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.
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.
Biography
Brief Research Description: 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 agencies partners (BLM, NPS, NRCS, USFWS, and others) in designing research studies, conducting technology transfer, and outreach activities. Some primary current research focuses include understanding impacts of drought on Colorado Plateau landscapes, evaluating 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.
Education
- B.S. 1994 Environmental Resource Science University of California, Davis, CA
- Ph.D. 2006 Agronomy (Soil Science) New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM
Research and Professional Experience
- 2011-Present Research Ecologist USGS SBSC, Moab, UT
- 2010-2011 Research Soil Scientist USDA ARS Jornada, Las Cruces, NM
- 2006-2010 Research Soil Scientist (post doc) USDA ARS Jornada, Las Cruces, NM
- 2012-Present Adjunct Faculty USU, Logan, UT
- 2007-Present Adjunct Faculty NMSU, Las Cruces, NM
Links:
- See our recent LCC webinar!
- My Google Scholar Page
- Canyonlands Research Center
- Jornada Experimental Range
- Landscape Toolbox
- Uranium Mining in Arizona
Science and Products
Date published: February 25, 2019
Status: Active Drylands are highly vulnerable to climate and land use changes: what ecosystem changes are in store?
Improper land use during drought has been a major driver of land degradation in drylands globally, especially in the western U.S. Increasing aridity in western U.S. drylands under future climates will exacerbate risks associated with drought and land use decisions. This project provides critical observational, experimental, and modelling evidence to support our DOI partners with decision...
Contacts: Mike Duniway, Ph.D., Jayne Belnap
Date published: October 17, 2018
Status: Active Digital Soil Mapping: High Resolution Maps for Modern Land Management Decisions
The field of digital soil mapping has bridged the classic theories of soil science into the modern computing age to produce high resolution maps. This body of work utilizes classic soil factorial theory (soil = f[climate, organisms, relief (topography), parent material, time] + ɛ, or ‘clorpt’). The clorpt framework has been approximated using various environmental spatial data layers to...
Contacts: Travis W Nauman, Ph.D., Mike Duniway, Ph.D.
Attribution: Ecosystems, Southwest Biological Science Center
Date published: September 30, 2018
Status: Active Wind Erosion and Dust Emissions on the Colorado Plateau
Wind erosion of soils and dust emissions are a significant resource management challenge on the Colorado Plateau. Loss of topsoil and associated aeolian sediment (wind-driven sediment) movement can lead to reduced soil fertility as well as abrasion and burial of vegetation. Dust in the atmosphere poses a threat to human health, visual resources, and regional water supplies (due to interactions...
Attribution: Ecosystems, Southwest Biological Science Center
Date published: September 16, 2018
Status: Active Long-Term Vegetation Change on the Colorado Plateau
Drylands comprise ~35% of Earth’s terrestrial biomes, with over 1 billion people depending on these landscapes for their livelihoods. In the U.S., drylands comprise ~40% of the landmass and 83% of Department of Interior (DOI)-managed lands (excluding Alaska). Due to their vast extent nationally and globally, changes to these landscapes have the potential to affect global climate regulation. A...
Contacts: Jayne Belnap, Mike Duniway, Ph.D., Sasha Reed, Ph.D., Erika Geiger, Ph.D., Edmund E Grote, Terry Fisk, Matt Van Scoyoc
Attribution: Ecosystems, Southwest Biological Science Center
Date published: February 28, 2017
Status: Active Southwest Energy Development and Drought (SWEDD)
Deserts of the southwestern US are replete with oil and gas deposits as well as sites for solar, wind, and geothermal energy production. In the past, many of these resources have been too expensive to develop, but increased demand and new technologies have led to an increase in exploration and development. However, desert ecosystems generally have low resilience to disturbance. More frequent,...
Attribution: Southwest Biological Science Center
Date published: December 16, 2016
Colorado Plateau Native Plant Program Field Trial Study
In the southwest US, monsoon precipitation increases sharply along a northwest to southeast gradient. Pleuraphis jamesii or galleta grass, is an important C4 grass species that spans across this large range in precipitation pattern. In this study we are assessing the ability of galleta grass to adapt to changes in the seasonality of rainfall (termed “plasticity”). In the fall of 2014, we...
