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At least 253 records · Page 14Linked to original sources

USGS2018

Efficiently optimizing for dendritic connectivity on tree-structured networks in a multi-objective framework

We provide an exact and approximation algorithm based on Dynamic Programming and an approximation algorithm based on Mixed Integer Programming for optimizing for the so-called dendritic connectivity on tree-structured networks in a multi-objective setting. Dendritic connectivity describes the degree of connectedness of a network. We consider different variants of dendritic connectivity to capture both network connectivity with respect to long and short-to-middle distances. Our work is motivated by a problem in computational sustainability concerning the evaluation of trade-offs in ecosystem services due to the proliferation of hydropower dams throughout the Amazon basin. In particular, we consider trade-offs between energy production and river connectivity. River fragmentation can dramatically affect fish migrations and other ecosystem services, such as navigation and transportation. In the context of river networks, different variants of dendritic connectivity are important to characterize the movements of different fish species and human populations. Our approaches are general and can be applied to optimizing for dendritic connectivity for a variety of multi-objective problems on tree-structured networks.

Conference Paper↗

USGS2019

Conservation of temporary wetlands

Temporary wetlands are characterized by frequent drying resulting in a unique, highly specialized assemblage of often rare or specialized plant and animal species. They are found on all continents and in a variety of landscape settings. Although accurate estimates of the abundance of temporary wetlands are available in only a few countries, global estimations identify a decline in number and quality. The key environmental factors driving the structure of ecological communities in temporary wetlands are the duration, timing, frequency and predictability of the aquatic and dry phases, which varies greatly with region and hydrogeomorphic setting. Temporary wetlands have been historically neglected, but improved social awareness of the functions and values of, and increases in scientific interest, suggest that this is changing. They play an ecological role in both global cycles (i.e., CO 2 emissions) and biodiversity (in proportion to their size, they contribute disproportionately to regional and global biodiversity). Moreover, they provide valuable ecosystem services including wildlife habitat, nutrient flux to adjacent ecosystems, flood control, water filtration, and cultural services. Effective conservation of temporary wetlands requires addressing threats (i.e., inconsistent and inadequate regulatory protections; climate change; changes in land use) and management challenges (i.e., management at both local and landscape scales; incomplete understanding of the ecosystem services provided by them; the need to enhance inventories). The most suitable approaches for conserving temporary wetlands include (1) regulations or other forms of protection; (2) sustainable management; (3) restoration and creation; and (4) collaborative conservation.

Book chapter↗

USGS2014

Integrated conceptual ecological model and habitat indices for the southwest Florida coastal wetlands

The coastal wetlands of southwest Florida that extend from Charlotte Harbor south to Cape Sable, contain more than 60,000 ha of mangroves and 22,177 ha of salt marsh. These coastal wetlands form a transition zone between the freshwater and marine environments of the South Florida Coastal Marine Ecosystem (SFCME). The coastal wetlands provide diverse ecosystem services that are valued by society and thus are important to the economy of the state. Species from throughout the region spend part of their life cycle in the coastal wetlands, including many marine and coastal-dependent species, making this zone critical to the ecosystem health of the Everglades and the SFCME. However, the coastal wetlands are increasingly vulnerable due to rising sea level, changes in storm intensity and frequency, land use, and water management practices. They are at the boundary of the region covered by the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP), and thus are impacted by both CERP and marine resource management decisions. An integrated conceptual ecological model (ICEM) for the southwest coastal wetlands of Florida was developed that illustrates the linkages between drivers, pressures, ecological process, and ecosystem services. Five ecological indicators are presented: (1) mangrove community structure and spatial extent; (2) waterbirds; (3) prey-base fish and macroinvertebrates; (4) crocodilians; and (5) periphyton. Most of these indicators are already used in other areas of south Florida and the SFCME, and therefore will allow metrics from the coastal wetlands to be used in system-wide assessments that incorporate the entire Greater Everglades Ecosystem.

