In 2006, 2007 and 2010, fish communities, water quality, and physical habitat were sampled at Wilson's Creek, Skegg's Branch (also known as Schuyler Creek), and Terrell Creek to determine the status and long-term trends in fish community composition and to correlate this community data to water quality and habitat conditions.

This report summarizes data of the Sonoran Desert Network's first three seasons of terrestrial vegetation and soils monitoring in upland areas of the Rincon Mountain District, Saguaro National Park, in southern Arizona. Thirty-nine permanent monitoring sites were sampled, The current report summarizes effort to date, evaluates the sampling design in the context of our monitoring objectives, and suggests modifications to the design.

Global warming usually seems to happen far away, but one catastrophic effect of climate change is underway right now in the Rocky Mountains. In "The Melting World," Chris White travels to Montana to chronicle the work of Dan Fagre, a climate scientist and ecologist, whose work shows that alpine glaciers are vanishing rapidly close to home. For years, Fagre has monitored the ice sheets in Glacier National Park proving that they--and by extension all Rocky Mountain ice--will melt far faster than previously imagined. How long will the ice fields survive? What are the consequences on our environment? "The Melting World" chronicles the first extinction of a mountain ecosystem in what is expected to be a series of such global calamities as humanity faces the prospect of a world without alpine ice.

Few of us will ever get to Antarctica. The bitter cold and three months a year without sunlight makes the sixth continent virtually uninhabitable for humans. Yet marine biologist James B. McClintock has spent three decades studying the frozen land in order to understand better the world that lies beneath it. In this luminous and closely observed account, one of the world's leading experts on Antarctica introduces the reader to this fascinating world - the extraordinary wildlife that persists despite the harsh conditions and the way each of the pieces fit into the puzzle of the intricate environment: from single-celled organisms to baleen whales, with leopard seals, penguins, 50-foot algae, sea spiders, coral, and multicolored sea stars, in between. Now, as temperatures rise, the fragile ecosystem is under attack. Adelie penguins that have successfully nested on Antarctic islands for several hundred years have been nearly wiped out. King crabs that used to populate the deep seafloor are moving into shallower waters, disturbing the set order of life there. Lost Antarctica is an appeal to understand and appreciate the wondrous place at the bottom of the world that we are on the brink of losing.

This document describes the rationale and methods used by the National Park Service (NPS) Northeast Temperate Network (NETN) and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) Maine Coastal Islands National Wildlife Refuges (MCI) for long-term monitoring of rocky intertidal habitats. The monitoring effort will collect data for key metrics representing the ecological health of the intertidal zone, and over time it will provide an indication of the trend of these metrics.

The purpose of this publication is to report the findings of the Service's wetlands inventory of New Jersey and to summarize existing information on New Jersey's wetlands. The chapters will include discussions of wetland concept and classification; National Wetlands Inventory techniques and results; wetland formation and hydrology; hydric soils, wetland vegetation and plant communities; wetland values; wetland trends; and wetland protection. The appendix contains a list of plants found in NJ's wetlands. A figure showing the general distribution of NJ's wetlands and deepwater habitats is provided.

"Southern Wonder "explores Alabama's amazing biological diversity, the reasons for the large number of species in the state, and the importance of their preservation.
Alabama ranks fifth in the nation in number of species of plants and animals found in the state, surpassed only by the much larger western states of California, Texas, Arizona, and New Mexico. When all the species of birds, trees, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, fishes, wildflowers, dragonflies, tiger beetles, and ants are tallied, Alabama harbors more species than 90 percent of the other states in the United States. Alabamais particularly rich in aquatic biodiversity, leading the nation in species of freshwater fishes, turtles, mussels, crayfish, snails, damselflies, and carnivorous plants. The state also hosts an exceptional number of endemic species--those not found beyond its borders--ranking seventh in the nation with 144 species. The state's 4,533 species, with more being inventoried and discovered each year, are supported by no less than 64 distinct ecological systems--each a unique blend of soil, water, sunlight, heat, and natural disturbance regimes. Habitats include dry forests, moist forests, swamp forests, sunny prairies, grassy barrens, scorching glades, rolling dunes, and bogs filled with pitcher plants and sundews. The state also includes a region of subterranean ecosystems that are more elaborate and species rich than any other place on the continent.
Although Alabama is teeming with life, the state's prominence as a refuge for plants and animals is poorly appreciated. Even among Alabama's citizens, few outside a small circle of biologists, advocates, and other naturalists understand the special quality of the state's natural heritage. R. Scot Duncan rectifies this situation in "Southern Wonder" by providing a well-written, comprehensive overview that the general public, policy makers, and teachers can understand and use. Readers are taken on an exploratory journey of the state's varied landscapes--from the Tennessee River Valley to the coastal dunes--and are introduced to remarkable species, such as the cave salamander and the beach mouse. By interweaving the disciplines of ecology, evolution, meteorology, and geology into an accessible whole, Duncan explains clearly why Alabama is so biotically rich and champions efforts for its careful preservation.
Published in Cooperation with The Nature Conservancy

