Seth Munson is an ecologist with the Southwest Biological Science Center in Flagstaff, Arizona. His research focuses on plant-soil interactions in dryland ecosystems and how these interactions are affected by climate and land use changes.
Much of Seth'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 determining effective ecological restoration strategies, and is done in close collaboration with several land management agencies.
Check the Science Tab for a List of Current Research Projects.
Research Interests:
Plant Ecology, Ecosystem Ecology, Dryland Ecology, Restoration Ecology, Soil Erosion
Current Positions:
Research Ecologist, US Geological Survey, Southwest Biological Science Center, Flagstaff, AZ
Adjunct Faculty, Northern Arizona University, Department of Biological Sciences, Flagstaff, AZ
Adjunct Faculty, Arizona State University, School of Life Sciences, Phoenix, AZ
Past Positions:
Jan 2011 - Dec 2013; Research Ecologist (Mendenhall Fellow), US Geological Survey, Geology and Environmental Change Science Center, Denver, CO
Dec 2008 - Jan 2011; Ecologist, US Geological Survey, Canyonlands Research Station, Moab, Utah
May 2004 - Nov 2008; Research Assistant, Colorado State University, Forest and Rangeland Stewardship, Fort Collins, CO
Sep 2002 – May 2004; Research Associate, University of New Mexico, Biology Department, Albuquerque, NM
Education and Certifications
Ph.D. Ecology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, May 2009
B.A. Biology, Earlham College, Richmond, IN, May 2001
Science and Products
Climate Adaptation Strategies for Arid Grasslands
Southern Border Fuels Management Initiative
The Gemini Solar Project
A global synthesis of multi-year drought effects on terrestrial ecosystems
Learning From the Past and Planning for the Future: Experience-Driven Insight Into Managing for Ecosystem Transformations Induced by Drought and Wildfire
RestoreNet: Distributed Field Trial Network for Dryland Restoration
Southwest Energy Development and Drought (SWEDD)
Ecology and Management of Pinyon-Juniper Woodlands: State of the Science
Understanding Changes to the Timing of Natural Events (Phenology) for Plants in the Water-Limited Southwest
Restoration and Ecosystem Recovery Dynamics in Arid and Semiarid Landscapes
Plant Responses to Drought and Climate Change in the Southwestern United States
Aeolian Dust in Dryland Landscapes of the Western United States
Remotely sensed fine fuel data for Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge (BANWR) from 2015 to 2020
RestoreNet subplot data for 21 sites within major dryland ecoregions throughout the southwestern United States, 2018 - 2021
Primary production and precipitation data along an elevation gradient in and adjacent to the San Francisco Mountains near Flagstaff, Arizona - 2015-2020
Predicted biomass of fine fuel for Altar Valley, Arizona, 2021
Remotely sensed fine-fuel data for Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge (BANWR) from 2015 to 2020
Plant trait and soil moisture data associated with ontogenetic trait shifts - seedlings display high trait variability during early stages of development
Data for Dust deposited on snow cover in the San Juan Mountains, Colorado, 2011-2016: Compositional variability bearing on snow-melt effects
Pinyon and Juniper location data, including a literature review citation list of Pinyon-Juniper systems from 1909 to 2018
Dataset for plant production responses to climate across water-limited regions
Plant production responses to precipitation differ along an elevation gradient and are enhanced under extremes (Northern Arizona, 1991-2016)
Rangeland Ecology Monitoring Data, Utah, 1967-2013
Grazing and ecosystem service delivery in global drylands
Geologic, geomorphic, and edaphic underpinnings of dryland ecosystems: Colorado Plateau landscapes in a changing world
Conflict of energies: Spatially modeling mule deer caloric expenditure in response to oil and gas development
Functional composition of plant communities mediates biomass effects on ecosystem service recovery across an experimental dryland restoration network
Primary production responses to extreme changes in North American Monsoon precipitation vary by elevation and plant functional composition through time
Supporting the development and use of native plant materials for restoration on the Colorado Plateau (Fiscal Year 2021 Report)
RestoreNet: Collaboration to improve success of seed-based restoration on the Colorado Plateau
Winter 2020-2021 edition
Protocol for installing and monitoring a RestoreNet restoration field trial network site
Dominant Sonoran Desert plant species have divergent phenological responses to climate change
RestoreNet: Collaboration to improve success of seed-based restoration on the Colorado Plateau
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
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Filter Total Items: 15
Climate Adaptation Strategies for Arid Grasslands