Ecological Indicators↗

USGS2020

Linking land and sea through an ecological-economic model of coral reef recreation

Coastal zones are popular recreational areas that substantially contribute to social welfare. Managers can use information about specific environmental features that people value, and how these might change under different management scenarios, to spatially target actions to areas of high current or potential value. We explored how snorkelers’ experience would be affected by separate and combined land and marine management actions in West Maui, Hawaiʻi, using a Bayesian Belief Network (BBN) and a spatially explicit ecosystem services model. The BBN simulates the attractiveness of a site for recreation by combining snorkeler preferences for coastal features with expert opinions on ecological dynamics, snorkeler behavior, and management actions. A choice experiment with snorkelers elucidated their preferences for sites with better ecological and water-quality conditions. Linking the economic elicitation to the spatially explicit BBN to evaluate land-sea management scenarios provides specific guidance on where and how to act in West Maui to maximize ecosystem service returns. Improving coastal water quality through sediment runoff and cesspool effluent reductions (land management), and enhancing coral reef ecosystem conditions (marine management) positively affected overall snorkeling attractiveness across the study area, but with differential results at specific sites. The highest improvements were attained through joint land-sea management, driven by strong efforts to increase fish abundance and reduced sediment; however, the effects of management at individual beaches varied.

Hawaii↗

USGS2020

Changes in ecosystem nitrogen and carbon allocation with black mangrove (Avicennia germinans) encroachment into Spartina alterniflora salt marsh

Increases in temperature are expected to facilitate encroachment of tropical mangrove forests into temperate salt marshes, yet the effects on ecosystem services are understudied. Our work was conducted along a mangrove expansion front in Louisiana (USA), an area where coastal wetlands are in rapid decline due to compounding factors, including reduced sediment supply, rising sea level, and subsidence. Marsh and mangrove ecosystems are each known for their ability to adjust to sea-level rise and support numerous ecosystem services, but there are some differences in the societal benefits they provide. Here, we compare carbon and nitrogen stocks and relate these findings to the expected effects of mangrove encroachment on nitrogen filtration and carbon sequestration in coastal wetlands. We specifically evaluate the implications of black mangrove ( Avicennia germinans ) encroachment into Spartina alterniflora -dominated salt marsh. Our results indicate that black mangrove encroachment will lead to increased aboveground carbon and nitrogen stocks. However, we found no differences in belowground (that is, root and sediment) nitrogen or carbon stocks between marshes and mangroves. Thus, the shift from marsh to mangrove may provide decadal-scale increases in aboveground nitrogen and carbon sequestration, but belowground nitrogen and carbon sequestration (that is, carbon burial) may not be affected. We measured lower pore water nitrogen content beneath growing mangroves, which we postulate may be due to greater nitrogen uptake and storage in mangrove aboveground compartments compared to marshes. However, further studies are needed to better characterize the implications of mangrove encroachment on nitrogen cycling, storage, and export to the coastal ocean.

Louisiana↗

USGS2013

Interactions among hydrogeomorphology, vegetation, and nutrient biogeochemistry in floodplain ecosystems

Hydrogeomorphic, vegetative, and biogeochemical processes interact in floodplains resulting in great complexity that provides opportunities to better understand linkages among physical and biological processes in ecosystems. Floodplains and their associated river systems are structured by four dimensional gradients of hydrogeomorphology: longitudinal, lateral, vertical, and temporal components. These four dimensions create dynamic hydrologic and geomorphologic mosaics that have a large imprint on the vegetation and nutrient biogeochemistry of floodplains. Plant physiology, population dynamics, community structure, and productivity are all very responsive to floodplain hydrogeomorphology. The strength of this relationship between vegetation and hydrogeomorphology is evident in the use of vegetation as an indicator of hydrogeomorphic processes. However, vegetation also influences hydrogeomorphology by modifying hydraulics and sediment entrainment and deposition that typically stabilize geomorphic patterns. Nitrogen and phosphorus biogeochemistry commonly influence plant productivity and community composition, although productivity is not limited by nutrient availability in all floodplains. Conversely, vegetation influences nutrient biogeochemistry through direct uptake and storage as well as production of organic matter that regulates microbial biogeochemical processes. The biogeochemistries of nitrogen and phosphorus cycling are very sensitive to spatial and temporal variation in hydrogeomorphology, in particular floodplain wetness and sedimentation. The least studied interaction is the direct effect of biogeochemistry on hydrogeomorphology, but the control of nutrient availability over organic matter decomposition and thus soil permeability and elevation is likely important. Biogeochemistry also has the more documented but indirect control of hydrogeomorphology through regulation of plant biomass. In summary, the defining characteristics of floodplain ecosystems are determined by the many interactions among physical and biological processes. Conservation and restoration of the valuable ecosystem services that floodplains provide depends on improved understanding and predictive models of interactive system controls and behavior.

