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At least 775 records · Page 43Linked to original sources
USGS2021

Forecasting ecological responses for wetland restoration planning in Florida's Everglades

The Everglades wetland was once a river of grass, with water flowing slowly through the sawgrass, southward across the landscape. As developers took hold of south Florida, water was sent away from the heart of the Everglades through canals and levees to protect the former wetland for residential and agricultural development. In the 1990s, planning began to restore the Everglades in what is the largest hydrologic restoration undertaking in the world. With billions of taxpayer dollars at stake, restoration planners benefit from forecasting tools to inform restoration planning. To meet this need, scientists developed predictive ecological models and other decision support tools tailored to this dynamic ecosystem as well as to the needs of restoration planning teams. Predictive modeling has been able to take advantage of well-understood relationships between species of interest and hydrologic dynamics in the Everglades. Recent modeling advances include multi-species approaches that consider interactions among species as well as explicit consideration of trade-offs among species from potential water management actions. Scientists are also starting to look at ecosystem-wide vulnerabilities with explicit consideration of future change such as sea level rise. Modeling tools and approaches continue to be refined to meet decision making needs for Everglades restoration. However, more work is needed to consider additional complexities of this dynamic wetland as well as to consider the broader socio-environmental system.

Florida↗
USGS2017

Ecology of the macrophyte Podostemum ceratophyllum Michx. (Hornleaf riverweed), a widespread foundation species of eastern North American rivers

Podostemum ceratophyllum , commonly called Hornleaf Riverweed, occurs in mid-order montane and piedmont rivers of eastern North America, where the plant grows submerged and attached to rocks and stable substrates in swift, aerated water. Multiple studies, mostly conducted in the southern portions of the plant’s range, have shown that Podostemum can variously influence benthic communities in flowing waters. However, a synthetic review of the biology and ecology of the plant is needed to inform conservation, particularly because P. ceratophyllum is reported to be in decline in much of its range, for mostly unknown reasons. We have thus summarized the literature showing that Podostemum provides substantial habitat for invertebrates and fish, may be consumed by invertebrates, turtles, and other vertebrates, removes and sequesters dissolved elements (i.e., nitrogen, phosphorus, calcium, zinc, etc.) from the water column, and contributes organic matter to the detrital pool. Podostemum may be tolerant to some forms of pollution but appears vulnerable to sedimentation, epiphytic over-growth, and hydrologic changes that result in desiccation, and possibly increased herbivory pressure. Much remains unknown about Podostemum , including aspects of morphological variation, seed dispersal, and tolerance to changes in temperature and water chemistry. Nonetheless, Podostemum may be considered a foundation species, whose loss from eastern North American rivers is likely to affect higher trophic levels and ecosystem processes.

Aquatic Botany↗
USGS2022

A novel application of hierarchical modelling to decouple sampling artifacts from socio-ecological effects on poaching intensity

Poaching is a global driver of wildlife population decline, including inside protected areas (PAs). Reducing poaching requires an understanding of its cryptic drivers and accurately quantifying poaching scales and intensity. There is little quantification of how poaching is affected by law enforcement intensity (e.g., ranger stations) versus economic factors (e.g., unemployment), while simultaneously accounting for imperfect detection. Using extensive data of poaching events (i.e., seizures) and censuses of nine ungulate species across the PAs and unprotected lands of Iran from 2010 to 2018, we developed a single-visit hierarchical (N-mixture) model to accurately estimate annual poaching of Iranian ungulates and to differentiate between social and ecological effects on annual poaching intensity. We found that poaching detectability increased with numbers of ranger stations. A recent surge in poaching (2013–2018) coincides with rising unemployment rate. We estimated that 19,727 ungulates (95% confidence interval 11,178–36,195) were poached across the country during 2010–2018. Poaching intensity was positively related to unemployment rate, road density, and ungulate abundance. Our simulations demonstrated that the Poisson and Negative binomial N-mixture models had adequate performance when the conditions of Sólymos et al. (2012) were satisfied, in particular, when at least one covariate is unique to both the detection and abundance parts of the model. Overall, we suggest that single-visit models offer unique insights into understanding the link between poaching intensity, economic conditions, and law enforcement in large-scale landscapes while accounting for imperfect detection of poaching events.

