Approximately 35% of the US and ~82% of DOI lands are “drylands” and found throughout the Western US. The Southwest Energy Development and Reclamation PES conducts research to inform the restoration of drylands impacted by energy exploration and development. These arid and semi-arid lands have unique soil and plant communities that are resistant to decadal fluctuations in precipitation and temperatures. However, because they are relatively resource-limited they are not very resilient and small perturbations often have large and long-term ecological effects. Very few anthropogenic impacts in a dryland are temporary. These lands also 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 abandoned and current wells across the West.
Southwest Energy Development and Reclamation Research
Biological Soil Crust ("Biocrust") Science
Drought & Grazing Experiment: Understanding Impacts and Identifying Mitigation Strategies
Well Pad Reclamation and Research
Long-Term Vegetation Change on the Colorado Plateau
Process-based Approaches for Ecological Restoration of Degraded Drylands
Native Plant Materials for Ecological Restoration of Degraded Drylands
Conservation of Rare, Sensitive, and At-risk Desert Plant Species
RestoreNet: Distributed Field Trial Network for Dryland Restoration
Restoration and Ecosystem Recovery Dynamics in Arid and Semiarid Landscapes
Ecohydrology and Climate Change in Drylands
Measuring Water Requirements Of Riparian Regions in the Southwestern U.S. Compared with Drylands in Australia
RAMPS: Restoration Assessment & Monitoring Program for the Southwest
Explore our research using the data below.
Historical and future ecological drought conditions for rangelands of the western U.S.
High-resolution maps of historical and 21st century ecological drought metrics using multivariate matching algorithms for drylands of western U.S. and Canada
Robust ecological drought projection data for drylands in the 21st century
Historical and 21st century soil temperature and moisture data for drylands of western U.S. and Canada
Global temperate drylands climate change vulnerability
Recent publications (2020-2022) related to USGS Southwest Energy Development and Reclamation research are listed below. A complete listing of USGS Southwest Energy Development and Reclamation publications is available from the button below.
The consequences of climate change for dryland biogeochemistry
Global cycling and climate effects of aeolian dust controlled by biological soil crusts
Biogeochemical and ecosystem properties in three adjacent semiarid grasslands are resistant to nitrogen deposition but sensitive to edaphic variability
Soil depth and precipitation moderate soil textural effects on seedling survival of a foundation shrub species
Soil depth and precipitation moderate soil textural effects on seedling survival of a foundation shrub species
Decline in biological soil crust N-fixing lichens linked to increasing summertime temperatures
Woody plant encroachment of grassland and the reversibility of shrub dominance: Erosion, fire, and feedback processes
Multiple resource limitation of dryland soil microbial carbon cycling on the Colorado Plateau
Biocrusts mediate a new mechanism for land degradation under a changing climate
Mapping biological soil crusts in a Hawaiian dryland
Biocrusts do not differentially influence emergence and early establishment of native and non-native grasses
What determines the effectiveness of Pinyon-Juniper clearing treatments? Evidence from the remote sensing archive and counter-factual scenarios
- Overview
Approximately 35% of the US and ~82% of DOI lands are “drylands” and found throughout the Western US. The Southwest Energy Development and Reclamation PES conducts research to inform the restoration of drylands impacted by energy exploration and development. These arid and semi-arid lands have unique soil and plant communities that are resistant to decadal fluctuations in precipitation and temperatures. However, because they are relatively resource-limited they are not very resilient and small perturbations often have large and long-term ecological effects. Very few anthropogenic impacts in a dryland are temporary. These lands also 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 abandoned and current wells across the West.