Book chapter↗

USGS2018

Climate and plant controls on soil organic matter in coastal wetlands

Coastal wetlands are among the most productive and carbon‐rich ecosystems on Earth. Long‐term carbon storage in coastal wetlands occurs primarily belowground as soil organic matter (SOM). In addition to serving as a carbon sink, SOM influences wetland ecosystem structure, function, and stability. To anticipate and mitigate the effects of climate change, there is a need to advance understanding of environmental controls on wetland SOM. Here, we investigated the influence of four soil formation factors: climate, biota, parent materials, and topography. Along the northern Gulf of Mexico, we collected wetland plant and soil data across elevation and zonation gradients within ten estuaries that span broad temperature and precipitation gradients. Our results highlight the importance of climate‐plant controls and indicate that the influence of elevation is scale and location dependent. Coastal wetland plants are sensitive to climate change; small changes in temperature or precipitation can transform coastal wetland plant communities. Across the region, SOM was greatest in mangrove forests and in salt marshes dominated by graminoid plants. SOM was lower in salt flats that lacked vascular plants and in salt marshes dominated by succulent plants. We quantified strong relationships between precipitation, salinity, plant productivity, and SOM. Low precipitation leads to high salinity, which limits plant productivity and appears to constrain SOM accumulation. Our analyses use data from the Gulf of Mexico, but our results can be related to coastal wetlands across the globe and provide a foundation for predicting the ecological effects of future reductions in precipitation and freshwater availability. Coastal wetlands provide many ecosystem services that are SOM dependent and highly vulnerable to climate change. Collectively, our results indicate that future changes in SOM and plant productivity, regulated by cascading effects of precipitation on freshwater availability and salinity, could impact wetland stability and affect the supply of some wetland ecosystem services.

Global Change Biology↗

USGS2020

Cost-effective fuel treatment planning: A theoretical justification and case-study

Modelling the spatial prioritisation of fuel treatments and their net effect on values at risk is an important area for applied work as economic damages from wildfire continue to grow. We model and demonstrate a cost-effective fuel treatment planning algorithm using two ecosystem services as benefits for which fuel treatments are prioritised. We create a surface of expected fuel treatment costs to incorporate the heterogeneity in factors affecting the revenue and costs of fuel treatments, and then prioritise treatments based on a cost-effectiveness ratio to maximise the averted loss of ecosystem services from fire. We compare treatment scenarios that employ cost-effectiveness with those that do not, and use common tools and models in a case study of the Sisters Ranger District on the Deschutes National Forest in central Oregon, USA. Using cost-effectiveness not only increases the expected averted losses from fuel treatments, but it also allows a larger area to be treated for the same cost, simply by incorporating costs and cost-effectiveness into the prioritisation routine. These results have considerable implications for policymakers and land managers trying to minimise risk. Incorporating costs into the spatial planning of treatments could allow more effective outcomes without increasing fuel treatment budgets.

