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Grasslands of the Sky Islands region once covered over 13 million acres in southeastern Arizona and adjacent portions of New Mexico, Sonora, and Chihuahua. Attempts to evaluate current ecological conditions suggest that approximately two thirds of these remain as intact or restorable grassland habitat. These grasslands provide watershed services such as flood control and aquifer recharge across the region, and continue to support dozens of species of concern. Prioritizing conservation interventions for these remaining grassland blocks has been challenging. Reliable data on condition and conservation value of grasslands in the region have not been systematically summarized. State and national boundaries further complicate...
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Interactions and feedbacks between abundant surface waters and permafrost fundamentally shapelowland Arctic landscapes. Sublake permafrost is maintained when the maximum ice thickness (MIT) exceedslake depth and mean annual bed temperatures (MABTs) remain below freezing. However, decliningMIT since the1970s is likely causing talik development below shallow lakes. Here we show high-temperature sensitivity towinter ice growth at the water-sediment interface of shallow lakes based on year-round lake sensor data.Empirical model experiments suggest that shallow (1m depth) lakes have warmed substantially over the last30years (2.4°C), withMABT above freezing5 of the last 7years.This is incomparison to slower ratesofwarming...
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In this first worldwide synthesis of in situ and satellite-derived lake data, we find that lakesummer surface water temperatures rose rapidly (global mean = 0.34°C decade1) between 1985 and2009. Our analyses show that surface water warming rates are dependent on combinations of climate andlocal characteristics, rather than just lake location, leading to the counterintuitive result that regionalconsistency in lake warming is the exception, rather than the rule. The most rapidly warming lakes are widelygeographically distributed, and their warming is associated with interactions among different climatic factors—from seasonally ice-covered lakes in areas where temperature and solar radiation are increasing whilecloud...
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Rapid expansion of cropland threatens grassland ecosystems across western North America and broad-scaleplanning can be a catalyst motivating individuals and agencies to accelerate conservation. Sprague’s Pipit(Anthus spragueii) is an imperiled grassland songbird whose population has been declining rapidly in recent decades.Here, we present a strategic framework for conservation of pipits and their habitat in the northern GreatPlains.We modeled pipit distribution across its million-km2 breeding range in Canada and the U.S.We describefactors shaping distribution, delineate population cores and assess vulnerability to future grassland losses. Pipitsselected landscapes with a high proportion of continuous grassland...
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Within the time frame of the longevity of tree species, climate change will change faster than the ability of natural tree migration. Migration lags may result in reduced productivity and reduced diversity in forests under current management and climate change. We evaluated the efficacy of planting climate-suitable tree species (CSP), those tree species with current or historic distributions immediately south of a focal landscape, to maintain or increase aboveground biomass, productivity, and species and functional diversity. We modeled forest change with the LANDIS-II forest simulation model for 100 years (2000–2100) at a 2-ha cell resolution and five-year time steps within two landscapes in the Great Lakes region...
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The influence of recent climate change on the world’s biota has manifested broadly, resulting in latitudinal range shifts, advancing dates of arrival of migrants and onset of breeding, and altered community relationships. Climate change elevates conservation concerns worldwide because it will likely exacerbate a broad range of identified threats to animal populations. In the past few decades, grassland birds have declined faster than other North American avifauna, largely due to habitat threats such as the intensification of agriculture. We examine the effects of local climatic variations on the breeding performance of a bird endemic to the shortgrass prairie, the Lark Bunting (Calamospiza melanocorys) and discuss...
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Playa wetlands on the west-central Great Plains of North America are vulnerable to sediment infilling from upland agriculture, putting at risk several important ecosystem services as well as essential habitats and food resources of diverse wetland-dependent biota. Climate predictions for this semi-arid area indicate reduced precipitation which may alter rates of erosion, runoff, and sedimentation of playas. We forecasted erosion rates, sediment depths, and resultant playa wetland depths across the west-central Great Plains and examined the relative roles of land use context and projected changes in precipitation in the sedimentation process. We estimated erosion with the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE)...
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Article Abstract: Although riparian and aquatic ecosystems make up a small fraction of the area in arid and semi-arid lands, they are critical for the survival of desert life. There are, however, few compendia of efforts to define the quantity of water needed to maintain these ecosystems and understand the risks and stressors to them. Through our analysis we found that 62% of the rivers examined in the deserts of the U.S. and Mexico have had just one study over the past four decades and 67% of studies used qualitative methods. Furthermore, only one-third of the 312 species catalogued in our work have been studied more than once and only 5% have been considered five or more times. The most common risks or stressors...
