Caitlin M Andrews

Ecological Drought for Sagebrush Seedings in the Great Basin

Monthly Standardize Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI), Daily soil-water potential (MPa) and soil temperature (degree C) data for plots from SageSuccess. The SageSuccess Project is a joint effort between USGS, BLM, and FWS to understand how to establish big sagebrush and ultimately restore functioning sagebrush ecosystems. Improving the success of land management treatments to restore sagebrush-steppe is important for reducing the long-term impacts of rangeland fire on sage-grouse and over 350 other wildlife species that use these habitats.

Categories: Data; Tags: Botany, Climatology, Ecology, Great Basin, Land Use Change, All tags... USGS Science Data Catalog (SDC), biota, droughts, ecological drought, fire, sagebrush, water deficit, Fewer tags

Integrating historical observations alters projections of eastern North American spruce–fir habitat under climate change

Abstract (from Ecosphere): Spruce–fir (Picea–Abies) forests of the North American Acadian Forest Region are at risk of disappearing from the northeastern United States and Canada due to climate change. Species distribution models (SDMs) have been used to predict changes in this critical transitional ecosystem in the past, but none have addressed how seasonal patterns of temperature and precipitation interact to influence tree species abundance. Inferences have also been limited by contemporary inventory data that could not fully characterize species ranges because they either, (1) only sampled species occurrence after large-scale human disturbance and settlement, or (2) did not span critical geopolitical boundaries...

Categories: Publication; Types: Citation

Low stand density moderates growth declines during hot droughts in semi‐arid forests

Abstract (from Journal of Applied Ecology): Increasing heat and aridity in coming decades is expected to negatively impact tree growth and threaten forest sustainability in dry areas. Maintaining low stand density has the potential to mitigate the negative effects of increasingly severe droughts by minimizing competitive intensity. However, the direct impact of stand density on the growing environment (i.e. soil moisture), and the specific drought metrics that best quantify that environment, are not well explored for any forest ecosystem. We examined the relationship of varying stand density (i.e. basal area) on soil moisture and stand‐level growth in a long‐term (multi‐decadal), ponderosa pine Pinus ponderosa,...

Categories: Publication; Types: Citation

Tree mortality response to drought-density interactions suggests opportunities to enhance drought resistance

The future of dry forests around the world is uncertain given predictions that rising temperatures and enhanced aridity will increase drought-induced tree mortality. Using forest management and ecological restoration to reduce density and competition for water offers one of the few pathways that forests managers can potentially minimize drought-induced tree mortality. Competition for water during drought leads to elevated tree mortality in dense stands, although the influence of density on heat-induced stress and the durations of hot or dry conditions that most impact mortality remain unclear. Understanding how competition interacts with hot-drought stress is essential to recognize how, where and how much reducing...

Categories: Publication; Types: Citation

Limnology data from Lake Powell, desert southwest USA (ver. 2.1, September 2024)

These data were compiled as part of a long-term (1964 - 2022) water quality monitoring program at Lake Powell. Objectives of our study were to release a consistent record of long-term water quality data. The 58-year limnology dataset captures some water quality parameters (temperature, salinity, major ions, total suspended solids) from reservoir filling to present day. It also contains a 38-year record of secchi depth, and a ~30-year record of nutrients, phytoplankton, and zooplankton assemblages. The data were collected from various sites within the Lake Powell reservoir and the Glen Canyon dam. Regular monthly sampling occurred at three sites near the dam and reservoir-wide sampling was generally conducted quarterly,...

Categories: Data; Tags: Arizona, Aztec Creek, Bridge Creek, Cathedral Canyon, Clear Creek, All tags... Colorado River, Dark Canyon, Davis Gulch, Dreissena bugensis, Escalante River, Face Canyon, Glen Canyon, Glen Canyon Dam, Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, Gunsight Canyon, Labyrinth Canyon, Lake Powell, Last Chance Canyon, Lees Ferry, Navajo Canyon, Rainbow Bridge, Red Canyon, Rock Creek Canyon, San Juan River, Sheep Canyon, USGS:62b39805d34e8f4977cb788c, Upper Colorado River Basin, Utah, Wahweap Bay, Warm Creek Bay, Warm Creek Bay Alternate, West Canyon, arid reservoir, chlorophyll a, data release, discrete sample, dissolved oxygen, field inventory and monitoring, field monitoring stations, inlandWaters, invasive bivalve, invasive species, laboratory methods, limnology, long-term ecological monitoring, long-term trends, major ions, nutrients, oxygen content (water), phytoplankton, plankton, profiles, reservoir, salinity, secchi depth, site visit, station location, total suspended solids, turbidity, water chemistry, water quality, water sampling, water temperature, zooplankton, Fewer tags