Oregon↗

USGS2018

Evidence and opportunities for integrating landscape ecology into natural resource planning across multiple-use landscapes

Enhancing natural resource management has been a focus of landscape ecology since its inception, but numerous authors argue that landscape ecology has not yet been effective in achieving the underlying goal of planning and designing sustainable landscapes. We developed nine questions reflecting the application of fundamental research topics in landscape ecology to the landscape planning process and reviewed two recent landscape-scale plans in western North America for evidence of these concepts in plan decisions. Both plans considered multiple resources, uses, and values, including energy development, recreation, conservation, and protection of cultural and historic resources. We found that land use change and multiscale perspectives of resource uses and values were very often apparent in planning decisions. Pattern-process relationships, connectivity and fragmentation, ecosystem services, landscape history, and climate change were reflected less frequently. Landscape sustainability was considered only once in the 295 decisions reviewed, and outputs of landscape models were not referenced. We suggest six actionable opportunities for further integrating landscape ecology concepts into landscape planning efforts: 1) use landscape sustainability as an overarching goal, 2) adopt a broad ecosystem services framework, 3) explore the role of landscape history more comprehensively, 4) regularly consider and accommodate potential effects of climate change, 5) use landscape models to support plan decisions, and 6) promote a greater presence of landscape ecologists within agencies that manage large land bases and encourage active involvement in agency planning efforts. Together these actions may improve the defensibility, durability, and sustainability of landscape plan decisions.

Current Landscape Ecology Reports↗

USGS2013

Preliminary assessment of bioengineered fringing shoreline reefs in Grand Isle and Breton Sound, Louisiana

Restoration of three-dimensional shell habitats in coastal Louisiana presents a valuable and potentially self-sustaining approach to providing shoreline protection and critical nekton habitat and may contribute to water quality maintenance. The use of what has been called “living shorelines” is particularly promising because in addition to the hypothesized shoreline protection services, it is predicted that, if built and located in viable sites, these living shorelines may ultimately contribute to water quality maintenance through filtration of bivalves and may enhance nekton habitat. This approach, however, has not been tested extensively in different shallow water estuarine settings; understanding under what conditions a living shoreline must have to support a sustainable oyster population, and where these reefs may provide valuable shoreline protection, is key to ensuring that this approach provides an effective tool for coastal restoration. This project gathered preliminary data on the sustainability and shoreline stabilization of three large bioengineered fringing reefs located in Grand Isle, Lake Eloi, and Lake Fortuna, Louisiana. We collected preconstruction and postconstruction physiochemical and biological data by using a before-after-control-impact approach to evaluate the effectiveness of these living shoreline structures on reducing marsh erosion, enabling reef sustainability, and providing other ecosystem benefits. Although this project was originally designed to compare reef performance and impacts across three different locations over 2 years, delays in construction because of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill resulted in reefs being built from 12 to 18 months later than anticipated. As a result, monitoring postconstruction was severely limited. One reef, Grand Isle, was completed in March 2011 and monitored up to 18 months postcreation, whereas Lake Eloi and Lake Fortuna reefs were not completed until January 2012, and only 8 months of postconstruction data are available. Data for the latter two sites thus reflect only the 2012 spring/summer seasons, which were further impacted by a direct hit by Hurricane Isaac in August 2012, which resulted in shoreward movement of approximately 14 percent of the bioengineered structures at Lake Fortuna. Given the shortened monitoring timeframe and significant differences in construction schedules, we were not able to provide a full postconstruction assessment of the sites or a full comparison of site success based on local site characteristics. Because many of the impacts that were identified for monitoring reflect long-term processes, results and data presented should be interpreted cautiously. Sustainable oyster reefs require recruitment, growth, and survival at a rate that keeps pace with mortality and shell disarticulation. Although one site failed to recruit (establishment plus survival > 50 millimeters [mm]) over two spawning seasons, two sites only had 6 months postconstruction data available for assessment. Although there are good data on the requirements for oyster growth, there is limited explicit information on the site-specific water quality, hydrodynamic, and biological interaction effects that may determine successful reef establishment. Furthermore, interannual variability can significantly affect reef establishment, and our shortened timeframe of sampling (less than one spawning season for two of the reefs; two spawning seasons for one reef), combined with a lack of prerestoration monitoring data, limit our ability to draw any conclusions about long-term reef sustainability. Bioengineered reefs are thought to provide some benefits to shoreline stabilization through their structure by immediately attenuating wave energies and directly reducing erosion rates at shorelines sheltered by the reefs but also by increasing sediment deposition behind the reefs. Preliminary data indicate differences in reef impact by site; given the short timeframe of postconstruction data at two of the sites, and differences in reef placement between sites, however, it is difficult to draw any conclusions. Longer-term data collection and further analyses comparing reef placement; local wind, wave energy, sediment transport processes; and local bathymetry may help in parameterizing sites where fringing reefs may be most beneficial for shoreline protection. In addition to basic reef sustainability and shoreline stabilization, we measured both water quality parameters and nekton abundances around the newly created reefs and adjacent reference sites. Within the timeframe of monitoring, no effect of reefs on water quality was detected at any site. Given that water quality effects are hypothesized to result from the filtration activities of bivalves, and reefs either failed to recruit (settlement plus survival to > 50 mm) or successfully recruited but only had a couple months of growth prior to this report, it was not expected that an effect would be detectable in this timeframe. Nekton such as blue crab, gulf menhaden, and anchovies were found to be more abundant on the reefs; larger, more transient species were not found to be affected by reef presence. Future work examining smaller organisms and juveniles, including more explicit studies examining why and how these organisms preferentially use oyster reefs, would be useful in the design of other bioengineered reefs and help in understanding the role of the reefs in supporting the nekton community. It is clear from the initial work that ensuring correct site selection by better understanding what local site factors influence oyster populations is key to establishing successful living shoreline reefs. Ultimately, the success of the reefs in providing any ecosystem service relies on their ability to build a viable oyster population that is self-sustaining over the long term. As many of the ecosystem processes hypothesized to result from reefs develop over the long term (4–6 years), some level of monitoring over the next few years is highly recommended in order to accurately assess the long term viability of the reefs, their provision of ecosystem services, and to provide better guidance for future projects.

