Integrating Science and Adaptive Land Management
Science Center Objects
Widespread habitat deterioration due to fire and invasive species in the Great Basin have created a need for coordination across land agencies and between science and management activities in the Great Basin.
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Date published: November 16, 2017Status: ActivePlant-Soil-Environment Laboratory (FRESC)
We produce basic and applied science needed to manage landscapes in ways that make them resistant and resilient to stressors such as wildfire, exotic plant invasions, drought, and temperature extremes. These stressors impact ecosystem productivity and functioning and pose costly risks to human health and safety in the western United States. We team with other state and federal agencies to find...
Contacts: Matthew J GerminoAttribution: Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center
The ecological uncertainty of wildfire fuel breaks: examples from the sagebrush steppe
Fuel breaks are increasingly being implemented at broad scales (100s to 10,000s of square kilometers) in fire‐prone landscapes globally, yet there is little scientific information available regarding their ecological effects (eg habitat fragmentation). Fuel breaks are designed to reduce flammable vegetation (ie fuels), increase the safety and...
Shinneman, Douglas J.; Germino, Matthew J.; Pilliod, David S.; Aldridge, Cameron L.; Vaillant, Nicole; Coates, Peter S. Can’t see the random forest for the decision trees: Selecting predictive models for restoration ecology
Improving predictions of restoration outcomes is increasingly important to resource managers for accountability and adaptive management, yet there is limited guidance for selecting a predictive model from the multitude available. The goal of this paper was to identify an optimal predictive framework for restoration ecology using eleven modeling...
Barnard, David; Germino, Matthew; Pilliod, David; Arkle, Robert; Applestein, Cara; Davidson, Bill; Fisk, Matthew Adapting management to a changing world: Warm temperatures, dry soil, and interannual variability limit restoration success of a dominant woody shrub in temperate drylands
Restoration and rehabilitation of native vegetation in dryland ecosystems, which encompass over 40% of terrestrial ecosystems, is a common challenge that continues to grow as wildfire and biological invasions transform dryland plant communities. The difficulty in part stems from low and variable precipitation, combined with limited understanding...
Shriver, Robert K.; Andrews, Caitlin M.; Pilliod, David S.; Arkle, Robert; Welty, Justin; Germino, Matthew J.; Duniway, Michael C.; Pyke, David A.; Bradford, John B.
A conservation paradox in the Great Basin—Altering sagebrush landscapes with fuel breaks to reduce habitat loss from wildfire
Interactions between fire and nonnative, annual plant species (that is, “the grass/fire cycle”) represent one of the greatest threats to sagebrush (Artemisia spp.) ecosystems and associated wildlife, including the greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus). In 2015, U.S. Department of the Interior called for a “science-based strategy to...
Shinneman, Douglas J.; Aldridge, Cameron L.; Coates, Peter S.; Germino, Matthew J.; Pilliod, David S.; Vaillant, Nicole M. Spectrophotometry of Artemisia tridentata to quantitatively determine subspecies
Ecological restoration is predicated on our abilities to discern plant taxa. Taxonomic identification is a first step in ensuring that plants are appropriately adapted to the site. An example of the need to identify taxonomic differences comes from big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata). This species is composed of three predominant subspecies...
Richardson, Bryce; Boyd, Alicia; Tobiasson, Tanner; Germino, Matthew J. Weather-centric rangeland revegetation planning
Invasive annual weeds negatively impact ecosystem services and pose a major conservation threat on semiarid rangelands throughout the western United States. Rehabilitation of these rangelands is challenging due to interannual climate and subseasonal weather variability that impacts seed germination, seedling survival and establishment, annual weed...
Hardegree, Stuart P.; Abatzoglou, John T.; Brunson, Mark W.; Germino, Matthew J.; Hegewisch, Katherine C.; Moffet, Corey A.; Pilliod, David S.; Roundy, Bruce A.; Boehm, Alex R.; Meredith, Gwendwr R. Methodological considerations regarding online extraction of water from soils for stable isotope determination
No abstract available.
Lazarus, Brynne E.; Germino, Matthew J. Aerodynamic roughness length estimation with lidar and imaging spectroscopy in a shrub-dominated dryland
The aerodynamic roughness length (Z0 m) serves an important role in the flux exchange between the land surface and atmosphere. In this study, airborne lidar (ALS), terrestrial lidar (TLS), and imaging spectroscopy data were integrated to develop and test two approaches to estimate Z0 m over a shrub dominated dryland study area in...
Li, Aihua; Zhao, Wenguang; Mitchell, Jessica J; Glenn, Nancy F.; Germino, Matthew J.; Sankey, Joel B.; Allen, Richard M. Ecosystem impacts of exotic annual invaders in the Genus Bromus
An understanding of the impacts of exotic plant species on ecosystems is necessary to justify and guide efforts to limit their spread, restore natives, and plan for conservation. Invasive annual grasses such as Bromus tectorum, B. rubens, B. hordeaceus, and B. diandrus (hereafter collectively referred to as Bromus)...
Germino, Matthew J.; Belnap, Jayne; Stark, John M.; Allen, Edith B.; Rau, Benjamin M. Introduction: Exotic Annual Bromus in the Western USA
The spread and impacts of exotic species are unambiguous, global threats to many ecosystems. A prominent example is the suite of annual grasses in the Bromus genus (Bromus hereafter) that originate from Europe and Eurasia but have invaded or are invading large areas of the Western USA. This book brings a diverse, multidisciplinary group of authors...
Germino, Matthew J.; Chambers, Jeanne C.; Brown, Cynthia S. Plant community resistance to invasion by Bromus species – the roles of community attributes, Bromus Interactions with plant communities, and Bromus traits
The factors that determine plant community resistance to exotic annual Bromus species (Bromushereafter) are diverse and context specific. They are influenced by the environmental characteristics and attributes of the community, the traits of Bromus species, and the direct and indirect interactions of Bromus with the plant community. Environmental...
Chambers, Jeanne; Germino, Matthew J.; Belnap, Jayne; Brown, Cynthia; Schupp, Eugene W.; St. Clair, Samuel B Successes and challenges from formation to implementation of eleven broad-extent conservation programs
Integration of conservation partnerships across geographic, biological, and administrative boundaries is increasingly relevant because drivers of change, such as climate shifts, transcend these boundaries. We explored successes and challenges of established conservation programs that span multiple watersheds and consider both social and ecological...
Beever, Erik A.; Bradford, John B.; Germino, Matthew J.; Mattsson, Brady J.; Post van der Burg, Max; Brunson, Mark
New Invasive Annual Grass Book Addresses Critical Questions for the Western U.S.
BOISE, Idaho — Bromus species – such as cheatgrass – are exotic annual grasses that have become the dominant annual grasses in the western hemisphere. Their spread and impacts across the western U.S. continue despite the many attempts by land managers to control these species.
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Date published: July 9, 2018Environmental Factors Affect Success of Sagebrush Reseeding Efforts
In the western U.S., big sagebrush ecosystems provide habitat for about 350 species of conservation concern, but are sensitive to disturbance and are in decline. Big sagebrush ecosystems have low and variable precipitation, which makes restoration a challenge.
Attribution: Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center