Lesley DeFalco
Dr. Lesley DeFalco is a Plant Ecologist with the U.S. Geological Survey's Western Ecological Research Center.
RESEARCH INTERESTS
- Restoration of Aridlands
- Conservation biology
- Desert Community Ecology
- Ecological monitoring
- Effects of Anthropogenic Disturbance
- Evaluation of management
- Fire ecology
- Global climate change
- Invasive species ecology
- Physiological plant ecology
- Plant ecology
- Species interactions
- Threatened and endangered species
EDUCATION
PhD, Ecology, Evolution & Conservation Biology, University of Nevada, Reno, NV 2003
MS, Botany, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 1995
BS, Biological Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 1989
COMMITTEES
- Botanical Society of America
- California Native Plant Society (Mojave Chapter)
- Ecological Society of America
- Nevada Native Plant Society
- Society for Ecological Restoration (Southwest Chapter)
Science and Products
Filter Total Items: 66
Soil seed banks: preserving native biodiversity and repairing damaged desert shrublands Soil seed banks: preserving native biodiversity and repairing damaged desert shrublands
No abstract available.
Authors
Lesley A. Defalco, Todd C. Esque
Estimating wildfire risk on a Mojave Desert landscape using remote sensing and field sampling Estimating wildfire risk on a Mojave Desert landscape using remote sensing and field sampling
Predicting wildfires that affect broad landscapes is important for allocating suppression resources and guiding land management. Wildfire prediction in the south-western United States is of specific concern because of the increasing prevalence and severe effects of fire on desert shrublands and the current lack of accurate fire prediction tools. We developed a fire risk model to predict...
Authors
Peter F. Van Linn, Kenneth E. Nussear, Todd C. Esque, Lesley A. DeFalco, Richard D. Inman, Scott R. Abella
Short seed longevity, variable germination conditions, and infrequent establishment events provide a narrow window for Yucca brevifolia (Agavaceae) recruitment Short seed longevity, variable germination conditions, and infrequent establishment events provide a narrow window for Yucca brevifolia (Agavaceae) recruitment
PREMISE OF THE STUDY: The future of long-lived stand-forming desert plants such as Yucca brevifolia (Joshua tree) has come into question in light of climate variation and landscape-scale disturbances such as wildfire. Understanding plant establishment dynamics is important for mitigating the impacts of disturbances and promoting revegetation. • METHODS: We placed Y. brevifolia seeds in...
Authors
M. Bryant, J. Reynolds, Lesley A. DeFalco, Todd C. Esque
Supplementing seed banks to rehabilitate disturbed Mojave Desert shrublands: where do all the seeds go? Supplementing seed banks to rehabilitate disturbed Mojave Desert shrublands: where do all the seeds go?
Revegetation of degraded arid lands often involves supplementing impoverished seed banks and improving the seedbed, yet these approaches frequently fail. To understand these failures, we tracked the fates of seeds for six shrub species that were broadcast across two contrasting surface disturbances common to the Mojave Desert—sites compacted by concentrated vehicle use and trenched sites...
Authors
Lesley A. DeFalco, Todd C. Esque, Melissa B. Nicklas, Jeffrey M. Kane
Supplementing seed banks to rehabilitate disturbed Mojave Desert shrublands: Where do all the seeds go? Supplementing seed banks to rehabilitate disturbed Mojave Desert shrublands: Where do all the seeds go?
Revegetation of degraded arid lands often involves supplementing impoverished seed banks and improving the seedbed, yet these approaches frequently fail. To understand these failures, we tracked the fates of seeds for six shrub species that were broadcast across two contrasting surface disturbances common to the Mojave Desert—sites compacted by concentrated vehicle use and trenched sites...
Authors
Lesley A. DeFalco, Todd Esque, Melissa B. Nicklas, Jeffrey M. Kane
Effectiveness of post-fire seeding in desert tortoise Critical Habitat following the 2005 Southern Nevada Fire Complex Effectiveness of post-fire seeding in desert tortoise Critical Habitat following the 2005 Southern Nevada Fire Complex
In June 2005, lightning strikes ignited multiple wildfires in southern Nevada. The Southern Nevada Fire Complex burned more than 32,000 acres of designated desert tortoise Critical Habitat and an additional 403,000 acres of Mojave Desert habitat characterized as potentially suitable for the tortoise. Mortalities of desert tortoises were observed after the fires, but altered habitat is...