Louisiana↗

USGS2020

Sustaining Environmental Capital Initiative summary report

Federal agencies need credible scientific information to determine the production and value of ecosystem services in an efficient and timely manner. The U.S. Geological Survey addresses this scientific information need through the Sustaining Environmental Capital Initiative project. The project has relied on U.S. Geological Survey expertise related to water, fisheries, advanced modeling, and economics and other social sciences to conduct eight case studies across a range of environment types, including water-based environments, deserts, sagebrush ecosystems, floodplains, and forests. The Sustaining Environmental Capital Initiative also supported the development and expansion of four tools with the intent of adding content and usability for partners’ decision-making needs. The tools are the Natural Value Resource Center, Benefit Transfer Toolkit, Riverine Environmental Flow Decision Support System, and Artificial Intelligence for Ecosystem Services modeling platform.

Open-File Report↗

USGS2025

Ecologically informed solar enables a sustainable energy transition in U.S. croplands

United States (U.S.) croplands are ideal recipient environments for solar photovoltaic (PV) energy because they are flat and have a high solar resource. Perceived threats of solar to agriculture have led some stakeholders to suggest that croplands be exclusively used to produce food. However, 12 million hectares of U.S. croplands, an area about the size of New York State, are already dedicated to corn grown for ethanol (i.e., biofuel), an energy product that requires significantly more land than solar PV per unit energy. Ecosystem service benefits of an ecologically-informed approach to solar development (i.e., ecovoltaics), coupled with significant land-use advantages over corn ethanol, make solar an attractive solution for a sustainable energy transition in croplands. Here, we evaluated how the conversion of a small fraction of corn-ethanol croplands into ecovoltaic solar facilities might improve land-use efficiency of energy generation, enhance ecosystem services, and provide landscape diversification. Through spatial analyses, we determined that converting just 3.2% of land currently used for corn ethanol would increase the share of utility-scale solar energy in the U.S. from 3.9% to 13%. We also identified target locations where strategic conversion of corn ethanol to solar PV co-located with perennial vegetation could filter excess nutrients transported from adjacent farm runoff, diversify and connect agricultural landscapes, and provide local wildlife habitat. In contrast to the common perception of land-use competition and land scarcity in the energy transition, our findings highlight benefits of co-located energy landscapes that integrate fundamental principles of energy development and sustainable agroecosystems.

