Seth Munson, Ph.D.
Seth Munson is a plant and ecosystem ecologist with the Southwest Biological Science Center in Flagstaff, Arizona. His research focuses on how dryland ecosystems respond to drought, wildfire, invasive species, and land-use to assist land management decision-making.
Much of Dr. Munson's research aims to understand the dynamics of dryland ecosystems at long temporal and broad spatial scales, and employs a multidisciplinary approach. His work seeks to improve the management of arid and semi-arid lands, including mitigating the impacts of disturbances and determining effective ecological restoration strategies to promote productive ecosystems.
Check the Science Tab Below for a List of Current Research Projects.
Research Interests: Plant Ecology, Ecosystem Ecology, Dryland Ecology, Restoration Ecology, Soil Erosion
Science and Products
Filter Total Items: 18
Supporting energy and mineral development through successful reclamation
Federal lands of the US contain important reserves of oil, gas and other resources important for Unleashing American Energy (SO 3418). After development of these resources is complete, successfully reclaiming disturbed lands is a necessary step towards restoring wildlife habitat, forage production, and maintaining natural resources for future use. To improve reclamation outcomes on these lands and...
Southwest Fire Innovation Landscape Network: Advanced tools for fuel monitoring and assessment of wildfire risk
The USGS Southwest Biological Science Center is coordinating the Southwest Fire Innovation Landscape Network to prepare fire and natural resource managers for rapidly changing fire landscapes by conducting research and building science-management partnerships. The network develops advanced tools and technologies to assess fuel loads and the effectiveness of fuel treatments, understand wildfire...
The Gemini Solar Project
The United States is developing renewable energy resources, especially solar, at a rapid rate. Although renewable energy development is widely perceived by the public as “green technology,” construction, operation, maintenance, and eventual decommissioning of facilities all have known and potential negative impacts to natural resources, including plant communities and wildlife. This is especially...
RAMPS: Restoration Assessment & Monitoring Program for the Southwest
The Restoration Assessment and Monitoring Program for the Southwest (RAMPS) seeks to assist U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) and other land management agencies in developing successful techniques for improving land condition in dryland ecosystems of the southwestern United States. Invasion by non-native species, wildfire, drought, and other disturbances are growing rapidly in extent and...
Plant responses to drought in the southwestern United States
Land managers face challenges in the future as heat-related aridification alters the abundance, distribution, and interactions of plant species. These challenges will be daunting in the southwestern US, which is experiencing increased temperatures and prolonged droughts, resulting in reduced soil moisture in an already water-limited environment.
Remote Sensing of Invasive Annual Grasses -- Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem
Exotic annual grasses such as cheatgrass ( Bromus tectorum) have heavily invaded portions of the western United States, rapidly degrading habitats and increasing wildfire risk. Cheatgrass and other ESIs (desert alyssum [Alyssum desertorum], and annual wheatgrass [Eremopyrum triticeum]) are an emerging threat to the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE); climatic changes including earlier snowmelt...
Informing seed transfer guidelines and native plant materials development
As restoration needs for natural landscapes grow due to higher frequency and/or intensity disturbances, pressure from invasive species, and impacts resulting from changing climates, considerable time and resources are being invested to guide the development and deployment of native plant materials (NPMs). Across lower elevations of the Colorado Plateau, a region composed primarily of public land...
Drought Adaptation Strategies for Arid Grasslands
Helping National Parks in the 4-Corners region manage grasslands in a changing world.
Southern Border Fuels Management Initiative
The Southern Border Fuels Management Initiative was initiated in 2017 to reduce wildfire risk and improve border security by actively conducting fuels treatments on Department of Interior (DOI) and tribal lands within 100 miles of the US-Mexico border. The initiative supports Executive Order 13855: Promoting Active Management of America’s Forests, Rangelands, and Other Federal Land to Improve...
A global synthesis of multi-year drought effects on terrestrial ecosystems
Drought impacts on terrestrial ecosystems have increased globally in the 21st century, and droughts are expected to become more frequent, extreme, and spatially extensive in the future. Historical site-based observations are inadequate to predict how future extreme water deficits will affect the global terrestrial surface, because future droughts and their impacts may be more extreme...
Learning From the Past and Planning for the Future: Experience-Driven Insight Into Managing for Ecosystem Transformations Induced by Drought and Wildfire
Drought and wildfire pose enormous threats to the integrity of natural resources that land managers are charged with protecting. Recent observations and modeling forecasts indicate that these stressors will likely produce catastrophic ecosystem transformations, or abrupt changes in the condition of plants, wildlife, and their habitats, in regions across the country in coming decades. In...