Biological Conservation↗
USGS2016

Improving the ecological relevance of toxicity tests on scleractinian corals: Influence of season, life stage, and seawater temperature

Metal pollutants in marine systems are broadly acknowledged as deleterious: however, very little data exist for tropical scleractinian corals. We address this gap by investigating how life-history stage, season and thermal stress influence the toxicity of copper (Cu) and lead (Pb) in the coral Pocillopora damicornis . Our results show that under ambient temperature, adults and larvae appear to tolerate exposure to unusually high levels of copper (96 h-LC 50 ranging from 167 to 251 μg Cu L −1 ) and lead (from 477 to 742 μg Pb L −1 ). Our work also highlights that warmer conditions (seasonal and experimentally manipulated) reduce the tolerance of adults and larvae to Cu toxicity. Despite a similar trend observed for the response of larvae to Pb toxicity to experimentally induced increase in temperature, surprisingly adults were more resistant in warmer condition to Pb toxicity. In the summer adults were less resistant to Cu toxicity (96 h-LC 50 = 175 μg L −1 ) than in the winter (251 μg L −1 ). An opposite trend was observed for the Pb toxicity on adults between summer and winter (96 h-LC 50 of 742 vs 471 μg L −1 , respectively). Larvae displayed a slightly higher sensitivity to Cu and Pb than adults. An experimentally induced 3 °C increase in temperature above ambient decreased larval resistance to Cu and Pb toxicity by 23–30% (96 h-LC 50 of 167 vs 129 μg Cu L −1 and 681 vs 462 μg Pb L −1 ). Our data support the paradigm that upward excursions in temperature influence physiological processes in corals that play key roles in regulating metal toxicity. These influences are more pronounced in larva versus adult corals. These findings are important when contextualized climate change-driven warming in the oceans and highlight that predictions of ecological outcomes to metal pollutants will be improved by considering environmental context and the life stages of organism under study.

Environmental Pollution↗
USGS2022

Increasing the uptake of ecological model results in policy decisions to improve biodiversity outcomes

Models help decision-makers anticipate the consequences of policies for ecosystems and people; for instance, improving our ability to represent interactions between human activities and ecological systems is essential to identify pathways to meet the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals. However, use of modeling outputs in decision-making remains uncommon. We share insights from a multidisciplinary National Socio-Environmental Synthesis Center working group on technical, communication, and process-related factors that facilitate or hamper uptake of model results. We emphasize that it is not simply technical model improvements, but active and iterative stakeholder involvement that can lead to more impactful outcomes. In particular, trust- and relationship-building with decision-makers are key for knowledge-based decision making. In this respect, nurturing knowledge exchange on the interpersonal (e.g., through participatory processes), and institutional level (e.g., through science-policy interfaces across scales), represent promising approaches. To this end, we offer a generalized approach for linking modeling and decision-making.

Environmental Modelling & Software↗
USGS2025

Phytoplankton assemblage structure, drivers, and thresholds with a focus on harmful algal bloom ecology in the Lake Okeechobee system, Florida, USA

Untangling the complexities of harmful algal bloom (HAB) dynamics is an ongoing effort that requires a fundamental understanding of spatiotemporal phytoplankton patterns and the environmental filters through which assemblages are structured. To this aim, monthly field surveys were conducted from 2019 to 2021 at 21 sites in Lake Okeechobee, Florida – a large, shallow, eutrophic, and heavily managed lake with coastal connectivity that experiences intense and recurrent HABs. Phytoplankton assemblages were strongly spatially structured forming 7 distinct lake zones with significant dissimilarity in composition and total abundance. While successional patterns were not apparent across seasons or wet/dry periods, total phytoplankton abundance was significantly greater towards the end of the wet season. Distance-based linear models using 16 abiotic variables were used to identify significant explanatory variables of spatial and temporal patterns. The spatial model explained 93 % of the variability suggesting deterministic processes largely control spatial patterns. The temporal model explained only 48 % of the temporal variability suggesting stochasticity in lake-wide shifts in assemblages over time. However, the strong spatial structuring of assemblages may preclude lake-wide succession patterns. Total algal abundance metrics were inversely related to nitrate, orthophosphate, and total alkalinity, the strongest explanatory variables of assemblage patterns, suggesting a lag between peak resources and peak abundance as phytoplankton cycle “boom-to-bust” phases. Consistent with this inverse relationship, Threshold Indicator Taxa Analysis returned almost exclusively negative responder indicator taxa for all three explanatory variable gradients. The assemblage-level threshold defined the gradient boundary between boom- and bust-associated indicator taxa. These data contribute novel information about HABs ecology pertinent to management strategies.

