Genetics for Western Restoration and Conservation (GWRC) Active
Research using genetic principles, methods, and data provides critical information for restoration and conservation science. Genetic research may rely only upon genomic sequencing techniques, which generate abundant, genome-wide DNA sequences that can provide a glimpse into a species’ evolutionary history and adaptations.
Genetic research may also look at an organism’s physical traits to understand if and how they are passed from parents to offspring. Both types of research help address questions such as: How are species related to one another?; How often do populations within a species breed with one another?; What physical traits help individuals to survive in their habitat?; How have species responded to past climatic changes, and what does this tell us about how they may respond to future changes?
Such research provides crucial knowledge when seeking successful restoration and conservation outcomes. Research by the Genetics for Western Restoration and Conservation (GWRC) group addresses these needs both for species of conservation concern and for common species that are the workhorses for restoration of degraded lands across the western United States.
Background and Importance
The western United States (US) encompasses dynamic landscapes that span tremendous climatological and ecological gradients.
Especially across lower elevations, landscapes are hot, dry, and subject to unpredictable precipitation; such landscapes with dryland environments dominate the western US and are disproportionately managed by the Department of Interior and other federal agencies.
Furthermore, the region’s complex topography has shaped species’ patterns of morphological and genetic variation due to their responses to historical events like glaciations that occurred more than 20,000 years ago.
Such processes help explain the abundance of regionally unique species, some of which have extremely restricted distributions.
Contemporary disturbances such as severe drought and high grazing pressures continue to cause changes in species’ distributions and population sizes. Couple these with increasing human pressures and negative impacts from exotic species, and it is evident that the western US has an increasing need for conservation measures supporting existing biological diversity and restoration for the species and ecosystem functions that have been degraded or lost.
Genetic and Genomic Approaches Facilitating Western Restoration
Dryland ecosystems cover more than one third of Earth’s land surface, are home to nearly 3 billion people, and are rapidly expanding in response to climate change and other human pressures.
Moreover, larger and more frequent disturbances have increased the rate of degradation of dryland plant communities and, hence, the need for their restoration.
Restoring drylands across the western United States is notoriously challenging due to highly variable and unpredictable precipitation.
While there are many challenges to achieving successful restoration outcomes, a fundamental component is using genetically appropriate native plant restoration materials.
‘Native plant restoration material’ describes many types of products used in restoration treatments, but they are most commonly represented by native plant seeds produced in large quantities on farms.
Genetically appropriate native plant seeds are adapted to survive and reproduce in the habitats where they are used and support other organisms in the local community.
In addition, they represent natural patterns of genetic variation present in conspecifics at a restoration site. Genetic variation is an important component of biodiversity to conserve because it increases ecosystem resilience (the ability to bounce back after a disturbance), the healthy functioning of local communities, and provides a reservoir of unique solutions to help species and their populations adapt to future changes.
The GWRC group conducts both field-based (i.e., phenotypic, or trait-based) experiments and landscape genomic analyses to support native plant materials development and the appropriate transfer of native plant materials across the western United States.
Click here to find out more about the application of genetics and genomics to restoration projects.
Genomic Research Supporting Western Conservation
Genomic variation (i.e., variation in DNA sequence or structure across the individuals of a species) is a crucial component of a species’ ability to thrive throughout its native habitat and adapt to future challenges (e.g., diseases, changing climates, and human disturbances).
While common and widespread species often have high genetic diversity, rare species are vulnerable to inbreeding and chance events (for example, a natural disturbance that impacts a large part of a species’ distribution), which may lead to a disproportionate loss of genetic diversity.
Loss of genetic diversity may compromise a species’ genetic ‘health’, leaving them vulnerable to local extirpation or complete extinction.
The western United States hosts a wide diversity of rare and endemic species facing threats from ongoing drought and increasing extreme temperatures to habitat destruction and the spread of invasive species.
The GWRC group studies genomic variation of rare and threatened species across this region in unprecedented detail. Research approaches capitalize on state-of-the-art genome sequencing technologies and advanced bioinformatic and analytical tools to 1) identify relevant biological units for management, 2) infer evolutionary and ecological processes shaping genomic variation across species’ distributions, and 3) develop informed strategies to preserve or increase the genomic health of plant and animal populations.
Click here to find out more about the application of genomics to conservation projects.
Below are other science projects associated with this project.