RestoreNet: Distributed Field Trial Network for Dryland Restoration
Starting in 2017, U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) researchers and land managers are co-producing a network of restoration field trial sites on Department of Interior (DOI) and surrounding lands in the southwestern U.S. The network systematically tests restoration treatments across a broad range of environmental gradients. Each site in the network is used to test suitable seed mixes and treatments...
Science and Products
Filter Total Items: 18
Supporting energy and mineral development through successful reclamation
Federal lands of the US contain important reserves of oil, gas and other resources important for Unleashing American Energy (SO 3418). After development of these resources is complete, successfully reclaiming disturbed lands is a necessary step towards restoring wildlife habitat, forage production, and maintaining natural resources for future use. To improve reclamation outcomes on these lands and...
Southwest Fire Innovation Landscape Network: Advanced tools for fuel monitoring and assessment of wildfire risk
The USGS Southwest Biological Science Center is coordinating the Southwest Fire Innovation Landscape Network to prepare fire and natural resource managers for rapidly changing fire landscapes by conducting research and building science-management partnerships. The network develops advanced tools and technologies to assess fuel loads and the effectiveness of fuel treatments, understand wildfire...
The Gemini Solar Project
The United States is developing renewable energy resources, especially solar, at a rapid rate. Although renewable energy development is widely perceived by the public as “green technology,” construction, operation, maintenance, and eventual decommissioning of facilities all have known and potential negative impacts to natural resources, including plant communities and wildlife. This is especially...
RAMPS: Restoration Assessment & Monitoring Program for the Southwest
The Restoration Assessment and Monitoring Program for the Southwest (RAMPS) seeks to assist U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) and other land management agencies in developing successful techniques for improving land condition in dryland ecosystems of the southwestern United States. Invasion by non-native species, wildfire, drought, and other disturbances are growing rapidly in extent and...
Plant responses to drought in the southwestern United States
Land managers face challenges in the future as heat-related aridification alters the abundance, distribution, and interactions of plant species. These challenges will be daunting in the southwestern US, which is experiencing increased temperatures and prolonged droughts, resulting in reduced soil moisture in an already water-limited environment.
Remote Sensing of Invasive Annual Grasses -- Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem
Exotic annual grasses such as cheatgrass ( Bromus tectorum) have heavily invaded portions of the western United States, rapidly degrading habitats and increasing wildfire risk. Cheatgrass and other ESIs (desert alyssum [Alyssum desertorum], and annual wheatgrass [Eremopyrum triticeum]) are an emerging threat to the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE); climatic changes including earlier snowmelt...
Informing seed transfer guidelines and native plant materials development
As restoration needs for natural landscapes grow due to higher frequency and/or intensity disturbances, pressure from invasive species, and impacts resulting from changing climates, considerable time and resources are being invested to guide the development and deployment of native plant materials (NPMs). Across lower elevations of the Colorado Plateau, a region composed primarily of public land...
Drought Adaptation Strategies for Arid Grasslands
Helping National Parks in the 4-Corners region manage grasslands in a changing world.
Southern Border Fuels Management Initiative
The Southern Border Fuels Management Initiative was initiated in 2017 to reduce wildfire risk and improve border security by actively conducting fuels treatments on Department of Interior (DOI) and tribal lands within 100 miles of the US-Mexico border. The initiative supports Executive Order 13855: Promoting Active Management of America’s Forests, Rangelands, and Other Federal Land to Improve...
A global synthesis of multi-year drought effects on terrestrial ecosystems
Drought impacts on terrestrial ecosystems have increased globally in the 21st century, and droughts are expected to become more frequent, extreme, and spatially extensive in the future. Historical site-based observations are inadequate to predict how future extreme water deficits will affect the global terrestrial surface, because future droughts and their impacts may be more extreme...
Learning From the Past and Planning for the Future: Experience-Driven Insight Into Managing for Ecosystem Transformations Induced by Drought and Wildfire
Drought and wildfire pose enormous threats to the integrity of natural resources that land managers are charged with protecting. Recent observations and modeling forecasts indicate that these stressors will likely produce catastrophic ecosystem transformations, or abrupt changes in the condition of plants, wildlife, and their habitats, in regions across the country in coming decades. In...
RestoreNet: Distributed Field Trial Network for Dryland Restoration
Starting in 2017, U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) researchers and land managers are co-producing a network of restoration field trial sites on Department of Interior (DOI) and surrounding lands in the southwestern U.S. The network systematically tests restoration treatments across a broad range of environmental gradients. Each site in the network is used to test suitable seed mixes and treatments...