Crested wheatgrass-cheatgrass seedling competition in a mixed-density design
Francis, M.G., Pyke, D.A., 1996, Crested wheatgrass-cheatgrass seedling competition in a mixed-density design: Journal of Range Management, v. 49, no. 5, p. 432-438.
David A Pyke
Biography
Education
Ph.D. Botany, 1983, Washington State University
M.S. Forest and Range Management, 1977, Washington State University
B.S. Range Management (Wildlife option), 1976, Washington State University
Specialty
Plant ecology, restoration ecology, monitoring and assessments of ecosystem status of rangelands (grassland, shrublands and savannas)
Research Interests
Population ecology of native and invasive plants in the Intermountain West. Monitoring protocols for ecosystem integrity on wild lands. Restoration ecology of native plants on disturbed and invaded lands.
Personal Interests
Skiing, Cycling, Baseball, Softball, Gardening, & Beer Brewing
Background
Former Assistant Center Director of FRESC 1996-1999
Science and Products
Date published: May 23, 2019
Status: Active Cheatgrass and Medusahead
Invasive annual grasses, such as cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum) and medusahead (Taeniatherum caput-medusae), are one of the most significant stressors to rangeland ecosystems in the western U.S. Their expansion and dominance across this area are the most damaging ecosystem agents on this iconic landscape.
Date published: February 13, 2019
Status: Completed Standardized Emergency Stabilization and Rehabilitation Monitoring Protocols (ES&R)
Fire rehabilitation programs have existed within federal agencies since the early 1960s. The U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management are the largest users of emergency stabilization and rehabilitation (ES&R) funds, but these agencies only sporadically implement proposed monitoring and rarely use common protocols. As a result, it is impossible to draw scientifically credible...
Contacts: David A Pyke
Date published: November 28, 2017
Status: Active Restoration and Ecology of Arid Lands Team (FRESC)
The focus of our research is on the restoration and monitoring of the plants and soils of the Intermountain West. Our lab is part of the Snake River Field Station, but is located in Corvallis, Oregon. Research topics include fire rehabilitation effects and effectiveness, indicators of rangeland health, invasive species ecology, and restoration of shrub steppe ecosystems.
Contacts: David A Pyke
Attribution: Ecosystems, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center
Date published: November 13, 2017
Status: Active Restoration of Shrub Steppe Ecosystems
This research theme provides land managers information to help them make restoration decision at local and landscape scales.
Contacts: David A Pyke
Date published: November 13, 2017
Status: Active Invasive Species Ecology
Invasive annual grasses are the greatest threat to shrub-grassland ecosystems of the Intermountain West. These grasses grow earlier in the season than native plants, usurping water and nutrients, and making survival and reproduction difficult for native species. They also change the fire regime within the ecosystem, creating more frequent and larger wildfires. We are attempting to understand...
Contacts: David A Pyke
Attribution: Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center
Date published: November 13, 2017
Status: Active Indicators of Rangeland Health
Rangelands are natural ecosystems where the native vegetation consists predominantly of grasses, grass-like plants, forbs, or shrubs. Rangelands include natural grasslands, savannas, shrublands, oak and pinyon-juniper woodlands, many deserts, tundra, alpine communities, marshes, and wet meadows.
Contacts: David A Pyke
Date published: November 9, 2017
Status: Active Fire Rehabilitation Effects and Effectiveness
Mitigation of ecological damage caused by rangeland wildfires focuses on conservation of ecosystem function through reducing soil erosion and spread of invasive plants. The overall effectiveness of these treatments is variable, and their necessity has been debated recently. We conduct research projects and synthesize findings to determine if mitigation treatments: 1) protect ecosystems against...
Contacts: David A Pyke
Attribution: Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center
Date published: June 7, 2012
Status: Active Climate change and ecohydrology in temperate dryland ecosystems: a global assessment
Water cycling and availability exert dominant control over ecological processes and the sustainability of ecosystem services in water - limited ecosystems. Consequently, dryland ecosystems have the potential to be dramatically impacted by hydrologic alterations emerging from global change, notably increasing temperature and altered precipitation patterns. In addition, the possibility of...
Attribution: John Wesley Powell Center for Analysis and Synthesis
Date published: March 27, 2017
Compilation of BLM Monitoring Reports Assessing Post Wildfire Seeding of Rangelands, 2001-2009
We reviewed closeout reports from 2001-2009 to conduct a meta-analysis of seeding after wildfires to determine if seedings may (1) protect ecosystems against soil erosion and (2) reduce invasion or abundance of undesirable nonnative plant species.
