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At least 1,243 records · Page 69Linked to original sources

USGS2005

Aminobacter ciceronei sp. nov. and Aminobacter lissarensis sp. nov., isolated from various terrestrial environments

The bacterial strains IMB-1 T and CC495 T , which are capable of growth on methyl chloride (CH 3 Cl, chloromethane) and methyl bromide (CH 3 Br, bromomethane), were isolated from agricultural soil in California fumigated with CH 3 Br, and woodland soil in Northern Ireland, respectively. Two pesticide-/herbicide-degrading bacteria, strains ER2 and C147, were isolated from agricultural soil in Canada. Strain ER2 degrades N -methyl carbamate insecticides, and strain C147 degrades triazine herbicides widely used in agriculture. On the basis of their morphological, physiological and genotypic characteristics, these four strains are considered to represent two novel species of the genus Aminobacter , for which the names Aminobacter ciceronei sp. nov. (type strain IMB-1 T =ATCC 202197 T =CIP 108660 T =CCUG 50580 T ; strains ER2 and C147) and Aminobacter lissarensis sp. nov. (type strain CC495 T =NCIMB 13798 T =CIP 108661 T =CCUG 50579 T ) are proposed.

International Journal of Systematic and Evolutiona↗

USGS2001

Comparative assessment of groundwater quality in the Tangshan region of the People's Republic of China and similar areas in the U.S.

Groundwater quality with respect to nitrate, major inorganic constituents, stable isotopes, and tritium was assessed in the agricultural Tangshan region in the Hai He River Basin of the People's Republic of China and compared with three regions in the U.S.: the Delmarva Peninsula of Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia; the San Joaquin Valley of California; and the Sacramento Valley of California. The China and U.S. regions are similar in size and land use, but have different climatic conditions and patterns of water use for irrigation. The Tangshan region has been in agricultural production for a much longer time, probably several centuries, than the three U.S. regions; however, the widespread use of synthetic fertilizers and other soil amendments probably started at a similar time in all four regions. In all four regions, median nitrate concentrations were generally below the U.S. drinking water standard of 10 mg/l of nitrate as nitrogen. However, higher concentrations and a greater range were evident for the Tangshan region. In the water samples collected from a shallow aquifer in the Tangshan region (over 25% of all samples), nitrate concentrations exceeded the Chinese standard of 20 mg/l, whereas few comparative samples (2.6%) collected in the U.S. exceeded 20 mg/l. In Tangshan, relatively low nitrate, which is indicative of uncontaminated background concentrations, was measured in older water of deeper wells. Recently recharged water was detected in wells drilled as deep as 150 m. Nitrate concentrations above background levels were also measured in water samples from these wells. In addition to nitrate, the agricultural area of the Tangshan region has been affected by elevated total dissolved solids and iron, the latter attributed to widespread application of animal wastes and sewage deposited on the land surface, which lead to oxygen depletion in the subsurface environment and dissolution of iron. The elevated total dissolved solids of the Tangshan study area could not be attributed to any one process.

Scientific World Journal↗

USGS2013

Selection of hyperspectral narrowbands (HNBs) and composition of hyperspectral twoband vegetation indices (HVIs) for biophysical characterization and discrimination of crop types using field reflectance and Hyperion/EO-1 data

The overarching goal of this study was to establish optimal hyperspectral vegetation indices (HVIs) and hyperspectral narrowbands (HNBs) that best characterize, classify, model, and map the world's main agricultural crops. The primary objectives were: (1) crop biophysical modeling through HNBs and HVIs, (2) accuracy assessment of crop type discrimination using Wilks' Lambda through a discriminant model, and (3) meta-analysis to select optimal HNBs and HVIs for applications related to agriculture. The study was conducted using two Earth Observing One (EO-1) Hyperion scenes and other surface hyperspectral data for the eight leading worldwide crops (wheat, corn, rice, barley, soybeans, pulses, cotton, and alfalfa) that occupy ~70% of all cropland areas globally. This study integrated data collected from multiple study areas in various agroecosystems of Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia, and India. Data were collected for the eight crop types in six distinct growth stages. These included (a) field spectroradiometer measurements (350-2500 nm) sampled at 1-nm discrete bandwidths, and (b) field biophysical variables (e.g., biomass, leaf area index) acquired to correspond with spectroradiometer measurements. The eight crops were described and classified using ~20 HNBs. The accuracy of classifying these 8 crops using HNBs was around 95%, which was ~ 25% better than the multi-spectral results possible from Landsat-7's Enhanced Thematic Mapper+ or EO-1's Advanced Land Imager. Further, based on this research and meta-analysis involving over 100 papers, the study established 33 optimal HNBs and an equal number of specific two-band normalized difference HVIs to best model and study specific biophysical and biochemical quantities of major agricultural crops of the world. Redundant bands identified in this study will help overcome the Hughes Phenomenon (or “the curse of high dimensionality”) in hyperspectral data for a particular application (e.g., biophysi- al characterization of crops). The findings of this study will make a significant contribution to future hyperspectral missions such as NASA's HyspIRI.