This report summarizes the Sonoran Desert Network's first season of terrestrial vegetation and soils monitoring at Casa Grande Ruins National Monument (NM), in south-central Arizona.

The purpose of this report is to inform the MOU agencies, stakeholders, and the public about the current status and trends of wet nitrogen deposition at RMNP. The MOU agencies will use the information provided in this annual report to make a determination of whether the interim milestones have been achieved in 2013, 2018, 2023, and 2028.

'An enthralling, elegantly written and, ultimately, profoundly alarming history' Economist A bold new perspective on the history of South Asia, telling its story through its climate, and the long quest to tame its waters South Asia's history has been shaped by its waters. In Unruly Waters, historian Sunil Amrith reimagines this history through the stories of its rains, rivers, coasts, rivers and seas - and of the weather-watchers and engineers, mapmakers and farmers who have sought to control them. He shows how fears and dreams of water have, throughout South Asia, shaped visions of political independence and economic development, provoked efforts to reshape nature through dams and pumps, and unleashed powerful tensions within and between nations. Every year humans have watched with overwhelming anxiety for the nature of that year's monsoon to be revealed, with entire populations living or dying on the outcome. From the first small weather-reporting stations to today's satellites, the modern battle both to understand and manage water has literally been a matter of life or death. Today, Asian nations are racing to construct hundreds of dams in the Himalayas, with dire environmental impacts; hundreds of millions crowd into coastal cities threatened by cyclones and storm surges. In an age of climate change, this highly original work of history is essential reading for anyone seeking to understand not only Asia's past but its future.

This report summarizes data collected during the Sonoran Desert Network's first two seasons of terrestrial vegetation and soils monitoring in upland areas of the Tucson Mountain District, Saguaro National Park, in southern Arizona. Eleven permanent monitoring sites were sampled. This report summarizes effort to date, evaluates the sampling design within the context of monitoring objectives, and suggests modifications to the design.

The Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore (SLBE) vegetation mapping project is an initiative of the National Park Service (NPS) Vegetation Inventory Program (VIP), with cooperative support from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Vegetation Characterization Program (VCP) to classify and map plant communities of SLBE. The goals of the project are to adequately describe and map plant communities of SLBE and its immediate surroundings and to provide the NPS Natural Resource Inventory and Monitoring (I&M) Program, resource managers, and biological researchers with useful baseline vegetation information.

The National Park Service initiated a restoration project at Saugus Iron Works National Historic Site to restore the historic turning basin and wetland area adjacent to the Saugus River in 2007. To fulfill regulatory requirements and enhance understanding of freshwater wetland restoration practices, an intensive, pre- and post-restoration monitoring program was implemented. This report summarizes monitoring data collected prior to the restoration and the first year (2008) after restoration. Data summaries included in this report describe the status of biotic (e.g., vegetation, nekton, avian, benthic invertebrate, and vegetation communities) and abiotic parameters (e.g., tidal hydrology, river geomorphology, sediment, and water quality). This is first of several monitoring reports associated with the restoration of the turning basin and wetlands at Saugus Iron Works National Historic Site.

