Matthew J Germino
Biography
Education
Ph.D. Botany, 2000, University of Wyoming
M.S. Botany, 1996, University of Wyoming
B.S. Environmental Science, 1994, University of Massachusetts
Specialty
Plant-soil-environment relationships
Research Interests
Plant-soil-environment relationships, with a focus on forest and rangelands; post-fire rehabilitation and restoration; invasive species; integrating science and adaptive land management.
Science and Products
Weed-Suppressive Bacteria – Testing a Control Measure for Invasive Grasses in the West
Recent popular news has implied that Weed-Suppressive Bacteria (WSB) holds promise for cheatgrass control, yet a lack of peer-reviewed research exists to support this claim. USGS researchers stepped up to the challenge of objectively and rigorously evaluating the effectiveness of WSB for controlling exotic annual grasses, such as...
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.
Plant-Soil-Environment Laboratory (FRESC)
We produce basic and applied science needed to manage landscapes in ways that make them resistant and resilient to stressors such as wildfire, exotic plant invasions, drought, and temperature extremes. These stressors impact ecosystem productivity and functioning and pose costly risks to human health and safety in the western United States. We team with other state and federal agencies to find...
Wildfire Impacts, and Post-Fire Rehabilitation and Restoration
Land use and unintentional (e.g., wildfire) disturbances are increasingly dominant factors affecting land-use planning and management of semiarid landscapes, particularly in sagebrush steppe rangelands. In the last 10-20 years, wildfires are occurring more frequently and increasingly in very large burn patches.
Plant Responses to Temperature and Water Limitation
Weather and climate impacts on dominant native perennials must be understood in order to efficiently manage our western landscapes. We use an ecophysiological approach, linking to population, community, and landscape ecology, to understand the impacts and responses of plants on or to their environment.
Integrating Science and Adaptive Land Management
Widespread habitat deterioration due to fire and invasive species in the Great Basin have created a need for coordination across land agencies and between science and management activities in the Great Basin.
Webinar: Sagebrush Ecosystems in a Changing Climate: Key Opportunities for Adaptive Management
View this webinar to learn how scientists are exploring adaptation management strategies for sagebrush ecosystems.
Sagebrush Ecosystems in a Changing Climate
Climate responses of sagebrush are needed to inform land managers of the stability and restoration of sagebrush ecosystems, which are an important but threatened habitat type. We evaluated climate responses of sagebrush using two approaches: (1) experimental manipulations of temperature and precipitation for natural plants in the field, and (2) assessment of how climate adaptation and weather...
Weed-suppressive bacteria effects differ in culture compared to in soils and with or without microbial competition and separation of active ingredient
Weed-suppressive bacteria (WSB), specifically the D7 and ACK55 strains of Pseudomonas fluorescens, were previously reported to selectively inhibit growth of invasive annual grasses (IAGs) that have caused severe ecosystem degradation across much of the western US. However, recent studies show highly mixed evidence for WSB effectiveness in...
Lazarus, Brynne E.; Feris, Kevin; Germino, MatthewWarming of alpine tundra enhances belowground production and shifts community towards resource acquisition traits
Climate warming is expected to stimulate plant growth in high‐elevation and high‐latitude ecosystems, significantly increasing aboveground net primary production (ANPP). However, the effects of simultaneous changes in temperature, snowmelt timing, and summer water availability on total net primary production (NPP)—and elucidation of both above‐...
Yang, Yan; Klein, Julia A.; Winkler, Daniel E.; Peng, Ahui; Lazarus, Brynne E.; Germino, Matthew; Suding, Katherine; Smith, Jane G.; Kueppers, Lara M.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, ScottColonisation of the alpine tundra by trees: Alpine neighbours assist late-seral but not early-seral conifer seedlings
BackgroundClimate change is projected to alter the elevation and latitude of treeline globally. Seed germination and seedling survival are critical controls on treeline expansion. Neighbouring alpine plants, either through competition for resources or through altered microclimate, also affect seedlings emerging in the alpine zone. With warming,...
Jabis, Meredith D.; Germino, Matthew; Kueppers, Lara M.Post-fire management-scale trials of bacterial soil amendment MB906 show inconsistent control of invasive annual grasses
Rangeland managers need tools to control invasive annual grasses, particularly following wildfire. We assessed responses of native and invasive/exotic grasses to the MB906 soil amendment containing live cultures of a purportedly weed-suppressive strain of the bacterium Pseudomonas fluorescens (“WSB”). MB906 was applied alone and in...
Lazarus, Brynne E.; Germino, Matthew; Brabec, Martha; Peterson, Logan; Walker, Ryan N; Moser, AnnWeed-suppressive bacteria have no effect on exotic or native plants in sagebrush-steppe
Approaches and techniques for control of exotic annual grasses are a high priority in rangelands including sagebrush steppe. Strains of the soil bacterium Pseudomonas fluorescens have been proposed to be selectively pathogenic to multiple species of exotic annual grasses (“Pf,” weed-suppressive bacteria, “WSB”). However, defensible tests...
Germino, Matthew; Lazarus, Brynne E.Weed-suppressive bacteria fail to control bromus tectorum under field conditions
The exotic winter annual grass Bromus tectorum L. (downy brome or cheatgrass) infests millions of hectares of western rangelands. Weed-suppressive bacteria (ACK55 and D7 strains of Pseudomonas fluorescens Migula 1895) have been shown to reduce B. tectorum populations in eastern Washington. Unfortunately, outside...