Africa;Central Asia;Middle East↗

USGS2015

Regional and temporal differences in nitrate trends discerned from long-term water quality monitoring data

Riverine nitrate (NO 3 ) is a well-documented driver of eutrophication and hypoxia in coastal areas. The development of the elevated river NO 3 concentration is linked to anthropogenic inputs from municipal, agricultural, and atmospheric sources. The intensity of these sources has varied regionally, through time, and in response to multiple causes such as economic drivers and policy responses. This study uses long-term water quality, land use, and other ancillary data to further describe the evolution of river NO 3 concentrations at 22 monitoring stations in the United States (U.S.). The stations were selected for long-term data availability and to represent a range of climate and land-use conditions. We examined NO 3 at the monitoring stations, using a flow-weighting scheme meant to account for interannual flow variability allowing greater focus on river chemical conditions. River NO 3 concentration increased strongly during 1945-1980 at most of the stations and have remained elevated, but stopped increasing during 1981-2008. NO 3 increased to a greater extent at monitoring stations in the Midwest U.S. and less so at those in the Eastern and Western U.S. We discuss 20th Century agricultural development in the U.S. and demonstrate that regional differences in NO 3 concentration patterns were strongly related to an agricultural index developed using principal components analysis. This unique century-scale dataset adds to our understanding of long-term NO 3 patterns in the U.S.

Journal of the American Water Resources Associatio↗

USGS2021

OpenET: Filling a critical data gap in water management for the western United States

The lack of consistent, accurate information on evapotranspiration (ET) and consumptive use of water by irrigated agriculture is one of the most important data gaps for water managers in the western United States (U.S.) and other arid agricultural regions globally. The ability to easily access information on ET is central to improving water budgets across the West, advancing the use of data-driven irrigation management strategies, and expanding incentive-driven conservation programs. Recent advances in remote sensing of ET have led to the development of multiple approaches for field-scale ET mapping that have been used for local and regional water resource management applications by U.S. state and federal agencies. The OpenET project is a community-driven effort that is building upon these advances to develop an operational system for generating and distributing ET data at a field scale using an ensemble of six well-established satellite-based approaches for mapping ET. Key objectives of OpenET include: Increasing access to remotely sensed ET data through a web-based data explorer and data services; supporting the use of ET data for a range of water resource management applications; and development of use cases and training resources for agricultural producers and water resource managers. Here we describe the OpenET framework, including the models used in the ensemble, the satellite, meteorological, and ancillary data inputs to the system, and the OpenET data visualization and access tools. We also summarize an extensive intercomparison and accuracy assessment conducted using ground measurements of ET from 139 flux tower sites instrumented with open path eddy covariance systems. Results calculated for 24 cropland sites from Phase I of the intercomparison and accuracy assessment demonstrate strong agreement between the satellite-driven ET models and the flux tower ET data. For the six models that have been evaluated to date (ALEXI/DisALEXI, eeMETRIC, geeSEBAL, PT-JPL, SIMS, and SSEBop) and the ensemble mean, the weighted average mean absolute error (MAE) values across all sites range from 13.6 to 21.6 mm/month at a monthly timestep, and 0.74 to 1.07 mm/day at a daily timestep. At seasonal time scales, for all but one of the models the weighted mean total ET is within ±8% of both the ensemble mean and the weighted mean total ET calculated from the flux tower data. Overall, the ensemble mean performs as well as any individual model across nearly all accuracy statistics for croplands, though some individual models may perform better for specific sites and regions. We conclude with three brief use cases to illustrate current applications and benefits of increased access to ET data, and discuss key lessons learned from the development of OpenET.