This report summarizes results of the Sonoran Desert Network's first season of terrestrial vegetation and soils monitoring in upland areas of Fort Bowie National Historic Site (NHS), in southeastern Arizona. Ten permanent field-monitoring sites were established and sampled in 2008. Our objectives were to determine the status of and detect trends, over five-year intervals, in vegetation cover, frequency, soil cover, and surface soil stability.

The Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore (PIRO) vegetation mapping project is an initiative of the National Park Service (NPS) Vegetation Inventory Program (VIP), with cooperative support from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Vegetation Characterization Program (VCP) to classify and map plant communities of PIRO. The goals of the project are to adequately describe and map plant communities of PIRO and immediate surroundings and to provide the NPS Natural Resource Inventory and Monitoring (I&M) Program, resource managers, and biological researchers with useful baseline vegetation information.

This book discusses Turkey's karst systems' most critical features, one of the world's most important karst areas. This publication has been prepared to assist geologists and professionals working in karst areas by solving several different problems, for example, to conduct groundwater analysis in regions with karstic depressions and examine subsidence problems through geotechnical and hydrogeological studies to solve dams' technical challenges from Karstic areas.

During 2006 through 2009 the National Park Service Great Lakes Inventory and Monitoring Network and its partners assessed levels of targeted environmental contaminants in bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) nestlings at sites in and adjacent to the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore, Mississippi National River and Recreation Area, and St. Croix National Scenic Riverway.

Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument is located in central New Mexico near the town of Mountainair. Gran Quivira was established as a National Monument in 1909, with Abo and Quarai park units established in 1980 (NPS 1984). The three units were redesignated as Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument in 1987. The Monument was established to "set apart and preserve for the benefit and enjoyment of the American People the ruins of prehistoric Indian pueblos and associated seventeenth century Franciscan Spanish mission ruins" (NPS 2006). The specific objectives of this project were to complete an exotic plant inventory, collect voucher specimens for new exotic species in the park, and write a report on exotic plant species occurring in Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument. This information may then be incorporated into future weed management projects to restore and preserve the vegetation and cultural landscape.

The NPS I&M program grouped national parks across the United States into 32 networks and, in 2000, initiated the inventory phase of the I&M program. The first task was to create a biological inventory plan to cover this five-year phase aimed at determining the status of vertebrates and vascular plants in U.S. national parks. Following I&M guidelines, Yosemite, Sequoia, Kings Canyon, and USGS staff produced the plan in 2001, defining goals, policy, and specific projects for implementation (NPS 2001). They followed a prescribed process to, first, determine the level of knowledge regarding vertebrate and vascular plant occurrence in parks and then to address the status of species of special management concern. They interpreted the latter as special-status taxa and non-native plants and animals. Among the projects identified for Yosemite was determining the status of special-status vascular plant species. This report details the results of that two-year project implemented by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) under an inter-agency agreement with the National Park Service.

This report summarizes provisional data collected by the Sonoran Desert Network during the first two seasons of terrestrial vegetation and soils monitoring in upland areas of the Rincon Mountain District of Saguaro National Park, in southern Arizona. Twenty-five permanent monitoring sites were sampled. This report summarizes effort to date, evaluates the sampling design in the context of our monitoring objectives, and suggests modifications to the design.

This document details the objectives of current monitoring program including 1) determine the status and trends of invertebrate species diversity, abundance, and community metrics, and 2) relate the invertebrate community to overall water quality through quantification of metrics related to species richness, abundance, diversity, and region-specific multi-metric indices as indicators of water quality and habitat condition.

This report summarizes results of the Sonoran Desert Network's first season of terrestrial vegetation and soils monitoring in upland areas of Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument (NM), in southwestern New Mexico. Ten permanent field-monitoring sites were established and sampled in 2009. Our objectives were to determine the status of and detect trends, over five-year intervals, in vegetation cover, vegetation frequency, soil cover, and surface soil stability.

In spite of the UN Convention, riparian nations pitch their respective claims and counterclaims based on their interest and interpretation. Water as an instrument and tool of bargain and trade-off will assume predominance because the political stakes are high. The book attempts to analyse the water relations and the existing problems due to some of the ongoing projects.