Contacts: Mike Duniway, Ph.D., Dave Hoover
Attribution: Southwest Biological Science Center
Date published: December 15, 2016
Status: Active New Approaches for Restoring Colorado Plateau Grasslands
Historic over-grazing of arid grasslands in the Intermountain West has led to widespread soil erosion, loss of plant diversity, and invasion by exotic species. Degraded grassland conditions can be very persistent, even after livestock use has ceased. For example, in national parks on the Colorado Plateau, livestock have been excluded for decades, but soil and native plants have not recovered...
Contacts: Mike Duniway, Ph.D., Rebecca Mann, Terry Fisk, Liz Ballenger
Attribution: Southwest Biological Science Center
Date published: December 7, 2016
Status: Active Chronic Drought Impacts on Colorado Plateau ecosystems (Rain-Out Experiment)
In drylands, chronic reductions in water availability (press-drought) through reduced precipitation and increased temperatures may have profound ecosystem effects, depending on the sensitivities of the dominant plants and plant functional types. In this study, we are examining the impacts of moderate, but long-term chronic drought using a network of 40 drought shelters on the Colorado Plateau...
Contacts: Mike Duniway, Ph.D., Jayne Belnap, David Hoover
Attribution: Southwest Biological Science Center
Date published: November 18, 2016
Colorado Plateau Extreme Drought in Grassland Experiment (EDGE)
In drylands, short-term extreme droughts can have profound ecosystem effects, depending on the timing (seasonality) of drought and the sensitivities of the dominant plants and plant functional types. Past work suggests that cool season drought may disproportionately impact regionally important grass and shrub species. In this study, we are examining the impacts of extreme seasonal drought on...
Contacts: Mike Duniway, Ph.D., Jayne Belnap, David Hoover
Attribution: Southwest Biological Science Center
Date published: June 7, 2012
Status: Active Climate change and ecohydrology in temperate dryland ecosystems: a global assessment
Water cycling and availability exert dominant control over ecological processes and the sustainability of ecosystem services in water - limited ecosystems. Consequently, dryland ecosystems have the potential to be dramatically impacted by hydrologic alterations emerging from global change, notably increasing temperature and altered precipitation patterns. In addition, the possibility of...
Attribution: John Wesley Powell Center for Analysis and Synthesis
Year Published: 2019
Hydrologic function of rapidly induced biocrusts
In dryland ecosystems, land degradation and erosion pose severe threats to ecosystem productivity and human wellbeing. Bio‐inoculation of degraded soils with native biological soil crusts ('biocrusts') is a promising yet relatively untested means to improve soil stability and hydrologic function (i.e. increase infiltration and reduce runoff). In a...
Fick, Stephen E.; Barger, Nichole N.; Duniway, Michael C.Attribution: Southwest Biological Science Center, Ecosystems
Year Published: 2019
Relative prediction intervals reveal larger uncertainty in 3D approaches to predictive digital soil mapping of soil properties with legacy data
Fine scale maps of soil properties enable efficient land management and inform earth system models. Recent efforts to create soil property maps from field observations tend to use similar tree-based machine learning interpolation approaches, but often deal with depth of predictions, validation, and uncertainty differently. One of the main...
Nauman, Travis; Duniway, Michael C.Attribution: Southwest Biological Science Center, Ecosystems
Year Published: 2019
Wind erosion and dust from US drylands: a review of causes, consequences, and solutions in a changing world
Erosion by wind is one of the principal processes associated with land degradation in drylands and is a significant concern to land managers and policymakers globally. In the drylands of North America, millions of tons of soil are lost to wind erosion annually. Of the 60 million ha in the United States identified as most vulnerable to wind erosion (...
Duniway, Michael C.; Pfennigwerth, Alix A.; Fick, Stephen E.; Nauman, Travis W.; Belnap, Jayne; Barger, Nichole N.Attribution: Southwest Biological Science Center, Ecosystems
Year Published: 2018
Increasing temperature seasonality may overwhelm shifts in soil moisture to favor shrub grass dominance in Colorado Plateau drylands
Ecosystems in the southwestern U.S. are hotspots for climate change, and are predicted to experience continued warming and drying. In these water-limited systems, the balance between herbaceous and woody plant abundance impacts biodiversity and ecosystem processes, highlighting the need to understand how climate change will influence functional...
Gremer, Jennifer R.; Andrews, Caitlin M.; Norris, Jodi R.; Thomas, Lisa P.; Munson, Seth M.; Duniway, Michael C.; Bradford, John B.