western United States↗

USGS2018

The perpetual state of emergency that sacrifices protected areas in a changing climate

A modern challenge for conservation biology is to assess the consequences of policies that adhere to assumptions of stationarity (e.g. historic norms) in an era of global environmental change. Such policies may result in unexpected and surprising levels of mitigation given future climate change trajectories, especially as agriculture looks to protected areas to buffer against production losses during periods of environmental extremes. Here, we conduct a scenario impact assessment to determine the potential impact of climate change scenarios on the rates at which lands enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) lands are authorized for emergency biomass removal. Grassland biomass on CRP lands is authorized for ‘emergency’ harvesting for agricultural use when precipitation for the last four months falls below 40 percent of the normal, or ‘historical’ mean, precipitation for that four-month period. We develop and analyze scenarios under the condition that policy will continue to operate under assumptions of stationarity, thereby authorizing emergency biomass harvesting solely as a function of precipitation departure from historic norms. Model projections show the historical likelihood of authorizing emergency biomass harvesting in any given year in the northern Great Plains was 33.28 ± 0.96%, according to long-term weather records. Emergency biomass harvesting became the norm (>50% of years) in the scenario reflecting continued increases in emissions and a decrease in growing season precipitation, and areas in the Great Plains with higher historical mean annual rainfall were disproportionately affected and experienced a greater increase in emergency biomass removal. Emergency biomass harvesting decreased only in the scenario reflecting rapid reductions in emissions. Our scenario impact analysis indicates that biomass from lands enrolled in the CRP will be used primarily as a buffer for agriculture in an era of climatic change, unless policy guidelines are adapted or climate change projections significantly depart from the current consensus.

Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyo↗

USGS2010

Inter-regional comparison of land-use effects on stream metabolism

1. Rates of whole-system metabolism (production and respiration) are fundamental indicators of ecosystem structure and function. Although first-order, proximal controls are well understood, assessments of the interactions between proximal controls and distal controls, such as land use and geographic region, are lacking. Thus, the influence of land use on stream metabolism across geographic regions is unknown. Further, there is limited understanding of how land use may alter variability in ecosystem metabolism across regions.2. Stream metabolism was measured in nine streams in each of eight regions (n = 72) across the United States and Puerto Rico. In each region, three streams were selected from a range of three land uses: agriculturally influenced, urban-influenced, and reference streams. Stream metabolism was estimated from diel changes in dissolved oxygen concentrations in each stream reach with correction for reaeration and groundwater input.3. Gross primary production (GPP) was highest in regions with little riparian vegetation (sagebrush steppe in Wyoming, desert shrub in Arizona/New Mexico) and lowest in forested regions (North Carolina, Oregon). In contrast, ecosystem respiration (ER) varied both within and among regions. Reference streams had significantly lower rates of GPP than urban or agriculturally influenced streams.4. GPP was positively correlated with photosynthetically active radiation and autotrophic biomass. Multiple regression models compared using Akaike's information criterion (AIC) indicated GPP increased with water column ammonium and the fraction of the catchment in urban and reference land-use categories. Multiple regression models also identified velocity, temperature, nitrate, ammonium, dissolved organic carbon, GPP, coarse benthic organic matter, fine benthic organic matter and the fraction of all land-use categories in the catchment as regulators of ER.5. Structural equation modelling indicated significant distal as well as proximal control pathways including a direct effect of land-use on GPP as well as SRP, DIN, and PAR effects on GPP; GPP effects on autotrophic biomass, organic matter, and ER; and organic matter effects on ER.6. Overall, consideration of the data separated by land-use categories showed reduced inter-regional variability in rates of metabolism, indicating that the influence of agricultural and urban land use can obscure regional differences in stream metabolism. ?? 2010 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Freshwater Biology↗