contiguous United States↗

USGS2015

Towards a global terrestrial species monitoring program

Introduction: The Convention for Biological Diversity’s (CBD) Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020 envisions that “By 2050, biodiversity is valued, conserved, restored and wisely used, maintaining ecosystem services, sustaining a healthy planet and delivering benefits essential for all people.” Although 193 parties have adopted these goals, there is little infrastructure in place to monitor global biodiversity trends. Recent international conservation policy requires such data to be up-to-date, reliable, comparable among sites, relevant, and understandable; as is becoming obvious from the work plan adopted by the Intergovernmental Panel for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES: www.ipbes.net/; http://tinyurl.com/ohdnknq). In order to meet the five strategic goals of the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020 and its 20 accompanying Aichi Targets for 2020 (www.cbd.int/sp/targets/), advances need to be made in coordinating large-scale biodiversity monitoring and linking these with environmental data to develop a comprehensive Global Observation Network, as is the main idea behind GEOSS the Global Earth Observation System of Systems (Christian 2005)...Here we identify ten requirements important for the successful implementation of a global biodiversity monitoring network under the flag of GEO BON and especially a global terrestrial species monitoring program.

Journal for Nature Conservation↗

USGS2019

Linking fire and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals

Fire is a ubiquitous natural disturbance that affects 3–4% of the Earth's surface each year. It is a tool used by humans for land clearing and burning of agricultural wastes. The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) do not explicitly mention fire, though many of the Goals are affected by the beneficial and adverse consequences of fires on ecosystem services. There are at least three compelling reasons to include a fire perspective in the implementation of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. The first reason relates to the stated vision of the United Nations 2030 Agenda to protect the environment. In order to achieve environmental protection during sustainable development activities, it is necessary to understand and plan for the effects of disturbances, in this case fire, on ecosystem services. The second reason is that fires produce emissions with regional and global impacts on air quality and rainfall patterns. Fires contribute to global warming though the release greenhouse gases, primarily CO 2 , and black carbon, identified as a SLCP (short-lived climate pollutant). The third reason is that fire is one of several complex processes that lead to land degradation across the globe. Opportunities exist to incorporate a fire perspective into sustainable development projects or approaches. Two examples are highlighted here. Transdisciplinary communication and collaboration are needed to address the complex issues related to fire, and to climate and land use change.

Science of the Total Environment↗

USGS2015

Incorporating climate change projections into riparian restoration planning and design

Climate change and associated changes in streamflow may alter riparian habitats substantially in coming decades. Riparian restoration provides opportunities to respond proactively to projected climate change effects, increase riparian ecosystem resilience to climate change, and simultaneously address effects of both climate change and other human disturbances. However, climate change may alter which restoration methods are most effective and which restoration goals can be achieved. Incorporating climate change into riparian restoration planning and design is critical to long-term restoration of desired community composition and ecosystem services. In this review, we discuss and provide examples of how climate change might be incorporated into restoration planning at the key stages of assessing the project context, establishing restoration goals and design criteria, evaluating design alternatives, and monitoring restoration outcomes. Restoration planners have access to numerous tools to predict future climate, streamflow, and riparian ecology at restoration sites. Planners can use those predictions to assess which species or ecosystem services will be most vulnerable under future conditions, and which sites will be most suitable for restoration. To accommodate future climate and streamflow change, planners may need to adjust methods for planting, invasive species control, channel and floodplain reconstruction, and water management. Given the considerable uncertainty in future climate and streamflow projections, riparian ecological responses, and effects on restoration outcomes, planners will need to consider multiple potential future scenarios, implement a variety of restoration methods, design projects with flexibility to adjust to future conditions, and plan to respond adaptively to unexpected change.