Florida↗
USGS2008

Biogeochemical and ecological impacts of livestock grazing in semi-arid southeastern Utah, USA

Relatively few studies have examined the ecological and biogeochemical effects of livestock grazing in southeastern Utah. In this study, we evaluated how grazing has affected soil organic carbon and nitrogen to a depth of 50 cm in grasslands located in relict and actively-grazed sites in the Canyonlands physiographic section of the Colorado Plateau. We also evaluated differences in plant ground cover and the spatial distribution of soil resources. Results show that areas used by domestic livestock have 20% less plant cover and 100% less soil organic carbon and nitrogen compared to relict sites browsed by native ungulates. In actively grazed sites, domestic livestock grazing also appears to lead to clustered, rather than random, spatial distribution of soil resources. Magnetic susceptibility, a proxy for soil stability in this region, suggests that grazing increases soil erosion leading to an increase in the area of nutrient-depleted bare ground. Overall, these results, combined with previous studies in the region, suggest that livestock grazing affects both plant cover and soil fertility with potential long-term implications for the sustainability of grazing operations in this semi-arid landscape. ?? 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Journal of Arid Environments↗
USGS2021

Modeling areal measures of campsite impacts on the Appalachian National Scenic Trail to enhance ecological sustainability

Campsite impacts in protected natural areas are most effectively minimized by a containment strategy that focuses use on a limited number of sustainable campsites that spatially concentrate camping activities. This research employs spatial autoregressive (SAR) modeling to evaluate the relative influence of use-related, environmental, and managerial factors on two salient measures of campsite impact. Relational analyses examined numerous field-collected and GIS-derived indicators, including several new indicators calculated using high-resolution Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) topographic data to evaluate the influence of terrain characteristics on the dependent variables. Chosen variables in the best SAR models explained 35% and 30% of the variation in campsite size and area of vegetation loss on campsites. Results identified three key indicators that managers can manipulate to enhance the sustainability of campsites: campsite type, and terrain characteristics relating to landform slope and topographic roughness. Results support indirect management methods that rely on the location, design, construction, and maintenance of campsites, instead of direct regulations that restrict visitation or visitor freedoms. As visitation pressures continue to increase, this knowledge can be applied to select and promote the use of more ecologically sustainable campsites.

Connecticut, Georgia, Maine, Maryland, Massachuset↗
USGS2010

Diet of lake trout and burbot in northern Lake Michigan during spring: Evidence of ecological interaction

We used analyses of burbot ( Lota lota ) and lake trout ( Salvelinus namaycush ) diets taken during spring gill-net surveys in northern Lake Michigan in 2006-2008 to investigate the potential for competition and predator-prey interactions between these two species. We also compared our results to historical data from 1932. During 2006-2008, lake trout diet consisted mainly of alewives ( Alosa pseudoharengus ) and rainbow smelt ( Osmerus mordax ), whereas burbot utilized a much wider prey base including round goby ( Neogobius melanostomus ), rainbow smelt, alewives, and sculpins. Using the Schoener's diet overlap index, we found a higher potential for interspecific competition in 1932 than in 2006-2008, though diet overlap was not significant in either time period. No evidence of cannibalism by lake trout or lake trout predation on burbot was found in either time period. In 2006-2008, however, lake trout composed 5.4% (by weight) of burbot diet. To determine whether this predation could be having an impact on lake trout rehabilitation efforts in northern Lake Michigan, we developed a bioenergetic-based consumption estimate for burbot on Boulder Reef (a representative reef within the Northern Refuge) and found that burbot alone can consume a considerable proportion of the yearling lake trout stocked annually, depending on burbot density. Overall, we conclude that predation, rather than competition, is the more important ecological interaction between burbot and lake trout, and burbot predation may be contributing to the failed lake trout rehabilitation efforts in Lake Michigan.

