipitation and vapor pressure deficit) during the months of lowest and highest streamflow as integrative hydroclimate metrics of resource and stress levels. We found that the inclusion of hydroclimate variables improved model fit for all species in the western USA dataset. We then tested the utility of the improved habitat suitability models by projecting them onto a regulated segment of the Colorado River to assess potential impacts of streamflow seasonality on vegetation metrics of management concern. Species frequency derived from independent survey data in the Colorado River segment was significantly higher for species with predicted suitable habitat than for species without predicted suitable habitat. Under different simulated hydrographs for the Colorado River, overall species richness was predicted to be greatest with peak streamflows during summer, and native-to-non-native species ratios were predicted to be greatest with lowest streamflows in winter. Summer high flows were particularly associated with higher predicted habitat suitability for species that have increased in cover over recent decades (e.g., Pluchea sericea, Baccharis species). We conclude that hydroclimate covariates can be useful tools for predicting how riparian vegetation communities respond to changes in the seasonal timing of low and high streamflows.

River Research and Applications↗
USGS2009

The influence of use-related, environmental, and managerial factors on soil loss from recreational trails

Recreational uses of unsurfaced trails inevitably result in their degradation, with the type and extent of resource impact influenced by factors such as soil texture, topography, climate, trail design and maintenance, and type and amount of use. Of particular concern, the loss of soil through erosion is generally considered a significant and irreversible form of trail impact. This research investigated the influence of several use-related, environmental, and managerial factors on soil loss on recreational trails and roads at Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area, a unit of the U.S. National Park Service. Regression modeling revealed that trail position, trail slope alignment angle, grade, water drainage, and type of use are significant determinants of soil loss. The introduction of individual and groups of variables into a series of regression models provides improved understanding and insights regarding the relative influence of these variables, informing the selection of more effective trail management actions. Study results suggest that trail erosion can be minimized by avoiding “fall-line” alignments, steep grades, and valley-bottom alignments near streams, installing and maintaining adequate densities of tread drainage features, applying gravel to harden treads, and reducing horse and all-terrain vehicle use or restricting them to more resistant routes. This research also sought to develop a more efficient Variable Cross-Sectional Area method for assessing soil loss on trails. This method permitted incorporation of CSA measures in a representative sampling scheme applied to a large (24%) sample of the park's 526 km trail system. The variety of soil loss measures derived from the Variable CSA method, including extrapolated trail-wide soil loss estimates, permit an objective quantification of soil erosion on recreational trails and roads. Such data support relational analyses to increase understanding of trail degradation, and long-term monitoring of the natural and recreational integrity of the trail system infrastructure.

Journal of Environmental Management↗
USGS2024

2023-2024 Coastal sage scrub and chaparral community monitoring for western San Diego County