Helping National Parks in the 4-Corners region manage grasslands in a changing climate.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...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...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 than they havLearning 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 this pRestoreNet: 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 landscape, soil, and climate conditions. Each site in the network is used to test suitable seed mixes...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...Ecology and Management of Pinyon-Juniper Woodlands: State of the Science
Pinyon-juniper woodlands are a major part of western landscapes and are valued for recreational use, cultural resources, watershed protection, and wildlife habitats. These woodlands have been identified by several stakeholders, including natural resource management entities, federal and state agencies, and numerous tribal nations, as important ecosystems that are currently threatened by land treatUnderstanding Changes to the Timing of Natural Events (Phenology) for Plants in the Water-Limited Southwest
In many places around the world, spring events, like warming temperatures, are coming earlier and fall events are coming later than they have in the past. These changes have implications for the phenology, or the timing of natural life events (e.g. the timing of plant flowering in Spring or leaves falling in Autumn), of many plant species. However, not all species and regions are changing at the sRestoration and Ecosystem Recovery Dynamics in Arid and Semiarid Landscapes
Dryland regions have been degraded by invasive species, wildfire, overgrazing, agricultural conversion, energy development, recreational activity, and urban growth. These disturbances and others are accelerated by one of the fastest growing human populations in the country and a pressing background of decreasing water availability due to drought and elevated temperatures that are projected to...Plant Responses to Drought and Climate Change in the Southwestern United States
Land managers face tremendous challenges in the future as drought and climate change alter the abundance, distribution, and interactions of plant species. These challenges will be especially daunting in the southwestern US, which is already experiencing elevated temperatures and prolonged droughts, resulting in reduced soil moisture in an already water-limited environment. These changes will...Aeolian Dust in Dryland Landscapes of the Western United States
Dust emission caused by wind erosion has received considerable attention because of its far-reaching effects on ecosystems, including the loss of nutrients and water-holding capacity from source areas, changes to climate and global energy balance in areas where dust is entrained in the atmosphere, fertilization of terrestrial and marine ecosystems, in addition to decreases in snow albedo, causing... - Data
Remotely sensed fine fuel data for Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge (BANWR) from 2015 to 2020
These data were compiled to estimate fine-fuel abundance and distribution across the Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge in southern Arizona, USA. The objectives of the study were to develop and validate annual estimates of fine fuel (biomass of herbaceous vegetation) for the refuge and to assess changes in fine fuels through time in response to wildfire and prescribed fire. These data representRestoreNet subplot data for 21 sites within major dryland ecoregions throughout the southwestern United States, 2018 - 2021
These data were compiled for a networked field-trial restoration experiment (RestoreNet) that spans the southwestern US, including 21 distributed field sites. The objective of our study was to understand the environmental factors and restoration practices (including seed mixes and soil manipulation) that increase plant establishment and survival to ultimate improve restoration outcomes in drylandPrimary production and precipitation data along an elevation gradient in and adjacent to the San Francisco Mountains near Flagstaff, Arizona - 2015-2020
These data were compiled to allow further understanding of how aboveground net primary production of different plant functional types in ecosystems along an elevation gradient in the southwestern U.S. respond to extreme changes in warm-season precipitation (drought and water addition) associated with the North American Monsoon. The objectives of the study were to 1) determine how primary productioPredicted biomass of fine fuel for Altar Valley, Arizona, 2021
These data were compiled for the Altar Valley Conservation Alliance and the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service to identify and quantify the spatial distribution of fine fuels in relation to wildfire management across jurisdictional boundaries. Objective(s) of our study were to map the 2021 annual distribution of the biomass (kg/ha) of fine fuels (grasses, shrubs, and forbs) for the whole of the AltarRemotely sensed fine-fuel data for Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge (BANWR) from 2015 to 2020
