Search USGS⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search USGS

Results for “Climate Risk Management”

Search indexed USGS publications on groundwater, aquifers, geologic maps, mineral resources and earthquakes. Explore source records by subject and place.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources
USGS2018

Recent advances in environmental flows science and water management—Innovation in the Anthropocene

The implementation of environmental flow regimes offers a promising means to protect and restore riverine, wetland and estuarine ecosystems, their critical environmental services and cultural/societal values. This Special Issue expands the scope of environmental flows and water science in theory and practice, offering 20 papers from academics, agency researchers and non‐governmental organisations, each with fresh perspectives on the science and management of environmental water allocations. Contributions confront the grand challenge for environmental flows and water management in the Anthropocene—the urgent need for innovations that will help to sustain the innate resilience of social–ecological systems under dynamic and uncertain environmental and societal futures. Basin‐scale and regional assessments of flow requirements mark a necessary advance in environmental water science in the face of rapid changes in water‐resource management activities worldwide (e.g. increases in dams, diversions, retention and reuse). Techniques for regional‐scale hydrological and ecohydrological modelling support ecological risk assessment and identification of priority flow management and river restoration actions. Changing flood–drought cycles, long‐term climatic shifts and associated effects on hydrological, thermal and water quality regimes add enormous uncertainty to the prediction of future ecological outcomes, regardless of environmental water allocations. An improved capacity to predict the trajectories of ecological change in rivers degraded by legacies of past impact interacting with current conditions and future climate change is essential. Otherwise, we risk unrealistic expectations from restoration of river and estuarine flow regimes. A more robust, dynamic and predictive approach to environmental water science is emerging. It encourages the measurement of process rates (e.g. birth rate, colonisation rate) and species traits (e.g. physiological requirements, morphological adaptations) as well as ecosystem states (e.g. species richness, assemblage structure), as the variables representing ecological responses to flow variability and environmental water allocations. Another necessary development is the incorporation of other environmental variables such as water temperature and sedimentary processes in flow–ecological response models. Based on contributions to this Special Issue, several recent compilations and the wider literature, we identify six major scientific challenges for further exploration, and seven themes for advancing the management of environmental water. We see the emerging frontier of environmental flows and water science as urgent and challenging, with numerous opportunities for reinvigorated science and methodological innovation in the expanding enterprise of environmental water linked to ecological sustainability and social well‐being.

Freshwater Biology↗
USGS2011

Engineering a future for amphibians under climate change

1. Altered global climates in the 21st century pose serious threats for biological systems and practical actions are needed to mount a response for species at risk. 2. We identify management actions from across the world and from diverse disciplines that are applicable to minimizing loss of amphibian biodiversity under climate change. Actions were grouped under three thematic areas of intervention: (i) installation of microclimate and microhabitat refuges; (ii) enhancement and restoration of breeding sites; and (iii) manipulation of hydroperiod or water levels at breeding sites. 3. Synthesis and applications. There are currently few meaningful management actions that will tangibly impact the pervasive threat of climate change on amphibians. A host of potentially useful but poorly tested actions could be incorporated into local or regional management plans, programmes and activities for amphibians. Examples include: installation of irrigation sprayers to manipulate water potentials at breeding sites; retention or supplementation of natural and artificial shelters (e.g. logs, cover boards) to reduce desiccation and thermal stress; manipulation of canopy cover over ponds to reduce water temperature; and, creation of hydrologoically diverse wetland habitats capable of supporting larval development under variable rainfall regimes. We encourage researchers and managers to design, test and scale up new initiatives to respond to this emerging crisis.

Journal of Applied Ecology↗
USGS2021

Fire and forests in the 21st century: Managing resilience under changing climates and fire regimes in USA forests

Higher temperatures, lower snowpacks, drought, and extended dry periods have contributed to increased wildfire activity in recent decades. Climate change is expected to increase the frequency of large fires, the cumulative area burned, and fire suppression costs and risks in many areas of the USA. Fire regimes are likely to change due to interactions among climate, fire, and other stressors and disturbances; resulting in persistent changes in forest structure and function. The remainder of the twenty-first century will present substantial challenges, as natural resource managers are faced with higher fire risk and the difficult task of maintaining ecological function in a rapidly changing biophysical and social landscape. Fuel treatments will continue to be important for minimizing the undesirable ecological effects of fire, and for enhancing firefighter safety; however, treatments must be implemented strategically across large areas. Collaboration among agencies, private landowners, and other organizations will be critical for ensuring resilience and sustainable forest management.