Michigan↗
USGS2017

Simulation of rapid ecological change in Lake Ontario

Lower trophic level processes are integral to proper functioning of large aquatic ecosystems and have been disturbed in Lake Ontario by various stressors including exotic species. The invasion of benthic habitats by dreissenid mussels has led to systemic changes and native faunal declines. Size-dependent physiological rates, spatial differences and connectivity, competition, and differential population dynamics among invertebrate groups contributed to the change and system complexity. We developed a spatially explicit, individual-based mechanistic model of the benthic ecosystem in Lake Ontario, with coupling to the pelagic system, to examine ecosystem dynamics and effects of dreissenid mussel invasion and native fauna losses. Benthic organisms were represented by functional groups; filter-feeders (i.e., dreissenid mussels), surface deposit-feeders (e.g., native amphipod Diporeia spp.), and deposit-feeders (e.g., oligochaetes and other burrowers). The model was stable, represented ecological structure and function effectively, and reproduced observed effects of the mussel invasion. Two hypotheses for causes of Diporeia loss, competition or disease-like mortality, were tested. Simple competition for food did not explain observed declines in native surface deposit-feeders during the filter-feeder invasion. However, the elevated mortality scenario supports a disease-like cause for loss of the native amphipod, with population changes in various lake areas and altered benthic biomass transfers. Stabilization of mussel populations and possible recovery of the native, surface-deposit feeding amphipod were predicted. Although further research is required on forcing functions, model parameters, and natural conditions, the model provides a valuable tool to help managers understand the benthic system and plan for response to future disruptions.

Lake Ontario↗
USGS2019

Phenology and species diversity in a Lake Huron ichthyoplankton community: Ecological implications of invasive species dominance

Ichthyoplankton communities are dynamic and vary spatiotemporally based on factors such as wind, water currents, and phenology. Nonetheless, ichthyoplankton are an indicator of spawning success in fish populations and examining their community diversity and composition can serve to provide information on ecosystem integrity. Although some ichthyoplankton species may be transient, understanding their distribution in space and time provides information on species composition, abundance, and habitat use during critical early life stages. We sampled the spring-summer ichthyoplankton community during 2008 and 2009 in northern Lake Huron to determine species succession, abundance, and species diversity along physical and environmental gradients. Seasonal succession of species was similar during both years, indicating well-defined patterns in spawning by local populations. Invasive alewife, rainbow smelt, and round goby were the dominant species during both years, with native stickleback species also abundant. Shannon Entropy (H’) increased with increasing water temperature until late summer when H’ declined. H’ decreased with increasing bottom depth and distance to tributary mouth indicating the important ecological role of these habitat features during early life stages. Although ichthyoplankton diversity was comparable to or higher than that reported for other areas of the Great Lakes, the prominence of invasive species in our study is reflective of the degraded state of the Lake Huron fish community, despite large reductions in invasive planktivorous fish since 2004. Continued monitoring of ichthyoplankton communities will be important for measuring the impacts of species invasions or other ecosystem stressors on fish community structure in the Great Lakes.

Lake Huron↗
USGS2021

A case study of sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus) control and ecology in a microcosm of the Great Lakes

The Cheboygan River, Michigan, is the only tributary to the upper Great Lakes where sea lamprey ( Petromyzon marinus ) are known to complete their entire life cycle. The Upper and Lower reaches are separated by the Cheboygan Lock and Dam located about 2 km from Lake Huron. In the Upper River, the Pigeon, Sturgeon, and Maple Rivers provide nursery habitat for larval sea lamprey. Burt and Mullett Lakes provide feeding grounds for juvenile sea lamprey. Low levels of immigration from Lake Huron occur when adult sea lamprey bypass the lock and dam. Lampricide treatment in the Pigeon, Sturgeon, and Maple Rivers began in 1966 and 15 treatments have been conducted to date at a combined cost of $435,000 USD per treatment. Treatments may become more difficult due to recent dam removals in the Pigeon (2016) and Maple Rivers (2018) that expanded habitat available to valued fishes and sea lamprey. At present, the landlocked population is less than 200 spawning adults, and those adults are generally smaller and may spawn earlier in the spring than adult sea lamprey from Lake Huron. Frequency of sea lamprey-induced wounding on steelhead ( Oncorhynchus mykiss ) and northern pike ( Esox lucius ) in Mullett Lake is less than 5%. Given increasing challenges of lampricide treatment, efforts to test other means of control such as sterile male release technique is on-going. The Cheboygan River represents a microcosm of the Great Lakes and is useful for learning about sea lamprey ecology and testing controls that supplement lampricides and barriers.