Colorado Plateau Extreme Drought in Grassland Experiment (EDGE)
Southwest Energy Exploration, Development, and Reclamation (SWEDR)
Informing seed transfer guidelines and native plant materials development: Research supporting restoration across the Colorado Plateau and beyond
Genomic Research Supporting Western Conservation
Well Pad Reclamation and Research
RestoreNet: Distributed Field Trial Network for Dryland Restoration
Colorado Plateau Native Plant Program Field Trial Study
New Approaches for Restoring Colorado Plateau Grasslands
RAMPS: Restoration Assessment & Monitoring Program for the Southwest
- Overview
Research using genetic principles, methods, and data provides critical information for restoration and conservation science. Genetic research may rely only upon genomic sequencing techniques, which generate abundant, genome-wide DNA sequences that can provide a glimpse into a species’ evolutionary history and adaptations.
Genetic research may also look at an organism’s physical traits to understand if and how they are passed from parents to offspring. Both types of research help address questions such as: How are species related to one another?; How often do populations within a species breed with one another?; What physical traits help individuals to survive in their habitat?; How have species responded to past climatic changes, and what does this tell us about how they may respond to future changes?
Such research provides crucial knowledge when seeking successful restoration and conservation outcomes. Research by the Genetics for Western Restoration and Conservation (GWRC) group addresses these needs both for species of conservation concern and for common species that are the workhorses for restoration of degraded lands across the western United States.
Sources/Usage: Public Domain. View Media DetailsYellow bee plant (Cleome lutea) visited by a monarch butterfly. (Credit: Shannon Lencioni, USGS Southwest Biological Science Center. Public domain.) Background and Importance
The western United States (US) encompasses dynamic landscapes that span tremendous climatological and ecological gradients.
Especially across lower elevations, landscapes are hot, dry, and subject to unpredictable precipitation; such landscapes with dryland environments dominate the western US and are disproportionately managed by the Department of Interior and other federal agencies.
Furthermore, the region’s complex topography has shaped species’ patterns of morphological and genetic variation due to their responses to historical events like glaciations that occurred more than 20,000 years ago.
Such processes help explain the abundance of regionally unique species, some of which have extremely restricted distributions.
Contemporary disturbances such as severe drought and high grazing pressures continue to cause changes in species’ distributions and population sizes. Couple these with increasing human pressures and negative impacts from exotic species, and it is evident that the western US has an increasing need for conservation measures supporting existing biological diversity and restoration for the species and ecosystem functions that have been degraded or lost.
Sources/Usage: Public Domain. View Media DetailsGraham’s beardtongue (Penstemon grahamii), a showy, narrowly endemic forb in the Uinta Basin (Credit: Shannon Lencioni, USGS Southwest Biological Science Center. Public domain.) Genetic and Genomic Approaches Facilitating Western Restoration
Dryland ecosystems cover more than one third of Earth’s land surface, are home to nearly 3 billion people, and are rapidly expanding in response to climate change and other human pressures.
Moreover, larger and more frequent disturbances have increased the rate of degradation of dryland plant communities and, hence, the need for their restoration.
Restoring drylands across the western United States is notoriously challenging due to highly variable and unpredictable precipitation.
While there are many challenges to achieving successful restoration outcomes, a fundamental component is using genetically appropriate native plant restoration materials.
‘Native plant restoration material’ describes many types of products used in restoration treatments, but they are most commonly represented by native plant seeds produced in large quantities on farms.
Genetically appropriate native plant seeds are adapted to survive and reproduce in the habitats where they are used and support other organisms in the local community.
In addition, they represent natural patterns of genetic variation present in conspecifics at a restoration site. Genetic variation is an important component of biodiversity to conserve because it increases ecosystem resilience (the ability to bounce back after a disturbance), the healthy functioning of local communities, and provides a reservoir of unique solutions to help species and their populations adapt to future changes.
The GWRC group conducts both field-based (i.e., phenotypic, or trait-based) experiments and landscape genomic analyses to support native plant materials development and the appropriate transfer of native plant materials across the western United States.
Click here to find out more about the application of genetics and genomics to restoration projects.
Sources/Usage: Public Domain. View Media DetailsOn the hunt for small-leaf globemallow (Sphaeralcea parvifolia), a priority restoration species.(Credit: Shannon Lencioni, USGS Southwest Biological Science Center. Public domain.) Genomic Research Supporting Western Conservation
Genomic variation (i.e., variation in DNA sequence or structure across the individuals of a species) is a crucial component of a species’ ability to thrive throughout its native habitat and adapt to future challenges (e.g., diseases, changing climates, and human disturbances).