Year Published: 2018
Adapting management to a changing world: Warm temperatures, dry soil, and interannual variability limit restoration success of a dominant woody shrub in temperate drylands
Restoration and rehabilitation of native vegetation in dryland ecosystems, which encompass over 40% of terrestrial ecosystems, is a common challenge that continues to grow as wildfire and biological invasions transform dryland plant communities. The difficulty in part stems from low and variable precipitation, combined with limited understanding...
Shriver, Robert K.; Andrews, Caitlin M.; Pilliod, David S.; Arkle, Robert; Welty, Justin; Germino, Matthew J.; Duniway, Michael C.; Pyke, David A.; Bradford, John B.Attribution: Southwest Biological Science Center, Ecosystems
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Shriver, R.K., Andrews, C.M., Pilliod, D.S., Arkle, R.S., Welty, J.L., Germino, M.J., Duniway, M.C., Pyke, D.A., and Bradford, J.B., 2018, Adapting management to a changing world--Warm temperatures, dry soil, and interannual variability limit restoration success of a dominant woody shrub in temperate drylands: Global Change Biology, online, https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.14374.
Year Published: 2018
Elevated aeolian sediment transport on the Colorado Plateau, USA: The role of grazing, vehicle disturbance, and increasing aridity
Dryland wind transport of sediment can accelerate soil erosion, degrade air quality, mobilize dunes, decrease water supply, and damage infrastructure. We measured aeolian sediment horizontal mass flux (q) at 100 cm height using passive aspirated sediment traps to better understand q variability on the Colorado Plateau. Measured q‘...
Nauman, Travis W.; Duniway, Michael C.; Webb, Nichloas P.; Belnap, JayneAttribution: Southwest Biological Science Center, Ecosystems, Energy & Wildlife, United States of America
View Citation
Nauman, T.W., Duniway, M.C., Webb, N.P., and Belnap, J., 2018, Elevated aeolian sediment transport on the Colorado Plateau, USA-- the role of grazing, vehicle disturbance, and increasing aridity: Earth Surface Processes and Landforms, online, https://doi.org/10.1002/esp.4457.
Year Published: 2018
Life history characteristics may be as important as climate projections for defining range shifts: An example for common tree species in the intermountain western US
AimPredictions of future suitable habitat for plant species with climate change are known to be affected by uncertainty associated with statistical approaches, climate models and occurrence records. However, life history characteristics related to dispersal and establishment processes as well as sensitivity to barriers created by land‐use may also...
Copeland, Stella M.; Bradford, John B.; Duniway, Michael C.; Butterfield, Bradley J.Attribution: Southwest Biological Science Center, Ecosystems
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Copeland, S.M., Bradford, J.B., Duniway, M.C., and Butterfield, B.J., 2018, Life history characteristics may be as important as climate projections for defining range shifts--An example for common tree species in the intermountain western US: Diversity and Distributions, online, https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/ddi.12813.
Year Published: 2018
Beyond traditional ecological restoration on the Colorado Plateau
The Colorado Plateau is one of North America's five major deserts, encompassing 340,000 km2 of the western U.S., and offering many opportunities for restoration relevant to researchers and land managers in drylands around the globe. The Colorado Plateau is comprised of vast tracts of public land managed by local, state, and federal agencies...
Winkler, Daniel E.; Backer, Dana M.; Belnap, Jayne; Bradford, John B.; Butterfield, Bradley J.; Copeland, Stella M.; Duniway, Michael C.; Faist, Akasha M.; Fick, Stephen E.; Jensen, Scott L.; Kramer, Andrea T.; Mann, Rebecca; Massatti, Robert; McCormick, Molly L.; Munson, Seth M.; Olwell, Peggy; Parr, Steve D.; Pfennigwerth, Alix; Pilmanis, Adrienne M.; Richardson, Bryce A.; Samuel, Ella; See, Kathy; Young, Kristina E.; Reed, Sasha C.Attribution: Southwest Biological Science Center, Ecosystems
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Winkler, D.E., Backer, D.M., Belnap, J., Bradford, J.B., Butterfield, B.J., Copeland, S.M., Duniway, M.C., Faist, A.M., Fick, S.E., Jensen, S.L., Kramer, A.T., Mann, R., Massatti, R.T., McCormick, M.L., Munson, S.M., Olwell, P., Parr, S.D., Pfennigwerth, A.A., Pilmanis, A.M., Richardson, B.A., Samuel, E., See, K., Young, K.E., and Reed, S.C., 2018, Beyond traditional ecological restoration on the Colorado Plateau: Restoration Ecology, online, https://doi.org/10.1111/rec.12876.
