Erika Geiger is a Supervisory Biologist at the USGS Canyonlands Research Station (CRS) in Moab, UT.
Erika received her BA in Biology from the University of Colorado in Boulder in 1997 and her Masters in Range Management (2002) and PhD in Natural Resources (2006) from the University of Arizona. She has worked in primarily arid or seasonally water-stressed systems including mesquite savannas in southern Arizona and savannas in the central highlands of Brazil investigating the role of invasive species, fire, and disturbance on native vegetation in these systems. After returning to the U.S. from a postdoc in Brazil she switched from research to management and is currently the Station Manager at the Southwest Biological Science Center – Canyonlands Research Station in Moab, Utah.
Science and Products
Long-Term Vegetation Change on the Colorado Plateau
Vegetation cover, ground cover, plant mortality, and species abundance across an experimental drought treatment on the Colorado Plateau from 2010-2022
Meteorological measurements from five weather stations in Grand and San Juan Counties in southeastern Utah (ver. 2.0, April 2023)
Ecological property data and experimental lab incubation results from a long-term nitrogen deposition simulation experiment in three semi-arid grasslands, Arches National Park, Utah, USA, 2013-2019
Biocrust cover, vegetation, and climate data across 23 years (1996-2019) from a protected grassland within Canyonlands National Park, Utah
Long-term annual aeolian dust deposition data from seven locations in southeastern Utah
Long-term precipitation reduction experiment in the Colorado Plateau - Survival and mortality data from 2010 to 2018
Droughting a megadrought: Ecological consequences of a decade of experimental drought atop aridification on the Colorado Plateau
Biogeochemical and ecosystem properties in three adjacent semiarid grasslands are resistant to nitrogen deposition but sensitive to edaphic variability
Decline in biological soil crust N-fixing lichens linked to increasing summertime temperatures
Insights from long-term ungrazed and grazed watersheds in a salt desert Colorado Plateau ecosystem
Science and Products
- Science
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, and 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... - Data
Vegetation cover, ground cover, plant mortality, and species abundance across an experimental drought treatment on the Colorado Plateau from 2010-2022
These data were compiled to assess the response of vegetation and biological soil crusts to drought in a semi-arid ecosystem on the Colorado Plateau near Moab, Utah. Objective(s) of our study were to explore how vegetation cover, soil conditions, and growing season nitrogen (N) availability are impacted by multifaceted drying climate conditions using data from a long-term precipitation reduction eMeteorological measurements from five weather stations in Grand and San Juan Counties in southeastern Utah (ver. 2.0, April 2023)
These data were compiled from six automated weather stations that together provide several points in the meteorological record across a latitudinal and elevational gradient in southeastern Utah. Recorded data from these weather stations are associated with several different studies. Meteorological data are important for quantifying short term weather events as well as longer term climate trends. SEcological property data and experimental lab incubation results from a long-term nitrogen deposition simulation experiment in three semi-arid grasslands, Arches National Park, Utah, USA, 2013-2019
These data were compiled to understand the responses of dryland ecosystem properties to long-term simulated atmospheric nitrogen deposition. Objective(s) of our study were to uncover any changes in soil biogeochemistry and ecosystem properties to long-term nitrogen amendments. These data represent ecosystem property data compiled over the nine-year history of a nitrogen deposition simulation experBiocrust cover, vegetation, and climate data across 23 years (1996-2019) from a protected grassland within Canyonlands National Park, Utah
These tabular data were compiled for/to monitor vegetation and biocrust cover in a never grazed grassland located in Canyonlands National Park. An objective, or objectives, of our study was to document potential changes in biocrust and vegetation cover and species composition as related to changes in land use and climate change. These data represent a timeseries of long-term vegetation and biocrusLong-term annual aeolian dust deposition data from seven locations in southeastern Utah
These data are annual aeolian dust deposition calculations from vertical deposition at seven locations near the vicinity of Moab, Utah covering the period from 1999 to 2020. Data were collected by the U.S. Geological Survey Geosciences and Environmental Change Science Center (Denver, Colorado) and Southwest Biological Science Center (Moab, Utah) to "monitor sediment characteristics at sites selectLong-term precipitation reduction experiment in the Colorado Plateau - Survival and mortality data from 2010 to 2018
From 2011-2018 USGS biologists recorded vegetation and biological soil crust (BSC) cover by species and tracked survival of tagged individual plants (388 in total) across 40 locations where paired experimental plots had been installed in 2010. Plant cover was visually estimated using four 75 x 100 cm survey frames. Each site contained a two plots measuring 1.5 by 2.0 meteres: a control plot and a - Multimedia
- Publications
Droughting a megadrought: Ecological consequences of a decade of experimental drought atop aridification on the Colorado Plateau
Global dryland vegetation communities will likely change as ongoing drought conditions shift regional climates towards a more arid future. Additional aridification of drylands can impact plant and ground cover, biogeochemical cycles, and plant-soil feedbacks, yet how and when these crucial ecosystem components will respond to drought intensification requires further investigation. Using a long-terAuthorsRebecca A Finger-Higgens, Tara Boyce Belnap Bishop, Jayne Belnap, Erika L. Geiger, Edmund E. Grote, David Hoover, Sasha C. Reed, Michael C. DuniwayBiogeochemical 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. ReedDecline 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 BelnapInsights from long-term ungrazed and grazed watersheds in a salt desert Colorado Plateau ecosystem
Dryland ecosystems cover over 41% of the earth’s land surface, and living within these important ecosystems are approximately 2 billion people, a large proportion of whom are subsistence agropastoralists. Improper grazing in drylands can negatively impact ecosystem productivity, soil conservation, hydrologic processes, downstream water quantity and quality, and ultimately human health and economicAuthorsMichael C. Duniway, Erika L. Geiger, Tamera J. Minnick, Susan L. Phillips, Jayne Belnap