Landscape-level impact of tropical forest loss and fragmentation on bird occurrence in eastern Guatemala
A. Cerezo, Susana Perelman, Chandler S. Robbins
2010, Ecological Modelling (221) 512-526
Tropical forest destruction and fragmentation of habitat patches may reduce population persistence at the landscape level. Given the complex nature of simultaneously evaluating the effects of these factors on biotic populations, statistical presence/absence modelling has become an important tool in conservation biology. This study uses logistic regression to evaluate the...
Tamarisk biocontrol in the western United States: Ecological and societal implications
Kevin Hultine, Jayne Belnap, Charles van Riper III, James R Ehleringer, Philip E. Dennison, Martha E. Lee, Pamela L. Nagler, Keirith A. Snyder, Shauna M. Uselman, Jason B. West
2010, Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment (8) 467-474
Tamarisk species (genus Tamarix), also commonly known as saltcedar, are among the most successful plant invaders in the western United States. At the same time, tamarisk has been cited as having enormous economic costs. Accordingly, local, state, and federal agencies have undertaken considerable efforts to eradicate this invasive plant and...
Mercury flux to sediments of Lake Tahoe, California–Nevada
Paul E. Drevnick, Avery L. C. Shinneman, Carl H. Lamborg, Daniel R Engstrom, Michael H. Bothner, James T. Oris
2010, Water, Air, & Soil Pollution (210) 399-407
We report estimates of mercury (Hg) flux to the sediments of Lake Tahoe, California–Nevada: 2 and 15–20 µg/m2/year in preindustrial and modern sediments, respectively. These values result in a modern to preindustrial flux ratio of 7.5–10, which is similar to flux ratios recently reported for other alpine lakes in California, and...
Effects of temperature on silicate weathering: Solute fluxes and chemical weathering in a temperate rain forest watershed, Jamieson Creek, British Columbia
Benjamin F. Turner, Arthur F. White, Susan L. Brantley
2010, Chemical Geology (369) 62-78
Chemical weathering of silicate minerals has long been known as a sink for atmospheric CO2, and feedbacks between weathering and climate are believed to affect global climate. While warmer temperatures are believed to increase rates of weathering, weathering in cool climates can be accelerated by increased mineral exposure due...
Streamflow, water quality, and constituent loads and yields, Scituate Reservoir drainage area, Rhode Island, water year 2002
Robert F. Breault
2010, Open-File Report 2009-1041
Streamflow and water-quality data were collected by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) or the Providence Water Supply Board, Rhode Island's largest drinking-water supplier. Streamflow was measured or estimated by the USGS following standard methods at 23 streamflow-gaging stations; 10 of these stations were also equipped with instrumentation capable of continuously...
Mercury sources to Lake Ozette and Lake Dickey: Highly contaminated remote coastal lakes, Washington State, USA
Chad Van Furl, John A. Colman, Michael H. Bothner
2010, Water, Air, & Soil Pollution (208) 275-286
Mercury concentrations in largemouth bass and mercury accumulation rates in age-dated sediment cores were examined at Lake Ozette and Lake Dickey in Washington State. Goals of the study were to compare concentrations in fish tissues at the two lakes with a larger statewide dataset and examine mercury pathways to the...
Phosphorus and iron cycling in deep saprolite, Luquillo Mountains, Puerto Rico
Heather L. Buss, R. Mathur, Arthur F. White, Susan L. Brantley
2010, Chemical Geology (269) 52-61
Rapid weathering and erosion rates in mountainous tropical watersheds lead to highly variable soil and saprolite thicknesses which in turn impact nutrient fluxes and biological populations. In the Luquillo Mountains of Puerto Rico, a 5-m thick saprolite contains high microorganism densities at the surface and at depth overlying bedrock....
Effects of vegetation restoration and slope positions on soil aggregation and soil carbon accumulation on heavily eroded tropical land of Southern China
Xinyi Tang, Shuguang Liu, Juxiu Liu, Guoyi Zhou
2010, Journal of Soils and Sediments (10) 505-513
Background aim and scopeSoil organic carbon (SOC) accumulation is strongly affected by soil erosion and deposition that differ at slope positions of a watershed. However, studies on the effects of topography on soil aggregation and SOC dynamics, especially after the implementation of vegetation restoration, are rare....
