Invasive Species

Land management treatments in sagebrush steppe are an important opportunity to break the annual-grass fire cycle, provided they offer long-lasting resistance to annual-grass invasion and do not burn. However, for areas seeded as part of the Emergency Stabilization and Rehabilitation (ESR) program-- one of the largest programs for land management treatments-- about 1/4 have at least partially...

City of Rocks National Reserve and Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve are lands managed by the National Park Service that contain ecologically valuable stands of sagebrush and unique forest communities that are at risk due to wildfire and invasion by exotic annual grasses. We are working to determine the extent of invasion and to provide park managers with wildfire risk assessments...

Land managers require clear, forward-looking information about where and how vegetation treatments may make the greatest difference for drought resilience in sagebrush and woodland ecosystems. We are using soil moisture and vegetation data from SageSTEP-- a long-term ecological study on fuel treatments in the Great Basin-- to analyze soil moisture dynamics and vegetation responses after common...

We are studying how herbicides sprayed onto soil to prevent the establishment of exotic annual grasses such as cheatgrass may impact the health, growth resources and microbiota of soils in sagebrush-steppe, where herbicide use is an important and common tool. Our findings will help make herbicide applications more successful.

Pre-emergent herbicides applied to soil are a primary tool for reducing exotic annual grasses, such as cheatgrass, in sagebrush steppe rangelands. Effective herbicide application can allow existing perennials to grow and spread to outcompete cheatgrass, preventing reinvasion, but most perennials are slow-growing and require more years of relief from annual-grass competition than standard...

In order to break the annual grass fire-cycle in the sagebrush steppe, land managers use pre-emergent herbicides to reduce annual grass populations and seeding to increase fire-tolerant perennials. These tools must be applied to the same soils in ways that are not counterproductive, and their application must therefore be staggered in time, which we refer to as layering. Livestock grazing can also...

Management partners have identified a major need to understand the short and long-term consequences of altered wildfire patterns, vegetation change, climate change, and management actions for the carbon cycle. This project aims to quantify carbon storage and greenhouse gas emissions in sagebrush rangelands. Researchers will link findings to the Sagebrush Conservation Design Framework and provide...

Seeding and herbicide treatments are a key aspect of the strategy used to break the annual grass-fire cycle in sagebrush steppe. However, past studies report considerable variability in the effectiveness of seeding and herbicide treatments. To generate a more consistent interpretation of post-fire herbicide and seeding effects, we are compiling, reviewing, and synthesizing findings from past...

The Herpetological Research Team is using acoustic surveys and eDNA methods to evaluate the progress of invasive bullfrog removal and Oregon spotted frog recovery.

The Herpetological Research Team is recording audio in areas where American bullfrogs have invaded to learn more about where and when they are breeding and inform managers tasked with controlling their spread.

The Herpetological Research Team at the USGS Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center uses innovative tools to investigate the invasion and spread of American bullfrogs in Washington and Oregon and understand how bullfrogs are interacting with native amphibians.

The USGS has developed the Rapid environmental (e)DNA Assessment and Deployment Initiative & Network (READI-Net) to accelerate the implementation of environmental DNA (eDNA) analysis as a best practice for the early detection of aquatic biological threats. READI-Net provides tools and a strategy to collect and deliver early detection data for natural resource managers and public health protection...