Reinhart, Kurt O; Carlson, Chris H; Feris, Kevin P; Germino, Matthew; Jandreau, Clancy J; Lazarus, Brynne E.; Mangold, Jane M.; Pellatz, Dave W; Ramsey, Philip; Rinella, Matthew J.; Valliant, MorganFreezing resistance, safety margins, and survival vary among big sagebrush populations across the western United States
PremisePhysiological responses to temperature extremes are considered strong drivers of species’ demographic responses to climate variability. Plants are typically classified as either avoiders or tolerators in their freezing‐resistance mechanism, but a gradient of physiological‐threshold freezing responses may exist among individuals of a...
Lazarus, Brynne; Germino, Matthew J.; Richardson, Bryce A.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; Bradford, John B.Soil characteristics are associated with gradients of big sagebrush canopy structure after disturbance
Reestablishing shrub canopy cover after disturbance in semi-arid ecosystems, such as sagebrush steppe, is essential to provide wildlife habitat and restore ecosystem functioning. While several studies have explored the effects of landscape and climate factors on the success or failure of sagebrush seeding, the influence of soil properties on...
Barnard, David; Germino, Matthew J.; Arkle, Robert; Bradford, John; Duniway, Michael; Pilliod, David; Pyke, David; Shriver, Robert; Welty, JustinCorrigendum to “A comprehensive analysis of interseasonal and interannual energy and water balance dynamics in semiarid shrubland and forest ecosystems” [Sci. Total Environ. 651 (2019) 381–398]
The authors regret the omission of an author, funding sources, and key support staff. The omitted author and their affiliation is: Matthew J Germino US Geological Survey, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center, Boise ID 83706. The correct citation should be: Valayamkunnath, P., Sridhar, V., Zhao, W. Allen, R.G., and Germino, M.J., 2019...
Valayamkunnath, Prasanth; Sridhar, Venkataramana; Zhao, Wenguang; Allen, Richard G; Germino, Matthew J.Operationalizing resilience and resistance concepts to address invasive grass-fire cycles
Plant invasions can affect fuel characteristics, fire behavior, and fire regimes resulting in invasive plant-fire cycles and alternative, self-perpetuating states that can be difficult, if not impossible, to reverse. Concepts related to general resilience to disturbance and resistance to invasive plants provide the basis for managing landscapes to...
Chambers, Jeanne C.; Brooks, Matthew L.; Germino, Matthew J.; Maestas, Jeremy D; Board, David I; Jones, Matthew O.; Allred, Brady WPre-USGS Publications
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.
Future Alpine Colonization by Limber Pine More Likely than by Engelmann Spruce
Alpine treelines are expected to shift upward in elevation and latitude as a result of climate change, yet this expansion requires favorable conditions for seed germination and successful seedling establishment.
Weed-Suppressive Bacteria Effects Differ in Culture Compared to in Soils
Weed-suppressive bacteria (WSB), specifically the D7 and ACK55 strains of Pseudomonas fluorescens, were previously reported to selectively inhibit growth of invasive annual grasses. However, recent studies show highly mixed evidence for WSB effectiveness in field settings.
Spatial Grain of Adaptation is Much Finer than Ecoregional-Scale Common Gardens Reveal
Common-garden experiments, in which plants sourced from geographically distant populations are grown together such that genetic differences may be expressed, can provide insight on adaptive variation of sagebrush.
Bacterial Soil Amendment MB906 Shows Inconsistent Control of Invasive Annual Grasses
In 2016, land managers began using a soil amendment called MB906, a weed-suppressive bacteria, to control invasive annual grasses, yet the success of MB906 is inconclusive.
Partitioning Surface Energy Balance Components in a Semi-Arid Environment
Understanding ecosystem energy and hydrological response is important for predicting and managing future water resources under climate and land-cover changes.
Surface Energy Fluxes, Soil Moisture, and Evapotranspiration Across Three Ecosystems in a Semiarid Climate
Understanding the land-atmosphere interaction at the ecosystem scale is important for water resource management and regional or global climate studies. Researchers examined surface fluxes of energy and moisture for three different ecosystems - sagebrush, cheatgrass, and lodgepole pine - in the Snake River Plain of Idaho.
Small-Scale Water Deficits After Wildfires Create Long-Lasting Ecological Impacts
Moisture deficit affects ecological processes and land management interventions, such as restoration of native vegetation.
Intraspecific Variation in Surface Water Uptake in a Perennial Desert Shrub
Variability in root architecture is one source of plant trait diversification that affects how water is distributed among plants.
Weed-Suppressive Bacteria have no Effect on Exotic or Native Plants in Sagebrush Steppe
Approaches and techniques for controlling exotic annual grasses are a high priority in rangelands including sagebrush steppe.
Weed-Suppressive Bacteria Fail to Control Bromus Tectorum
The exotic winter annual grass Bromus tectorum (downy brome or cheatgrass) infests large expanses of western rangelands.
Cold Hardiness of Big Sagebrush May be Maladaptive in a Warmer Climate
Physiological responses to temperature extremes are considered strong drivers of plant species’ resilience to climate variability.