WorldWideScience

Sample records for sagebrush steppe rangelands

  1. Multiscale sagebrush rangeland habitat modeling in southwest Wyoming

    Science.gov (United States)

    Homer, Collin G.; Aldridge, Cameron L.; Meyer, Debra K.; Coan, Michael J.; Bowen, Zachary H.

    2009-01-01

    Sagebrush-steppe ecosystems in North America have experienced dramatic elimination and degradation since European settlement. As a result, sagebrush-steppe dependent species have experienced drastic range contractions and population declines. Coordinated ecosystem-wide research, integrated with monitoring and management activities, would improve the ability to maintain existing sagebrush habitats. However, current data only identify resource availability locally, with rigorous spatial tools and models that accurately model and map sagebrush habitats over large areas still unavailable. Here we report on an effort to produce a rigorous large-area sagebrush-habitat classification and inventory with statistically validated products and estimates of precision in the State of Wyoming. This research employs a combination of significant new tools, including (1) modeling sagebrush rangeland as a series of independent continuous field components that can be combined and customized by any user at multiple spatial scales; (2) collecting ground-measured plot data on 2.4-meter imagery in the same season the satellite imagery is acquired; (3) effective modeling of ground-measured data on 2.4-meter imagery to maximize subsequent extrapolation; (4) acquiring multiple seasons (spring, summer, and fall) of an additional two spatial scales of imagery (30 meter and 56 meter) for optimal large-area modeling; (5) using regression tree classification technology that optimizes data mining of multiple image dates, ratios, and bands with ancillary data to extrapolate ground training data to coarser resolution sensors; and (6) employing rigorous accuracy assessment of model predictions to enable users to understand the inherent uncertainties. First-phase results modeled eight rangeland components (four primary targets and four secondary targets) as continuous field predictions. The primary targets included percent bare ground, percent herbaceousness, percent shrub, and percent litter. The

  2. Multiscale sagebrush rangeland habitat modeling in the Gunnison Basin of Colorado

    Science.gov (United States)

    Homer, Collin G.; Aldridge, Cameron L.; Meyer, Debra K.; Schell, Spencer J.

    2013-01-01

    North American sagebrush-steppe ecosystems have decreased by about 50 percent since European settlement. As a result, sagebrush-steppe dependent species, such as the Gunnison sage-grouse, have experienced drastic range contractions and population declines. Coordinated ecosystem-wide research, integrated with monitoring and management activities, is needed to help maintain existing sagebrush habitats; however, products that accurately model and map sagebrush habitats in detail over the Gunnison Basin in Colorado are still unavailable. The goal of this project is to provide a rigorous large-area sagebrush habitat classification and inventory with statistically validated products and estimates of precision across the Gunnison Basin. This research employs a combination of methods, including (1) modeling sagebrush rangeland as a series of independent objective components that can be combined and customized by any user at multiple spatial scales; (2) collecting ground measured plot data on 2.4-meter QuickBird satellite imagery in the same season the imagery is acquired; (3) modeling of ground measured data on 2.4-meter imagery to maximize subsequent extrapolation; (4) acquiring multiple seasons (spring, summer, and fall) of Landsat Thematic Mapper imagery (30-meter) for optimal modeling; (5) using regression tree classification technology that optimizes data mining of multiple image dates, ratios, and bands with ancillary data to extrapolate ground training data to coarser resolution Landsat Thematic Mapper; and 6) employing accuracy assessment of model predictions to enable users to understand their dependencies. Results include the prediction of four primary components including percent bare ground, percent herbaceous, percent shrub, and percent litter, and four secondary components including percent sagebrush (Artemisia spp.), percent big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata), percent Wyoming sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata wyomingensis), and shrub height (centimeters

  3. Prescribed Fire Effects on Runoff, Erosion, and Soil Water Repellency on Steeply-Sloped Sagebrush Rangeland over a Five Year Period

    Science.gov (United States)

    Williams, C. J.; Pierson, F. B.; Al-Hamdan, O. Z.

    2014-12-01

    Fire is an inherent component of sagebrush steppe rangelands in western North America and can dramatically affect runoff and erosion processes. Post-fire flooding and erosion events pose substantial threats to proximal resources, property, and human life. Yet, prescribed fire can serve as a tool to manage vegetation and fuels on sagebrush rangelands and to reduce the potential for large catastrophic fires and mass erosion events. The impact of burning on event hydrologic and erosion responses is strongly related to the degree to which burning alters vegetation, ground cover, and surface soils and the intensity and duration of precipitation. Fire impacts on hydrologic and erosion response may be intensified or reduced by inherent site characteristics such as topography and soil properties. Parameterization of these diverse conditions in predictive tools is often limited by a lack of data and/or understanding for the domain of interest. Furthermore, hydrologic and erosion functioning change as vegetation and ground cover recover in the years following burning and few studies track these changes over time. In this study, we evaluated the impacts of prescribed fire on vegetation, ground cover, soil water repellency, and hydrologic and erosion responses 1, 2, and 5 yr following burning of a mountain big sagebrush community on steep hillslopes with fine-textured soils. The study site is within the Reynolds Creek Experimental Watershed, southwestern Idaho, USA. Vegetation, ground cover, and soil properties were measured over plot scales of 0.5 m2 to 9 m2. Rainfall simulations (0.5 m2) were used to assess the impacts of fire on soil water repellency, infiltration, runoff generation, and splash-sheet erosion. Overland flow experiments (9 m2) were used to assess the effects of fire-reduced ground cover on concentrated-flow runoff and erosion processes. The study results provide insight regarding fire impacts on runoff, erosion, and soil water repellency in the immediate and

  4. Restoration handbook for sagebrush steppe ecosystems with emphasis on greater sage-grouse habitat - Part 1

    Science.gov (United States)

    David A. Pyke; Jeanne C. Chambers; Mike Pellant; Steven T. Knick; Richard F. Miller; Jeffrey L. Beck; Paul S. Doescher; Eugene W. Schupp; Bruce A. Roundy; Mark Brunson; James D. McIver

    2015-01-01

    Sagebrush steppe ecosystems in the United States currently occur on only about one-half of their historical land area because of changes in land use, urban growth, and degradation of land, including invasions of non-native plants. The existence of many animal species depends on the existence of sagebrush steppe habitat. The greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus...

  5. The role of symbiotic nitrogen fixation in nitrogen availability, competition and plant invasion into the sagebrush steppe

    Science.gov (United States)

    Erin M. Goergen

    2009-01-01

    In the semi-arid sagebrush steppe of the Northeastern Sierra Nevada, resources are both spatially and temporally variable, arguably making resource availability a primary factor determining invasion success. N fixing plant species, primarily native legumes, are often relatively abundant in sagebrush steppe and can contribute to ecosystem nitrogen budgets. ...

  6. Scales of snow depth variability in high elevation rangeland sagebrush

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tedesche, Molly E.; Fassnacht, Steven R.; Meiman, Paul J.

    2017-09-01

    In high elevation semi-arid rangelands, sagebrush and other shrubs can affect transport and deposition of wind-blown snow, enabling the formation of snowdrifts. Datasets from three field experiments were used to investigate the scales of spatial variability of snow depth around big mountain sagebrush ( Artemisia tridentata Nutt.) at a high elevation plateau rangeland in North Park, Colorado, during the winters of 2002, 2003, and 2008. Data were collected at multiple resolutions (0.05 to 25 m) and extents (2 to 1000 m). Finer scale data were collected specifically for this study to examine the correlation between snow depth, sagebrush microtopography, the ground surface, and the snow surface, as well as the temporal consistency of snow depth patterns. Variograms were used to identify the spatial structure and the Moran's I statistic was used to determine the spatial correlation. Results show some temporal consistency in snow depth at several scales. Plot scale snow depth variability is partly a function of the nature of individual shrubs, as there is some correlation between the spatial structure of snow depth and sagebrush, as well as between the ground and snow depth. The optimal sampling resolution appears to be 25-cm, but over a large area, this would require a multitude of samples, and thus a random stratified approach is recommended with a fine measurement resolution of 5-cm.

  7. Restoration handbook for sagebrush steppe ecosystems with emphasis on greater sage-grouse habitat—Part 1. Concepts for understanding and applying restoration

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pyke, David A.; Chambers, Jeanne C.; Pellant, Mike; Knick, Steven T.; Miller, Richard F.; Beck, Jeffrey L.; Doescher, Paul S.; Schupp, Eugene W.; Roundy, Bruce A.; Brunson, Mark; McIver, James D.

    2015-10-26

    Sagebrush steppe ecosystems in the United States currently occur on only about one-half of their historical land area because of changes in land use, urban growth, and degradation of land, including invasions of non-native plants. The existence of many animal species depends on the existence of sagebrush steppe habitat. The greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) is a landscape-dependent bird that requires intact habitat and combinations of sagebrush and perennial grasses to exist. In addition, other sagebrush-obligate animals also have similar requirements and restoration of landscapes for greater sage-grouse also will benefit these animals. Once sagebrush lands are degraded, they may require restoration actions to make those lands viable habitat for supporting sagebrushobligate animals. This restoration handbook is the first in a three-part series on restoration of sagebrush ecosystems. In Part 1, we discuss concepts surrounding landscape and restoration ecology of sagebrush ecosystems and greater sage-grouse that habitat managers and restoration practitioners need to know to make informed decisions regarding where and how to restore specific areas. We will describe the plant dynamics of sagebrush steppe ecosystems and their responses to major disturbances, fire, and defoliation. We will introduce the concepts of ecosystem resilience to disturbances and resistance to invasions of annual grasses within sagebrush steppe. An introduction to soils and ecological site information will provide insights into the specific plants that can be restored in a location. Soil temperature and moisture regimes are described as a tool for determining resilience and resistance and the potential for various restoration actions. Greater sage-grouse are considered landscape birds that require large areas of intact sagebrush steppe; therefore, we describe concepts of landscape ecology that aid our decisions regarding habitat restoration. We provide a brief overview of

  8. Bumble bee (Hymenoptera: Apidae) community structure on two sagebrush steppe sites in southern Idaho

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stephen P. Cook; Sara M. Birch; Frank W. Merickel; Carrie Caselton Lowe; Deborah Page-Dumroese

    2011-01-01

    Although sagebrush, Artemisia spp., does not require an insect pollinator, there are several native species of bumble bees, Bombus spp. (Hymenoptera: Apidae), that are present in sagebrush steppe ecosystems where they act as pollinators for various forbs and shrubs. These native pollinators contribute to plant productivity and reproduction. We captured 12 species of...

  9. Restoration handbook for sagebrush steppe ecosystems with emphasis on greater sage-grouse habitat - Part 3: Site level restoration decisions

    Science.gov (United States)

    David A. Pyke; Jeanne C. Chambers; Mike Pellant; Richard F. Miller; Jeffrey L. Beck; Paul S. Doescher; Bruce A. Roundy; Eugene W. Schupp; Steven T. Knick; Mark Brunson; James D. McIver

    2017-01-01

    Sagebrush steppe ecosystems in the United States currently (2016) occur on only about one-half of their historical land area because of changes in land use, urban growth, and degradation of land, including invasions of non-native plants. The existence of many animal species depends on the existence of sagebrush steppe habitat. The greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus...

  10. Mechanical mastication of Utah juniper encroaching sagebrush steppe increases inorganic soil N

    Science.gov (United States)

    Juniper (Juniperus spp.) has encroached millions of hectares of sagebrush (Artemisia spp.) steppe. Juniper mechanical mastication increases cover of understory species, but could increase resource availability and subsequently invasive plant species. We quantified the effects of juniper mastication ...

  11. Common raven occurrence in relation to energy transmission line corridors transiting human-altered sagebrush steppe

    Science.gov (United States)

    Coates, Peter S.; Howe, Kristy B.; Casazza, Michael L.; Delehanty, David J.

    2014-01-01

    Energy-related infrastructure and other human enterprises within sagebrush steppe of the American West often results in changes that promote common raven (Corvus corax; hereafter, raven) populations. Ravens, a generalist predator capable of behavioral innovation, present a threat to many species of conservation concern. We evaluate the effects of detailed features of an altered landscape on the probability of raven occurrence using extensive raven survey (n= 1045) and mapping data from southern Idaho, USA. We found nonlinear relationships between raven occurrence and distances to transmission lines, roads, and facilities. Most importantly, raven occurrence was greater with presence of transmission lines up to 2.2 km from the corridor.We further explain variation in raven occurrence along anthropogenic features based on the amount of non-native vegetation and cover type edge, such that ravens select fragmented sagebrush stands with patchy, exotic vegetative introgression. Raven occurrence also increased with greater length of edge formed by the contact of big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentate spp.) with non-native vegetation cover types. In consideration of increasing alteration of sagebrush steppe, these findings will be useful for planning energy transmission corridor placement and other management activities where conservation of sagebrush obligate species is a priority.

  12. The Sagebrush Steppe Treatment Evaluation Project (SageSTEP): a test of state-and-transition theory

    Science.gov (United States)

    James D. McIver; Mark Brunson; Steve C. Bunting; Jeanne Chambers; Nora Devoe; Paul Doescher; James Grace; Dale Johnson; Steve Knick; Richard Miller; Mike Pellant; Fred Pierson; David Pyke; Kim Rollins; Bruce Roundy; Eugene Schupp; Robin Tausch; David Turner

    2010-01-01

    The Sagebrush Steppe Treatment Evaluation Project (SageSTEP) is a comprehensive, integrated, long-term study that evaluates the ecological effects of fire and fire surrogate treatments designed to reduce fuel and to restore sagebrush (Artemisia spp.) communities of the Great Basin and surrounding areas. SageSTEP has several features that make it ideal for testing...

  13. The economics of fuel management: Wildfire, invasive plants, and the dynamics of sagebrush rangelands in the western United States

    Science.gov (United States)

    Michael H. Taylor; Kimberly Rollins; Mimako Kobayashi; Robin J. Tausch

    2013-01-01

    In this article we develop a simulation model to evaluate the economic efficiency of fuel treatments and apply it to two sagebrush ecosystems in the Great Basin of the western United States: the Wyoming Sagebrush Steppe and Mountain Big Sagebrush ecosystems. These ecosystems face the two most prominent concerns in sagebrush ecosystems relative to wildfire: annual grass...

  14. Restoration of mountain big sagebrush steppe following prescribed burning to control western juniper.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Davies, K W; Bates, J D; Madsen, M D; Nafus, A M

    2014-05-01

    Western juniper (Juniperus occidentalis ssp. occidentalis Hook) encroachment into mountain big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata spp. vaseyana (Rydb.) Beetle) steppe has reduced livestock forage production, increased erosion risk, and degraded sagebrush-associated wildlife habitat. Western juniper has been successfully controlled with partial cutting followed by prescribed burning the next fall, but the herbaceous understory and sagebrush may be slow to recover. We evaluated the effectiveness of seeding perennial herbaceous vegetation and sagebrush at five sites where juniper was controlled by partially cutting and prescribed burning. Treatments tested at each site included an unseeded control, herbaceous seed mix (aerially seeded), and the herbaceous seed mix plus sagebrush seed. In the third year post-treatment, perennial grass cover and density were twice as high in plots receiving the herbaceous seed mix compared to the control plots. Sagebrush cover and density in the sagebrush seeded plots were between 74- and 290-fold and 62- and 155-fold greater than the other treatments. By the third year after treatment, sagebrush cover was as high as 12 % in the sagebrush seeded plots and between 0 % and 0.4 % where it was not seeded. These results indicate that aerial seeding perennial herbaceous vegetation can accelerate the recovery of perennial grasses which likely stabilize the site. Our results also suggest that seeding mountain big sagebrush after prescribed burning encroaching juniper can rapidly recover sagebrush cover and density. In areas where sagebrush habitat is limited, seeding sagebrush after juniper control may increase sagebrush habitat and decrease the risks to sagebrush-associated species.

  15. Legacy effects of no-analogue disturbances alter plant community diversity and composition in semi-arid sagebrush steppe

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ripplinger, Julie; Franklin, Janet; Edwards, Thomas C.

    2015-01-01

    Questions(i) What role does the type of managed disturbance play in structuring sagebrush steppe plant communities? (ii) How does the composition of post-disturbance plant communities change with time since disturbance? (iii) Does plant community diversity change over time following managed disturbance?LocationField study within the sagebrush steppe ecosystem. Rich County, Utah, USA.MethodsWe developed a chronosequence spanning up to 50 yrs post-treatment to study sagebrush steppe vegetation dynamics. Direct ordination was used to examine plant community composition by managed disturbance type and time since disturbance, and factorial analysis of covariance was used to examine diversity dynamics following disturbance. Indicator species values were calculated in order to identify characteristic species for each disturbance type.ResultsPlant communities experienced a shift toward distinct community composition for each of the three managed disturbance types, and gave no indication of returning to untreated community composition or diversity. Small post-disturbance increases in the number of non-native grass species were observed in the treatments relative to reference, with native forb species making the largest contribution to altered composition. On fire- and chemically-treated sites the proportional native forb species richness increased over time since disturbance, while the proportional contribution of non-native forbs to total species richness decreased. For all three treatment types, native grasses contributed less on average to total richness than on reference sites, while non-native grasses made up a higher proportion of total richness.ConclusionsCommon shrubland management techniques have legacy effects on the composition and diversity of sagebrush steppe plant communities, and no-analogue disturbances, such as chemical or mechanical treatments, have more pronounced legacy effects than treatments similar to natural disturbance regimes (fire). This study

  16. Effectiveness of prescribed fire to re-establish sagebrush vegetation and ecohydrologic function on woodland-encroached sagebrush steppe, Great Basin, USA

    Science.gov (United States)

    Williams, C. J.; Pierson, F. B.; Kormos, P.; Al-Hamdan, O. Z.; Nouwakpo, S.; Weltz, M.; Vega, S.; Lindsay, K.

    2017-12-01

    Range expansion of pinyon (Pinus spp.) and juniper (Juniperus spp.) conifers into sagebrush steppe (Artemisia spp.) communities has imperiled a vast domain in the western US. Encroachment of sagebrush ecosystems by pinyon and juniper conifers has negative ramifications to ecosystem structure and function and delivery of goods and services. Scientists, land management agencies, and private land owners throughout the western US are challenged with selecting from a suite of options to reduce pinyon and juniper woody fuels and re-establish sagebrush steppe structure and function. This study evaluated the effectiveness of prescribed fire to re-establish sagebrush vegetation and ecohydrologic function over a 9 yr period. Nine years post-fire hydrologic and erosion responses reflect the combination of pre-fire site conditions, perennial grass recruitment, delayed litter cover, and inherent site characteristics. Burning initially increased bare ground, runoff, and erosion for well-vegetated areas underneath tree and shrub canopies, but had minimal impact on hydrology and erosion for degraded interspaces between plants. The degraded interspaces were primarily bare ground and exhibited high runoff and erosion rates prior to burning. Initial fire effects persisted for two years, but increased productivity of grasses improved hydrologic function of interspaces over the full 9 yr period. At the hillslope scale, grass recruitment in the intercanopy between trees reduced runoff from rainsplash, sheetflow, and concentrated overland flow at one site, but did not reduce the high levels of runoff and erosion from a more degraded site. In areas formerly occupied by trees (tree zones), burning increased invasive annual grass cover due to fire removal of limited native perennial plants and competition for resources. The invasive annual grass cover had no net effect on runoff and erosion from tree zones however. Runoff and erosion increased in tree zones at the more degraded site due to

  17. Success of seeding native compared with introduced perennial vegetation for revegetating medusahead-invaded sagebrush rangeland

    Science.gov (United States)

    Millions of hectares of Wyoming big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata Nutt. ssp. wyomingensis Beetle &Young) rangeland have been invaded by medusahead (Taeniatherum caput-medusae [L.] Nevski), an exotic annual grass that degrades wildlife habitat, reduces forage production, and decreases biodiversity....

  18. Current stage of the restoration of Chernozems in rangeland ecosystems of the steppe zone

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rusanov, A. M.

    2015-06-01

    The results of two rounds of soil and geobotanic surveys of rangeland ecosystems in the steppe zone are presented. The same sites with southern chernozems (Calcic Chernozems) under steppe plant communities at different stages of pasture degradation were investigated at the end of the 1980s, when they suffered maximum anthropogenic loads, and in 2011-2013, after a long period of relative rest. In the 1980s, degradation of soil physical properties in rangeland ecosystems under the impact of long-term unsustainable management was noted. At the same time, it was found that the major qualitative and quantitative properties of humus in the chernozems were preserved independently from the level of pasture degradation. The following period of moderate grazing pressure had a favorable effect on the soil properties. Owing to the good characteristics of the soil humus, the restoration of the physical properties of chernozems-including their structural state, water permeability, and bulk density-took place in a relatively short period. It is argued that the soil bulk density is a natural regulator of the species composition of steppe vegetation, because true grasses (Poaceae)-typical representatives of the steppe flora-have a fibrous root system requiring the soils with low density values. The improvement of the properties of chernozems is related to the development of secondary ecosystems with a higher portion of grasses in place of damaged rangelands and to the increase in the area of nominal virgin phytocenoses.

  19. Mercury distribution in two Sierran forest and one desert sagebrush steppe ecosystems and the effects of fire

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Engle, Mark A.; Sexauer Gustin, Mae; Johnson, Dale W.; Murphy, James F.; Miller, Wally W.; Walker, Roger F.; Wright, Joan; Markee, Melissa

    2006-01-01

    Mercury (Hg) concentration, reservoir mass, and Hg reservoir size were determined for vegetation components, litter, and mineral soil for two Sierran forest sites and one desert sagebrush steppe site. Mercury was found to be held primarily in the mineral soil (maximum depth of 60 to 100 cm), which contained more than 90% of the total ecosystem reservoir. However, Hg in foliage, bark, and litter plays a more dominant role in Hg cycling than the mineral soil. Mercury partitioning into ecosystem components at the Sierran forest sites was similar to that observed for other US forest sites. Vegetation and litter Hg reservoirs were significantly smaller in the sagebrush steppe system because of lower biomass. Data collected from these ecosystems after wildfire and prescribed burns showed a significant decrease in the Hg pool from certain reservoirs. No loss from mineral soil was observed for the study areas but data from fire severity points suggested that Hg in the upper few millimeters of surface soil may be volatilized due to exposure to elevated temperatures. Comparison of data from burned and unburned plots suggested that the only significant source of atmospheric Hg from the prescribed burn was combustion of litter. Differences in unburned versus burned Hg reservoirs at the forest wildfire site demonstrated that drastic reduction in the litter and above ground live biomass Hg reservoirs after burning had occurred. Sagebrush and litter were absent in the burned plots after a wildfire suggesting that both reservoirs were released during the fire. Mercury emissions due to fire from the forest prescribed burn, forest wildfire, and sagebrush steppe wildfire sites were roughly estimated at 2.0 to 5.1, 2.2 to 4.9, and 0.36 ± 0.13 g ha -1 , respectively, with litter and vegetation being the most important sources

  20. A synopsis of short-term response to alternative restoration treatments in sagebrush-steppe: the SageSTEP project

    Science.gov (United States)

    McIver, James; Brunson, Mark; Bunting, Steve; Chambers, Jeanne; Doescher, Paul; Grace, James; Hulet, April; Johnson, Dale; Knick, Steven T.; Miller, Richard; Pellant, Mike; Pierson, Fred; Pyke, David; Rau, Benjamin; Rollins, Kim; Roundy, Bruce; Schupp, Eugene; Tausch, Robin; Williams, Jason

    2014-01-01

    The Sagebrush Steppe Treatment Evaluation Project (SageSTEP) is an integrated long-term study that evaluates ecological effects of alternative treatments designed to reduce woody fuels and to stimulate the herbaceous understory of sagebrush steppe communities of the Intermountain West. This synopsis summarizes results through 3 yr posttreatment. Woody vegetation reduction by prescribed fire, mechanical treatments, or herbicides initiated a cascade of effects, beginning with increased availability of nitrogen and soil water, followed by increased growth of herbaceous vegetation. Response of butterflies and magnitudes of runoff and erosion closely followed herbaceous vegetation recovery. Effects on shrubs, biological soil crust, tree cover, surface woody fuel loads, and sagebrush-obligate bird communities will take longer to be fully expressed. In the short term, cool wet sites were more resilient than warm dry sites, and resistance was mostly dependent on pretreatment herbaceous cover. At least 10 yr of posttreatment time will likely be necessary to determine outcomes for most sites. Mechanical treatments did not serve as surrogates for prescribed fire in how each influenced the fuel bed, the soil, erosion, and sage-obligate bird communities. Woody vegetation reduction by any means resulted in increased availability of soil water, higher herbaceous cover, and greater butterfly numbers. We identified several trade-offs (desirable outcomes for some variables, undesirable for others), involving most components of the study system. Trade-offs are inevitable when managing complex natural systems, and they underline the importance of asking questions about the whole system when developing management objectives. Substantial spatial and temporal heterogeneity in sagebrush steppe ecosystems emphasizes the point that there will rarely be a “recipe” for choosing management actions on any specific area. Use of a consistent evaluation process linked to monitoring may be the

  1. Indicators of ecosystem function identify alternate states in the sagebrush steppe.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kachergis, Emily; Rocca, Monique E; Fernandez-Gimenez, Maria E

    2011-10-01

    Models of ecosystem change that incorporate nonlinear dynamics and thresholds, such as state-and-transition models (STMs), are increasingly popular tools for land management decision-making. However, few models are based on systematic collection and documentation of ecological data, and of these, most rely solely on structural indicators (species composition) to identify states and transitions. As STMs are adopted as an assessment framework throughout the United States, finding effective and efficient ways to create data-driven models that integrate ecosystem function and structure is vital. This study aims to (1) evaluate the utility of functional indicators (indicators of rangeland health, IRH) as proxies for more difficult ecosystem function measurements and (2) create a data-driven STM for the sagebrush steppe of Colorado, USA, that incorporates both ecosystem structure and function. We sampled soils, plant communities, and IRH at 41 plots with similar clayey soils but different site histories to identify potential states and infer the effects of management practices and disturbances on transitions. We found that many IRH were correlated with quantitative measures of functional indicators, suggesting that the IRH can be used to approximate ecosystem function. In addition to a reference state that functions as expected for this soil type, we identified four biotically and functionally distinct potential states, consistent with the theoretical concept of alternate states. Three potential states were related to management practices (chemical and mechanical shrub treatments and seeding history) while one was related only to ecosystem processes (erosion). IRH and potential states were also related to environmental variation (slope, soil texture), suggesting that there are environmental factors within areas with similar soils that affect ecosystem dynamics and should be noted within STMs. Our approach generated an objective, data-driven model of ecosystem dynamics

  2. Land use and habitat conditions across the southwestern Wyoming sagebrush steppe: development impacts, management effectiveness and the distribution of invasive plants

    Science.gov (United States)

    Manier, Daniel J.; Aldridge, Cameron L.; Anderson, Patrick; Chong, Geneva; Homer, Collin G.; O'Donnell, Michael S.; Schell, Spencer

    2011-01-01

    For the past several years, USGS has taken a multi-faceted approach to investigating the condition and trends in sagebrush steppe ecosystems. This recent effort builds upon decades of work in semi-arid ecosystems providing a specific, applied focus on the cumulative impacts of expanding human activities across these landscapes. Here, we discuss several on-going projects contributing to these efforts: (1) mapping and monitoring the distribution and condition of shrub steppe communities with local detail at a regional scale, (2) assessing the relationships between specific, land-use features (for example, roads, transmission lines, industrial pads) and invasive plants, including their potential (environmentally defined) distribution across the region, and (3) monitoring the effects of habitat treatments on the ecosystem, including wildlife use and invasive plant abundance. This research is focused on the northern sagebrush steppe, primarily in Wyoming, but also extending into Montana, Colorado, Utah and Idaho. The study area includes a range of sagebrush types (including, Artemisia tridentata ssp. tridentata, Artemisia tridentata ssp. wyomingensis, Artemisia tridentata ssp. vaseyana, Artemisia nova) and other semi-arid shrubland types (for example, Sarcobatus vermiculatus, Atriplex confertifolia, Atriplex gardneri), impacted by extensive interface between steppe ecosystems and industrial energy activities resulting in a revealing multiple-variable analysis. We use a combination of remote sensing (AWiFS (1 Any reference to platforms, data sources, equipment, software, patented or trade-marked methods is for information purposes only. It does not represent endorsement of the U.S.D.I., U.S.G.S. or the authors), Landsat and Quickbird platforms), Geographic Information System (GIS) design and data management, and field-based, replicated sampling to generate multiple scales of data representing the distribution of shrub communities for the habitat inventory. Invasive plant

  3. Using Unmanned Aerial Vehicles to Assess Vegetative Cover in Sagebrush Steppe Ecosytstems

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Robert P. Breckenridge

    2005-09-01

    The Idaho National Laboratory (INL), in conjunction with the University of Idaho, is evaluating novel approaches for using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) as a quicker and safer method for monitoring biotic resources. Evaluating vegetative cover is an important factor in understanding the sustainability of many ecosystems. In assessing vegetative cover, methods that improve accuracy and cost efficiency could revolutionize how biotic resources are monitored on western federal lands. Sagebrush steppe ecosystems provide important habitat for a variety of species, some of which are important indicator species (e.g., sage grouse). Improved methods are needed to support monitoring these habitats because there are not enough resource specialists or funds available for comprehensive ground evaluation of these ecosystems. In this project, two types of UAV platforms (fixed wing and helicopter) were used to collect still-frame imagery to assess cover in sagebrush steppe ecosystems. This paper discusses the process for collecting and analyzing imagery from the UAVs to (1) estimate total percent cover, (2) estimate percent cover for six different types of vegetation, and (3) locate sage grouse based on representative decoys. The field plots were located on the INL site west of Idaho Falls, Idaho, in areas with varying amounts and types of vegetative cover. A software program called SamplePoint developed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service (USDA-ARS) was used to evaluate the imagery for percent cover for the six vegetation types (bare ground, litter, shrubs, dead shrubs, grasses, and forbs). Results were compared against standard field measurements to assess accuracy.

  4. The effect of herbaceous species removal, fire and cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum) on soil water availability in sagebrush steppe

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alison Whittaker; Bruce Roundy; Jeanne Chambers; Susan Meyer; Robert Blank; Stanley Kitchen; John Korfmacher

    2008-01-01

    Over the past several decades, cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum) has been continually expanding in the sagebrush steppe ecosystem. There has been very little research that examines why cheatgrass is able to invade these communities. To determine the effects of herbaceous vegetation removal and fire on available water for cheatgrass invasion, as well as...

  5. Science framework for conservation and restoration of the sagebrush biome: Linking the Department of the Interior’s Integrated Rangeland Fire Management Strategy to long-term strategic conservation actions

    Science.gov (United States)

    J.C. Chambers; J.L. Beck; J.B. Bradford; J. Bybee; S. Campbell; J. Carlson; T.J. Christiansen; K.J. Clause; G. Collins; M.R. Crist; J.B. Dinkins; K.E. Doherty; F. Edwards; S. Espinosa; K.A. Griffin; P. Griffin; J.R. Haas; S.E. Hanser; D.W. Havlina; K.F. Henke; J.D. Hennig; L.A. Joyce; F.M. Kilkenny; S.M. Kulpa; L.L. Kurth; J.D. Maestas; M. Manning; K.E. Mayer; B.A. Mealor; C. McCarthy; M. Pellant; M.A. Perea; K.L. Prentice; D.A. Pyke; L.A. Wiechman; A. Wuenschel

    2017-01-01

    The Science Framework is intended to link the Department of the Interior’s Integrated Rangeland Fire Management Strategy with long-term strategic conservation actions in the sagebrush biome. The Science Framework provides a multiscale approach for prioritizing areas for management and determining effective management strategies within the sagebrush biome. The emphasis...

  6. Simulating the Dependence of Sagebrush Steppe Vegetation on Redistributed Snow in a Semi-Arid Watershed.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Soderquist, B.; Kavanagh, K.; Link, T. E.; Strand, E. K.; Seyfried, M. S.

    2014-12-01

    In mountainous regions across the western USA, the composition of aspen (Populus tremuloides) and sagebrush steppe plant communities is often closely related to heterogeneous soil moisture subsidies resulting from redistributed snow. With decades of climate and precipitation data across elevational and precipitation gradients, the Reynolds Creek Experimental Watershed (RCEW) and critical zone observatory (CZO) in southwest Idaho provides a unique opportunity to study the relationship between vegetation types and redistributed snow. Within the RCEW, the total amount of precipitation has remained unchanged over the past 50 years, however the percentage of the precipitation falling as snow has declined by approximately 4% per decade at mid-elevation sites. As shifts in precipitation phase continue, future trends in vegetation composition and net primary productivity (NPP) of different plant functional types remains a critical question. We hypothesize that redistribution of snow may supplement drought sensitive species like aspen more so than drought tolerant species like mountain big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata spp. vaseyana). To assess the importance of snowdrift subsidies on sagebrush steppe vegetation, NPP of aspen, shrub, and grass species was simulated at three sites using the biogeochemical process model BIOME-BGC. Each site is located directly downslope from snowdrifts providing soil moisture inputs to aspen stands and neighboring vegetation. Drifts vary in size with the largest containing up to four times the snow water equivalent (SWE) of a uniform precipitation layer. Precipitation inputs used by BIOME-BGC were modified to represent the redistribution of snow and simulations were run using daily climate data from 1985-2013. Simulated NPP of annual grasses at each site was not responsive to subsidies from drifting snow. However, at the driest site, aspen and shrub annual NPP was increased by as much as 44 and 30%, respectively, with the redistribution of

  7. Improving Rangeland Monitoring and Assessment: Integrating Remote Sensing, GIS, and Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Systems

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Robert Paul Breckenridge

    2007-05-01

    Creeping environmental changes are impacting some of the largest remaining intact parcels of sagebrush steppe ecosystems in the western United States, creating major problems for land managers. The Idaho National Laboratory (INL), located in southeastern Idaho, is part of the sagebrush steppe ecosystem, one of the largest ecosystems on the continent. Scientists at the INL and the University of Idaho have integrated existing field and remotely sensed data with geographic information systems technology to analyze how recent fires on the INL have influenced the current distribution of terrestrial vegetation. Three vegetation mapping and classification systems were used to evaluate the changes in vegetation caused by fires between 1994 and 2003. Approximately 24% of the sagebrush steppe community on the INL was altered by fire, mostly over a 5-year period. There were notable differences between methods, especially for juniper woodland and grasslands. The Anderson system (Anderson et al. 1996) was superior for representing the landscape because it includes playa/bare ground/disturbed area and sagebrush steppe on lava as vegetation categories. This study found that assessing existing data sets is useful for quantifying fire impacts and should be helpful in future fire and land use planning. The evaluation identified that data from remote sensing technologies is not currently of sufficient quality to assess the percentage of cover. To fill this need, an approach was designed using both helicopter and fixed wing unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and image processing software to evaluate six cover types on field plots located on the INL. The helicopter UAV provided the best system compared against field sampling, but is more dangerous and has spatial coverage limitations. It was reasonably accurate for dead shrubs and was very good in assessing percentage of bare ground, litter and grasses; accuracy for litter and shrubs is questionable. The fixed wing system proved to be

  8. Using Unmanned Aerial Vehicles to Assess Vegetative Cover and Identify Biotic Resources in Sagebrush Steppe Ecosystems: Preliminary Evaluation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Robert P. Breckenridge

    2006-04-01

    The Idaho National Laboratory (INL), in conjunction with the University of Idaho, is evaluating novel approaches for using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) as a quicker and safer method for monitoring biotic resources. Evaluating vegetative cover is an important factor in understanding the sustainability of many ecosystems. In assessing vegetative cover, methods that improve accuracy and cost efficiency could revolutionize how biotic resources are monitored on western federal lands. Sagebrush steppe ecosystems provide important habitat for a variety of species, some of which are important indicator species (e.g., sage grouse). Improved methods are needed to support monitoring these habitats because there are not enough resource specialists or funds available for comprehensive ground evaluation of these ecosystems. In this project, two types of UAV platforms (fixed wing and helicopter) were used to collect still-frame imagery to assess cover in sagebrush steppe ecosystems. This paper discusses the process for collecting and analyzing imagery from the UAVs to (1) estimate total percent cover, (2) estimate percent cover for six different types of vegetation, and (3) locate sage grouse based on representative decoys. The field plots were located on the INL site west of Idaho Falls, Idaho, in areas with varying amounts and types of vegetative cover. A software program called SamplePoint developed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service was used to evaluate the imagery for percent cover for the six vegetation types (bare ground, litter, shrubs, dead shrubs, grasses, and forbs). Results were compared against standard field measurements to assess accuracy.

  9. Wyoming big sagebrush: Efforts towards development of target plants for restoration

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kayla R. Herriman

    2009-01-01

    Wyoming big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata Nutt. ssp. wyomingensis) is a dominant shrub throughout much of the interior western United States. It is a key component of sagebrush steppe ecosystems, which have been degraded due to European settlement, improper land use, and changing fire regimes resulting from the invasion of exotic...

  10. Influence of container size on Wyoming big sagebrush seedling morphology and cold hardiness

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kayla R. Herriman; Anthony S. Davis; R. Kasten Dumroese

    2009-01-01

    Wyoming big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata) is a key component of sagebrush steppe ecosystems and is a dominant shrub throughout the western United States. Our objective was to identify the effect of container size on plant morphology of Wyoming big sagebrush. We used three different stocktypes (45/340 ml [20 in3], 60/250 ml [15 in3], 112/105 ml [6....

  11. Effects of feral free-roaming horses on semi-arid rangeland ecosystems: an example from the sagebrush steppe

    Science.gov (United States)

    Feral horses (Equus caballus) are viewed as a symbol of freedom and power; however, they are also a largely unmanaged, non-native grazer in North America, South America, and Australia. Information on their influence on vegetation and soil characteristics in semi-arid rangelands has been limited by ...

  12. Attempting to restore herbaceous understories in Wyoming big sagebrush communities with mowing and seeding

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shrub steppe communities with depleted perennial herbaceous understories need to be restored to increase resilience, provide quality wildlife habitat, and improve ecosystem function. Mowing has been applied to Wyoming big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata Nutt. ssp. wyomingensis Beetle &Young) steppe...

  13. Applying a dryland degradation framework for rangelands: the case of Mongolia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jamsranjav, C; Reid, R S; Fernández-Giménez, M E; Tsevlee, A; Yadamsuren, B; Heiner, M

    2018-04-01

    Livestock-caused rangeland degradation remains a major policy concern globally and the subject of widespread scientific study. This concern persists in part because it is difficult to isolate the effects of livestock from climate and other factors that influence ecosystem conditions. Further, degradation studies seldom use multiple plant and soil indicators linked to a clear definition of and ecologically grounded framework for degradation assessment that distinguishes different levels of degradation. Here, we integrate two globally applicable rangeland degradation frameworks and apply them to a broad-scale empirical data set for the country of Mongolia. We compare our assessment results with two other recent national rangeland degradation assessments in Mongolia to gauge consistency of findings across assessments and evaluate the utility of our framework. We measured livestock-use impacts across Mongolia's major ecological zones: mountain and forest steppe, eastern steppe, steppe, and desert steppe. At 143 sites in 36 counties, we measured livestock-use and degradation indicators at increasing distances from livestock corrals in winter-grazed pastures. At each site, we measured multiple indicators linked to our degradation framework, including plant cover, standing biomass, palatability, species richness, forage quality, vegetation gaps, and soil surface characteristics. Livestock use had no effect on soils, plant species richness, or standing crop biomass in any ecological zone, but subtly affected plant cover and palatable plant abundance. Livestock effects were strongest in the steppe zone, moderate in the desert steppe, and limited in the mountain/forest and eastern steppes. Our results aligned closely with those of two other recent country-wide assessments, suggesting that our framework may have widespread application. All three assessments found that very severe and irreversible degradation is rare in Mongolia (1-18% of land area), with most rangelands

  14. Insect community responses to climate and weather across elevation gradients in the Sagebrush Steppe, eastern Oregon

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pilliod, David S.; Rohde, Ashley T.

    2016-11-17

    Executive SummaryIn this study, the U.S. Geological Survey investigated the use of insects as bioindicators of climate change in sagebrush steppe shrublands and grasslands in the Upper Columbia Basin. The research was conducted in the Stinkingwater and Pueblo mountain ranges in eastern Oregon on lands administered by the Bureau of Land Management.We used a “space-for-time” sampling design that related insect communities to climate and weather along elevation gradients. We analyzed our insect dataset at three levels of organization: (1) whole-community, (2) feeding guilds (detritivores, herbivores, nectarivores, parasites, and predators), and (3) orders within nectarivores (i.e., pollinators). We captured 59,517 insects from 176 families and 10 orders at the Pueblo Mountains study area and 112,305 insects from 185 families and 11 orders at the Stinkingwater Mountains study area in 2012 and 2013. Of all the individuals captured at the Stinkingwater Mountains study area, 77,688 were from the family Cecidomyiidae (Diptera, gall gnats).We found that the composition of insect communities was associated with variability in long-term (30-yr) temperature and interannual fluctuations in temperature. We found that captures of certain fly, bee, moth, and butterfly pollinators were more strongly associated with some climate and vegetation variables than others. We found that timing of emergence, as measured by first detection of families, was associated with elevation. When analyzed by feeding guilds, we found that all guilds emerged later at high elevations except for detritivores, which emerged earlier at high elevations. The abundance of most taxa varied through time, mostly in response to temperature and precipitation. Of the pollinators, bees (particularly, Halictidae and Megachilidae) peaked in abundance in late June and early July, whereas butterflies and moths peaked in August. Flies peaked in abundance in July.Overall, our interpretation of these patterns is that

  15. A conservation paradox in the Great Basin—Altering sagebrush landscapes with fuel breaks to reduce habitat loss from wildfire

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shinneman, Douglas J.; Aldridge, Cameron L.; Coates, Peter S.; Germino, Matthew J.; Pilliod, David S.; Vaillant, Nicole M.