Michigan↗
USGS2014

Placing prairie pothole wetlands along spatial and temporal continua to improve integration of wetland function in ecological investigations

We evaluated the efficacy of using chemical characteristics to rank wetland relation to surface and groundwater along a hydrologic continuum ranging from groundwater recharge to groundwater discharge. We used 27 years (1974–2002) of water chemistry data from 15 prairie pothole wetlands and known hydrologic connections of these wetlands to groundwater to evaluate spatial and temporal patterns in chemical characteristics that correspond to the unique ecosystem functions each wetland performed. Due to the mineral content and the low permeability rate of glacial till and soils, salinity of wetland waters increased along a continuum of wetland relation to groundwater recharge, flow-through or discharge. Mean inter-annual specific conductance (a proxy for salinity) increased along this continuum from wetlands that recharge groundwater being fresh to wetlands that receive groundwater discharge being the most saline, and wetlands that both recharge and discharge to groundwater (i.e., groundwater flow-through wetlands) being of intermediate salinity. The primary axis from a principal component analysis revealed that specific conductance (and major ions affecting conductance) explained 71% of the variation in wetland chemistry over the 27 years of this investigation. We found that long-term averages from this axis were useful to identify a wetland’s long-term relation to surface and groundwater. Yearly or seasonal measurements of specific conductance can be less definitive because of highly dynamic inter- and intra-annual climate cycles that affect water volumes and the interaction of groundwater and geologic materials, and thereby influence the chemical composition of wetland waters. The influence of wetland relation to surface and groundwater on water chemistry has application in many scientific disciplines and is especially needed to improve ecological understanding in wetland investigations. We suggest ways that monitoring in situ wetland conditions could be linked with evolving remote sensing technology to improve our ability to better inform decisions affecting wetland sustainability and provide periodic inventories of wetland ecosystem services to document temporal trends in wetland function and how they respond to contemporary land-use change.

North Dakota↗
USGS2015

Seasonal thermal ecology of adult walleye (Sander vitreus) in Lake Huron and Lake Erie

The purpose of this study was to characterize thermal patterns and generate occupancy models for adult walleye from lakes Erie and Huron with internally implanted biologgers coupled with a telemetry study to assess the effects of sex, fish size, diel periods, and lake. Sex, size, and diel periods had no effect on thermal occupancy of adult walleye in either lake. Thermal occupancy differed between lakes and seasons. Walleye from Lake Erie generally experienced higher temperatures throughout the spring and summer months than did walleye in Lake Huron, due to limnological differences between the lakes. Tagged walleye that remained in Saginaw Bay, Lake Huron (i.e., adjacent to the release location), as opposed to those migrating to the main basin of Lake Huron, experienced higher temperatures, and thus accumulated more thermal units (the amount of temperature units amassed over time) throughout the year. Walleye that migrated toward the southern end of Lake Huron occupied higher temperatures than those that moved toward the north. Consequently, walleye that emigrated from Saginaw Bay experienced thermal environments that were more favorable for growth as they spent more time within their thermal optimas than those that remained in Saginaw Bay. Results presented in this paper provide information on the thermal experience of wild fish in a large lake, and could be used to refine sex- and lake-specific bioenergetics models of walleye in the Great Lakes to enable the testing of ecological hypotheses.

Journal of Thermal Biology↗
USGS2004

Population ecology and shell chemistry of a phytal ostracode species (Loxoconcha matagordensis) in the Chesapeake Bay watershed

