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At least 577 records · Page 32Linked to original sources
USGS2017

East African weathering dynamics controlled by vegetation-climate feedbacks

Tropical weathering has important linkages to global biogeochemistry and landscape evolution in the East African rift. We disentangle the influences of climate and terrestrial vegetation on chemical weathering intensity and erosion at Lake Malawi using a long sediment record. Fossil pollen, microcharcoal, particle size, and mineralogy data affirm that the detrital clays accumulating in deep water within the lake are controlled by feedbacks between climate and hinterland forest composition. Particle-size patterns are also best explained by vegetation, through feedbacks with lake levels, wildfires, and erosion. We develop a new source-to-sink framework that links lacustrine sedimentation to hinterland vegetation in tropical rifts. Our analysis suggests that climate-vegetation interactions and their coupling to weathering/erosion could threaten future food security and has implications for accurately predicting petroleum play elements in continental rift basins.

Geology↗
USGS1996

Level II scour analysis for Bridge 32 (BRNATH00470032) on Town Highway 47, crossing Locust Creek, Barnard, Vermont

This report provides the results of a detailed Level II analysis of scour potential at structure BRNATH00470032 on town highway 47 crossing Locust Creek, Barnard, Vermont (figures 1–8). A Level II study is a basic engineering analysis of the site, including a quantitative analysis of stream stability and scour (U.S. Department of Transportation, 1993). Results of a Level I scour investigation also are included in Appendix E of this report. A Level I investigation provides a qualitative geomorphic characterization of the study site. Information on the bridge, gleaned from Vermont Agency of Transportation (VTAOT) files, was compiled prior to conducting Level I and Level II analyses and is found in Appendix D. The site is in the Green Mountain section of the New England physiographic province of central Vermont in the town of Barnard. The 6.26-mi2 drainage area is in a predominantly rural and forested basin. In the vicinity of the study site, the banks have dense woody vegetation coverage except for the upstream right bank, which is grass and brush covered. In the study area, Locust Creek has an incised, sinuous channel with a slope of approximately 0.029 ft/ft, an average channel top width of 44 ft., and an average channel depth of 5 ft. The predominant channel bed material is gravel and cobbles (D50 is 91.7 mm or 0.301 ft). The geomorphic assessment at the time of the Level I and Level II site visit on October 12, 1994, indicated that the reach was stable. The town highway 47 crossing of Locust Creek is a 28-ft-long, one-lane bridge consisting of one 25-foot span concrete slab superstructure (Vermont Agency of Transportation, written commun., August 23, 1994). The bridge is supported by vertical, concrete abutments with concrete wingwalls. The channel is skewed approximately 10 degrees to the opening while the opening-skew-to-roadway is 35 degrees. The scour protection measures at the site were type-2 stone fill (less than 36 inches diameter) on the banks upstream, the upstream wingwalls, the downstream right wingwall, and the downstream right bank. The downstream left wingwall and left bank are protected with type-3 stone fill (less than 48 inches diameter). Additional details describing conditions at the site are included in the Level II Summary and Appendices D and E. Scour depths and rock rip-rap sizes were computed using the general guidelines described in Hydraulic Engineering Circular 18 (Richardson and others, 1993). Total scour at a highway crossing is comprised of three components: 1) long-term streambed degradation; 2) contraction scour (due to accelerated flow caused by a reduction in flow area at a bridge) and; 3) local scour (caused by accelerated flow around piers and abutments). Total scour is the sum of the three components. Equations are available to compute depths for contraction and local scour and a summary of these computed results follow. Contraction scour for all modelled flows ranged from 1.4 to 2.2 feet. The worst-case contraction scour occurred at the 500-year discharge. Abutment scour ranged from 10.3 to 15.0 feet. The worst-case abutment scour also occurred at the 500-year discharge. Additional information on scour depths and depths to armoring are included in the section titled “Scour Results”. Scoured-streambed elevations, based on the calculated depths, are presented in tables 1 and 2. A cross-section of the scour computed at the bridge is presented in figure 8. Scour depths were calculated assuming an infinite depth of erosive material and a homogeneous particle-size distribution. It is generally accepted that the Froehlich equation (abutment scour) gives “excessively conservative estimates of scour depths” (Richardson and others, 1993, p. 47). Usually, computed scour depths are evaluated in combination with other information including (but not limited to) historical performance during flood events, the geomorphic stability assessment, existing scour protection measures, and the results of the hydraulic analyses. Therefore, scour depths adopted by VTAOT may differ from the computed values documented herein.

Vermont↗
USGS1996

Level II scour analysis for Bridge 1 (CANATH00010001) on Town Highway 1, crossing Halls Stream, Canaan, Vermont

