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Reports & Publications

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Fire Ecology Research

This web resource lists research projects related to detailed studies of fire history and fire ecology in the Sierra Nevada forests, the California shrublands, and the Mojave and Sonoran deserts. Researchers at the Western Ecological Research Center (WERC) are making contributions to this effort through Knowledge, forming the basis for new More...

  • A high-intensity chaparral fire in California.

Energy, Land Use, and Sagebrush Ecosystems: Finding the Delicate Balance

This web resource is a compilation of research projects related to Energy, Land Use, and Sagebrush Ecosystems. Investigators at the USGS Science Centers (FORT and FRESC), and Central Regional Office have brought biological and ecosystem research and mapping expertise to a partnership with the Bureau of Land Management, Wyoming Game and Fish More...

  • Photo of a badger

SAGEMAP: GIS Database for Sage Grouse and Shrubsteppe Management in the Intermountain West

SAGEMAP - Spatial Data for Sage Grouse and Shrubsteppe Systems is needed for research and management of sage grouse and sagebrush steppe habitats in the western United States. This website is a product of the NBII Great Basin Information Project. Find out more from this resource on sage grouse as endangered species, habitat information, More...

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Ecological Foundations for Fire Management in North American Forest and Shrubland Ecosystems

Fire occurs in many North American ecosystems, and most of these systems are resilient to fires that occur within a broad range of variability in frequency and intensity. In a recent USFS publication (General Technical Report PNW-GTR-779, ), USGS scientist Jon Keeley led a team of scientists from various agencies and academic institutions in More...

  • cover, USFS General Technical Report PNW-GTR-779

Monitoring Populations of Sage-Grouse: Proceedings of a Symposium at Idaho State University Hosted by University of Idaho and Idaho State University

The greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) and the Gunnison sage-grouse (C. minimus) are species of concern because of their population declines and shrinking geographic distributions. Of continuing interest is the question of population abundance and trends. This publication answers the questions that deal with sage-grouse population, More...

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Human Influence on California Fire Regimes

Periodic wildfire maintains the integrity and species composition of many ecosystems, including the Mediterranean-climate shrublands of California. However, human activities alter natural fire regimes, which can lead to cascading ecological effects. Increased human ignitions at the wildland-urban interface (WUI) have recently gained attention, but More...

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Vegetation responses to natural regulation of elk in Rocky Mountain National Park

A quasi-experimental situation exists in Rocky Mountain National Park, where elk (Cervus elaphus) populations have increased 3-fold since 1968 following their release from artificial controls within the park. Increases in elk habitat use and decreases in deer habitat use were observed. Significant increases in cover of mosses and lichens occurred More...

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Conservation Genetics: Plants

This web page presents samples of genetics and genomics research from the USGS Biological Resources Discipline about the conservation genetics of plants.

  • John A. Young sampling American ginseng (Panax quinquefolius) for genetic analysis.

Effectiveness of Postfire Seeding to Reduce Cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum) Growth and Reproduction in Recently Burned Sagebrush Steppe

This web resource addresses the positive relationship between cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum) and fire frequency as a major concern for land managers in semi-arid shrublands throughout western North America, particularly in Great Basin sagebrush steppe. Management tools are needed to break this cycle, and in this project we will evaluate the use of More...

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Alternative Approaches for Remote Sensing of Forest and Shrub Cover in Arctic Tundra and Boreal Forest Environments

This project explores and compares the utility of several remote sensors for mapping height and density characteristics of forests and shrubs in Alaska's arctic tundra and boreal forest at a moderate spatial resolution (250 m). This project aims to explore two key questions: (1) at a moderate spatial resolution (250 m), which sensor is most More...

  • Image of low shrubs near small stream in rolling terrain

Vegetation Communities in Relation to Environmental Gradients in Shenandoah National Park

This report documents the results of a 4 year research project to assess and map vegetation communities of Shenandoah National Park. The result of the project is a new map of vegetation distribution in Shenandoah National Park based on U.S. National Vegetation Classification System standards. Additional products include a classification scheme of More...

  • Map image of a vegetation community

Native Plants, Insects and Ecosystems

The geographical isolation of the Hawaiian Islands has resulted in the evolution of a highly endemic biota: approximately 80 percent of Hawaii's plants, 100 percent of its forest birds, and 67 percent of its arthropods are found nowhere else in the world. But human colonization of the Islands has severely impacted native plant and animal More...

  • Image of Haleakala silversword (Argyroxiphium sandwicense macrocephalum)