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Katie Laushman (Former Employee)

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An experimental garden nestled against the La Salle Mountains in Utah.

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...
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Land Management Research Program, Species Management Research Program, Southwest Biological Science Center
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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...
Learn More
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An infographic summarizing activities of the RAMPS program.

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...
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Land Management Research Program, Southwest Biological Science Center
link

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...
Learn More
Two people kneel on the ground collecting soil samples in a golden grassland.
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A restoration field trial site on red soils, adjacent to buttes.
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A group of field workers installs an experimental garden.
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Bare ground with 2x2 meter square plots of various restoration treatments.
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Two researchers aligning a 2 meter by 2 meter PVC square for an experimental restoration plot within a fenced area.
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Soil surface treatments and precipitation timing determine seedling development across southwestern US restoration sites

Restoration in dryland ecosystems often has poor success due to low and variable water availability, degraded soil conditions, and slow plant community recovery rates. Restoration treatments can mitigate these constraints but, because treatments and subsequent monitoring are typically limited in space and time, our understanding of their applicability across broader environmental gradients remains
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Hannah Lucia Farrell, Seth M. Munson, Bradley J. Butterfield, Michael C. Duniway, Aksasha M Faist, Elise S Gornish, Caroline Havrilla, Loralee Larios, Sasha C. Reed, Helen I Rowe, Katherine M. Laushman, Molly L. McCormick
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Southwest Biological Science Center

Protocol for installing and monitoring a RestoreNet restoration field trial network site

RestoreNet is an ecological restoration experiment that is networked across multiple sites, spanning dryland ecosystems in the southwestern United States. The experiment is organized and led by the U.S. Geological Survey’s Restoration Assessment and Monitoring Program for the Southwest (RAMPS). This protocol functions to provide guidance to additional partners on how to set up a RestoreNet site an
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Katherine M. Laushman, Molly L. McCormick, Seth M. Munson, Kathleen R. Balazs, Bradley J. Butterfield
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Southwest Biological Science Center

Does restoration of plant diversity trigger concomitant soil microbiome changes in dryland ecosystems?

Drylands are highly vulnerable to land degradation, and despite increasing efforts, restoration success remains low. Although often ignored in the design and deployment of management strategies, soil microbial communities might be critical for dryland restoration due to their central role in promoting soil stability, nutrient cycling and plant establishment.We collected soil samples from eight dry
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Ben Yang, Kathleen R. Balazs, Bradley J. Butterfield, Katherine M. Laushman, Seth M. Munson, Elise S. Gornish, Albert Barberán
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Southwest Biological Science Center

Wildfire risk and hazardous fuel reduction treatments along the US-Mexico border: A review of the science (1985-2019)

The ecosystems along the border between the United States and Mexico are at increasing risk to wildfire due to interactions among climate, land-use, and fuel loads. A wide range of fuel treatments have been implemented to mitigate wildfire and its threats to valued resources, yet we have little information about treatment effectiveness. To fill critical knowledge gaps, we reviewed wildfire risk an
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Katherine M. Laushman, Seth M. Munson, Timothy N. Titus
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Southwest Biological Science Center

RestoreNet: An emerging restoration network reveals controls on seeding success across dryland ecosystems

Drylands are Earth's largest terrestrial biome and support one‐third of the global population. However, they are also highly vulnerable to land degradation. Despite widespread demand for dryland restoration and rehabilitation, little information is available to help land managers effectively re‐establish native perennial vegetation across drylands.RestoreNet is an emerging dryland restoration netw
Authors
Caroline Ann Havrilla, Seth M. Munson, Molly L. McCormick, Katherine M. Laushman, Kathleen R. Balazs, Bradley J. Butterfield
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Southwest Biological Science Center

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