Date published: March 21, 2017
Compilation of Studies Assessing Post Wildfire Seeding of Rangelands Worldwide, 1965-2010
We reviewed literature from 1965-2010 to conduct a meta-analysis of seeding after wildfires to determine if seedings may (1) protect ecosystems against soil erosion and (2) reduce invasion or abundance of undesirable nonnative plant species.
Attribution: Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center
Year Published: 2021
Sagebrush recovery patterns after fuel treatments mediated by disturbance type and plant functional group interactions
Fire and fuel management is a high priority in North American sagebrush ecosystems where the expansion of piñon and juniper trees and the invasion of nonnative annual grasses are altering fire regimes and resulting in loss of sagebrush species and habitat. We evaluated 10-yr effects of woody fuel treatments on sagebrush recruitment and plant...
Chambers, Jeanne C.; Urza, Alexandra K.; Board, David I.; Miller, Richard F.; Pyke, David A.; Roundy, Bruce A.; Schupp, Eugene W.; Tausch, Robin J.Attribution: Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center, Ecosystems
Year Published: 2020
Interpreting Indicators of Rangeland Health, Version 5: Bureau of Land Management Technical Reference 1734-6
The Interpreting Indicators of Rangeland Health (IIRH) protocol is designed for assessing ecosystem function on rangelands and woodlands. The protocol was developed by an interagency cadre of technical experts and has been in use by for two decades. The protocol is well accepted and is a valuable tool for communicating rangeland conditions with...
Pellant, Mike; Shaver, Patrick L; Pyke, David A.; Herrick, Jeffrey E.; Lepak, Nika; Riegel, Gregg; Kachergis, Emily; Newingham, Beth A.; Toledo, David; Busby, Frank EAttribution: Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center, Ecosystems
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Pellant, M., Shaver, P.L., Pyke, D.A., Herrick, J.E., Lepak, N., Riegel, G., Kachergis, E.J., Newingham, B.A., Toledo, D.P., Busby, F.E., 2020, Interpreting Indicators of Rangeland Health, Version 5: Bureau of Land Management Technical Reference 1734-6, p. 187
Year Published: 2020
Postfire growth of seeded and planted big sagebrush - Strategic designs for restoring Greater Sage-grouse nesting habitat
Wildfires change plant community structure and impact wildlife habitat and population dynamics. Recent wildfire‐induced losses of big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata) in North American shrublands are outpacing natural recovery and leading to substantial losses in habitat for sagebrush‐obligate species such as Greater Sage‐grouse. Managers are...
Pyke, David A.; Shriver, Robert K.; Arkle, Robert; Pilliod, David; Aldridge, Cameron L.; Coates, Peter S.; Germino, Matthew; Heinrichs, Julie Arlene; Ricca, Mark A.; Shaff, Scott
Year Published: 2020
Biological soil crusts in ecological restoration: Emerging research and perspectives
Drylands encompass over 40% of terrestrial ecosystems and face significant anthropogenic degradation causing a loss of ecosystem integrity, services, and deterioration of social‐ecological systems. To combat this degradation, some dryland restoration efforts have focused on the use of biological soil crusts (biocrusts): complex communities of...
Antoninka, Anita; Faist, Akasha M.; Rodriguez-Caballero, Emilio; Young, Kristina E; Chaudhary, V Bala; Condon, Lea A.; Pyke, David A.
Year Published: 2020
Components and predictors of biological soil crusts vary at the regional vs. plant community scales
Although biological soil crusts (biocrusts) occur globally in arid and semi-arid environments, most of our knowledge of biocrust cover and ecology is from a relatively small number of locations worldwide. Some plant communities are known to have high cover of biocrusts, but the abundance of biocrusts is largely undocumented in most plant...
Condon, Lea A.; Pyke, David A.Attribution: Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center, Ecosystems
Year Published: 2020
Weed-suppressive bacteria applied as a spray or seed mixture did not control Bromus tectorum
We conducted two case studies testing effectiveness of a soil-borne bacteria, Pseudomonas fluorescens strain D7, in controlling Bromus tectorum (cheatgrass) and in affecting the density of sown desirable seedlings. We conducted two case studies testing D7’s ability to control of B. tectorum (cover, biomass and density) when mixed with native seeds...
Pyke, David A.; Shaff, Scott; Gregg, Michael A; Conley, Julie L.Attribution: Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center, Ecosystems
Year Published: 2020
Context-dependent effects of livestock grazing in deserts of western North America
This chapter provides a general review of grazing disturbance by large mammalian grazers and the role of ecological context in moderating its effects, with emphasis on North American deserts. It discusses the ecological consequences of cessation of livestock grazing and present a case study from the Mojave Desert, United States of America. A...
Veblen, Kari E.; Beever, Erik A.; Pyke, David A.