    2018-03-15

    Interactions between fire and nonnative, annual plant species (that is, “the grass/fire cycle”) represent one of the greatest threats to sagebrush (Artemisia spp.) ecosystems and associated wildlife, including the greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus). In 2015, U.S. Department of the Interior called for a “science-based strategy to reduce the threat of large-scale rangeland fire to habitat for the greater sage-grouse and the sagebrush-steppe ecosystem.” An associated guidance document, the “Integrated Rangeland Fire Management Strategy Actionable Science Plan,” identified fuel breaks as high priority areas for scientific research. Fuel breaks are intended to reduce fire size and frequency, and potentially they can compartmentalize wildfire spatial distribution in a landscape. Fuel breaks are designed to reduce flame length, fireline intensity, and rates of fire spread in order to enhance firefighter access, improve response times, and provide safe and strategic anchor points for wildland fire-fighting activities. To accomplish these objectives, fuel breaks disrupt fuel continuity, reduce fuel accumulation, and (or) increase plants with high moisture content through the removal or modification of vegetation in strategically placed strips or blocks of land.Fuel breaks are being newly constructed, enhanced, or proposed across large areas of the Great Basin to reduce wildfire risk and to protect remaining sagebrush ecosystems (including greater sage-grouse habitat). These projects are likely to result in thousands of linear miles of fuel breaks that will have direct ecological effects across hundreds of thousands of acres through habitat loss and conversion. These projects may also affect millions of acres indirectly because of edge effects and habitat fragmentation created by networks of fuel breaks. Hence, land managers are often faced with a potentially paradoxical situation: the need to substantially alter sagebrush habitats with fuel breaks

  16. Genetic and environmental effects on seed weight in subspecies of big sagebrush: Applications for restoration

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bryce A. Richardson; Hector G. Ortiz; Stephanie L. Carlson; Deidre M. Jaeger; Nancy L. Shaw

    2015-01-01

    The sagebrush steppe is a patchwork of species and subspecies occupying distinct environmental niches across the intermountain regions of western North America. These ecosystems face degradation from disturbances and exotic weeds. Using sagebrush seed that is matched to its appropriate niche is a critical component to successful restoration, improving habitat for the...

  17. Characterization of a sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata ssp. wyomingensis) die-off on the Handford Site

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cardenas, A.; Lewinsohn, J.; Auger, C.; Downs, J.L.; Cadwell, L.L.; Burrows, R.

    1997-09-01

    The Hanford Site contains one of the few remaining contiguous areas of shrub-steppe habitat left in Washington State. This habitat is home to many native plant and wildlife species, some of which are threatened with extinction or are unique to the Site. The importance of the Hanford Site increases as other lands surrounding the Site are developed, and these native species and habitats are lost. Stands of Wyoming big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata ssp. wyomingensis) on the Site are a particularly important component of shrub-steppe habitat, because a number of wildlife require big sagebrush for food and cover. Since 1993, researchers and field biologists have made anecdotal observations of dying and declining sagebrush in stands of shrubs near the 100 Areas. This study was initiated to delineate and document the general boundary where sagebrush stands appear to be declining. We mapped the areal extent of the die-off using a global positioning system and found that the central portion of the die-off encompasses 280 hectares. Shrub stand defoliation was estimated to be near or greater than 80% in this area. The remainder of the die-off area exhibits varying mixtures of completely defoliated, partially defoliated, and healthy-looking stands. Declining sagebrush stands comprise a total of 1776 hectares

  18. Characterization of a sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata ssp. wyomingensis) die-off on the Handford Site

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cardenas, A.; Lewinsohn, J.; Auger, C.; Downs, J.L.; Cadwell, L.L.; Burrows, R.

    1997-09-01

    The Hanford Site contains one of the few remaining contiguous areas of shrub-steppe habitat left in Washington State. This habitat is home to many native plant and wildlife species, some of which are threatened with extinction or are unique to the Site. The importance of the Hanford Site increases as other lands surrounding the Site are developed, and these native species and habitats are lost. Stands of Wyoming big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata ssp. wyomingensis) on the Site are a particularly important component of shrub-steppe habitat, because a number of wildlife require big sagebrush for food and cover. Since 1993, researchers and field biologists have made anecdotal observations of dying and declining sagebrush in stands of shrubs near the 100 Areas. This study was initiated to delineate and document the general boundary where sagebrush stands appear to be declining. We mapped the areal extent of the die-off using a global positioning system and found that the central portion of the die-off encompasses 280 hectares. Shrub stand defoliation was estimated to be near or greater than 80% in this area. The remainder of the die-off area exhibits varying mixtures of completely defoliated, partially defoliated, and healthy-looking stands. Declining sagebrush stands comprise a total of 1776 hectares.

  19. 2004 annual progress report: Stratton Sagebrush Hydrology Study Area: Establishment of a long-term research site in a high-elevation sagebrush steppe

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schoenecker, Kate; Lange, Bob; Calton, Mike

    2005-01-01

    In 2004 the U.S. Geological Survey, Fort Collins Science Center (FORT) and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Rawlins Field Office (RFO), began a cooperative effort to reestablish the Stratton Sagebrush Hydrology Study Area (Stratton) as a research location, with the goal of making it a site for long-term research on sagebrush (Artemisia spp.) ecology. No other long-term research sites in high-elevation sagebrush habitat currently exist, and the Stratton area, with its 30+ year history of research and baseline data, was a logical location to restart investigations aimed at answering pertinent and timely questions about sagebrush ecology and sagebrush-obligate species. During the first year of the study, USGS scientists conducted an in-depth literature search to locate publications from research conducted at Stratton. We contacted previous researchers to acquire literature and unpublished reports of work conducted at Stratton. Collated papers and published manuscripts were presented in an annotated bibliography (Burgess and Schoenecker, 2004).

  20. Evaluating Structural and Functional Characteristics of Various Ecological Patches in Different Range Conditions (Case Study: Semi -Steppe Rangeland of Aghche-Isfahan

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    F. Jafari

    2015-03-01

    Full Text Available Rangeland condition assessment plays an important role in determining range health and applying appropriate management programs. This study aimed to evaluate the structure and function of a semi-steppe rangeland using Landscape Function Analysis technique (LFA in different land conditions in western Isfahan province, Iran. For this purpose, 4, 3 and 7 sites in different rangeland condition classes including very poor, poor, and moderate were selected respectively. In each site, a 30-meter transect was established and all kinds of patches and inter patches were identified and their lengths and widths were recorded. Also, in each ecological patch, 11 indicators of soil surface characteristics with three replications were measured, and their status was scored according to LFA method. The functionality indices of all the sites including soil stability, infiltration and nutrient cycling were measured. According to the statistical analysis results, most of the structural characteristics (number of patches, patch length, patch area index, landscape organization index and functional indices (infiltration, stability and nutrient cycling status varied significantly (α= 5% between rangeland sites with moderate and very poor condition. The changes of these structural and functional characteristics were not significant between range sites with moderate and poor, and also poor and very poor range conditions. According to the findings of this study, patch types' functionalities did not vary significantly in both rangeland sites with moderate and very poor conditions. The nutrient cycling index in patches formed by ‘forb, shrub and grass’ with poor range condition was significantly more than ‘forb’ and ‘grass’ patches. The study of range site functionality can assist managers in identifying possible ecological thresholds and prioritizing the sub-catchments and vegetation types for implementing range improvement practices.

  1. Science framework for conservation and restoration of the sagebrush biome: Linking the Department of the Interior’s Integrated Rangeland Fire Management Strategy to long-term strategic conservation actions, Part 1. Science basis and applications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chambers, Jeanne C.; Beck, Jeffrey L.; Bradford, John B.; Bybee, Jared; Campbell, Steve; Carlson, John; Christiansen, Thomas J; Clause, Karen J.; Collins, Gail; Crist, Michele R.; Dinkins, Jonathan B.; Doherty, Kevin E.; Edwards, Fred; Espinosa, Shawn; Griffin, Kathleen A.; Griffin, Paul; Haas, Jessica R.; Hanser, Steven E.; Havlina, Douglas W.; Henke, Kenneth F.; Hennig, Jacob D.; Joyce, Linda A; Kilkenny, Francis F.; Kulpa, Sarah M; Kurth, Laurie L; Maestas, Jeremy D; Manning, Mary E.; Mayer, Kenneth E.; Mealor, Brian A.; McCarthy, Clinton; Pellant, Mike; Perea, Marco A.; Prentice, Karen L.; Pyke, David A.; Wiechman , Lief A.; Wuenschel, Amarina

    2017-01-01

    The Science Framework is intended to link the Department of the Interior’s Integrated Rangeland Fire Management Strategy with long-term strategic conservation actions in the sagebrush biome. The Science Framework provides a multiscale approach for prioritizing areas for management and determining effective management strategies within the sagebrush biome. The emphasis is on sagebrush (Artemisia spp.) ecosystems and Greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus). The approach provided in the Science Framework links sagebrush ecosystem resilience to disturbance and resistance to nonnative, invasive plant species to species habitat information based on the distribution and abundance of focal species. A geospatial process is presented that overlays information on ecosystem resilience and resistance, species habitats, and predominant threats and that can be used at the mid-scale to prioritize areas for management. A resilience and resistance habitat matrix is provided that can help decisionmakers evaluate risks and determine appropriate management strategies. Prioritized areas and management strategies can be refined by managers and stakeholders at the local scale based on higher resolution data and local knowledge. Decision tools are discussed for determining appropriate management actions for areas that are prioritized for management. Geospatial data, maps, and models are provided through the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) ScienceBase and Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Landscape Approach Data Portal. The Science Framework is intended to be adaptive and will be updated as additional data become available on other values and species at risk. It is anticipated that the Science Framework will be widely used to: (1) inform emerging strategies to conserve sagebrush ecosystems, sagebrush dependent species, and human uses of the sagebrush system, and (2) assist managers in prioritizing and planning on-the-ground restoration and mitigation actions across the sagebrush biome.

  2. Ecosystem functional response across precipitation extremes in a sagebrush steppe.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tredennick, Andrew T; Kleinhesselink, Andrew R; Taylor, J Bret; Adler, Peter B

    2018-01-01

    Precipitation is predicted to become more variable in the western United States, meaning years of above and below average precipitation will become more common. Periods of extreme precipitation are major drivers of interannual variability in ecosystem functioning in water limited communities, but how ecosystems respond to these extremes over the long-term may shift with precipitation means and variances. Long-term changes in ecosystem functional response could reflect compensatory changes in species composition or species reaching physiological thresholds at extreme precipitation levels. We conducted a five year precipitation manipulation experiment in a sagebrush steppe ecosystem in Idaho, United States. We used drought and irrigation treatments (approximately 50% decrease/increase) to investigate whether ecosystem functional response remains consistent under sustained high or low precipitation. We recorded data on aboveground net primary productivity (ANPP), species abundance, and soil moisture. We fit a generalized linear mixed effects model to determine if the relationship between ANPP and soil moisture differed among treatments. We used nonmetric multidimensional scaling to quantify community composition over the five years. Ecosystem functional response, defined as the relationship between soil moisture and ANPP, was similar among irrigation and control treatments, but the drought treatment had a greater slope than the control treatment. However, all estimates for the effect of soil moisture on ANPP overlapped zero, indicating the relationship is weak and uncertain regardless of treatment. There was also large spatial variation in ANPP within-years, which contributes to the uncertainty of the soil moisture effect. Plant community composition was remarkably stable over the course of the experiment and did not differ among treatments. Despite some evidence that ecosystem functional response became more sensitive under sustained drought conditions, the response

  3. Influence of shrubs on soil chemical properties in Alxa desert steppe, China

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hua Fu; Shifang Pei; Yaming Chen; Changgui Wan

    2007-01-01

    Alxa desert steppe is one of severely the degraded rangelands in the Northwest China. Shrubs, as the dominant life form in the desert steppe, play an important role in protecting this region from further desertification. Chemical properties of three soil layers (0 to 10, 10 to 20 and 20 to 30 cm) at three locations (the clump center [A], in the periphery of shrub...

  4. Carbon dioxide effluxes and their environmental controls in sagebrush steppe ecosystems along an elevation gradient in the Reynolds Creek Critical Zone Observatory

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lohse, K. A.; Fellows, A.; Flerchinger, G. N.; Seyfried, M. S.

    2017-12-01

    The spatial and temporal variation of carbon dioxide effluxes and their environmental controls are poorly constrained in cold shrub steppe ecosystems. The objectives of this study were to 1) analyze environmental parameters in determining soil CO2 efflux, 2) assess the level of agreement between manual chambers and force diffusion (FD) soil CO2 efflux chambers, when both measurements are extrapolated across the growing season, and lastly to compare respiration fluxes to modeled ecosystem respiration fluxes. We installed FD chambers at four sites co-located with eddy covariance (EC) towers and soil moisture and temperature sensors along an elevation gradient in the Reynolds Creek Critical Zone Observatory in SW Idaho. FD chamber fluxes were collected continuously at 15-minute intervals. We sampled soil CO2 efflux with manual chambers at plant and interplant spaces in five plots at each site biweekly to monthly during the growing season. The sites included a Wyoming big sagebrush site, a low sagebrush site, a post-fire mountain big sagebrush site, and a mountain big sagebrush site located at elevations of 1425, 1680, 1808 and 2111 m. Climate variation followed the montane elevation gradient; mean annual precipitation (MAP) at the sites is 290, 337, 425, and 795 mm, respectively, and mean annual temperature is 8.9, 8.4, 6.1, 5.4°C. Automated force diffusion chambers detected large differences in carbon dioxide pulse dynamics along the elevation gradient. Growing season carbon dioxide fluxes were 3 times higher at the 425 mm MAP site compared than the lowest elevation sites at 290 and 337 MAP sites and >1.5 higher than the 795 mm MAP site over the same period. Manual fluxes showed similar seasonal patterns as FD chamber fluxes but often higher and greater spatial variability in fluxes than FD chamber fluxes. Plant and interplant flux differences were surprisingly similar, especially at higher elevations. Soil respiration ranged from 0.2-0.48 of ecosystem respiration

  5. Calibration of remotely sensed, coarse resolution NDVI to CO2 fluxes in a sagebrush-steppe ecosystem

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wylie, B.K.; Johnson, D.A.; Laca, Emilio; Saliendra, Nicanor Z.; Gilmanov, T.G.; Reed, B.C.; Tieszen, L.L.; Worstell, B.B.

    2003-01-01

    The net ecosystem exchange (NEE) of carbon flux can be partitioned into gross primary productivity (GPP) and respiration (R). The contribution of remote sensing and modeling holds the potential to predict these components and map them spatially and temporally. This has obvious utility to quantify carbon sink and source relationships and to identify improved land management strategies for optimizing carbon sequestration. The objective of our study was to evaluate prediction of 14-day average daytime CO2 fluxes (Fday) and nighttime CO2 fluxes (Rn) using remote sensing and other data. Fday and Rn were measured with a Bowen ratio-energy balance (BREB) technique in a sagebrush (Artemisia spp.)-steppe ecosystem in northeast Idaho, USA, during 1996-1999. Micrometeorological variables aggregated across 14-day periods and time-integrated Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (iNDVI) were determined during four growing seasons (1996-1999) and used to predict Fday and Rn. We found that iNDVI was a strong predictor of Fday (R2 = 0.79, n = 66, P improved predictions of Fday (R2= 0.82, n = 66, P management strategies, carbon certification, and validation and calibration of carbon flux models. ?? 2003 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.

  6. Current ecosystem processes in steppe near Lake Baikal

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vanteeva, Julia

    2015-04-01

    herbaceous phytomass of the steppe complexes varied from 0.4 to 2.64 t/ha. Apical stony and sloping grass-forb landscapes and areas of settlements and recreation facilities had the lowest values. Forest steppes were characterized by low crown density, non-large stand density, which was represented mainly by larch. Phytomass stock ranged from 30.78 to 282.24 t/ha. Maximum values corresponded to the forest steppe with larch on steep slopes. The maximum values of the silt matter transfer (up to 124 g /m2) corresponded to areas with a strong recreation pressure with the lower value of vegetation cover (from 0 to 45%) and aboveground herbaceous phytomass (0.4 - 0.6 t/ha). During experiment with using rainfall simulator defined different sensibility to soil erosion, for example, for Caragana steppe with sagebrush on the undisturbed area trapped silt is 12 g/m2 and for anthropogenic disturbed patch - 84 g/m2. For Sagebrush steppe trapped silt changed from 4 to 16 g/m2. The study shows strong landscapes transformation leading to loss of biodiversity, the reduction of phytomass production and water percolation.

  7. Aeolian nutrient fluxes following wildfire in sagebrush steppe: implications for soil carbon storage

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    N. J. Hasselquist

    2011-12-01

    Full Text Available Pulses of aeolian transport following fire can profoundly affect the biogeochemical cycling of nutrients in semi-arid and arid ecosystems. Our objective was to determine horizontal nutrient fluxes occurring in the saltation zone during an episodic pulse of aeolian transport that occurred following a wildfire in a semi-arid sagebrush steppe ecosystem in southern Idaho, USA. We also examined how temporal trends in nutrient fluxes were affected by changes in particle sizes of eroded mass as well as nutrient concentrations associated with different particle size classes. In the burned area, total carbon (C and nitrogen (N fluxes were as high as 235 g C m−1 d−1 and 19 g N m−1 d−1 during the first few months following fire, whereas C and N fluxes were negligible in an adjacent unburned area throughout the study. Temporal variation in C and N fluxes following fire was largely attributable to the redistribution of saltation-sized particles. Total N and organic C concentrations in the soil surface were significantly lower in the burned relative to the unburned area one year after fire. Our results show how an episodic pulse of aeolian transport following fire can affect the spatial distribution of soil C and N, which, in turn, can have important implications for soil C storage. These findings demonstrate how an ecological disturbance can exacerbate a geomorphic process and highlight the need for further research to better understand the role aeolian transport plays in the biogeochemical cycling of C and N in recently burned landscapes.

  8. Management Approaches to Accomplish Contemporary Livestock Production-Conservation Objectives in Shortgrass Steppe

    Science.gov (United States)

    Traditional rangeland management in the shortgrass steppe has emphasized livestock production with moderate stocking rates, but alternative approaches will be needed to meet production objectives under increasing demands for conservation-oriented management. We investigated the utility of very inten...

  9. Ecohydrology of adjacent sagebrush and lodgepole pine ecosystems: the consequences of climate change and disturbance

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bradford, John B.; Schlaepfer, Daniel R.; Lauenroth, William K.

    2014-01-01

    Sagebrush steppe and lodgepole pine forests are two of the most widespread vegetation types in the western United States and they play crucial roles in the hydrologic cycle of these water-limited regions. We used a process-based ecosystem water model to characterize the potential impact of climate change and disturbance (wildfire and beetle mortality) on water cycling in adjacent sagebrush and lodgepole pine ecosystems. Despite similar climatic and topographic conditions between these ecosystems at the sites examined, lodgepole pine, and sagebrush exhibited consistent differences in water balance, notably more evaporation and drier summer soils in the sagebrush and greater transpiration and less water yield in lodgepole pine. Canopy disturbances (either fire or beetle) have dramatic impacts on water balance and availability: reducing transpiration while increasing evaporation and water yield. Results suggest that climate change may reduce snowpack, increase evaporation and transpiration, and lengthen the duration of dry soil conditions in the summer, but may have uncertain effects on drainage. Changes in the distribution of sagebrush and lodgepole pine ecosystems as a consequence of climate change and/or altered disturbance regimes will likely alter ecosystem water balance.

  10. Range-wide assessment of livestock grazing across the sagebrush biome

    Science.gov (United States)

    Veblen, Kari E.; Pyke, David A.; Jones, Christopher A.; Casazza, Michael L.; Assal, Timothy J.; Farinha, Melissa A.

    2011-01-01

    frequency of data collection varied across allotments and field offices. Analysis of the BLM's LHS data indicated 67 percent of allotments analyzed were meeting standards. For those not meeting standards, livestock were considered the causal factor in 45 percent of cases (about 15 percent of all allotments). Objective 3: We sought input from 42 university and federal rangeland science experts about how best to prioritize rangeland monitoring activities associated with ascertaining livestock impacts on vegetation resources. When we presented a hypothetical scenario to these scientists and asked them to prioritize monitoring activities, the most common response was to measure ground and vegetation cover, a variable that in many cases (10 of 13 field offices sampled) BLM had already identified as a monitoring priority. Experts identified several other traditional (for example, photo points) and emerging approaches (for example, high-resolution aerial photography) to monitoring. Objective 4: We used spatial allotment data (described in Objective 1) and remotely sensed vegetation data (sagebrush cover, herbaceous vegetation cover, litter and bare soil) to assess differences in allotment LHS status ("Not met" vs. "Met"; if "Not met" - livestock-caused vs. not). We then developed logistic regression models, using vegetation variables to predict LHS status of BLM allotments in sagebrush steppe habitats in Wyoming and portions of Montana and Colorado. In general, we found that more consistent data collection at the local level might improve suitability of data for broad-scale analyses of livestock impacts. As is, data collection methodologies varied across field offices and States, and we did not find any local-level monitoring data (Actual Use, Utilization, Vegetation Trend) that had been collected consistently enough over time or space for range-wide analyses. Moreover, continued and improved emphasis on monitoring also may aid local management decisions, particularly with respect

  11. Ecosystem water availability in juniper versus sagebrush snow-dominated rangelands

    Science.gov (United States)

    Western Juniper (J. occidentalis Hook.) now dominates over 3.6 million ha of rangeland in the Intermountain Western US. Critical ecological relationships among snow distribution, water budgets, plant community transitions, and habitat requirements for wildlife, such as sage grouse, remain poorly und...

  12. Challenges of establishing big sgebrush (Artemisia tridentata) in rangeland restoration: effects of herbicide, mowing, whole-community seeding, and sagebrush seed sources

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brabec, Martha M.; Germino, Matthew J.; Shinneman, Douglas J.; Pilliod, David S.; McIlroy, Susan K.; Arkle, Robert S.

    2015-01-01

    The loss of big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata Nutt.) on sites disturbed by fire has motivated restoration seeding and planting efforts. However, the resulting sagebrush establishment is often lower than desired, especially in dry areas. Sagebrush establishment may be increased by addressing factors such as seed source and condition or management of the plant community. We assessed initial establishment of seeded sagebrush and four populations of small outplants (from different geographies, climates, and cytotypes) and small sagebrush outplants in an early seral community where mowing, herbicide, and seeding of other native plants had been experimentally applied. No emergence of seeded sagebrush was detected. Mowing the site before planting seedlings led to greater initial survival probabilities for sagebrush outplants, except where seeding also occurred, and these effects were related to corresponding changes in bare soil exposure. Initial survival probabilities were > 30% greater for the local population of big sagebrush relative to populations imported to the site from typical seed transfer distances of ~320–800 km. Overcoming the high first-year mortality of outplanted or seeded sagebrush is one of the most challenging aspects of postfire restoration and rehabilitation, and further evaluation of the impacts of herb treatments and sagebrush seed sources across different site types and years is needed.

  13. Ecological evaluation of rangeland quality in dry subtropics of Azerbaijan

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gasanova, A. F.

    2014-12-01

    The results of ecological evaluation of soil-landscape complexes of winter rangelands of Gobustan with the use of energy criteria are discussed. The diagnostic characteristics of soil fertility and correction coefficients for the thickness of texture of soil horizons, soil salinization, soil erosion, and microelemental composition of soils have been used to separate the soils of winter rangelands into several quality groups. A larger part of the soils belongs to the medium quality group with the mean weighted quality factor (bonitet) of 52. Special assessment scales have been suggested for the differential ecological assessment and monitoring of the rangelands. In the past 40 years, the area of steppe landscapes has decreased from 22.7 to 12%, whereas the area of semideserts has increased up to 64%. The area of best-quality soils within the studied rangelands had decreased by three times, and their average quality factor has decreased from 92 to 86.

  14. Evaluating winter/spring seeding of a native perennial bunchgrass in the sagebrush steppe

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata Nutt.) plant communities in the US Great Basin region are being severely impacted by increasingly frequent wildfires in association with the expansion of exotic annual grasses. Maintenance of native perennial bunchgrasses is key to controlling annual grass expansion,...

  15. Weak interspecific interactions in a sagebrush steppe? Conflicting evidence from observations and experiments.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Adler, Peter B; Kleinhesselink, Andrew; Giles, Hooker; Taylor, J Bret; Teller, Brittany; Ellner, Stephen P

    2018-04-28

    Stable coexistence requires intraspecific limitations to be stronger than interspecific limitations. The greater the difference between intra- and interspecific limitations, the more stable the coexistence, and the weaker the competitive release any species should experience following removal of competitors. We conducted a removal experiment to test whether a previously estimated model, showing surprisingly weak interspecific competition for four dominant species in a sagebrush steppe, accurately predicts competitive release. Our treatments were 1) removal of all perennial grasses and 2) removal of the dominant shrub, Artemisia tripartita. We regressed survival, growth and recruitment on the locations, sizes, and species identities of neighboring plants, along with an indicator variable for removal treatment. If our "baseline" regression model, which accounts for local plant-plant interactions, accurately explains the observed responses to removals, then the removal coefficient should be non-significant. For survival, the removal coefficients were never significantly different from zero, and only A. tripartita showed a (negative) response to removals at the recruitment stage. For growth, the removal treatment effect was significant and positive for two species, Poa secunda and Pseudoroegneria spicata, indicating that the baseline model underestimated interspecific competition. For all three grass species, population models based on the vital rate regressions that included removal effects projected 1.4 to 3-fold increases in equilibrium population size relative to the baseline model (no removal effects). However, we found no evidence of higher response to removal in quadrats with higher pretreatment cover of A. tripartita, or by plants experiencing higher pre-treatment crowding by A. tripartita, raising questions about the mechanisms driving the positive response to removal. While our results show the value of combining observations with a simple removal experiment

  16. The Integrated Rangeland Fire Management Strategy Actionable Science Plan: U.S. Department of the Interior, Washington D.C.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Integrated Rangeland Fire Management Strategy Actionable Science Plan Team

    2016-01-01

    The Integrated Rangeland Fire Management Strategy (hereafter Strategy, DOI 2015) outlined the need for coordinated, science-based adaptive management to achieve long-term protection, conservation, and restoration of the sagebrush (Artemisia spp.) ecosystem. A key component of this management approach is the identification of knowledge gaps that limit...

  17. Grazing behavior and production characteristics among cows differing in residual feed intake while grazing late season Idaho rangeland

    Science.gov (United States)

    The objectives were to determine if cows classified as either low- or high-residual feed intake (LRFI or HRFI) differed in BW, BCS, and winter grazing activity over time. Thirty Hereford x Angus (LRFI = 16; HRFI = 14) 2-year-old cows grazed sagebrush-steppe for 78 d beginning 29 September 2016. Body...

  18. Sagebrush, greater sage-grouse, and the occurrence and importance of forbs

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pennington, Victoria E.; Schlaepfer, Daniel R.; Beck, Jeffrey L.; Bradford, John B.; Palmquist, Kyle A.; Lauenroth, William K.

    2016-01-01

    Big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata Nutt.) ecosystems provide habitat for sagebrush-obligate wildlife species such as the Greater Sage-Grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus). The understory of big sagebrush plant communities is composed of grasses and forbs that are important sources of cover and food for wildlife. The grass component is well described in the literature, but the composition, abundance, and habitat role of forbs in these communities is largely unknown. Our objective was to synthesize information about forbs and their importance to Greater Sage-Grouse diets and habitats, how rangeland management practices affect forbs, and how forbs respond to changes in temperature and precipitation. We also sought to identify research gaps and needs concerning forbs in big sagebrush plant communities. We searched for relevant literature including journal articles and state and federal agency reports. Our results indicated that in the spring and summer, Greater Sage-Grouse diets consist of forbs (particularly species in the Asteraceae family), arthropods, and lesser amounts of sagebrush. The diets transition to sagebrush in fall and winter. Forbs provide cover for Greater Sage-Grouse individuals at their lekking, nesting, and brood-rearing sites, and the species has a positive relationship with arthropod presence. The effect of grazing on native forbs may be compounded by invasion of nonnative species and differs depending on grazing intensity. The effect of fire on forbs varies greatly and may depend on time elapsed since burning. In addition, chemical and mechanical treatments affect annual and perennial forbs differently. Temperature and precipitation influence forb phenology, biomass, and abundance differently among species. Our review identified several uncertainties and research needs about forbs in big sagebrush ecosystems. First, in many cases the literature about forbs is reported only at the genus or functional type level. Second, information about forb

  19. Plant litter effects on soil nutrient availability and vegetation dynamics: changes that occur when annual grasses invade shrub-steppe communities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sheel Bansal; Roger L. Sheley; Bob Blank; Edward A. Vasquez

    2014-01-01

    Changes in the quantity and quality of plant litter occur in many ecosystems as they are invaded by exotic species, which impact soil nutrient cycling and plant community composition. Such changes in sagebrush-steppe communities are occurring with invasion of annual grasses (AG) into a perennial grass (PG) dominated system. We conducted a 5-year litter manipulation...

  20. Resilience and resistance of sagebrush ecosystems: implications for state and transition models and management treatments

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chambers, Jeanne C.; Miller, Richard F.; Board, David I.; Pyke, David A.; Roundy, Bruce A.; Grace, James B.; Schupp, Eugene W.; Tausch, Robin J.

    2014-01-01

    In sagebrush ecosystems invasion of annual exotics and expansion of piñon (Pinus monophylla Torr. and Frem.) and juniper (Juniperus occidentalis Hook., J. osteosperma [Torr.] Little) are altering fire regimes and resulting in large-scale ecosystem transformations. Management treatments aim to increase resilience to disturbance and enhance resistance to invasive species by reducing woody fuels and increasing native perennial herbaceous species. We used Sagebrush Steppe Treatment Evaluation Project data to test predictions on effects of fire vs. mechanical treatments on resilience and resistance for three site types exhibiting cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum L.) invasion and/or piñon and juniper expansion: 1) warm and dry Wyoming big sagebrush (WY shrub); 2) warm and moist Wyoming big sagebrush (WY PJ); and 3) cool and moist mountain big sagebrush (Mtn PJ). Warm and dry (mesic/aridic) WY shrub sites had lower resilience to fire (less shrub recruitment and native perennial herbaceous response) than cooler and moister (frigid/xeric) WY PJ and Mtn PJ sites. Warm (mesic) WY Shrub and WY PJ sites had lower resistance to annual exotics than cool (frigid to cool frigid) Mtn PJ sites. In WY shrub, fire and sagebrush mowing had similar effects on shrub cover and, thus, on perennial native herbaceous and exotic cover. In WY PJ and Mtn PJ, effects were greater for fire than cut-and-leave treatments and with high tree cover in general because most woody vegetation was removed increasing resources for other functional groups. In WY shrub, about 20% pretreatment perennial native herb cover was necessary to prevent increases in exotics after treatment. Cooler and moister WY PJ and especially Mtn PJ were more resistant to annual exotics, but perennial native herb cover was still required for site recovery. We use our results to develop state and transition models that illustrate how resilience and resistance influence vegetation dynamics and management options.

  1. W-519 Sagebrush Mitigation Project FY-2004 Final Review and Status

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Durham, Robin E.; Sackschewsky, Michael R.

    2004-09-30

    This report summarizes activities conducted as mitigation for loss of sagebrush-steppe habitats due to Project W-519, the construction of the infrastructure for the Tank Waste Remediation System Vitrification Plant. The focus of this report is to provide a review and final status of mitigation actions performed through FY2004. Data collected since FY1999 have been included where appropriate. The Mitigation Action Plan (MAP) for Project W-519 prescribed three general actions to be performed as mitigation for the disturbance of approximately 40 ha (100 acres) of mature sagebrush-steppe habitat. These actions included: (1) transplanting approximately 130,000 sagebrush seedlings on the Fitzner-Eberhardt Arid Lands Ecology Reserve (ALE); (2) rectification of the new transmission line corridor via seeding with native grasses and sagebrush; and (3) research on native plant species with a goal of increasing species diversity in future mitigation or restoration actions. Nearly 130,000 Wyoming big sagebrush seedlings where planted on ALE during FY2000 and FY2001. About 39,000 of those seedlings were burned during the 24-Command Fire of June 2000. The surviving and subsequent replanting has resulted in about 91,000 seedlings that were planted across four general areas on ALE. A 50% survival rate at any monitoring period was defined as the performance standard in the MAP for this project. Data collected in 2004 indicate that of the over 5000 monitored plants, 51.1% are still alive, and of those the majority are thriving and blooming. These results support the potential for natural recruitment and the ultimate goal of wildlife habitat replacement. Thus, the basic performance standard for sagebrush survival within the habitat compensation planting has been met. Monitoring activities conducted in 2004 indicate considerable variation in seedling survival depending on the type of plant material, site conditions, and to a lesser extent, treatments performed at the time of planting

  2. W-519 Sagebrush Mitigation Project FY-2004 Final Review and Status

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Durham, Robin E.; Sackschewsky, Michael R.

    2004-01-01

    This report/SUMmarizes activities conducted as mitigation for loss of sagebrush-steppe habitats due to Project W-519, the construction of the infrastructure for the Tank Waste Remediation System Vitrification Plant. The focus of this report is to provide a review and final status of mitigation actions performed through FY2004. Data collected since FY1999 have been included where appropriate. The Mitigation Action Plan (MAP) for Project W-519 prescribed three general actions to be performed as mitigation for the disturbance of approximately 40 ha (100 acres) of mature sagebrush-steppe habitat. These actions included: (1) transplanting approximately 130,000 sagebrush seedlings on the Fitzner-Eberhardt Arid Lands Ecology Reserve (ALE); (2) rectification of the new transmission line corridor via seeding with native grasses and sagebrush; and (3) research on native plant species with a goal of increasing species diversity in future mitigation or restoration actions. Nearly 130,000 Wyoming big sagebrush seedlings where planted on ALE during FY2000 and FY2001. About 39,000 of those seedlings were burned during the 24-Command Fire of June 2000. The surviving and subsequent replanting has resulted in about 91,000 seedlings that were planted across four general areas on ALE. A 50% survival rate at any monitoring period was defined as the performance standard in the MAP for this project. Data collected in 2004 indicate that of the over 5000 monitored plants, 51.1% are still alive, and of those the majority are thriving and blooming. These results support the potential for natural recruitment and the ultimate goal of wildlife habitat replacement. Thus, the basic performance standard for sagebrush survival within the habitat compensation planting has been met. Monitoring activities conducted in 2004 indicate considerable variation in seedling survival depending on the type of plant material, site conditions, and to a lesser extent, treatments performed at the time of planting

  3. Sagebrush ecosystems: current status and trends.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Beever, E.A.; Connelly, J.W.; Knick, S.T.; Schroeder, M.A.; Stiver, S. J.

    2004-01-01

    The sagebrush (Artemisia spp.) biome has changed since settlement by Europeans. The current distribution, composition and dynamics, and disturbance regimes of sagebrush ecosystems have been altered by interactions among disturbance, land use, and invasion of exotic plants. In this chapter, we present the dominant factors that have influenced habitats across the sagebrush biome. Using a large-scale analysis, we identified regional changes and patterns in “natural disturbance”, invasive exotic species, and influences of land use in sagebrush systems. Number of fires and total area burned has increased since 1980 across much of the sagebrush biome. Juniper (Juniperus spp.) and pinyon (Pinus spp.) woodlands have expanded into sagebrush habitats at higher elevations. Cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum), an exotic annual grass, has invaded much of lower elevation, more xeric sagebrush landscapes across the western portion of the biome. Consequently, synergistic feedbacks between habitats and disturbance (natural and human-caused) have altered disturbance regimes, plant community dynamics and contributed to loss of sagebrush habitats and change in plant communities. Habitat conversion to agriculture has occurred in the highly productive regions of the sagebrush biome and influenced up to 56% of the Conservation Assessment area. Similarly, urban areas, and road, railroad, and powerline networks fragment habitats, facilitate predator movements, and provide corridors for spread of exotic species across the entire sagebrush biome. Livestock grazing has altered sagebrush habitats; the effects of overgrazing combined with drought on plant communities in the late 1880s and early 1900s still influences current habitats. Management of livestock grazing has influenced sagebrush ecosystems by habitat treatments to increase forage and reduce sagebrush and other plant species unpalatable to livestock. Fences, roads, and water developments to manage livestock movements have further

  4. Science Framework for the Conservation and Restoration Strategy of the Department of the Interior, Secretarial Order 3336: Using resilience and resistance concepts to assess threats to sagebrush ecosystems and sage-grouse, prioritize conservation and restoration actions, and inform management strategies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jeanne C. Chambers; Jeffrey L. Beck; Steve Campbell; John Carlson; Thomas J. Christiansen; Karen J. Clause; Michele R. Crist; Jonathan B. Dinkins; Kevin E. Doherty; Shawn Espinosa; Kathleen A. Griffin; Steven E. Hanser; Douglas W. Havlina; Kenneth F. Henke; Jacob D. Hennig; Laurie L. Kurth; Jeremy D. Maestas; Mary Manning; Kenneth E. Mayer; Brian A. Mealor; Clinton McCarthy; Mike Pellant; Marco A. Perea; Karen L. Prentice; David A. Pyke; Lief A. Wiechman; Amarina Wuenschel

    2016-01-01

    The Science Framework for the Conservation and Restoration Strategy of the Department of the Interior, Secretarial Order 3336 (SO 3336), Rangeland Fire Prevention, Management and Restoration, provides a strategic, multiscale approach for prioritizing areas for management and determining effective management strategies across the sagebrush biome. The emphasis of this...

  5. Quantifying phenology metrics from Great Basin plant communities and their relationship to seasonal water availability

    Science.gov (United States)

    Background/Question/Methods Sagebrush steppe is critical habitat in the Great Basin for wildlife and provides important ecosystem goods and services. Expansion of pinyon (Pinus spp.) and juniper (Juniperus spp.) in the Great Basin has reduced the extent of sagebrush steppe causing habitat, fire, and...

  6. Community Structure and Productivity in Western Mongolian Steppe

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kiyokazu Kawada

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available The people of the Mongolian steppe have maintained a sustainable, nomadic lifestyle. However, several ecological processes are threatening their way of life. Ecological changan be detected through the analysis of quantitative and qualitative data. It is therefore, imperative to develop a sustainable rangeland management system aimed at combating desertifi cation. In this study we quantitatively and qualitatively describe several western Mongolian steppe plant communities by examining species composition, plant volume and community structure. Study sites were located in the Uvs and Khovd provinces and had all been affected by livestock grazing. A total of 48 species were found. Stipa krylovii , S . gobica , Cleistogenes songorica , Koeleria cristata and Ajania achilleoides were dominant. There was a signifi cant relationship between biomass and plant volume at all sites. Study sites were classifi ed into four groups using cluster analysis, based on the presence or absence of several species. More than 90% of plant volumes at all groups were perennial grasses and perennial forbs. The ratio of C 3 to C 4 plants at site 3 was reversed in comparison to the other sites. Species highly palatable to livestock were dominant at all sites. To ensure the sustainable use of biological resources in these arid areas, these fi ndings should be taken into account in designing land-use plans.

  7. A cross-scale approach to understand drought-induced variability of sagebrush ecosystem productivity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Assal, T.; Anderson, P. J.

