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.
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
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Potential human impacts of overlapping land-use and climate in a sensitive dryland: a case study of the Colorado Plateau, USA Potential human impacts of overlapping land-use and climate in a sensitive dryland: a case study of the Colorado Plateau, USA
Climate and land-use interactions are likely to affect future environmental and socioeconomic conditions in drylands, which tend to be limited by water resources and prone to land degradation. We characterized the potential for interactions between land-use types and land-use and climate change in a model dryland system, the Colorado Plateau, a region with a history of climatic...
Authors
Stella Copeland, John Bradford, Michael Duniway, Rudy Schuster
Disturbance automated reference toolset (DART): Assessing patterns in ecological recovery from energy development on the Colorado Plateau Disturbance automated reference toolset (DART): Assessing patterns in ecological recovery from energy development on the Colorado Plateau
A new disturbance automated reference toolset (DART) was developed to monitor human land surface impacts using soil-type and ecological context. DART identifies reference areas with similar soils, topography, and geology; and compares the disturbance condition to the reference area condition using a quantile-based approach based on a satellite vegetation index. DART was able to represent...
Authors
Travis Nauman, Michael Duniway, Miguel Villarreal, Travis Poitras
Climate change reduces extent of temperate drylands and intensifies drought in deep soils Climate change reduces extent of temperate drylands and intensifies drought in deep soils
Drylands cover 40% of the global terrestrial surface and provide important ecosystem services. While drylands as a whole are expected to increase in extent and aridity in coming decades, temperature and precipitation forecasts vary by latitude and geographic region suggesting different trajectories for tropical, subtropical, and temperate drylands. Uncertainty in the future of tropical...
Authors
Daniel R. Schlaepfer, John Bradford, William Lauenroth, Seth Munson, Britta Tietjen, Sonia Hall, Scott Wilson, Michael Duniway, Gensuo Jia, David Pyke, Ariuntsetseg Lkhagva, Khishigbayar Jamiyansharav
Human land-use and soil change Human land-use and soil change
Soil change refers to the alteration of soil and soil properties over time in one location, as opposed to soil variability across space. Although soils change with pedogensis, this chapter focuses on human caused soil change. Soil change can occur with human use and management over long or short time periods and small or large scales. While change can be negative or positive; often soil...
Authors
Skye A. Wills, Candiss Williams, Michael Duniway, Jessica Veenstra, Cathy Seybold, DeAnn Pressley
Improving the effectiveness of ecological site descriptions: General state-and-transition models and the Ecosystem Dynamics Interpretive Tool (EDIT) Improving the effectiveness of ecological site descriptions: General state-and-transition models and the Ecosystem Dynamics Interpretive Tool (EDIT)
State-and-transition models (STMs) are useful tools for management, but they can be difficult to use and have limited content. STMs created for groups of related ecological sites could simplify and improve their utility. The amount of information linked to models can be increased using tables that communicate management interpretations and important within-group variability. We created a...
Authors
Brandon Bestelmeyer, Jeb Williamson, Curtis Talbot, Greg Cates, Michael Duniway, Joel Brown
Generalizing ecological site concepts of the Colorado Plateau for landscape-level applications Generalizing ecological site concepts of the Colorado Plateau for landscape-level applications
Numerous ecological site descriptions in the southern Utah portion of the Colorado Plateau can be difficult to navigate, so we held a workshop aimed at adding value and functionality to the current ecological site system. We created new groups of ecological sites and drafted state-and-transition models for these new groups. We were able to distill the current large number of ecological...
Authors
Michael Duniway, Travis Nauman, Jamin Johanson, Shane Green, Mark Miller, Brandon Bestelmeyer
Non-USGS Publications**
Browning, D.M., Duniway, M.C., Laliberte, A., and Rango, A., 2012, Hierarchical analysis of vegetation dynamics over 71 years: Soil-rainfall interactions in a Chihuahuan desert ecosystem: Ecological Applications, v. 22, p.909-926.
Duniway, M., Karl, J., Schrader, S., Baquera, N., and Herrick, J., 2012, Rangeland and pasture monitoring: an approach to interpretation of high-resolution imagery focused on observer calibration for repeatability: Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, v. 184, p. 3789-3804.
Karl, J., Duniway, M.C., Nusser, S.M., Opsomer, J.D., and Unnasch, R.S., 2012, Using Very-Large-Scale Aerial Imagery for Rangeland Monitoring and Assessment: Some Statistical Considerations: Rangeland Ecology & Management, v. 65, p. 330-339.