Book chapter↗
USGS2026

Science for drought response

Droughts impact water availability and quality, agriculture, energy production, ecosystem health, cultural resources, and wildfire risk. In an average year, nearly 15% of the US experiences significant drought, and in some recent years, drought conditions have impacted more than a third of the nation (U.S. Drought Monitor). The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Climate Adaptation Science Centers (CASCs) deliver actionable science to help land and resource managers prepare for, reduce the risk of, and recover from drought.

Report↗
USGS2024

Applying portfolio theory to benefit endangered amphibians in coastal wetlands threatened by climate change, high uncertainty, and significant investment risk

The challenge of selecting strategies to adapt to climate change is complicated by the presence of irreducible uncertainties regarding future conditions. Decisions regarding long-term investments in conservation actions contain significant risk of failure due to these inherent uncertainties. To address this challenge, decision makers need an arsenal of sophisticated but practical tools to help guide spatial conservation strategies. Theory asserts that managing risks can be achieved by diversifying an investment portfolio to include assets – such as stocks and bonds – that respond inversely to one another under a given set of conditions. We demonstrate an approach for formalizing the diversification of conservation assets (land parcels) and actions (restoration, species reintroductions) by using correlation structure to quantify the degree of risk for any proposed management investment. We illustrate a framework for identifying future habitat refugia by integrating species distribution modeling, scenarios of climate change and sea level rise, and impacts to critical habitat. Using the plains coqui ( Eleutherodactylus juanariveroi ), an endangered amphibian known from only three small wetland populations on Puerto Rico’s coastal plains, we evaluate the distribution of potential refugia under two model parameterizations and four future sea-level rise scenarios. We then apply portfolio theory using two distinct objective functions and eight budget levels to inform investment strategies for mitigating risk and increasing species persistence probability. Models project scenario-specific declines in coastal freshwater wetlands from 2% to nearly 30% and concurrent expansions of transitional marsh and estuarine open water. Conditional on the scenario, island-wide species distribution is predicted to contract by 25% to 90%. Optimal portfolios under the first objective function – benefit maximization – emphasizes translocating frogs to existing protected areas rather than investing in the protection of new habitat. Alternatively, optimal strategies using the second objective function – a risk-benefit tradeoff framework – include significant investment to protect parcels for the purpose of reintroduction or establishing new populations. These findings suggest that leveraging existing protected areas for species persistence, while less costly, may contain excessive risk and could result in diminished conservation benefits. Although our modeling includes numerous assumptions and simplifications, we believe this framework provides useful inference for exploring resource dynamics and developing robust adaptation strategies using an approach that is generalizable to other conservation problems which are spatial or portfolio in nature and subject to unresolvable uncertainty.

Puerto Rico↗
USGS2022

Genomics-informed delineation of conservation units in a desert amphibian

Delineating conservation units (CUs, e.g., evolutionarily significant units, ESUs, and management units, MUs) is critical to the recovery of declining species because CUs inform both listing status and management actions. Genomic data have strengths and limitations in informing CU delineation and related management questions in natural systems. We illustrate the value of using genomic data in combination with landscape, dispersal, and occupancy data, to inform CU delineation in Nevada populations of the Great Basin Distinct Population Segment of the Columbia spotted frog ( Rana luteiventris ). R. luteiventris occupies naturally fragmented aquatic habitats in this xeric region, but beaver removal, climate change, and other factors have put many of these populations at high risk of extirpation without management intervention. We addressed three objectives: (1) assessing support for ESUs within Nevada; (2) evaluating and revising, if warranted, the current delineation of MUs; and (3) evaluating genetic diversity, effective population size, adaptive differentiation, and functional connectivity to inform ongoing management actions. We found little support for ESUs within Nevada but did identify potential revisions to MUs based on unique landscape drivers of connectivity that distinguish these desert populations from those in the northern portion of the species range. Effective sizes were uniformly small, with low genetic diversity and weak signatures of adaptive differentiation. Our findings suggest that management actions, including translocations and genetic rescue, might be warranted. Our study illustrates how a carefully planned genetic study, designed to address priority management goals that include CU delineation, can provide multiple insights to inform conservation action.