This report provides the results of a detailed Level II analysis of scour potential at structure CANATH00010001 on town highway 1 crossing Halls Stream, Canaan, Vermont (figures 1–8). A Level II study is a basic engineering analysis of the site, including a quantitative analysis of stream stability and scour (U.S. Department of Transportation, 1993). A Level I study is included in Appendix E of this report. A Level I study provides a qualitative geomorphic characterization of the study site. Information on the bridge, gleaned from Vermont Agency of Transportation (VTAOT) files, was compiled prior to conducting Level I and Level II analyses and can be found in Appendix D. The site is in the White Mountain section of the New England physiographic province of northeastern Vermont in the town of Canaan. The 89.5-mi2 drainage area is in a predominantly rural and forested basin. In the vicinity of the study site, the banks have tree, shrub and brush, and grass vegetation coverage. In the study area, Halls Stream has a sinuous channel with a slope of approx-imately 0.0012 ft/ft, an average channel top width of 109 ft and an average channel depth of 4 ft. The predominant channel bed materials are sand and gravel (D50 is 5.03 mm or 0.0165 ft). The geomorphic assessment at the time of the Level I and Level II site visit on October 27, 1994, indicated that the reach was laterally unstable. The lateral instability was evident due to a wide point-bar and cut-banks with undermining of bank material, slumping, fallen bank vegetation evident in the upstream channel. The town highway 1 crossing of Halls Stream is a 99-ft-long, two-lane bridge consisting of one 33-foot and two 31-foot concrete T-beam spans (Vermont Agency of Transportation, written communication, August 5, 1994). The bridge is supported by vertical, concrete abutments with spill-through embankments in front of each abutment wall. The channel is skewed approximately 10 degrees to the opening while the opening-skew-to-roadway is zero degrees. There are two piers in the channel at this site. Field notes and the channel survey at the bridge indicate that the streambed elevation is higher on the downstream right sides of each pier and lower on the downstream left sides. This asymmetrical streambed condition suggests a flow attack angle may influence scour on each pier. Furthermore, field observations suggest that the flow attack angle is higher for the right pier (pier 2) than the left pier (pier 1). The scour protection measures at the site were type-2 stone fill (less than 36 inches diameter) on both upstream banks and both downstream road embankments. Type-3 stone fill (less than 48 inches diameter) was found on the spill-through slopes of each abutment and both downstream banks. The stone fill protection on the spill-through embankment of the right abutment was noted as slumped with some of the fill material evident in the channel immediately downstream of the bridge. Additional details describing conditions at the site are included in the Level II Summary and Appendices D and E. Scour depths and rock rip-rap sizes were computed using the general guidelines described in Hydraulic Engineering Circular 18 (Richardson and others, 1995). Total scour at a highway crossing is comprised of three components: 1) long-term streambed degradation; 2) contraction scour (due to accelerated flow caused by a reduction in flow area at a bridge) and; 3) local scour (caused by accelerated flow around piers and abutments). Total scour is the sum of the three components. Equations are available to compute depths for contraction and local scour and a summary of the results of these computations follows. Contraction scour for all modelled flows ranged from 8.0 to 8.8 ft. The worst-case contraction scour occurred at the 500-year discharge. Abutment scour ranged from 8.9 to 17.3 ft. The worst-case abutment scour occurred at the 500-year discharge. For the two piers, scour ranged from 11.1 to 15.8. The worst-case pier scour occurred for pier2 at the incipient overtopping discharge. Additional information on scour depths and depths to armoring are included in the section titled “Scour Results”. Scoured-streambed elevations, based on the calculated scour depths, are presented in tables 1 and 2. A cross-section of the scour computed at the bridge is presented in figure 8. Scour depths were calculated assuming an infinite depth of erosive material and a homogeneous particle-size distribution. It is generally accepted that the Froehlich equation (abutment scour) gives “excessively conservative estimates of scour depths” (Richardson and others, 1995, p. 47). Usually, computed scour depths are evaluated in combination with other information including (but not limited to) historical performance during flood events, the geomorphic stability assessment, existing scour protection measures, and the results of the hydraulic analyses. Therefore, scour depths adopted by VTAOT may differ from the computed values documented herein.

Vermont↗
USGS2004

Hydrogeology and Water Quality of the Pepacton Reservoir Watershed in Southeastern New York. Part 3. Responses of Stream Base-Flow Chemistry to Hydrogeologic Factors and Nonpoint-Sources of Contamination

Base-flow samples were collected seasonally from 20 small streams in the 372-square-mile Pepacton Reservoir watershed to evaluate the effects of hydrogeologic factors and nonpoint sources of contamination on the chemical composition of ground-water discharge. The reservoir provides part of New York City?s water supply. The subbasins represented one of three general types of land use, each with at least 45 percent forested area (mostly on the hillsides): farmed (dairy) land, formerly farmed land with low-density residential development, or forested land with little or no development. The subbasin areas ranged from 0.38 to 10.23 square miles. All streams were sampled in December 2000 and in May, July, and October 2001. Three of the sites were designated as landuse- index sites and were sampled as many as five additional times during the study. No samples exceeded state or federal drinking-water standards for chloride, sodium, nitrate, orthophosphate, herbicides, or herbicide degradates. The chemical composition of base-flow samples was classified into major-ion water types, which were broadly defined as naturally occurring and road-salt-affected water types. About one-third of the base-flow samples were roadsalt- affected types. Natural water types were differentiated as dilute or evolved. Dilute waters have bicarbonate and sulfate as dominant anions and evolved waters have only bicarbonate as a dominant anion. Dilute water types indicate relatively short ground-water residence times or contact with unreactive aquifer material. Evolved waters have either longer ground-water residence time or contact with more reactive aquifer material than dilute ground waters. The larger subbasins with wider valley-bottom areas were more likely to have evolved water types than small subbasins with little floodplain development. Positive correlations between selected constituents and the intensity of nonpoint sources emphasize the connection between land use, shallow ground-water quality, and stream base-flow water quality. Chloride and sodium, which are relatively conservative constituents, showed strong linear relations with annual estimates of road-salt application during all four sampling periods. Nonconservative constituents, such as the nutrients nitrate and orthophosphate, showed linear relations with manure production rate among farmed basins, but only at specific times of the year because of losses through biologic activity. Nitrate showed the strongest relation in winter because losses to biological activity were at a minimum. Orthophosphate showed the strongest relation in early summer, when hydrologic and chemical conditions appear to favor release from sediments. Atmospheric nitrogen deposition is an additional source of nitrogen that can be released from mature or stressed forested basins. Detections of herbicides (atrazine, metolachlor, simazine) and herbicide degradates ( Metolachlor ESA, alachlor ESA, deethylatrazine) in base flow were closely correlated with subbasins in which corn was grown during the study. Atrazine was detected at the farmed index site only in early summer, after application and two rain storms. This detection corresponded to the peak orthophosphate concentration. In contrast, metolachlor ESA was detected in nearly all farmedindex- subbasin samples and peaked in late summer, when percent base-flow contributions from farmed valley-bottom areas were likely highest. The implications of this study are that seasonal and more frequent base-flow surveys of water chemistry from small stream basins can help refine the understanding of local hydrogeologic systems and define the effects of nonpointsource contamination on base-flow water quality. The concentration of most nonpoint sources in valley-bottom or lower-hillside areas helped indicate the relative contributions of water from hillside and valley-bottom areas at different times of year. The positive correlations between the intensity of nonpoint-source activities and nonpoint-source constituents in base flow underscores the link between land use (nonpoint sources), ground-water quality, and surface-water quality.