Population ecology and shell chemistry were studied in the phytal ostracode Loxoconcha matagordensis (Swain 1955) collected from Zostera marina seagrass beds in the Chesapeake Bay to provide seasonal constraints on shell secretion time for paleothermometry. Population density and age structure were defined by two main breeding cycles that occurred between 01 to 15 June and 02 to 16 August 2001. The time interval between breeding cycles was ???2 months and total juvenile standing crop increased almost three-fold between the first and second breeding cycles. Dark brown over-wintered adults comprised the majority of the population between March and April 2001, while newly secreted translucent adults were predominant between June and September. Seasonal shell Mg/Ca and Sr/Ca ratios were positively correlated with water temperature at both sites, with the strongest correlations occurring between June and September from newly secreted shells at Dameron Marsh. Old, dark brown shells contained 10% to 23% and 1% to 6% less Mg/Ca and Sr/Ca, respectively, than new shells. Because a fossil assemblage of L. matagordensis will contain ???30% old shells (dark-brown), these results suggest that fossil Mg/Ca ratios yield an integrated late spring to summer temperature signal. Shell Mg/Ca and Sr/Ca ratios of specimens of L. matagordensis collected from living Zostera were positively correlated, suggesting that temperature may influence both elemental ratios. Mg/Ca and Sr/Ca ratios of fossil shells of the related species Loxoconcha sp. A obtained from four sediment cores were also studied and exhibited a weaker correlation between the two elemental ratios. ?? 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Marine Micropaleontology↗
USGS2012

PhyloChipTM microarray comparison of sampling methods used for coral microbial ecology

Interest in coral microbial ecology has been increasing steadily over the last decade, yet standardized methods of sample collection still have not been defined. Two methods were compared for their ability to sample coral-associated microbial communities: tissue punches and foam swabs, the latter being less invasive and preferred by reef managers. Four colonies of star coral, Montastraea annularis , were sampled in the Dry Tortugas National Park (two healthy and two with white plague disease). The PhyloChip™ G3 microarray was used to assess microbial community structure of amplified 16S rRNA gene sequences. Samples clustered based on methodology rather than coral colony. Punch samples from healthy and diseased corals were distinct. All swab samples clustered closely together with the seawater control and did not group according to the health state of the corals. Although more microbial taxa were detected by the swab method, there is a much larger overlap between the water control and swab samples than punch samples, suggesting some of the additional diversity is due to contamination from water absorbed by the swab. While swabs are useful for noninvasive studies of the coral surface mucus layer, these results show that they are not optimal for studies of coral disease.

Dry Tortugas National Park↗
USGS2005

Ecology and shell chemistry of Loxoconcha matagordensis

Studies of the seasonal ecology and shell chemistry of the ostracode Loxoconcha matagordensis and related species of Loxoconcha from regions off eastern North America reveal that shell size and trace elemental (Mg/Ca ratio) composition are useful in paleothermometry using fossil populations. Seasonal sampling of populations from Chesapeake Bay, augmented by samples from Florida Bay, indicate that shell size is inversely proportional to water temperature and that Mg/Ca ratios are positively correlated with the water temperature in which the adult carapace was secreted. Microprobe analyses of sectioned valves reveal intra-shell variability in Mg/Ca ratios but this does not strongly influence the utility of whole shell Mg/Ca analyses for paleoclimate application.

Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology↗
USGS2016

Modeled effects of soil acidification on long-term ecological and economic outcomes for managed forests in the Adirondack region (USA)

Sugar maple ( Acer saccharum ) is among the most ecologically and economically important tree species in North America, and its growth and regeneration is often the focus of silvicultural practices in northern hardwood forests. A key stressor for sugar maple (SM) is acid rain, which depletes base cations from poorly-buffered forest soils and has been associated with much lower SM vigor, growth, and recruitment. However, the potential interactions between forest management and soil acidification – and their implications for the sustainability of SM and its economic and cultural benefits – have not been investigated. In this study, we simulated the development of 50 extant SM stands in the western Adirondack region of NY (USA) for 100 years under different soil chemical conditions and silvicultural prescriptions. We found that interactions between management prescription and soil base saturation will strongly shape the ability to maintain SM in managed forests. Below 12% base saturation, SM did not regenerate sufficiently after harvest and was replaced mainly by red maple ( Acer rubrum ) and American beech ( Fagus grandifolia ). Loss of SM on acid-impaired sites was predicted regardless of whether the shelterwood or diameter-limit prescriptions were used. On soils with sufficient base saturation, models predicted that SM will regenerate after harvest and be sustained for future rotations. We then estimated how these different post-harvest outcomes, mediated by acid impairment of forest soils, would affect the potential monetary value of ecosystem services provided by SM forests. Model simulations indicated that a management strategy focused on syrup production – although not feasible across the vast areas where acid impairment has occurred – may generate the greatest economic return. Although pollution from acid rain is declining, its long-term legacy in forest soils will shape future options for sustainable forestry and ecosystem stewardship in the northern hardwood forests of North America.

New York↗