USGS2010

Simulation and analysis of conjunctive use with MODFLOW's farm process

The extension of MODFLOW onto the landscape with the Farm Process (MF-FMP) facilitates fully coupled simulation of the use and movement of water from precipitation, streamflow and runoff, groundwater flow, and consumption by natural and agricultural vegetation throughout the hydrologic system at all times. This allows for more complete analysis of conjunctive use water-resource systems than previously possible with MODFLOW by combining relevant aspects of the landscape with the groundwater and surface water components. This analysis is accomplished using distributed cell-by-cell supply-constrained and demand-driven components across the landscape within " water-balance subregions" comprised of one or more model cells that can represent a single farm, a group of farms, or other hydrologic or geopolitical entities. Simulation of micro-agriculture in the Pajaro Valley and macro-agriculture in the Central Valley are used to demonstrate the utility of MF-FMP. For Pajaro Valley, the simulation of an aquifer storage and recovery system and related coastal water distribution system to supplant coastal pumpage was analyzed subject to climate variations and additional supplemental sources such as local runoff. For the Central Valley, analysis of conjunctive use from different hydrologic settings of northern and southern subregions shows how and when precipitation, surface water, and groundwater are important to conjunctive use. The examples show that through MF-FMP's ability to simulate natural and anthropogenic components of the hydrologic cycle, the distribution and dynamics of supply and demand can be analyzed, understood, and managed. This analysis of conjunctive use would be difficult without embedding them in the simulation and are difficult to estimate a priori. Journal compilation ?? 2010 National Ground Water Association. No claim to original US government works.

Ground Water↗

USGS2007

Nutrients in streams during baseflow in selected environmental settings of the Potomac River Basin

A regional assessment of water quality in small streams was conducted within four areas of distinct physiography and lithology in the upper Potomac River Basin. The Potomac River is a major tributary to the Chesapeake Bay, and this study provides new insight on the relationships between nutrient concentrations in small streams and watershed characteristics within this river basin. Nutrient concentrations were compared to land-use data including categories for agriculture (cropland and pasture), urban areas, and forests. Among agricultural areas, streams draining areas of intense row cropping typically contained higher nitrate concentrations than did those draining pastures. Streams draining forested areas typically had the lowest nutrient concentrations. Streams in areas underlain by carbonate bedrock were more likely to contain elevated concentrations of inorganic nitrogen and potassium than did streams in areas underlain by fractured siliciclastic or crystalline rocks, and we suggest that this is a physical phenomenon related to high hydraulic conductivities in carbonate ground-water systems. The median nitrate concentrations were highest in the Great Valley portion of the Valley and Ridge physiographic province, particularly in watersheds that have both carbonate bedrock and intensive row cropping. Values of nitrate in these streams ranged up to 8.99 mg/L as nitrogen. The soluble phosphorus concentrations during baseflow were generally low in all subunits, even in some settings with potential for high phosphorus inputs such as urban areas with municipal point sources or agricultural areas. The mobility of phosphorus in these environments may be hindered by adsorption and geochemical reactions.

Journal of the American Water Resources Associatio↗

USGS2007

Nutrient mass balance and trends, Mobile River Basin, Alabama, Georgia, and Mississippi

A nutrient mass balance - accounting for nutrient inputs from atmospheric deposition, fertilizer, crop nitrogen fixation, and point source effluents; and nutrient outputs, including crop harvest and storage - was calculated for 18 subbasins in the Mobile River Basin, and trends (1970 to 1997) were evaluated as part of the U.S. Geological Survey National Water Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program. Agricultural nonpoint nitrogen and phosphorus sources and urban nonpoint nitrogen sources are the most important factors associated with nutrients in this system. More than 30 percent of nitrogen yield in two basins and phosphorus yield in eight basins can be attributed to urban point source nutrient inputs. The total nitrogen yield (1.3 tons per square mile per year) for the Tombigbee River, which drains a greater percentage of agricultural (row crop) land use, was larger than the total nitrogen yield (0.99 tons per square mile per year) for the Alabama River. Decreasing trends of total nitrogen concentrations in the Tombigbee and Alabama Rivers indicate that a reduction occurred from 1975 to 1997 in the nitrogen contributions to Mobile Bay from the Mobile River. Nitrogen concentrations also decreased (1980 to 1995) in the Black Warrior River, one of the major tributaries to the Tombigbee River. Total phosphorus concentrations increased from 1970 to 1996 at three urban influenced sites on the Etowah River in Georgia. Multiple regression analysis indicates a distinct association between water quality in the streams of the Mobile River drainage basin and agricultural activities in the basin.

Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi↗

USGS2005

Drought effects on water quality in the South Platte River Basin, Colorado

Twenty-three stream sites representing a range of forested, agricultural, and urban land uses were sampled in the South Platte River Basin of Colorado from July through September 2002 to characterize water quality during drought conditions. With a few exceptions, dissolved ammonia, Kjeldahl nitrogen, total phosphorus, and dissolved orthophosphate concentrations were similar to seasonal historical levels in all land use areas during the drought. At some agricultural sites, decreased dilution of irrigation return flow may have contributed to higher concentrations of some nutrient species, increased primary productivity, and higher dissolved oxygen concentrations. At some urban sites, decreased dilution of base flow and wastewater treatment plant effluent may have contributed to higher dissolved nitrite-plus-nitrate concentrations, increased primary productivity, and higher dissolved oxygen concentrations. Total pesticide concentrations in urban and agricultural areas were not consistently higher or lower during the drought. At most forested sites, decreased dilution of ground water-derived calcium bicarbonate type base flow likely led to elevated pH and specific-conductance values. Water temperatures at many of the forested sites also were higher, contributing to lower dissolved oxygen concentrations during the drought.

Journal of the American Water Resources Associatio↗

USGS2011

Nutrient inputs to the Laurentian Great Lakes by source and watershed estimated using SPARROW watershed models

Nutrient input to the Laurentian Great Lakes continues to cause problems with eutrophication. To reduce the extent and severity of these problems, target nutrient loads were established and Total Maximum Daily Loads are being developed for many tributaries. Without detailed loading information it is difficult to determine if the targets are being met and how to prioritize rehabilitation efforts. To help address these issues, SPAtially Referenced Regressions On Watershed attributes (SPARROW) models were developed for estimating loads and sources of phosphorus (P) and nitrogen (N) from the United States (U.S.) portion of the Great Lakes, Upper Mississippi, Ohio, and Red River Basins. Results indicated that recent U.S. loadings to Lakes Michigan and Ontario are similar to those in the 1980s, whereas loadings to Lakes Superior, Huron, and Erie decreased. Highest loads were from tributaries with the largest watersheds, whereas highest yields were from areas with intense agriculture and large point sources of nutrients. Tributaries were ranked based on their relative loads and yields to each lake. Input from agricultural areas was a significant source of nutrients, contributing ∼33-44% of the P and ∼33-58% of the N, except for areas around Superior with little agriculture. Point sources were also significant, contributing ∼14-44% of the P and 13-34% of the N. Watersheds around Lake Erie contributed nutrients at the highest rate (similar to intensively farmed areas in the Midwest) because they have the largest nutrient inputs and highest delivery ratio.

Laurentian Great Lakes↗

USGS2023

Density declines, richness increases, and composition shifts in stream macroinvertebrates

Documenting trends of stream macroinvertebrate biodiversity is challenging because biomonitoring often has limited spatial, temporal, and taxonomic scopes. We analyzed biodiversity and composition of assemblages of >500 genera, spanning 27 years, and 6131 stream sites across forested, grassland, urban, and agricultural land uses throughout the United States. In this dataset, macroinvertebrate density declined by 11% and richness increased by 12.2%, and insect density and richness declined by 23.3 and 6.8%, respectively, over 27 years. In addition, differences in richness and composition between urban and agricultural versus forested and grassland streams have increased over time. Urban and agricultural streams lost the few disturbance-sensitive taxa they once had and gained disturbance-tolerant taxa. These results suggest that current efforts to protect and restore streams are not sufficient to mitigate anthropogenic effects.

Science Advances↗

USGS2009

Channel, floodplain, and wetland responses to floods and overbank sedimentation, 1846-2006, Halfway Creek Marsh, Upper Mississippi Valley, Wisconsin