Molecular Ecology↗
USGS2022

Identifying translocation sites for a climate relict population of Finescale Dace

Translocation is a management strategy that seeks to address threats to fish and wildlife populations by establishing new populations in ecologically suitable areas. Populations of Finescale Dace Chrosomus neogaeus in the Great Plains may benefit from translocation, as they exhibit a climate relict natural history that has led to a disjunct distribution and minimal dispersal opportunities. We assessed the translocation suitability of sites for Finescale Dace in the Belle Fourche River basin, Wyoming–South Dakota, using a ranking approach for output from multiple analyses. We used multivariate analysis to evaluate dissimilarity in fish occurrence and habitat between sites with and without Finescale Dace in contemporary surveys (2018–2019; n = 68). We further evaluated the capacity for sites to support Finescale Dace under base case and future climate change scenarios using the predicted probability of occurrence ( P ) from species distribution models (SDMs) fitted with basinwide fish occurrence data from surveys conducted in 2008–2019 ( n = 124) and spatially continuous environmental variables, including forecasted stream temperature scenarios. Sites with Finescale Dace tended to occur close to standing waterbodies, contained emergent vegetation cover, and did not exhibit large overlap in species-space with either native or nonnative species. Predicted P of Finescale Dace exhibited nonlinear relationships with mean August stream temperature, channel slope, and base flow index. The amount of suitable habitat (i.e., high predicted P ) declined with forecasted stream warming scenarios in the SDMs. This study highlights the utility of using field observations, historical data, and forecasted climate change scenarios to assess translocation site suitability and inform management of at-risk native fish populations, and the results may be transferable to other populations with limited data or restricted distributions.

South Dakota, Wyoming↗
USGS2025

A framework for guiding management decisions for amphibians in an uncertain future

Managing species in a rapidly changing climate requires knowledge of how species will respond to climate change and other threats while simultaneously developing management actions to reduce threats. Amphibians are one of the most threatened taxa on earth and often serve as the ‘canary in the coalmine’ for the health of ecosystems that countless other species and humans rely on. To understand the status of and guide management for the boreal toad (Anaxyrus boreas boreas), an imperiled amphibian species in the North Central region, we coproduced several products with the Boreal Toad Conservation Team. These products included 1) reconstructed seasonal hydrology patterns for historical boreal toad breeding wetlands and high elevation watersheds in the Southern Rocky Mountain Region (SRMR) from remotely sensed data, 2) current and future predictions of drying rates for historical breeding wetlands, 3) current and future predictions on the status of the boreal toad in the SRMR, and 4) a web tool to guide management actions. While the boreal toad is considered a ‘data rich’ species given data collection efforts that span multiple decades, many amphibian species are considered ‘data poor’, meaning managers lack data on the biology, ecology, or status of the species needed to make sound decisions. To address this knowledge gap, we also quantified drying patterns across watersheds for two ‘data poor’ species in the North Central region at risk from climate change: the Great Basin spadefoot toad ( Spea intermontana ) and the wood frog ( Lithobates sylvaticus ). These new data can guide management decisions for these species by allowing managers to understand habitat changes with respect to water availability, a crucial element for amphibian survival and persistence. Together, these products demonstrate how cutting-edge technology and analytical methods can produce a range of useful information to support amphibian conservation.

Colorado, New Mexico, Wyoming↗
USGS2022

Understanding local adaptation to prepare populations for climate change

Adaptation within species to local environments is widespread in nature. Better understanding this local adaptation is critical to conserving biodiversity. However, conservation practices can rely on species’ trait averages or can broadly assume homogeneity across the range to inform management. Recent methodological advances for studying local adaptation provide the opportunity to fine-tune efforts for managing and conserving species. The implementation of these advances will allow us to better identify populations at greatest risk of decline because of climate change, as well as highlighting possible strategies for improving the likelihood of population persistence amid climate change. In the present article, we review recent advances in the study of local adaptation and highlight ways these tools can be applied in conservation efforts. Cutting-edge tools are available to help better identify and characterize local adaptation. Indeed, increased incorporation of local adaptation in management decisions may help meet the imminent demands of managing species amid a rapidly changing world.

