Publications

No abstract available.

We compared Englemann spruce biogeochemical processes in forest stands east and west of the Continental Divide in the Colorado Front Range. The divide forms a natural barrier for air pollutants such that nitrogen (N) emissions from the agricultural and urban areas of the South Platte River Basin are transported via upslope winds to high elevations on the east side but rarely cross over...

Estimation of avian nest survival has traditionally involved simple measures of apparent nest survival or Mayfield constant-nest-survival models. However, these methods do not allow researchers to build models that rigorously assess the importance of a wide range of biological factors that affect nest survival. Models that incorporate greater detail, such as temporal variation in nest...

The impact of three vegetation management strategies on wetland treatment function and mosquito production was assessed in eight free water surface wetland test cells in southern California during 1998–1999. The effectiveness of the strategies to limit bulrush Schoenoplectus californicus culm density within the cells was also investigated. Removing accumulated emergent biomass and...

Riparian vegetation in western North America provides important habitat for breeding birds and valuable forage for grazing livestock. Whereas a number of studies have documented the response of riparian vegetation to the removal of cattle, few have experimentally evaluated specific grazing systems. We evaluated the responses of vegetation and breeding birds to two cycles of late-season...

This project addressed potential contributions of forest thinning to enhancing biodiversity and accelerating development of old-growth characteristics in relatively young Douglas-fir forests typical of those managed according to the Northwest Forest Plan. Studies focused primarily on 32 paired unthinned and thinned stands and 20 associated old-growth stands in the Coast Range and Cascade...

The geomorphic effectiveness of extreme floods increases with aridity and decreasing watershed size. Therefore, in small dry watersheds extreme floods should control the age structure and spatial distribution of populations of disturbance-dependent riparian trees. We examined the influence of extreme floods on the bottomland morphology and forest of ephemeral streams in a semiarid region...

Relatively little is known about the response of grassland rodent populations to urban and suburban edges. We live-trapped rodents for three summers on 65 3.1-ha grassland plots on open space of the city of Boulder, Colorado, and compared capture rates among species according to habitat type, percentage of the 40 ha surrounding each plot that was suburbanized, and proximity to a suburban...

Elimination of large predators and reduced hunter harvest have led to concerns that an increasing elk (Cervus elaphus) population may be adversely affecting vegetation on the low-elevation elk winter range of Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado, USA. Beaver (Castor canadensis) and their impoundments also have declined dramatically (94%) in the same area over the past 50 years...

During the fall of 1998, scientists from the Midcontinent Ecological Science Center (MESC) of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) a?? sent a survey by mail to residents in southwest Colorado and northwest New Mexico to better understand quality of life issues in this area of the Colorado Plateau. Collaborators in this study included the Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Forest Service...

Researchers examined the fish communities of the Colorado and San Juan river interface zones of Lake Powell during 1999 and 2000. The objectives were to: (1) search for young razorback sucker and Colorado pikeminnow and, if found, RIT tag them; (2) examine the effectiveness of the various collection techniques on juvenile native fish; and (3) describe the fish communities found in these

Review of: Environmental Change in Mountains and Uplands. Martin Beniston. ISBN13: 9780340706367, ISBN10: 0340706368. Paperback, 192 pages. May 2000.