Matthew Brooks
Dr. Matthew Brooks is an Ecologist with the U.S. Geological Survey's Western Ecological Research Center.
His primary research emphasis is on the ecology and management of alien plants and fire in the deserts and mountains of western North America. Other research topics include drought, wildlife ecology, ecological restoration, and the ecological effects of various land-use regimes. Dr. Brooks serves on the editorial boards of the journals Fire Ecology and Rangeland Ecology and Management, and was a charter editorial board member of Invasive Plant Science and Management. Dr. Brooks has taught at the high school, community college, and university levels and has advised numerous Master's and Doctoral students.
RESEARCH INTERESTS
Education and Certifications
Ph.D., Biology, concentration in Ecology and Population Biology, University of California, Riverside, CA 1998
M.A., Biology, California State University, Fresno, CA 1992
Teaching Credential, Biology/Physical Sciences, California State University, Fresno, CA 1990
B.S., Biological Sciences, University of California, Irvine, CA 1987
Science and Products
Potential environmental effects of pack stock on meadow ecosystems of the Sierra Nevada, USA
Net primary productivity of subalpine meadows in Yosemite National Park in relation to climate variability
A network extension of species occupancy models in a patchy environment applied to the Yosemite toad (Anaxyrus canorus)
Soil Seed Bank Responses to Postfire Herbicide and Native Seeding Treatments Designed to Control Bromus tectorum in a Pinyon–Juniper Woodland at Zion National Park, USA
Landscape-scale effects of fire severity on mixed-conifer and red fir forest structure in Yosemite National Park
Desertification of rangelands: 4.20
Science-based management of public lands in southern Nevada
Species of conservation concern and environmental stressors: Local regional and global effects
Maintaining and restoring sustainable ecosystems in southern Nevada
Invasive species in southern Nevada
An overview of the Southern Nevada Agency Partnership science and research synthesis
Fire history, effects and management in southern Nevada
Science and Products
- Science
- Data
- Multimedia
- Publications
Filter Total Items: 90
Potential environmental effects of pack stock on meadow ecosystems of the Sierra Nevada, USA
Pack and saddle stock, including, but not limited to domesticated horses, mules, and burros, are used to support commercial, private and administrative activities in the Sierra Nevada. The use of pack stock has become a contentious and litigious issue for land management agencies in the region inter alia due to concerns over effects on the environment. The potential environmental effects of pack sAuthorsSteven M. Ostoja, Matthew L. Brooks, Peggy E. Moore, Eric L. Berlow, Robert Blank, Jim Roche, Jennifer T. Chase, Sylvia HaultainNet primary productivity of subalpine meadows in Yosemite National Park in relation to climate variability
Subalpine meadows are some of the most ecologically important components of mountain landscapes, and primary productivity is important to the maintenance of meadow functions. Understanding how changes in primary productivity are associated with variability in moisture and temperature will become increasingly important with current and anticipated changes in climate. Our objective was to describe pAuthorsPeggy E. Moore, Jan W. Van Wagtendonk, Julie L. Yee, Mitchel P. McClaran, David N. Cole, Neil K. McDougald, Matthew L. BrooksA network extension of species occupancy models in a patchy environment applied to the Yosemite toad (Anaxyrus canorus)
A central challenge of conservation biology is using limited data to predict rare species occurrence and identify conservation areas that play a disproportionate role in regional persistence. Where species occupy discrete patches in a landscape, such predictions require data about environmental quality of individual patches and the connectivity among high quality patches. We present a novel extensAuthorsEric L. Berlow, Roland A. Knapp, Steven M. Ostoja, Richard J. Williams, Heather McKenny, John R. Matchett, Qinghau Guo, Gary M. Fellers, Patrick Kleeman, Matthew L. Brooks, Lucas JoppaSoil Seed Bank Responses to Postfire Herbicide and Native Seeding Treatments Designed to Control Bromus tectorum in a Pinyon–Juniper Woodland at Zion National Park, USA
The continued threat of an invasive, annual brome (Bromus) species in the western United States has created the need for integrated approaches to postfire restoration. Additionally, the high germination rate, high seed production, and seed bank carryover of annual bromes points to the need to assay soil seed banks as part of monitoring programs. We sampled the soil seed bank to help assess the effAuthorsMatthew L. Brooks, graduate student Hondo Brisbin, Associate Professor Andrea Thode, graduate student Karen WeberLandscape-scale effects of fire severity on mixed-conifer and red fir forest structure in Yosemite National Park