BioScience↗
USGS2024

Increasing seasonal variation in the extent of rivers and lakes from 1984 to 2022

Knowledge of the spatial and temporal distribution of surface water is important for water resource management, flood risk assessment, monitoring ecosystem health, constraining estimates of biogeochemical cycles and understanding our climate. While global-scale spatiotemporal change detection of surface water has significantly improved in recent years due to planetary-scale remote sensing and computing, it has remained challenging to distinguish the changing characteristics of rivers and lakes. Here we analyze the spatial extent of permanent and seasonal rivers and lakes globally over the past 38 years based on new data of river system extents and surface water trends. Results show that while the total permanent surface area of both rivers and lakes has remained relatively constant, the areas with intermittent seasonal coverage have increased by 12 % and 27 % for rivers and lakes, respectively. The increase is statistically significant in over 84 % of global water catchments based on Spearman's rank correlations (rho) above 0.05 and p values less than 0.05. The seasonal river extent is nearly 32 % larger than the previously observed annual mean river extent, suggesting large seasonal variations that impact not only ecosystem health but also estimations of terrestrial biogeochemical cycles of carbon. The outcomes of our analysis are shared as the Surface Area of Rivers and Lakes (SARL) database, serving as a valuable resource for monitoring and research of hydrological cycles, ecosystem accounting, and water management.

Hydrology and Earth System Sciences↗
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↗
USGS2017

Southern Great Plains Rapid Ecoregional assessment—Volume I. Ecological communities

The Southern Great Plains Rapid Ecoregional Assessment was conducted in partnership with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the Great Plains Landscape Conservation Cooperative . The overall goal of the Rapid Ecoregional Assessments (REAs) is to compile and synthesize regional datasets to facilitate evaluation of the cumulative effects of change agents on priority ecological communities and species. In particular, the REAs identify and map the distribution of communities and wildlife habitats at broad spatial extents and provide assessments of ecological conditions. The REAs also identify where and to what degree ecological resources are currently at risk from change agents, such as development, fire, invasive species, and climate change. The REAs can help managers identify and prioritize potential areas for conservation or restoration, assess cumulative effects as required by the National Environmental Policy Act, and inform landscape-level planning and management decisions for multiple uses of public lands. Management questions form the basis for the REA framework and were developed in conjunction with the BLM and other stakeholders. Conservation elements are communities and species that are of regional management concern. Core management questions relate to the key ecological attributes and change agents associated with each conservation element. Integrated management questions synthesize the results of the primary core management questions into overall landscape-level ranks for each conservation element. The ecological communities evaluated as conservation elements are shortgrass, mixed-grass, and sand prairies; all grasslands; riparian and nonplaya wetlands; playa wetlands and saline lakes; and prairie streams and rivers. Species and species assemblages evaluated are the freshwater mussel assemblage, Arkansas River shiner ( Notropis girardi ), ferruginous hawk ( Buteo regalis ), lesser prairie chicken ( Tympanuchus pallidicinctus ), snowy plover ( Charadrius nivosus ), mountain plover ( Charadrius montanus ), long-billed curlew ( Numenius americanus ), interior least tern ( Sternula antillarum athalassos ), burrowing owl ( Athene cunicularia hypugaea ), black-tailed prairie dog ( Cynomys ludovicianus ), bat assemblage, swift fox ( Vulpes velox ), and mule deer ( Odocoileus hemionus ). The Southern Great Plains REA is summarized in a series of three reports and associated datasets. The pre-assessment report (available online at https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2015/1003/ ) summarizes the process used by the REA stakeholders to select management questions, conservation elements, and change agents. It also provides background information for each conservation element. Volume I of the Southern Great Plains REA report (this volume) addresses the ecological communities. Volume II will address the species and species assemblages. All source and derived datasets used to produce the maps and graphs for REAs are available online at the BLM Landscape Approach Data Portal ( https://landscape.blm.gov/geoportal/catalog/REAs/REAs.page ).

Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, ↗
USGS2018

Southern Great Plains Rapid Ecoregional Assessment—Volume II. Species and assemblages

The Southern Great Plains Rapid Ecoregional Assessment was conducted in partnership with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the Great Plains Landscape Conservation Cooperative. The overall goal of the Rapid Ecoregional Assessments (REAs) is to compile and synthesize regional datasets to facilitate evaluation of the cumulative effects of change agents on priority ecological communities and species. In particular, the REAs identify and map the distribution of communities and wildlife habitats at broad spatial extents and provide assessments of ecological conditions. The REAs also identify where and to what degree ecological resources are currently at risk from change agents, such as development, fire, invasive species, and climate change. The REAs can help managers identify and prioritize potential areas for conservation or restoration, assess cumulative effects as required by the National Environmental Policy Act, and inform landscape-level planning and management decisions for multiple uses of public lands. Management questions form the basis for the REA framework and were developed in conjunction with the BLM and other stakeholders. Conservation elements are communities and species that are of regional management concern. Core management questions relate to the key ecological attributes and change agents associated with each conservation element. Integrated management questions synthesize the results of the primary core management questions into overall landscape-level ranks for each conservation element. The ecological communities evaluated as conservation elements are shortgrass, mixed-grass, and sand prairies; all grasslands; riparian and nonplaya wetlands; playa wetlands and saline lakes; and prairie streams and rivers. Species and species assemblages evaluated are the freshwater mussel assemblage, Arkansas River shiner ( Notropis girardi ), ferruginous hawk ( Buteo regalis ), lesser prairie chicken ( Tympanuchus pallidicinctus ), snowy plover ( Charadrius nivosus ), mountain plover ( Charadrius montanus ), long-billed curlew ( Numenius americanus ), interior least tern ( Sternula antillarum athalassos ), burrowing owl ( Athene cunicularia ), black-tailed prairie dog ( Cynomys ludovicianus ), bat assemblage, swift fox ( Vulpes velox ), and mule deer ( Odocoileus hemionus ). The Southern Great Plains REA is summarized in a series of three reports and associated datasets. The pre-assessment report (available online at https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20151003 ) summarizes the process used by the REA stakeholders to select management questions, conservation elements, and change agents. It also provides background information for each conservation element. Volume I of the Southern Great Plains REA report addresses the ecological communities (available online at https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20171100 ). Volume II (this volume) addresses the species and species assemblages. All source and derived datasets used to produce the maps and graphs for REAs are available online at the BLM Landscape Approach Data Portal ( https://landscape.blm.gov/geoportal/catalog/REAs/REAs.page ).

Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, ↗
USGS2011

Optimal timing for managed relocation of species faced with climate change

Managed relocation is a controversial climate-adaptation strategy to combat negative climate change impacts on biodiversity. While the scientific community debates the merits of managed relocation 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12 , species are already being moved to new areas predicted to be more suitable under climate change 13,14 . To inform these moves, we construct a quantitative decision framework to evaluate the timing of relocation in the face of climate change. We find that the optimal timing depends on many factors, including the size of the population, the demographic costs of translocation and the expected carrying capacities over time in the source and destination habitats. In some settings, such as when a small population would benefit from time to grow before risking translocation losses, haste is ill advised. We also find that active adaptive management 15,16 is valuable when the effect of climate change on source habitat is uncertain, and leads to delayed movement.

Nature Climate Change↗
USGS2025

Different data for different goals: Exploring trade-offs and synergies in the use of spatial data inputs to optimize conservation action in sagebrush ecosystems