Scientific Investigations Report↗
USGS2016

Climatic and topographical factors affecting the vegetative carbon stock of rangelands in arid and semiarid regions of China

Rangeland systems play an important role in ecological stabilization and the terrestrial carbon cycle in arid and semiarid regions. However, little is known about the vegetative carbon dynamics and climatic and topographical factors that affect vegetative carbon stock in these rangelands. Our goal was to assess vegetative carbon stock by examining meteorological data in conjunction with NDVI (normalized difference vegetation index) time series datasets from 2001–2012. An improved CASA (Carnegie Ames Stanford Approach) model was then applied to simulate the spatiotemporal dynamic variation of vegetative carbon stock, and analyze its response to climatic and topographical factors. We estimated the vegetative carbon stock of rangeland in Gansu province, China to be 4.4× 1014 gC, increasing linearly at an annual rate of 9.8×10 11 gC. The mean vegetative carbon density of the whole rangeland was 136.5 gC m -2 . Vegetative carbon density and total carbon varied temporally and spatially and were highly associated with temperature, precipitation and solar radiation. Vegetative carbon density reached the maximal value on elevation at 2500–3500 m, a slope of >30°and easterly aspect. The effect of precipitation, temperature and solar radiation on the vegetative carbon density of five rangeland types (desert and salinized meadow, steppe, alpine meadow, shrub and tussock, and marginal grassland in the forest) depends on the acquired quantity of water and heat for rangeland plants at all spatial scales. The results of this study provide new evidence for explaining spatiotemporal heterogeneity in vegetative carbon dynamics and responses to global change for rangeland vegetative carbon stock, and offer a theoretical and practical basis for grassland agriculture management in arid and semiarid regions.

Gansu↗
USGS2014

Competitive interactions and resource partitioning between northern spotted owls and barred owls in western Oregon

The federally threatened northern spotted owl ( Strix occidentalis caurina ) is the focus of intensive conservation efforts that have led to much forested land being reserved as habitat for the owl and associated wildlife species throughout the Pacific Northwest of the United States. Recently, however, a relatively new threat to spotted owls has emerged in the form of an invasive competitor: the congeneric barred owl ( S. varia ). As barred owls have rapidly expanded their populations into the entire range of the northern spotted owl, mounting evidence indicates that they are displacing, hybridizing with, and even killing spotted owls. The range expansion by barred owls into western North America has made an already complex conservation issue even more contentious, and a lack of information on the ecological relationships between the 2 species has hampered recovery efforts for northern spotted owls. We investigated spatial relationships, habitat use, diets, survival, and reproduction of sympatric spotted owls and barred owls in western Oregon, USA, during 2007–2009. Our overall objective was to determine the potential for and possible consequences of competition for space, habitat, and food between these previously allopatric owl species. Our study included 29 spotted owls and 28 barred owls that were radio-marked in 36 neighboring territories and monitored over a 24-month period. Based on repeated surveys of both species, the number of territories occupied by pairs of barred owls in the 745-km 2 study area (82) greatly outnumbered those occupied by pairs of spotted owls (15). Estimates of mean size of home ranges and core-use areas of spotted owls (1,843 ha and 305 ha, respectively) were 2–4 times larger than those of barred owls (581 ha and 188 ha, respectively). Individual spotted and barred owls in adjacent territories often had overlapping home ranges, but interspecific space sharing was largely restricted to broader foraging areas in the home range with minimal spatial overlap among core-use areas. We used an information-theoretic approach to rank discrete-choice models representing alternative hypotheses about the influence of forest conditions, topography, and interspecific interactions on species-specific patterns of nighttime resource selection. Spotted owls spent a disproportionate amount of time foraging on steep slopes in ravines dominated by old (>120 yr) conifer trees. Barred owls used available forest types more evenly than spotted owls, and were most strongly associated with patches of large hardwood and conifer trees that occupied relatively flat areas along streams. Spotted and barred owls differed in the relative use of old conifer forest (greater for spotted owls) and slope conditions (steeper slopes for spotted owls), but we found no evidence that the 2 species differed in their use of young, mature, and riparian-hardwood forest types. Mean overlap in proportional use of different forest types between individual spotted owls and barred owls in adjacent territories was 81% (range = 30–99%). The best model of habitat use for spotted owls indicated that the relative probability of a location being used was substantially reduced if the location was within or in close proximity to a core-use area of a barred owl. We used pellet analysis and measures of food-niche overlap to determine the potential for dietary competition between spatially associated pairs of spotted owls and barred owls. We identified 1,223 prey items from 15 territories occupied by spotted owls and 4,299 prey items from 24 territories occupied by barred owls. Diets of both species were dominated by nocturnal mammals, but diets of barred owls included many terrestrial, aquatic, and diurnal prey species that were rare or absent in diets of spotted owls. Northern flying squirrels ( Glaucomys sabrinus ), woodrats ( Neotoma fuscipes , N. cinerea ), and lagomorphs ( Lepus americanus , Sylvilagus bachmani ) were primary prey for both owl species, accounting for 81% and 49% of total dietary biomass for spotted owls and barred owls, respectively. Mean dietary overlap between pairs of spotted and barred owls in adjacent territories was moderate (42%; range = 28–70%). Barred owls displayed demographic superiority over spotted owls; annual survival probability of spotted owls from known-fate analyses (0.81, SE = 0.05) was lower than that of barred owls (0.92, SE = 0.04), and pairs of barred owls produced an average of 4.4 times more young than pairs of spotted owls over a 3-year period. We found a strong, positive relationship between seasonal (6-month) survival probabilities of both species and the proportion of old (>120 yr) conifer forest within individual home ranges, which suggested that availability of old forest was a potential limiting factor in the competitive relationship between these 2 species. The annual number of young produced by spotted owls increased linearly with increasing distance from a territory center of a pair of barred owls, and all spotted owls that attempted to nest within 1.5 km of a nest used by barred owls failed to successfully produce young. We identified strong associations between the presence of barred owls and the behavior and fitness potential of spotted owls, as shown by changes in movements, habitat use, and reproductive output of spotted owls exposed to different levels of spatial overlap with territorial barred owls. When viewed collectively, our results support the hypothesis that interference competition with barred owls for territorial space can constrain the availability of critical resources required for successful recruitment and reproduction of spotted owls. Availability of old forests and associated prey species appeared to be the most strongly limiting factors in the competitive relationship between these species, indicating that further loss of these conditions can lead to increases in competitive pressure. Our findings have broad implications for the conservation of spotted owls, as they suggest that spatial heterogeneity in vital rates may not arise solely because of differences among territories in the quality or abundance of forest habitat, but also because of the spatial distribution of a newly established competitor. Experimental removal of barred owls could be used to test this hypothesis and determine whether localized control of barred owl numbers is an ecologically practical and socio-politically acceptable management tool to consider in conservation strategies for spotted owls.