While fire shapes the structure of forests and acts as a keystone process, the details of how fire modifies forest structure have been difficult to evaluate because of the complexity of interactions between fires and forests. We studied this relationship across 69.2 km2 of Yosemite National Park, USA, that was subject to 32 fires ⩾40 ha between 1984 and 2010. Forests types included ponderosa pineAuthorsVan R. Kane, James A. Lutz, Susan L. Roberts, Douglas F. Smith, Robert J. McGaughey, Nicholas A. Povak, Matthew L. BrooksDesertification of rangelands: 4.20
Desertification, the broad-scale conversion of perennial grasslands to dominance by annuals or xerophytic shrubs, has affected drylands globally over the past several centuries. Desertification is a cumulative threat that includes both climatic (e.g., drought) and land-use drivers (e.g., livestock overgrazing, fire). In this chapter, we determine the vulnerability of different ecosystem services tAuthorsD. P. C. Peters, B. T. Bestelmeyer, K. M. Havstad, A. Rango, S. R. Archer, A. C. Comrie, H. R. Gimblett, L. López-Hoffman, O. E. Sala, E. R. Vivoni, M. L. Brooks, J. Brown, H. C. Monger, J. H. GoldsteinScience-based management of public lands in southern Nevada
Landmark legislation provides guiding principles for land management planning in southern Nevada and the rest of the United States. Such legislation includes, but is not limited to, the Forest Service Organic Administration Act of 1897 (16 U.S>C. 473-478, 479-482 and 551), National Park Service Organic Act of 1916 (U.S.C. Title 16, Secs. 1-4). Wilderness Act 1964 (P.L.88-577), National EnvironmentAuthorsMatthew L. Brooks, Jeanne C. ChambersSpecies of conservation concern and environmental stressors: Local regional and global effects
Species conservation has traditionally been based on individual species within the context of their requisite habitat, which is generally defined as the communities and ecosystems deemed necessary for their presence. Conservation decisions are hampered by the fact that environmental stressors that poetically threaten the persistence of species can operate at organizational levels larger than the hAuthorsSteven M. Ostoja, Matthew L. Brooks, Jeanne C. Chambers, Burton PendletonMaintaining and restoring sustainable ecosystems in southern Nevada
Managers in southern Nevada are challenge with determining appropriate goals and objectives and developing viable approaches for maintaining and restoring sustainable ecosystems in a time of rapid socio-ecological and environmental change. Sustainable or "healthy" ecosystems supply clean air, water and habitat for a diverse array of plants and animals. As described in Chapter 1, sustainable ecosysAuthorsJeanne C. Chambers, Burton K. Pendleton, Donald W. Sada, Steven M. Ostoja, Matthew L. BrooksInvasive species in southern Nevada
Southern Nevada contains a wide range of topographies, elevations, and climactic zones emblematic of its position at the ecotone between the Mojave Desert, Great Basin, and Colorado Plateau ecoregions. These varied environmental conditions support a high degree of biological diversity (Chapter 1), but they also provide opportunities for a wide range of invasive species. In addition, the populationAuthorsMatthew L. Brooks, Steven M. Ostoja, Jeanne ChambersAn overview of the Southern Nevada Agency Partnership science and research synthesis
Maintaining and restoring the diverse ecosystems and resources that occur in southern Nevada in the face of rapid socio-economic and ecological change presents numerous challenged to Federal land managers. Rapid population growth since the 1980s, the land uses associated with that growth, and the interactions of those uses with the generally dry and highly variable climate result in numerous stresAuthorsJeanne C. Chambers, Matthew L. Brooks, Kent Turner, Carol B. Raish, Steven M. OstojaFire history, effects and management in southern Nevada
Fire can be both an ecosystem stressor (Chapter 2) and a critical ecosystem process, depending on when, where, and under what conditions it occurs on the southern Nevada landscape. Fire can also pose hazards to human life and property, particularly in the wildland/urban interface (WUI). The challenge faced by land managers is to prevent fires from occurring where they are likely to threaten ecosysAuthorsMatthew L. Brooks, Jeanne Chambers, Randy McKinley - News