Western San Diego County is dominated by shrublands supporting biologically diverse native plant and animal communities. Widespread urbanization has led to regional habitat loss and fragmentation, and many species in these shrubland communities are rare, threatened, or endangered. Large-scale, multiple-species conservation planning has resulted in a regional preserve system that focuses on these shrubland communities. Several large-scale threats are leading to type conversion from shrub-dominated to non-native invasive annual grass-dominated vegetation. To understand the changes that are occurring to native shrublands, we have developed a vegetation monitoring program with several components at multiple spatial scales, focused on quantifying coastal sage scrub (CSS) and chaparral vegetation community characteristics. Several drivers of change associated with type conversion of native shrubland to non-native annual grassland have been identified by previous research including increasing fire frequency, nitrogen deposition from air pollution, and prolonged and intense drought associated with changing climate. Loss of ecological integrity indices have been proposed as useful measures of the threat of degradation and type conversion of shrublands in San Diego County. For this study, ecological integrity is defined as a system’s ability to maintain species’ relationships and functions comparable to natural habitat in the region. Previous studies have identified the percent cover of invasive non-native annual grasses as a proxy for overall ecological degradation (loss of integrity) that is consistent across native taxonomic groups. Increased cover of non-native grass is associated with lower integrity of the shrubland vegetation community as shrub-associated plant and animal species are replaced by species preferring grassy and disturbed habitats. The objectives of this CSS and chaparral vegetation community monitoring plan are to: 1) Determine the distribution, composition, structure, and integrity of CSS and chaparral vegetation communities on conserved lands in western San Diego County, 2) Identify whether these attributes of the vegetation communities are changing over time, and 3) Evaluate relationships of known drivers of change (threats) and environmental factors in association with changes in vegetation community attributes. The CSS and chaparral vegetation community monitoring program is divided into four components: 1) vegetation mapping, 2) GIS/remote sensing office analysis of landscape-scale data, 3) permanent field plots using Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) and field data collections, and 4) animal and target species surveys and rapid assessment protocols. The first component, which is not detailed in this vegetation monitoring plan, aims to map vegetation communities every 10-15 years based on a classification developed for western San Diego County. High resolution aerial imagery will be used to update the 2012 vegetation map and expand it across the entire study area. The second component uses remote sensing models to annually track ecological integrity of shrublands across the study area and will include a map of areas of change and areas of stability over several decades. These landscape-scale integrity classifications will be used to analyze ecological processes, threats, and abiotic factors relative to changes to shrubland ecological integrity over time and space. The third component includes field surveys of 100 permanent plots across areas historically mapped as shrublands. Surveys in the 1930s mapped vegetation types using plot data. By using this historical classification map, we included areas that have already type-converted from shrubland to non-native annual grassland. The plots were split between CSS (55 plots) and chaparral (45 plots) and stratified into four geographical eco-subregions to guarantee coverage over small patches of habitat along the heavily developed coast. Surveys will include the collection of UAS imagery at a very high resolution. Species-level identifications will be made from the imagery based on a plant list compiled of all species detected in the plot during a thorough field survey by botanists, combined with geo-referenced samples of plant species locations. In addition, herbaceous cover will be estimated in the field using nine 1-m diameter circles (one per subplot) to obtain ocular estimates of cover for each plant species within the circle frame. Soil samples will be collected and analyzed for important element compositions. These data will be analyzed to evaluate plot-level ecological integrity based on species composition and cover. Repeated monitoring will allow evaluation of changes in vegetation attributes over time with known drivers or threats and other environmental factors. In addition, analyses will focus on indicator species and various measures of biological diversity for the vegetation communities. Finally, animal species and rare plants will be assessed using either taxa-based rapid assessment protocols or specialized species-specific protocols for rarer species. The purpose of these assessments is to document the status, habitat, and threat covariates of specific species and confirm the species composition and diversity of animal taxonomic groups (e.g., pollinators). Diversity and abundance of animal species at vegetation plots will be used to refine measures and thresholds of ecological integrity. Rapid assessment protocols for animal taxonomic groups can include multiple detection methods such as, camera traps, cover boards, and bird point counts. Pollinators will be monitored at plots using a protocol currently being developed in conjunction with but separately from this plan. Target rare plant species will be monitored using the regional Inspect and Manage (IMG) protocol that measures the status of rare plant occurrences and habitat and threat covariates over time. Species-specific animal survey methods will be refined as these species are prioritized for future monitoring. The goal of this monitoring program is to classify CSS and chaparral vegetation community integrity, identify areas of degradation across western San Diego County, and characterize drivers, and environmental factors associated with loss of ecological integrity. A combination of vegetation mapping, landscape-scale remote sensing, and field plots will be used to address all the aspects of our research questions. Data compiled and collected will be available to conservation partners to help inform future management decisions.

California↗
USGS2026

A fresh perspective - Advancing fish immunotoxicology in a complex world

Understanding how environmental changes affect the health of organisms and ecosystems is complex, but recent interdisciplinary advances and the recognition of immune function as a dynamic mediator offer exciting progress. Environmental immunotoxicology in teleost fishes is evolving beyond cataloguing stressors towards a mechanistic, integrative framework that leverages omics, in vivo tracking and cross-disciplinary modelling. However, knowledge gaps in immune mechanisms, toxicokinetics and multi-stressor interactions remain. The present work highlights these gaps, advocating for immune function as both a mechanistic lens and an integrative health indicator. Such a framework can improve predictive risk assessments, management strategies and our understanding of contaminant effects on resilience, disease susceptibility and population viability. While challenges remain, the field is poised for significant growth through collaborative innovation and advancing technology.

