Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center (FRESC)
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Scientists from the Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center capitalize on their diverse expertise to answer scientific questions shaped by the environments of the western United States. We collaborate with each other and with partners to provide rigorous, objective, and timely information and guidance for the management and conservation of biological systems in the West and worldwide.
FRESC Research Teams
FRESC scientists, individually or collaboratively with partners, investigate high-priority questions about biological systems.
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Protocol for Describing Indicators of Rangeland Health
Assessing rangeland health is useful from a land management perspective in providing a baseline or early indicator of degradation and for prioritizing habitat across a landscape for restoration.
A Unified Research Strategy for Disease Management
As wildlife diseases increase globally, an understanding of host-pathogen relationships can elucidate avenues for management and improve conservation efficacy. Amphibians are among the most threatened groups of wildlife, and disease is a major factor in global amphibian declines.
Effects of Nitrogen and Sulfur Deposition on Tree Growth, Survival, and Carbon Sequestration Across the U.S.
There is scientific controversy about whether nitrogen deposition increases forest carbon sequestration. All tree species do not exhibit the same response to nitrogen and responses may be complicated by interactions with biotic and other abiotic factors such as sulfur deposition.
Publications
GenEst user guide—Software for a generalized estimator of mortality
GenEst (Generalized Estimator) is a software tool for estimating the total number of individuals arriving in an area during a specific time period when their detection probability is unknown but estimable. Its development was motivated by the need to accurately estimate the total number of bird and bat fatalities occurring at wind and solar energy...
Simonis, Juniper; Dalthorp, Daniel; Huso, Manuela; Mintz, Jeffrey; Madsen, Lisa; Rabie, Paul; Studyvin, Jared
GenEst statistical models—A generalized estimator of mortality
IntroductionGenEst (a generalized estimator of mortality) is a suite of statistical models and software tools for generalized mortality estimation. It was specifically designed for estimating the number of bird and bat fatalities at solar and wind power facilities, but both the software (Dalthorp and others, 2018) and the underlying statistical...
Dalthorp, Daniel; Madsen, Lisa; Huso, Manuela; Rabie, Paul; Wolpert, Robert; Studyvin, Jared; Simonis, Juniper; Mintz, Jeffrey
Resiliency of biological soil crusts and vascular plants varies among morphogroups with disturbance intensity
Background and aimsDisturbance affects the ability of organisms to persist on a site, and disturbance history acts as a filter of community composition. This is true for vascular plants and morphological groups of biocrusts, which respond differently to disturbance. Although functioning arid ecosystems include both groups, filtering of...
Condon, Lea A.; Pyke, David A.