Southwest Energy Development and Reclamation ResearchFilter Total Items: 14Biological Soil Crust ("Biocrust") Science
Biological soil crusts (biocrusts) are commonly found on the soil surface in arid and semi-arid ecosystems (collectively called drylands). Biocrusts can consist of mosses, cyanobacteria, lichens, algae, and microfungi, and they strongly interact with the soil. These organisms or consortium of disparate organisms, depending on the specific biocrust, are important to the functioning of ecosystems...Drought & Grazing Experiment: Understanding Impacts and Identifying Mitigation Strategies
Drylands (sometimes called ‘deserts’ or ‘arid and semi-arid' ecosystems) are defined by water scarcity. Understanding how land-use activities may effect dryland ecosystems and dryland ecological processes is a high priority for land conservation and management. Grazing by domestic livestock (typically cattle but also sheep and goats) is the most widespread land-use in drylands globally and a large...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...Long-Term Vegetation Change on the Colorado Plateau
The Colorado Plateau, centered around the four corners area of the Southwest, and includes much of Arizona, Utah, Colorado, and New Mexico, is a large and important component of U.S. drylands. This important home to mountains, desert basins, dramatic canyons, arid woodlands, and grasslands is also one of North America’s most rapidly warming hot spots, with rates of warming of up to 2-3° C within...Process-based Approaches for Ecological Restoration of Degraded Drylands
Surface disturbances ranging from military training, recreation, energy exploration and development, and wildfires impact a large majority of federal lands in the western US, but the ecological and economic impacts are poorly understood. Explore this webpage to learn how Dr. Lesley DeFalco and her research team are currently evaluating and refining conventional approaches for post-fire restoration...Native Plant Materials for Ecological Restoration of Degraded Drylands
There is a growing consensus among resource managers to use native plant materials for ecological restoration of degraded drylands. Some plant species may be suitable for re-introduction across broad environmental gradients. Other species may fail under narrower conditions, or their re-introduction may have genetic consequences for local ecotypes, particularly when adapting to future climate...Conservation of Rare, Sensitive, and At-risk Desert Plant Species
The Mojave Desert is among the hottest and driest of the North American drylands, but in spite of these extreme conditions, and in part because of them, a diverse flora exists. This diversity of rare, endemic, and endangered species is threatened by the complex interaction between fluctuating climate and human-mediated disturbances. USGS studies have identified rare species “hotspots” for planning...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...Restoration and Ecosystem Recovery Dynamics in Arid and Semiarid Landscapes
Dryland regions have been degraded by invasive species, wildfire, overgrazing, agricultural conversion, energy development, recreational activity, and urban growth. These disturbances and others are accelerated by one of the fastest growing human populations in the country and a pressing background of decreasing water availability due to drought and elevated temperatures that are projected to...Ecohydrology and Climate Change in Drylands
Drylands cover 40% of the global terrestrial surface and provide important ecosystem services. However, climate forecasts in most dryland regions, especially the southwest U.S., call for increasing aridity. Specifically, changing climate will alter soil water availability, which exerts dominant control over ecosystem structure and function in water-limited, dryland ecosystems. This research seeks...Measuring Water Requirements Of Riparian Regions in the Southwestern U.S. Compared with Drylands in Australia
Floodplain red gum forests are sites of high biodiversity in arid regions of south Australia. They depend on periodic floods from rivers, but dams and diversions have reduced flood frequencies, leading to deterioration of the trees. We determined the water requirements of red gum trees so environmental flows can be used to restore and maintain the forests. We used measurements of transpiration of...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... - Data
Explore our research using the data below.
Historical and future ecological drought conditions for rangelands of the western U.S.