A Compilation of Spatial Datasets and Surface-Water and Ground-Water Data from the U.S. Geological Survey and Other Federal and Oklahoma State Agencies for the Kickapoo Tribe of Oklahoma
Shana Lichelle Mashburn
2010, Data Series 402
This report contains spatial datasets of natural and anthropogenic features and spatial datasets detailing surface-water, ground-water, and other types of environmental information collected in and surrounding Kickapoo Tribal Lands. Spatial datasets were compiled from Federal and Oklahoma State agencies. Surface-water, ground-water, and other types of environmental information of natural and...
Exploring subtle land use and land cover changes: A framework for future landscape studies
Thomas Houet, Thomas Loveland, Laurence Hubert-Moy, Cedric Gaucherel, Darrell Napton, Christopher Barnes, Kristi L. Sayler
2010, Landscape Ecology (25) 249-266
Land cover and land use changes can have a wide variety of ecological effects, including significant impacts on soils and water quality. In rural areas, even subtle changes in farming practices can affect landscape features and functions, and consequently the environment. Fine-scale analyses have to be performed to better understand...
Mercury contamination in three species of anuran amphibians from the Cache Creek watershed, California, USA
Roger L. Hothem, Mark R. Jennings, John J. Crayon
2010, Environmental Monitoring and Assessment (163) 433-448
Fish and wildlife may bioaccumulate mercury (Hg) to levels that adversely affect reproduction, growth, and survival. Sources of Hg within the Cache Creek Watershed in northern California have been identified, and concentrations of Hg in invertebrates and fish have been documented. However, bioaccumulation of Hg by amphibians has not been...
Background and introduction: Chapter 1
Patrick B. Shafroth
2010, Book chapter, Saltcedar and Russian Olive Control Demonstration Act Science Assessment (Scientific Investigations Report 2009–5247)
The Salt Cedar and Russian Olive Control Demonstration Act of 2006 (Public Law 109-320; hereafter the Act) directs the Department of the Interior to submit a report to Congress1 that includes an assessment of several issues surrounding these two nonnative trees, now dominant components of the vegetation along many rivers...
Predicting unsaturated zone nitrogen mass balances in agricultural settings of the United States
Bernard T. Nolan, Larry J. Puckett, Liwang Ma, Christopher T. Green, E. Randall Bayless, Robert W. Malone
2010, Journal of Environmental Quality (39) 1051-1065
Unsaturated zone N fate and transport were evaluated at four sites to identify the predominant pathways of N cycling: an almond [Prunus dulcis (Mill.) D.A. Webb] orchard and cornfield (Zea mays L.) in the lower Merced River study basin, California; and corn–soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] rotations in study basins...
Monitoring and characterizing natural hazards with satellite InSAR imagery
Zhong Lu, Jixian Zhang, Yonghong Zhang, Daniel Dzurisin
2010, Annals of GIS (16) 55-66
Interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) provides an all-weather imaging capability for measuring ground-surface deformation and inferring changes in land surface characteristics. InSAR enables scientists to monitor and characterize hazards posed by volcanic, seismic, and hydrogeologic processes, by landslides and wildfires, and by human activities such as mining and fluid extraction...
Future water-supply scenarios, Cape May County, New Jersey, 2003-2050
Pierre J. Lacombe, Glen B. Carleton, Daryll A. Pope, Donald E. Rice
2009, Scientific Investigations Report 2009-5187
Stewards of the water supply in New Jersey are interested in developing a plan to supply potable and non-potable water to residents and businesses of Cape May County until at least 2050. The ideal plan would meet projected demands and minimize adverse effects on currently used sources of potable, non-potable,...
Ground-water conditions in Utah, spring of 2009
Carole B. Burden, David V. Allen, Ryan C. Rowland, Martel J. Fisher, Michael L. Freeman, Paul Downhour, Ashley Nielson, Robert J. Eacret, Andrew Myers, Bradley A. Slaugh, Robert L. Swenson, James H. Howells, Howard K. Christiansen
2009, Cooperative Investigations Report 50
This is the forty-sixth in a series of annual reports that describe ground-water conditions in Utah. Reports in this series, published cooperatively by the U.S. Geological Survey and the Utah Department of Natural Resources, Division of Water Resources and Division of Water Rights, and the Utah Department of Environmental Quality,...
How humans and nature have shaped the San Francisco Estuary since the Gold Rush
B. E. Jaffe
2009, Report, The Pulse of the Estuary: Monitoring and Managing Water Quality in the San Francisco Estuary
The San Francisco Estuary has undergone dramatic changes since the Gold Rush, as both natural forces and human activities have added and removed massive quantities of sediment, primarily sand and mud. A long-term perspective of sediment movement and patterns of sediment deposition and erosion is vital for effective management of...