Authors
Lesley DeFalco, K. Kristina Drake, S. J. Scoles-Sciulla, Kyla L. Bauer
Science and Products
Filter Total Items: 66
Soil seed banks: preserving native biodiversity and repairing damaged desert shrublands Soil seed banks: preserving native biodiversity and repairing damaged desert shrublands
No abstract available.
Authors
Lesley A. Defalco, Todd C. Esque
Estimating wildfire risk on a Mojave Desert landscape using remote sensing and field sampling Estimating wildfire risk on a Mojave Desert landscape using remote sensing and field sampling
Predicting wildfires that affect broad landscapes is important for allocating suppression resources and guiding land management. Wildfire prediction in the south-western United States is of specific concern because of the increasing prevalence and severe effects of fire on desert shrublands and the current lack of accurate fire prediction tools. We developed a fire risk model to predict...
Authors
Peter F. Van Linn, Kenneth E. Nussear, Todd C. Esque, Lesley A. DeFalco, Richard D. Inman, Scott R. Abella
Short seed longevity, variable germination conditions, and infrequent establishment events provide a narrow window for Yucca brevifolia (Agavaceae) recruitment Short seed longevity, variable germination conditions, and infrequent establishment events provide a narrow window for Yucca brevifolia (Agavaceae) recruitment
PREMISE OF THE STUDY: The future of long-lived stand-forming desert plants such as Yucca brevifolia (Joshua tree) has come into question in light of climate variation and landscape-scale disturbances such as wildfire. Understanding plant establishment dynamics is important for mitigating the impacts of disturbances and promoting revegetation. • METHODS: We placed Y. brevifolia seeds in...
Authors
M. Bryant, J. Reynolds, Lesley A. DeFalco, Todd C. Esque
Supplementing seed banks to rehabilitate disturbed Mojave Desert shrublands: where do all the seeds go? Supplementing seed banks to rehabilitate disturbed Mojave Desert shrublands: where do all the seeds go?
Revegetation of degraded arid lands often involves supplementing impoverished seed banks and improving the seedbed, yet these approaches frequently fail. To understand these failures, we tracked the fates of seeds for six shrub species that were broadcast across two contrasting surface disturbances common to the Mojave Desert—sites compacted by concentrated vehicle use and trenched sites...
Authors
Lesley A. DeFalco, Todd C. Esque, Melissa B. Nicklas, Jeffrey M. Kane
Supplementing seed banks to rehabilitate disturbed Mojave Desert shrublands: Where do all the seeds go? Supplementing seed banks to rehabilitate disturbed Mojave Desert shrublands: Where do all the seeds go?
Revegetation of degraded arid lands often involves supplementing impoverished seed banks and improving the seedbed, yet these approaches frequently fail. To understand these failures, we tracked the fates of seeds for six shrub species that were broadcast across two contrasting surface disturbances common to the Mojave Desert—sites compacted by concentrated vehicle use and trenched sites...
Authors
Lesley A. DeFalco, Todd Esque, Melissa B. Nicklas, Jeffrey M. Kane
Effectiveness of post-fire seeding in desert tortoise Critical Habitat following the 2005 Southern Nevada Fire Complex Effectiveness of post-fire seeding in desert tortoise Critical Habitat following the 2005 Southern Nevada Fire Complex
In June 2005, lightning strikes ignited multiple wildfires in southern Nevada. The Southern Nevada Fire Complex burned more than 32,000 acres of designated desert tortoise Critical Habitat and an additional 403,000 acres of Mojave Desert habitat characterized as potentially suitable for the tortoise. Mortalities of desert tortoises were observed after the fires, but altered habitat is...
Authors
Lesley DeFalco, K. Kristina Drake, S. J. Scoles-Sciulla, Kyla L. Bauer