Ecosystems worldwide continue to experience rapid rates of habitat and species loss. Management actions to conserve and restore functional habitats are needed to reduce these declines, but funding and resources for such actions are limited. Spatial conservation prioritization (SCP) can facilitate strategic decision-making for targeted conservation planning and delivery, but complexities arise when management objectives include multiple wildlife species and ecological or management constraints, all of which can be further complicated by data uncertainty and existing conservation plans. The Prioritizing Restoration of Sagebrush Ecosystems Tool (PReSET), an R package-based decision-support tool, supports strategic ecosystem management planning across the sagebrush biome by using SCP. We adapted PReSET to better address the needs of multiple wildlife species, evaluate the effects of different ecological or management constraints on conservation outcomes, assess the influence of data uncertainty, and integrate existing conservation plans. Specifically, we developed optimization problems to identify priority sagebrush protection and restoration across the state of Wyoming, USA, and evaluated the efficacy and trade-offs of various approaches to problem design. We evaluated trade-offs in targeting multiple species compared to a single species, including using greater sage-grouse as a potential umbrella species to benefit other sagebrush-dependent wildlife. We then evaluated multi-species protection and restoration problems aimed at minimizing the risks of inadequate connectivity, climate change, and restoration failure, and accounted for data uncertainty to assess relationships between risk aversion of managers and conservation outcomes. We also developed optimization problems within conservation areas identified by an existing sagebrush conservation plan to evaluate the efficacy of guiding local-scale conservation delivery within more broadly defined conservation areas. Our results demonstrate how SCP methods can leverage novel spatial data to develop targeted decision-support resources that can facilitate landscape conservation planning and improve management outcomes across a wide array of systems and species.

Wyoming↗
USGS2013

Wyoming Basin Rapid Ecoregional Assessment

The overall goal of the Wyoming Basin Rapid Ecoregional Assessment (REA) is to provide information that supports regional planning and analysis for the management of ecological resources. The REA provides an assessment of baseline ecological conditions, an evaluation of current risks from drivers of ecosystem change (including energy development, fire, and invasive species), and a predictive capacity for evaluating future risks (including climate change). Additionally, the REA may be used for identifying priority areas for conservation or restoration and for assessing cumulative effects of multiple land uses. The Wyoming Basin REA will address Management Questions developed by the Bureau of Land Management and other agency partners for 8 major biomes and 19 species or species assemblages. The maps developed for addressing Management Questions will be integrated into overall maps of landscape-level ecological values and risks. The maps can be used to address the goals of the REA at a number of levels: for individual species, species assemblages, aquatic and terrestrial systems, and for the entire ecoregion. This allows flexibility in how the products of the REA are compiled to inform planning and management actions across a broad range of spatial scales.

Colorado;Idaho;Montana;Utah;Wyoming↗
USGS2022

Spatial estimates of soil moisture for understanding ecological potential and risk: a case study for arid and semi-arid ecosystems

Soil temperature and moisture (soil-climate) affect plant growth and microbial metabolism, providing a mechanistic link between climate and growing conditions. However, spatially explicit soil-climate estimates that can inform management and research are lacking. We developed a framework to estimate spatiotemporal-varying soil moisture (monthly, annual, and seasonal) and temperature-moisture regimes as gridded surfaces by enhancing the Newhall simulation model. Importantly, our approach allows for the substitution of data and parameters, such as climate, snowmelt, soil properties, alternative potential evapotranspiration equations and air-soil temperature offsets. We applied the model across the western United States using monthly climate averages (1981–2010). The resulting data are intended to help improve conservation and habitat management, including but not limited to increasing the understanding of vegetation patterns (restoration effectiveness), the spread of invasive species and wildfire risk. The demonstrated modeled results had significant correlations with vegetation patterns—for example, soil moisture variables predicted sagebrush (R 2 = 0.51), annual herbaceous plant cover (R 2 = 0.687), exposed soil (R 2 = 0.656) and fire occurrence (R 2 = 0.343). Using our framework, we have the flexibility to assess dynamic climate conditions (historical, contemporary or projected) that could improve the knowledge of changing spatiotemporal biotic patterns and be applied to other geographic regions.

Land↗
USGS2024

Setting a pluralist agenda for water governance: Why power and scale matter

Global water systems are facing unprecedented pressures, including climate change-driven drought and escalating flood risk, environmental contamination, and over allocation. Water management and governance typically lack integration across spatial scales, including relationships between surface and ground water systems. They also routinely ignore connectivity across temporal scales, including the need for intergenerational water planning. As a global and interdisciplinary group of scientists, we seek to highlight how power and scale dynamics influence and determine water outcomes. We argue that attending to complex water systems challenges requires understanding the function and influence of power at different temporal and spatial scales. Building this understanding is key to designing multi-scalar, reflexive, and pluralistic policy solutions that avoid ineffective or unintended outcomes. We use a co-learning process to reveal important lessons for the challenge of interdisciplinary research and set a pluralist agenda for understanding power and scale in future water governance.

WIREs Water↗