Evaluating the power to detect temporal trends in fishery independent surveys: A case study based on Gillnets Set in the Ohio waters of Lake Erie for walleye
Tyler Wagner, Christopher S. Vandergoot, Jeff Tyson
2009, North American Journal of Fisheries Management (29) 805-816
Fishery-independent (FI) surveys provide critical information used for the sustainable management and conservation of fish populations. Because fisheries management often requires the effects of management actions to be evaluated and detected within a relatively short time frame, it is important that research be directed toward FI survey evaluation, especially with...
Contributions of nitrogen to the Barnegat Bay-Little Egg Harbor Estuary: Updated loading estimates
Christine M. Wieben, Ronald J. Baker
2009, Report, Barnegat Bay Partnership State of the Bay Technical Report
Based on the most recent and most accurate data available through 2008, the total load of nitrogen to the Barnegat Bay‐Little Egg Harbor (BB‐LEH) estuary from the most substantial sources (surface water, including surface‐water discharge and direct storm runoff; ground‐water discharge; and atmospheric deposition) is estimated to be 650,000 kilograms...
Responses of stream nitrate and dissolved organic carbon loadings to hydrological forcing and climate change in an upland forest of the northeast USA
Stephen D. Sebestyen, Elizabeth W. Boyer, James B. Shanley
2009, Journal of Geophysical Research (114)
[1] In coming decades, higher annual temperatures, increased growing season length, and increased dormant season precipitation are expected across the northeastern United States in response to anthropogenic forcing of global climate. We synthesized long-term stream hydrochemical data from the Sleepers River Research Watershed in Vermont, United States, to explore the...
Streamflow and fluvial sediment transport in Pool C, restored section of the Kissimmee River
J. Leroy Pearman, Allen C. Gellis, Philip J. Habermehl
Joann Mossa, Allen C. Gellis, Cliff R. Hupp, J. Leroy Pearman, Ursula Garfield, Edward R. Schenk, Jim Rasmussen, Jose Valdes, Philip J. Habermehl, editor(s)
2009, Report, Geomorphic monitoring of the Kissimmee River restoration: 2006-2009
The Kissimmee River Restoration Project was authorized by Congress in 1992 to restore more than 64 km2 (square kilometers) of river/floodplain ecosystem including 69 km of meandering river channel and 10,900 hectares (ha) of wetlands. Although biologic monitoring is an integral and active part of the Kissimmee River restoration, by...
Monitoring and modeling shoreline response due to shoreface nourishment on a high-energy coast
P. L. Barnard, Li H. Erikson, J. E. Hansen
2009, Journal of Coastal Research 29-33
Shoreface nourishment can be an efficient technique to feed sediment into the littoral zone without the order of magnitude cost increase incurred by directly nourishing the beach. An erosion hot spot at Ocean Beach in San Francisco, California, USA, threatens valuable public infrastructure as well as safe recreational use of...
Characterization of rock samples and mineralogical controls on leachates
Jane M. Hammarstrom, Charles A. Cravotta III, Daniel G. Galeone, John C. Jackson, Frank T. Dulong
Roger J. Hornberger, Keith B.C. Brady, editor(s)
2009, Report, Development and interpretation of the ADTI-WP2 Leaching Column Method (kinetic test procedure for the prediction of coal mine drainage quality). EPA Method 1627
Rocks associated with coal beds typically include shale, sandstone, and (or) limestone. In addition to common rock-forming minerals, all of these rock types may contain sulfide and sulfate minerals, various carbonate minerals, and organic material. These different minerals have inherently different solubility characteristics, as well as different acid-generating or acid-neutralizing...
Estimating phosphorus concentrations following alum treatment using apparent settling velocity
John Panuska, Dale M. Robertson
2009, Lake and Reservoir Management (15) 28-38
he apparent settling velocity (Vs) is a term used in empirical, steady-state, mass-balance lake models to represent the net phosphorus flux from the water column. The Vollenweider (1969) mixed-reactor lake model was rearranged and used to calculate Vs values for total phosphorus (TP) for three lakes treated with alum to...
Rehabilitation of Delavan Lake, Wisconsin
Dale M. Robertson, Gerald L. Goddard, D.R. Helsel, Kevin L. MacKinnon
2009, Lake and Reservoir Management (16) 155-176
A comprehensive rehabilitation plan was developed and implemented to shift Delavan Lake, Wisconsin, from a hypereutrophic to a mesotrophic condition. The plan was threefold: (1) reduce external phosphorus (P) loading by applying Best Management Practices in the watershed, enhance an existing wetland, and short-circuit the inflows through...
