Cara V Applestein
Science and Products
Bunchgrass root abundances and their relationship to resistance and resilience of a burned shrub-steppe landscape
Invasion of exotic annual grasses (EAG) and increased wildfire have motivated an emphasis on managing rangeland plant communities for resistance to invasion and resilience to disturbances. These traits are provided primarily by perennial bunchgrasses in rangelands such as shrub steppe, and specifically but also hypothetically, the abundances and...
Germino, Matthew J.; Fisk, Matthew; Applestein, Cara 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 Appropriate sample sizes for monitoring burned pastures in sagebrush steppe: How many plots are enough, and can one size fit all?
Statistically defensible information on vegetation conditions is needed to guide rangeland management decisions following disturbances such as wildfire, often for heterogeneous pastures. Here we evaluate the number of plots needed to make informed adaptive management decisions using >2000 plots sampled on the 2015 Soda Fire that burned across...
Applestein, Cara; Germino, Matthew J.; Pilliod, David; Fisk, Matthew; Arkle, Robert Vegetative community response to landscape-scale post-fire herbicide (imazapic) application
Disturbances such as wildfire create time-sensitive windows of opportunity for invasive plant treatment, and the timing of herbicide application relative to the time course of plant community development following fire can strongly influence herbicide effectiveness. We evaluated the effect of herbicide (imazapic) applied in the first winter or...
Applestein, Cara; Germino, Matthew J.; Fisk, Matthew Thresholds and hotspots for shrub restoration following a heterogeneous megafire
ContextReestablishing foundational plant species through aerial seeding is an essential yet challenging step for restoring the vast semiarid landscapes impacted by plant invasions and wildfire-regime shifts. A key component of the challenge stems from landscape variability and its effects on plant recovery.ObjectivesWe assessed landscape...
Germino, Matthew; Barnard, David; Davidson, Bill; Arkle, Robert; Pilliod, David; Fisk, Matthew; Applestein, Cara
Vegetative Community Response to Landscape Scale Post-fire Herbicide (Imazapic) Application
The timing of herbicide application following wildfire can strongly influence its effectiveness. USGS researchers evaluated the effect of the commonly used herbicide imazapic on targeted exotic annual grasses and non-target plants, applied the first winter or second fall after the 2015 Soda wildfire.
Sampling Strategies for Monitoring Post-Disturbance Treatments on Rangelands
Methodological guidelines are needed to rapidly determine vegetation responses to wildfire and post-disturbance treatments, such as seeding and herbicide applications.