Oregon↗
USGS1995

Ground Water Atlas of the United States: Segment 2, Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah

This chapter of the Ground Water Atlas of the United States describes the aquifers in Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. These four States, which comprise Segment 2 of this Atlas, are located in the Southwestern United States and extend from the rolling grasslands of the Great Plains on the east across the Rocky Mountains and Continental Divide to the desert basins of the Southwest. The 425,000-square-mile area ranges in altitude from about 14,400 feet above sea level in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado to about 100 feet near the lower Colorado River in southwestern Arizona. All the ground water in Segment 2 ultimately is derived from infiltration of precipitation, which varies considerably with the altitude and topography of the area. The Great Plains Physiographic Province of the Central United States extends into eastern Colorado and New Mexico (fig. 1), where flat to rolling prairie (fig. 2) with scattered hills and bluffs gradually rises westward to 5,000 to 7,000 feet above sea level and abruptly gives way to the frontal ranges of the Rocky Mountains in the Southern Rocky Mountain and Basin and Range Physiographic Provinces. West of the frontal ranges in Colorado and northern New Mexico are additional and higher mountain ranges generally oriented north-south but with many spurs and extensions oriented in other directions. The many ranges of the Rocky Mountains are separated by valleys and high mountain parks (fig. 3). Colorado contains about three-fourths of the Nation's land area above 10,000 feet and has 53 mountain peaks higher than 14,000 feet. Most of these high peaks are located near the Continental Divide (fig. 1), which extends approximately north-south through central Colorado and western New Mexico. The altitude of the divide decreases in southern New Mexico to less than 4,500 feet in a few areas. Farther westward, the mountains are less prevalent and are interspersed with broad structural basins. These basins and the broad valleys of the middle Colorado River and its tributaries form the irregular intermontane topography of the Colorado Plateaus Physiographic Province (fig. 4). Plateaus and high mesas are formed where the surface has been dissected by rugged canyons carved by the Colorado River and its tributaries (fig. 5). The largest of these canyons-the Grand Canyon-extends about 220 miles southwestward from the mouth of the Little Colorado River in Arizona and ranges from 4 to 18 miles in width and from 2,700 to 5,700 feet in depth below the rim. Small mountain ranges and intervening broad desert valleys of the Basin and Range Physiographic Province are prevalent to the west and south of the Colorado Plateaus in western Utah, southern Arizona, and southern New Mexico (fig. 1). These mountain ranges generally protrude 3,000 to 6,000 feet above the surrounding valley floor (fig. 6) and commonly extend from 20 to 50 miles in a north or northwesterly direction. Small parts of the Middle Rocky Mountains and Wyoming Basin Physiographic Provinces extend into northwestern Colorado and northeastern Utah (fig. 1). The topography, geology, and hydrology of the two areas are described in Chapter 1 of this Atlas. Four of the Nation's major river systems have headwaters in the mountainous areas of Segment 2. The South Platte River of the Missouri River system drains the eastern slope of northern Colorado; the Arkansas River and its tributary, the Canadian River, drain southeastern Colorado and northeastern New Mexico; the Rio Grande and its tributary, the Pecos River, drain south-central Colorado and central New Mexico; and the Colorado River and its tributaries drain Arizona, eastern Utah, Northwestern New Mexico, and western Colorado (fig. 1). Western Utah is drained by numerous streams that terminate in local desert basins, the Great Salt Lake, or other local lakes and reservoirs. Because the Great Salt Lake lies in the Great Basin, which is the largest closed basin in North America, it has no outlet to the sea. The salinity of the lake water is about 20 percent or about 6 times the salinity of seawater. Most of Segment 2 is sparsely populated. The average population density of counties is less than 8 persons per square mile in about 65 percent of the four-State area (fig. 7). Population densities range from less than 0.5 person per square mile in a few rural counties to more than 4 ,000 persons per square mile in populous urban areas. The 1990 population of the four States was about 10 million; almost 70 percent of this population was in Arizona and Colorado. Most land in Segment 2 is undeveloped forest grassland, or desert shrubland, much of which is used for livestock grazing. Land used for production of commercial crops primarily is in eastern Colorado and eastern New Mexico.

Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah↗
USGS2024

Trees have similar growth responses to first-entry fires and reburns following long-term fire exclusion

Managing fire ignitions for resource benefit decreases fuel loads and reduces the risk of high-severity fire in fire-suppressed dry conifer forests. However, the reintroduction of low-severity wildfire can injure trees, which may decrease their growth after fire. Post-fire growth responses could change from first-entry fires to reburns, as first-entry fires reduce fuel loads and the vulnerability among trees to fire effects, which may result in trees sustaining less damage during reburns. To determine whether trees had growth responses that varied from first-entry fires to reburns, we cored 87 ponderosa pine trees in the Gila Wilderness, New Mexico, USA that experienced 3–5 fires between 1950 and 2012 following long-term fire-exclusion and 67 unburned control trees from the Gila and Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests. We assessed tree growth response to fire by comparing tree-ring growth among burned and unburned trees from two years before to two years after fires. We compared growth between burned and unburned trees using a bootstrapping procedure to calculate annual median tree-ring width index values with 95 % confidence intervals. We compared post-fire growth after first-entry fires and reburns following long-term fire-exclusion. Burned trees had similar growth responses following first-entry fires and reburns, with lower growth during the fire year through two years post-fire compared to unburned controls. Burned tree growth returned to expected rates following these immediate post-fire growth reductions. Interestingly, trees had lower growth during the year before and the year of reburns compared to the first-entry fire, reflecting greater aridity before reburns. Greater aridity may have contributed to larger-than-expected growth reductions following reburns, which could explain similar growth responses to first-entry fires and reburns. Our results indicate that trees had consistent short-term growth responses to low-severity fires following long-term fire-exclusion. As trees retained vigor after multiple fires, managing fires for resource benefit is an effective approach to reduce the likelihood of high-severity fire without long-term negative effects on tree growth.

Forest Ecology and Management↗
USGS2009

Assessment of fire behavior and management options in subalpine vegetation on Mauna Kea, Hawai'i

Fire is a major threat to habitat for the endangered Palila (Loxioides bailleui) within subalpine vegetation on Mauna Kea volcano, Hawai‘i. The presence of large amounts of fine fuel from grasses, dry climate, and human ignition sources produces a significant risk of wildfire in this area year-round. The purpose of this report is to provide information on fuels and potential fire behavior that will contribute to fire management of Palila habitat. Recommended actions will contribute to the conservation of these native forests and facilitate restoration in degraded areas. To assess the effects of grass invasion on fuel conditions and potential fire danger, we quantified vegetation and fuels across an elevation gradient from grasslands into sub-alpine forests on the west slope of Mauna Kea. Our results indicated that grass cover was reduced under tree canopy in plots below ~2,500 m elevation, but at higher elevations grass cover was higher under trees than in the open. However, tree canopy cover below 2,500 m elevation was not high enough overall (~25% on average) to result in significant reductions in fine fuels at the landscape level. Sampling directly under and away from tree crowns at multiple elevations suggested that below ~2,500 m, the presence of tree canopy cover can reduce grass fuels significantly. Furthermore, moisture content of live surface fuels was increased under tree canopy compared with open areas. These results suggest that restoration of forest cover may have the potential to alter grass fuels in ways that decrease the threat of fire in some subalpine forests. Fire behavior estimates based on fuel data from grasslands, mixed forest and māmane forest indicated the need for fuelbreaks of at least 20-30 m to limit fire spread in most areas. In many cases, breaks as wide as 40 m are required to limit fire spread risk under extreme weather conditions. Based on our fuels data and fire behavior predictions, recommended actions include: (1) construction of new or expansion of existing fuelbreaks to immediately reduce fire risk to the most sensitive areas adjacent to the core Palila population on the southwest slope and the translocated Palila population on the north slope of Mauna Kea, (2) enhancement of forest restoration activities to increase fuel moisture and reduce grass fuel loads (3) installation of water sources (diptanks) in both areas to decrease firefighter response time, and (4) increased public education and awareness with regard to fire danger on Mauna Kea.

