Mike Duniway, Ph.D.
Dr. Michael (Mike) Duniway is a soil scientist focused on soils and soil processes in dryland environments. His work provides crucial information for stakeholders, agencies and the public to assess and manage lands across the Colorado Plateau and southwest US.
In his research and outreach activities, Dr. Duniway seeks to provide information for land managers and owners to facilitate sustainable land-use activities. He works closely with federal and state agency partners and others in designing research studies, conducting technology transfer, and outreach activities. His research focuses include understanding the impacts of drought on Colorado Plateau rangelands, evaluating the recovery of oil and gas pads and seeking opportunities for improved reclamation practices, and developing new maps and tools for land management. In his work, he is interested in maintaining and balancing the important ecosystem services these landscapes provide, including clean water and air, food and fiber, tourism and cultural values, and energy.
Science and Products
Filter Total Items: 23
Drought Adaptation Strategies for Arid Grasslands
Helping National Parks in the 4-Corners region manage grasslands in a changing world.
Biological Soil Crust ("Biocrust") Science
Biological soil crusts (biocrusts) are commonly found on the soil surface in arid and semi-arid ecosystems (collectively called drylands). Biocrusts can consist of mosses, cyanobacteria, lichens, algae, and microfungi, and they strongly interact with the soil. These organisms or consortium of disparate organisms, depending on the specific biocrust, are important to the functioning of ecosystems...
Developing a Decision Support Framework for Prioritizing Pinyon Juniper Forest Treatments on the Colorado Plateau
Across the western U.S., pinyon and juniper trees are expanding into sagebrush and grassland plant communities. This vegetation change has been perceived to have a significant impact on the economic value of these grasslands, which support activities such as livestock grazing and hunting, but expanding pinyon and juniper forests may also lead to increased risk of fire. Over the past...
Drought & Grazing Experiment: Understanding Impacts and Identifying Mitigation Strategies
Drylands (sometimes called ‘deserts’ or ‘arid and semi-arid' ecosystems) are defined by water scarcity. Understanding how land-use activities may effect dryland ecosystems and dryland ecological processes is a high priority for land conservation and management. Grazing by domestic livestock (typically cattle but also sheep and goats) is the most widespread land-use in drylands globally and a large...
Remote Sensing of Energy Development
Oil and gas development across the western United States has increased substantially in recent decades, including within the Colorado Plateau. The Colorado Plateau is a high desert region of grasslands, shrublands, and woodlands and is home to a large number of world-renowned national and tribal parks and monuments (e.g., Grand Canyon, Zion, Bryce, Arches, Canyonlands, Monument Valley, and Mesa...
Well Pad Reclamation and Research
Reclamation on lands impacted by energy development is complicated and extremely challenging in arid environments due to unstable soils, exotic species, and low and variable precipitation. The reclamation tactics employed by energy operators vary widely and outcomes can differ across plant communities and soil types. In order to address the knowledge gaps regarding how to successfully and...
Science and Products
Filter Total Items: 23
Drought Adaptation Strategies for Arid Grasslands
Helping National Parks in the 4-Corners region manage grasslands in a changing world.
Biological Soil Crust ("Biocrust") Science
Biological soil crusts (biocrusts) are commonly found on the soil surface in arid and semi-arid ecosystems (collectively called drylands). Biocrusts can consist of mosses, cyanobacteria, lichens, algae, and microfungi, and they strongly interact with the soil. These organisms or consortium of disparate organisms, depending on the specific biocrust, are important to the functioning of ecosystems...
Developing a Decision Support Framework for Prioritizing Pinyon Juniper Forest Treatments on the Colorado Plateau
Across the western U.S., pinyon and juniper trees are expanding into sagebrush and grassland plant communities. This vegetation change has been perceived to have a significant impact on the economic value of these grasslands, which support activities such as livestock grazing and hunting, but expanding pinyon and juniper forests may also lead to increased risk of fire. Over the past...
Drought & Grazing Experiment: Understanding Impacts and Identifying Mitigation Strategies
Drylands (sometimes called ‘deserts’ or ‘arid and semi-arid' ecosystems) are defined by water scarcity. Understanding how land-use activities may effect dryland ecosystems and dryland ecological processes is a high priority for land conservation and management. Grazing by domestic livestock (typically cattle but also sheep and goats) is the most widespread land-use in drylands globally and a large...
Remote Sensing of Energy Development
Oil and gas development across the western United States has increased substantially in recent decades, including within the Colorado Plateau. The Colorado Plateau is a high desert region of grasslands, shrublands, and woodlands and is home to a large number of world-renowned national and tribal parks and monuments (e.g., Grand Canyon, Zion, Bryce, Arches, Canyonlands, Monument Valley, and Mesa...
Well Pad Reclamation and Research
Reclamation on lands impacted by energy development is complicated and extremely challenging in arid environments due to unstable soils, exotic species, and low and variable precipitation. The reclamation tactics employed by energy operators vary widely and outcomes can differ across plant communities and soil types. In order to address the knowledge gaps regarding how to successfully and...