Year Published: 2020
Passive restoration of vegetation and biological soil crusts following 80 years of exclusion from grazing across the Great Basin
Restoration targets for biological soil crusts are largely unknown. We surveyed seven 80‐year‐old grazing exclosures across northern Nevada for biocrusts to quantify reference conditions at relatively undisturbed sites. Exclosures were associated with the following plant communities: Wyoming big sagebrush, black sagebrush, and areas co‐dominated...
Condon, Lea A.; Pietrasiak, Nicole; Rosentreter, Roger; Pyke, David A.Attribution: Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center, Ecosystems
Year Published: 2020
Hydroseeding tackifiers and dryland moss restoration potential
Tackifiers are long‐chain carbon compounds used for soil stabilization and hydroseeding and could provide a vehicle for biological soil crust restoration. We examined the sensitivity of two dryland mosses, Bryum argenteum and Syntrichia ruralis, to three common tackifiers ‐ guar, psyllium, and polyacrylamide (PAM) ‐ at 0.5x, 1....
W. Dillon Blankenship; Condon, Lea A.; Pyke, David A.
Year Published: 2019
Transient population dynamics impede restoration and may promote ecosystem transformation after disturbance
The apparent failure of ecosystems to recover from increasingly widespread disturbance is a global concern. Despite growing focus on factors inhibiting resilience and restoration, we still know very little about how demographic and population processes influence recovery. Using inverse and forward demographic modelling of 531 post‐fire sagebrush...
Shriver, Robert K.; Andrews, Caitlin M.; Arkle, Robert; Barnard, David; Duniway, Michael C.; Germino, Matthew J.; Pilliod, David S.; Pyke, David A.; Welty, Justin L.; Bradford, John B.
Year Published: 2019
Adaptive Management and Monitoring
This is a chapter in a technical report that is the second of two works describing longer-term actions to implement policies and strategies for preventing and suppressing rangeland fire and restoring rangeland landscapes affected by fire in the Western United States. The first part, Chambers et al 2017, "Science Framework for conservation and...
Wiechman, Lief A.; Pyke, David A.; Crist, Michele R.; Munson, Seth; Brooks, Matthew; Chambers, Jeanne C.; Rowland, Mary M.; Kachergis, Emily J; Davidson, ZoeAttribution: Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center, Ecosystems, United States of America, Wildland Fire Science
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Wiechman, L.A., Pyke, D.A., Crist, M.R., Munson, S.M., Brooks, M.L., Chambers, J.C., Rowland, M.M., Kachergis, E.J., Davidson, Z., 2019, Section 2. Adaptive Management and Monitoring In Crist, M.R., Chambers, J.C., Phillips, S.L., Prentice, K.L., Wiechman, L.A., eds., Science framework for conservation and restoration of the sagebrush biome: Linking the Department of the Interior’s Integrated Rangeland Fire Management Strategy to long-term strategic conservation actions. Part 2. Management applications: Gen. Tech. Rep. RMRS-GTR-389, Fort Collins, CO, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, p. 237.
Year Published: 2019
A strategy for defining the reference for land health and degradation assessments
Much of the confusion about the definition of reference conditions for land health and degradation assessments is due to differences in policy and management objectives. Selection of a historic reference where it is not necessary, such as in the definition of future land degradation neutrality, can add significant cost and uncertainty to land...
Herrick, Jeffrey E.; Shaver, Patrick; Pyke, David A.; Pellant, Mike; Toledo, David; Lepak, NikaAttribution: Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center, Ecosystems
Pre-USGS Publications
Introduction to the Sustaining Rangeland Ecosystems Symposium
Tanaka, J.A., Pyke, D.A., 1996, Introduction to the Sustaining Rangeland Ecosystems Symposium In Edge, W.D., Olson-Edge, S.L., eds., Proceedings of the Sustaining Rangeland Ecosystems Symposium: Special Report 953, Corvallis, OR, Oregon State University, Agricultural Experiment Station, p. 1-2.
Morphological plasticity following species-specific recognition and competition in two perennial grasses
Huber-Sannwald, E., Pyke, D.A., Caldwell, M.M., 1996, Morphological plasticity following species-specific recognition and competition in two perennial grasses: American Journal of Botany, v. 83, no. 7, p. 919-931.
Population diversity with special reference to rangeland plants
Pyke, D.A., 1995, Population diversity with special reference to rangeland plants In West, N.E., ed., Biodiversity of Rangelands: Logan, Utah, College of Natural Resources, Utah State University, p. 21-32.
Cheatgrass demography-establishment attributes, recruitment, ecotypes, and genetic variability
Pyke, D.A., Novak, S.J., 1994, Cheatgrass demography-establishment attributes, recruitment, ecotypes, and genetic variability: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Intermountain Research Station General Technical Report INT-GTR-313, p. 12-21.