Conversion of upland forest and prairie vegetation to agricultural land uses, following Euro-American settlement in the Upper Mississippi River System, led to accelerated runoff and soil erosion that subsequently transformed channels, floodplains, and wetlands on bottomlands. Halfway Creek Marsh, at the junction of Halfway Creek and the Mississippi River on Wisconsin's western border, is representative of such historical transformation. This marsh became the focus of a 2005-2006 investigation by scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey, the University of Wisconsin- Madison, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, who used an understanding of the historical transformation to help managers identify possible restoration alternatives for Halfway Creek Marsh. Field-scale topographic surveys and sediment cores provided data for reconstructing patterns and rates of historical overbank sedimentation in the marsh. Information culled from historical maps, aerial photographs, General Land Offi ce Survey notes, and other historical documents helped establish the timing of anthropogenic disturbances and document changes in channel patterns. Major human disturbances, in addition to agricultural land uses, included railroad and road building, construction of artifi cial levees, drainage alterations, and repeated dam failures associated with large floods. A volume of approximately 1,400,000 m 3 , involving up to 2 m of sandy historical overbank deposition, is stored through the upper and lower marshes and along the adjacent margins of Halfway Creek and its principal tributary, Sand Lake Coulee. The estimated overbank sedimentation rate for the entire marsh is ??3,000 m 3 yr- 1 for the recent period 1994-2006. In spite of reduced surface runoff and soil erosion in recent years, this recent sedimentation rate still exceeds by ??4 times the early settlement (1846-1885) rate of 700 m 3 yr- 1 , when anthropogenic acceleration of upland surface runoff and soil erosion was beginning. The highest rate of historical bottomland sedimentation occurred from 1919 to 1936, when the estimated overbank sedimentation rate was 20,400 m 3 yr- 1 . This rate exceeded by nearly 30 times the 1846-1886 rate. Artifi cial levees were constructed along the upper reach of Halfway Creek in the marsh during the early twentieth century to restrict fl ooding on the adjacent bottomlands. Anomalously high overbank sedimentation rates subsequently occurred on the fl oodplain between the levees, which also facilitated more effi cient transport of sediment into the lower marsh bottomland. Although overbank sedimentation rates dropped after 1936, corresponding to the widespread adoption of soil-conservation and agricultural best-management practices, the continuation of anomalously high overbank sedimentation between the levees led to increased bank heights and development of a relatively deep channel. The deep cross-section morphology is commonly mistaken as evidence of channel incision; however, this morphology actually resulted from excessive overbank sedimentation. The historical metamorphosis of the Halfway Creek channel and riparian wetlands underscores the importance of understanding the long-term history of channel and fl oodplain evolution when restoration of channels and riparian wetlands are under consideration. Sedimentation patterns and channel morphology for Halfway Creek Marsh probably are representative of other anthropogenically altered riparian wetlands in the Upper Mississippi River System and similar landscapes elsewhere.

Special Paper of the Geological Society of America↗

USGS2011

Lipid catabolism of invertebrate predator indicates widespread wetland ecosystem degradation

Animals frequently undergo periods when they accumulate lipid reserves for subsequent energetically expensive activities, such as migration or breeding. During such periods, daily lipid-reserve dynamics (DLD) of sentinel species can quantify how landscape modifications affect function, health, and resilience of ecosystems. Aythya affinis (Eyton 1838; lesser scaup; diving duck) are macroinvertebrate predators; they migrate through an agriculturally dominated landscape in spring where they select wetlands with the greatest food density to refuel and accumulate lipid reserves for subsequent reproduction. We index DLD by measuring plasma-lipid metabolites of female scaup (n = 459) that were refueling at 75 spring migration stopover areas distributed across the upper Midwest, USA. We also indexed DLD for females (n = 44) refueling on a riverine site (Pool 19) south of our upper Midwest study area. We found that mean DLD estimates were significantly (P<0.05) less than zero in all ecophysiographic regions of the upper Midwest, and the greatest negative value was in the Iowa Prairie Pothole region (-31.6). Mean DLD was 16.8 at Pool 19 and was markedly greater than in any region of the upper Midwest. Our results indicate that females catabolized rather than stored lipid reserves throughout the upper Midwest. Moreover, levels of lipid catabolism are alarming, because scaup use the best quality wetlands available within a given stopover area. Accordingly, these results provide evidence of wetland ecosystem degradation across this large agricultural landscape and document affects that are carried-up through several trophic levels. Interestingly, storing of lipids by scaup at Pool 19 likely reflects similar ecosystem perturbations as observed in the upper Midwest because wetland drainage and agricultural runoff nutrifies the riverine habitat that scaup use at Pool 19. Finally, our results underscore how using this novel technique to monitor DLD, of a carefully selected sentinel species, can index ecosystem health at a landscape scale.