These NetCDF data were compiled to investigate how rangelands in the western U.S. are limited by access to water. As a result, these ecosystems may be especially vulnerable to changes in water availability and drought as a result of climate change. This project utilized an ecosystem water balance model to quantify spatial and temporal patterns of rangeland ecological drought conditions under histoHigh-resolution maps of historical and 21st century ecological drought metrics using multivariate matching algorithms for drylands of western U.S. and Canada
These data were compiled using a new multivariate matching algorithm that transfers simulated soil moisture conditions (Bradford et al. 2020) from an original 10-km resolution to a 30-arcsec spatial resolution. Also, these data are a supplement to a previously published journal article (Bradford et al., 2020) and USGS data release (Bradford and Schlaepfer, 2020). The objectives of our study were tRobust ecological drought projection data for drylands in the 21st century
These data represent simulated ecological drought conditions for current climate, and for future climate represented by all available climate models at two time periods during the 21st century. These data were used to: 1) describe geographic patterns in ecological drought under historical climate conditions, 2) quantify the direction and magnitude of change in ecological drought, 3) identify areasHistorical and 21st century soil temperature and moisture data for drylands of western U.S. and Canada
These data represent simulated soil temperature and moisture conditions for current climate, and for future climate represented by all available climate models at two time periods during the 21st century. These data were used to: 1) quantify the direction and magnitude of expected changes in several measures of soil temperature and soil moisture, including the key variables used to distinguish theGlobal temperate drylands climate change vulnerability
Drylands cover 40% of the global terrestrial surface and provide important ecosystem services. While drylands as a whole are expected to increase in distribution and aridity in coming decades, temperature and precipitation forecasts vary by latitude and geographic region suggesting different trajectories for tropical, subtropical, and temperate drylands. Uncertainty in the future of tropical and s - Publications
Recent publications (2020-2022) related to USGS Southwest Energy Development and Reclamation research are listed below. A complete listing of USGS Southwest Energy Development and Reclamation publications is available from the button below.
Filter Total Items: 37The consequences of climate change for dryland biogeochemistry
Drylands, which cover more than 40% of Earth’s terrestrial surface, are dominant drivers of global biogeochemical cycling and home to more than one third of the human population. Climate projections predict warming, drought frequency and severity, and evaporative demand will increase in drylands at faster rates than global means. Due to extreme temperatures and high biological dependency on limiteAuthorsBrooke Bossert Osborne, Brandon T. Bestelmeyer, Courtney M. Currier, Peter M Homyak, Heather L. Throop, Kristina E Young, Sasha C. ReedGlobal cycling and climate effects of aeolian dust controlled by biological soil crusts
Biological soil crusts (biocrusts) cover ~12% of the global land surface. They are formed by an intimate association between soil particles, photoautotrophic and heterotrophic organisms, and they effectively stabilize the soil surface of drylands. Quantitative information on the impact of biocrusts on the global cycling and climate effects of aeolian dust, however, is not available. Here, we combiAuthorsRodriguez-Caballero, T Stanelle, S Egerer, Yang Cheng, H. E. Suess, Y Canton, Jayne Belnap, M O Andreae, I Tegen, C Reick, Ulrich Pöschl, B. WeberBiogeochemical and ecosystem properties in three adjacent semiarid grasslands are resistant to nitrogen deposition but sensitive to edaphic variability
Drylands have low nitrogen stocks and are predicted to be sensitive to modest increases in reactive nitrogen availability, but direct evidence that atmospheric nitrogen deposition will have sustained effects on dryland ecosystems is sparse and conflicting.We used three long-running in situ nitrogen deposition simulation experiments and a complementary laboratory incubation experiment to address fuAuthorsBrooke Bossert Osborne, Carla M Roybal, Robin H. Reibold, Christopher D Collier, Erika L. Geiger, Michala Lee Phillips, Michael N Weintraub, Sasha C. ReedSoil depth and precipitation moderate soil textural effects on seedling survival of a foundation shrub species