    2016-12-01

    Sagebrush (Artemisia spp.) mortality has recently been reported in the Upper Green River Basin (Wyoming, USA) of the sagebrush steppe of western North America. Numerous causes have been suggested, but recent drought (2012-13) is the likely mechanism of mortality in this water-limited ecosystem which provides critical habitat for many species of wildlife. An understanding of the variability in patterns of productivity with respect to climate is essential to exploit landscape scale remote sensing for detection of subtle changes associated with mortality in this sparse, uniformly vegetated ecosystem. We used the standardized precipitation index to characterize drought conditions and Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) satellite imagery (250-m resolution) to characterize broad characteristics of growing season productivity. We calculated per-pixel growing season anomalies over a 16-year period (2000-2015) to identify the spatial and temporal variability in productivity. Metrics derived from Landsat satellite imagery (30-m resolution) were used to further investigate trends within anomalous areas at local scales. We found evidence to support an initial hypothesis that antecedent winter drought was most important in explaining reduced productivity. The results indicate drought effects were inconsistent over space and time. MODIS derived productivity deviated by more than four standard deviations in heavily impacted areas, but was well within the interannual variability in other areas. Growing season anomalies highlighted dramatic declines in productivity during the 2012 and 2013 growing seasons. However, large negative anomalies persisted in other areas during the 2014 growing season, indicating lag effects of drought. We are further investigating if the reduction in productivity is mediated by local biophysical properties. Our analysis identified spatially explicit patterns of ecosystem properties altered by severe drought which are consistent with

  8. Ecological restoration of peatlands in steppe and forest-steppe areas

    Science.gov (United States)

    Minayeva, Tatiana; Sirin, Andrey; Dugarjav, Chultem

    2016-04-01

    Peatlands in the arid and semi-arid regions of steppe and forest steppe belt of Eurasia have some specific features. That demands the special approach to their management and restoration. The distribution of peatlands under conditions of dry climate is very limited and they are extremely vulnerable. Peatlands in those regions are found in the highlands where temperate conditions still present, in floodplains where they can get water from floods and springs, or in karst areas. Peatlands on watersheds present mainly remains from the more humid climate periods. Water and carbon storage as well as maintenance of the specific biodiversity are the key ecosystem natural functions of peatlands in the steppe and forest steppe. The performance of those functions has strong implications for people wellness and livelihood. Anyhow, peatlands are usually overlooked and poorly represented in the systems of natural protected areas. Land management plans, mitigation and restoration measures for ecosystems under use do not usually include special measures for peatlands. Peatlands'use depends on the traditional practices. Peat extraction is rather limited in subhumid regions but still act as one of the threats to peatlands. The most of peatlands are used as pastures and grasslands. In densely populated areas large part of peatlands are transformed to the arable lands. In many cases peatlands of piedmonts and highlands are affected by industrial developments: road construction, mining of subsoil resources (gold, etc.). Until now, the most of peatlands of steppe and forest steppe region are irreversibly lost, what also effects water regime, lands productivity, biodiversity status. To prevent further dramatic changes the ecological restoration approach should be introduced in the subhumid regions. The feasibility study to assess the potential for introducing ecological restoration techniques for peatlands in the arid and semi-arid conditions had been undertaken in steppe and forest

  9. Seed bank and big sagebrush plant community composition in a range margin for big sagebrush

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martyn, Trace E.; Bradford, John B.; Schlaepfer, Daniel R.; Burke, Ingrid C.; Laurenroth, William K.

    2016-01-01

    The potential influence of seed bank composition on range shifts of species due to climate change is unclear. Seed banks can provide a means of both species persistence in an area and local range expansion in the case of increasing habitat suitability, as may occur under future climate change. However, a mismatch between the seed bank and the established plant community may represent an obstacle to persistence and expansion. In big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata) plant communities in Montana, USA, we compared the seed bank to the established plant community. There was less than a 20% similarity in the relative abundance of species between the established plant community and the seed bank. This difference was primarily driven by an overrepresentation of native annual forbs and an underrepresentation of big sagebrush in the seed bank compared to the established plant community. Even though we expect an increase in habitat suitability for big sagebrush under future climate conditions at our sites, the current mismatch between the plant community and the seed bank could impede big sagebrush range expansion into increasingly suitable habitat in the future.

  10. RANGELAND DEGRADATION: EXTENT, IMPACTS, AND ALTERNATIVE RESTORATION TECHNIQUES IN THE RANGELANDS OF ETHIOPIA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mohammed Mussa Abdulahi

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available Rangeland degradation remains a serious impediment to improve pastoral livelihoods in the lowlands of Ethiopia. This review paper presents an overview of the extent of rangeland degradation, explores its drivers, discusses the potential impacts of rangeland degradation and also suggests alternative rangeland restoration techniques. It is intended to serve as an exploratory tool for ensuing more detailed quantitative analyses to support policy and investment programs to address rangeland degradation in Ethiopia. The extent of rangeland degradation increases with time, and the productivity of rangelands are losing if not given due attention. The major drivers leading to rangeland degradation includes climate change, overgrazing, bush encroachment, population pressure, drought, and government policy, encroachment of rain fed agriculture and decline of traditional resource management institution. Degradation of rangeland has resulted in substantial declines in rangeland condition, water potential, soil status, and animal performance, livestock holding at the household level and community become destitute. Another consequence of rangeland degradation is linked to food insecurity, poverty to the extent of food aid, expansion of aridity and the need for alternative livelihood and income diversification. Moreover, it has increasingly become a threat to the pastoral production systems, and has contributed towards increases in poverty and tribal conflicts over grazing land and water resources. In spite of these impacts, the adoption of alternative restoration techniques in the country is highly insufficient. To address rangeland degradation problems, there is a strong need to substantially increase the investments and strengthen the policy support for sustainable land management.

  11. Investigating Seed Longevity of Big Sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wijayratne, Upekala C.; Pyke, David A.

    2009-01-01

    The Intermountain West is dominated by big sagebrush communities (Artemisia tridentata subspecies) that provide habitat and forage for wildlife, prevent erosion, and are economically important to recreation and livestock industries. The two most prominent subspecies of big sagebrush in this region are Wyoming big sagebrush (A. t. ssp. wyomingensis) and mountain big sagebrush (A. t. ssp. vaseyana). Increased understanding of seed bank dynamics will assist with sustainable management and persistence of sagebrush communities. For example, mountain big sagebrush may be subjected to shorter fire return intervals and prescribed fire is a tool used often to rejuvenate stands and reduce tree (Juniperus sp. or Pinus sp.) encroachment into these communities. A persistent seed bank for mountain big sagebrush would be advantageous under these circumstances. Laboratory germination trials indicate that seed dormancy in big sagebrush may be habitat-specific, with collections from colder sites being more dormant. Our objective was to investigate seed longevity of both subspecies by evaluating viability of seeds in the field with a seed retrieval experiment and sampling for seeds in situ. We chose six study sites for each subspecies. These sites were dispersed across eastern Oregon, southern Idaho, northwestern Utah, and eastern Nevada. Ninety-six polyester mesh bags, each containing 100 seeds of a subspecies, were placed at each site during November 2006. Seed bags were placed in three locations: (1) at the soil surface above litter, (2) on the soil surface beneath litter, and (3) 3 cm below the soil surface to determine whether dormancy is affected by continued darkness or environmental conditions. Subsets of seeds were examined in April and November in both 2007 and 2008 to determine seed viability dynamics. Seed bank samples were taken at each site, separated into litter and soil fractions, and assessed for number of germinable seeds in a greenhouse. Community composition data

  12. Natural regeneration processes in big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schlaepfer, Daniel R.; Lauenroth, William K.; Bradford, John B.

    2014-01-01

    Big sagebrush, Artemisia tridentata Nuttall (Asteraceae), is the dominant plant species of large portions of semiarid western North America. However, much of historical big sagebrush vegetation has been removed or modified. Thus, regeneration is recognized as an important component for land management. Limited knowledge about key regeneration processes, however, represents an obstacle to identifying successful management practices and to gaining greater insight into the consequences of increasing disturbance frequency and global change. Therefore, our objective is to synthesize knowledge about natural big sagebrush regeneration. We identified and characterized the controls of big sagebrush seed production, germination, and establishment. The largest knowledge gaps and associated research needs include quiescence and dormancy of embryos and seedlings; variation in seed production and germination percentages; wet-thermal time model of germination; responses to frost events (including freezing/thawing of soils), CO2 concentration, and nutrients in combination with water availability; suitability of microsite vs. site conditions; competitive ability as well as seedling growth responses; and differences among subspecies and ecoregions. Potential impacts of climate change on big sagebrush regeneration could include that temperature increases may not have a large direct influence on regeneration due to the broad temperature optimum for regeneration, whereas indirect effects could include selection for populations with less stringent seed dormancy. Drier conditions will have direct negative effects on germination and seedling survival and could also lead to lighter seeds, which lowers germination success further. The short seed dispersal distance of big sagebrush may limit its tracking of suitable climate; whereas, the low competitive ability of big sagebrush seedlings may limit successful competition with species that track climate. An improved understanding of the

  13. Selection of anthropogenic features and vegetation characteristics by nesting Common Ravens in the sagebrush ecosystem

    Science.gov (United States)

    Howe, Kristy B.; Coates, Peter S.; Delehanty, David J.

    2014-01-01

    Common Raven (Corvus corax) numbers and distribution are increasing throughout the sagebrush steppe, influencing avian communities in complex ways. Anthropogenic structures are thought to increase raven populations by providing food and nesting subsidies, which is cause for concern because ravens are important nest predators of sensitive species, including Greater Sage-Grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus). During 2007–2009, we located raven nests in southeastern Idaho and conducted a resource selection analysis. We measured variables at multiple spatial scales for 72 unique nest locations, including landscape-level vegetation characteristics and anthropogenic structures. Using generalized linear mixed models and an information-theoretic approach, we found a 31% decrease in the odds of nesting by ravens for every 1 km increase in distance away from a transmission line. Furthermore, a 100-m increase in distance away from the edge of two different land cover types decreased the odds of nesting by 20%, and an increase in the amount of edge by 1 km within an area of 102.1 ha centered on the nest increased the odds of nesting by 49%. A post hoc analysis revealed that ravens were most likely to nest near edges of adjoining big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata) and land cover types that were associated with direct human disturbance or fire. These findings contribute to our understanding of raven expansion into rural environments and could be used to make better-informed conservation decisions, especially in the face of increasing renewable energy development.

  14. Ecological influence and pathways of land use in sagebrush

    Science.gov (United States)

    Knick, Steven T.; Hanser, Steven E.; Miller, Richard F.; Pyke, David A.; Wisdom, Michael J.; Finn, Sean P.; Rinkes, E. Thomas; Henny, Charles J.; Knick, Steven T.; Connelly, John W.

    2011-01-01

    Land use in sagebrush (Artemisia spp.) landscapes influences all sage-grouse (Centrocer-cus spp.) populations in western North America. Croplands and the network of irrigation canals cover 230,000 km2 and indirectly influence up to 77% of the Sage-Grouse Conservation Area and 73% of sagebrush land cover by subsidizing synanthropic predators on sage-grouse. Urbanization and the demands of human population growth have created an extensive network of con-necting infrastructure that is expanding its influence on sagebrush landscapes. Over 2,500 km2 are now covered by interstate highways and paved roads; when secondary roads are included, 15% of the Sage-Grouse Conservation Area and 5% of existing sagebrush habitats are 2.5 km from roads. Density of secondary roads often exceeds 5 km/km2, resulting in widespread motorized access for recreation, creating extensive travel corridors for management actions and resource development, subsidizing predators adapted to human presence, and facilitating spread of exotic or invasive plants. Sagebrush lands also are being used for their wilderness and recreation values, including off highway vehicle use. Approximately 12,000,000 animal use months (AUM amount of forage to support one livestock unit per month) are permitted for grazing livestock on public lands in the western states. Direct effects of grazing on sage-grouse populations or sagebrush landscapes are not possible to assess from current data. However, management of lands grazed by livestock has influenced sagebrush ecosystems by vegetation treatments to increase forage and reduce sagebrush and other plant species unpalatable to livestock. Fences (2 km/km2 in some regions), roads, and water developments to manage livestock movements further modify the landscape. Oil and gas development influences 8% of the sagebrush habitats with the highest intensities occurring in the eastern range of sage-grouse; 20% of the sagebrush distribution is indirectly influenced in the Great

  15. An overview of the rangelands atmosphere hydrosphere biosphere interaction study experiment in northeastern Asia (RAISE)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sugita, Michiaki; Asanuma, Jun; Tsujimura, Maki; Mariko, Shigeru; Lu, Minjiao; Kimura, Fujio; Azzaya, Dolgorsuren; Adyasuren, Tsokhio

    2007-01-01

    SummaryIntensive observations, analysis and modeling within the framework of the rangelands atmosphere-hydrosphere-biosphere interaction study experiment in northeastern Asia (RAISE) project, have allowed investigations into the hydrologic cycle in the ecotone of forest-steppe, and its relation to atmosphere and ecosystem in the eastern part of Mongolia. In this region, changes in the climate have been reported and a market oriented economy was introduced recently, but their impact on the natural environment is still not well understood. In this RAISE special issue, the outcome is presented of the studies carried out by six groups within RAISE, namely: (1) Land-atmosphere interaction analysis, (2) ecosystem analysis and modeling, (3) hydrologic cycle analysis, (4) climatic modeling, (5) hydrologic modeling, and (6) integration. The results are organized in five relevant categories comprising (i) hydrologic cycle including precipitation, groundwater, and surface water, (ii) hydrologic cycle and ecosystem, (iii) surface-atmosphere interaction, (iv) effect of grazing activities on soils, plant ecosystem and surface fluxes, and (v) future prediction. Comparison with studies on rangelands in other parts of the world, and some future directions of studies still needed in this region are also summarized.

  16. RANGELAND SEQUESTRATION POTENTIAL ASSESSMENT

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lee Spangler; George F. Vance; Gerald E. Schuman; Justin D. Derner

    2012-03-31

    Rangelands occupy approximately half of the world's land area and store greater than 10% of the terrestrial biomass carbon and up to 30% of the global soil organic carbon. Although soil carbon sequestration rates are generally low on rangelands in comparison to croplands, increases in terrestrial carbon in rangelands resulting from management can account for significant carbon sequestration given the magnitude of this land resource. Despite the significance rangelands can play in carbon sequestration, our understanding remains limited. Researchers conducted a literature review to identify sustainably management practices that conserve existing rangeland carbon pools, as well as increase or restore carbon sequestration potentials for this type of ecosystem. The research team also reviewed the impact of grazing management on rangeland carbon dynamics, which are not well understood due to heterogeneity in grassland types. The literature review on the impact of grazing showed a wide variation of results, ranging from positive to negative to no response. On further review, the intensity of grazing appears to be a major factor in controlling rangeland soil organic carbon dynamics. In 2003, researchers conducted field sampling to assess the effect of several drought years during the period 1993-2002. Results suggested that drought can significantly impact rangeland soil organic carbon (SOC) levels, and therefore, carbon sequestration. Resampling was conducted in 2006; results again suggested that climatic conditions may have overridden management effects on SOC due to the ecological lag of the severe drought of 2002. Analysis of grazing practices during this research effort suggested that there are beneficial effects of light grazing compared to heavy grazing and non-grazing with respect to increased SOC and nitrogen contents. In general, carbon storage in rangelands also increases with increased precipitation, although researchers identified threshold levels of

  17. Modeling regeneration responses of big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata) to abiotic conditions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schlaepfer, Daniel R.; Lauenroth, William K.; Bradford, John B.

    2014-01-01

    Ecosystems dominated by big sagebrush, Artemisia tridentata Nuttall (Asteraceae), which are the most widespread ecosystems in semiarid western North America, have been affected by land use practices and invasive species. Loss of big sagebrush and the decline of associated species, such as greater sage-grouse, are a concern to land managers and conservationists. However, big sagebrush regeneration remains difficult to achieve by restoration and reclamation efforts and there is no regeneration simulation model available. We present here the first process-based, daily time-step, simulation model to predict yearly big sagebrush regeneration including relevant germination and seedling responses to abiotic factors. We estimated values, uncertainty, and importance of 27 model parameters using a total of 1435 site-years of observation. Our model explained 74% of variability of number of years with successful regeneration at 46 sites. It also achieved 60% overall accuracy predicting yearly regeneration success/failure. Our results identify specific future research needed to improve our understanding of big sagebrush regeneration, including data at the subspecies level and improved parameter estimates for start of seed dispersal, modified wet thermal-time model of germination, and soil water potential influences. We found that relationships between big sagebrush regeneration and climate conditions were site specific, varying across the distribution of big sagebrush. This indicates that statistical models based on climate are unsuitable for understanding range-wide regeneration patterns or for assessing the potential consequences of changing climate on sagebrush regeneration and underscores the value of this process-based model. We used our model to predict potential regeneration across the range of sagebrush ecosystems in the western United States, which confirmed that seedling survival is a limiting factor, whereas germination is not. Our results also suggested that modeled

  18. Big and black sagebrush landscapes [Chapter 5

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stanley G. Kitchen; E. Durant McArthur

    2007-01-01

    Perhaps no plant evokes a common vision of the semi-arid landscapes of western North America as do the sagebrushes. A collective term, sagebrush is applied to shrubby members of the mostly herbaceous genus, Artemisia L. More precisely, the moniker is usually restricted to members of subgenus Tridentatae, a collection of some 20 woody taxa endemic to North America (...

  19. Ecology of greater sage-grouse in the Dakotas

    Science.gov (United States)

    Christopher C. Swanson

    2009-01-01

    Greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) populations and the sagebrush (Artemisia spp.) communities that they rely on have dramatically declined from historic levels. Moreover, information regarding sage-grouse annual life-history requirements at the eastern-most extension of sagebrush steppe communities is lacking....

  20. Historical fire regimes, reconstructed from land-survey data, led to complexity and fluctuation in sagebrush landscapes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bukowski, Beth E; Baker, William L

    2013-04-01

    Sagebrush landscapes provide habitat for Sage-Grouse and other sagebrush obligates, yet historical fire regimes and the structure of historical sagebrush landscapes are poorly known, hampering ecological restoration and management. To remedy this, General Land Office Survey (GLO) survey notes were used to reconstruct over two million hectares of historical vegetation for four sagebrush-dominated (Artemisia spp.) study areas in the western United States. Reconstructed vegetation was analyzed for fire indicators used to identify historical fires and reconstruct historical fire regimes. Historical fire-size distributions were inverse-J shaped, and one fire > 100 000 ha was identified. Historical fire rotations were estimated at 171-342 years for Wyoming big sagebrush (A. tridentata ssp. wyomingensis) and 137-217 years for mountain big sagebrush (A. tridentata ssp. vaseyana). Historical fire and patch sizes were significantly larger in Wyoming big sagebrush than mountain big sagebrush, and historical fire rotations were significantly longer in Wyoming big sagebrush than mountain big sagebrush. Historical fire rotations in Wyoming were longer than those in other study areas. Fine-scale mosaics of burned and unburned area and larger unburned inclusions within fire perimeters were less common than in modern fires. Historical sagebrush landscapes were dominated by large, contiguous areas of sagebrush, though large grass-dominated areas and finer-scale mosaics of grass and sagebrush were also present in smaller amounts. Variation in sagebrush density was a common source of patchiness, and areas classified as "dense" made up 24.5% of total sagebrush area, compared to 16.3% for "scattered" sagebrush. Results suggest significant differences in historical and modern fire regimes. Modern fire rotations in Wyoming big sagebrush are shorter than historical fire rotations. Results also suggest that historical sagebrush landscapes would have fluctuated, because of infrequent

  1. Science framework for the conservation and restoration strategy of DOI secretarial order 3336: Utilizing resilience and resistance concepts to assess threats to sagebrush ecosystems and greater sage-grouse, prioritize conservation and restoration actions, and inform management strategies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chambers, Jeanne C.; Campbell, Steve; Carlson, John; Beck, Jeffrey L.; Clause, Karen J.; Dinkins, Jonathan B.; Doherty, Kevin E.; Espinosa, Shawn; Griffin, Kathleen A.; Christiansen, Thomas J.; Crist, Michele R.; Hanser, Steven E.; Havlina, Douglas W.; Henke, Kenneth F.; Hennig, Jacob D.; Kurth, Laurie L.; Maestas, Jeremy D.; Mayer, Kenneth E.; Manning, Mary E.; Mealor, Brian A.; McCarthy, Clinton; Pellant, Mike; Prentice, Karen L.; Perea, Marco A.; Pyke, David A.; Wiechman , Lief A.; Wuenschel, Amarina

    2016-01-01

    The Science Framework for the Conservation and Restoration Strategy of the Department of the Interior, Secretarial Order 3336 (SO 3336), Rangeland Fire Prevention, Management and Restoration, provides a strategic, multiscale approach for prioritizing areas for management and determining effective management strategies across the sagebrush biome. The emphasis of this version is on sagebrush ecosystems and greater sage-grouse. The Science Framework uses a six step process in which sagebrush ecosystem resilience to disturbance and resistance to nonnative, invasive annual grasses is linked to species habitat information based on the distribution and abundance of focal species. The predominant ecosystem and anthropogenic threats are assessed, and a habitat matrix is developed that helps decision makers evaluate risks and determine appropriate management strategies at regional and local scales. Areas are prioritized for management action using a geospatial approach that overlays resilience and resistance, species habitat information, and predominant threats. Decision tools are discussed for determining the suitability of priority areas for management and the most appropriate management actions at regional to local scales. The Science Framework and geospatial crosscut are intended to complement the mitigation strategies associated with the Greater Sage-Grouse Land Use Plan amendments for the Department of the Interior Bureaus, such as the Bureau of Land Management, and the U.S. Forest Service.

  2. Conserving and restoring habitat for Greater Sage-Grouse and other sagebrush-obligate wildlife: The crucial link of forbs and sagebrush diversity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kas Dumroese; Tara Luna; Bryce A. Richardson; Francis F. Kilkenny; Justin B. Runyon

    2015-01-01

    In the western US, Greater Sage-Grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus Bonaparte [Phasianidae]) have become an indicator species of the overall health of the sagebrush (Artemisia L. [Asteraceae]) dominated communities that support a rich diversity of flora and fauna. This species has an integral association with sagebrush, its understory forbs and grasses, and the...

  3. Reclamation after oil and gas development does not speed up succession or plant community recovery in big sagebrush ecosystems in Wyoming

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rottler, Caitlin M.; Burke, Ingrid C.; Palmquist, Kyle A.; Bradford, John B.; Lauenroth, William K.

    2018-01-01

    Article for intended outlet: Restoration Ecology. Abstract: Reclamation is an application of treatment(s) following a disturbance to promote succession and accelerate the return of target conditions. Previous studies have framed reclamation in the context of succession by studying its effectiveness in re-establishing late-successional plant communities. Re-establishment of these plant communities is especially important and potentially challenging in regions such as drylands and shrub steppe ecosystems where succession proceeds slowly. Dryland shrub steppe ecosystems are frequently associated with areas rich in fossil-fuel energy sources, and as such the need for effective reclamation after disturbance from fossil-fuel-related energy development is great. Past research in this field has focused primarily on coal mines; few researchers have studied reclamation after oil and gas development. To address this research gap and to better understand the effect of reclamation on rates of succession in dryland shrub steppe ecosystems, we sampled oil and gas wellpads and adjacent undisturbed big sagebrush plant communities in Wyoming, USA and quantified the extent of recovery for major functional groups on reclaimed and unreclaimed (recovered via natural succession) wellpads relative to the undisturbed plant community. Reclamation increased the rate of recovery for all forb and grass species as a group and for perennial grasses, but did not affect other functional groups. Rather, analyses comparing recovery to environmental variables and time since wellpad abandonment showed that recovery of other groups were affected primarily by soil texture and time since wellpad abandonment. This is consistent with studies in other ecosystems where reclamation has been implemented, suggesting that reclamation may not help re-establish late-successional plant communities more quickly than they would re-establish naturally.

  4. Data set on the effects of conifer control and slash burning on soil carbon, total N, organic matter and extractable micro-nutrients

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jonathan D. Bates

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available Conifer control in sagebrush steppe of the western United States causes various levels of site disturbance influencing vegetation recovery and resource availability. The data set presented in this article include growing season availability of soil micronutrients and levels of total soil carbon, organic matter, and N spanning a six year period following western juniper (Juniperus occidentalis spp. occidentalis reduction by mechanical cutting and prescribed fire of western juniper woodlands in southeast Oregon. These data can be useful to further evaluate the impacts of conifer woodland reduction to soil resources in sagebrush steppe plant communities.

  5. Effect of fungicides on Wyoming big sagebrush seed germination

    Science.gov (United States)

    Robert D. Cox; Lance H. Kosberg; Nancy L. Shaw; Stuart P. Hardegree

    2011-01-01

    Germination tests of Wyoming big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata Nutt. ssp. wyomingensis Beetle & Young [Asteraceae]) seeds often exhibit fungal contamination, but the use of fungicides should be avoided because fungicides may artificially inhibit germination. We tested the effect of seed-applied fungicides on germination of Wyoming big sagebrush at 2 different...

  6. Sagebrush-ungulate relationships on the Northern Yellowstone Winter Range

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carl L. Wambolt

    2005-01-01

    Sagebrush (Artemisia) taxa have historically been the landscape dominants over much of the Northern Yellowstone Winter Range (NYWR). Their importance to the unnaturally large ungulate populations on the NYWR throughout the twentieth century has been recognized since the 1920s. Sagebrush-herbivore ecology has been the focus of research on the NYWR for...

  7. Utility of surface pollen assemblages to delimit Eastern Eurasian steppe types.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Feng Qin

    Full Text Available Modern pollen records have been used to successfully distinguish between specific prairie types in North America. Whether the pollen records can be used to detect the occurrence of Eurasian steppe, or even to further delimit various steppe types was until now unclear. Here we characterized modern pollen assemblages of meadow steppe, typical steppe and desert steppe from eastern Eurasia along an ecological humidity gradient. The multivariate ordination of the pollen data indicated that Eurasian steppe types could be clearly differentiated. The different steppe types could be distinguished primarily by xerophilous elements in the pollen assemblages. Redundancy analysis indicated that the relative abundances of Ephedra, Tamarix, Nitraria and Zygophyllaceae were positively correlated with aridity. The relative abundances of Ephedra increased from meadow steppe to typical steppe and desert steppe. Tamarix and Zygophyllaceae were found in both typical steppe and desert steppe, but not in meadow steppe. Nitraria was only found in desert steppe. The relative abundances of xerophilous elements were greater in desert steppe than in typical steppe. These findings indicate that Eurasian steppe types can be differentiated based on recent pollen rain.

  8. Vegetation responses to sagebrush-reduction treatments measured by satellites

    Science.gov (United States)

    Johnston, Aaron; Beever, Erik; Merkle, Jerod A.; Chong, Geneva W.

    2018-01-01

    Time series of vegetative indices derived from satellite imagery constitute tools to measure ecological effects of natural and management-induced disturbances to ecosystems. Over the past century, sagebrush-reduction treatments have been applied widely throughout western North America to increase herbaceous vegetation for livestock and wildlife. We used indices from satellite imagery to 1) quantify effects of prescribed-fire, herbicide, and mechanical treatments on vegetative cover, productivity, and phenology, and 2) describe how vegetation changed over time following these treatments. We hypothesized that treatments would increase herbaceous cover and accordingly shift phenologies towards those typical of grass-dominated systems. We expected prescribed burns would lead to the greatest and most-prolonged effects on vegetative cover and phenology, followed by herbicide and mechanical treatments. Treatments appeared to increase herbaceous cover and productivity, which coincided with signs of earlier senescence − signals expected of grass-dominated systems, relative to sagebrush-dominated systems. Spatial heterogeneity for most phenometrics was lower in treated areas relative to controls, which suggested treatment-induced homogenization of vegetative communities. Phenometrics that explain spring migrations of ungulates mostly were unaffected by sagebrush treatments. Fire had the strongest effect on vegetative cover, and yielded the least evidence for sagebrush recovery. Overall, treatment effects were small relative to those reported from field-based studies for reasons most likely related to sagebrush recovery, treatment specification, and untreated patches within mosaicked treatment applications. Treatment effects were also small relative to inter-annual variation in phenology and productivity that was explained by temperature, snowpack, and growing-season precipitation. Our results indicated that cumulative NDVI, late-season phenometrics, and spatial

  9. Earth observation for rangeland monitoring

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    Ramoelo, Abel

    2012-10-01

    Full Text Available .kashan.co.za] INTRODUCTION Grass nitrogen (N), as an indicator of rangeland quality, plays a crucial role in understanding the distribution, densities and feeding patterns of both wild herbivores and livestock. Zebras and livestock in the grazing and agricultural lands... ? How can grass nitrogen be mapped for assessing and monitoring of rangeland quality at wider or regional scales? ? Conventional point-based techniques for assessing rangeland quality proved to be expensive, laborious and time consuming...

  10. Conversion of sagebrush shrublands to exotic annual grasslands negatively impacts small mammal communities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ostoja, S.M.; Schupp, E.W.

    2009-01-01

    Aim The exotic annual cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum) is fast replacing sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata) communities throughout the Great Basin Desert and nearby regions in the Western United States, impacting native plant communities and altering fire regimes, which contributes to the long-term persistence of this weedy species. The effect of this conversion on native faunal communities remains largely unexamined. We assess the impact of conversion from native perennial to exotic annual plant communities on desert rodent communities. Location Wyoming big sagebrush shrublands and nearby sites previously converted to cheatgrass-dominated annual grasslands in the Great Basin Desert, Utah, USA. Methods At two sites in Tooele County, Utah, USA, we investigated with Sherman live trapping whether intact sagebrush vegetation and nearby converted Bromus tectorum-dominated vegetation differed in rodent abundance, diversity and community composition. Results Rodent abundance and species richness were considerably greater in sagebrush plots than in cheatgrass-dominated plots. Nine species were captured in sagebrush plots; five of these were also trapped in cheatgrass plots, all at lower abundances than in the sagebrush. In contrast, cheatgrass-dominated plots had no species that were not found in sagebrush. In addition, the site that had been converted to cheatgrass longer had lower abundances of rodents than the site more recently converted to cheatgrass-dominated plots. Despite large differences in abundances and species richness, Simpson's D diversity and Shannon-Wiener diversity and Brillouin evenness indices did not differ between sagebrush and cheatgrass-dominated plots. Main conclusions This survey of rodent communities in native sagebrush and in converted cheatgrass-dominated vegetation suggests that the abundances and community composition of rodents may be shifting, potentially at the larger spatial scale of the entire Great Basin, where cheatgrass continues to invade

  11. Carbon fluxes on North American rangelands

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tony Svejcar; Raymond Angell; James A. Bradford; William Dugas; William Emmerich; Albert B. Frank; Tagir Gilmanov; Marshall Haferkamp; Douglas A. Johnson; Herman Mayeux; Pat Mielnick; Jack Morgan; Nicanor Z. Saliendra; Gerald E. Schuman; Phillip L. Sims; Kereith Snyder

    2008-01-01

    Rangelands account for almost half of the earth's land surface and may play an important role in the global carbon (C) cycle. We studied net ecosystem exchange (NEE) of C on eight North American rangeland sites over a 6-yr period. Management practices and disturbance regimes can influence NEE; for consistency, we compared ungrazed and undisturbed rangelands...

  12. over time

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sara K. Hanna

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Sagebrush steppe ecosystems of the Intermountain West have experienced a decline over the past 150 years due to changing fire regimes, invasive species and conifer encroachment. Prescribed fire is a common and cost-effective tool used in sagebrush restoration and fuels management. We examined the post-fire succession of a sagebrush steppe community over a nearly 30-year period at two study sites in northeastern California. The long-term nature of this study was particularly significant, as invasive annual grasses dominated the plant community in the years immediately following fire, but native perennial grasses and shrubs successfully out-competed them in the long term. Shrubs were slow to recover but had returned to pre-fire levels by the end of the study period. There was also notable increase in western juniper throughout the study sites, particularly in areas that had not been burned. Our results indicate that mean fire return intervals of 50 years or less would help reduce western juniper encroachment and preserve sagebrush habitat, especially for potentially threatened species such as the sage grouse.

  13. Criterion III: Maintenance of rangeland productive capacity [Chapter 4

    Science.gov (United States)

    G. R. Evans; R. A. Washmgton-Allen; R. D. Child; J. E. Mitchell; B. R. Bobowskl; R. V. Loper; B. H. Allen-Diaz; D. W. Thompson; G. R. Welling; T. B. Reuwsaat

    2010-01-01

    Maintenance of rangeland productive capacity is one of five criteria established by the Sustainable Rangelands Roundtable (SRR) to monitor and assess rangeland sustainable management. Within this criterion, six indicators were developed through the Delphi Process and the expert opinions of academicians, rangeland scientists, rangeland management agency personnel, non-...

  14. Measuring ecological function on California's rangelands

    Science.gov (United States)

    Porzig, E.

    2016-12-01

    There is a need for a better understanding of ecosystem processes on rangelands and how management decisions influence these processes on scales that are both ecologically and socially relevant. Point Blue Conservation Science's Rangeland Monitoring Network is a coordinated effort to collect standardized data on birds, vegetation, and soils on rangelands throughout California. We work with partners, including private landowners, land trusts, state and federal agencies, and others, to measure bird and plant abundance and diversity and three soil dynamic properties (water infiltration, bulk density, and organic carbon). Here, we present data from our first two years of monitoring on over 50 ranches in 17 counties. By collecting data on the scope and scale of variation in ecological function across rangelands and the relationship with management practices, we aim to advance rangeland management, restoration, and conservation.

  15. 76 FR 62087 - Draft Conservation Plan and Draft Environmental Assessment; Dunes Sagebrush Lizard, Texas

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-10-06

    ...] Draft Conservation Plan and Draft Environmental Assessment; Dunes Sagebrush Lizard, Texas AGENCY: Fish... draft Texas Conservation Plan for the Dunes Sagebrush Lizard (TCP). The draft TCP will function as a... the Applicant for the dunes sagebrush lizard (Sceloporus arenicolus) throughout its range in Texas...

  16. Projecting the Dependence of Sage-steppe Vegetation on Redistributed Snow in a Warming Climate.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Soderquist, B.; Kavanagh, K.; Link, T. E.; Seyfried, M. S.; Strand, E. K.

    2015-12-01

    In mountainous regions, the redistribution of snow by wind can increase the effective precipitation available to vegetation. Moisture subsidies caused by drifting snow may be critical to plant productivity in semi-arid ecosystems. However, with increasing temperatures, the distribution of precipitation is becoming more uniform as rain replaces drifting snow. Understanding the ecohydrological interactions between sagebrush steppe vegetation communities and the heterogeneous distribution of soil moisture is essential for predicting and mitigating future losses in ecosystem diversity and productivity in regions characterized by snow dominated precipitation regimes. To address the dependence of vegetation productivity on redistributed snow, we simulated the net primary production (NPP) of aspen, sagebrush, and C3 grass plant functional types spanning a precipitation phase (rain:snow) gradient in the Reynolds Creek Experimental Watershed and Critical Zone Observatory (RCEW-CZO). The biogeochemical process model Biome-BGC was used to simulate NPP at three sites located directly below snowdrifts that provide melt water late into the spring. To assess climate change impacts on future plant productivity, mid-century (2046-2065) NPP was simulated using the average temperature increase from the Multivariate Adaptive Constructed Analogs (MACA) data set under the RCP 8.5 emission scenario. At the driest site, mid-century projections of decreased snow cover and increased growing season evaporative demand resulted in limiting soil moisture up to 30 and 40 days earlier for aspen and sage respectively. While spring green up for aspen occurred an average of 13 days earlier under climate change scenarios, NPP remained negative up to 40 days longer during the growing season. These results indicate that the loss of the soil moisture subsidy stemming from prolonged redistributed snow water resources can directly influence ecosystem productivity in the rain:snow transition zone.

  17. 76 FR 19304 - Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Endangered Status for Dunes Sagebrush Lizard

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-04-07

    ... for Dunes Sagebrush Lizard AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior. ACTION: Proposed rule... list the dunes sagebrush lizard (Sceloporus arenicolus) under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as... dunes sagebrush lizard (Sceloporus arenicolus) that was published in the Federal Register on December 14...

  18. U.S. Geological Survey sage-grouse and sagebrush ecosystem research annual report for 2017

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hanser, Steven E.

    2017-09-08

    The sagebrush (Artemisia spp.) ecosystem extends across a large portion of the Western United States, and the greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) is one of the iconic species of this ecosystem. Greater sage-grouse populations occur in 11 States and are dependent on relatively large expanses of sagebrush-dominated habitat. Sage-grouse populations have been experiencing long-term declines owing to multiple stressors, including interactions among fire, exotic plant invasions, and human land uses, which have resulted in significant loss, fragmentation, and degradation of landscapes once dominated by sagebrush. In addition to the sage-grouse, over 350 species of plants and animals are dependent on the sagebrush ecosystem.Increasing knowledge about how these species and the sagebrush ecosystem respond to these stressors and to management actions can inform and improve strategies to maintain existing areas of intact sagebrush and restore degraded landscapes. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has a broad research program focused on providing the science needed to inform these strate-gies and to help land and resource managers at the Federal, State, Tribal, and local levels as they work towards sustainable sage-grouse populations and restored landscapes for the broad range of uses critical to stakeholders in the Western United States.USGS science has provided a foundation for major land and resource management decisions including those that precluded the need to list the greater sage-grouse under the Endangered Species Act. The USGS is continuing to build on that foundation to inform science-based decisions to help support local economies and the continued conservation, management, and restoration of the sagebrush ecosystem.This report contains descriptions of USGS sage-grouse and sagebrush ecosystem research projects that are ongoing or were active during 2017 and is organized into five thematic areas: Fire, Invasive Species, Restoration, Sagebrush and Sage

  19. Simulated big sagebrush regeneration supports predicted changes at the trailing and leading edges of distribution shifts

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schlaepfer, Daniel R.; Taylor, Kyle A.; Pennington, Victoria E.; Nelson, Kellen N.; Martin, Trace E.; Rottler, Caitlin M.; Lauenroth, William K.; Bradford, John B.

    2015-01-01

    Many semi-arid plant communities in western North America are dominated by big sagebrush. These ecosystems are being reduced in extent and quality due to economic development, invasive species, and climate change. These pervasive modifications have generated concern about the long-term viability of sagebrush habitat and sagebrush-obligate wildlife species (notably greater sage-grouse), highlighting the need for better understanding of the future big sagebrush distribution, particularly at the species' range margins. These leading and trailing edges of potential climate-driven sagebrush distribution shifts are likely to be areas most sensitive to climate change. We used a process-based regeneration model for big sagebrush, which simulates potential germination and seedling survival in response to climatic and edaphic conditions and tested expectations about current and future regeneration responses at trailing and leading edges that were previously identified using traditional species distribution models. Our results confirmed expectations of increased probability of regeneration at the leading edge and decreased probability of regeneration at the trailing edge below current levels. Our simulations indicated that soil water dynamics at the leading edge became more similar to the typical seasonal ecohydrological conditions observed within the current range of big sagebrush ecosystems. At the trailing edge, an increased winter and spring dryness represented a departure from conditions typically supportive of big sagebrush. Our results highlighted that minimum and maximum daily temperatures as well as soil water recharge and summer dry periods are important constraints for big sagebrush regeneration. Overall, our results confirmed previous predictions, i.e., we see consistent changes in areas identified as trailing and leading edges; however, we also identified potential local refugia within the trailing edge, mostly at sites at higher elevation. Decreasing

  20. Effects of land cover and regional climate variations on long-term spatiotemporal changes in sagebrush ecosystems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xian, George Z.; Homer, Collin G.; Aldridge, Cameron L.

    2012-01-01

    This research investigated the effects of climate and land cover change on variation in sagebrush ecosystems. We combined information of multi-year sagebrush distribution derived from multitemporal remote sensing imagery and climate data to study the variation patterns of sagebrush ecosystems under different potential disturbances. We found that less than 40% of sagebrush ecosystem changes involved abrupt changes directly caused by landscape transformations and over 60% of the variations involved gradual changes directly related to climatic perturbations. The primary increases in bare ground and declines in sagebrush vegetation abundance were significantly correlated with the 1996-2006 decreasing trend in annual precipitation.

  1. Weather-centric rangeland revegetation planning

    Science.gov (United States)

    Semiarid rangelands in the western United States have been or are being invaded by introduced annual weeds that negatively impact ecosystem services and pose a major conservation threat. Rehabilitation and restoration of these rangelands are challenging due to inter-annual climate and sub-seasonal ...

  2. Rangelands: Where Anthromes Meet Their Limits

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nathan F. Sayre

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available Defining rangelands as anthromes enabled Ellis and Ramankutty (2008 to conclude that more than three-quarters of Earth’s land is anthropogenic; without rangelands, this figure would have been less than half. They classified all lands grazed by domestic livestock as rangelands, provided that human population densities were low; similar areas without livestock were excluded and classified instead as ‘wildlands’. This paper examines the empirical basis and conceptual assumptions of defining and categorizing rangelands in this fashion. Empirically, we conclude that a large proportion of rangelands, although used to varying degrees by domesticated livestock, are not altered significantly by this use, especially in arid, highly variable environments and in settings with long evolutionary histories of herbivory by wild animals. Even where changes have occurred, the dynamics and components of many rangelands remain structurally and functionally equivalent to those that preceded domestic livestock grazing or would be found in its absence. In much of Africa and Asia, grazing is so longstanding as to be inextricable from ‘natural’ or reference conditions for those sites. Thus, the extent of anthropogenic biomes is significantly overstated. Conceptually, rangelands reveal the dependence of the anthromes thesis on outdated assumptions of ecological climax and equilibrium. Coming to terms with rangelands—how they can be classified, understood, and managed sustainably—thus offers important lessons for understanding anthromes and the Anthropocene as a whole. At the root of these lessons, we argue, is not the question of human impacts on ecosystems but property relations among humans.