While common and widespread species often have high genetic diversity, rare species are vulnerable to inbreeding and chance events (for example, a natural disturbance that impacts a large part of a species’ distribution), which may lead to a disproportionate loss of genetic diversity.
Loss of genetic diversity may compromise a species’ genetic ‘health’, leaving them vulnerable to local extirpation or complete extinction.
The western United States hosts a wide diversity of rare and endemic species facing threats from ongoing drought and increasing extreme temperatures to habitat destruction and the spread of invasive species.
The GWRC group studies genomic variation of rare and threatened species across this region in unprecedented detail. Research approaches capitalize on state-of-the-art genome sequencing technologies and advanced bioinformatic and analytical tools to 1) identify relevant biological units for management, 2) infer evolutionary and ecological processes shaping genomic variation across species’ distributions, and 3) develop informed strategies to preserve or increase the genomic health of plant and animal populations.
Click here to find out more about the application of genomics to conservation projects.
- Science
Below are other science projects associated with this project.
Colorado Plateau Extreme Drought in Grassland Experiment (EDGE)
In drylands, short-term extreme droughts can have profound ecosystem effects, depending on the timing (seasonality) of drought and the sensitivities of the dominant plants and plant functional types. Past work suggests that cool season drought may disproportionately impact regionally important grass and shrub species. In this study, we are examining the impacts of extreme seasonal drought on...Southwest Energy Exploration, Development, and Reclamation (SWEDR)
Approximately 35% of the US and approximately 82% of DOI lands are “drylands” found throughout the western US. These lands contain oil, gas, oil shale, shale oil, and tar sand deposits and the exploration for and extraction of these resources has resulted in hundreds of thousands of operating and abandoned wells across the West. These arid and semi-arid lands have unique soil and plant communities...Informing seed transfer guidelines and native plant materials development: Research supporting restoration across the Colorado Plateau and beyond
As restoration needs for natural landscapes grow due to higher frequency and/or intensity disturbances, pressure from invasive species, and impacts resulting from changing climates, considerable time and resources are being invested to guide the development and deployment of native plant materials (NPMs). Across lower elevations of the Colorado Plateau, a region composed primarily of public land...Genomic Research Supporting Western Conservation
In the western United States (U.S.), there are many regionally restricted, rare species resulting from complex demographic and ecological processes through time. In addition to the inherent risks associated with being rare (i.e., having few individuals spread over a limited area that could be disproportionately affected by chance events), anthropogenic disturbances are increasing in magnitude...Well Pad Reclamation and Research
Reclamation on lands impacted by energy development is complicated and extremely challenging in arid environments due to unstable soils, exotic species, and low and variable precipitation. The reclamation tactics employed by energy operators vary widely and outcomes can differ across plant communities and soil types. In order to address the knowledge gaps regarding how to successfully and...RestoreNet: Distributed Field Trial Network for Dryland Restoration
Starting in 2017, U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) researchers and land managers are co-producing a network of restoration field trial sites on Department of Interior (DOI) and surrounding lands in the southwestern U.S. The network systematically tests restoration treatments across a broad range of landscape, soil, and climate conditions. Each site in the network is used to test suitable seed mixes...Colorado Plateau Native Plant Program Field Trial Study
In the southwest US, monsoon precipitation increases sharply along a northwest to southeast gradient. Pleuraphis jamesii or galleta grass, is an important C4 grass species that spans across this large range in precipitation pattern. In this study we are assessing the ability of galleta grass to adapt to changes in the seasonality of rainfall (termed “plasticity”). In the fall of 2014, we...New Approaches for Restoring Colorado Plateau Grasslands
Historic over-grazing of arid grasslands in the Intermountain West has led to widespread soil erosion, loss of plant diversity, and invasion by exotic species. Degraded grassland conditions can be very persistent, even after livestock use has ceased. For example, in national parks on the Colorado Plateau, livestock have been excluded for decades, but soil and native plants have not recovered on...RAMPS: Restoration Assessment & Monitoring Program for the Southwest
The Restoration Assessment and Monitoring Program for the Southwest (RAMPS) seeks to assist U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) and other land management agencies in developing successful techniques for improving land condition in dryland ecosystems of the southwestern United States. Invasion by non-native species, wildfire, drought, and other disturbances are growing rapidly in extent and... - News
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