These data were compiled to estimate fine-fuel abundance and distribution across the Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge in southern Arizona, USA. The objectives of the study were to develop and validate annual estimates of fine fuel (biomass of herbaceous vegetation) for the refuge and to assess changes in fine fuels through time in response to wildfire and prescribed fire. These data representPlant trait and soil moisture data associated with ontogenetic trait shifts - seedlings display high trait variability during early stages of development
These tabular data were compiled to document how key plant trait values change during plant development, particularly seedling stages, and in relation to soil moisture. An objective of our study was to answer three main research questions: (1) Do seedling trait values differ across early to late stages of seedling development and do those trajectories vary among plant species and functional typesData for Dust deposited on snow cover in the San Juan Mountains, Colorado, 2011-2016: Compositional variability bearing on snow-melt effects
Light-absorbing particles in atmospheric dust deposited on snow cover (dust-on-snow, DOS) diminish albedo and accelerate the timing and rate of snow melt. Identification of these particles and their effects are relevant to snow-radiation modeling and water-resource management. Laboratory-measured reflectance of DOS samples from the San Juan Mountains (USA) were compared with DOS mass loading, partPinyon and Juniper location data, including a literature review citation list of Pinyon-Juniper systems from 1909 to 2018
These data were compiled for a comprehensive review of pinyon-juniper communities including Pinus edulis, Pinus monophylla, Juniperus osteosperma, Juniperus monosperma, and Juniperus scopulorum. Compiled are a list of references cataloged by the topic of interest resulting from the literature search. The characterization for each reference includes the focal species, descriptions of the site(s) thDataset for plant production responses to climate across water-limited regions
This dataset was constructed from readily available open source climate and vegetation data, like Landsat. This dataset represents the vegetation and climate conditions for a large number of points across the major deserts of the SW USA. The dataset was constructed in order to use the climate pivot point approach (Munson et al. 2013) at the landscape level. Originally this dataset was much largerPlant production responses to precipitation differ along an elevation gradient and are enhanced under extremes (Northern Arizona, 1991-2016)
This dataset is from a precipitation manipulation experiment conducted at five grassland sites along an elevation gradient near Flagstaff, AZ. The data consist of pre- (1991 - 2010, 2015) and post-experimental (2016) treatment plant production and precipitation measurements. The plant production measurements were taken from satellite and hand-held spectroradiometer, in addition to plot-based harveRangeland Ecology Monitoring Data, Utah, 1967-2013
These data represent compiled long-term rangeland monitoring data collected from June to September, 1967 to 2013 at 96 permanently marked sites in 15 livestock grazing allotments in near Hanksville, Utah. The Rangeland rangeland monitoring data were collected by a Bureau of Land Management (BLM) field office in south-central Utah. Monitoring consisted of estimating canopy cover of perennial plant - Multimedia
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Grazing and ecosystem service delivery in global drylands
Grazing represents the most extensive use of land worldwide. Yet its impacts on ecosystem services remain uncertain because pervasive interactions between grazing pressure, climate, soil properties, and biodiversity may occur but have never been addressed simultaneously. Using a standardized survey at 98 sites across six continents, we show that interactions between grazing pressure, climate, soilGeologic, geomorphic, and edaphic underpinnings of dryland ecosystems: Colorado Plateau landscapes in a changing world
Drylands represent more than 41% of the global land surface and are at degradation risk due to land use and climate change. Developing strategies to mitigate degradation and restore drylands in the face of these threats requires an understanding of how drylands are shaped by not only soils and climate, but also geology and geomorphology. However, few studies have completed such a comprehensive anaConflict of energies: Spatially modeling mule deer caloric expenditure in response to oil and gas development
ContextWildlife avoid human disturbances, including roads and development. Avoidance and displacement of wildlife into less suitable habitat due to human development can affect their energy expenditures and fitness. The heart rate and oxygen uptake of large mammals varies with both natural aspects of their habitat (terrain, climate, predators, etc.) and anthropogenic influence (noise, light, fragmFunctional composition of plant communities mediates biomass effects on ecosystem service recovery across an experimental dryland restoration network