Hawaii↗
USGS2000

Landscape correlates of breeding bird richness across the United States mid-Atlantic region

Using a new set of landscape indicator data generated by the U.S.EPA, and a comprehensive breeding bird database from the National Breeding Bird Survey, we evaluated associations between breeding bird richness and landscape characteristics across the entire mid-Atlantic region of the United States. We evaluated how these relationships varied among different groupings (guilds) of birds based on functional, structural, and compositional aspects of individual species demographics. Forest edge was by far the most important landscape attribute affecting the richness of the lumped specialist and generalist guilds; specialist species richness was negatively associated with forest edge and generalist richness was positively associated with forest edge. Landscape variables (indicators) explained a greater proportion of specialist species richness than the generalist guild (46% and 31%, respectively). The lower value in generalists may reflect freer-scale distributions of open habitat that go undetected by the Landsat satellite, open habitats created by roads (the areas from which breeding bird data are obtained), and the lumping of a wide variety of species into the generalist category. A further breakdown of species into 16 guilds showed considerable variation in the response of breeding birds to landscape conditions; forest obligate species had the strongest association with landscape indicators measured in this study (55% of the total variation explained) and forest generalists and open ground nesters the lowest (17% of the total variation explained). The variable response of guild species richness to landscape pattern suggests that one must consider species' demographics when assessing the consequences of landscape change on breeding birds.Using a new set of landscape indicator data generated by the U.S. EPA, and a comprehensive breeding bird database from the National Breeding Bird Survey, we evaluated associations between breeding bird richness and landscape characteristics across the entire mid-Atlantic region of the United States. We evaluated how these relationships varied among different groupings (guilds) of birds based on functional, structural, and compositional aspects of individual species demographics. Forest edge was by far the most important landscape attribute affecting the richness of the lumped specialist and generalist guilds; specialist species richness was negatively associated with forest edge and generalist richness was positively associated with forest edge. Landscape variables (indicators) explained a greater proportion of specialist species richness than the generalist guild (46% and 31%, respectively). The lower value in generalists may reflect finer-scale distributions of open habitat that go undetected by the Landsat satellite, open habitats created by roads (the areas from which breeding bird data are obtained), and the lumping of a wide variety of species into the generalist category. A further breakdown of species into 16 guilds showed considerable variation in the response of breeding birds to landscape conditions; forest obligate species had the strongest association with landscape indicators measured in this study (55% of the total variation explained) and forest generalists and open ground nesters the lowest (17% of the total variation explained). The variable response of guild species richness to landscape pattern suggests that one must consider species' demographics when assessing the consequences of landscape change on breeding birds.

Conference Paper↗
USGS2020

Linking plant and animal functional diversity with an experimental community restoration in a Hawaiian lowland wet forest

Testing how plant restoration influences animal taxonomic and functional diversity can shift restoration projects beyond mainly plant community considerations. We incorporated multi-trophic interactions into restoration by describing an ongoing functional trait-based restoration experiment in Hawaiian lowland tropical wet forest (Liko Nā Pilina Experiment), where litter arthropods are examined from a functional perspective thereby linking plants and higher trophic levels. We hypothesized that (1) communities with greater plant functional trait diversity would have cascading effects through food webs, increasing animal diversity and network complexity, and (2) increases in animal species and network complexity would be stronger for restoration efforts in plant communities with more complementary functional traits than those with more redundant traits. We examined experimental treatments of planted communities with the same species richness but with different plant functional trait profiles based on (1) rates of expected carbon turnover (slow or moderate), and (2) the similarity of their functional trait measurements (redundant or complementary), as determined by functional dispersion calculations. Initial data on arthropod communities and leaf litter decomposition rates revealed linkages between plant functional traits and arthropod community diversity. Overall, we argue that a more comprehensive evaluation of restoration accounts for both functional diversity and the multi-trophic nature of animal and plant communities. Developing restoration projects based on plant functional traits that influence both plant and invertebrate species provides a new paradigm, and the incorporation of both native and non-native (but non-invasive) plants shows promise in restoring ecosystem function in disturbed lowland tropical forests.

Hawaii↗
USGS2002

Second U.S. Geological Survey Wildland Fire Workshop: Los Alamos, New Mexico, October 31-November 3, 2000

In the past decade, fire-management policies have shifted to embrace the reduction of long-term building of excessive fuel levels in the Nation's forests and rangelands. In 1995, the Departments of Agriculture and the Interior issued the Federal Wildland-Fire Policy Statement (Appendix A) identifying the critical role that fire can play in the management of forests and rangelands. As a result of revised policy, Federal agencies have increased the acres treated to reduce fire risk through "prescribed" fires and thinning techniques from 500,000 acres in 1995 to more than 2.4 million acres in 2001.

Open-File Report↗
USGS2018

Canopy volume removal from oil and gas development activity in the upper Susquehanna River basin in Pennsylvania and New York (USA): An assessment using lidar data

Oil and gas development is changing the landscape in many regions of the United States and globally. However, the nature, extent, and magnitude of landscape change and development, and precisely how this development compares to other ongoing land conversion (e.g. urban/sub-urban development, timber harvest) is not well understood. In this study, we examine land conversion from oil and gas infrastructure development in the upper Susquehanna River basin in Pennsylvania and New York, an area that has experienced much oil and gas development over the past 10 years. We quantified land conversion in terms of forest canopy geometric volume loss in contrast to previous studies that considered only areal impacts. For the first time in a study of this type, we use fine-scale lidar forest canopy geometric models to assess the volumetric change due to forest clearing from oil and gas development and contrast this land change to clear cut forest harvesting, and urban and suburban development. Results show that oil and gas infrastructure development removed a large volume of forest canopy from 2006 to 2013, and this removal spread over a large portion of the study area. Timber operations (clear cutting) on Pennsylvania State Forest lands removed a larger total volume of forest canopy during the same time period, but this canopy removal was concentrated in a smaller area. Results of our study point to the need to consider volumetric impacts of oil and gas development on ecosystems, and to place potential impacts in context with other ongoing land conversions.