Karl, J.W., Duniway, M.C., and Schrader, T.S., 2012, A Technique for Estimating Rangeland Canopy-Gap Size Distributions From High-Resolution Digital Imagery: Rangeland Ecology & Management, v. 65, p. 196-207.
Browning, D.M., and Duniway, M.C., 2011, Digital soil mapping in the absence of field training data: a case study using terrain attributes and semiautomated soil signature derivation to distinguish ecological potential: Applied and Environmental Soil Science.
Duniway, M.C., and Herrick, J.E., 2011, Disentangling road network impacts: the need for a holistic approach: Journal of Soil and Water Conservation, v. 66, p. 31A-36A.
Peters, D.P.C., Lugo, A.E., Chapin, F.S., Pickett, S.T.A., Duniway, M.C., Rocha, A.V., Swanson, F.J., Laney, C., and Jones, J., 2011, Cross-system comparisons elucidate disturbance complexities and generalities: Ecosphere, v. 2, art. 81.
Schrader, T.S., and Duniway, M.C., 2011, Image Interpreter Tool: An ArcGIS tool for estimating vegetation cover from high-resolution imagery: Rangelands, v. 33, p. 35-40.
Duniway, M., Herrick, J., and Monger, H., 2010, Spatial and temporal variability of plant-available water in calcium carbonate-cemented soils and consequences for arid ecosystem resilience: Oecologia, v. 163, p. 215-226.
Duniway, M.C., Bestelmeyer, B.T., and Tugel, A., 2010, Soil processes and properties that distinguish ecological sites and states: Rangelands, v. 32, p. 9-15.
Duniway, M.C., Snyder, K.A., and Herrick, J.E., 2010, Spatial and temporal patterns of water availability in a grass–shrub ecotone and implications for grassland recovery in arid environments: Ecohydrology, v. 3, p. 55-67.
Duniway, M.C., Herrick, J.E., and Monger, H.C., 2007, The high water-holding capacity of petrocalcic horizons: Soil Science Society of America Journal, v. 71, p. 812-819.
Duniway, M.C., 2006, The functional role of petrocalcic horizons in desert ecosystems: spatial and temporal dynamics of plant water availability [Ph.D. Dissertation]: New Mexico State Univeristy, Las Cruces, New Mexico, USA.
**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
Filter Total Items: 23
Filter Total Items: 40
No Result Found
Filter Total Items: 127
Potential human impacts of overlapping land-use and climate in a sensitive dryland: a case study of the Colorado Plateau, USA Potential human impacts of overlapping land-use and climate in a sensitive dryland: a case study of the Colorado Plateau, USA
Climate and land-use interactions are likely to affect future environmental and socioeconomic conditions in drylands, which tend to be limited by water resources and prone to land degradation. We characterized the potential for interactions between land-use types and land-use and climate change in a model dryland system, the Colorado Plateau, a region with a history of climatic...
Authors
Stella Copeland, John Bradford, Michael Duniway, Rudy Schuster
Disturbance automated reference toolset (DART): Assessing patterns in ecological recovery from energy development on the Colorado Plateau Disturbance automated reference toolset (DART): Assessing patterns in ecological recovery from energy development on the Colorado Plateau
A new disturbance automated reference toolset (DART) was developed to monitor human land surface impacts using soil-type and ecological context. DART identifies reference areas with similar soils, topography, and geology; and compares the disturbance condition to the reference area condition using a quantile-based approach based on a satellite vegetation index. DART was able to represent...
Authors
Travis Nauman, Michael Duniway, Miguel Villarreal, Travis Poitras
Climate change reduces extent of temperate drylands and intensifies drought in deep soils Climate change reduces extent of temperate drylands and intensifies drought in deep soils
Drylands cover 40% of the global terrestrial surface and provide important ecosystem services. While drylands as a whole are expected to increase in extent and aridity in coming decades, temperature and precipitation forecasts vary by latitude and geographic region suggesting different trajectories for tropical, subtropical, and temperate drylands. Uncertainty in the future of tropical...
Authors
Daniel R. Schlaepfer, John Bradford, William Lauenroth, Seth Munson, Britta Tietjen, Sonia Hall, Scott Wilson, Michael Duniway, Gensuo Jia, David Pyke, Ariuntsetseg Lkhagva, Khishigbayar Jamiyansharav
Human land-use and soil change Human land-use and soil change
Soil change refers to the alteration of soil and soil properties over time in one location, as opposed to soil variability across space. Although soils change with pedogensis, this chapter focuses on human caused soil change. Soil change can occur with human use and management over long or short time periods and small or large scales. While change can be negative or positive; often soil...