FEBS Letters↗
USGS1993

Integration of environmental simulation models with satellite remote sensing and geographic information systems technologies: case studies

Environmental modelers are testing and evaluating a prototype land cover characteristics database for the conterminous United States developed by the EROS Data Center of the U.S. Geological Survey and the University of Nebraska Center for Advanced Land Management Information Technologies. This database was developed from multi temporal, 1-kilometer advanced very high resolution radiometer (AVHRR) data for 1990 and various ancillary data sets such as elevation, ecological regions, and selected climatic normals. Several case studies using this database were analyzed to illustrate the integration of satellite remote sensing and geographic information systems technologies with land-atmosphere interactions models at a variety of spatial and temporal scales. The case studies are representative of contemporary environmental simulation modeling at local to regional levels in global change research, land and water resource management, and environmental simulation modeling at local to regional levels in global change research, land and water resource management and environmental risk assessment. The case studies feature land surface parameterizations for atmospheric mesoscale and global climate models; biogenic-hydrocarbons emissions models; distributed parameter watershed and other hydrological models; and various ecological models such as ecosystem, dynamics, biogeochemical cycles, ecotone variability, and equilibrium vegetation models. The case studies demonstrate the important of multi temporal AVHRR data to develop to develop and maintain a flexible, near-realtime land cover characteristics database. Moreover, such a flexible database is needed to derive various vegetation classification schemes, to aggregate data for nested models, to develop remote sensing algorithms, and to provide data on dynamic landscape characteristics. The case studies illustrate how such a database supports research on spatial heterogeneity, land use, sensitivity analysis, and scaling issues involving regional extrapolations and parameterizations of dynamic land processes within simulation models.

Pecora 12 Symposium↗
USGS2005

Effectiveness of a confinement strategy for reducing campsite impacts in Shenandoah National Park

The expansion and proliferation of backcountry campsites is a persistent problem in many parks and protected areas. Shenandoah National Park (SNP) has one of the highest backcountry overnight use densities in the USA national parks system. SNP managers implemented a multi-option backcountry camping policy in 2000 that included camping containment with established campsites. These actions were intended to reduce the number of campsites and the area of camping disturbance at each site. This paper describes a longitudinal adaptive management assessment of the new campsite policies, applying quantitative measures of campsite conditions to evaluate the efficacy of management interventions. Physical campsite measurements combined with qualitative visitor interviews indicated SNP had successfully reduced the number of campsites and aggregate measures of camping-related disturbance in the Park, while minimizing the use of regulations, site facilities and staff resources. Implications for managers of other protected areas are that an established site camping policy can minimize camping disturbance, including the number and size of campsites, provided managers can sustain rehabilitation efforts to close and restore unneeded campsites. Experiential attributes, such as the potential for solitude, can also be manipulated through control over the selection of established campsites. Integrating resource and social science methods also provided a more holistic perspective on management policy assessments. Adaptive management research provided a timely evaluation of management success while facilitating effective modifications in response to unforeseen challenges. Conclusions regarding the effectiveness of a visitor impact containment strategy involving an established site camping option are offered.

Virginia↗
USGS2023

Scenario-Based Decision Analysis: Integrated scenario planning and structured decision making for resource management under climate change

Managing resources under climate change is a high-stakes and daunting task, especially because climate change and associated complex biophysical responses engender sustained directional changes as well as abrupt transformations. This environmental non-stationarity challenges assumptions and expectations among scientists, managers, rights holders, and stakeholders. These challenges are anything but straightforward – a high degree of uncertainty impedes our ability to predict the environmental trajectory with confidence, and affected resources often span multiple governance jurisdictions or are subject to competing management objectives. Fortunately, tools exist to help grapple with such challenges. Two commonly used tools are scenario planning (SP) and structured decision making (SDM). SP is a well-established approach for assessing system response and facilitating decision making under a wide range of conditions that are uncertain and uncontrollable, such as those associated with adapting to climate change. However, SP lacks a defined structure for establishing objectives, quantifying tradeoffs, and evaluating the performance of candidate decisions to meet those objectives. SDM, on the other hand, is rooted in decision theory and focuses on explicit (often quantitative) assessment of the expected outcomes of choosing among a set of decision alternatives. SDM has been criticized for an inability to account for surprises and for imposing an overly narrow framing of problems to increase tractability. We discuss the strengths and limitations of SDM and SP as experienced through their application in various resource-management contexts, and then propose a new generalized framework – Scenario-Based Decision Analysis (SBDA) – that integrates these complementary approaches. SBDA structures resource management problems and solutions while considering uncertainties and surprises to inform resource management decision making.

Biological Conservation↗