New York, Pennsylvania↗
USGS2008

Sensitivity of June near‐surface temperatures and precipitation in the eastern United States to historical land cover changes since European settlement

Land cover changes alter the near surface weather and climate. Changes in land surface properties such as albedo, roughness length, stomatal resistance, and leaf area index alter the surface energy balance, leading to differences in near surface temperatures. This study utilized a newly developed land cover data set for the eastern United States to examine the influence of historical land cover change on June temperatures and precipitation. The new data set contains representations of the land cover and associated biophysical parameters for 1650, 1850, 1920, and 1992, capturing the clearing of the forest and the expansion of agriculture over the eastern United States from 1650 to the early twentieth century and the subsequent forest regrowth. The data set also includes the inferred distribution of potentially water‐saturated soils at each time slice for use in the sensitivity tests. The Regional Atmospheric Modeling System, equipped with the Land Ecosystem‐Atmosphere Feedback (LEAF‐2) land surface parameterization, was used to simulate the weather of June 1996 using the 1992, 1920, 1850, and 1650 land cover representations. The results suggest that changes in surface roughness and stomatal resistance have caused present‐day maximum and minimum temperatures in the eastern United States to warm by about 0.3°C and 0.4°C, respectively, when compared to values in 1650. In contrast, the maximum temperatures have remained about the same, while the minimums have cooled by about 0.1°C when compared to 1920. Little change in precipitation was found.

Water Resources Research↗
USGS2000

Evidence for a previously unrecognized species of owlet-nightjar

I studied the systematic relationships of the three large owlet-nightjars (Aegothelidae) to determine the taxonomic status of a fawn-colored lowland form currently classified as Aegotheles insignis tatei. I examined most of the existing specimens of A. i. insignis ( n = 158) and A. crinifrons ( n = 23) and all known specimens of A. i. tatei ( n = 4). I also examined specimens of A. albertisi ( n = 70), A. archboldi ( n = 25), A. bennettii ( n = 55), A. cristatus ( n = 50), A. savesi ( n = 1), and A. wallacii ( n = 21). Aegotheles i. tatei was distinguishable from A. i. insignis and A. crinifrons by its small size and in seven plumage characters. Aegotheles i. tatei was further distinguishable from one or the other of these taxa by four additional characters. Unique among owlet-nightjars, A. i. tatei has the shortest tarsi, does not have recurved filamentous tips on its facial feathers, and has stiffer feathers on the auricular area and throat. My search of museums revealed two new specimens of A. i. tatei, expanding the known geographic range of this taxon 1,000 km eastward along the southern coast of Papua New Guinea from the upper Fly River to Nunumai, near the Ulamanu River. Unlike the montane A. i. insignis, A. i. tatei inhabits lowland forests where rivers emerge from foothills of the main cordillera. I propose that tatei be elevated to species status and that the name Starry Owlet-Nightjar be adopted based on the bird's markings. Aegotheles crinifrons, A. insignis, and A. tatei pass through a previously unrecognized but distinctive rufous juvenal plumage. These are the only owlet-nightjars known to exhibit this plumage, which calls for reexamination of generic limits within the Aegothelidae.

The Auk↗
USGS2016

Improved ground-based remote-sensing systems help monitor plant response to climate and other changes

Scientists at the U.S. Geological Survey are improving and developing new ground-based remote-sensing instruments and techniques to study how Earth’s vegetation responds to changing climates. Do seasonal grasslands and forests “green up” early (or late) and grow more (or less) during unusually warm years? How do changes in temperature and precipitation affect these patterns? Innovations in ground-based remote-sensing instrumentation can help us understand, assess, and mitigate the effects of climate change on vegetation and related land resources.

Fact Sheet↗
USGS1996

Level II scour analysis for Bridge 33 (BRIDTH00050033) on Town Highway 5, crossing the North Branch Ottauquechee River, Bridgewater, Vermont

This report provides the results of a detailed Level II analysis of scour potential at structure BRIDTH00050033 on town highway 5 crossing the North Branch Ottauquechee River, Bridgewater, Vermont (figures 1–8). A Level II study is a basic engineering analysis of the site, including a quantitative analysis of stream stability and scour (U.S. Department of Transportation, 1993). Results of a Level I scour investigation also are included in Appendix E of this report. A Level I investigation provides a qualitative geomorphic characterization of the study site. Information on the bridge, gleaned from Vermont Agency of Transportation (VTAOT) files, was compiled prior to conducting Level I and Level II analyses and is found in Appendix D. The site is in the Green Mountain section of the New England physiographic province of central Vermont in the town of Bridgewater. The 5.01-mi 2 drainage area is in a predominantly rural and forested basin. In the vicinity of the study site, the downstream banks are forested and the upstream banks have dense woody brush; the upstream right overbank is an open field. In the study area, the North Branch Ottauquechee River has an incised, sinuous channel with a slope of approximately 0.017 ft/ft, an average channel top width of 30 ft and an average channel depth of 3 ft. The predominant channel bed materials are gravel and cobble with a median grain size (D 50 ) of 83.2 mm (0.273 ft). The geomorphic assessment at the time of the Level I and Level II site visit on November 3, 1994, indicated that the reach was stable. Also at the time of the site visit, there was considerable backwater at the bridge site due to a three foot tall beaver dam 40 feet downstream. The beaver dam was assumed destroyed by flood flow and was ignored in the analyses. The town highway 5 crossing of the North Branch Ottauquechee Riveris a 25-ft-long, onelane bridge consisting of one 23-foot steel-beam span with a timber deck (Vermont Agency of Transportation, written communication, August 25, 1994). The bridge is supported by vertical, concrete abutments with wingwalls. The channel is skewed approximately 20 degrees to the opening while the opening-skew-to-roadway is 10 degrees. A scour hole 1.0 ft deeper than the mean thalweg depth was observed along the right abutment and upstream right wingwall during the Level I assessment. Scour protection measures at the site include type-2 stone fill (less than 36 inches diameter) at the ends of all the wingwalls except the upstream left which has type-3 stone fill (less than 48 inches diameter). Additional details describing conditions at the site are included in the Level II Summary and Appendices D and E. Scour depths and rock rip-rap sizes were computed using the general guidelines described in Hydraulic Engineering Circular 18 (Richardson and others, 1993). Total scour at a highway crossing is comprised of three components: 1) long-term streambed degradation; 2) contraction scour (due to accelerated flow caused by a reduction in flow area at a bridge) and; 3) local scour (caused by accelerated flow around piers and abutments). Total scour is the sum of the three components. Equations are available to compute depths for contraction and local scour and a summary of the results of these computations follows. Contraction scour for all modelled flows ranged from 0.0 to 0.7 ft. The worst-case contraction scour occurred at the incipient-overtopping discharge, which was less than the 100-year discharge. Abutment scour ranged from 5.3 to 7.2 ft. The worst-case abutment scour occurred at the 500-year discharge. Additional information on scour depths and depths to armoring are included in the section titled “Scour Results”. Scoured-streambed elevations, based on the calculated scour depths, are presented in tables 1 and 2. A crosssection of the scour computed at the bridge is presented in figure 8. Scour depths were calculated assuming an infinite depth of erosive material and a homogeneous particle-size distribution. It is generally accepted that the Froehlich equation (abutment scour) gives “excessively conservative estimates of scour depths” (Richardson and others, 1995, p. 47). Usually, computed scour depths are evaluated in combination with other information including (but not limited to) historical performance during flood events, the geomorphic stability assessment, existing scour protection measures, and the results of the hydraulic analyses. Therefore, scour depths adopted by VTAOT may differ from the computed values documented herein.