  3. The Rangeland Hydrology and Erosion Model: A dynamic approach for predicting soil loss on rangelands

    Science.gov (United States)

    In this study we present the improved Rangeland Hydrology and Erosion Model (RHEM V2.3), a process-based erosion prediction tool specific for rangeland application. The article provides the mathematical formulation of the model and parameter estimation equations. Model performance is assessed agains...

  4. Conserving biodiversity on native rangelands: Symposium proceedings

    Science.gov (United States)

    Daniel W. Uresk; Greg L. Schenbeck; James T. O' Rourke

    1997-01-01

    These proceedings are the result of a symposium, "Conserving biodiversity on native rangelands" held on August 17, 1995 in Fort Robinson State Park, NE. The purpose of this symposium was to provide a forum to discuss how elements of rangeland biodiversity are being conserved today. We asked, "How resilient and sustainable are rangeland systems to the...

  5. The response of big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata) to interannual climate variation changes across its range.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kleinhesselink, Andrew R; Adler, Peter B

    2018-05-01

    Understanding how annual climate variation affects population growth rates across a species' range may help us anticipate the effects of climate change on species distribution and abundance. We predict that populations in warmer or wetter parts of a species' range should respond negatively to periods of above average temperature or precipitation, respectively, whereas populations in colder or drier areas should respond positively to periods of above average temperature or precipitation. To test this, we estimated the population sensitivity of a common shrub species, big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata), to annual climate variation across its range. Our analysis includes 8,175 observations of year-to-year change in sagebrush cover or production from 131 monitoring sites in western North America. We coupled these observations with seasonal weather data for each site and analyzed the effects of spring through fall temperatures and fall through spring accumulated precipitation on annual changes in sagebrush abundance. Sensitivity to annual temperature variation supported our hypothesis: years with above average temperatures were beneficial to sagebrush in colder locations and detrimental to sagebrush in hotter locations. In contrast, sensitivity to precipitation did not change significantly across the distribution of sagebrush. This pattern of responses suggests that regional abundance of this species may be more limited by temperature than by precipitation. We also found important differences in how the ecologically distinct subspecies of sagebrush responded to the effects of precipitation and temperature. Our model predicts that a short-term temperature increase could produce an increase in sagebrush cover at the cold edge of its range and a decrease in cover at the warm edge of its range. This prediction is qualitatively consistent with predictions from species distribution models for sagebrush based on spatial occurrence data, but it provides new mechanistic

  6. 75 FR 8036 - Monitor-Hot Creek Rangeland Project

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-02-23

    ... DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Forest Service Monitor-Hot Creek Rangeland Project AGENCY: Forest... Rangeland Project area. The analysis will determine if a change in management direction for livestock grazing is needed to move existing resource conditions within the Monitor-Hot Creek Rangeland Project area...

  7. A systematic review of US rangeland social science

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rangeland science aims to create knowledge to sustain rangeland social-ecological systems over the long term. Range science has made substantial progress on understanding ecological dynamics of rangeland systems and the management practices that sustain them, and these findings have been systematica...

  8. Greater sage-grouse as an umbrella species for sagebrush-associated vertebrates.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mary M. Rowland; Michael J. Wisdom; Lowell Suring; Cara W. Meinke

    2006-01-01

    Widespread degradation of the sagebrush ecosystem in the western United States, including the invasion of cheatgrass, has prompted resource managers to consider a variety of approaches to restore and conserve habitats for sagebrush-associated species. One such approach involves the use of greater sage-grouse, a species of prominent conservation interest, as an umbrella...

  9. Soil macrofauna (invertebrates of Kazakhstanian Stipa lessingiana dry steppe

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bragina Tatyana М.

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available Stipa lessingiana steppes used to be prevalent on the dry Trans-Ural denudation plains, particularly, on the Sub-Ural and the Turgay Plateau. But, most of them have been lost because they were plowed up during the Virgin Land campaign in the second part of 20th century. This paper presents a detailed study of the faunistic composition and the structure of soil-dwelling invertebrate communities (macrofauna of a temperate-dry bunch feather grass steppe in the Turgai Plateau (Northern-Turgai physical-geographical province of steppe Kazakhstan, Kostanay Oblast. The study site is located in the territory of the Naurzum State Nature Reserve, a part of the UNESCO World Heritage site “Saryarka Steppe and Lakes of Northern Kazakhstan”, where remnants of Virgin S. lessingiana steppes have been preserved to the present day. This region is the driest and most continental in climate of all the dry steppes of Kazakhstan. The total abundance and biomass of soil invertebrate communities in the investigated site were lower than in the northern and western steppe areas. Soil invertebrates are among the major components that determine the functioning of terrestrial natural ecosystems.

  10. Rangeland monitoring and assessment: a review

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    Ramoelo, Abel

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available Rangelands provide vast landscapes for grazing and foraging for livestock and wildlife. Services of rangelands are diverse and generally provide food for millions of the world’s population, especially the rural and sometimes poor communities...

  11. A RANGELAND GRASSHOPPER INSURANCE PROGRAM

    OpenAIRE

    Skold, Melvin D.; Davis, Robert M.

    1995-01-01

    The incidence of benefits and costs from controlling rangeland grasshoppers on public grazing lands poses problems of economic efficiency and distributional equity. Public grasshopper control programs operate like public disaster assistance. However, grasshopper infestations are an insurable risk. This article proposes a rangeland grasshopper insurance program which reduces the economic inefficiencies and distributional inequities of the existing program.

  12. Banking Wyoming big sagebrush seeds

    Science.gov (United States)

    Robert P. Karrfalt; Nancy Shaw

    2013-01-01

    Five commercially produced seed lots of Wyoming big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata Nutt. var. wyomingensis (Beetle & Young) S.L. Welsh [Asteraceae]) were stored under various conditions for 5 y. Purity, moisture content as measured by equilibrium relative humidity, and storage temperature were all important factors to successful seed storage. Our results indicate...

  13. Developing an operational rangeland water requirement satisfaction index

    Science.gov (United States)

    Senay, Gabriel B.; Verdin, James P.; Rowland, James

    2011-01-01

    Developing an operational water requirement satisfaction index (WRSI) for rangeland monitoring is an important goal of the famine early warning systems network. An operational WRSI has been developed for crop monitoring, but until recently a comparable WRSI for rangeland was not successful because of the extremely poor performance of the index when based on published crop coefficients (K c) for rangelands. To improve the rangeland WRSI, we developed a simple calibration technique that adjusts the K c values for rangeland monitoring using long-term rainfall distribution and reference evapotranspiration data. The premise for adjusting the K c values is based on the assumption that a viable rangeland should exhibit above-average WRSI (values >80%) during a normal year. The normal year was represented by a median dekadal rainfall distribution (satellite rainfall estimate from 1996 to 2006). Similarly, a long-term average for potential evapotranspiration was used as input to the famine early warning systems network WRSI model in combination with soil-water-holding capacity data. A dekadal rangeland WRSI has been operational for east and west Africa since 2005. User feedback has been encouraging, especially with regard to the end-of-season WRSI anomaly products that compare the index's performance to ‘normal’ years. Currently, rangeland WRSI products are generated on a dekadal basis and posted for free distribution on the US Geological Survey early warning website at http://earlywarning.usgs.gov/adds/

  14. USDA internet tool to estimate runoff and soil loss on rangelands: rangelands hydrology and erosion model

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rangelands are the most dominant land cover type in the United States (770 million acres) with approximately 53% of the nation’s rangelands owned and managed by the private sector, while approximately 43% are managed by the federal government. Information on the type, extent, and spatial location of...

  15. Meeting wild bees' needs on rangelands

    Science.gov (United States)

    Some arid rangeland regions, notably those with warm dry climates of the temperate zones, host great diversities of native bees, primarily non-social species among which are many floral specialists. Rangeland bee faunas are threatened indirectly by invasive exotic weeds wherever these displace nat...

  16. Current situation of rangelands in Mexico

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alicia Melgoza-Castillo

    2006-01-01

    Rangelands are natural areas with certain characteristics that make them unsuitable for agriculture. They include several types of vegetation such as deserts, grasslands, shrubs, forests, and riparian areas. Cattle ranching, along with the products and services it engenders, is a prime activity that rangelands have traditionally supported.

  17. Soil Properties and Plant Biomass Production in Natural Rangeland Management Systems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Romeu de Souza Werner

    Full Text Available ABSTRACT Improper management of rangelands can cause land degradation and reduce the economic efficiency of livestock activity. The aim of this study was to evaluate soil properties and quantify plant biomass production in four natural rangeland management systems in the Santa Catarina Plateau (Planalto Catarinense of Brazil. The treatments, which included mowed natural rangeland (NR, burned natural rangeland (BR, natural rangeland improved through the introduction of plant species after harrowing (IH, and natural rangeland improved through the introduction of plant species after chisel plowing (IC, were evaluated in a Nitossolo Bruno (Nitisol. In the improved treatments, soil acidity was corrected, phosphate fertilizer was applied, and intercropped annual ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum, velvet grass (Holcus lanatus, and white clover (Trifolium repens were sown. Management systems with harrowed or chisel plowed soil showed improved soil physical properties; however, the effect decreased over time and values approached those of burned and mowed natural rangelands. Natural rangeland systems in the establishment phase had little influence on soil organic C. The mowed natural rangeland and improved natural rangeland exhibited greater production of grazing material, while burning the field decreased production and increased the proportion of weeds. Improvement of the natural rangelands increased leguminous biomass for pasture.

  18. Remote sensing of sagebrush canopy nitrogen

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mitchell, Jessica J.; Glenn, Nancy F.; Sankey, Temuulen T.; Derryberry, DeWayne R.; Germino, Matthew J.

    2012-01-01

    This paper presents a combination of techniques suitable for remotely sensing foliar Nitrogen (N) in semiarid shrublands – a capability that would significantly improve our limited understanding of vegetation functionality in dryland ecosystems. The ability to estimate foliar N distributions across arid and semi-arid environments could help answer process-driven questions related to topics such as controls on canopy photosynthesis, the influence of N on carbon cycling behavior, nutrient pulse dynamics, and post-fire recovery. Our study determined that further exploration into estimating sagebrush canopy N concentrations from an airborne platform is warranted, despite remote sensing challenges inherent to open canopy systems. Hyperspectral data transformed using standard derivative analysis were capable of quantifying sagebrush canopy N concentrations using partial least squares (PLS) regression with an R2 value of 0.72 and an R2 predicted value of 0.42 (n = 35). Subsetting the dataset to minimize the influence of bare ground (n = 19) increased R2 to 0.95 (R2 predicted = 0.56). Ground-based estimates of canopy N using leaf mass per unit area measurements (LMA) yielded consistently better model fits than ground-based estimates of canopy N using cover and height measurements. The LMA approach is likely a method that could be extended to other semiarid shrublands. Overall, the results of this study are encouraging for future landscape scale N estimates and represent an important step in addressing the confounding influence of bare ground, which we found to be a major influence on predictions of sagebrush canopy N from an airborne platform.

  19. SPATIAL AND TEMPORAL VARIABILITY OF DRY STEPPES OF EASTERN MONGOLIA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Galina Ogureeva

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available Spatial-temporal structure and coenotic diversity of dry steppes of Eastern Mongolia was identified by analyzing characteristics of naturally occurring vegetation connection to the regional landscape structure. Different types of combinations of plant communities (phytocoenochores were determined in the vegetation structure of the Eastern Steppe Station Tumén-Tsogt (in Sukhebator district. Temporal dynamics of steppe ecosystems was defined from the studies of steppe cover fluctuations in 2008. The coenotic role of eight annual plant species that form synusiae in the steppe communities was shown through analysis of species constancy, projective cover, and activity. Knowledge about the trend of successions and the manifestation of fluctuations in vegetation cover is necessary for the development of science-based system of management options to maintain the number and abundance of different plant groups in plant communities. Monitoring the state of natural ecosystems has a major scientific and practical importance, since steppe ecosystems are the basic component of the pasture’s resources of the country.

  20. Hydrologic Vulnerability and Risk Assessment Associated With the Increased Role of Fire on Western Landscapes, Great Basin, USA

    Science.gov (United States)

    Williams, C. J.; Pierson, F. B.; Robichaud, P. R.; Spaeth, K. E.; Hardegree, S. P.; Clark, P. E.; Moffet, C. A.; Al-Hamdan, O. Z.; Boll, J.

    2010-12-01

    Landscape-scale plant community transitions and altered fire regimes across Great Basin, USA, rangelands have increased the likelihood of post-fire flooding and erosion events. These hazards are particularly concerning for western urban centers along the rangeland urban-wildland interface where natural resources, property, and human life are at risk. Extensive conversion of 4-7 million hectares of Great Basin shrub-steppe to cheatgrass-dominated (Bromus tectorum) grasslands has increased the frequency and size of wildland fires within these ecosystems. Fire frequencies have increased by more than an order of magnitude and occur on 3-10 year intervals across much of the cheatgrass-dominated landscape. Extensive tree (Pinus spp. and Juniperus spp.) encroachment into wooded shrub-steppe has increased heavy fuel loads. Ladder fuels in these ecosystems promote rapidly spreading, high-intensity and severe ground-surface-crown fires. These altered fuel structures across much of the historical Great Basin shrub-steppe have initiated an upsurge in large rangeland wildfires and have increased the spatial and temporal vulnerability of these landscapes to amplified runoff and erosion. Resource and infrastructure damages, and loss of life have been reported due to flooding following recent large-scale burning of western rangelands and dry forests. We present a decade of post-fire rangeland hydrologic research that provides a foundation for conceptual modeling of the hydrologic impacts associated with an increased role of rangeland wildfires. We highlight advancements in predictive tools to address this large-scale phenomenon and discuss vital research voids requiring attention. Our geographic emphasis is the Great Basin Region, however, these concepts likely extend elsewhere given the increased role of fire in many geographic regions and across rangeland-to-forest ecotones in the western United States.

  1. High-latitude steppe vegetation and the mineral nutrition of Pleistocene herbivores

    Science.gov (United States)

    Davydov, S. P.; Davydova, A.; Makarevich, R.; Loranty, M. M.; Boeskorov, G.

    2014-12-01

    High-latitude steppes were widespread and zonal in the Late Pleistocene and formed a landscape basis for the Mammoth Biome. Now the patches of these steppes survived on steep slopes under southern aspects. These steppes serve as unique information sources about the Late Pleistocene "Mammoth" steppe. Numerous data obtained by palynological, carpological, and DNA analysis of plant remains from feces and stomach contents of Pleistocene herbivore mummies, as well as from buried soils and enclosing deposits show that they are similar to modern steppe plant assemblage in taxa composition. Plant's nutrient concentrations are of fundamental importance across Pleistocene grass-rich ecosystems because of their role in the support of large herbivores. The average weight of an adult mammoth skeleton (about 0.5 tons) and of a woolly rhinoceros (about 0.2 tons) clearly suggests this. Detailed studies on fossil bone remains showed mineral deficiency in large Pleistocene herbivores. A three-year study of ash and mineral contents of two types of relict steppe vegetation at the Kolyma Lowland, Arctic Siberia has been carried out. Nowadays refugia of similar vegetation are located not far (1 - 15km) from the Yedoma permafrost outcrops were abundant fossil remains are found. Dominant species of the steppe vegetation were sampled. Preliminary studies indicate that the ash-content varied 1.5-2 times in speceies of steppe herbs. The Ca, P, Mg, K element contents was higher for most steppe species than in the local herbaceous vegetation, especially in Ca and P. One of the most important elements of the mineral nutrition, the phosphorus, was always found in higher concentrations in the steppe vegetation than in plants of recently dominant landscapes of the study area. It should be noted that the mineral nutrient content of the modern steppe vegetation of Siberian Arctic is comparable to that of the recent zonal steppe of Transbaikal Region. This study supports the hypothesis that

  2. Restoring big sagebrush after controlling encroaching western juniper with fire: aspect and subspecies effects

    Science.gov (United States)

    The need for restoration of shrubs is increasingly recognized around the world. In the western USA, restoration of mountain big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata Nutt. ssp. vaseyana (Rydb.) Beetle) after controlling encroaching conifers is a priority to improve sagebrush-associated wildlife habitat. ...

  3. Steppe Eagle in the Karaganda Region, Kazakhstan

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Igor V. Karyakin

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available Between June 22 and July 18, 2017, fieldworks were carried out to study the population structure and demographic characteristics of the Steppe Eagle breeding groups (Aquila nipalensis in the central part of the Karaganda region of Kazakhstan. In the course of the work 808 birds we found, 280 Steppe Eagle breeding territories were localized. Within 10 registration areas 277 Steppe Eagle breeding territories (96.18 % were examined, including 70 successful nests with 102 nestlings. The occupation of breeding territories was 87.73 %, while the percentage of active nests in the occupied breeding territories was 69.14 %. Successful were 42.26 % of nests from the number of active nests and 25.63 % from the number of identified breeding territories. The number of nestlings in broods ranged from 1 to 3, averaging (n=71 1.45±0.56 nestlings per successful nest and (n=168 0.61±0.80 nestlings per occupied nest. With a very high percentage of nests with unsuccessful breeding (54.46 % of the number of active ones, high percentage of nests with dead clutch was recorded – 34.55 % of the number of nests with unsuccessful breeding. Distribution density of Steppe Eagle active nests averaged 7.67/100 km2, varying in different areas from 4.11 to 12.90/100 km2. The distribution density of Steppe Eagle successful nests on the areas varied from 0 to 4.81/100 km2 averaged 3.24/100 km2. For the area of habitats suitable for breeding across the Karaganda region (142,549.9 km2, the abundance of the Steppe Eagle in nesting was 4,794–5,814, at average 5,275 pairs and 2,183–2,647, at average 2,402 successful pairs.

  4. Ecosystem responses to warming and watering in typical and desert steppes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xu, Zhenzhu; Hou, Yanhui; Zhang, Lihua; Liu, Tao; Zhou, Guangsheng

    2016-10-01

    Global warming is projected to continue, leading to intense fluctuations in precipitation and heat waves and thereby affecting the productivity and the relevant biological processes of grassland ecosystems. Here, we determined the functional responses to warming and altered precipitation in both typical and desert steppes. The results showed that watering markedly increased the aboveground net primary productivity (ANPP) in a typical steppe during a drier year and in a desert steppe over two years, whereas warming manipulation had no significant effect. The soil microbial biomass carbon (MBC) and the soil respiration (SR) were increased by watering in both steppes, but the SR was significantly decreased by warming in the desert steppe only. The inorganic nitrogen components varied irregularly, with generally lower levels in the desert steppe. The belowground traits of soil total organic carbon (TOC) and the MBC were more closely associated with the ANPP in the desert than in the typical steppes. The results showed that the desert steppe with lower productivity may respond strongly to precipitation changes, particularly with warming, highlighting the positive effect of adding water with warming. Our study implies that the habitat- and year-specific responses to warming and watering should be considered when predicting an ecosystem’s functional responses under climate change scenarios.

  5. Assessing the impacts of livestock production on biodiversity in rangeland ecosystems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alkemade, Rob; Reid, Robin S.; van den Berg, Maurits; de Leeuw, Jan; Jeuken, Michel

    2013-01-01

    Biodiversity in rangelands is decreasing, due to intense utilization for livestock production and conversion of rangeland into cropland; yet the outlook of rangeland biodiversity has not been considered in view of future global demand for food. Here we assess the impact of future livestock production on the global rangelands area and their biodiversity. First we formalized existing knowledge about livestock grazing impacts on biodiversity, expressed in mean species abundance (MSA) of the original rangeland native species assemblages, through metaanalysis of peer-reviewed literature. MSA values, ranging from 1 in natural rangelands to 0.3 in man-made grasslands, were entered in the IMAGE-GLOBIO model. This model was used to assess the impact of change in food demand and livestock production on future rangeland biodiversity. The model revealed remarkable regional variation in impact on rangeland area and MSA between two agricultural production scenarios. The area of used rangelands slightly increases globally between 2000 and 2050 in the baseline scenario and reduces under a scenario of enhanced uptake of resource-efficient production technologies increasing production [high levels of agricultural knowledge, science, and technology (high-AKST)], particularly in Africa. Both scenarios suggest a global decrease in MSA for rangelands until 2050. The contribution of livestock grazing to MSA loss is, however, expected to diminish after 2030, in particular in Africa under the high-AKST scenario. Policies fostering agricultural intensification can reduce the overall pressure on rangeland biodiversity, but additional measures, addressing factors such as climate change and infrastructural development, are necessary to totally halt biodiversity loss. PMID:22308313

  6. Maintaining ecosystem services through continued livestock production on California rangelands

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barry, S.; Becchetti, T.

    2015-12-01

    Nearly 40% of California is rangeland comprising the largest land type in California and providing forage for livestock, primarily beef cattle. In addition to forage, rangelands provide a host of ecosystem systems services, including habitat for common and endangered species, fire fuels management, pollination services, clean water, viewsheds, and carbon sequestration. Published research has documented that most of these ecosystem services are positively impacted by managed livestock grazing and rancher stewardship. Ranchers typically do not receive any monetary reimbursement for their stewardship in providing these ecosystem services to the public. Markets have been difficult to establish with limited ability to adequately monitor and measure services provided. At the same time, rangelands have been experiencing rapid conversion to urbanization and more profitable and intensive forms of agriculture such as almond and walnut orchards. To prevent further conversion of rangelands and the loss of the services they provide, there needs to be a mechanism to identify and compensate landowners for the value of all products and services being received from rangelands. This paper considers two methods (opportunity cost and avoided cost) to determine the value of Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES) for rangelands. PES can raise the value of rangelands, making them more competitive financially. Real estate values and University of California Cooperative Extension Cost Studies, were used to demonstrate the difference in value (lost opportunity cost) between the primary products of rangelands (livestock production) and the products of the converted rangelands (almond and walnut orchards). Avoided costs for vegetation management and habitat creation and maintenance were used to establish the value of managed grazing. If conversion is to be slowed or stopped and managed grazing promoted to protect the ecosystem services rangelands provide, this value could be compensated through

  7. Remote sensing applications for monitoring rangeland vegetation ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Remote sensing techniques hold considerable promise for the inventory and monitoring of natural resources on rangelands. A significant lack of information concerning basic spectral characteristics of range vegetation and soils has resulted in a lack of rangeland applications. The parameters of interest for range condition ...

  8. DEER BELIEF AND DEER SACRIFICE AROUND STEPPE CULTURE

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Aslı KAHRAMAN ÇINAR

    2016-04-01

    Full Text Available Turkish people have spreaded on a large area historically. They have left a mark on all the places they reach. The history of Turks begun in Central Asian Steppes. In reaction to the steppe culture, the human communities of Turks are hunter-nomad communities. The hunter-nomad comminuties make a living from stockfarming and apiculture. The deer is one of the essential animals for t he hunter-nomad communities in the daily life. In the steppe, the deer is seen in all area of social life. Further, the deer motives are commonly used in political, military, financial, the most religious areas. The hunter-nomad comminuties benefit by the meat, milk, leather, horns, nails, etc of the deer. In this study, we dwell on the deer with regard to its intended purposes and usage areas according to steppe culture. The references of this study are references are inscriptions, mythologic stories and archeological datas.

  9. Evaluating a seed technology for sagebrush restoration across an elevation gradient: support for bet hedging

    Science.gov (United States)

    Big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata Nutt.) restoration is needed across vast areas, especially after large wildfires, to restore important ecosystem services. Sagebrush restoration success is inconsistent with a high rate of seeding failures, particularly at lower elevations. Seed enhancement tech...

  10. Conserving rangeland resources. | Mentis | African Journal of Range ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    ... goal-attainment, (5) try to correct departures, and (6) align individual and societal interests by manipulating market-forces. Keywords: altruism; conservation; Conservation implementation; Conservation properties; human activity; Human values; philosophy; Range resources; rangeland; Rangelands; Science philosophy

  11. Sustainable rangeland management, economic growth, and a cautious role for the SRM

    Science.gov (United States)

    Interest in the art and science of rangeland management increased dramatically during the 20th century and it was out of this interest that the profession of rangeland management was born. As public interest in rangeland management grew, so did the number, breadth, and depth of rangeland management ...

  12. Fungal and bacterial contributions to nitrogen cycling in cheatgrass-invaded and uninvaded native sagebrush soils of the western USA

    Science.gov (United States)

    DeCrappeo, Nicole; DeLorenze, Elizabeth J.; Giguere, Andrew T; Pyke, David A.; Bottomley, Peter J.

    2017-01-01

    AimThere is interest in determining how cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum L.) modifies N cycling in sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata Nutt.) soils of the western USA.MethodsTo gain insight into the roles of fungi and bacteria in N cycling of cheatgrass-invaded and uninvaded sagebrush soils, the fungal protein synthesis inhibitor, cycloheximide (CHX), and the bacteriocidal compound, bronopol (BRO) were combined with a 15NH4+ isotope pool dilution approach.ResultsCHX reduced gross N mineralization to the same rate in both sagebrush and cheatgrass soils indicating a role for fungi in N mineralization in both soil types. In cheatgrass soils BRO completely inhibited gross N mineralization, whereas, in sagebrush soils a BRO-resistant gross N mineralization rate was detected that was slower than CHX sensitive gross N mineralization, suggesting that the microbial drivers of gross N mineralization were different in sagebrush and cheatgrass soils. Net N mineralization was stimulated to a higher rate in sagebrush than in cheatgrass soils by CHX, implying that a CHX inhibited N sink was larger in the former than the latter soils. Initial gross NH4+ consumption rates were reduced significantly by both CHX and BRO in both soil types, yet, consumption rates recovered significantly between 24 and 48 h in CHX-treated sagebrush soils. The recovery of NH4+ consumption in sagebrush soils corresponded with an increase in the rate of net nitrification.ConclusionsThese results suggest that cheatgrass invasion of sagebrush soils of the northern Great Basin reduces the capacity of the fungal N consumption sink, enhances the capacity of a CHX resistant N sink and alters the contributions of bacteria and fungi to gross N mineralization.

  13. Effects of using winter grazing as a fuel treatment on Wyoming big sagebrush plant communities

    Science.gov (United States)

    More frequent wildfires and incidences of mega-fires have increased the pressure for fuel treatments in sagebrush (Artemisia) communities. Winter grazing has been one of many fuel treatments proposed for Wyoming big sagebrush (A. tridentata Nutt. subsp. wyomingensis Beetle and A. Young) communitie...

  14. 137 ancient human genomes from across the Eurasian steppes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Damgaard, Peter de Barros; Marchi, Nina; Rasmussen, Simon; Peyrot, Michaël; Renaud, Gabriel; Korneliussen, Thorfinn; Moreno-Mayar, J Víctor; Pedersen, Mikkel Winther; Goldberg, Amy; Usmanova, Emma; Baimukhanov, Nurbol; Loman, Valeriy; Hedeager, Lotte; Pedersen, Anders Gorm; Nielsen, Kasper; Afanasiev, Gennady; Akmatov, Kunbolot; Aldashev, Almaz; Alpaslan, Ashyk; Baimbetov, Gabit; Bazaliiskii, Vladimir I; Beisenov, Arman; Boldbaatar, Bazartseren; Boldgiv, Bazartseren; Dorzhu, Choduraa; Ellingvag, Sturla; Erdenebaatar, Diimaajav; Dajani, Rana; Dmitriev, Evgeniy; Evdokimov, Valeriy; Frei, Karin M; Gromov, Andrey; Goryachev, Alexander; Hakonarson, Hakon; Hegay, Tatyana; Khachatryan, Zaruhi; Khaskhanov, Ruslan; Kitov, Egor; Kolbina, Alina; Kubatbek, Tabaldiev; Kukushkin, Alexey; Kukushkin, Igor; Lau, Nina; Margaryan, Ashot; Merkyte, Inga; Mertz, Ilya V; Mertz, Viktor K; Mijiddorj, Enkhbayar; Moiyesev, Vyacheslav; Mukhtarova, Gulmira; Nurmukhanbetov, Bekmukhanbet; Orozbekova, Z; Panyushkina, Irina; Pieta, Karol; Smrčka, Václav; Shevnina, Irina; Logvin, Andrey; Sjögren, Karl-Göran; Štolcová, Tereza; Tashbaeva, Kadicha; Tkachev, Alexander; Tulegenov, Turaly; Voyakin, Dmitriy; Yepiskoposyan, Levon; Undrakhbold, Sainbileg; Varfolomeev, Victor; Weber, Andrzej; Kradin, Nikolay; Allentoft, Morten E; Orlando, Ludovic; Nielsen, Rasmus; Sikora, Martin; Heyer, Evelyne; Kristiansen, Kristian; Willerslev, Eske

    2018-05-09

    For thousands of years the Eurasian steppes have been a centre of human migrations and cultural change. Here we sequence the genomes of 137 ancient humans (about 1× average coverage), covering a period of 4,000 years, to understand the population history of the Eurasian steppes after the Bronze Age migrations. We find that the genetics of the Scythian groups that dominated the Eurasian steppes throughout the Iron Age were highly structured, with diverse origins comprising Late Bronze Age herders, European farmers and southern Siberian hunter-gatherers. Later, Scythians admixed with the eastern steppe nomads who formed the Xiongnu confederations, and moved westward in about the second or third century BC, forming the Hun traditions in the fourth-fifth century AD, and carrying with them plague that was basal to the Justinian plague. These nomads were further admixed with East Asian groups during several short-term khanates in the Medieval period. These historical events transformed the Eurasian steppes from being inhabited by Indo-European speakers of largely West Eurasian ancestry to the mostly Turkic-speaking groups of the present day, who are primarily of East Asian ancestry.

  15. Pastoral Decision-Making: An Empirical Investigation of Rangeland Use

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    MacPeak, J.

    1999-01-01

    Recent research in range ecology suggests that the process of resource degradation in African arid and semi-arid rangelands may be less reliant on how many animals are kept on the rangeland than on where these animals are kept. Analysis of pastoralist land use decisions indicated that rangeland condition influences livestock keeping. However, it was found that food and income production strategies, herd characteristics play critical roles in livestock keeping decisions

  16. Weather-centric rangeland revegetation planning

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hardegree, Stuart P.; Abatzoglou, John T.; Brunson, Mark W.; Germino, Matthew; Hegewisch, Katherine C.; Moffet, Corey A.; Pilliod, David S.; Roundy, Bruce A.; Boehm, Alex R.; Meredith, Gwendwr R.

    2018-01-01

    Invasive annual weeds negatively impact ecosystem services and pose a major conservation threat on semiarid rangelands throughout the western United States. Rehabilitation of these rangelands is challenging due to interannual climate and subseasonal weather variability that impacts seed germination, seedling survival and establishment, annual weed dynamics, wildfire frequency, and soil stability. Rehabilitation and restoration outcomes could be improved by adopting a weather-centric approach that uses the full spectrum of available site-specific weather information from historical observations, seasonal climate forecasts, and climate-change projections. Climate data can be used retrospectively to interpret success or failure of past seedings by describing seasonal and longer-term patterns of environmental variability subsequent to planting. A more detailed evaluation of weather impacts on site conditions may yield more flexible adaptive-management strategies for rangeland restoration and rehabilitation, as well as provide estimates of transition probabilities between desirable and undesirable vegetation states. Skillful seasonal climate forecasts could greatly improve the cost efficiency of management treatments by limiting revegetation activities to time periods where forecasts suggest higher probabilities of successful seedling establishment. Climate-change projections are key to the application of current environmental models for development of mitigation and adaptation strategies and for management practices that require a multidecadal planning horizon. Adoption of new weather technology will require collaboration between land managers and revegetation specialists and modifications to the way we currently plan and conduct rangeland rehabilitation and restoration in the Intermountain West.

  17. Using remotely sensed imagery to monitor savanna rangeland deterioration through woody plant proliferation: a case study from communal and biodiversity conservation rangeland sites in Mokopane, South Africa

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    Munyati, C

    2011-05-01

    Full Text Available rangeland, whereas the communal rangelands were getting more opened up by livestock trampling. Rangeland management practices of fire utilisation, stocking levels and stock concentration account for the differing trends. Lightly grazed and heavily grazed...

  18. A common-garden study of resource-island effects on a native and an exotic, annual grass after fire

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hoover, Amber N.; Germino, Matthew J.

    2012-01-01

    Plant-soil variation related to perennial-plant resource islands (coppices) interspersed with relatively bare interspaces is a major source of heterogeneity in desert rangelands. Our objective was to determine how native and exotic grasses vary on coppice mounds and interspaces (microsites) in unburned and burned sites and underlying factors that contribute to the variation in sagebrush-steppe rangelands of the Idaho National Lab, where interspaces typically have abiotic crusts. We asked how the exotic cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum L.) and native bluebunch wheatgrass (Pseudoroegneria spicata [Pursh] A. Löve) were distributed among the microsites and measured their abundances in three replicate wildfires and nearby unburned areas. We conducted a common-garden study in which soil cores from each burned microsite type were planted with seed of either species to determine microsite effects on establishment and growth of native and exotic grasses. We assessed soil physical properties in the common-garden study to determine the intrinsic properties of each microsite surface and the retention of microsite soil differences following transfer of soils to the garden, to plant growth, and to wetting/drying cycles. In the field study, only bluebunch wheatgrass density was greater on coppice mounds than interspaces, in both unburned and burned areas. In the common-garden experiment, there were microsite differences in soil physical properties, particularly in crust hardness and its relationship to moisture, but soil properties were unaffected by plant growth. Also in the experiment, both species had equal densities yet greater dry mass production on coppice-mound soils compared to interspace soils, suggesting microsite differences in growth but not establishment (likely related to crust weakening resulting from watering). Coppice-interspace patterning and specifically native-herb recovery on coppices is likely important for postfire resistance of this rangeland to cheatgrass.

  19. A Dynamic Model of California's Hardwood Rangelands

    Science.gov (United States)

    Richard B. Standiford; Richard E. Howitt

    1991-01-01

    Low profitability of hardwood rangeland management, and oak tree harvesting for firewood markets and forage enhancement has led to concern about the long-term sustainability of the oak resource on rangelands. New markets for recreational hunting may give value to oaks for the habitat they provide for game species, and broaden the economic base for managers. A ranch...

  20. State-and-transition model archetypes: a global taxonomy of rangeland change

    Science.gov (United States)

    State and transition models (STMs) synthesize science-based and local knowledge to formally represent the dynamics of rangeland and other ecosystems. Mental models or concepts of ecosystem dynamics implicitly underlie all management decisions in rangelands and thus how people influence rangeland sus...

  1. Sustaining working rangelands: Insights from rancher decision making

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grazed rangeland ecosystems encompass diverse global land resources, and are complex social-ecological systems from which society demands both goods (e.g., livestock and forage production) and services (e.g., abundant and high quality water). In the dialogue on rangeland conservation and sustainable...

  2. Rangeland dynamics in South Omo Zone of Southern Ethiopia: Assessment of rangeland condition in relation to altitude and Grazing types

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Terefe, A.; Ebro, A.; Tessema, Z.K.

    2010-01-01

    A study was undertaken in Hamer and Benna-Tsemay districts of the Southern Ethiopia with the objective to determine the condition of the rangelands for grazing animals as influenced by altitude and grazing types. The rangelands in each of the study districts were stratified based on altitude and

  3. New Tools to Estimate Runoff, Soil Erosion, and Sustainability of Rangeland Plant Communities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rangelands are the largest land cover type in the world. Degradation from mismanagement, desertification, and drought impact more than 50% of rangelands across the globe. The USDA Agricultural Research Service has been evaluating sustainability of rangeland for over 40-years by conducted rangeland r...

  4. Calibration of remotely sensed, coarse resolution NDVI to CO2 fluxes in a sagebrush–steppe ecosystem

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wylie, Bruce K.; Johnson, Douglas A.; Laca, Emilio; Saliendra, Nicanor Z.; Gilmanov, Tagir G.; Reed, Bradley C.; Tieszen, Larry L.; Worstell, Bruce B.

    2003-01-01

    The net ecosystem exchange (NEE) of carbon flux can be partitioned into gross primary productivity (GPP) and respiration (R). The contribution of remote sensing and modeling holds the potential to predict these components and map them spatially and temporally. This has obvious utility to quantify carbon sink and source relationships and to identify improved land management strategies for optimizing carbon sequestration. The objective of our study was to evaluate prediction of 14-day average daytime CO2 fluxes (Fday) and nighttime CO2 fluxes (Rn) using remote sensing and other data. Fday and Rnwere measured with a Bowen ratio–energy balance (BREB) technique in a sagebrush (Artemisia spp.)–steppe ecosystem in northeast Idaho, USA, during 1996–1999. Micrometeorological variables aggregated across 14-day periods and time-integrated Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (iNDVI) were determined during four growing seasons (1996–1999) and used to predict Fday and Rn. We found that iNDVI was a strong predictor of Fday(R2=0.79, n=66, Pimproved predictions of Fday (R2=0.82, n=66, Pmanagement strategies, carbon certification, and validation and calibration of carbon flux models.

  5. Woody fuels reduction in Wyoming big sagebrush communities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wyoming big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata Nutt. ssp. wyomingensis Beetle & Young) ecosystems historically have been subject to disturbances that reduce or remove shrubs primarily by fire, although insect outbreaks and disease have also been important. Depending on site productivity, fire return in...

  6. Steppe of Tbilisi environs (East Georgia, South Caucasus

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    N.J. Lachashvili

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available Steppes of Tbilisi environs are studied. In the Tbilisi surroundings the steppe vegetation is either of primary or secondary origin. Steppe vegetation in the Tbilisi environs are represented by 4 formations: (1 Bothriochloeta ischaemum, (2 Festuceta valesiaci, (3 Stipeta pennatae and (4 Gramino-Mixtoherbeta. From them Bothriochloeta ischaemum and Festuceta valesiaci formations have more area covering and characterized by the comparatively rich typological composition. Typological composition of each formation is established. For each separated plant communities the basic structural characteristics (general projective coverage, sodding degree, dominant-edificatory plant, characteristic species, number of species, moss cover, litter, species richness, spectrum of life forms, distribution area in the Tbilisi environs and main physical-geographical conditions (altitude, exposure, inclination, soil type are given.

  7. Big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata) in a shifting climate context: Assessment of seedling responses to climate

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martha A. Brabec

    2014-01-01

    The loss of big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata) throughout the Great Basin Desert has motivated efforts to restore it because of fire and other disturbance effects on sagebrush-dependent wildlife and ecosystem function. Initial establishment is the first challenge to restoration, and appropriateness of seeds, climate, and weather variability are factors that may...

  8. Adaptive management for complex communal rangelands in South ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Many of the intransigent problems facing the world arise in complex systems. In this paper, I propose that communal rangelands in South Africa be recognised as complex social–ecological systems and that one of the reasons that development initiatives have had little impact on improving livelihoods and rangeland ...

  9. Criterion IV: Social and economic indicators of rangeland sustainability (Chapter 5)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Daniel W. McCollum; Louis E. Swanson; John A. Tanaka; Mark W. Brunson; Aaron J. Harp; L. Allen Torell; H. Theodore Heintz

    2010-01-01

    Social and economic systems provide the context and rationale for rangeland management. Sustaining rangeland ecosystems requires attention to the social and economic conditions that accompany the functioning of those systems. We present and discuss economic and social indicators for rangeland sustainability. A brief conceptual basis for each indicator is offered,...

  10. An Integrated Social, Economic, and Ecologic Conceptual (ISEEC) framework for considering rangeland sustainability

    Science.gov (United States)

    William E. Fox; Daniel W. McCollum; John E. Mitchell; Louis E. Swanson; Urs P. Kreuter; John A. Tanaka; Gary R. Evans; H. Theodore Heintz; Robert P. Breckenridge; Paul H. Geissler

    2009-01-01

    Currently, there is no standard method to assess the complex systems in rangeland ecosystems. Decision makers need baselines to create a common language of current rangeland conditions and standards for continued rangeland assessment. The Sustainable Rangeland Roundtable (SRR), a group of private and public organizations and agencies, has created a forum to discuss...

  11. Water conservation for semi-arid rangelands

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Willis, W.O.

