Restoration of Shrub Steppe Ecosystems Active
This research theme provides land managers information to help them make restoration decision at local and landscape scales.
Millions of acres of shrub-grassland ecosystems are in need of restoration in the western United States. For lands degraded by invasive annual grasses, we have been studying best management practices for restoring ecosystem function through using either native or introduced plant species. On lands with degraded herbaceous layers, we are attempting to restore grasses and forbs without destroying the shrubs. In addition, we are providing land managers with handbooks to use in making restoration decisions at local and landscape scales.
Click here to return to FRESC Restoration and Ecology of Arid Lands Team.
Below are other science projects associated with this project.
Below are publications associated with this project.
Western juniper and ponderosa pine ecotonal climate-growth relationships across landscape gradients in southern Oregon
Defoliation effects on Bromus tectorum seed production: Implications for grazing
Biotic soil crusts in relation to topography, cheatgrass, and fire in the Columbia Basin, Washington
Short-term responses of desert soil and vegetation to removal of feral burros and domestic cattle (California)
Establishing native grasses in a big sagebrush-dominated site: An intermediate restoration step
Plant invaders, global change and landscape restoration
Available nitrogen: A time-based study of manipulated resource islands
Science for the changing Great Basin
Effects of invasive alien plants on fire regimes
The effect of stochiastic technique on estimates of population viability from transition matrix models
Restoring forbs for sage grouse habitat: Fire, microsites, and establishment methods
Born of fire - restoring sagebrush steppe
- Overview
This research theme provides land managers information to help them make restoration decision at local and landscape scales.
Millions of acres of shrub-grassland ecosystems are in need of restoration in the western United States. For lands degraded by invasive annual grasses, we have been studying best management practices for restoring ecosystem function through using either native or introduced plant species. On lands with degraded herbaceous layers, we are attempting to restore grasses and forbs without destroying the shrubs. In addition, we are providing land managers with handbooks to use in making restoration decisions at local and landscape scales.
Click here to return to FRESC Restoration and Ecology of Arid Lands Team.
- Science
Below are other science projects associated with this project.
- Publications
Below are publications associated with this project.
Filter Total Items: 47Western juniper and ponderosa pine ecotonal climate-growth relationships across landscape gradients in southern Oregon
Forecasts of climate change for the Pacific northwestern United States predict warmer temperatures, increased winter precipitation, and drier summers. Prediction of forest growth responses to these climate fluctuations requires identification of climatic variables limiting tree growth, particularly at limits of free species distributions. We addressed this problem at the pine-woodland ecotone usinAuthorsK.C. Knutson, D.A. PykeDefoliation effects on Bromus tectorum seed production: Implications for grazing
Cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum L.) is an invasive annual grass that creates near-homogenous stands in areas throughout the Intermountain sagebrush steppe and challenges successful native plant restoration in these areas. A clipping experiment carried out at two cheatgrass-dominated sites in eastern Oregon (Lincoln Bench and Succor Creek) evaluated defoliation as a potential control method for cheatgrAuthorsK. Hempy-Mayer, D.A. PykeBiotic soil crusts in relation to topography, cheatgrass, and fire in the Columbia Basin, Washington
We studied lichen and bryophyte soil crust communities in a large public grazing allotment within a sagebrush steppe ecosystem in which the biotic soil crusts are largely intact. The allotment had been rested from grazing for 12 years, but experienced an extensive series of wildfires. In the 350, 4 x 0.5 m plots, stratified by topographic position, we found 60 species or species groups that can beAuthorsJeanne Ponzetti, B. McCune, David A. PykeShort-term responses of desert soil and vegetation to removal of feral burros and domestic cattle (California)
No abstract available.AuthorsErik A. Beever, David A. PykeEstablishing native grasses in a big sagebrush-dominated site: An intermediate restoration step
Many semiarid rangelands in the Great Basin, U.S.A., are shifting dominance to woody species as a consequence of land degradation including intense livestock grazing and fire suppression. Whereas past rehabilitation efforts in Big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata) steppes removed the shrub and added introduced forage grasses to successfully shift communities from shrublands to grasslands, current cAuthorsElisabeth Huber-Sannwald, David A. PykePlant invaders, global change and landscape restoration
Modifications in land uses, technology, transportation and biogeochemical cycles currently influence the spread of organisms by reducing the barriers that once restricted their movements. We provide an overview of the spatial and temporal extent for agents of environmental change (land and disturbance transformations, biogeochemical modifications, biotic additions and losses) and highlight those tAuthorsD.A. Pyke, S.T. KnickAvailable nitrogen: A time-based study of manipulated resource islands
Spatial and temporal heterogeneity of available nitrogen are critical determinants of the distribution and abundance of plants and animals in ecosystems. Evidence for the resource island theory suggests that soils below tree and shrub canopies contain higher amounts of resources, including available nitrogen, than are present in interspace areas. Disturbances, such as prescribed fire and tree remoAuthorsMichelle M. Stubbs, David A. PykeScience for the changing Great Basin
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), with its multidisciplinary structure and role as a federal science organization, is well suited to provide integrated science in the Great Basin of the western United States. A research strategy developed by the USGS and collaborating partners addresses critical management issues in the basin, including invasive species, status and trends of wildlife populationsAuthorsErik Beever, David A. PykeEffects of invasive alien plants on fire regimes
Plant invasions are widely recognized as significant threats to biodiversity conservation worldwide. One way invasions can affect native ecosystems is by changing fuel properties, which can in turn affect fire behavior and, ultimately, alter fire regime characteristics such as frequency, intensity, extent, type, and seasonality of fire. If the regime changes subsequently promote the dominance of tAuthorsM.L. Brooks, C. M. D'Antonio, D.M. Richardson, J.M. DiTomaso, J.B. Grace, R.J. Hobbs, J. E. Keeley, M. Pellant, D. PykeThe effect of stochiastic technique on estimates of population viability from transition matrix models
Population viability analysis is an important tool for conservation biologists, and matrix models that incorporate stochasticity are commonly used for this purpose. However, stochastic simulations may require assumptions about the distribution of matrix parameters, and modelers often select a statistical distribution that seems reasonable without sufficient data to test its fit. We used data fromAuthorsT.N. Kaye, David A. PykeRestoring forbs for sage grouse habitat: Fire, microsites, and establishment methods
The decline and range reduction of sage grouse populations are primarily due to permanent loss and degradation of sagebrush–grassland habitat. Several studies have shown that sage grouse productivity may be limited by the availability of certain preferred highly nutritious forb species that have also declined within sagebrush ecosystems of the Intermountain West, U.S.A. The purpose of this study wAuthorsTroy A. Wirth, David A. PykeBorn of fire - restoring sagebrush steppe
Fire is a natural feature of sagebrush grasslands in the Great Basin. The invasion of exotic annual grasses, such as Bromus tectorum (cheatgrass), has changed the environment in these ecosystems. Invasive annual grasses provide a dense and continuous source of fuel that extends the season for fires and increases the frequency of fires in the region. Frequent fires eventually eliminate the native sAuthorsDavid A. Pyke