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Synopsis: Researchers measured the effects of grassland amount and fragmentation on upland and wetland songbird and duck densities and nest success across 16 landscapes in southern Alberta. By comparing these landscape-level effects with local-scale responses, including distance to various edges and vegetation characteristics, the study demonstrated that few species were in fact influenced by grassland amount or fragmentation. In contrast, distance to edge and local vegetation characteristics had significant effects on densities and nest success of many species. Landscape level effects were much less apparent when local characteristics were included in the models. Therefore, researchers concluded that local habitat...
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Synopsis: Recensuses of 54 Wisconsin prairie remnants showed that 8 to 60 percent of the original plant species were lost from individual remnants over a 32- to 52-year period. The pattern of species loss was consistent with the proposed effects of fire suppression caused by landscape fragmentation. Short, small-seeded, or nitrogen-fixing plants showed the heaviest losses, as did species growing in the wettest, most productive environments. The interruption of landscape-scale processes (such as wildfire) by fragmentation is an often overlooked mechanism that may be eroding biodiversity in many habitats around the world. Conclusions: Fragmentation may interrupt landscape-scale processes, such as fire, that are key...
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Conclusions: Elevation, slope and the percentages of bogs and fens in a landscape influence the degree to which mid-boreal lakes are sensitive to acidic deposition orignating from nearby mining operations. Thresholds/Learnings: Synopsis: This study evaluates the acid sensitivity of lakes in Saskatchewan within ~300km of Fort McMurray. The study area is downwind of atmospheric emissions sources from regional oil sands mining operations and there is concern that the lakes may be threatened by acidification. A helicopter sampling program was implemented in late September 2007 and 2008 to measure 16 chemical variables (e.g., Ca, Mg, Na, pH) and 15 environmental variables (e.g., latitude, elevation, slope, percent bog,...
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Synopsis: This study investigates the relationships of landscape disturbance, altered prey resources, and rattlesnake populations in the Upper Snake River Plain of southeastern. Researchers used radio telemetry to track rattlesnakes while concurrently conducting habitat sampling and small mammal trapping in areas used by snakes and in random locations. Disturbed areas (by grazing and/or burning) were characterized by lower biological crust cover, shrub cover, shrub height, and shrub dispersion, as well as higher grass and bare soil cover. Disturbed areas were also characterized by lower proportions of small animal biomass, abundance, and large prey species (such as chipmunks), while the proportions Conclusions:...
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Synopsis: A review of the scientific literature describing the effects of linear developments on wildlife, especially large mammals, was provided. Of particular interest were the types of roads and linear developments created by the oil and pipeline industries in western Canada. The effects of linear developments (roads, powerline/pipeline rights-of-way, deforested strips) on wildlife were examined in the context of regional and landscape ecology. The review describes the different classes of linear disturbances, the various response categories for animal species and the impacts on species for the different classes. The review also provides potential mitigations and recommendations for landscape scale planning...
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Synopsis: Recognizing that natural and human disturbances cause significant changes to landscape composition and ecosystem function, this report aims to identify and describe key indicators of environmental sustainability, categorized by vegetation, biodiversity, and watershed characteristics. Measurable indicators of environmental sustainability, including landscape indicators summarized in the vegetation indicators category, were distilled from a wide-ranging literature review. These indicators are intended to serve as metrics of environmental quality that assist land use planners in determining if management goals have been reached. As such, the report provides an overview, assessment, and recommended uses for...
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Synopsis: This report evaluates habitat requirements of the American badger according to parameters of soil texture, graminoid cover, slope, and proximity to roads. Badgers tend to prefer sandy loam and silty loam, medium and moderately coarse textured soils. In terms of graminoid coverage, badgers generally prefer open grassland habitat, but can also be found in agriculturally dominated landscapes containing isolated pockets of Richardson 's ground squirrel colonies. Graminoid coverage of 23% was chosen as the minimum requirement for suitable badger habitat. As slope increases, habitat suitability decreases to a point at which the likelihood of badgers existing there (i.e. cliffs and badlands) is extremely low...
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This report summarizes methods and results for an aerial Dall’s sheep (Ovis dalli dalli) survey conducted in 2008 by the National Park Service Arctic Network Inventory and Monitoring Program, with support from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, in the northeastern portion of Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve, Alaska. This area includes the Itkillik Preserve, where the highest densities of Dall’s sheep in the Park and Preserve have been found, and both subsistence and sport hunting are allowed. Approximately 1905 km2 of delineated habitat were surveyed via small, fixed-wing aircraft from 9-14 July. Sheep groups were counted and classified as lambs, ewe-like sheep (ewes, yearlings and rams with less...