    1983-01-01

    Water deficiency is most often the cause for low forage production on rangelands in semi-arid and arid regions. Water conservation methods have been developed but additional research is needed to develop the best management practices for various climatic regions. Poor management is another major cause of low rangeland production. Better management, including the application of research findings, depends on attitudes, policies, adaptability of findings, resources for implementation and a good understanding of the governing biotic and abiotic factors. (author)

  12. Mid-latitude shrub steppe plant communities: climate change consequences for soil water resources.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Palmquist, Kyle A; Schlaepfer, Daniel R; Bradford, John B; Lauenroth, William K

    2016-09-01

    In the coming century, climate change is projected to impact precipitation and temperature regimes worldwide, with especially large effects in drylands. We use big sagebrush ecosystems as a model dryland ecosystem to explore the impacts of altered climate on ecohydrology and the implications of those changes for big sagebrush plant communities using output from 10 Global Circulation Models (GCMs) for two representative concentration pathways (RCPs). We ask: (1) What is the magnitude of variability in future temperature and precipitation regimes among GCMs and RCPs for big sagebrush ecosystems, and (2) How will altered climate and uncertainty in climate forecasts influence key aspects of big sagebrush water balance? We explored these questions across 1980-2010, 2030-2060, and 2070-2100 to determine how changes in water balance might develop through the 21st century. We assessed ecohydrological variables at 898 sagebrush sites across the western US using a process-based soil water model, SOILWAT, to model all components of daily water balance using site-specific vegetation parameters and site-specific soil properties for multiple soil layers. Our modeling approach allowed for changes in vegetation based on climate. Temperature increased across all GCMs and RCPs, whereas changes in precipitation were more variable across GCMs. Winter and spring precipitation was predicted to increase in the future (7% by 2030-2060, 12% by 2070-2100), resulting in slight increases in soil water potential (SWP) in winter. Despite wetter winter soil conditions, SWP decreased in late spring and summer due to increased evapotranspiration (6% by 2030-2060, 10% by 2070-2100) and groundwater recharge (26% and 30% increase by 2030-2060 and 2070-2100). Thus, despite increased precipitation in the cold season, soils may dry out earlier in the year, resulting in potentially longer, drier summer conditions. If winter precipitation cannot offset drier summer conditions in the future, we expect big

  13. Mid-latitude shrub steppe plant communities: Climate change consequences for soil water resources

    Science.gov (United States)

    Palmquist, Kyle A.; Schlaepfer, Daniel R.; Bradford, John B.; Lauenroth, Willliam K.

    2016-01-01

    In the coming century, climate change is projected to impact precipitation and temperature regimes worldwide, with especially large effects in drylands. We use big sagebrush ecosystems as a model dryland ecosystem to explore the impacts of altered climate on ecohydrology and the implications of those changes for big sagebrush plant communities using output from 10 Global Circulation Models (GCMs) for two representative concentration pathways (RCPs). We ask: 1) What is the magnitude of variability in future temperature and precipitation regimes among GCMs and RCPs for big sagebrush ecosystems and 2) How will altered climate and uncertainty in climate forecasts influence key aspects of big sagebrush water balance? We explored these questions across 1980-2010, 2030-2060, and 2070-2100 to determine how changes in water balance might develop through the 21st century. We assessed ecohydrological variables at 898 sagebrush sites across the western US using a process-based soil water model, SOILWAT to model all components of daily water balance using site-specific vegetation parameters and site-specific soil properties for multiple soil layers. Our modeling approach allowed for changes in vegetation based on climate. Temperature increased across all GCMs and RCPs, while changes in precipitation were more variable across GCMs. Winter and spring precipitation was predicted to increase in the future (7% by 2030-2060, 12% by 2070-2100), resulting in slight increases in soil water potential (SWP) in winter. Despite wetter winter soil conditions, SWP decreased in late spring and summer due to increased evapotranspiration (6% by 2030-2060, 10% by 2070-2100) and groundwater recharge (26% and 30% increase by 2030-2060 and 2070-2100). Thus, despite increased precipitation in the cold season, soils may dry out earlier in the year, resulting in potentially longer drier summer conditions. If winter precipitation cannot offset drier summer conditions in the future, we expect big

  14. Future scenarios of impacts to ecosystem services on California rangelands

    Science.gov (United States)

    Byrd, Kristin; Alvarez, Pelayo; Flint, Lorraine; Flint, Alan

    2014-01-01

    The 18 million acres of rangelands in the Central Valley of California provide multiple benefits or “ecosystem services” to people—including wildlife habitat, water supply, open space, recreation, and cultural resources. Most of this land is privately owned and managed for livestock production. These rangelands are vulnerable to land-use conversion and climate change. To help resource managers assess the impacts of land-use change and climate change, U.S. Geological Survey scientists and their cooperators developed scenarios to quantify and map changes to three main rangeland ecosystem services—wildlife habitat, water supply, and carbon sequestration. Project results will help prioritize strategies to conserve these rangelands and the ecosystem services that they provide.

  15. Ecosystem responses to warming and watering in typical and desert steppes

    OpenAIRE

    Zhenzhu Xu; Yanhui Hou; Lihua Zhang; Tao Liu; Guangsheng Zhou

    2016-01-01

    Global warming is projected to continue, leading to intense fluctuations in precipitation and heat waves and thereby affecting the productivity and the relevant biological processes of grassland ecosystems. Here, we determined the functional responses to warming and altered precipitation in both typical and desert steppes. The results showed that watering markedly increased the aboveground net primary productivity (ANPP) in a typical steppe during a drier year and in a desert steppe over two ...

  16. PERSPECTIVES ON RANGELAND ECOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT

    OpenAIRE

    Heady, Harold F.

    2011-01-01

    This paper reviews changes in rangeland ecology and management in the U.S.A. over the last 65 years and speculates on future changes. Emphasis has shifted from livestock management to ecological and environmental concerns, hence "rangeland ecology." The term "range management" may have outlived its usefulness and may also be detrimental to our image. The vision that we have of ourselves is not the same as others have of us. Many members of the Society for Range Management (SRM) and most of ou...

  17. Rangeland and water resources

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Session B3 Management for sustainable use — Rangeland and water resources. ... The theme of optimsing integrated catchment management will be treated ... land system, catchment, basin), with a focus on law, policy and implementation.

  18. Meeting wild bees' needs on Western US rangelands

    Science.gov (United States)

    James H. Cane

    2011-01-01

    Rangelands are areas that are too arid, or with soils too shallow, to support either forests or cultivated agriculture, but that nonetheless produce enough vegetation for livestock grazing. Some arid rangeland regions, notably those with warm, dry climates in temperate zones (e.g., the warm deserts of the United States and adjacent Mexico, parts of Australia, South...

  19. Selecting sagebrush seed sources for restoration in a variable climate: ecophysiological variation among genotypes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Germino, Matthew J.

    2012-01-01

    Big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata) communities dominate a large fraction of the United States and provide critical habitat for a number of wildlife species of concern. Loss of big sagebrush due to fire followed by poor restoration success continues to reduce ecological potential of this ecosystem type, particularly in the Great Basin. Choice of appropriate seed sources for restoration efforts is currently unguided due to knowledge gaps on genetic variation and local adaptation as they relate to a changing landscape. We are assessing ecophysiological responses of big sagebrush to climate variation, comparing plants that germinated from ~20 geographically distinct populations of each of the three subspecies of big sagebrush. Seedlings were previously planted into common gardens by US Forest Service collaborators Drs. B. Richardson and N. Shaw, (USFS Rocky Mountain Research Station, Provo, Utah and Boise, Idaho) as part of the Great Basin Native Plant Selection and Increase Project. Seed sources spanned all states in the conterminous Western United States. Germination, establishment, growth and ecophysiological responses are being linked to genomics and foliar palatability. New information is being produced to aid choice of appropriate seed sources by Bureau of Land Management and USFS field offices when they are planning seed acquisitions for emergency post-fire rehabilitation projects while considering climate variability and wildlife needs.

  20. Ecologic, Economic, and Social Considerations for Rangeland Sustainability: An Integrated Conceptual Framework

    Science.gov (United States)

    Daniel W. McCollum; H. Theodore Jr. Heintz; Aaron J. Harp; John A. Tanaka; Gary R. Evans; David Radloff; Louis E. Swanson; William E. III Fox; Michael G. Sherm Karl; John E. Mitchell

    2006-01-01

    Use and sustainability of rangelands are inherently linked to the health and sustainability of the land. They are also inherently linked to the social and economic infrastructures that complement and support those rangelands and rangeland uses. Ecological systems and processes provide the biological interactions underlying ecosystem health and viability. Social and...

  1. Ecohydrologic impacts of rangeland fire on runoff and erosion: A literature synthesis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Frederick B. Pierson; C. Jason Williams

    2016-01-01

    Fire can dramatically influence rangeland hydrology and erosion by altering ecohydrologic relationships. This synthesis presents an ecohydrologic perspective on the effects of fire on rangeland runoff and erosion through a review of scientific literature spanning many decades. The objectives are: (1) to introduce rangeland hydrology and erosion concepts necessary for...

  2. A description of rangeland on commercial and communal land ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Analysis of a Landsat TM image from a rangeland near Peddie, Eastern Cape, revealed differences in two vegetation indices (normalised difference vegetation index, NDVI, and moving standard deviation index, MSDI) between communal and commercial rangeland. It was suggested that the difference in the MSDI reflected ...

  3. Is fire exclusion in mountain big sagebrush communities prudent? Soil nutrient, plant diversity, and arthropod response to burning

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fire has largely been excluded from many mountain big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata Nutt. ssp. vaseyana (Rydb.) Beetle) communities. Land and wildlife managers are especially reluctant to reintroduce fire in mountain big sagebrush plant communities, especially those communities without significan...

  4. Crop type influences edge effects on the reproduction of songbirds in sagebrush habitat near agriculture

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Elly C. Knight

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available Extensive fragmentation of the sagebrush shrubsteppe of western North America could be contributing to observed population declines of songbirds in sagebrush habitat. We examined whether habitat fragmentation impacts the reproduction of songbirds in sagebrush edge habitat near agriculture, and if potential impacts vary depending on the adjacent crop type. Specifically, we evaluated whether nest abundance and nest survival varied between orchard edge habitat, vineyard edge habitat, and interior habitat. We then examined whether the local nest predator community and vegetation could explain the differences detected. We detected fewer nests in edge than interior habitat. Nest abundance per songbird was also lower in edge than interior habitat, although only adjacent to vineyards. Nest predation was more frequent in orchard edge habitat than vineyard edge or interior habitat. Predators identified with nest cameras were primarily snakes, however, reduced nest survival in orchard edge habitat was not explained by differences in the abundance of snakes or any other predator species identified. Information theoretic analysis of daily survival rates showed that greater study plot shrub cover and lower grass height at nests were partially responsible for the lower rate of predation-specific daily nest survival rate (PDSR observed in orchard edge habitat, but additional factors are likely important. Results of this study suggest that different crop types have different edge effects on songbirds nesting in sagebrush shrubsteppe, and that these reproductive edge effects may contribute to observed declines of these species. Habitat managers should avoid the creation of new orchard-sagebrush habitat edges to avoid further impacts on already declining songbird populations.

  5. Multi-scale remote sensing sagebrush characterization with regression trees over Wyoming, USA: laying a foundation for monitoring

    Science.gov (United States)

    Homer, Collin G.; Aldridge, Cameron L.; Meyer, Debra K.; Schell, Spencer J.

    2012-01-01

    agebrush ecosystems in North America have experienced extensive degradation since European settlement. Further degradation continues from exotic invasive plants, altered fire frequency, intensive grazing practices, oil and gas development, and climate change – adding urgency to the need for ecosystem-wide understanding. Remote sensing is often identified as a key information source to facilitate ecosystem-wide characterization, monitoring, and analysis; however, approaches that characterize sagebrush with sufficient and accurate local detail across large enough areas to support this paradigm are unavailable. We describe the development of a new remote sensing sagebrush characterization approach for the state of Wyoming, U.S.A. This approach integrates 2.4 m QuickBird, 30 m Landsat TM, and 56 m AWiFS imagery into the characterization of four primary continuous field components including percent bare ground, percent herbaceous cover, percent litter, and percent shrub, and four secondary components including percent sagebrush (Artemisia spp.), percent big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata), percent Wyoming sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata Wyomingensis), and shrub height using a regression tree. According to an independent accuracy assessment, primary component root mean square error (RMSE) values ranged from 4.90 to 10.16 for 2.4 m QuickBird, 6.01 to 15.54 for 30 m Landsat, and 6.97 to 16.14 for 56 m AWiFS. Shrub and herbaceous components outperformed the current data standard called LANDFIRE, with a shrub RMSE value of 6.04 versus 12.64 and a herbaceous component RMSE value of 12.89 versus 14.63. This approach offers new advancements in sagebrush characterization from remote sensing and provides a foundation to quantitatively monitor these components into the future.

  6. Managing the livestock– Wildlife interface on rangelands

    Science.gov (United States)

    du Toit, Johan T.; Cross, Paul C.; Valeix, Marion

    2017-01-01

    On rangelands the livestock–wildlife interface is mostly characterized by management actions aimed at controlling problems associated with competition, disease, and depredation. Wildlife communities (especially the large vertebrate species) are typically incompatible with agricultural development because the opportunity costs of wildlife conservation are unaffordable except in arid and semi-arid regions. Ecological factors including the provision of supplementary food and water for livestock, together with the persecution of large predators, result in livestock replacing wildlife at biomass densities far exceeding those of indigenous ungulates. Diseases are difficult to eradicate from free-ranging wildlife populations and so veterinary controls usually focus on separating commercial livestock herds from wildlife. Persecution of large carnivores due to their depredation of livestock has caused the virtual eradication of apex predators from most rangelands. However, recent research points to a broad range of solutions to reduce conflict at the livestock–wildlife interface. Conserving wildlife bolsters the adaptive capacity of a rangeland by providing stakeholders with options for dealing with environmental change. This is contingent upon local communities being empowered to benefit directly from their wildlife resources within a management framework that integrates land-use sectors at the landscape scale. As rangelands undergo irreversible changes caused by species invasions and climate forcings, the future perspective favors a proactive shift in attitude towards the livestock–wildlife interface, from problem control to asset management.

  7. Managing climate change risks in rangeland systems [Chapter 15

    Science.gov (United States)

    Linda A. Joyce; Nadine A. Marshall

    2017-01-01

    The management of rangelands has long involved adapting to climate variability to ensure that economic enterprises remain viable and ecosystems sustainable; climate change brings the potential for change that surpasses the experience of humans within rangeland systems. Adaptation will require an intentionality to address the effects of climate change. Knowledge of...

  8. Retaining of botanical diversity of steppe ecosystems at the Semipalatinsk test site area

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sultanova, B.M.

    2005-01-01

    The nuclear tests conducted on the STS area have an effect on steppe biome. Regime of military secrecy allowed retaining extensive diversity of steppe vegetation at the area of the former Semipalatinsk test site, although the vegetation was liquidated in the most part of Kazakhstan. Unique biologic diversity of the steppe vegetation requires status of particularly secured vegetation of the STS area. (author)

  9. The Role of Rural Communities in Conservation of Rangelands in Mahneshan Township

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kobra Karimi

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available The aim of this study was to investigate the action of rangeland-depended livestock holders regarding rangeland conservation, including protection and rehabilitation activities and to analyse relevant influencing factors, using a mixed method of survey and case study. The data were collected through analysing existing documents, focus groups, semi-structured and structured interviews using questionnaires submitted to 204 rural livestock holders in the Mahneshan Township. The quantitative data were analysed using SPSS and AMOS software. According to the results farmers’ knowledge regarding the role, importance and factors affecting rangeland degradation was relatively high, however they had a low level of knowledge and action about mechanical conservation techniques. The action of livestock holders in terms of biological conservation activities and grazing management showed a positive and signifincat corrletaion with variables such as implementing of rangeland projects, their interaction with external institutions, participating in extension training courses, education level and irrigated and rainfed agricultural land size. Moreover, based on a path analysis, 37% of the variance of the farmers’ actions regarding the rangeland conservation was explained by the variables such as rangeland rehabilitation actions, farmers’ conservation knowledge, farmers’ interaction with natural resources experts, beekeeping, and participating in extension training courses. Promotional and extension activities and farmers’ interaction with experts have a positive effect in enhancing farmers’ knowledge and actions for sustainable rangeland use and conservation.

  10. High altitude survival: conflicts between pastoralism and wildlife in the Trans-Himalaya

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Mishra, C.

    2001-01-01

    Keywords : Pastoralism, agriculture, wildlife, Himalaya, competition, bharal, yak, livestock, snow leopard, wolf, herbivore, ungulate, resource, rangeland, steppe, mountain

    How harmonious is the coexistence between pastoralism and

  11. Models for predicting fuel consumption in sagebrush-dominated ecosystems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Clinton S. Wright

    2013-01-01

    Fuel consumption predictions are necessary to accurately estimate or model fire effects, including pollutant emissions during wildland fires. Fuel and environmental measurements on a series of operational prescribed fires were used to develop empirical models for predicting fuel consumption in big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentate Nutt.) ecosystems....

  12. Plant establishment and soil microenvironments in Utah juniper masticated woodlands

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kert R. Young

    2012-01-01

    Juniper (Juniperus spp.) encroachment into sagebrush (Artemisia spp.) and bunchgrass communities has reduced understory plant cover and allowed juniper trees to dominate millions of hectares of semiarid rangelands. Trees are mechanically masticated or shredded to decrease wildfire potential and increase desirable understory plant cover. When trees are masticated after...

  13. 78 FR 21964 - Sheldon National Wildlife Refuge Humboldt and Washoe Counties, NV, and Lake County, OR; Record of...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-04-12

    ... National Wildlife Refuge Complex, P.O. Box 111, Lakeview, OR 97630. Fax: (541) 947-4414. In-person viewing... Refuge encompasses 575,000 acres of sagebrush-steppe habitat located in a remote area of northwest Nevada... management would continue, with the following key enhancements. Native habitat conditions would improve, by...

  14. The GEOGLAM Rangelands and Pasture Productivity Activity: Recent Progress and Future Directions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guerschman, J. P.; Held, A. A.; Donohue, R. J.; Renzullo, L. J.; Sims, N.; Kerblat, F.; Grundy, M.

    2015-12-01

    Rangelands and pastures cover about a third of the world's land area and support livestock production which represents ~40% of global agricultural gross domestic product. The global consumption of animal protein shows a clear increasing trend, driven by both total population and per capita income increases, putting a growing pressure on the sustainability of grazing lands worldwide. Despite their relevance, rangelands have received less attention than croplands regarding global monitoring of the resource productivity and condition. The Rangelands and Pasture Productivity (RaPP) activity is a component within the Global Agricultural Monitoring initiative established under the Group on Earth Observations (GEOGLAM) in 2013. GEOGLAM RaPP is aimed at providing the global community with the means to monitor the world's rangelands and pastures on a routine basis, and the capacity to produce animal protein in real-time, at global, regional and national levels. Since its launch two years ago GEOGLAM RAPP has made progress in the four implementation elements. These include: 1- the establishment of community of practice; 2- the development of a global monitoring system for rangeland condition; 3- the establishment of pilot sites in main rangeland systems for satellite data products validation and model testing; and 4- integration with livestock production models. Three international workshops have been held building the community of practice. A prototype monitoring system that provides global visualisations and querying capability of vegetation cover data and anomalies has been established. Pilot sites, mostly in areas with long records of field measurements of rangeland condition and productivity have been proposed for nine countries. The link to global livestock models, including physical and economic components, have been established. Future challenges for GEOGLAM RaPP have also been identified and include: better representation of the areas occupied by rangelands

  15. Artemisia pollen-indicated steppe distribution in southern China during the Last Glacial Maximum

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Liu Hongyan

    2013-07-01

    Full Text Available The Last Glacial Maximum (LGM was the coldest period during the previous 20,000 years. There have been different points of views on steppe distribution during the LGM period in southern China, partly due to the different interpretations of Artemisia occurrences. To make a reliable interpretation of the pollen fossil Artemisia, the modern distribution of Artemisia species and the relationship of pollen with climate and vegetation over a large spatial scale in China was thoroughly analyzed. Information about Artemisia species and pollen distributions used in this paper were collected from published works completed by other researchers as well as ourselves. The southern limit of steppe vegetation during the LGM period was interpreted from the published contour map of Artemisia pollen percentages during the LGM. Artemisia species in China are mostly distributed either in the horizontally distributed steppe regions or in the vertically distributed desert-steppe in the desert region, which indicates a cold and dry climate. The steppe is a distribution center of Artemisia pollen. Fractions of Artemisia in surface pollen assemblages are lower in both the desert and the temperate forest. Neither high Artemisia species cover nor high percentages of Artemisia pollen were found in the coast areas of China. Twenty-five percent of Artemisia pollen in sediments might indicate a local occurrence of steppe vegetation. Percentages of Artemisia pollen in the subtropical and tropical forest are less than 10%. A close relationship between Artemisia pollen and temperate steppe in China is demonstrated. The southern edge of the steppe vegetation during the LGM might be along the middle reach of the Yangtze River. Our results support the hypothesis that the isolated high fraction of Artemisia pollen along the northern edge of the South China Sea was transported from a large source area.

  16. Valuation of rangeland ecosystem services

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gascoigne, W.R.

    2011-01-01

    Economic valuation lends itself well to the anthropocentric orientation of ecosystem services. An economic perspective on ecosystems portrays them as natural assets providing a flow of goods and services valuable to individuals and society collectively. A few examples include the purification of drinking water, reduced risk from flooding and other extreme events, pollination of agricultural crops, climate regulation, and recreation opportunities from plant and animal habitat maintenance, among many others. Once these goods and services are identified and quantified, they can be monetized to complete the valuation process. The monetization of ecosystem goods and services (in the form of dollars) provides a common metric that allows for cross-comparison of attributes and evaluation of differing ecological scenarios. Complicating the monetization process is the fact that most of these goods and services are public and non-market in nature; meaning they are non-rival and non-exclusive and are typically not sold in a traditional market setting where monetary values are revealed. Instead, one must employ non-market valuation techniques, with primary valuation methods typically being very time and resource consuming, intimidating to non-economists, and often impractical. For these reasons, benefit transfer methods have gained popularity. This methodology harnesses the primary collection results of existing studies to make inferences about the economic values of non-market goods and services at an alternative policy site (in place and/or in time). For instance, if a primary valuation study on oak reestablishment on rangelands in southern California yielded a value of $30 per-acre associated with water regulation, this result can be transferred, with some adjustments, to say something about the value of an acre of oaks on rangelands in northern portions of the state. The economic valuation of rangeland ecosystem services has many roles. Economic values may be used as input

  17. Climatically driven loss of calcium in steppe soil as a sink for atmospheric carbon

    Science.gov (United States)

    A.G. Lapenis; G.B. Lawrence; S.W. Bailey; B.F. Aparin; A.I. Shiklomanov; N.A. Speranskaya; M.S. Torn; M. Calef

    2008-01-01

    During the last several thousand years the semi-arid, cold climate of the Russian steppe formed highly fertile soils rich in organic carbon and calcium (classified as Chernozems in the Russian system). Analysis of archived soil samples collected in Kemannaya Steppe Preserve in 1920, 1947, 1970, and fresh samples collected in 1998 indicated that the native steppe...

  18. A higher-level classification of the Pannonian and western Pontic steppe grasslands (Central and Eastern Europe).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Willner, Wolfgang; Kuzemko, Anna; Dengler, Jürgen; Chytrý, Milan; Bauer, Norbert; Becker, Thomas; Biţă-Nicolae, Claudia; Botta-Dukát, Zoltán; Čarni, Andraž; Csiky, János; Igić, Ruzica; Kącki, Zygmunt; Korotchenko, Iryna; Kropf, Matthias; Krstivojević-Ćuk, Mirjana; Krstonošić, Daniel; Rédei, Tamás; Ruprecht, Eszter; Schratt-Ehrendorfer, Luise; Semenishchenkov, Yuri; Stančić, Zvjezdana; Vashenyak, Yulia; Vynokurov, Denys; Janišová, Monika

    2017-01-01

    What are the main floristic patterns in the Pannonian and western Pontic steppe grasslands? What are the diagnostic species of the major subdivisions of the class Festuco-Brometea (temperate Euro-Siberian dry and semi-dry grasslands)? Carpathian Basin (E Austria, SE Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Slovenia, N Croatia and N Serbia), Ukraine, S Poland and the Bryansk region of W Russia. We applied a geographically stratified resampling to a large set of relevés containing at least one indicator species of steppe grasslands. The resulting data set of 17 993 relevés was classified using the TWINSPAN algorithm. We identified groups of clusters that corresponded to the class Festuco-Brometea . After excluding relevés not belonging to our target class, we applied a consensus of three fidelity measures, also taking into account external knowledge, to establish the diagnostic species of the orders of the class. The original TWINSPAN divisions were revised on the basis of these diagnostic species. The TWINSPAN classification revealed soil moisture as the most important environmental factor. Eight out of 16 TWINSPAN groups corresponded to Festuco-Brometea . A total of 80, 32 and 58 species were accepted as diagnostic for the orders Brometalia erecti , Festucetalia valesiacae and Stipo-Festucetalia pallentis , respectively. In the further subdivision of the orders, soil conditions, geographic distribution and altitude could be identified as factors driving the major floristic patterns. We propose the following classification of the Festuco-Brometea in our study area: (1) Brometalia erecti (semi-dry grasslands) with Scabioso ochroleucae-Poion angustifoliae (steppe meadows of the forest zone of E Europe) and Cirsio-Brachypodion pinnati (meadow steppes on deep soils in the forest-steppe zone of E Central and E Europe); (2) Festucetalia valesiacae (grass steppes) with Festucion valesiacae (grass steppes on less developed soils in the forest-steppe zone of E Central

  19. Light use efficiency over two temperate steppes in inner Mongolia, China.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yu Wang

    Full Text Available Vegetation light use efficiency (LUE is a key parameter of Production Efficiency Models (PEMs for simulating gross primary production (GPP of vegetation, from regional to global scales. Previous studies suggest that grasslands have the largest inter-site variation of LUE and controlling factors of grassland LUE differ from those of other biomes, since grasslands are usually water-limited ecosystems. Combining eddy covariance flux data with the fraction of photosynthetically active radiation absorbed by the plant canopy from MODIS, we report LUE on a typical steppe and a desert steppe in Inner Mongolia, northern China. Results show that both annual average LUE and maximum LUE were higher on the desert steppe (0.51 and 1.13 g C MJ(-1 than on the typical steppe (0.34 and 0.88 g C MJ(-1, despite the higher GPP of the latter. Water availability was the primary limiting factor of LUE at both sites. Evaporative fraction (EF or the ratio of actual evapotranspiration to potential evapotranspiration (AET/PET can explain 50-70% of seasonal LUE variations at both sites. However, the slope of linear regression between LUE and EF (or AET/PET differed significantly between the two sites. LUE increased with the diffuse radiation ratio on the typical steppe; however, such a trend was not found for the desert steppe. Our results suggest that a biome-dependent LUE(max is inappropriate, because of the large inter-site difference of LUE(max within the biome. EF could be a promising down-regulator on grassland LUE for PEMs, but there may be a site-specific relationship between LUE and EF.

  20. Introduced and invasive species in novel rangeland ecosystems: friends or foes?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Belnap, Jayne; Ludwig, John A.; Wilcox, Bradford P.; Betancourt, Julio L.; Dean, W. Richard J.; Hoffmann, Benjamin D.; Milton, Sue J.

    2012-01-01

    Globally, new combinations of introduced and native plant and animal species have changed rangelands into novel ecosystems. Whereas many rangeland stakeholders (people who use or have an interest in rangelands) view intentional species introductions to improve forage and control erosion as beneficial, others focus on unintended costs, such as increased fire risk, loss of rangeland biodiversity, and threats to conservation efforts, specifically in nature reserves and parks. These conflicting views challenge all rangeland stakeholders, especially those making decisions on how best to manage novel ecosystems. To formulate a conceptual framework for decision making, we examined a wide range of novel ecosystems, created by intentional and unintentional introductions of nonnative species and land-use–facilitated spread of native ones. This framework simply divides decision making into two types: 1) straightforward–certain, and 2) complex–uncertain. We argue that management decisions to retain novel ecosystems are certain when goods and services provided by the system far outweigh the costs of restoration, for example in the case of intensively managed Cenchrus pastures. Decisions to return novel ecosystems to natural systems are also certain when the value of the system is low and restoration is easy and inexpensive as in the case of biocontrol of Opuntia infestations. In contrast, decisions whether to retain or restore novel ecosystems become complex and uncertain in cases where benefits are low and costs of control are high as, for example, in the case of stopping the expansion of Prosopis and Juniperus into semiarid rangelands. Decisions to retain or restore novel ecosystems are also complex and uncertain when, for example, nonnative Eucalyptus trees expand along natural streams, negatively affecting biodiversity, but also providing timber and honey. When decision making is complex and uncertain, we suggest that rangeland managers utilize cost–benefit analyses

  1. Investigation of Great Basin big sagebrush and black greasewood as biogeochemical indicators of uranium mineralization. Final report. National Uranium Resource Evaluation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Diebold, F.E.; McGrath, S.

    1982-11-01

    The effects of varying phosphate concentrations in natural aqueous systems upon the uptake of uranium by big sagebrush (Artemesia tridentata subsp. tridentata) and black greasewood (Sarcobatus vermiculatus (Hook) Torr.) were investigated. Two separate growth experiments with five drip-flow hyroponic units were used and plant seedlings were grown for 60 days in solutions of varying phosphate and uranium concentrations. Successful growth experiments were obtained only for big sagebrush; black greasewood did not sustain sufficient growth. The phosphate concentration of the water did affect the uptake of uranium by the big sagebrush, and this effect is most pronounced in the region of higher concentrations of uranium in the water. The ratio of the concentration of uranium in the plant to that in the water was observed to decrease with increasing uranium concentration in solution. This is indicative of an absorption barrier in the plants. The field data shows that big sagebrush responds to uranium concentrations in the soil water and not the groundwater. The manifestation of these results is that the use of big sagebrush as a biogeochemical indicator of uranium is not recommended. Since the concentration of phosphate must also be knwon in the water supplying the uranium to the plant, one should analyze this natural aqueous phase as a hydrochemical indicator rather than the big sagebrush

  2. Very High Resolution Panoramic Photography to Improve Conventional Rangeland Monitoring 1994

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rangeland monitoring often includes repeat photographs as a basis for documentation and although photographic equipment and electronics have been evolving rapidly, basic rangeland photo monitoring methods have changed little over time. Ground based digital photography is underutilized, especially s...

  3. Regional Standards for Rangeland Health and Guidelines for Livestock Grazing Management ... A Progress Report

    OpenAIRE

    1996-01-01

    In August 1995, new BLM regulations for rangeland administration went into effect. The new regulations require BLM to establish regional standards for rangeland health and guidelines for grazing management. This publication is a report on the alternatives being considered for the Montana/Dakotas Rangeland Health Standards and Guidelines process.

  4. Earth stewardship on rangelands: Coping with ecological, economic, and political marginality

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rangelands encompass 30-40 percent of Earth's land surface and support 1-2 billion people. Their predominant use is extensive livestock production by pastoralists and ranchers. But rangelands are characterized by ecological, economic, and political marginality, and higher-value, more intensive land ...

  5. Assessing long-term variations in sagebrush habitat: characterization of spatial extents and distribution patterns using multi-temporal satellite remote-sensing data

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xian, George; Homer, Collin G.; Aldridge, Cameron L.

    2012-01-01

    An approach that can generate sagebrush habitat change estimates for monitoring large-area sagebrush ecosystems has been developed and tested in southwestern Wyoming, USA. This prototype method uses a satellite-based image change detection algorithm and regression models to estimate sub-pixel percentage cover for five sagebrush habitat components: bare ground, herbaceous, litter, sagebrush and shrub. Landsat images from three different months in 1988, 1996 and 2006 were selected to identify potential landscape change during these time periods using change vector (CV) analysis incorporated with an image normalization algorithm. Regression tree (RT) models were used to estimate percentage cover for five components on all change areas identified in 1988 and 1996, using unchanged 2006 baseline data as training for both estimates. Over the entire study area (24 950 km2), a net increase of 98.83 km2, or 0.7%, for bare ground was measured between 1988 and 2006. Over the same period, the other four components had net losses of 20.17 km2, or 0.6%, for herbaceous vegetation; 30.16 km2, or 0.7%, for litter; 32.81 km2, or 1.5%, for sagebrush; and 33.34 km2, or 1.2%, for shrubs. The overall accuracy for shrub vegetation change between 1988 and 2006 was 89.56%. Change patterns within sagebrush habitat components differ spatially and quantitatively from each other, potentially indicating unique responses by these components to disturbances imposed upon them.

  6. Discussion of submitted posters for Section 2.3 (Rangeland Germplasm Resources)

    Science.gov (United States)

    As part of the IX International Rangeland Congress held in Rosario, Argentina, a total of 70 posters from 17 countries were submitted to Section 2.3 (Rangeland Germplasm Resources). These posters documented research conducted in five major regions of the world: South America, North America, Africa...

  7. Comparison of radionuclide levels in soil, sagebrush, plant litter, cryptogams, and small mammals

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Landeen, D.S.

    1994-09-01

    Soil, sagebrush, plant litter, cryptogam, and small mammal samples were collected and analyzed for cesium-137, strontium-90, plutonium-238, plutonium 239/240, technetium-99, and iodine-129 from 1981 to 1986 at the US Department of Energy Hanford Site in southeastern Washington State as part of site characterization and environmental monitoring activities. Samples were collected on the 200 Areas Plateau, downwind from ongoing waste management activities. Plant litter, cryptogams, and small mammals are media that are not routinely utilized in monitoring or characterization efforts for determination of radionuclide concentrations. Studies at Hanford, other US Department of Energy sites, and in eastern Europe have indicated that plant litter and cryptogams may serve as effective ''natural'' monitors of air quality. Plant litter in this study consists of fallen leaves from sagebrush and ''cryptogams'' describes that portion of the soil crust composed of mosses, lichens, algae, and fungi. Comparisons of cesium-137 and strontium-90 concentrations in the soil, sagebrush, litter, and cryptogams revealed significantly higher (p<0.05) levels in plant litter and cryptogams. Technetium-99 values were the highest in sagebrush and litter. Plutonium-238 and 239/40 and iodine-129 concentrations never exceeded 0.8 pCi/gm in all media. No evidence of any significant amounts of any radionuclides being incorporated into the small mammal community was discovered. The data indicate that plant litter and cryptogams may be better, indicators of environmental quality than soil or vegetation samples. Augmenting a monitoring program with samples of litter and cryptogams may provide a more accurate representation of radionuclide environmental uptake and/or contamination levels in surrounding ecosystems. The results of this study may be applied directly to other radioecological monitoring conducted at other nuclear sites and to the monitoring of other pollutants

  8. Container configuration influences western larch and big sagebrush seedling development

    Science.gov (United States)

    Matthew Mehdi. Aghai

    2012-01-01

    Big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata Nutt.), a woody shrub, and western larch (Larix occidentalis Nutt.), a deciduous conifer, are among many western North American species that have suffered a decline in presence and natural regeneration across their native ranges. These species are economically, ecologically, and intrinsically valuable, therefore many current...

  9. Nesting pair density and abundance of ferruginous hawks (Buteo regalis) and golden eagles (Aquila chrysaetos) from aerial surveys in Wyoming

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lucretia E. Olson; Robert J. Oakleaf; John R. Squires; Zachary P. Wallace; Patricia L. Kennedy

    2015-01-01

    Raptors that inhabit sagebrush steppe and grassland ecosystems in the western United States may be threatened by continued loss and modification of their habitat due to energy development, conversion to agriculture, and human encroachment. Actions to protect these species are hampered by a lack of reliable data on such basic information as population size and...

  10. Variation in ant populations with elevation, tree cover, and fire in a pinyon-juniper-dominated watershed

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eugenie M. MontBlanc; Jeanne C. Chambers; Peter E. Brussard

    2007-01-01

    Climate change and fire suppression have facilitated expansion of pinyon-juniper woodlands into sagebrush- steppe ecosystems of the Great Basin, USA, resulting in a loss of biological diversity. To assess the effects of using prescribed fire in restoration efforts, ant abundance, species richness, and composition were examined pre- and post-burn along the elevation and...

  11. EVALUATION AND MAPPING OF RANGELANDS DEGRADATION USING REMOTELY SENSED DATA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Majid Ajorlo

    2005-05-01

    Full Text Available The empirical and scientifically documents prove that misuse of natural resource causes degradation in it. So natural resources conservation is important in approaching sustainable development aims. In current study, Landsat Thematic Mapper images and grazing gradient method have been used to map the extent and degree of rangeland degradation. In during ground-based data measuring, factors such as vegetation cover, litter, plant diversity, bare soil, and stone & gravels were estimated as biophysical indicators of degradation. The next stage, after geometric correction and doing some necessary pre-processing practices on the study area’s images; the best and suitable vegetation index has been selected to map rangeland degradation among the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI, Soil Adjusted Vegetation Index (SAVI, and Perpendicular Vegetation Index (PVI. Then using suitable vegetation index and distance parameter was produced the rangelands degradation map. The results of ground-based data analysis reveal that there is a significant relation between increasing distance from critical points and plant diversity and also percentage of litter. Also there is significant relation between vegetation cover percent and distance from village, i.e. the vegetation cover percent increases by increasing distance from villages, while it wasn’t the same around the stock watering points. The result of analysis about bare soil and distance from critical point was the same to vegetation cover changes manner. Also there wasn’t significant relation between stones & gravels index and distance from critical points. The results of image processing show that, NDVI appears to be sensitive to vegetation changes along the grazing gradient and it can be suitable vegetation index to map rangeland degradation. The degradation map shows that there is high degradation around the critical points. These areas need urgent attention for soil conservation. Generally, it

  12. Climate impacts on agriculture: Implications for forage and rangeland production

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Izaurralde, Roberto C.; Thomson, Allison M.; Morgan, Jack; Fay, Philip; Polley, Wayne; Hatfield, Jerry L.

    2011-04-19

    Projections of temperature and precipitation patterns across the United States during the next 50 years anticipate a 1.5 to 2°C warming and a slight increase in precipitation as a result of global climate change. There have been relatively few studies of climate change impacts on pasture and rangeland (grazingland) species compared to those on crop species, despite the economic and ecological importance of the former. Here we review the literature on pastureland and rangeland species to rising CO2 and climate change (temperature, and precipitation) and discuss plant and management factors likely to influence pastureland and rangeland responses to change (e.g., community composition, plant competition, perennial growth habit, seasonal productivity, and management methods). Overall, the response of pasture species to increased [CO2] is consistent with the general response of C3 and C4 type vegetation, although significant exceptions exist. Both pastureland and rangeland species should exhibit an acceleration of metabolism and development due to earlier onset of spring green-up and longer growing seasons. However, in the studies reviewed here, C3 pasture species increased their photosynthetic rates by up to 40% while C4 species exhibited no increase in photosynthesis. In general, it is expected that increases in [CO2] and precipitation would enhance rangeland net primary production (NPP) while increased air temperatures would either increase or decrease NPP. Much of this uncertainty in response is due to uncertain future projections of precipitation, both globally and regionally. For example, if annual precipitation changes little or declines, rangeland plant response to warming temperatures and rising [CO2] may be neutral or may decline due to increased water stress. This review reveals the need for comprehensive studies of climate change impacts on the pasture ecosystem including grazing regimes, mutualistic relationships (e.g., plant roots-nematodes; N

  13. Bush encroachment dynamics and rangeland management implications in the Horn of Africa

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rangelands in the Horn of Africa have been undergoing a rapid shift from herbaceous to woody plant dominance in the past decades, threatening subsistence livestock herding and pastoral food security. Despite of significant rangeland management implications, quantification of the spatial extent of en...

  14. Forecasting sagebrush ecosystem components and greater sage-grouse habitat for 2050: learning from past climate patterns and Landsat imagery to predict the future

    Science.gov (United States)

    Homer, Collin G.; Xian, George Z.; Aldridge, Cameron L.; Meyer, Debra K.; Loveland, Thomas R.; O'Donnell, Michael S.

    2015-01-01

    Sagebrush (Artemisia spp.) ecosystems constitute the largest single North American shrub ecosystem and provide vital ecological, hydrological, biological, agricultural, and recreational ecosystem services. Disturbances have altered and reduced this ecosystem historically, but climate change may ultimately represent the greatest future risk. Improved ways to quantify, monitor, and predict climate-driven gradual change in this ecosystem is vital to its future management. We examined the annual change of Daymet precipitation (daily gridded climate data) and five remote sensing ecosystem sagebrush vegetation and soil components (bare ground, herbaceous, litter, sagebrush, and shrub) from 1984 to 2011 in southwestern Wyoming. Bare ground displayed an increasing trend in abundance over time, and herbaceous, litter, shrub, and sagebrush showed a decreasing trend. Total precipitation amounts show a downward trend during the same period. We established statistically significant correlations between each sagebrush component and historical precipitation records using a simple least squares linear regression. Using the historical relationship between sagebrush component abundance and precipitation in a linear model, we forecasted the abundance of the sagebrush components in 2050 using Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) precipitation scenarios A1B and A2. Bare ground was the only component that increased under both future scenarios, with a net increase of 48.98 km2 (1.1%) across the study area under the A1B scenario and 41.15 km2 (0.9%) under the A2 scenario. The remaining components decreased under both future scenarios: litter had the highest net reductions with 49.82 km2 (4.1%) under A1B and 50.8 km2 (4.2%) under A2, and herbaceous had the smallest net reductions with 39.95 km2 (3.8%) under A1B and 40.59 km2 (3.3%) under A2. We applied the 2050 forecast sagebrush component values to contemporary (circa 2006) greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus

  15. Climate change effects on rangelands and rangeland management: Affirming the need for monitoring

    Science.gov (United States)

    Daniel W. Mccollum; John A. Tanaka; Jack A. Morgan; John E. Mitchell; William E. Fox; Kristie A. Maczko; Lori Hidinger; Clifford S. Duke; Urs P. Kreuter

    2017-01-01

    Uncertainty as to the extent and magnitude of changes in conditions that might occur due to climate change poses a problem for land and resource managers as they seek to adapt to changes and mitigate effects of climate variability. We illustrate using scenarios of projected future conditions on rangelands in the Northern Great Plains and Desert Southwest of the United...