PLoS ONE↗

USGS2021

Honey bee (Apis mellifera) colonies benefit from grassland/ pasture while bumble bee (Bombus impatiens) colonies in the same landscapes benefit from non-corn/soybean cropland

Agriculturally important commercially managed pollinators including honey bees ( Apis mellifera L., 1758) and bumble bees ( Bombus impatiens Cresson, 1863) rely on the surrounding landscape to fulfill their dietary needs. A previous study in Europe demonstrated that managed honey bee foragers and unmanaged native bumble bee foragers are associated with different land uses. However, it is unclear how response to land use compares between managed honey bees and a managed native bumble bee species in the United States, where honey bees are an imported species. Furthermore, to our knowledge, no such direct comparisons of bee responses to land use have been made at the colony level. To better understand how two different social bees respond to variation in land use, we monitored the weights of A . mellifera and B . impatiens colonies placed in 12 apiaries across a range of land use in Michigan, United States in 2017. Bombus impatiens colonies gained more weight and produced more drones when surrounded by diverse agricultural land (i.e., non-corn/soybean cropland such as tree fruits and grapes), while honey bee colonies gained more weight when surrounded by more grassland/pasture land. These findings add to our understanding of how different bee species respond to agricultural landscapes, highlighting the need for further species-specific land use studies to inform tailored land management.

Michigan↗

USGS2024

Machine learning and new-generation spaceborne hyperspectral data advance crop type mapping

Hyperspectral sensors provide near-continuous spectral data that can facilitate advancements in agricultural crop classification and characterization, which are important for addressing global food and water security issues. We investigated two new-generation hyperspectral sensors, Germany’s Deutsches Zentrum für Luft‐ und Raumfahrt Earth Sensing Imaging Spectrometer (DESIS) and Italy’s PRecursore IperSpettrale della Missione Applicativa (PRISMA), within California's Central Valley in August 2021 focusing on five irrigated agricultural crops (alfalfa, almonds, corn, grapes, and pistachios). With reference data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Cropland Data Layer, we developed a spectral library of the crops and classified them using three machine learning algorithms (support vector machines [SVM], random forest [RF], and spectral angle mapper [SAM]) and two philosophies: 1. Full spectral analysis (FSA) and 2. Optimal hyperspectral narrowband (OHNB) analysis. For FSA, we used 59 DESIS four-bin product bands and 207 of 238 PRISMA bands. For OHNB analysis, 9 DESIS and 16 PRISMA nonredundant OHNBs for studying crops were selected. FSA achieved only 1% to 3% higher accuracies relative to OHNB analysis in most cases. SVM provided the best results, closely followed by RF. Using both DESIS and PRISMA image OHNBs in SVM for classification led to higher accuracy than using either image alone, with an overall accuracy of 99%, producer’s accuracies of 94% to 100%, and user's accuracies of 95% to 100%.

California↗

USGS2025

Landsat-derived rainfed and irrigated-area product for conterminous United States for the year 2020 (LRIP30 CONUS 2020) using supervised and unsupervised machine learning on the cloud

Accurate maps of irrigated and rainfed croplands are crucial for assessing global food and water security. Irrigated croplands yield two to four times more grain and biomass than rainfed croplands. To meet rising food demand, the proportion of cropland that is irrigated must be increased globally. Because agriculture uses 80% to 90% of global fresh water, understanding changes in cropland extent, crop type, and irrigation is critical for meeting nutritional needs sustainably. The United States has one of the most productive rainfed and irrigated croplands in the world and is a leading producer and exporter of agricultural crops. Precise maps of irrigated and rainfed croplands in the United States are crucial for assessing the current and the future agricultural production capacity in supporting food security. We developed a 30-m resolution rainfed and irrigated area map for the conterminous United States derived from 2019 to 2021 multi-date Landsat-8 data (LRIP30 CONUS 2020). A total of 96 harmonized spectral bands comprising monthly median value composites of eight bands (blue, green, red, NIR, SWIR1, SWIR2, TIR, and enhanced vegetation index [EVI]) were used. A cropland mask was then applied, and reference data were sourced from various sources. A pixel based supervised random forest classifier, and pixel based unsupervised ISODATA clustering classifier were implemented on Google Earth Engine and the ERDAS Imagine workstation to classify, identify, map, and assess accuracies of irrigated and rainfed cropland areas. The LRIP30 CONUS 2020 product achieved an overall accuracy of 93.9%. The irrigated and rainfed classes had producer's accuracies of 90.2% and 95.7%, respectively, and user's accuracies of 90.8% and 95.4%, respectively. The total net cropland area was estimated at 139.4 million hectares (Mha), of which 94.9 Mha (68%) was classified as rainfed and 44.5 Mha (32%) was classified as irrigated. State level summaries highlight regional differences and their implications for national and global food and water security.

conterminous United States↗