In drylands, there is a need for controlled experiments over multiple planting years to examine how woody seedlings respond to soil texture and the potentially interactive effects of soil depth and precipitation. Understanding how multiple environmental factors interactively influence plant establishment is critical to restoration ecology and in this case to broad-scale restoration efforts in westAuthorsKari E. Veblen, Kyle C. Nehring, Michael C. Duniway, Anna C Knight, Thomas A. Monaco, Eugene W. Schupp, Janis L Boettinger, Juan J Villalba, Steven Fick, Colby C. Brungard, Eric ThackerSoil depth and precipitation moderate soil textural effects on seedling survival of a foundation shrub species
In drylands, there is a need for controlled experiments over multiple planting years to examine how woody seedlings respond to soil texture and the potentially interactive effects of soil depth and precipitation. Understanding how multiple environmental factors interactively influence plant establishment is critical to restoration ecology and in this case to broad-scale restoration efforts in westAuthorsKari E. Veblen, Kyle C. Nehring, Michael C. Duniway, Anna C Knight, Thomas A. Monaco, Eugene W. Schupp, Janis L Boettinger, Juan J Villalba, Steven Fick, Colby C. Brungard, Eric ThackerDecline in biological soil crust N-fixing lichens linked to increasing summertime temperatures
Across many global drylands, biocrusts form a protective barrier on the soil surface and fill many critical roles in these harsh yet fragile environments. Previous short-term research suggests that climate change and invasive plant introduction can damage and alter biocrust communities, yet few long-term observations exist. Using a globally unique long-term record of continuous biocrust surveys frAuthorsRebecca A Finger-Higgens, Michael C. Duniway, Stephen E. Fick, Erika L. Geiger, David L. Hoover, Alix A. Pfennigwerth, Matthew W. Van Scoyoc, Jayne BelnapWoody plant encroachment of grassland and the reversibility of shrub dominance: Erosion, fire, and feedback processes
Many grass-dominated ecosystems in dryland regions have experienced increasing woody plant density and abundance during the past century. In many cases, this process has led to land degradation and declines in ecosystem functions. An example is the Chihuahuan Desert in the southwestern United States, which experienced different stages of shrub encroachment in the past 150 years. Among a wide varieAuthorsJunran Li, Sujith Ravi, Guan Wang, R. Scott Van Pelt, Thomas E. Gill, Joel B. SankeyMultiple resource limitation of dryland soil microbial carbon cycling on the Colorado Plateau
Understanding interactions among biogeochemical cycles is increasingly important as anthropogenic alterations of global climate and of carbon (C), nitrogen (N), and phosphorus (P) cycles interactively affect the Earth system. Ecosystem processes in the dryland biome, which makes up over 40% of Earth's terrestrial surface, are often distinctively sensitive to small changes in resource availability,AuthorsRyan T. Choi, Sasha C. Reed, Colin TuckerBiocrusts mediate a new mechanism for land degradation under a changing climate
Global concerns for desertification have focused on the slow recovery of extensive and expanding drylands following disturbance, which may be exacerbated by climate change. Biological soil crusts (biocrusts) are photosynthetic soil communities found in drylands worldwide, which are central to the stability and resilience of dryland ecosystems, but vulnerable to global change. Here we use multipleAuthorsMichala Lee Phillips, Brandon E McNellis, Armin J. Howell, Cara Marie Lauria, Jayne Belnap, Sasha C. ReedMapping biological soil crusts in a Hawaiian dryland
Historical and ongoing land use patterns in the Hawaiian Islands have degraded the Islands’ drylands, causing erosion and detrimentally affecting adjacent coastal marine ecosystems. Biological soil crust (biocrust) communities have been shown to increase soil stability in drylands worldwide, but their efficacy in mitigating soil erosion in Hawaiian drylands is largely unknown. Using a combinationAuthorsEszter Collier, Ryan L. Perroy, Sasha C. Reed, Jon P PriceBiocrusts do not differentially influence emergence and early establishment of native and non-native grasses
Biological soil crusts (biocrusts) cover the soil surface of global drylands and interact with vascular plants. Biocrusts may influence the availability and nature of safe sites for plant recruitment and the susceptibility of an area to invasion by non-native species. Therefore, to investigate the potential role of biocrusts in invasive species management, we sought to determine whether native andAuthorsCheryl McIntyre, Steven R. Archer, Katie Predick, Jayne BelnapWhat determines the effectiveness of Pinyon-Juniper clearing treatments? Evidence from the remote sensing archive and counter-factual scenarios
In the intermountain western US, expansion of Pinyon (Pinus edulis) and Juniper (Juniperus spp.) woodlands (PJ) into grasslands and shrublands is a pervasive phenomenon, and an example of the global trend towards enhanced woody growth in drylands. Due to the perceived impacts of these expansions on ecosystem services related to biodiversity, hydrology, soil stability, fire prevention, and livestocAuthorsStephen E. Fick, Travis W. Nauman, Colby C. Brungard, Michael C. Duniway