  16. Strong genetic differentiation in the invasive annual grass Bromus tectorum across the Mojave-Great Basin ecological transition zone

    Science.gov (United States)

    Susan E. Meyer; Elizabeth A. Leger; Desiree R. Eldon; Craig E. Coleman

    2016-01-01

    Bromus tectorum, an inbreeding annual grass, is a dominant invader in sagebrush steppe habitat in North America. It is also common in warm and salt deserts, displaying a larger environmental tolerance than most native species. We tested the hypothesis that a suite of habitat-specific B. tectorum lineages dominates warm desert habitats. We sampled 30 B....

  17. Narrow hybrid zone between two subspecies of big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata: Asteraceae): XI. Plant-insect interactions in reciprocal transplant gardens

    Science.gov (United States)

    John H. Graham; E. Durant McArthur; D. Carl Freeman

    2001-01-01

    Basin big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata ssp. tridentata) and mountain big sagebrush (A. t. ssp. vaseyana) hybridize in a narrow zone near Salt Creek, Utah. Reciprocal transplant experiments in this hybrid zone demonstrate that hybrids are more fit than either parental subspecies, but only in the hybrid zone. Do hybrids experience greater, or lesser, use by...

  18. Management of communal rangelands - the dialogue between science and indigenous knowledge: the case of the Eastern Cape

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    Dube, S

    2010-07-01

    Full Text Available Communal area rangeland resource users are an important part of the rangeland ecosystem; rangeland management policies and practice should, therefore, accommodate their socio-cultural practices and knowledge. Indigenous knowledge (IK) is often...

  19. On the Succession of Sarmatian Population in the East-European Steppes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Balabanova Mariya A.

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available As V.P. Alekseev wrote, the succession of population has been peculiar for individual territories for centuries. Despite the fact that the Eastern European steppe in ancient times and the Middle Ages was characterized by frequent changes of the population due to its high dependence on the environmental conditions, the Sarmatian culture preservation was observed over a period of ceremonial standards and elements of material culture. In this paper an attempt is made to show the presence of a partial succession of the three chronological periods of Sarmatian population. To do this, the author conducted a comparative characteristic of physical types of nomads of Sarmatian steppes of the Eastern Europe. The results of the study of mass craniological material combined in the cultural and chronological groups, showed that on the whole range of time and space over the steppe habitat Sarmatian cultures fixed partial similarity in physical type. In this connection, it is assumed that the partial continuity of anthropological types of different cultural, historical and local groups is linked to: 1 partial preservation of substrate Early Sarmatian population over the 4th- 3rd centuries BC – first half of 2nd-4th centuries AD; 2 the direction and character of penetration of nomadic groups who migrated from the East into steppe space; 3 design of a single system of seasonal migrations which involves the presence of winter and summer camps, and the presence of burial mounds; 4 the inclusion of a horde of nomadic pastoral population groups moved all over the steppes, from between Volga and Ural to the Lower Don; 5 the fact that male migrants married local women.

  20. Vegetation - Herbivory Dynamics in Rangeland Ecosystems: Geospatial Modeling for Savanna and Wildlife Conservation in California and Namibia

    OpenAIRE

    Tsalyuk, Miriam

    2014-01-01

    Rangelands cover about half of Earth's land surface, encompass considerable biodiversity, and provide pivotal ecosystem services. However, rangelands across the globe face degradation due to changes in climate, land use, and management. Moreover, since herbivory is fundamental to rangeland ecosystem dynamics, shifts in the distribution of herbivores lead to overgrazing and desertification. To better understand, predict, and prevent changes on rangelands it is important to monitor these landsc...

  1. The Bering Land Bridge: a moisture barrier to the dispersal of steppe-tundra biota?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Elias, Scott A.; Crocker, Barnaby

    2008-12-01

    The Bering Land Bridge (BLB) connected the two principal arctic biological refugia, Western and Eastern Beringia, during intervals of lowered sea level in the Pleistocene. Fossil evidence from lowland BLB organic deposits dating to the Last Glaciation indicates that this broad region was dominated by shrub tundra vegetation, and had a mesic climate. The dominant ecosystem in Western Beringia and the interior regions of Eastern Beringia was steppe-tundra, with herbaceous plant communities and arid climate. Although Western and Eastern Beringia shared many species in common during the Late Pleistocene, there were a number of species that were restricted to only one side of the BLB. Among the vertebrate fauna, the woolly rhinoceros was found only to the west of the BLB, North American camels, bonnet-horned musk-oxen and some horse species were found only to the east of the land bridge. These were all steppe-tundra inhabitants, adapted to grazing. The same phenomenon can be seen in the insect faunas of the Western and Eastern Beringia. The steppe-tundra beetle fauna of Western Beringia was dominated by weevils of the genus Stephanocleonus, a group that was virtually absent from Eastern Beringia. The dry-adapted weevils, Lepidophorus lineaticollis and Vitavitus thulius were important members of steppe-tundra communities in Eastern Beringia, but were either absent or rare in Western Beringia. The leaf beetles Chrysolina arctica, C. brunnicornis bermani, and Galeruca interrupta circumdata were typical members of the Pleistocene steppe-tundra communities of Western Beringia, but absent from Eastern Beringia. On the other hand, some steppe tundra-adapted leaf beetles managed to occupy both sides of the BLB, such as Phaedon armoraciae. Much of the BLB remains unstudied, but on biogeographic grounds, it appears that there was some kind of biological filter that blocked the movements of some steppe-tundra plants and animals across the BLB.

  2. Outplanting Wyoming big sagebrush following wldfire: stock performance and economics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dettweiler-Robinson, Eva; Bakker, Jonathan D.; Evans, James R.; Newsome, Heidi; Davies, G. Matt; Wirth, Troy A.; Pyke, David A.; Easterly, Richard T.; Salstrom, Debra; Dunwiddle, Peter W.

    2013-01-01

    Finding ecologically and economically effective ways to establish matrix species is often critical for restoration success. Wyoming big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata subsp. wyomingensis) historically dominated large areas of western North America, but has been extirpated from many areas by large wildfires; its re-establishment in these areas often requires active management. We evaluated the performance (survival, health) and economic costs of container and bare-root stock based on operational plantings of more than 1.5 million seedlings across 2 200 ha, and compared our plantings with 30 other plantings in which sagebrush survival was tracked for up to 5 yr. Plantings occurred between 2001 and 2007, and included 12 combinations of stock type, planting amendment, and planting year.We monitored 10 500 plants for up to 8 yr after planting. Survival to Year 3 averaged 21% and was higher for container stock (30%) than bare-root stock (17%). Survival did not differ among container stock plantings, whereas survival of bare-root stock was sometimes enhanced by a hydrogel dip before planting, but not by

  3. Plant/life form considerations in the rangeland hydrology and erosion model (RHEM)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Resilience of rangeland to erosion has largely been attributed to adequate plant cover; however, plant life/growth form, and individual species presence can have a dramatic effect on hydrologic and erosion dynamics on rangelands. Plant life/growth form refers to genetic tendency of a plant to grow i...

  4. Climate change and North American rangelands: Assessment of mitigation and adaptation strategies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Linda A. Joyce; David D. Briske; Joel R. Brown; H. Wayne Polley; Bruce A. McCarl; Derek W. Bailey

    2013-01-01

    Recent climatic trends and climate model projections indicate that climate change will modify rangeland ecosystem functions and the services and livelihoods that they provision. Recent history has demonstrated that climatic variability has a strong influence on both ecological and social components of rangeland systems and that these systems possess substantial...

  5. Quantifying restoration effectiveness using multi-scale habitat models: implications for sage-grouse in the Great Basin

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arkle, Robert S.; Pilliod, David S.; Hanser, Steven E.; Brooks, Matthew L.; Chambers, Jeanne C.; Grace, James B.; Knutson, Kevin C.; Pyke, David A.; Welty, Justin L.

    2014-01-01

    A recurrent challenge in the conservation of wide-ranging, imperiled species is understanding which habitats to protect and whether we are capable of restoring degraded landscapes. For Greater Sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus), a species of conservation concern in the western United States, we approached this problem by developing multi-scale empirical models of occupancy in 211 randomly located plots within a 40 million ha portion of the species' range. We then used these models to predict sage-grouse habitat quality at 826 plots associated with 101 post-wildfire seeding projects implemented from 1990 to 2003. We also compared conditions at restoration sites to published habitat guidelines. Sage-grouse occupancy was positively related to plot- and landscape-level dwarf sagebrush (Artemisia arbuscula, A. nova, A. tripartita) and big sagebrush steppe prevalence, and negatively associated with non-native plants and human development. The predicted probability of sage-grouse occupancy at treated plots was low on average (0.09) and not substantially different from burned areas that had not been treated. Restoration sites with quality habitat tended to occur at higher elevation locations with low annual temperatures, high spring precipitation, and high plant diversity. Of 313 plots seeded after fire, none met all sagebrush guidelines for breeding habitats, but approximately 50% met understory guidelines, particularly for perennial grasses. This pattern was similar for summer habitat. Less than 2% of treated plots met winter habitat guidelines. Restoration actions did not increase the probability of burned areas meeting most guideline criteria. The probability of meeting guidelines was influenced by a latitudinal gradient, climate, and topography. Our results suggest that sage-grouse are relatively unlikely to use many burned areas within 20 years of fire, regardless of treatment. Understory habitat conditions are more likely to be adequate than overstory

  6. Eurasian perspectives on the role of kurgans in the conservation and restoration of steppe vegetation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Deák, Balázs; Valkó, Orsolya; Török, Péter; Sudnik-Wójcikowska, Barbara; Moysiyenko, Ivan; Bragina, Tatyana; Apostolova, Iva; Dembicz, Iwona; Bykov, Nikolai; Tóthmérész, Béla

    2017-04-01

    Steppe is among the most endangered biomes of the world, especially in Europe, where more than 90% of original steppes have been destroyed due to conversion into croplands, afforestation and other human activities. Because of the socio-economic changes of the past centuries, steppe vegetation is now often restricted to places inadequate for ploughing, such as ancient burial mounds called kurgans. Thus, beside that kurgans are millennia-old iconic historical monuments of the steppic landscape, they are vital in preserving both our cultural and natural heritage. We collected and synthesised existing knowledge on kurgans by a review of research papers and grey literature and provided recommendations for elaborating the involvement of kurgans into agri-environmental schemes. We found that the proportions of kurgans covered by steppe vegetation increase from west to east and from lowlands to uplands. Despite their small size, kurgans act as biodiversity hotspots and harbour many red-listed plant species. High biodiversity is maintained by a pronounced fine-scale environmental heterogeneity provided by the special micro-topography of the kurgans. We found that landscape-level land use changes such as intensified agriculture and construction works are the major threatening factors for biodiversity of kurgans. Despite the vital role of kurgans in sustaining steppe vegetation, we identified serious knowledge gaps on their distribution, vegetation, flora and fauna and their potential role in steppe restoration. We conclude that these sacral places play a crucial role in preserving steppe vegetation, especially in intensively used agricultural landscapes in the western part of the steppe zone. They maintain ecosystem functions at the landscape-level by providing refugia for rare grassland specialist species and ensuring habitat connectivity in anthropogenic landscapes. Based on our results we suggest improving existing agri-environmental schemes which only focus on the

  7. Response of soil methane uptake to simulated nitrogen deposition and grazing management across three types of steppe in Inner Mongolia, China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Xianglan; He, Hong; Yuan, Wenping; Li, Linghao; Xu, Wenfang; Liu, Wei; Shi, Huiqiu; Hou, Longyu; Chen, Jiquan; Wang, Zhiping

    2018-01-15

    The response of soil methane (CH 4 ) uptake to increased nitrogen (N) deposition and grazing management was studied in three types of steppe (i.e., meadow steppe, typical steppe, and desert steppe) in Inner Mongolia, China. The experiment was designed with four simulated N deposition rates such as 0, 50, 100, and 200kgNha -1 , respectively, under grazed and fenced management treatments. Results showed that the investigated steppes were significant sinks for CH 4 , with an uptake flux of 1.12-3.36kgha -1 over the grass growing season and that the magnitude of CH 4 uptake significantly (Prates. The soil CH 4 uptake rates were highest in the desert steppe, moderate in the typical steppe, and lowest in the meadow steppe. Compared with grazed plots, fencing increased the CH 4 uptake by 4.7-40.2% with a mean value of 20.2% across the three different steppe types. The responses of soil CH 4 uptake to N deposition in the continental steppe varied depending on the N deposition rate, steppe type, and grazing management. A significantly positive correlation between CH 4 uptake and soil temperature was found in this study, whereas no significant relationship between soil moisture and CH 4 uptake occurred. Our results may contribute to the improvement of model parameterization for simulating biosphere-atmosphere CH 4 exchange processes and for evaluating the climate change feedback on CH 4 soil uptake. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  8. Water relations and photosynthetic performance in Larix sibirica growing in the forest-steppe ecotone of northern Mongolia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dulamsuren, Choimaa; Hauck, Markus; Bader, Martin; Osokhjargal, Dalaikhuu; Oyungerel, Shagjjav; Nyambayar, Suran; Runge, Michael; Leuschner, Christoph

    2009-01-01

    Shoot water relations were studied in Siberian larch (Larix sibirica Ledeb.) trees growing at the borderline between taiga and steppe in northern Mongolia. Larix sibirica is the main tree species in these forests covering 80% of Mongolia's forested area. Minimum shoot water potentials (Psi(m)) close to the point of zero turgor (Psi(0)) repeatedly recorded throughout the growing season suggest that the water relations in L. sibirica were often critical. The Psi(m) varied in close relation to the atmospheric vapor pressure deficit, whereas Psi(0) was correlated with monthly precipitation. Young larch trees growing at the forest line to the steppe were more susceptible to drought than mature trees at the same sites. Furthermore, isolated trees growing on the steppe exhibited lower Psi(m) and recovered to a lower degree from drought overnight than the trees at the forest line. Indications of drought stress in L. sibirica were obtained in two study areas in Mongolia's forest-steppe ecotone: one in the mountain taiga of the western Khentey in northernmost Mongolia, the other in the forest-steppe at the southern distribution limit of L. sibirica on Mt. Bogd Uul, southern Khentey. Larix sibirica growing in riverine taiga with contact to the groundwater table was better water-supplied than the larch trees growing at the forest line to the steppe. Larch trees from the interior of light taiga forests on north-facing slopes, however, exhibited more critical water relations than the trees at the forest line. Frequent drought stress in mature trees and even more in young larch trees at the forest-steppe borderline suggests that L. sibirica does not have the potential to encroach on the steppe under the present climate, except in a sequence of exceptionally moist and cool years. A regression of the present borderline between forest and steppe is likely to occur, as average temperatures are increasing everywhere and precipitation is decreasing regionally in Mongolia's taiga forest

  9. Protocols for sagebrush seed processing and seedling production at the Lucky Peak Nursery

    Science.gov (United States)

    Clark D. Fleege

    2010-01-01

    This paper presents the production protocols currently practiced at the USDA Forest Service Lucky Peak Nursery (Boise, ID) for seed processing and bareroot and container seedling production for three subspecies of big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata).

  10. Livestock-rangeland management practices and community perceptions towards rangeland degradation in South Omo zone of Southern Ethiopia

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Admasu, T.; Abule, E.; Tessema, Z.K.

    2010-01-01

    A survey was conducted in Hamer and Benna-Tsemay districts of the South Omo zone of Ethiopia, with the objectives of assessing the range-livestock management practices and perceptions of the different pastoral groups (Hamer, Benna, and Tsemay) towards rangeland degradation. This information is

  11. Fusing MODIS with Landsat 8 data to downscale weekly normalized difference vegetation index estimates for central Great Basin rangelands, USA

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boyte, Stephen; Wylie, Bruce K.; Rigge, Matthew B.; Dahal, Devendra

    2018-01-01

    Data fused from distinct but complementary satellite sensors mitigate tradeoffs that researchers make when selecting between spatial and temporal resolutions of remotely sensed data. We integrated data from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) sensor aboard the Terra satellite and the Operational Land Imager sensor aboard the Landsat 8 satellite into four regression-tree models and applied those data to a mapping application. This application produced downscaled maps that utilize the 30-m spatial resolution of Landsat in conjunction with daily acquisitions of MODIS normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) that are composited and temporally smoothed. We produced four weekly, atmospherically corrected, and nearly cloud-free, downscaled 30-m synthetic MODIS NDVI predictions (maps) built from these models. Model results were strong with R2 values ranging from 0.74 to 0.85. The correlation coefficients (r ≥ 0.89) were strong for all predictions when compared to corresponding original MODIS NDVI data. Downscaled products incorporated into independently developed sagebrush ecosystem models yielded mixed results. The visual quality of the downscaled 30-m synthetic MODIS NDVI predictions were remarkable when compared to the original 250-m MODIS NDVI. These 30-m maps improve knowledge of dynamic rangeland seasonal processes in the central Great Basin, United States, and provide land managers improved resource maps.

  12. Identification, Classification, Mapping of Model and Secondary Steppe Ecosystems Within the Orenburg-Kazakhstan Cross-Border Region

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yakovlev Ilya Gennadyevich

    2014-09-01

    Full Text Available The article deals with the current issues of modern steppe management in the Orenburg-Kazakhstan cross-border region. The authors use the data of their own field research over the period of 2009-2014 aimed at detection and classification of model and secondary steppe ecosystems in the region. For the last 6 years it has been revealed that some steppe and fallow lands have different squares. The detected lands are multiple-aged and differ according to their qualitative composition depending on aged-specific (time for completion of agricultural activity, soil-lithogenous and floristic features.The authors detected sites of anthropogenic influence on steppe ecosystems as well as the factors that have favorable affect on restoration of natural ecosystems. The article also reveals the centers of restoration of traditional steppe fauna within the Orenburg-Kazakhstan region and the distribution area of marmot, little bustard, bustard, saiga antelope. The authors carried out the comparative analysis of agro-ecological situation in the region for a few last years as well as over long period of time according to archival and polling data.

  13. Restoring Degraded Rangelands in Jordan: Optimizing Mechanized Micro-Water Harvesting Technique Using Rangeland Hydrology and Erosion Model (RHEM)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Continuous population growth, recent refugee movement and migration as well as boundary restrictions and their implications on the nomadic lifestyle are additive pressure on rangelands throughout the Middle East. In particular, overgrazing through increased livestock herds threatens the Jordanian ra...

  14. Rangeland Use Rights Privatisation Based on the Tragedy of the Commons: A Case Study from Tibet

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yonten Nyima Yundannima

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Rangeland use rights privatisation based on a tragedy of the commons assumption has been the backbone of state policy on rangeland management and pastoralism in China. Through an empirical case study from Pelgon county, Tibet Autonomous Region in China, this paper provides an empirical analysis of rangeland use rights privatisation. It shows that the tragedy of the commons is not the correct model to apply to Tibetan pastoralism because pasture use in Tibet has never been an open-access institution. Thus, when the tragedy of the commons model is applied as a rationale for rangeland use rights privatisation, the result is not what is intended by the policy, but rather a misfit to features of pastoralism and thus disruption of the essence of pastoralism, i.e. mobility and flexibility. The paper further shows that a hybrid institution combining household rangeland tenure with community-based use with user fees is a restoration of the pastoralist institution. This demonstrates the capacity of pastoralists to create adaptive new institutions congruent with the interdependent and integrated nature of pastoralism consisting of three components: pastoralists, livestock, and rangeland.

  15. Global view of remote sensing of rangelands: Evolution, applications, future pathways [Chapter 10

    Science.gov (United States)

    Matt Reeves; Robert A. Washington-Allen; Jay Angerer; E. Raymond Hunt; Ranjani Wasantha Kulawardhana; Lalit Kumar; Tatiana Loboda; Thomas Loveland; Graciela Metternicht; R. Douglas. Ramsey

    2015-01-01

    The term "rangeland" is rather nebulous, and there is no single definition of rangeland that is universally accepted by land managers, scientists, or international bodies (Lund, 2007; Reeves and Mitchell, 2011). Dozens and possibly hundreds (Lund, 2007) of definitions and ideologies exist because various stakeholders often have unique objectives...

  16. Resource analysis of the Chinese society 1980-2002 based on exergy-Part 4: Fishery and rangeland

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chen, B.; Chen, G.Q.

    2007-01-01

    This fourth part is the continuation of the third part on agricultural products. The major fishery and rangeland products entering the Chinese society from 1980 to 2002 are calculated and analyzed in detail in this paper. The aquatic production, mainly relying on freshwater and seawater breeding, Enhancement policy of fishery resources, including closed fishing season system, construction of artificial fish reefs and ecological fish breeding, etc., is discussed in detail. The degradation of the major rangeland areas, hay yields and intake rangeland resources by the livestock, are also described associated with the strategic adjustment and comprehensive program to protect rangeland resources during the study period

  17. Mountain big sagebrush age distribution and relationships on the northern Yellowstone Winter Range

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carl L. Wambolt; Trista L. Hoffman

    2001-01-01

    This study was conducted within the Gardiner Basin, an especially critical wintering area for native ungulates utilizing the Northern Yellowstone Winter Range. Mountain big sagebrush plants on 33 sites were classified as large (≥22 cm canopy cover), small (

  18. Application of the Rangeland Hydrology and Erosion Model to Ecological Site Descriptions and Management

    Science.gov (United States)

    The utility of Ecological Site Descriptions (ESDs) and State-and-Transition Models (STMs) concepts in guiding rangeland management hinges on their ability to accurately describe and predict community dynamics and the associated consequences. For many rangeland ecosystems, plant community dynamics ar...

  19. Birds of a Great Basin Sagebrush Habitat in East-Central Nevada

    OpenAIRE

    United States Department of Agriculture, Forest Service

    1992-01-01

    Breeding bird populations ranged from 3.35 to 3.48 individuals/ha over a 3-year study conducted from 1981 to 1983. Brewer's sparrows, sage sparrows, sage thrashers, and black-throated sparrows were numerically dominant. Horned larks and western meadowlarks were less common. Results are compared with bird populations in Great Basin sagebrush habitats elsewhere in the United States.

  20. Heat dosage and oviposition depth influence egg mortality of two common rangeland grasshopper species

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rangeland fire is a common naturally occurring event and management tool, with the amount and structure of biomass controlling transfer of heat belowground. Temperatures grasshopper eggs are exposed to during rangeland fires are mediated by species specific oviposition traits. This experiment examin...

  1. Bayesian estimation of shrubs diversity in rangelands under two management systems in northern Syria

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Niane, A.A.; Singh, M.; Struik, P.C.

    2014-01-01

    The diversity of shrubs in rangelands of northern Syria is affected by the grazing management systems restricted by the increase in human and livestock populations. To describe and estimate diversity and compare the rangeland grazing management treatments, two popular indices for diversity, the

  2. Grazing effects on ecosystem CO2 fluxes differ among temperate steppe types in Eurasia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hou, Longyu; Liu, Yan; Du, Jiancai; Wang, Mingya; Wang, Hui; Mao, Peisheng

    2016-07-01

    Grassland ecosystems play a critical role in regulating CO2 fluxes into and out of the Earth's surface. Whereas previous studies have often addressed single fluxes of CO2 separately, few have addressed the relation among and controls of multiple CO2 sub-fluxes simultaneously. In this study, we examined the relation among and controls of individual CO2 fluxes (i.e., GEP, NEP, SR, ER, CR) in three contrasting temperate steppes of north China, as affected by livestock grazing. Our findings show that climatic controls of the seasonal patterns in CO2 fluxes were both individual flux- and steppe type-specific, with significant grazing impacts observed for canopy respiration only. In contrast, climatic controls of the annual patterns were only individual flux-specific, with minor grazing impacts on the individual fluxes. Grazing significantly reduced the mean annual soil respiration rate in the typical and desert steppes, but significantly enhanced both soil and canopy respiration in the meadow steppe. Our study suggests that a reassessment of the role of livestock grazing in regulating GHG exchanges is imperative in future studies.

  3. A network of the steppe and forest steppe along the Prut and Lower Danube rivers during the 6th millennium BC

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Agathe Reingruber

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available The transition from a (predominantly mobile way of life relying on hunting, fishing and gathering to a (predominantly sedentary life-style based on farming and animal husbandry is considered in the western Pontic archaeological tradition almost exclusively from a southern, AegeanAnatolian perspective. Contacts between the steppe and forest steppe of the north-eastern Balkans and the north-western Pontic were seen as linear and unidirectional; ‘cultures’ were defined almost exclusively on the basis of pottery styles. Not only such traditional viewpoints, but also the political conditions of the 20th century further biased prehistoric research. However, the outer Carpathian region should not be treated as a periphery of the inner Carpathian Cris culture, but as a region of multidirectional exchange networks. Moreover, certain traditions are obviously rooted in the Mesolithic of that area.

  4. Invasive Plants on Rangelands: a Global Threat

    Science.gov (United States)

    Invasive plant species are spreading and invading rangelands at an unprecedented rate costing ranchers billions of dollars to control invasive plants each year. In its simplest form, the invasion process has four primary stages, including introduction, establishment, spread and colonization. Th...

  5. Management of Collective Rangelands in Rhamna (Morocco ...

    International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

    Management of Collective Rangelands in Rhamna (Morocco) ... reduce the pressure on natural resources and promote sustainable management. ... Project status ... IDRC congratulates first cohort of Women in Climate Change Science Fellows ... and adaptive water management: Innovative solutions from the Global South”.

  6. Modeling of the evolution of steppe chernozems and development of the method of pedogenetic chronology

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lisetskii, F.N.; Stolba, Vladimir; Goleusov, P.V.

    2016-01-01

    Geoarchaeological methods were used to study chronosequences of surface soils in the steppe zone and to trace soil evolution during the Late Holocene in northwestern Crimea. It was found that the morphological and functional “maturity” of the humus horizons in steppe chernozems of the Late Holocene...

  7. Integrating the Indigenous Knowledge of Borana Pastoralists into Rangeland Management Strategies in Southern Ethiopia

    OpenAIRE

    World Bank

    2005-01-01

    Pastoralists' indigenous knowledge (IK) about ecology and social organization led to rangeland-management strategies appropriate to deal with the erratic rainfall in African drylands. Herd mobility was traditionally practiced as the key strategy to make use of the scattered rangeland resources on a large scale.

  8. Big sagebrush in pinyon-juniper woodlands: Using forest inventory and analysis data as a management tool for quantifying and monitoring mule deer habitat

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chris Witt; Paul L. Patterson

    2011-01-01

    We used Interior West Forest Inventory and Analysis (IW-FIA) data to identify conditions where pinyon-juniper woodlands provide security cover, thermal cover, and suitable amounts of big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata spp.) forage to mule deer in Utah. Roughly one quarter of Utah's pinyon-juniper woodlands had a big sagebrush component in their understory....

  9. Botanical Criteria of Baharkish Rangeland in Quchan, Khorasan ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    ADOWIE PERE

    University of Mashhad International Campus, Mashhad, I.R of IRAN ... ABSTRACT: Rangelands are natural ecosystems containing a range of resources of genetic ..... Ecology of world vegetation. .... Science Journal of Islamic Azad University,.

  10. Agricultural, Runoff, Erosion and Salinity (ARES) Database to Better Evaluate Rangeland State and Sustainability

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rangelands comprise approximately 40% of the earth’s surface and are the largest land cover type in the world. Degradation from mismanagement, desertification, and drought impact more than 50% of rangelands across the globe. The USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS) has been evaluating means of r...

  11. Rangeland resource trends in the United States: A technical document supporting the 2000 USDA Forest Service RPA Assessment

    Science.gov (United States)

    John E. Mitchell

    2000-01-01

    This report documents trends in America's rangelands as required by the Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974. The Forest Service has conducted assessments of the rangeland situation for 30 years. Over this period, rangeland values and uses have gradually shifted from concentrating upon forage production and meeting increasing demand for red meat to a more...

  12. Rehabilitation of community-owned, mixed-use rangelands: Lessons from the Ewaso ecosystem in Kenya

    Science.gov (United States)

    Globally, 10-20% of arid and semi-arid rangelands have been classified as severely degraded (UNCCD 1994; MEA 2005), and in sub-Saharan Africa specifically, 70% of rangelands are considered moderately to severely degraded (Dregne 1992; UNCCD 1994). Given that these drylands make up 43% of Africa’s la...

  13. Recovery of rangelands : the functioning of soil seed banks in a semi-arid African savanna

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Tessema, Z.K.

    2011-01-01

    Rangelands in Africa provide important forage resources for herbivores; particularly perennial grasses provide grazing for domestic and wild herbivores. However, semi-arid African rangelands experience severe vegetation and soil degradation due to heavy grazing, causing negative impacts

  14. Opportunities and obstacles for rangeland conservation in San Diego County, California, USA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kathleen A. Farley

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available Working landscapes such as rangelands are increasingly recognized as having high conservation value, providing a variety of ecosystem services, including food, fiber, habitat, recreation, open space, carbon storage, and water, in addition to a broad range of social benefits. However, conversion of rangelands to other land uses has been prevalent throughout the western United States, leading to greater attention in the conservation community to the importance of collaborating with private landowners. The level of interest in collaborative conservation among private landowners and the types of conservation programs they choose to participate in depend on the social, economic, and environmental context. We used GIS analysis and interviews with ranchers to evaluate rangeland conversion and participation in conservation programs among ranchers in San Diego County, California, USA, which is part of a biodiversity hotspot with high plant species richness and a large number of endemic and rare species. We found that > 25% of rangelands were converted to other uses, primarily urbanization, over the past 25 years while the area of public rangeland increased by 9%. Interviews revealed that ranchers in San Diego County have had limited involvement with most conservation programs, and a critical factor for nonparticipation was providing programs access to private land, along with other issues related to trust and social values. Among ranchers who had participated in conservation programs, the payment level and the agency or organization administering the program were key factors. Our results provide insight into factors influencing whether and when ranchers are likely to participate in conservation initiatives and illustrate that private and public land conservation are strongly linked and would be more effective if the two strategies were better integrated.

  15. Surface Runoff and Snowmelt Infiltration into the Soil on Plowlands in the Forest-Steppe and Steppe Zones of the East European Plain

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barabanov, A. T.; Dolgov, S. V.; Koronkevich, N. I.; Panov, V. I.; Petel'ko, A. I.

    2018-01-01

    Long-term series of observations over the spring water balance elements on fields with hydrologically contrasting agricultural backgrounds―a loose soil after fall moldboard plowing and a plowland compacted by 12-16% compared to the former soil (perennial grasses, winter crops, stubble)―have been analyzed. The values of surface runoff and water infiltration into the soil in the steppe and forest-steppe zones of European Russia have been calculated for the spring (flooding) period and the entire cold season. The hydrological role of fall plowing has been shown, and water balance elements for the current (1981-2016) and preceding (1957-1980) periods have been compared. A significant decrease in runoff and an increase of water reserve in the soil have been revealed on all plowland types. Consequences of changes in the spring water balance on plowland have been analyzed.

  16. Short-term regeneration dynamics of Wyoming big sagebrush at two sites in northern Utah

    Science.gov (United States)

    The herbicide tebuthiuron has been used historically to control cover of Wyoming big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata ssp. wyomingensis - complete taxonomic designation), a widespread shrub across the western United States, with the intent of increasing herbaceous plant cover. Although the tebuthiur...

  17. Attempting to restore mountain big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata ssp. vaseyana) four years after fire

    Science.gov (United States)

    Restoration of shrubs is increasingly needed throughout the world because of altered fire regimes, anthropogenic disturbance, and over-utilization. The native shrub mountain big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata Nutt. ssp. vaseyana (Rydb.) Beetle) is a restoration priority in western North America be...

  18. Variation in sagebrush communities historically seeded with crested wheatgrass in the eastern great basin

    Science.gov (United States)

    Although crested wheatgrass (CWG; Agropyron cristatum [L.] Gaertn.) has been one of the most commonly seeded exotic species in the western United States, long-term successional trajectories of seeded sites are poorly characterized, especially for big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentana Nutt.) ecosystems...

  19. Effects of Prescribed Burning on Grazed Shortgrass Steppe

    Science.gov (United States)

    Over the past century, fire has been widely suppressed in the western Great Plains, in part due to potential negative effects on forage production for livestock. Interest in the use of prescribed fire in shortgrass steppe has increased recently due to applications for wildlife management, control of...

  20. Changing Climate and Overgrazing Are Decimating Mongolian Steppes

    KAUST Repository

    Liu, Yi Y.; Evans, Jason P.; McCabe, Matthew; de Jeu, Richard A. M.; van Dijk, Albert I. J. M.; Dolman, Albertus J.; Saizen, Izuru

    2013-01-01

    Satellite observations identify the Mongolian steppes as a hotspot of global biomass reduction, the extent of which is comparable with tropical rainforest deforestation. To conserve or restore these grasslands, the relative contributions of climate and human activities to degradation need to be understood. Here we use a recently developed 21-year (1988-2008) record of satellite based vegetation optical depth (VOD, a proxy for vegetation water content and aboveground biomass), to show that nearly all steppe grasslands in Mongolia experienced significant decreases in VOD. Approximately 60% of the VOD declines can be directly explained by variations in rainfall and surface temperature. After removing these climate induced influences, a significant decreasing trend still persists in the VOD residuals across regions of Mongolia. Correlations in spatial patterns and temporal trends suggest that a marked increase in goat density with associated grazing pressures and wild fires are the most likely non-climatic factors behind grassland degradation. © 2013 Liu et al.

  1. Changing climate and overgrazing are decimating Mongolian steppes.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yi Y Liu

    Full Text Available Satellite observations identify the Mongolian steppes as a hotspot of global biomass reduction, the extent of which is comparable with tropical rainforest deforestation. To conserve or restore these grasslands, the relative contributions of climate and human activities to degradation need to be understood. Here we use a recently developed 21-year (1988-2008 record of satellite based vegetation optical depth (VOD, a proxy for vegetation water content and aboveground biomass, to show that nearly all steppe grasslands in Mongolia experienced significant decreases in VOD. Approximately 60% of the VOD declines can be directly explained by variations in rainfall and surface temperature. After removing these climate induced influences, a significant decreasing trend still persists in the VOD residuals across regions of Mongolia. Correlations in spatial patterns and temporal trends suggest that a marked increase in goat density with associated grazing pressures and wild fires are the most likely non-climatic factors behind grassland degradation.

  2. Changing Climate and Overgrazing Are Decimating Mongolian Steppes

    KAUST Repository

    Liu, Yi Y.

    2013-02-25

    Satellite observations identify the Mongolian steppes as a hotspot of global biomass reduction, the extent of which is comparable with tropical rainforest deforestation. To conserve or restore these grasslands, the relative contributions of climate and human activities to degradation need to be understood. Here we use a recently developed 21-year (1988-2008) record of satellite based vegetation optical depth (VOD, a proxy for vegetation water content and aboveground biomass), to show that nearly all steppe grasslands in Mongolia experienced significant decreases in VOD. Approximately 60% of the VOD declines can be directly explained by variations in rainfall and surface temperature. After removing these climate induced influences, a significant decreasing trend still persists in the VOD residuals across regions of Mongolia. Correlations in spatial patterns and temporal trends suggest that a marked increase in goat density with associated grazing pressures and wild fires are the most likely non-climatic factors behind grassland degradation. © 2013 Liu et al.

  3. Possibility of Morphometrical Determining of Sex of Steppe Eagle Nestlings from Western and Eastern Populations?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Igor V. Karyakin

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available Sexual dimorphism among nestlings of the Steppe Eagle (Aquila nipalensis is poorly manifested. Thus, determining of sex by morphometric methods encountered many difficulties and could be completed only by the most experienced ornithologists who knows the species very well. This article presents a morphometric method for determining sex of nestlings of the Steppe Eagles from different breeding populations that belongs to different size classes. The method is based on classification formula obtained via linear discriminant analysis conducted for the data set of measurements of Steppe Eagle’s nestlings from Central Kazakhstan and Altai Republic in 2017. To control the sex determination of nestlings a molecular-genetics method was used.

  4. Detection of damaged areas caused by the oil extraction in a steppe region using winter landsat imagery

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mjachina, Ksenya; Hu, Zhiyong; Chibilyev, Alexander

    2018-01-01

    Oil production in a steppe region disturbs the landscape and damages the steppe ecosystem. The objective of this research was to detect areas damaged by oil production in an oil field within the Russian Volga-Ural steppe region using winter Landsat imagery. We developed a practicable and effective approach using winter snow season multispectral Landsat satellite imagery. To this end, we applied seven algorithms of spectral or texture-based transformation: K-means, maximum likelihood estimation, topsoil grain size index, soil brightness, normalized differential snow index, tasselled cap, and co-occurrence measures. The co-occurrence texture measure variance shows the optimal result of identifying damaged areas. The unique feature of our method is that it can differentiate damaged areas from the bare soil of cropland within a cold steppe region where the area damaged by oil production is mixed with bare (fallow) croplands that have a polygonal shape similar to well pads. Such similarities can lead to confusion in object-based classification. Using the co-occurrence measures, we found that from 1988 to 2015, damaged area is nearly three times as big in the peak period of the oil field development (2001 and 2009) as in 1988. Landscape fragmentation also peaked in 2001 and 2009. Our approach for this project is useful and cost effective regular monitoring of damages from oil production for both the Volga-Ural steppe region and other cold steppe regions.

  5. Seasonal soil CO2 flux under big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata Nutt.)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Michael C. Amacher; Cheryl L. Mackowiak

    2011-01-01

    Soil respiration is a major contributor to atmospheric CO2, but accurate landscape-scale estimates of soil CO2 flux for many ecosystems including shrublands have yet to be established. We began a project to measure, with high spatial and temporal resolution, soil CO2 flux in a stand (11 x 25 m area) of big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata Nutt.) at the Logan, Utah,...

  6. Comparison of LANDSAT-2 and field spectrometer reflectance signatures of south Texas rangeland plant communities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Richardson, A. J.; Escobar, D. E.; Gausman, H. W.; Everitt, J. H. (Principal Investigator)

    1982-01-01

    The accuracy was assessed for an atmospheric correction method that depends on clear water bodies to infer solar and atmospheric parameters for radiative transfer equations by measuring the reflectance signature of four prominent south Texas rangeland plants with the LANDSAT satellite multispectral scanner (MSS) and a ground based spectroradiometer. The rangeland plant reflectances produced by the two sensors were correlated with no significant deviation of the slope from unity or of the intercept from zero. These results indicated that the atmospheric correction produced LANDSAT MSS estimates of rangeland plant reflectances that are as accurate as the ground based spectroradiometer.

  7. Ancestry and demography and descendants of Iron Age nomads of the Eurasian Steppe

    Science.gov (United States)

    Unterländer, Martina; Palstra, Friso; Lazaridis, Iosif; Pilipenko, Aleksandr; Hofmanová, Zuzana; Groß, Melanie; Sell, Christian; Blöcher, Jens; Kirsanow, Karola; Rohland, Nadin; Rieger, Benjamin; Kaiser, Elke; Schier, Wolfram; Pozdniakov, Dimitri; Khokhlov, Aleksandr; Georges, Myriam; Wilde, Sandra; Powell, Adam; Heyer, Evelyne; Currat, Mathias; Reich, David; Samashev, Zainolla; Parzinger, Hermann; Molodin, Vyacheslav I.; Burger, Joachim

    2017-03-01

    During the 1st millennium before the Common Era (BCE), nomadic tribes associated with the Iron Age Scythian culture spread over the Eurasian Steppe, covering a territory of more than 3,500 km in breadth. To understand the demographic processes behind the spread of the Scythian culture, we analysed genomic data from eight individuals and a mitochondrial dataset of 96 individuals originating in eastern and western parts of the Eurasian Steppe. Genomic inference reveals that Scythians in the east and the west of the steppe zone can best be described as a mixture of Yamnaya-related ancestry and an East Asian component. Demographic modelling suggests independent origins for eastern and western groups with ongoing gene-flow between them, plausibly explaining the striking uniformity of their material culture. We also find evidence that significant gene-flow from east to west Eurasia must have occurred early during the Iron Age.

  8. Vegetation restoration on degraded rangelands through the use of microcatchment and brush packs in the communal areas of the Eastern Cape

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    Lesoli, MS

    2010-07-01

    Full Text Available Rangeland degradation results in declining functional capacity, increased poverty, and food insecurity. Major changes in rangeland surface morphology and soil characteristics have a drastic effect on the primary productivity of the rangeland...