Year Published: 2018
Landsat time series analysis of fractional plant cover changes on abandoned energy development sites
Oil and natural gas development in the western United States has increased substantially in recent decades as technological advances like horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing have made extraction more commercially viable. Oil and gas pads are often developed for production, and then capped, reclaimed, and left to recover when no longer...
Waller, Eric K.; Villarreal, Miguel L.; Poitras, Travis B.; Nauman, Travis W.; Duniway, Michael C.View Citation
Waller, E.K., Villarreal, M.L., Poitras, T.B., Nauman, T.W., Duniway, M.C. 2018. Landsat time series analysis of fractional plant cover changes on abandoned energy development sites. International Journal of Applied Earth Observation and Geoinformation 73, 407-419, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jag.2018.07.008
Year Published: 2018
Soil water dynamics at 15 locations distributed across a desert landscape: insights from a 27‐yr dataset
Desert ecosystems are primarily limited by water availability. Within a climatic regime, topography, soil characteristics, and vegetation are expected to determine how the combined effects of precipitation, temperature, and evaporative demand of the atmosphere shape the spatial and temporal patterns of water within the soil profile and across a...
Duniway, Michael C.; Petrie, Matthew D.; Peters, Debra P. C.; Anderson, John P.; Crossland, Keith; Herrick, Jeffrey E.Attribution: Southwest Biological Science Center, Ecosystems
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Duniway, M.C., Petrie, M.D., Peters, D.P.C., Anderson, J.P., Crossland, K., and Herrick, J.E., Soil water dynamics at 15 locations distributed across a desert landscape--Insights from a 27-yr dataset: Ecosphere, v. 9, no. 7, p. 1-36, http://dx.doi.org/ 10.1002/ecs2.2335.
Year Published: 2018
Insights from long-term ungrazed and grazed watersheds in a salt desert Colorado Plateau ecosystem
Dryland ecosystems cover over 41% of the earth’s land surface, and living within these important ecosystems are approximately 2 billion people, a large proportion of whom are subsistence agropastoralists. Improper grazing in drylands can negatively impact ecosystem productivity, soil conservation, hydrologic processes, downstream water...
Duniway, Michael C.; Geiger, Erika L.; Minnick, Tamera J.; Phillips, Susan L.; Belnap, JayneAttribution: Southwest Biological Science Center, Ecosystems
View Citation
Duniway, M.C., Geiger, E.L., Minnick, T.J., Phillips, S.L., and Belnap, J., 2018, Insights from Long-Term Ungrazed and Grazed Watersheds in a Salt Desert Colorado Plateau Ecosystem: Rangeland Ecology and Management, v. 71, no 4, p. 492-505, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rama.2018.02.007.
Year Published: 2018
Identifying optimal remotely-sensed variables for ecosystem monitoring in Colorado Plateau drylands
Water-limited ecosystems often recover slowly following anthropogenic or natural disturbance. Multitemporal remote sensing can be used to monitor ecosystem recovery after disturbance; however, dryland vegetation cover can be challenging to accurately measure due to sparse cover and spectral confusion between soils and non-photosynthetic vegetation...
Poitras, Travis B.; Villarreal, Miguel L.; Waller, Eric K.; Nauman, Travis W.; Miller, Mark E.; Duniway, Michael C.Pre-USGS Publications
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.
The functional role of petrocalcic horizons in desert ecosystems: spatial and temporal dynamics of plant water availability
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.
Date published: February 7, 2017
New Scientific Approach Assesses Land Recovery Following Oil and Gas Drilling
A new scientific approach can now provide regional assessments of land recovery following oil and gas drilling activities, according to a new U.S. Geological Survey study published in the journal Science of the Total Environment.
Date published: December 28, 2016
Saving the Desert: Push to Restore Arches & Canyonlands National Parks
A video put out by CBS discusses some of the ecological issues of Arches and Canyonlands National Parks in UT such as nonnative annual grasses, disturbance caused by cattle grazing, and the difficulty of getting native, perennial grasses established. The video focuses on the research of SBSC’s Rebecca Mann and Mike Duniway, who are studying the use connectivity modifiers (ConMods) in...
Attribution: Southwest Biological Science Center