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
Induced biological soil crust controls on wind erodibility and dust (PM10) emissions
Digital mapping of ecological land units using a nationally scalable modeling framework
Transient population dynamics impede restoration and may promote ecosystem transformation after disturbance
Shrub persistence and increased grass mortality in response to drought in dryland systems
Reducing sampling uncertainty in aeolian research to improve change detection
Temporal and abiotic fluctuations may be preventing successful rehabilitation of soil-stabilizing biocrust communities
Hydrologic function of rapidly induced biocrusts
Relative prediction intervals reveal larger uncertainty in 3D approaches to predictive digital soil mapping of soil properties with legacy data
Assessing rangeland health under climate variability and change
Wind erosion and dust from US drylands: a review of causes, consequences, and solutions in a changing world
Increasing temperature seasonality may overwhelm shifts in soil moisture to favor shrub grass dominance in Colorado Plateau drylands
Adapting management to a changing world: Warm temperatures, dry soil, and interannual variability limit restoration success of a dominant woody shrub in temperate drylands
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
Induced biological soil crust controls on wind erodibility and dust (PM10) emissions
Digital mapping of ecological land units using a nationally scalable modeling framework
Transient population dynamics impede restoration and may promote ecosystem transformation after disturbance
Shrub persistence and increased grass mortality in response to drought in dryland systems
Reducing sampling uncertainty in aeolian research to improve change detection
Temporal and abiotic fluctuations may be preventing successful rehabilitation of soil-stabilizing biocrust communities
Hydrologic function of rapidly induced biocrusts
Relative prediction intervals reveal larger uncertainty in 3D approaches to predictive digital soil mapping of soil properties with legacy data
Assessing rangeland health under climate variability and change
Wind erosion and dust from US drylands: a review of causes, consequences, and solutions in a changing world
Increasing temperature seasonality may overwhelm shifts in soil moisture to favor shrub grass dominance in Colorado Plateau drylands
Adapting management to a changing world: Warm temperatures, dry soil, and interannual variability limit restoration success of a dominant woody shrub in temperate drylands
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.