  9. Effects of climate change on rangeland vegetation in the Northern Rockies Region [Chapter 7

    Science.gov (United States)

    Matt C. Reeves; Mary E. Manning; Jeff P. DiBenedetto; Kyle A. Palmquist; William K. Lauenroth; John B. Bradford; Daniel R. Schlaepfer

    2018-01-01

    Rangelands are dominated by grass, forb, or shrub species, but are usually not modified by using agronomic improvements such as fertilization or irrigation (Lund 2007; Reeves and Mitchell 2011) as these lands would normally be considered pastures. Rangeland includes grassland, shrubland, and desert ecosystems, alpine areas, and some woodlands (box 7.1). This chapter...

  10. Contrasting watershed-scale trends in runoff and sediment yield complicate rangeland water resources planning

    Science.gov (United States)

    Berg, Matthew D.; Marcantonio, Franco; Allison, Mead A.; McAlister, Jason; Wilcox, Bradford P.; Fox, William E.

    2016-06-01

    Rangelands cover a large portion of the earth's land surface and are undergoing dramatic landscape changes. At the same time, these ecosystems face increasing expectations to meet growing water supply needs. To address major gaps in our understanding of rangeland hydrologic function, we investigated historical watershed-scale runoff and sediment yield in a dynamic landscape in central Texas, USA. We quantified the relationship between precipitation and runoff and analyzed reservoir sediment cores dated using cesium-137 and lead-210 radioisotopes. Local rainfall and streamflow showed no directional trend over a period of 85 years, resulting in a rainfall-runoff ratio that has been resilient to watershed changes. Reservoir sedimentation rates generally were higher before 1963, but have been much lower and very stable since that time. Our findings suggest that (1) rangeland water yields may be stable over long periods despite dramatic landscape changes while (2) these same landscape changes influence sediment yields that impact downstream reservoir storage. Relying on rangelands to meet water needs demands an understanding of how these dynamic landscapes function and a quantification of the physical processes at work.

  11. Soil water repellency and ground cover effects on infiltration in response to prescribed burning of steeply-sloped sagebrush hillslopes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rangeland managers and scientists are in need of predictive tools to accurately simulate post-fire hydrologic responses and provide hydrologic risk assessment. Rangeland hydrologic modeling has advanced in recent years; however, model advancements have largely been associated with data from gently ...

  12. Hydrologic ramifications of an increased role of wildland fire across the rangeland-dry forest continuum

    Science.gov (United States)

    The increased role of wildland fire across the rangeland-dry forest continuum in the western United States (US) presents landscape-scale consequences relative runoff and erosion. Much of the Intermountain West now exists in a state in which rangeland and woodland wildfires stimulated by invasive che...

  13. Seasonal food habits of swift fox (Vulpes velox) in cropland and rangeland landscapes in western Kansas

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sovada, M.A.; Roy, C.C.; Telesco, D.J.

    2001-01-01

    Food habits of swift foxes (Vulpes velox) occupying two distinct landscapes (dominated by cropland versus rangeland) in western Kansas were determined by analysis of scats collected in 1993 and 1996. Frequencies of occurrence of prey items in scats were compared between cropland and rangeland areas by season. Overall, the most frequently occurring foods of swift foxes were mammals (92% of all scats) and arthropods (87%), followed by birds (24%), carrion (23%), plants (15%) and reptiles (4%). No differences were detected between landscapes for occurrence of mammals, arthropods or carrion in any season (P ≥ 0.100). Plants, specifically commercial sunflower seeds, were consumed more frequently in cropland than in rangeland in spring (P = 0.004) and fall (P = 0.001). Birds were more common in the swift fox diet in cropland than in rangeland during the fall (P = 0.008), whereas reptiles occurred more frequently in the diet in rangeland than in cropland during spring (P = 0.042). Variation in the diet of the swift fox between areas was most likely due to its opportunistic foraging behavior, resulting in a diet that closely links prey use with availability.

  14. Reorienting land degradation towards sustainable land management: linking sustainable livelihoods with ecosystem services in rangeland systems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reed, M S; Stringer, L C; Dougill, A J; Perkins, J S; Atlhopheng, J R; Mulale, K; Favretto, N

    2015-03-15

    This paper identifies new ways of moving from land degradation towards sustainable land management through the development of economic mechanisms. It identifies new mechanisms to tackle land degradation based on retaining critical levels of natural capital whilst basing livelihoods on a wider range of ecosystem services. This is achieved through a case study analysis of the Kalahari rangelands in southwest Botswana. The paper first describes the socio-economic and ecological characteristics of the Kalahari rangelands and the types of land degradation taking place. It then focuses on bush encroachment as a way of exploring new economic instruments (e.g. Payments for Ecosystem Services) designed to enhance the flow of ecosystem services that support livelihoods in rangeland systems. It does this by evaluating the likely impacts of bush encroachment, one of the key forms of rangeland degradation, on a range of ecosystem services in three land tenure types (private fenced ranches, communal grazing areas and Wildlife Management Areas), before considering options for more sustainable land management in these systems. We argue that with adequate policy support, economic mechanisms could help reorient degraded rangelands towards more sustainable land management. Copyright © 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

  15. A comparison of the effects of different rangeland management ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    A comparison of the effects of different rangeland management systems on ... Three management systems exploit these areas: commercial livestock ranching, communal livestock ranching and game ranching. ... AJOL African Journals Online.

  16. Tapping soil survey information for rapid assessment of sagebrush ecosystem resilience and resistance

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jeremy D. Maestas; Steven B. Campbell; Jeanne C. Chambers; Mike Pellant; Richard F. Miller

    2016-01-01

    A new ecologically-based approach to risk abatement has emerged that can aid land managers in grappling with escalating impacts of large-scale wildfire and invasive annual grasses in sagebrush ecosystems, particularly in the Great Basin. Specifically, ecosystem resilience and resistance (R&R) concepts have been more fully operationalized from regional...

  17. Uptake and kinetics of 226Ra, 210Pb and 210Po in big sagebrush

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Simon, S.L.

    1985-01-01

    Root uptake of 226 Ra, 210 Pb and 210 Po by mature sagebrush was studied using a soil injection method for spiking the soil with minimal root disturbance. The main objective was to measure vegetation concentrations and determine concentration ratios (CR's) due to root uptake as a function of time in mature big sagebrush. Concentration ratios obtained in mature vegetation and in steady-state situations may be valuable in assessing the impact of uranium mining and milling. The vegetation was sampled approximately every 3 months for a 2 year period. Significant levels of activity were detected in the vegetation beginning at the first sampling (81 days after soil injection for 226 Ra, 28 days for 210 Pb and 210 Po). There was an exponential decrease in concentration to an apparent steady-state value. Mean values (geometric) of the data pooled over the second year period indicated that the steady-state CR's for 226 Ra, 210 Pb and 210 Po, as determined in mature sagebrush, were 0.04, 0.009, and 0.08, respectively. A three compartment mathematical model was formulated to help understand mechanisms of plant uptake and to predict, if possible, the concentration of 226 Ra, 210 Pb and 210 Po in vegetation as a function of time after soil spiking. A numerical solution was determined by 'calibrating' the general model solution with constants determined from regressions of concentrations in vegetation, soil leaching and leaf leaching data. Validation of the model is currently not possible because of an absence of similar time-dependent uptake studies. 168 refs., 19 figs., 18 tabs

  18. Spatial variability in cost and success of revegetation in a Wyoming big sagebrush community.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boyd, Chad S; Davies, Kirk W

    2012-09-01

    The ecological integrity of the Wyoming big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata Nutt. ssp. wyomingensis Beetle and A. Young) alliance is being severely interrupted by post-fire invasion of non-native annual grasses. To curtail this invasion, successful post-fire revegetation of perennial grasses is required. Environmental factors impacting post-fire restoration success vary across space within the Wyoming big sagebrush alliance; however, most restorative management practices are applied uniformly. Our objectives were to define probability of revegetation success over space using relevant soil-related environmental factors, use this information to model cost of successful revegetation and compare the importance of vegetation competition and soil factors to revegetation success. We studied a burned Wyoming big sagebrush landscape in southeast Oregon that was reseeded with perennial grasses. We collected soil and vegetation data at plots spaced at 30 m intervals along a 1.5 km transect in the first two years post-burn. Plots were classified as successful (>5 seedlings/m(2)) or unsuccessful based on density of seeded species. Using logistic regression we found that abundance of competing vegetation correctly predicted revegetation success on 51 % of plots, and soil-related variables correctly predicted revegetation performance on 82.4 % of plots. Revegetation estimates varied from $167.06 to $43,033.94/ha across the 1.5 km transect based on probability of success, but were more homogenous at larger scales. Our experimental protocol provides managers with a technique to identify important environmental drivers of restoration success and this process will be of value for spatially allocating logistical and capital expenditures in a variable restoration environment.

  19. DEVELOPMENTS IN MONITORING RANGELANDS USING REMOTELY-SENSED CROSS-FENCE COMPARISONS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. D. Kilpatrick

    2012-07-01

    Full Text Available This paper presents a new method for the use of earth-observation images to assess relative land condition over broad regions, using a cross-fence comparison methodology. It controls for natural spatial and temporal variables (e.g. rainfall, temperature soils, ecosystem so that we can objectively monitor rangelands and other areas for the effects of management. The method has been tested with small and large scale theoretical models, as well as a case study in South Australian rangelands. This method can also be applied in other systems and experiments such as field trials of crop varieties as a robust spatial statistic.

  20. Steppe bison paleobiology through the scope of stable isotopes and zooarchaeology

    Science.gov (United States)

    Julien, Marie-Anne; Dorothée, Drucker; Hervé, Bocherens; Ariane, Burke; Marylène, Patou-Mathis; Alexandra, Krotova

    2010-05-01

    Bison are one of the most abundant and widely distributed species of large mammal during the Late Pleistocene. In the southern steppes of Eastern Europe, steppe bison (Bison priscus) is ubiquitous in zooarchaeological assemblages, particularly during the Upper Palaeolithic when a model of economic "specialization" is proposed. Specialization, in this context, implies the deliberate selection of a preferred species, which becomes the key food resource. The applicability of a specialised hunting model for the Upper Palaeolithic of Europe has recently been challenged, however (Grayson & Delpech 2002). In this research, therefore we re-examine bison acquisition strategies during the Upper Palaeolithic in the Ukrainian steppes in the light of biogeochemical and zooarchaeological data. The acquisition strategies used to procure a prey species are directly related to its social and spatial behaviour. A synthesis of ethological information for contemporary bison (Julien 2009) demonstrates the behavioural diversity of this taxa, linked mainly to local environmental variability, climatic conditions and population density. It is therefore necessary to propose a paleoethological model for the steppe bison before attempting to identify the acquisition strategies used by prehistoric hunters. In this research, we reconstruct the behaviour of the steppe bison using a combination of zooarchaeological tools, stable isotope analysis (intra-tooth isotope variation of carbon, oxygen and strontium ratios) and traditional paleobiological approaches. The advantages of using a combined approach are demonstrated through the examination of a case study: the site of Amvrosievka (Ukraine). Amvrosievka is a complex of Epigravettian sites composed of a camp and kill site, where more than 500 bison are represented (Krotova & Belan 1993). Twenty-five permanent lower teeth (M3) representing twenty-five individual bison were selected from the kill and camp site for isotopic analysis. Intra- and

  1. Assessing Rangeland Attributes On Semi-Arid Zone Of North Darfur State Sudan

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mohamed Almontasir A. M. Mohamed

    2015-08-01

    Full Text Available Abstract The study was conducted over a two years period of 2012 and 2013 at three sites of Alfashir locality Ummarahik 25km north of Alfashir Fashar in eastern part of Alfashir about 5km and Berka 30km west of Alfashir Western Sudan in semi-arid zone. The aim of this study was to assess rangeland attributes. Measurements of plant density vegetation cover range production and carrying capacity were assessed. Results showed that total forage production was low and inadequate to satisfy requirements of livestock for inhabiting the area average range production all over the area was found to be 50.68 kgha and 59.21 kgha for the seasons 2012 and 2013 respectively. The average ground cover was about 34.71 and 42.41 for two seasons. The average plant density for the first season was 27.1 plantm2 while the average plant density for the second season was 29.4 plantm2. The study concluded that unwise utilization and exploitation of the rangelands particularly by man causes range deterioration and serious reduction in range production in both quantity and quality so the study suggested that improvement and rehabilitation such lands rangelands should be done. Further research work is needed to assess rangeland attributes across different ecological zones in North Darfur State.

  2. China's Rangelands under Stress : A comparative study of pasture commons in the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Ho, P.P.S.

    2000-01-01

    China's economic reforms have exacerbated the problems of over-grazing and desertification in the country's pastoral areas. In order to deal with rangeland degradation, the Chinese government has resorted to nationalization, or semi-privatization. Since the implementation of rangeland policy has

  3. Forests, rangelands and climate change in Southern Africa

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    Naidoo, Sasha

    2013-09-01

    Full Text Available This paper provides an analysis of the implications of climate change for forests and rangelands in southern Africa. The extent of the resources and their economic and social functions and drivers of change is outlined. The vulnerability...

  4. The challenge of integrated rangeland monitoring: synthesis address

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The utility of monitoring and its guiding principles will only work effectively where good environmental governance is practiced by users and producers affecting rangeland ecosystems. Keywords: adaptive management, complex, environmental governance, human impacts, multi-scale, socio-ecological. African Journal of ...

  5. On the issue of taxonomical status of steppe viper (Vipera renardi in Right-bank Ukraine

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. L. Baybuz

    2011-07-01

    Full Text Available Data on morphologic variability of the steppe viper in the Kirovograd region (Right-bank Ukraine are given firstly. Tentative estimation of the similaritylevel of the local population and the populations from the Left-bank Ukraine and the Crimea was carried out using methods of the multivariate statistics. Morphological data in line with the results of mitochondrial DNA analysis show that the population in the Kirovograd region belongs to widespread Eurasian species Vipera renardiand morphologically most close to the original populations of the lowland Crimea, Sivash and Forest-Steppe of the Left-bank Ukraine. This could indicate the complicated history of the Right-bank Ukraine colonization by the steppe viper and possible influence of environmental conditions on the vipers’ morphology

  6. Meta-STEPP: subpopulation treatment effect pattern plot for individual patient data meta-analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Xin Victoria; Cole, Bernard; Bonetti, Marco; Gelber, Richard D

    2016-09-20

    We have developed a method, called Meta-STEPP (subpopulation treatment effect pattern plot for meta-analysis), to explore treatment effect heterogeneity across covariate values in the meta-analysis setting for time-to-event data when the covariate of interest is continuous. Meta-STEPP forms overlapping subpopulations from individual patient data containing similar numbers of events with increasing covariate values, estimates subpopulation treatment effects using standard fixed-effects meta-analysis methodology, displays the estimated subpopulation treatment effect as a function of the covariate values, and provides a statistical test to detect possibly complex treatment-covariate interactions. Simulation studies show that this test has adequate type-I error rate recovery as well as power when reasonable window sizes are chosen. When applied to eight breast cancer trials, Meta-STEPP suggests that chemotherapy is less effective for tumors with high estrogen receptor expression compared with those with low expression. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  7. Effect of management on rangeland phytomass, cover and condition ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    similarity of management effects on rangeland condition and forage provision across major dryland biomes. Taking a macro-ecological perspective, we analysed if management effects differed between South Africa's central grassland and ...

  8. Magnetic Soils Profiles in the Volga-Kama Forest-Steppe Region

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    L.A. Fattakhova

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available The magnetic properties of virgin forest-steppe soils developed on the originally vertically uniform unconsolidated parent material have been investigated. The profile samples of virgin dark-grey forest light-clayey soil derived from a siltstone of the Kazan layer of the Upper Permian and virgin leached medium-thick fertile light-clayey chernozem derived from a Quaternary heavy deluvial loam have been considered. Both soils are characterized by the accumulative type of magnetic susceptibility and F-factor values distribution patterns with depth. In the humus part of the soil profile, magnetics are present pre-dominantly in the < 2.5 µm fraction. The coercivity spectra allowed to determine the contribution of dia-/paramagnetic and ferromagnetic components to magnetic susceptibility. It has been found that magnetic susceptibility enhancement in the organogenic horizons of virgin forest-steppe soils occurs due to the contribution of ferromagnetic components. The results indicate a strong positive linear correlation between the magnetic susceptibility and oxalate-extractable Fe, as well as between the magnetic susceptibility and Schwertmann’s criterion values. Using the method of thermomagnetic analysis of the < 2.5 µm fraction, it has been found that the magnetic susceptibility enhancement in the profiles of forest-steppe soils took place due to the formation of maghemite-magnetite associations. The predominantly ferromagnetic fraction consists of small single-domain grains.

  9. Transcending Landscapes: Working Across Scales and Levels in Pastoralist Rangeland Governance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Robinson, Lance W; Ontiri, Enoch; Alemu, Tsegaye; Moiko, Stephen S

    2017-08-01

    Landscape approaches can be subjected to mistakenly targeting a single "best" level of governance, and paying too little attention to the role that cross-scale and cross-level interactions play in governance. In rangeland settings, resources, patterns of use of those resources, and the institutions for managing the resources exist at multiple levels and scales. While the scholarship on commons offers some guidance on how to conceptualize governance in rangeland landscapes, some elements of commons scholarship-notably the "design principles" for effective governance of commons-do not seem to apply neatly to governance in pastoralist rangeland settings. This paper examines three cases where attempts have been made to foster effective landscape governance in such settings to consider how the materiality of commons influences the nature of cross-scale and cross-level interactions, and how these interactions affect governance. In all three cases, although external actors seemed to work appropriately and effectively at community and landscape levels, landscape governance mechanisms have been facing great challenges arising from relationships beyond the landscape, both vertically to higher levels of decision-making and horizontally to communities normally residing in other landscapes. The cases demonstrate that fostering effective landscape-level governance cannot be accomplished only through action at the landscape level; it is a task that must be pursued at multiple levels and in relation to the connections across scales and levels. The paper suggests elements of a conceptual framework for understanding cross-level and cross-scale elements of landscape governance, and offers suggestions for governance design in pastoralist rangeland settings.

  10. Transcending Landscapes: Working Across Scales and Levels in Pastoralist Rangeland Governance

    Science.gov (United States)

    Robinson, Lance W.; Ontiri, Enoch; Alemu, Tsegaye; Moiko, Stephen S.

    2017-08-01

    Landscape approaches can be subjected to mistakenly targeting a single "best" level of governance, and paying too little attention to the role that cross-scale and cross-level interactions play in governance. In rangeland settings, resources, patterns of use of those resources, and the institutions for managing the resources exist at multiple levels and scales. While the scholarship on commons offers some guidance on how to conceptualize governance in rangeland landscapes, some elements of commons scholarship—notably the "design principles" for effective governance of commons—do not seem to apply neatly to governance in pastoralist rangeland settings. This paper examines three cases where attempts have been made to foster effective landscape governance in such settings to consider how the materiality of commons influences the nature of cross-scale and cross-level interactions, and how these interactions affect governance. In all three cases, although external actors seemed to work appropriately and effectively at community and landscape levels, landscape governance mechanisms have been facing great challenges arising from relationships beyond the landscape, both vertically to higher levels of decision-making and horizontally to communities normally residing in other landscapes. The cases demonstrate that fostering effective landscape-level governance cannot be accomplished only through action at the landscape level; it is a task that must be pursued at multiple levels and in relation to the connections across scales and levels. The paper suggests elements of a conceptual framework for understanding cross-level and cross-scale elements of landscape governance, and offers suggestions for governance design in pastoralist rangeland settings.

  11. Dating simple flakes: Early Bronze Age flake production technology on the Middle Euphrates Steppe, Syria

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yoshihiro Nishiaki

    2014-03-01

    Full Text Available Aceramic flint scatters, comprising very crude cores or flakes and no formalised tools, are frequently found on the Middle Euphrates steppe of northern Syria. Previous studies suggest that many of them are residues of short-term activities by the nomads or shepherds of the Early Bronze Age. In order to verify this interpretation, a more precise chronological framework needs to be established for the Early Bronze Age lithic industry. This paper analyses stratified flake assemblages of the Early Bronze Age at Tell Ghanem al-Ali, a securely radiocarbon-dated settlement on the Middle Euphrates, and examines which occupation level yields assemblages most similar to those of the steppe. Results demonstrate that the lithic industry of this period underwent significant diachronic changes in terms of core reduction technology. Based on the chronological framework developed at Tell Ghanem al-Ali, the steppe assemblages in question can be assigned to different phases of the Early Bronze Age. This finding will help identify processes at the beginning of the extensive exploitation of the steppe, which is regarded as one of the most important socioeconomic changes that occurred among Early Bronze Age communities of the Middle Euphrates.

  12. Using resistance and resilience concepts to reduce impacts of annual grasses and altered fire regimes on the sagebrush ecosystem and sage-grouse- A strategic multi-scale approach

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chambers, Jeanne C.; Pyke, David A.; Maestas, Jeremy D.; Boyd, Chad S.; Campbell, Steve; Espinosa, Shawn; Havlina, Doug; Mayer, Kenneth F.; Wuenschel, Amarina

    2014-01-01

    This Report provides a strategic approach for conservation of sagebrush ecosystems and Greater Sage- Grouse (sage-grouse) that focuses specifically on habitat threats caused by invasive annual grasses and altered fire regimes. It uses information on factors that influence (1) sagebrush ecosystem resilience to disturbance and resistance to invasive annual grasses and (2) distribution, relative abundance, and persistence of sage-grouse populations to develop management strategies at both landscape and site scales. A sage-grouse habitat matrix links relative resilience and resistance of sagebrush ecosystems with sage-grouse habitat requirements for landscape cover of sagebrush to help decision makers assess risks and determine appropriate management strategies at landscape scales. Focal areas for management are assessed by overlaying matrix components with sage-grouse Priority Areas for Conservation (PACs), breeding bird densities, and specific habitat threats. Decision tools are discussed for determining the suitability of focal areas for treatment and the most appropriate management treatments.

  13. Runoff and soil erosion from two rangeland sites

    Science.gov (United States)

    Historically over 50 years of rainfall/runoff research using rainfall simulators has been conducted at various rangeland sites in the West, however these sites rarely have consecutive yearly measurements. This limits the understanding of dynamic annual conditions and the interactions of grazing, pla...

  14. Robustness and management adaptability in tropical rangelands: a viability-based assessment under the non-equilibrium paradigm.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Accatino, F; Sabatier, R; De Michele, C; Ward, D; Wiegand, K; Meyer, K M

    2014-08-01

    Rangelands provide the main forage resource for livestock in many parts of the world, but maintaining long-term productivity and providing sufficient income for the rancher remains a challenge. One key issue is to maintain the rangeland in conditions where the rancher has the greatest possibility to adapt his/her management choices to a highly fluctuating and uncertain environment. In this study, we address management robustness and adaptability, which increase the resilience of a rangeland. After reviewing how the concept of resilience evolved in parallel to modelling views on rangelands, we present a dynamic model of rangelands to which we applied the mathematical framework of viability theory to quantify the management adaptability of the system in a stochastic environment. This quantification is based on an index that combines the robustness of the system to rainfall variability and the ability of the rancher to adjust his/her management through time. We evaluated the adaptability for four possible scenarios combining two rainfall regimes (high or low) with two herding strategies (grazers only or mixed herd). Results show that pure grazing is viable only for high-rainfall regimes, and that the use of mixed-feeder herds increases the adaptability of the management. The management is the most adaptive with mixed herds and in rangelands composed of an intermediate density of trees and grasses. In such situations, grass provides high quantities of biomass and woody plants ensure robustness to droughts. Beyond the implications for management, our results illustrate the relevance of viability theory for addressing the issue of robustness and adaptability in non-equilibrium environments.

  15. Grasshopper (Orthoptera: Acrididae) community composition in the rangeland of the northern slopes of The Qilian Mountains in northwestern China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sun, T; Liu, Z Y; Qin, L P; Long, R J

    2015-01-01

    In order to describe grasshopper (Orthoptera: Acrididae) species composition, diversity, abundance, and density of four rangelands types, we compared the grasshopper community composition and dynamics in the rangeland of the northern slopes of the Qilian Mountains. In total, 55 grasshopper species were collected from 2007 to 2009, representing three families and six subfamilies. The subfamily Oedipodinae was dominant, followed by Gomphocerinae and Catantopinae. Species abundance varied among rangeland types (RTs). The greatest abundance of grasshoppers was found in mountain rangeland, while the lowest abundance of grasshoppers was caught in alpine shrublands. Three species (Chorthippus cf. brunneus (Thunberg) (Acrididae), Chorthippus Dubius (Zubovski), and Gomphocerus licenti (Chang) were broadly distributed in the four RTs and constituted 7.5% of all grasshoppers collected. Ch. dubius was very abundant in desert rangeland and alpine shrubland. Bryodema dolichoptera Yin et Feng Eremippus qilianshanensis Lian and Zheng, and Filchnerella qilianshanensis Xi and Zheng (Pamphagidae) were endemic to the region of the Qilian Mountains. Species similarity between RTs ranged from 17.8 to 51.6 based on the Renkonen index. Similarly, the Sörensen index indicated a wide separation in species composition among RTs. The abundance of the eight most common species showed obvious differences among RTs and years. On average, mountain rangeland had the highest density values in 2007 and 2008, and alpine shrubland supported the smallest density. The densities in desert and mountain rangeland in 2007 were significantly higher than in 2008, while alpine rangeland and shrublands did not present obvious differences among years. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Entomological Society of America.

  16. Phenotypic variability of plant leaves of Acer genus, introduced into steppe zone of Ukraine

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    I. O. Zaitseva

    2014-10-01

    Full Text Available This paper deals with studying of the patterns of ecological adaptation of wood species of Acer L. genus during their introduction into steppe zone of Ukraine. Hydrothermal conditions of the growing season in steppe zone of Ukraine are particularly unfavorable for tree and shrubbery plantings, comprising both native and introduced species. In the course of plants’ introduction, adaptive changes occur; such changes represent the spectrum of phenotypic implementation of the definite genotype under the influence of new environmental conditions. Stress environment of the region of introduction leads to occurrence of a great variety of phenotypic forms, as the different variants of genotype implementation. Studying of phenotypic variability gives an opportunity to determine the capacity to adaptation of introduced species and ways of adaptive reactions in new conditions of living. Therefore, objective of the work consists in studying of the processes of differentiation of morphological characters in species of Acer genus introduced in the regions of steppe zone with varying intensity of hydrothermal factors. Studies were carried out in the central and south-eastern steppe regions, as well as in the south of steppe zone in the coastal and continental areas. Subjects of research were 9 species of maples, differing by their botanic and geographic origin and by the degree of drought resistance in the steppe zone of Ukraine. Patterns of variability of morphostructural characters of leaves were determined by the indicator of specific weight of leaves which was calculated as a ratio of weight of dry laminas to their area (mg/cm2. Following the results of study, it was found that adaptation of maples to xerothermic factors of the environment is connected with changing of the ratio of groups of character variation and their contribution into total sample. Direct relationship is established between the probability density of expression (phenotypic

  17. [Team Care for Patient Safety, TeamSTEPPS to Improve Nontechnical Skills and Teamwork--Actions to Become an HRO].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kaito, Ken

    2015-07-01

    It is important to develop safer medical systems and follow manuals of medical procedures for patient safety. However, these approaches do not always result in satisfactory results because of many human factors. It is known that defects of nontechnical skills are more important than those of technical skills regarding medical accidents and incidents. So, it is necessary to improve personal nontechnical skills and compensate for each other's defects based on a team approach. For such purposes, we have implemented TeamSTEPPS to enhance performance and patient safety in our hospital. TeamSTEPPS (team strategies and tools to enhance performance and patient safety) is a useful method to improve the nontechnical skills of each member and the team. In TeamSTEPPS, leadership to share mental models among the team, continuous monitoring and awareness for team activities, mutual support for workload and knowledge, and approaches to complete communication are summarized to enhance teamwork and patient safety. Other than improving nontechnical skills and teamwork, TeamSTEPPS is also very important as a High Reliability Organization (HRO). TeamSTEPPS is worth implementing in every hospital to decrease medical errors and improve patient outcomes and satisfaction.

  18. Impact of Rangeland Degradation on Soil Physical, Chemical

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    major threats to enhance a sustainable pastoral-livestock production in Ethiopia. ... overall negative impact on the soil physical and chemical characteristics, demanding ... chemical properties (Gemedo et al., 2006) as well as the rangeland .... parameters such as life forms (annuals and perennials), plant forms (woody plant,.

  19. Rangeland Ecosystem Services: Nature's Supply and Humans' Demand

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ecosystem services are the benefits that society receives from nature and they include the regulation of climate, the pollination of crops, the provisioning of intellectual inspiration and recreational environment, as well as many essential goods such as food, fiber, and wood. Rangeland ecosystem se...

  20. Dynamic contents of energy and organic nutrient in steppe growths of the Mohelenská Serpentine Steppe National Nature Reserve

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pavel Veselý

    2006-01-01

    Full Text Available The aim of the study was to determine the dynamics in the content of organic nutrients, ash and energy in dry matter of growths within the Mohelenská Serpentine Steppe National Nature Reserve (NPR, and to document their initial nutritive value before the intended grazing. Plant samples in 1995 and 1996 during the growing season in 14-days intervals from the area of 3 × 1 m2. Amounts of dry matter, fibre, nitrogen substances, fat and ashes were determined in growths according to the ANONYM (2001. Nitrogen-free extract substances (BNLV were determined by final calculating; BE, ME, NEL, NEV, PDIN and PDIE were calculated using the regression equations (VESELÝ and ZEMAN, 1995, 1997. Combining ratio (SP was calculated according to the relation: SP = PDIN (g/NEL (MJ. The dynamics of the contents of dry matter, organic nutrients, ashes and energy were assessed in the growth during the vegetation period and the dynamics was compared with standardized requirements of sheep (no pregnant ewe. Regression and correlation relations for nutrition value of the growths during vegetation period were calculated by use of mathematical-statistical analysis. Only statistically significantly (P<0.05 different parameters form the zero are presented in the paper. The content of dry matter in the growths culminated in summer months (places D8, E13, B17 and it was accompanied by depression in autumn months. After the highest content of crude protein, PDIN and PDIE recorded in spring months summer depression (August followed, this depression was partly balanced by autumn growth of vegetation. The content of ash in steppe growths increased during evaluated period. Similar tendency was registered for fat. Also the contents of fibre and BNLV linearly increased. The contents of nitrogen nutrients and energy corresponded with standardized requirements for sheep during whole vegetation period. Conversely the content of fibre highly exceeded the requirement except in spring

  1. Transitions and coexistence along a grazing gradient in the Eurasian steppe

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ren, Haiyan; Taube, Friedelm; Zhang, Yingjun; Bai, Yongfei; Hu, Shuijin

    2017-04-01

    Ecological resilience theory has often been applied to explain species coexistence and range condition assessment of various community states and to explicate the dynamics of ecosystems. Grazing is a primary disturbance that can alter rangeland resilience by causing hard-to-reverse transitions in grasslands. Yet, how grazing affects the coexistence of plant functional group (PFG) and transition remains unclear. We conducted a six-year grazing experiment in a typical steppe of Inner Mongolia, using seven grazing intensities (0, 1.5, 3.0, 4.5, 6.0, 7.5 and 9.0 sheep/ hectare) and two grazing systems (i.e. a continuous annual grazing as in the traditional grazing system, and a mixed grazing system combining grazing and haymaking), to examine grazing effects on plant functional group shifts and species coexistence in the semi-arid grassland system. Our results indicate that the relative richness of dominant bunchgrasses and forbs had a compensatory coexistence at all grazing intensities, and the richness of rhizomatous grasses fluctuated but was persistent. The relative productivity of dominant bunchgrasses and rhizomatous grasses had compensatory interactions with grazing intensity and grazing system. Dominant bunchgrasses and rhizomatous grasses resist grazing effects by using their dominant species functional traits: high specific leaf area and low leaf nitrogen content. Our results suggest that: 1. Stabilizing mechanisms beyond grazing management are more important in determining plant functional group coexistence and ecological resilience. 2. Plant functional group composition is more important in influencing ecosystem functioning than diversity. 3. Ecosystem resilience at a given level is related to the biomass of dominant PFG, which is determined by a balanced shift between dominant species biomass. The relatively even ecosystem resilience along the grazing gradient is attributed to the compensatory interactions of dominant species in their biomass variations

  2. Livestock systems and rangeland degradation in the new World Atlas of Desertification

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zucca, Claudio; Reynolds, James F.; Cherlet, Michael

    2015-04-01

    Livestock systems and rangeland degradation in the new World Atlas of Desertification Land degradation and desertification (LDD), which are widespread in global rangelands, are complex processes. They are caused by multiple (but limited) number of biophysical and socioeconomic drivers that lead to an unbalance in the capacity of the land to sustainably produce ecosystem services and economic value. Converging evidence indicates that the key biophysical and socioeconomic drivers include agricultural or pastoral land use and management practices, population growth, societal demands (e.g., urbanization), and climate change (e.g., increasing aridity and drought). The new World Atlas of Desertification (WAD) describes these global issues, documents their spatial change, and highlights the importance of these drivers in relation to land degradation processes. The impacts of LDD on the atmosphere, on water and on biodiversity are also covered. The WAD spatially illustrates relevant types of livestock and rangeland management systems, related (over-under) use of resources, various management activities, and some of the common features and transitions that contribute to LDD. For example, livestock grazing in marginal areas is increasing due to competition with agricultural encroachment and, hence, vulnerable lands are under threat. The integration of stratified global data layers facilitates identifying areas where stress on the land system can be linked to underlying causal issues. One of the objectives of the new WAD is to provide synthesis and tools for scientists and stakeholders to design sustainable solutions for efficient land use in global rangelands.

  3. Using resilience and resistance concepts to manage threats to sagebrush ecosystems, Gunnison sage-grouse, and Greater sage-grouse in their eastern range: A strategic multi-scale approach

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jeanne C. Chambers; Jeffrey L. Beck; Steve Campbell; John Carlson; Thomas J. Christiansen; Karen J. Clause; Jonathan B. Dinkins; Kevin E. Doherty; Kathleen A. Griffin; Douglas W. Havlina; Kenneth F. Henke; Jacob D. Hennig; Laurie L. Kurth; Jeremy D. Maestas; Mary Manning; Kenneth E. Mayer; Brian A. Mealor; Clinton McCarthy; Marco A. Perea; David A. Pyke

    2016-01-01

    This report provides a strategic approach developed by a Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies interagency working group for conservation of sagebrush ecosystems, Greater sage-grouse, and Gunnison sage-grouse. It uses information on (1) factors that influence sagebrush ecosystem resilience to disturbance and resistance to nonnative invasive annual grasses...

  4. Gold and other metals in big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata Nutt.) as an exploration tool, Gold Run District, Humboldt County, Nevada

    Science.gov (United States)

    Erdman, J.A.; Cookro, T.M.; O'Leary, R. M.; Harms, T.F.

    1988-01-01

    Big sagebrush - a cold-desert species that dominates the terrain over large parts of western United States - was sampled along several traverses that crossed thermally metamorphosed limestone, phyllitic shale, and schist of the Middle and Upper Cambrian Preble Formation that host skarn-, disseminated gold and silver-, and hot springs gold-type mineral occurrences. Patterns of detectable levels of gold (8 to 28 ppb or ng g-1) in ash of new growth were consistent with areas affected by known or suspected gold mineralization. Soils collected along one of the traverses where a selenium-indicator plant was common contained no gold above background levels of 2ppb, but were consistently high in As, Sb, and Zn, and several samples were unusually high in Se (maximum 11 ppm or ??g g-1). Sagebrush along this traverse contained Li at levels above norms for this species. We also found a puzzling geochemical anomaly at a site basinward from active hot springs along a range-front fault scarp. Sagebrush at this site contained a trace of gold and an unusually high concentration of Cd (13 ppm) and the soil had anomalous concentrations of Cd and Bi (3.2 and 6 ppm, respectively). The source of this anomaly could be either metal-rich waters from an irrigation ditch or leakage along a buried fault. Despite the limited nature of the study, we conclude that gold in sagebrush could be a cost-effective guide to drilling locations in areas where the geology seems favorable for disseminated and vein precious metals. ?? 1988.

  5. Interspecific nest parasitism by chukar on greater sage-grouse

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fearon, Michelle L.; Coates, Peter S.

    2014-01-01

    Nest parasitism occurs when a female bird lays eggs in the nest of another and the host incubates the eggs and may provide some form of parental care for the offspring (Lyon and Eadie 1991). Precocial birds (e.g., Galliformes and Anseriformes) are typically facultative nest parasites of both their own and other species (Lyon and Eadie 1991). This behavior increases a female’s reproductive success when she parasitizes other nests while simultaneously raising her own offspring. Both interspecific and conspecific nest parasitism have been well documented in several families of the order Galliformes, particularly the Phasianidae (Lyon and Eadie 1991, Geffen and Yom-Tov 2001, Krakauer and Kimball 2009). The Chukar (Alectoris chukar) has been widely introduced as a game bird to western North America from Eurasia and is now well established within the Great Basin from northeastern California east to Utah and north to Idaho and Oregon (Christensen 1996). Over much of this range the Chukar occurs with other phasianids, including the native Greater Sage-Grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus), within sagebrush (Artemisia spp.) steppe (Christensen 1996, Schroeder et al. 1999, Connelly et al. 2000). Chukar typically exploit a broader range of habitats than do sage-grouse, but both species use the same species of sagebrush and other shrubs for nesting cover (Christensen 1996, Schroeder et al. 1999). Chukar are known to parasitize nests of other individuals of their own species (Geffen and Yom-Tov 2001), but we are unaware of reported evidence that Chukar may parasitize nests of sage-grouse. Here we describe a case of a Chukar parasitizing a sage-grouse nest in the sagebrush steppe of western Nevada.

  6. MODELING ECONOMIC AND ECOLOGICAL BENEFITS OF POST-FIRE REVEGETATION IN THE GREAT BASIN

    OpenAIRE

    Niell, Rebecca; Englin, Jeffrey E.; Nalle, Darek

    2004-01-01

    This study employs a Markov chain model of vegetation dynamics to examine the economic and ecological benefits of post-fire revegetation in the Great Basin sagebrush steppe. The analysis is important because synergies between wildland fire and invasive weeds in this ecosystem are likely to result in the loss of native biodiversity, less predictable forage availability for livestock and wildlife, reduced watershed stability and water quality, and increased costs and risk associated with firefi...

  7. Book title: Rangelands systems: Processes, management and challenges - Chapter title: Invasive plant species and novel ecosystems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rangelands represent the dominant land use systems in many countries of the world and provide sociological and cultural benefits to millions of people in both rural and urban areas. The undesirable impacts of rangeland weeds have been recognized for well over 100 years and infest between 41 and 51 ...

  8. Vegetation Response to Western Juniper Slash Treatments

    Science.gov (United States)

    O'Connor, Casey; Miller, Rick; Bates, Jonathan D.

    2013-09-01

    The expansion of piñon-juniper woodlands the past 100 years in the western United States has resulted in large scale efforts to kill trees and recover sagebrush steppe rangelands. It is important to evaluate vegetation recovery following woodland control to develop best management practices. In this study, we compared two fuel reduction treatments and a cut-and-leave (CUT) treatment used to control western juniper ( Juniperus occidentalis spp. occidentalis Hook.) of the northwestern United States. Treatments were; CUT, cut-and-broadcast burn (BURN), and cut-pile-and-burn the pile (PILE). A randomized complete block design was used with five replicates of each treatment located in a curl leaf mahogany ( Cercocarpus ledifolius Nutt. ex Torr. & A. Gray)/mountain big sagebrush ( Artemisia tridentata Nutt. spp. vaseyana (Rydb.) Beetle)/Idaho fescue ( Festuca idahoensis Elmer) association. In 2010, 4 years after tree control the cover of perennial grasses (PG) [Sandberg's bluegrass ( Poa secunda J. Pres) and large bunchgrasses] were about 4 and 5 % less, respectively, in the BURN (7.1 ± 0.6 %) than the PILE (11.4 ± 2.3 %) and CUT (12.4 ± 1.7 %) treatments ( P < 0.0015). In 2010, cover of invasive cheatgrass ( Bromus tectorum L.) was greater in the BURN (6.3 ± 1.0 %) and was 50 and 100 % greater than PILE and CUT treatments, respectively. However, the increase in perennial bunchgrass density and cover, despite cheatgrass in the BURN treatment, mean it unlikely that cheatgrass will persist as a major understory component. In the CUT treatment mahogany cover increased 12.5 % and density increased in from 172 ± 25 to 404 ± 123 trees/ha. Burning, killed most or all of the adult mahogany, and mahogany recovery consisted of 100 and 67 % seedlings in the PILE and BURN treatments, respectively. After treatment, juniper presence from untreated small trees (<1 m tall; PILE and CUT treatments) and seedling emergence (all treatments) represented 25-33 % of pre-treatment tree

  9. Vegetation Responses to Prescribed Burning of Grazed Shortgrass Steppe

    Science.gov (United States)

    Over the past century, fire has been widely suppressed in the western Great Plains, in part due to potential negative effects on forage production for livestock. More recently, interest in the use of prescribed fire in shortgrass steppe has increased due to potential applications for wildlife manage...