Ecohydrology↗

USGS2023

Responses of native freshwater mussels to remediation to remove polychlorinated biphenyl-contaminated sediments in the upper Hudson River

The Hudson River, New York, was contaminated with polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) from two manufacturing plants over a period of approximately 30 years, and PCBs are still present in sediment and biota today. The river provides habitat for a variety of plants and animals, including native freshwater mussels. A remediation programme, consisting of dredging followed by the placement of backfilled sediment and/or a subaqueous cap, was initiated in 2009 to remove PCB-contaminated sediments, and managers were concerned about how remediation could affect the mussels. Quantitative surveys were conducted across nine reaches (pools) to estimate species composition, density, population size, population structure, and ecosystem services of mussel assemblages, pre- and post-remediation. Surveys were stratified into remediated areas (targeted for dredging) and non-remediated areas (not targeted for dredging). Pre-remediation, the river contained a low diversity, and high, but variable, density of mussels that were strongly dominated by Elliptio complanata . The presence of few fresh dead mussels indicates low natural mortality. Frequent recruitment by many species, varied length classes, and high biomass also support robust assemblages that perform important ecosystem services, such as biofiltration. Remedial activity removed most of the mussels and the associated services that they perform: their density was reduced by 83% and their filtration capacity was reduced by 93%, relative to non-remediated areas. Areas that were remediated were almost devoid of adult mussels, but the presence of small mussels indicates that natural recolonization is occurring. However, it is unknown whether these assemblages will persist. As mussels are generally long lived and slow growing, natural recovery is anticipated to be slow, in the order of decades.

New York↗

USGS2024

Environmental disturbances and restoration of salt marshes

Salt and brackish marshes (hereafter salt marshes) are the dominant coastal wetland in temperate and boreal intertidal settings. Human-enhanced disturbances threaten their persistence and functionality, with consequences to many ecosystem services. Restoration potentials are very site specific, varying by degree of disturbance and target goals. Global changes in climate and land-use will continue to impact salt marsh extent and function, requiring a portfolio of responses. While local responses may achieve limited target goals for salt marsh functions, preservation of current tidal wetlands and their inland migration corridors is the most viable option for maintaining a full suite of salt marsh ecosystem services, globally.

Book chapter↗

USGS2014

Modeling effects of conservation grassland losses on amphibian habitat

Amphibians provide many ecosystem services valued by society. However, populations have declined globally with most declines linked to habitat change. Wetlands and surrounding terrestrial grasslands form habitat for amphibians in the North American Prairie Pothole Region (PPR). Wetland drainage and grassland conversion have destroyed or degraded much amphibian habitat in the PPR. However, conservation grasslands can provide alternate habitat. In the United States, the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) is the largest program maintaining grasslands on agricultural lands. We used an ecosystem services model (InVEST) parameterized for the PPR to quantify amphibian habitat over a six-year period (2007–2012). We then quantified changes in availability of amphibian habitat under various land-cover scenarios representing incremental losses (10%, 25%, 50%, 75%, and 100%) of CRP grasslands from 2012 levels. The area of optimal amphibian habitat in the four PPR ecoregions modeled (i.e., Northern Glaciated Plains, Northwestern Glaciated Plains, Lake Agassiz Plain, Des Moines Lobe) declined by approximately 22%, from 3.8 million ha in 2007 to 2.9 million ha in 2012. These losses were driven by the conversion of CRP grasslands to croplands, primarily for corn and soybean production. Our modeling identified an additional 0.8 million ha (26%) of optimal amphibian habitat that would be lost if remaining CRP lands are returned to crop production. An economic climate favoring commodity production over conservation has resulted in substantial losses of amphibian habitat across the PPR that will likely continue into the future. Other regions of the world face similar challenges to maintaining amphibian habitats.

Prairie Pothole Region↗