Land degradation can result in a loss of critical ecosystem services that we often seek to restore through re-establishment of desired plant communities. Trait-based approaches have the potential to target specific ecosystem services based on associations between the functional composition of plant communities and ecosystem properties that serve as indicators of those services.The effect of functiPrimary production responses to extreme changes in North American Monsoon precipitation vary by elevation and plant functional composition through time
Primary production in dryland ecosystems is limited by water availability and projected to be strongly affected by future shifts in seasonal precipitation. Warm-season precipitation derived from the North American Monsoon contributes 40% of annual precipitation to dryland ecosystems in the southwestern U.S. and is projected to become more variable. However, there is large uncertainty on whether thSupporting the development and use of native plant materials for restoration on the Colorado Plateau (Fiscal Year 2021 Report)
A primary focus of the Colorado Plateau Native Plant Program (CPNPP) is to identify and develop appropriate native plant materials (NPMs) for current and future restoration projects. Multiple efforts have characterized the myriad challenges inherent in providing appropriate seed resources to enable effective, widespread restoration and have identified a broad suite of research activities to providRestoreNet: Collaboration to improve success of seed-based restoration on the Colorado Plateau
Dryland restoration faces challenges from heat, drought, and unpredictable rainfall, that are increasingly common and severe due to climate change. Land managers need information about successful seed-based restoration techniques and seed mixes that are not widely available to increase restoration success. Researchers from the US Geological Survey (USGS) and partner universities are working with lWinter 2020-2021 edition
In this edition: 2021 year in review, native seed development process, RestoreNet protocol published and lots of associated research, a handful of climate change science, and more.Protocol for installing and monitoring a RestoreNet restoration field trial network site
RestoreNet is an ecological restoration experiment that is networked across multiple sites, spanning dryland ecosystems in the southwestern United States. The experiment is organized and led by the U.S. Geological Survey’s Restoration Assessment and Monitoring Program for the Southwest (RAMPS). This protocol functions to provide guidance to additional partners on how to set up a RestoreNet site anDominant Sonoran Desert plant species have divergent phenological responses to climate change
The southwestern U.S. is a global hotspot of climate change. Models project that temperatures will continue to rise through the end of the 21st century, accompanied by significant changes to the hydrological cycle. Within the Sonoran Desert, a limited number of studies have documented climate change impacts on the phenology of native plant species. Much of this phenological work to understand climRestoreNet: Collaboration to improve success of seed-based restoration on the Colorado Plateau
Land degradation in arid and semiarid ecosystems is often difficult to reverse because low rainfall and high temperatures impede reestablishment of vegetation. Seed-based restoration success and recovery rates are also impeded by harsh climatic conditions and remain extremely low. Additionally, little information is available to land managers about the performance of contrasting seed-based restoraNon-USGS Publications**
Bontti, E.E., J.P. DeCant, S.M. Munson, M.A. Gathany, A. Przeszlowska, M.L. Haddix, S. Owens, I.C. Burke, W.J. Parton, and M.E. Harmon. 2009. Litter decomposition in grasslands of Central North America (US Great Plains). Global Change Biology 15: 1356–1363.Munson, S.M. and W.K. Lauenroth. 2009. Plant population and community responses to removal of the dominant species in the shortgrass steppe. Journal of Vegetation Science 20: 224–232.Munson, S.M. and W.K. Lauenroth. 2012. Plant community recovery following restoration in semiarid grasslands. Restoration Ecology 20: 656–663.Munson, S.M., W.K. Lauenroth, and I.C. Burke. 2012. Soil carbon and nitrogen recovery on semiarid Conservation Reserve Program lands. Journal of Arid Environments 79: 25–31Munson, S.M. 2013. Plant responses, climate pivot points, and tradeoffs in water-limited ecosystems. Ecosphere 4: 109.Li, J., G.S. Okin, J.E. Herrick, J. Belnap, S.M. Munson, and M.E. Miller. 2010. A simple method to estimate threshold friction velocity of wind erosion in the field. Geophysical Research Letters 37: L10402.**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.
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