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We reviewed existing and planned adaptation activities of federal, tribal, state, and local governments and the private sector in the United States (U.S.) to understand what types of adaptation activities are underway across different sectors and scales throughout the country. Primary sources of review included material officially submitted for consideration in the upcoming 2013 U.S. National Climate Assessment and supplemental peer-reviewed and grey literature. Although substantial adaptation planning is occurring in various sectors, levels of government, and the private sector, few measures have been implemented and even fewer have been evaluated. Most adaptation actions to date appear to be incremental changes,...
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Fish data on six species (black crappie (Pomoxis nigromaculatus), bluegill (Lepomis macrochirus), largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides), northern pike (Esox lucius), walleye (Sander vitreus), and yellow perch (perca flavescens)) caught in gill nets and trap nets between 2000 and 2019 during Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (MNDNR) fisheries surveys done in the months of June through September. Fish catch and effort (number of nets set overnight) comes from over 1,000 Minnesota lakes. In addition to fisheries data, we included additional information concerning lake characteristics, predicted water temperature, and watershed land use. Lake area and maximum depth were obtained from MNDNR public databases....
map background search result map search result map Modeling sediment accumulation in North American playa wetlands in response to climate change, 1940–2100 Chemical characteristics and acid sensitivity of boreal headwater lakes in northwest Saskatchewan. Linking landscape disturbance to the population ecology of Great Basin rattlesnakes (Crotalus oreganus lutosus) in the Upper Snake River Plain Landscape, Biodiversity, and Indicator Review and Assessment The Effects of Linear Developments on Wildlife: A Review of Selected Scientific Literature Ecological determinants of species loss in remnant prairies. A multi-scale analysis of avian response to habitat amount and fragmentation in the Canadian dry mixed-grass prairie. American Badger. Sustaining the Grassland Sea Basement domain map of the conterminous United States and Alaska (COPY06) Lithology, hydrologic characteristics, and water quality of the Arkansas River Valley alluvial aquifer in the vicinity of Van Buren, Arkansas (COPY02) 2008 aerial Dall’s sheep survey in the Itkillik Preserve, Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve, Alaska A comprehensive review of climate adaptation in the United States: more than before, but less than needed Environmental flows in the desert rivers of the United States and Mexico: Synthesis of available data and gap analysis Publication: Climate change effects on northern Great Lake (USA) forests: A case for preserving diversity Threshold sensitivity of shallow Arctic lakes and sublake permafrost to changing winter climate Rapid and highly variable warming of lake surface waters around the globe One step ahead of the plow: Using cropland conversion risk to guide Sprague's Pipit conservation in the northern Great Plains Weather effects on avian breeding performance and implications of climate change Data In Support Of Accounting For Spatio-Temporal Variation In Catachability In Joint Species Distribution Models Lithology, hydrologic characteristics, and water quality of the Arkansas River Valley alluvial aquifer in the vicinity of Van Buren, Arkansas (COPY02) Threshold sensitivity of shallow Arctic lakes and sublake permafrost to changing winter climate Rapid and highly variable warming of lake surface waters around the globe Sustaining the Grassland Sea 2008 aerial Dall’s sheep survey in the Itkillik Preserve, Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve, Alaska A multi-scale analysis of avian response to habitat amount and fragmentation in the Canadian dry mixed-grass prairie. Chemical characteristics and acid sensitivity of boreal headwater lakes in northwest Saskatchewan. Ecological determinants of species loss in remnant prairies. Landscape, Biodiversity, and Indicator Review and Assessment Linking landscape disturbance to the population ecology of Great Basin rattlesnakes (Crotalus oreganus lutosus) in the Upper Snake River Plain One step ahead of the plow: Using cropland conversion risk to guide Sprague's Pipit conservation in the northern Great Plains Modeling sediment accumulation in North American playa wetlands in response to climate change, 1940–2100 Weather effects on avian breeding performance and implications of climate change Data In Support Of Accounting For Spatio-Temporal Variation In Catachability In Joint Species Distribution Models Publication: Climate change effects on northern Great Lake (USA) forests: A case for preserving diversity Environmental flows in the desert rivers of the United States and Mexico: Synthesis of available data and gap analysis The Effects of Linear Developments on Wildlife: A Review of Selected Scientific Literature Basement domain map of the conterminous United States and Alaska (COPY06) A comprehensive review of climate adaptation in the United States: more than before, but less than needed