Ecological significance of seed banks with special reference to alien annuals
Pyke, D.A., 1994, Ecological significance of seed banks with special reference to alien annuals: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, General Technical Report INT-GTR-313, p. 197-201.
Successional theory and the desired plant community approach
Borman, M.M., Pyke, D.A., 1994, Successional theory and the desired plant community approach: Rangelands, v. 16, no. 2, p. 82-84.
Problem analysis for the Vegetation Diversity Project - A research and demonstration program to restore and maintain native plant diversity on deteriorated rangelands of the Great Basin and Columbia Plateau
Pyke, D.A., Borman, M.M., 1993, Problem analysis for the Vegetation Diversity Project - A research and demonstration program to restore and maintain native plant diversity on deteriorated rangelands of the Great Basin and Columbia Plateau: US, Bureau of Land Management, Oregon State Office Technical Note OR-936-01, p. 100.
Statistical analysis of survival, and removal rate experiments
Pyke, D.A., Thompson, J.N., 1986, Statistical analysis of survival, and removal rate experiments: Ecology, no. 67, p. 240-245.
June 8, 2010
To Burn or Not to Burn? A Framework to Answer the Question
Prescribed burns are a common tool used by land managers to control invasive plant species and to promote native plants. There are many benefits to using a prescribed burn as a management tool; however, controlling fire is often difficult as it can be unpredictable. FRESC research ecologist Dave Pyke sat down with us to speak about a new framework that he has developed for
Date published: April 23, 2021
Sagebrush Recovery Patterns after Fuel Treatments Affected by Disturbance Type and Plant Functional Group Interactions
Researchers evaluated 10-year effects of fuel treatments on sagebrush recruitment and plant functional group interactions using Sagebrush Treatment Evaluation Project (SageSTEP) data.
Attribution: Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center
Date published: November 6, 2020
Interpreting Indicators of Rangeland Health – Version 5
Qualitative assessments of rangeland health using observable indicators help managers make informed land management decisions and communicate findings with the public.
Attribution: Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center
Date published: September 18, 2020
Post-Fire Growth of Seeded and Planted Big Sagebrush – Strategic Designs for Restoring Greater Sage-grouse Nesting Habitat
Recent wildfire-induced losses of big sagebrush are outpacing natural recovery and leading to substantial losses in habitat for species such as greater sage-grouse.
Date published: May 25, 2020
Biological Soil Crusts in Ecological Restoration: Emerging Research and Perspectives
In this introductory paper for a special issue of the journal Restoration Ecology focused on the restoration of biological soil crusts, authors summarize the importance of biological soil crusts, as well as emerging research efforts using biocrusts in ecological restoration.
Attribution: Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center
Date published: January 14, 2020
Weed-Suppressive Bacteria Did Not Control Bromus tectorum
Recent trials using a bacterial bioherbicide known as D7 have had mixed results in controlling invasive annual grasses in rangelands.
Attribution: Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center
Date published: January 14, 2020
Components and Predictors of Biocrusts
Although biological soil crusts occur globally in arid and semi-arid environments, the occurrence of biocrusts has not previously been related to individual plant communities at regional scales.
Attribution: Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center
Date published: September 4, 2019
Passive Restoration of Vegetation and Biocrusts
Livestock exclosures established in response to the 1934 Taylor Grazing Act offer a chance to quantify reference conditions for biological soil crusts, which are largely unknown.
Attribution: Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center
Date published: July 8, 2019
Two Promising Tackifiers may Enhance Moss Growth for Biocrust Restoration
Establishing mosses could be valuable in restoring biological soil crusts following disturbance, yet a good method for delivering and establishing moss propagules is lacking.
Attribution: Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center
Date published: June 27, 2019
Why Sagebrush Re-establishment After Fire is so Difficult
Big sagebrush ecosystems are particularly sensitive to wildfires and life history information on big sagebrush is scarce and vital for restoration success.
Date published: November 2, 2018
Effects of Disturbance on Vascular Plants and Biocrusts in Sagebrush Steppe
Semi-arid sagebrush ecosystems experience chronic disturbances through grazing, invasive grasses, and acute disturbance of fire. Biocrusts, a community of cyanobacteria, mosses, and lichens, develop on soil surfaces and contribute to the land’s resistance to invasive plants.
Date published: October 26, 2018
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.
Date published: September 28, 2018
Sagebrush Steppe Resilience and the Interaction of Climate and Management
Invasive grass species are a threat to many ecosystems around the world and in sagebrush habitats of the western United States, presence of non-native grasses may give rise to fire cycles that lead to a loss of sagebrush and a dominance of invasive cheatgrass.