Skip to main content
Advanced Search

Filters: Contacts: Patrick Comer (X)

10 results (21ms)   

Filters
Date Range
Extensions
Types
Contacts
Categories
Tag Types
Tag Schemes
View Results as: JSON ATOM CSV
Despite its successes, the U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA) has proven challenging to implement due to funding limitations, workload backlog, and other problems. As threats to species survival intensify and as more species come under threat, the need for the ESA and similar conservation laws and policies in other countries to function efficiently has grown. Attempts by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) to streamline ESA decisions include multispecies recovery plans and habitat conservation plans. We address species status assessment (SSA), a USFWS process to inform ESA decisions from listing to recovery, within the context of multispecies and ecosystem planning. Although existing SSAs have a single-species...
Categories: Publication; Types: Citation
thumbnail
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has generated land surface form classes for the contiguous United States. These land surface form classes were created as part of an effort to map standardized, terrestrial ecosystems for the nation using a classification developed by NatureServe (Comer and others, 2003). Ecosystem distributions were modeled using a biophysical stratification approach developed for South America (Sayre and others, 2008) and now being implemented globally (Sayre and others, 2007). Land surface forms strongly influence the differentiation and distribution of terrestrial ecosystems, and are one of the key input layers in the ecosystem delineation process.The methodology used to produce these land surface...
Abstract (from U.S. Geological Survey): The unglaciated southeastern United States is a biodiversity hotspot, with a disproportionate amount of this biodiversity concentrated in grasslands. Like most hotspots, the Southeast is also threatened by human activities, with the total reduction of southeastern grasslands estimated as 90 percent (upwards to 100 percent for some types) and with many threats escalating today. This report summarizes the results of a multistakeholder workshop organized by the Southeastern Grasslands Initiative and the U.S. Geological Survey, held in January 2020 to provide a scientific needs assessment to help inform the Species Status Assessment (SSA) process under the U.S. Endangered Species...
Categories: Publication; Types: Citation
thumbnail
Ecosystems experience stress from a number of factors, but a changing climate exacerbates those stressors and alters ecosystem and soil productivity, leading to degradation of wildlife habitat and agricultural productivity. Response to these enhanced stressors requires that farmers, ranchers, and wildlife managers have the necessary information and resources to guide adaptive management decisions. Not only do they need better forecasts of drought severity, but also an understanding of the likely effects of drought on vegetation and soil at the decadal scale. To provide these resources, this project proposes to document and map climate change vulnerability of major grasslands and wetlands on the southern Great Plains...
thumbnail
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has generated and mapped isobioclimate classes for the contiguous United States. These isobioclimate classes were created as part of an effort to map standardized, terrestrial ecosystems for the nation using a classification developed by NatureServe (Comer and others, 2003). Ecosystem distributions were modeled using a biophysical stratification approach developed for South America (Sayre and others, 2008) and now being implemented globally (Sayre and others, 2007). Bioclimate regimes strongly influence the differentiation and distribution of terrestrial ecosystems, and are one of the key input layers in the ecosystem delineation process.The Rivas-Martínez methodology used to produce...
thumbnail
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has generated topographic moisture potential classes for the contiguous United States. These topographic moisture potential classes were created as part of an effort to map standardized, terrestrial ecosystems for the nation using a classification developed by NatureServe (Comer and others, 2003). Ecosystem distributions were modeled using a biophysical stratification approach developed for South America (Sayre and others, 2008) and now being implemented globally (Sayre and others, 2007). Substrate moisture regimes strongly influence the differentiation and distribution of terrestrial ecosystems, and are one of the key input layers in the ecosystem delineation process. The method...
thumbnail
These data were released prior to the October 1, 2016 effective date for the USGS’s policy dictating the review, approval, and release of scientific data as referenced in USGS Survey Manual Chapter 502.8 Fundamental Science Practices: Review and Approval of Scientific Data for Release. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) modeled the distribution of terrestrial ecosystems for the contiguous United States using a standardized, deductive approach to associate unique physical environments with ecological systems characterized in NatureServe's Ecological Systems of the United States classification (Comer et al., 2003). This approach was first developed for South America (Sayre et al., 2008) and is now being implemented...
thumbnail
Invasive plants are a major land management problem in the Western U.S. Cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum) is the most prominent and problematic invader in cold deserts, with negative effects on rangeland fire patterns, wildlife habitats, and forage/vegetation. Red brome (B. madritensis) is an invader in the Mojave Desert, and can similarly introduce a new fire patterns to sensitive warm desert scrub. These invasions often cause management agencies to incur high costs for prevention, control, restoration, and fire responses. Control and prevention of invasive species is challenging because the risk of invasive plants becoming abundant depends on existing plant communities, climate and weather, land use, and fire history....
thumbnail
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has generated a new classification and map of the lithology of surficial materials for the contiguous United States. This was developed as part of an effort to map standardized, terrestrial ecosystem distributions for the nation using a classification developed by NatureServe (Comer and others, 2003). This ecosystem mapping methodology, which delineates ecosystems by mapping and integrating their major structural components, was first developed for South America (Sayre and others, 2008) and is now being implemented globally (Sayre and others, 2007). Surficial lithology strongly influences the differentiation and distribution of terrestrial ecosystems, and is one of the key input...


    map background search result map search result map Terrestrial Ecosystems - Isobioclimates of the Conterminous United States Terrestrial Ecosystems - Surficial Lithology of the Conterminous United States Terrestrial Ecosystems - Land Surface Forms of the Conterminous United States Terrestrial Ecosystems - Topographic Moisture Potential of the Conterminous United States Dynamic Grassland Decision Support Tool The Role of Climate in Shaping Invasive Plant Abundance across Different Spatial Locations Assessing Vulnerability of Species and Ecosystems in the South Central United States to Inform Adaptation Strategies Terrestrial Ecosystems of the Conterminous United States Dynamic Grassland Decision Support Tool The Role of Climate in Shaping Invasive Plant Abundance across Different Spatial Locations Assessing Vulnerability of Species and Ecosystems in the South Central United States to Inform Adaptation Strategies Terrestrial Ecosystems - Land Surface Forms of the Conterminous United States Terrestrial Ecosystems of the Conterminous United States Terrestrial Ecosystems - Surficial Lithology of the Conterminous United States Terrestrial Ecosystems - Topographic Moisture Potential of the Conterminous United States Terrestrial Ecosystems - Isobioclimates of the Conterminous United States