Vermont↗
USGS1996

Level II scour analysis for Bridge 46 (CHELTH00680046) on Town Highway 68, crossing the First Branch of the White River, Chelsea, Vermont

This report provides the results of a detailed Level II analysis of scour potential at structure CHELTH00680046 on town highway 68 crossing the First Branch of the White River, Chelsea, Vermont (figures 1–8). A Level II study is a basic engineering analysis of the site, including a quantitative analysis of stream stability and scour (U.S. Department of Transportation, 1993). Results of a Level I scour investigation also are included in Appendix E of this report. A Level I investigation provides a qualitative geomorphic characterization of the study site. Information on the bridge, gleaned from Vermont Agency of Transportation (VTAOT) files, was compiled prior to conducting Level I and Level II analyses and is found in Appendix D. The site is in the Green Mountain section of the New England physiographic province of central Vermont in the town of Chelsea. The 58.2-mi 2 drainage area is in a predominantly rural and forested basin. In the vicinity of the study site, the banks have dense woody vegetation coverage. In the study area, the First Branch of the White River has a sinuous channel with a slope of approximately 0.0054 ft/ft, an average channel top width of 92 ft and an average channel depth of 4 ft. The predominant channel bed material is gravel and cobble (D 50 is 52.7 mm or 0.173 ft). The geomorphic assessment at the time of the Level I and Level II site visit on November 16, 1994, indicated that the reach was stable. The town highway 68 crossing of the First Branch of the White River is a 61-ft-long, onelane covered bridge with a 52-foot clear-span (Vermont Agency of Transportation, written commun., August 26, 1994). The bridge is supported by vertical, stone abutments with a concrete wingwall on the downstream right. The left abutment is laid-up stone supported by concrete at the upstream and downstream ends of the laid-up stone abutment. The channel is skewed approximately 40 degrees to the opening while the opening-skew-to-roadway is 15 degrees. A scour hole 1.5 ft deeper than the mean thalweg depth was observed under the bridge during the Level I assessment. The scour protection measures in place at the site were type- 2 stone fill (less than 36 inches diameter) at the road approach embankments except the downstream left embankment which had no protection. The upstream right road embankment, impacted by the channel bend, has an extensive covering of stone fill for erosion protection. Type-3 stone fill (less than 48 inches diameter) was noted along the right abutment. Additional details describing conditions at the site are included in the Level II Summary and Appendices D and E. Scour depths and rock rip-rap sizes were computed using the general guidelines described in Hydraulic Engineering Circular 18 (Richardson and others, 1995). Total scour at a highway crossing is comprised of three components: 1) long-term streambed degradation; 2) contraction scour (due to accelerated flow caused by a reduction in flow area at a bridge) and; 3) local scour (caused by accelerated flow around piers and abutments). Total scour is the sum of the three components. Equations are available to compute depths for contraction and local scour and a summary of the results of these computations follows. Contraction scour for all modelled flows ranged from 0.9 to 2.6 ft. The worst-case contraction scour occurred at the 500-year discharge. Abutment scour ranged from 14.3 to 24.0 ft. The worst-case abutment scour occurred at the 500-year discharge. Additional information on scour depths and depths to armoring are included in the section titled “Scour Results”. Scoured-streambed elevations, based on the calculated scour depths, are presented in tables 1 and 2. A cross-section of the scour computed at the bridge is presented in figure 8. Scour depths were calculated assuming an infinite depth of erosive material and a homogeneous particle-size distribution. The left abutment sits atop a bedrock outcrop. The results of the calculated scour depths will be limited by the bedrock. It is generally accepted that the Froehlich equation (abutment scour) gives “excessively conservative estimates of scour depths” (Richardson and others, 1995, p. 47). Usually, computed scour depths are evaluated in combination with other information including (but not limited to) historical performance during flood events, the geomorphic stability assessment, existing scour protection measures, and the results of the hydraulic analyses. Therefore, scour depths adopted by VTAOT may differ from the computed values documented herein.

Vermont↗