Mike Duniway, Ph.D.
Dr. Michael (Mike) Duniway is a soil scientist focused on soils and soil processes in dryland ecosystems and the interactions between environmental and land-use drivers, vegetation, soils, and geomorphology. His areas of focus include restoration, ecohydrology, effects of land-use (grazing, energy, and recreation), dust production, plant-soil feedbacks, and soil mapping and interpretations.
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 agency partners (Bureau of Land Management, National Park Service, National Resource Conservation Service, US Fish and Wildlife Service, and others such as The Nature Conservancy's Canyonlands Research Center) in designing research studies, conducting technology transfer, and outreach activities. Some primary current research focuses include understanding the impacts of drought on Colorado Plateau landscapes, evaluating the recovery of oil and gas pads on the Colorado Plateau and opportunities for improved restoration practices, developing novel restoration techniques for highly disturbed lands using biological soil crusts and physical barriers, and basic research into the importance of soils for dryland ecosystem processes.
Professional Experience
2011-Present: Research Ecologist, USGS Southwest Biological Science Center, Moab, UT
2010-2011: Research Soil Scientist, US Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service, Jornada, Las Cruces, NM
2006-2010: Research Soil Scientist (post doc), US Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service, Jornada, Las Cruces, NM
2012-Present: Adjunct Faculty, Utah State University, Logan, UT
2007-Present: Adjunct Faculty, NM State University, Las Cruces, NM
Education and Certifications
Ph.D., 2006 — Agronomy (Soil Science), New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM
B.S., 1994 — Environmental Resource Science, University of California, Davis, CA
Science and Products
Rangeland monitoring reveals long-term plant responses to precipitation and grazing at the landscape scale
Desert grassland responses to climate and soil moisture suggest divergent vulnerabilities across the southwestern United States
Pulse-drought atop press-drought: unexpected plant responses and implications for dryland ecosystems
Effects of ungulate disturbance and weather variation on Pediocactus winkleri: Insights from long-term monitoring
Evaluating rehabilitation efforts following the Milford Flat Fire: successes, failures, and controlling factors
Desertification, land use, and the transformation of global drylands
Legacy effects in linked ecological-soil-geomorphic systems of drylands
Exposure pathways and biological receptors: baseline data for the canyon uranium mine, Coconino County, Arizona
Scale-dependent feedbacks between patch size and plant reproduction in desert grassland
Machine learning for predicting soil classes in three semi-arid landscapes
Modeling vegetation heights from high resolution stereo aerial photography: an application for broad-scale rangeland monitoring
Interpretation of high-resolution imagery for detecting vegetation cover composition change after fuels reduction treatments in woodlands
Non-USGS Publications**
**Disclaimer: The views expressed in Non-USGS publications are those of the author and do not represent the views of the USGS, Department of the Interior, or the U.S. Government.
Science and Products
Rangeland monitoring reveals long-term plant responses to precipitation and grazing at the landscape scale
Desert grassland responses to climate and soil moisture suggest divergent vulnerabilities across the southwestern United States
Pulse-drought atop press-drought: unexpected plant responses and implications for dryland ecosystems
Effects of ungulate disturbance and weather variation on Pediocactus winkleri: Insights from long-term monitoring
Evaluating rehabilitation efforts following the Milford Flat Fire: successes, failures, and controlling factors
Desertification, land use, and the transformation of global drylands
Legacy effects in linked ecological-soil-geomorphic systems of drylands
Exposure pathways and biological receptors: baseline data for the canyon uranium mine, Coconino County, Arizona
Scale-dependent feedbacks between patch size and plant reproduction in desert grassland
Machine learning for predicting soil classes in three semi-arid landscapes
Modeling vegetation heights from high resolution stereo aerial photography: an application for broad-scale rangeland monitoring
Interpretation of high-resolution imagery for detecting vegetation cover composition change after fuels reduction treatments in woodlands
Non-USGS Publications**
**Disclaimer: The views expressed in Non-USGS publications are those of the author and do not represent the views of the USGS, Department of the Interior, or the U.S. Government.