Authors
Skye A. Wills, Candiss Williams, Michael Duniway, Jessica Veenstra, Cathy Seybold, DeAnn Pressley
Improving the effectiveness of ecological site descriptions: General state-and-transition models and the Ecosystem Dynamics Interpretive Tool (EDIT) Improving the effectiveness of ecological site descriptions: General state-and-transition models and the Ecosystem Dynamics Interpretive Tool (EDIT)
State-and-transition models (STMs) are useful tools for management, but they can be difficult to use and have limited content. STMs created for groups of related ecological sites could simplify and improve their utility. The amount of information linked to models can be increased using tables that communicate management interpretations and important within-group variability. We created a...
Authors
Brandon Bestelmeyer, Jeb Williamson, Curtis Talbot, Greg Cates, Michael Duniway, Joel Brown
Generalizing ecological site concepts of the Colorado Plateau for landscape-level applications Generalizing ecological site concepts of the Colorado Plateau for landscape-level applications
Numerous ecological site descriptions in the southern Utah portion of the Colorado Plateau can be difficult to navigate, so we held a workshop aimed at adding value and functionality to the current ecological site system. We created new groups of ecological sites and drafted state-and-transition models for these new groups. We were able to distill the current large number of ecological...
Authors
Michael Duniway, Travis Nauman, Jamin Johanson, Shane Green, Mark Miller, Brandon Bestelmeyer
Non-USGS Publications**
Browning, D.M., Duniway, M.C., Laliberte, A., and Rango, A., 2012, Hierarchical analysis of vegetation dynamics over 71 years: Soil-rainfall interactions in a Chihuahuan desert ecosystem: Ecological Applications, v. 22, p.909-926.
Duniway, M., Karl, J., Schrader, S., Baquera, N., and Herrick, J., 2012, Rangeland and pasture monitoring: an approach to interpretation of high-resolution imagery focused on observer calibration for repeatability: Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, v. 184, p. 3789-3804.
Karl, J., Duniway, M.C., Nusser, S.M., Opsomer, J.D., and Unnasch, R.S., 2012, Using Very-Large-Scale Aerial Imagery for Rangeland Monitoring and Assessment: Some Statistical Considerations: Rangeland Ecology & Management, v. 65, p. 330-339.
Karl, J.W., Duniway, M.C., and Schrader, T.S., 2012, A Technique for Estimating Rangeland Canopy-Gap Size Distributions From High-Resolution Digital Imagery: Rangeland Ecology & Management, v. 65, p. 196-207.
Browning, D.M., and Duniway, M.C., 2011, Digital soil mapping in the absence of field training data: a case study using terrain attributes and semiautomated soil signature derivation to distinguish ecological potential: Applied and Environmental Soil Science.
Duniway, M.C., and Herrick, J.E., 2011, Disentangling road network impacts: the need for a holistic approach: Journal of Soil and Water Conservation, v. 66, p. 31A-36A.
Peters, D.P.C., Lugo, A.E., Chapin, F.S., Pickett, S.T.A., Duniway, M.C., Rocha, A.V., Swanson, F.J., Laney, C., and Jones, J., 2011, Cross-system comparisons elucidate disturbance complexities and generalities: Ecosphere, v. 2, art. 81.
Schrader, T.S., and Duniway, M.C., 2011, Image Interpreter Tool: An ArcGIS tool for estimating vegetation cover from high-resolution imagery: Rangelands, v. 33, p. 35-40.
Duniway, M., Herrick, J., and Monger, H., 2010, Spatial and temporal variability of plant-available water in calcium carbonate-cemented soils and consequences for arid ecosystem resilience: Oecologia, v. 163, p. 215-226.
Duniway, M.C., Bestelmeyer, B.T., and Tugel, A., 2010, Soil processes and properties that distinguish ecological sites and states: Rangelands, v. 32, p. 9-15.
Duniway, M.C., Snyder, K.A., and Herrick, J.E., 2010, Spatial and temporal patterns of water availability in a grass–shrub ecotone and implications for grassland recovery in arid environments: Ecohydrology, v. 3, p. 55-67.
Duniway, M.C., Herrick, J.E., and Monger, H.C., 2007, The high water-holding capacity of petrocalcic horizons: Soil Science Society of America Journal, v. 71, p. 812-819.
Duniway, M.C., 2006, The functional role of petrocalcic horizons in desert ecosystems: spatial and temporal dynamics of plant water availability [Ph.D. Dissertation]: New Mexico State Univeristy, Las Cruces, New Mexico, USA.
**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.