  10. A conceptual tool for improving rangeland management decision ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    ... the LLM concept should be seen as a continuous and evolving learning process that will be updated over the long term through decision support to include several other components essential to implement effective and sustainable rangeland management practices by local land users. Keywords: desertification; indicators ...

  11. Biological recovery the steppe of Hammada scoparia after enclosure in the region of Naama (Algeria

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Boucherit Hafidha

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available This work was being carried out in the steppe of remth (Hammada scoparia in Oranian part of the Saharan Atlas (Tiout - south of Naama. The H. scoparia of Saharan group occupies the foothills south of the Saharan Atlas and glazes and hamadas of the northern part of the Sahara where it seems to find its optimum development. The objective of the study is the floristic and ecological characterisation of the steppe vegetation groups of H. scoparia after 4 years of enclosure grazing (Eg. For the past three decades, steppe of H. scoparia were completely overwhelmed, both in their structure and their operation by increasing the herd and the continued use of natural pastures using animal load significantly higher than the production potential of course, which is reflected by the reduction of their capacity for natural regeneration.

  12. Investing in rangeland restoration in the Arid West, USA: countering the effects of an invasive weed on the long-term fire cycle.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Epanchin-Niell, Rebecca; Englin, Jeffrey; Nalle, Darek

    2009-01-01

    In large areas of the arid western United States, much of which are federally managed, fire frequencies and associated management costs are escalating as flammable, invasive cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum) increases its stronghold. Cheatgrass invasion and the subsequent increase in fire frequency result in the loss of native vegetation, less predictable forage availability for livestock and wildlife, and increased costs and risk associated with firefighting. Revegetation following fire on land that is partially invaded by cheatgrass can reduce both the dominance of cheatgrass and its associated high fire rate. Thus restoration can be viewed as an investment in fire-prevention and, if native seed is used, an investment in maintaining native vegetation on the landscape. Here we develop and employ a Markov model of vegetation dynamics for the sagebrush steppe ecosystem to predict vegetation change and management costs under different intensities and types of post-fire revegetation. We use the results to estimate the minimum total cost curves for maintaining native vegetation on the landscape and for preventing cheatgrass dominance. Our results show that across a variety of model parameter possibilities, increased investment in post-fire revegetation reduces long-term fire management costs by more than enough to offset the costs of revegetation. These results support that a policy of intensive post-fire revegetation will reduce long-term management costs for this ecosystem, in addition to providing environmental benefits. This information may help justify costs associated with revegetation and raise the priority of restoration in federal land budgets.

  13. Interpreting and Correcting Cross-scale Mismatches in Resilience Analysis: a Procedure and Examples from Australia's Rangelands

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    John A. Ludwig

    2005-12-01

    Full Text Available Many rangelands around the globe are degraded because of mismatches between the goals and actions of managers operating at different spatial scales. In this paper, we focus on identifying, interpreting, and correcting cross-scale mismatches in rangeland management by building on an existing four-step resilience analysis procedure. Resilience analysis is an evaluation of the capacity of a system to persist in the face of disturbances. We provide three examples of cross-scale resilience analysis using a rangeland system located in northern Australia. The system was summarized in a diagram showing key interactions between three attributes (water quality, regional biodiversity, and beef quality, which can be used to indicate the degree of resilience of the system, and other components that affect these attributes at different scales. The strengths of cross-scale interactions were rated as strong or weak, and the likely causes of mismatches in strength were interpreted. Possible actions to correct cross-scale mismatches were suggested and evaluated. We found this four-step, cross-scale resilience analysis procedure very helpful because it reduced a complex problem down to manageable parts without losing sight of the larger-scale whole. To build rangeland resilience, many such cross-scale mismatches in management will need to be corrected, especially as the global use of rangelands increases over the coming decades.

  14. Scale effects on runoff and soil erosion in rangelands: observations and estimations with predictors of different availability

    Science.gov (United States)

    Runoff and erosion estimates are needed for rangeland management decisions and evaluation of ecosystem services derived from rangeland conservation practices. The information on the effect of scale on the runoff and erosion, and on the choice of runoff and erosion predictors, remains scarce. The obj...

  15. Yield Response of Mediterranean Rangelands under a Changing Climate

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Daliakopoulos, Ioannis N.; Panagea, Ioanna S.; Tsanis, Ioannis K.; Grillakis, Manolis G.; Koutroulis, Aristeidis G.; Hessel, Rudi; Mayor, Angeles G.; Ritsema, Coen J.

    2017-01-01

    Understanding the Mediterranean rangelands degradation trends is a key element of mitigating their vulnerability and enhancing their resilience. Climate change and its inherent effects on mean temperature and the precipitation variability can regulate the magnitude, frequency and duration of

  16. Presidential address - 1999 Towards a national rangeland policy ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    There are some problems with the publication of the journal, but Council hopes to have our ... The first is that all agencies funded through DACST will be reviewed ... to improve our understanding of management issues in communal rangeland. ... All current programmes to rehabilitate degraded land contain budgets for the ...

  17. HYGROTOPE AND TROPHOTOPE OF THE STEPPE PRIDNIPROVIE BIOGEOCEONOSIS AS DETERMINANTS OF THE EARTHWORMS (LUMBRICIDAE COMMUNITIES β-DIVERSITY

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. V. Zhukov

    2016-08-01

    Full Text Available The role of the hygrotope and trophotope of the steppe Pridniprovie biogeoceonosis has been discussed in present article as being determinants of the β-diversity of earthworms (Lumbricidae communities. Material has been colected to the period 1997-2015. 180 sample polygons have been studied which located in various types of biogeoceonosis. Biogeoceonotic characteristic of the sample polygons have been made on the basis of professor A.L. Belgard forest typology of a steppe zone of Ukraine. Earthworm communities of the steppe Pridniprovie have been established to be presented by 16 species. Hygrotopes, trophotopes and bitope ceonosis features have been shown to be able to explain 72.4 % of a communities’ abundance variation and 73.7 of their % α-diversity by means of second order model. Earthworm communities’ abundance reache their maximum values at a combination of conditions of humidity from hygromesophilous to hygrophilous and conditions of edaphotope trophicity from Dc (linden oakwood to Dn (elm-ashen oakwood and alder forests. The maximum diversity of earthworm communities has been stated to be characteristic for a combination of mesohygrophilous conditions and a trophicity mode Dc, that there corresponds to forest type a linden oakwood with aegopodium. The coenomorphic structure of the biogeocoenosis is statistically significant predictors of both abundance and α-diversity of earthworm communities. Earthworm communities of marsh monocoenosis, meadow-steppe amphicoenosis and steppe monocoenosis have been found as being characterised by minimum abundance and diversity. Moderate level abundance and diversity are characteristic for meadow-forest amphicoenosis, forest pseudomonocoenosis with elements of transformation to steppe and forest-steppe amphicoenosis. High levels of these indexes are typical for forest monocoenosis. Given other conditions of humidity and edaphotope trophicity being equal in forest monocoenosis abundance and

  18. A leadership challenge: staff nurse perceptions after an organizational TeamSTEPPS initiative.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Castner, Jessica; Foltz-Ramos, Kelly; Schwartz, Diane G; Ceravolo, Diane J

    2012-10-01

    The purpose of this study was to measure RNs' perceptions of teamwork skills and behaviors in their work environment during a multiphase multisite nursing organizational teamwork development initiative. Teamwork is essential for patient safety in healthcare organizations and nursing teams. Organizational development supporting effective teamwork should include a just culture, engaged leadership, and teamwork training. A cross-sectional survey study of bedside RNs was conducted in one 5-hospital healthcare system after a TeamSTEPPS teamwork training initiative. TeamSTEPPS teamwork training related to improved RN perceptions of leadership. Initiatives to align the perspectives and teamwork efforts of leaders and bedside nurses are indicated and should involve charge nurses in the design.

  19. KIRGHIZ STEPPE IN THE TRAVEL NOTES AND ESSAYS OF M. M. PRISHVIN: IMAGOLOGY AND POETICS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Elena A. Khudenko

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available The article investigates the cross-cutting images and themes related to topography of the Kirghiz steppe (now North-Eastern Kazakhstan in the works of M. M. Prishvin. Three early Prishvin’s texts — a Siberian diary “A Journey from Pavlodar to Karkaralinsk”, essays “Adam and Eve” and “A Black Arab” became an empirical base for it. The marginality of Prishvin’s texts in which the itinerant writer crosses the border between Europe and Asia as well as the border of consciousness, dwelling simultaneously in the space of its own and in the others’ space, permitted to reconstruct the landscape consciousness of the Kirghiz and Russian emigrees. The methodological feature of the study of these works along with the study of the poetics of the steppe images, the Kazakh, local legends and nomadic subjects, was a description of their imagological component induced by socio-historical, political and ethnic processes of the early twentieth century, the writer talks about in his books. So, the overall strategy of the narrative, moving from a documentary and essay principle to the poetic saturation by images is formed in his diaries. The essay “Adam and Eve” considers the issue of Russian immigrants, demonstrates the incompatibility between sedentary and nomadic life as two types of national behavior. A twofold image of the steppe — a foodless and saline steppe, and a rich and populated one — sets the parameters of social behavior of the rich and the poor in his essay “A Black Arab”. Basing on its materials the distinctive marks of the steppe as the Paradise are explored. Thus, the Asiatic world is seen by Prishvin through the principle of the landscape consciousness, which allowed reconstructing the features of the national image on the whole.

  20. Management applicability of the intermediate disturbance hypothesis across Mongolian rangeland ecosystems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sasaki, Takehiro; Okubo, Satoru; Okayasu, Tomoo; Jamsran, Undarmaa; Ohkuro, Toshiya; Takeuchi, Kazuhiko

    2009-03-01

    The current growing body of evidence for diversity-disturbance relationships suggests that the peaked pattern predicted by the intermediate disturbance hypothesis (IDH) may not be the rule. Even if ecologists could quantify the diversity-disturbance relationship consistent with the IDH, the applicability of the IDH to land management has rarely been addressed. We examined two hypotheses related to the generality and management applicability of the IDH to Mongolian rangeland ecosystems: that the diversity-disturbance relationship varies as a function of landscape condition and that some intermediate scales of grazing can play an important role in terms of sustainable rangeland management through a grazing gradient approach. We quantified the landscape condition of each ecological site using an ordination technique and determined two types of landscape conditions: relatively benign and harsh environmental conditions. At the ecological sites characterized by relatively benign environmental conditions, diversity-disturbance relationships were generally consistent with the IDH, and maximum diversity was observed at some intermediate distance from the source of the grazing gradient. In contrast, the IDH was not supported at most (but not all) sites characterized by relatively harsh environmental conditions. The intermediate levels of grazing were generally located below the ecological threshold representing the points or zones at which disturbance should be limited to prevent drastic changes in ecological conditions, suggesting that there is little "conundrum" with regard to intermediate disturbance in the studied systems in terms of land management. We suggest that the landscape condition is one of the primary factors that cause inconsistencies in diversity-disturbance relationships. The ecological threshold can extend its utility in rangeland management because it also has the compatibility with the maintenance of species diversity. This study thus suggests that some

  1. Multi-agency Oregon Pilot: Working towards a national inventory and assessment of rangelands using onsite data

    Science.gov (United States)

    Paul L. Patterson; James Alegria; Leonard Jolley; Doug Powell; J. Jeffery Goebel; Gregg M. Riegel; Kurt H. Riitters; Craig. Ducey

    2014-01-01

    Rangelands are lands dominated by grasses, forbs, and shrubs and are managed as a natural ecosystem. Although these lands comprise approximately 40 percent of the landmass of the continental United States, there is no coordinated effort designed to inventory, monitor, or assess rangeland conditions at the national scale. A pilot project in central Oregon with the U.S....

  2. Rangeland restoration for Hirola, the world's most endangered antelope

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rangeland restoration can improve habitat for threatened species such as the hirola antelope (Beatragus hunteri) that inhabit savannas of eastern Kenya. However, restoration success likely varies across soil types and target restoration species, as well as according to restoration approach. We teste...

  3. Exploring the invasion of rangelands by Acacia mearnsii (black ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Reducing A. mearnsii canopy could promote grass production while encouraging carbon sequestration. Given the high AGB and clearing costs, it may be prudent to adopt the 'novel ecosystems' approach in managing infested landscapes. Keywords: grassland, invasive plants, landscape ecology, rangeland condition ...

  4. Sage-Grouse and Wind Energy: Biology, Habits, and Potential Effects from Development

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Becker, James M.; Tagestad, Jerry D.; Duberstein, Corey A.; Downs, Janelle L.

    2009-07-15

    Proposed development of domestic energy resources, including wind energy, is expected to impact the sagebrush steppe ecosystem in the western United States. The greater sage-grouse relies on habitats within this ecosystem for survival, yet very little is known about how wind energy development may affect sage-grouse. The purpose of this report is to inform organizations of the impacts wind energy development could have on greater sage-grouse populations and identify information needed to fill gaps in knowledge.

  5. State and transition models: Theory, applications, and challenges. In: Briske, D.D. Rangeland Systems: Processes, Management and Challenges

    Science.gov (United States)

    State and transition models (STMs) are used for communicating about ecosystem change in rangelands and other ecosystems, especially the implications for management. The fundamental premise that rangelands can exhibit multiple states is now widely accepted. The current application of STMs for managem...

  6. Rangeland degradation in two watersheds of Lebanon

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Darwish, T; Faour, G.

    2008-01-01

    A complex and rugged nature characterizes the Lebanese mountains.The climatic pattern prevailing in the country, deforestation and man made erosion caused increased rangeland degradation. The purpose of this study was to monitor two contrasting watersheds, representing the Lebanese agro-ecological zones, to analyze the vegetation dynamics and trace the state of rangeland degradation. The Kfarselouane (205 km2) and Aarsal (316.7 km2) watersheds are located in the Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon mountain chain and characterized by sub humid and semi-arid climate respectively.Using multitemporal spot vegetation images between 1999 and 2005 to analyze the normalized differential vegetation index (NDVI) revealed some improvement of the vegetation cover over recent years in Kfaselouane with a steady state in Aarsal. The NDVI trend curve inclines in spring and declines in summer and fall. Judging by the time scale amplitude change and highest magnitude between the peak and lower NDVI level in Aarsal, an increased vulnerability to drought is observed in the dry Lebanese areas. Comparing land cover/use in Aarsal area between 1962 and 2000 using aerial photos and large resolution Indian satellite images (IRS) showed wood fragmentation and slight increase of the degenerated forest cover from 1108 ha to 1168 ha. Landuse change was accompanied by a simultaneous increase of cultivated lands (mostly fruit trees) from 932 ha to 4878 ha with absence of soil conservation and water harvesting practices. On the contrary, grasslands decreased from 29581 ha to 25000 ha. In Kfarselouane, the area of grassland was invaded by forestland where rangeland decreased from 8073 ha to 3568 ha and woodland increased from 5766 ha to 11800 ha. Forest expansion occurred even at the account of unproductive land which decreased from 2668 ha to 248 ha, while cultivated lands did not reveal any substantial change. Based on animals' seasonal feeding pattern, a mismatch between land carrying capacity and grazing

  7. Phenology-based, remote sensing of post-burn disturbance windows in rangelands

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sankeya, Joel B.; Wallace, Cynthia S.A.; Ravi, Sujith

    2013-01-01

    Wildland fire activity has increased in many parts of the world in recent decades. Ecological disturbance by fire can accelerate ecosystem degradation processes such as erosion due to combustion of vegetation that otherwise provides protective cover to the soil surface. This study employed a novel ecological indicator based on remote sensing of vegetation greenness dynamics (phenology) to estimate variability in the window of time between fire and the reemergence of green vegetation. The indicator was applied as a proxy for short-term, post-fire disturbance windows in rangelands; where a disturbance window is defined as the time required for an ecological or geomorphic process that is altered to return to pre-disturbance levels. We examined variability in the indicator determined for time series of MODIS and AVHRR NDVI remote sensing data for a database of ∼100 historical wildland fires, with associated post-fire reseeding treatments, that burned 1990–2003 in cold desert shrub steppe of the Great Basin and Columbia Plateau of the western USA. The indicator-based estimates of disturbance window length were examined relative to the day of the year that fires burned and seeding treatments to consider effects of contemporary variability in fire regime and management activities in this environment. A key finding was that contemporary changes of increased length of the annual fire season could have indirect effects on ecosystem degradation, as early season fires appeared to result in longer time that soils remained relatively bare of the protective cover of vegetation after fires. Also important was that reemergence of vegetation did not occur more quickly after fire in sites treated with post-fire seeding, which is a strategy commonly employed to accelerate post-fire vegetation recovery and stabilize soil. Future work with the indicator could examine other ecological factors that are dynamic in space and time following disturbance – such as nutrient cycling

  8. Ecology and Conservation of Acacia senegal in the Rangelands ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Ecology and Conservation of Acacia senegal in the Rangelands ofLuwero and Nakasongola Districts. Jacob Godfrey Agea, Joseph Obua, Sara Namirembe, Mukadasi Buyinza, Daniel Waiswa. Abstract. No Abstract. Full Text: EMAIL FREE FULL TEXT EMAIL FREE FULL TEXT · DOWNLOAD FULL TEXT DOWNLOAD FULL ...

  9. Advances in modeling soil erosion after disturbance on rangelands

    Science.gov (United States)

    Research has been undertaken to develop process based models that predict soil erosion rate after disturbance on rangelands. In these models soil detachment is predicted as a combination of multiple erosion processes, rain splash and thin sheet flow (splash and sheet) detachment and concentrated flo...

  10. 75 FR 77801 - Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Endangered Status for Dunes Sagebrush Lizard

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-12-14

    ... public lands in Texas. It is evident that the dunes sagebrush lizard is still present at the park, but... expected to contribute to habitat loss, modification, or fragmentation in the future include wind and solar... and Solar Energy Development Eastern New Mexico and western Texas are highly suitable areas for wind...

  11. Do container volume, site preparation, and field fertilization affect restoration potential of Wyoming big sagebrush?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kayla R. Herriman; Anthony S. Davis; Kent G. Apostol; Olga. A. Kildisheva; Amy L. Ross-Davis; Kas Dumroese

    2016-01-01

    Land management practices, invasive species expansion, and changes in the fire regime greatly impact the distribution of native plants in natural areas. Wyoming big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata ssp. wyomingensis), a keystone species in the Great Basin, has seen a 50% reduction in its distribution. For many dryland species, reestablishment efforts have...

  12. Using resistance and resilience concepts to reduce impacts of invasive annual grasses and altered fire regimes on the sagebrush ecosystem and greater sage-grouse: A strategic multi-scale approach

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jeanne C. Chambers; David A. Pyke; Jeremy D. Maestas; Mike Pellant; Chad S. Boyd; Steven B. Campbell; Shawn Espinosa; Douglas W. Havlina; Kenneth E. Mayer; Amarina Wuenschel

    2014-01-01

    This Report provides a strategic approach for conservation of sagebrush ecosystems and Greater Sage- Grouse (sage-grouse) that focuses specifically on habitat threats caused by invasive annual grasses and altered fire regimes. It uses information on factors that influence (1) sagebrush ecosystem resilience to disturbance and resistance to invasive annual grasses and (2...

  13. Effect of desertification on productivity in a desert steppe.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tang, Zhuangsheng; An, Hui; Deng, Lei; Wang, Yingying; Zhu, Guangyu; Shangguan, Zhouping

    2016-06-14

    Desertification, one of the most severe types of land degradation in the world, is of great importance because it is occurring, to some degree, on approximately 40% of the global land area and is affecting more than 1 billion people. In this study, we used a space-for-time method to quantify the impact of five different desertification regimes (potential (PD), light (LD), moderate (MD), severe (SD), and very severe (VSD)) on a desert steppe ecosystem in northern China to examine the relationship between the productivity of the vegetation and soil properties and to determine the mechanism underlying the effects of desertification on productivity. Our results showed that the effects of desertification on TP (total phosphorus) and AP (available phosphorus) were not significant, and desertification decreased productivity in the desert steppe as a result of direct changes to soil physical properties, which can directly affect soil chemical properties. Therefore, intensive grassland management to improve soil quality may result in the long-term preservation of ecosystem functions and services.

  14. Ecology and Conservation of Steppes and Semi-Natural Grasslands

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Valkó Orsolya

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available Palaearctic grasslands encompass a diverse variety of habitats, many of high nature value and vulnerability. The main challenges are climate-change, land-use change, agricultural intensification and abandonment. Many measures are in place to address these challenges, through restoration and appropriate management, though more work is necessary. We present eight studies from China/Germany, Greece, Kazakhstan, Russia and Ukraine. The papers cover a wide range of grassland and steppe habitats and cover vegetation ecology, syntaxonomy and zoology. We also conducted a systematic search on steppe and grassland diversity. The greatest number of studies was from China, followed by Germany and England. We conclude that the amount of research being carried out on Eurasian grasslands is inadequate considering their high levels of biodiversity and vulnerability. We hope to encourage readers to address current major challenges, such as how to manage grasslands for the benefit of diverse taxa, to ensure that conservation initiatives concentrate on sites where there is good potential for success and for the generation of realistic and viable conservation strategies.

  15. Summary of science, activities, programs, and policies that influence the rangewide conservation of Greater Sage-Grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Manier, D.J.; Wood, David J.A.; Bowen, Z.H.; Donovan, R.M.; Holloran, M.J.; Juliusson, L.M.; Mayne, K.S.; Oyler-McCance, S.J.; Quamen, F.R.; Saher, D.J.; Titolo, A.J.

    2013-01-01

    The Greater Sage-Grouse, has been observed, hunted, and counted for decades. The sagebrush biome, home to the Greater Sage-Grouse, includes sagebrush-steppe and Great Basin sagebrush communities, interspersed with grasslands, salt flats, badlands, mountain ranges, springs, intermittent creeks and washes, and major river systems, and is one of the most widespread and enigmatic components of Western U.S. landscapes. Over time, habitat conversion, degradation, and fragmentation have accumulated across the entire range such that local conditions as well as habitat distributions at local and regional scales are negatively affecting the long-term persistence of this species. Historic patterns of human use and settlement of the sagebrush ecosystem have contributed to the current condition and status of sage-grouse populations. The accumulation of habitat loss, persistent habitat degradation, and fragmentation by industry and urban infrastructure, as indicated by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) findings, presents a significant challenge for conservation of this species and sustainable management of the sagebrush ecosystem. Because of the wide variations in natural and human history across these landscapes, no single prescription for management of sagebrush ecosystems (including sage-grouse habitats) will suffice to guide the collective efforts of public and private entities to conserve the species and its habitat. This report documents and summarizes several decades of work on sage-grouse populations, sagebrush as habitat, and sagebrush community and ecosystem functions based on the recent assessment and findings of the USFWS under consideration of the Endangered Species Act. As reflected here, some of these topics receive a greater depth of discussion because of the perceived importance of the issue for sagebrush ecosystems and sage-grouse populations. Drawing connections between the direct effects on sagebrush ecosystems and the effect of ecosystem condition on

  16. Postfire encroachment of Fabiana imbricata is real? Assessing changes of shrubland occupation during 40 years in NW Patagonia steppe

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lasaponara, Rosa; Oddi, Facundo; Ghermandi, Luciana

    2014-05-01

    Landscapes are dynamic in space and time, being spatio-temporal processes of particular interest for landscape ecology. In particular, grasslands can change their structure through the expansion of shrubs in the landscape matrix. Shrub encroachment affect biodiversity as well as forage availability that is the key component of the productive use of rangelands. However, despite its recognition as a global problem, knowledge on the rates, dynamics and encroachment patterns is even scarce. For example, although it is generally accepted that fire control shrub encroachment, certain shrubby species could be favored by the occurrence of fire. In northwestern Patagonian steppe, Fabiana imbricata form large monospecific shrublands that are part of the landscape mosaic and its dynamics of regeneration is strongly related to fire. This long-lived shrub (≡ 150 years) is a typical seeder that is killed by fire and recruits seedlings almost exclusively in post-fire, establishing even-age patches. Our objective was to determine whether F. imbricata shrublands have expanded during the last 40 years in a landscape fire prone. The study area corresponds to San Ramon ranch (22,000 ha) located in northwestern Patagonia steppe, Argentina (latitude -41° 04'; longitude -70° 51'). Two distribution maps of the species were made that corresponds to the study area in 1968 and 2011. The 1968 map was elaborated from the digitalization of aerial photographs (1:45000) while the 2011 map was produced with very high resolution satellite images, current aerial photographs and GPS field data. Both maps were loaded into a GIS environment, in which landscape metrics at patch and class level were determined and then compared. From remote sensing and dendroecological techniques, we know that the study area was almost entirely affected by fires during the study period. Therefore, the comparison of both maps allows us to know post-fire changes in the shrublands spatial configuration at the landscape

  17. The value of small habitat islands for the conservation of genetic variability in a steppe grass species

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wódkiewicz, Maciej; Dembicz, Iwona; Moysiyenko, Ivan I.

    2016-10-01

    The habitat loss and fragmentation due to agricultural land-conversion affected the steppe throughout its range. In Ukraine, 95% of steppe was destroyed in the last two centuries. Remaining populations are confined to few refuges, like nature reserves, loess ravines, and kurgans (small burial mounds), the latter being often subject to destruction by archeological excavations. Stipa capillata L. is a typical grass species of Eurasian steppes and extrazonal dry grasslands, that was previously used as a model species in studies on steppe ecology. The aim of our research was to assess genetic diversity of S. capillata populations within different types of steppe refuges (loess ravines, biosphere reserve, kurgan) and to evaluate the value of the latter group for the preservation of genetic diversity in the study species. We assessed genetic diversity of 266 individuals from 15 populations (nine from kurgans, three from loess ravines and three from Askania-Nova Biosphere Reserve) with eight Universal Rice Primers (URPs). Studied populations showed high intra-population variability (I: 0.262-0.419, PPB: 52.08-82.64%). Populations from kurgans showed higher genetic differentiation (ΦST = 0.247) than those from loess ravines (ΦST = 0.120) and the biosphere reserve (ΦST = 0.142). Although the diversity metrics were to a small extent lower for populations from kurgans than from larger refugia we conclude that all studied populations of the species still preserve high genetic variability and are valuable for protection. To what extent this pattern holds true under continuous fragmentation in the future must be carefully monitored.

  18. [Recent fauna of ground-nesting birds in Transvolga steppes and its dynamics in the 20th century].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oparin, M L

    2008-01-01

    It is shown that the structure of the ground-nesting bird fauna in Transvolga steppes has changed during the 20th century. The complex of lark species characteristic of true and dry steppe has disappeared because of climate change and impact of economic activity (the establishment of windbreak and roadside forest strips), which has provided for a sharp increase in the abundance of corvid birds.

  19. Improving Interdisciplinary Relationships in Primary Care with the Implementation of TeamSTEPPS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nicole Siddons

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available A major challenge in healthcare is lack of interdisciplinary collaboration (O’Daniel & Rosenstein, 2008. The Institute of Medicine report, To Err is Human: Building a Safer Health System (1999, shows that errors often occur due to lapses in partnership and communication. This article describes the implementation of TeamSTEPPS, an evidence-based tool for optimizing staff relationships and partnership, in a clinic in which a change in the care model had affected interprofessional collaboration and teamwork, threatening healthcare outcomes and staff engagement. The implementation of TeamSTEPPS, customized using elements of IDEO’s (2015 Human-Centered Design, shifted the culture of the clinic towards partnership, resulting in improved staff perceptions of teamwork and statistically significant improvements in the quality of patient care.

  20. Ranch business planning and resource monitoring for rangeland sustainability

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kristie A. Maczko; John A. Tanaka; Michael Smith; Cindy Garretson-Weibel; Stanley F. Hamilton; John E. Mitchell; Gene Fults; Charles Stanley; Dick Loper; Larry D. Bryant; J. K. (Rooter) Brite

    2012-01-01

    Aligning a rancher's business plan goals with the capability of the ranch's rangeland resources improves the viability and sustainability of family ranches. Strategically monitoring the condition of soil, water, vegetation, wildlife, livestock production, and economics helps inform business plan goals. Business planning and resource monitoring help keep...

  1. Susceptibility and antibody response of Vesper Sparrows (Pooecetes gramineus) to West Nile virus: A potential amplification host in sagebrush-grassland habitat

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hofmeister, Erik K.; Dusek, Robert J.; Fassbinder-Orth, Carol; Owen, Benjamin; Franson, J. Christian

    2016-01-01

    West Nile virus (WNV) spread to the US western plains states in 2003, when a significant mortality event attributed to WNV occurred in Greater Sage-grouse ( Centrocercus urophasianus ). The role of avian species inhabiting sagebrush in the amplification of WNV in arid and semiarid regions of the North America is unknown. We conducted an experimental WNV challenge study in Vesper Sparrows ( Pooecetes gramineus ), a species common to sagebrush and grassland habitats found throughout much of North America. We found Vesper Sparrows to be moderately susceptible to WNV, developing viremia considered sufficient to transmit WNV to feeding mosquitoes, but the majority of birds were capable of surviving infection and developing a humoral immune response to the WNV nonstructural 1 and envelope proteins. Despite clearance of viremia, after 6 mo, WNV was detected molecularly in three birds and cultured from one bird. Surviving Vesper Sparrows were resistant to reinfection 6 mo after the initial challenge. Vesper sparrows could play a role in the amplification of WNV in sagebrush habitat and other areas of their range, but rapid clearance of WNV may limit their importance as competent amplification hosts of WNV.

  2. Impact of Climate Change and Anthropogenic Activities in the Dynamics of Land Cover in Mediterranean Steppe West Algeria

    Science.gov (United States)

    Si Tayeb, Tayeb

    2016-08-01

    The last thirty years, there is a real dynamic change of land cover with intensive degradation of the natural vegetation especially in arid zone. Indeed, the adverse effects of drought periods from the year 1970 combined with population growth and economic conditions experienced by the country in the 1980s have greatly upset the delicate balance of the natural environment. These adverse effects may result in partial or total disappearance of some natural ecosystems.The objective of this work is to study the distribution of plant formations that constitute the ecosystem typical of west Algeria and their dynamics in time and space, as well as to develop a method to monitor the degradation process and a system capable of effectively protecting areas classified for their plant and animal species.The Landsat satellite images were used to map the vegetation of the study area at a scale of 1:200,000. A comparison was then made between the map obtained from satellite images (Landsat 8) of 2014 and (Landsat 5) of 1987.The results show the following main trends in the distribution patterns of steppe species, a strong decrease of land occupied by steppe of Stipatenacissima and steppe of Artimesiaherba-alba, witch replaced by three taxa Thymelaeamicrophylla, Salsolavermiculata and Peganumharmala. Steppe of Artemisia herbaalba has been transformed by steppe of. taxa Thymelaeamicrophylla, Salsolavermiculata and Lygeumspartum. Woody species such as Quercus ilex and Juniperusphoenicea are characterized by a large regression.

  3. Landscape characteristics and livestock presence influence common ravens: Relevance to greater sage-grouse conservation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Coates, Peter S.; Brussee, Brianne E.; Howe, Kristy; Gustafson, K. Ben; Casazza, Michael L.; Delehanty, David J.

    2016-01-01

    Common raven (Corvus corax; hereafter, raven) population abundance in the sagebrush steppe of the American West has increased threefold during the previous four decades, largely as a result of unintended resource subsidies from human land-use practices. This is concerning because ravens frequently depredate nests of species of conservation concern, such as greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus; hereafter, sage-grouse). Grazing by livestock in sagebrush ecosystems is common practice on most public lands, but associations between livestock and ravens are poorly understood. The primary objective of this study was to identify the effects of livestock on raven occurrence while accounting for landscape characteristics within human-altered sagebrush steppe habitat, particularly in areas occupied by breeding sage-grouse. Using data from southeastern Idaho collected during spring and summer across 3 yr, we modeled raven occurrence as a function of the presence of livestock while accounting for multiple landscape covariates, including land cover features, topographical features, and proximity to sage-grouse lek sites (breeding grounds), as well as site-level anthropogenic features. While accounting for landscape characteristics, we found that the odds of raven occurrence increased 45.8% in areas where livestock were present. In addition, ravens selected areas near sage-grouse leks, with the odds of occurrence decreasing 8.9% for every 1-km distance, increase away from the lek. We did not find an association between livestock use and distance to lek. We also found that ravens selected sites with relatively lower elevation containing increased amounts of cropland, wet meadow, and urbanization. Limiting raven access to key anthropogenic subsidies and spatially segregating livestock from sage-grouse breeding areas would likely reduce exposure of predatory ravens to sage-grouse nests and chicks.

  4. Tools for Resilience Management: Multidisciplinary Development of State-and-Transition Models for Northwest Colorado

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Emily J. Kachergis

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available Building models is an important way of integrating knowledge. Testing and updating models of social-ecological systems can inform management decisions and, ultimately, improve resilience. We report on the outcomes of a six-year, multidisciplinary model development process in the sagebrush steppe, USA. We focused on creating state-and-transition models (STMs, conceptual models of ecosystem change that represent nonlinear dynamics and are being adopted worldwide as tools for managing ecosystems. STM development occurred in four steps with four distinct sets of models: (1 local knowledge elicitation using semistructured interviews; (2 ecological data collection using an observational study; (3 model integration using participatory workshops; and (4 model simplification upon review of the literature by a multidisciplinary team. We found that different knowledge types are ultimately complementary. Many of the benefits of the STM-building process flowed from the knowledge integration steps, including improved communication, identification of uncertainties, and production of more broadly credible STMs that can be applied in diverse situations. The STM development process also generated hypotheses about sagebrush steppe dynamics that could be tested by future adaptive management and research. We conclude that multidisciplinary development of STMs has great potential for producing credible, useful tools for managing resilience of social-ecological systems. Based on this experience, we outline a streamlined, participatory STM development process that integrates multiple types of knowledge and incorporates adaptive management.

  5. Phenomapping of rangelands in South Africa using time series of RapidEye data

    Science.gov (United States)

    Parplies, André; Dubovyk, Olena; Tewes, Andreas; Mund, Jan-Peter; Schellberg, Jürgen

    2016-12-01

    Phenomapping is an approach which allows the derivation of spatial patterns of vegetation phenology and rangeland productivity based on time series of vegetation indices. In our study, we propose a new spatial mapping approach which combines phenometrics derived from high resolution (HR) satellite time series with spatial logistic regression modeling to discriminate land management systems in rangelands. From the RapidEye time series for selected rangelands in South Africa, we calculated bi-weekly noise reduced Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) images. For the growing season of 2011⿿2012, we further derived principal phenology metrics such as start, end and length of growing season and related phenological variables such as amplitude, left derivative and small integral of the NDVI curve. We then mapped these phenometrics across two different tenure systems, communal and commercial, at the very detailed spatial resolution of 5 m. The result of a binary logistic regression (BLR) has shown that the amplitude and the left derivative of the NDVI curve were statistically significant. These indicators are useful to discriminate commercial from communal rangeland systems. We conclude that phenomapping combined with spatial modeling is a powerful tool that allows efficient aggregation of phenology and productivity metrics for spatially explicit analysis of the relationships of crop phenology with site conditions and management. This approach has particular potential for disaggregated and patchy environments such as in farming systems in semi-arid South Africa, where phenology varies considerably among and within years. Further, we see a strong perspective for phenomapping to support spatially explicit modelling of vegetation.

  6. Does grazing management matter for soil carbon sequestration in shortgrass steppe?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Considerable uncertainty remains regarding the potential of grazing management on semiarid rangelands to sequester soil carbon. Short-term (less than 1 decade) studies have determined that grazing management potentially influences fluxes of carbon, but such studies are strongly influenced by prevail...

  7. Ecology and utilization of desert shrub rangelands in Iraq

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Thalen, Derk Catharinus Peter

    1979-01-01

    When grazing is the accepted land use, vegetation is the key resource. The present study deals with the desert shrub rangelands of lraq, which contain the major characteristics of such an area, having been under grazing for many centuries. Emphasis is given to the ecology and utilization of the

  8. [Allelopathic effects of Artemisia sacrorum population in typical steppe based on niche theory].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Hui; Xie, Yong-Sheng; Cheng, Ji-Min; She, Xiao-Yan

    2012-03-01

    By using modified Levins niche width index and Pianka niche overlap index, this paper analyzed the ecological competition between constructive and dominant species in a typical steppe. The stem- and leaf extracts from the constructive species (Artemisia sacrorum) were utilized to study their allelopathic potential on the seed germination and plant growth of the dominant species (Stipa bungeana, Thymus mongolicus, S. grandis, and Leymus secalinus), and the ecological position of A. sacrorum in the steppe succession. In the steppe, S. bungeana had the widest niche width (0.99), followed by T. mongolicus (0.94), A. sacrorum (0.82), S. grandis (0.76), and L. secalinus (0.73). The niche overlap value between A. sacrorum and S. bungeana, S. bungeana and T. mongolicus, T. mongolicus and S. grandis, and A. sacrorum and T. mongolicus was 0.90, 0.95, 0.94, and 0.86, respectively. The allelopathic effects of A. sacrorum extracts varied with their concentration. For the seed germination, root growth, and shoot growth of the dominant species, A. sacrorum extracts showed a trend of promoting at low concentrations and inhibiting at high concentrations. The extracts of A. sacrorum had a stronger promotion effect on the root growth of S. bungeana than on that of T. mongolicus, but a stronger inhibition effect on the shoot growth of T. mongolicus than on that of S. bungeana. Methanol extracts had stronger allelopathic effects than aqueous extracts. The high niche overlap between A. sacrorum and S. bungeana, and T. mongolicus and S. grandis indicated that the steppe community would continue succession to S. bungeana, while A. sacrorum population was only an important transitional stage during the succession. The allelopathic effect of A. sacrorum played a driving role in the succession process.

  9. Spatio-temporal dynamics of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi associated with glomalin-related soil protein and soil enzymes in different managed semiarid steppes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Qi; Bao, Yuying; Liu, Xiaowei; Du, Guoxin

    2014-10-01

    Temporal and spatial patterns of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) and glomalin and soil enzyme activities were investigated in different managed semiarid steppes located in Inner Mongolia, North China. Soils were sampled in a depth up to 30 cm from non-grazed, overgrazed, and naturally restored steppes from June to September. Roots of Leymus chinense (Trin.) Tzvel. and Stipagrandis P. Smirn. were also collected over the same period. Results showed that overgrazing significantly decreased the total mycorrhizal colonization of S. grandis; total colonization of L. chinensis roots was not significantly different in the three managed steppes. Nineteen AMF species belonging to six genera were isolated. Funneliformis and Glomus were dominant genera in all three steppes. Spore density and species richness were mainly influenced by an interaction between plant growth stage and management system (P soil depth. AMF species richness was significantly positively correlated with soil acid phosphatase activity, alkaline phosphatase activity, and two Bradford-reactive soil protein (BRSP) fractions (P soil glomalin and phosphatase activity in different managed semiarid steppes. Based on these observations, AMF communities could be useful indicators for evaluating soil quality and function of semiarid grassland ecosystems.

  10. The value of milk in rangelands in Mandera County, Kenya

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ngugi, Keziah; Ertsen, Maurits

    2015-04-01

    Lack of water over expansive regions in Greater Horn of Africa created the rangelands and rangelands created pastoralism. Pastoralism involve keeping of large livestock herds and movement in search of resources, mainly water, pasture, medicine and wild foods. Several studies have been done in the last century and findings pointed at pastoralism being primitive and unsustainable. It has been predicted it would die in the last century but in the rangelands, pastoralism lives on and it is resilient. This study is based in Mandera, a pastoralism county in Kenya that neighbors Ethiopia to the North and Somalia to the East. The study sought to investigate contribution of milk to pastoralism resilience. Interviews were conducted in the field among the pastoralists, women groups, transporters, traders, government officials and consumers of milk. These information was corroborated with actual field investigations in the expansive rangelands of Mandera County. Pastoralists rarely slaughter or sell their livestock even when the animals waste away during droughts. This is because they have been through such cycles before and observed livestock make tremendous recovery when the right conditions were restored. Rangelands lack infrastructure, there are no roads, schools, telephone or hospitals. Pastoralists diet is comprised of rice, wheat and milk. It was established milk was the main source of income among pastoralists in Mandera County. From milk, the pastoralists make income that is used to purchase the other foodstuffs. Milk is available on daily basis in large quantities owing to the large number of livestock. Unfortunately, every pastoralist household produce copious amounts of milk, thus no local demand and transport infrastructure is nonexistent, making sale of milk a near impossible task. The findings showed the pastoralists have established unique routes through which milk reach the markets in urban centers where demand is high. Urbanization sustain pastoralism. These

  11. Do people with borderline personality disorder complicated by antisocial personality disorder benefit from the STEPPS treatment program?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Black, Donald W; Simsek-Duran, Fatma; Blum, Nancee; McCormick, Brett; Allen, Jeff

    2016-08-01

    Systems Training for Emotional Predictability and Problem Solving (STEPPS) is a group treatment for persons with borderline personality disorder (BPD). We describe results from two data sets on outcome in persons who participated in STEPPS with BPD alone or BPD plus antisocial personality disorder (ASPD). In Study 1, we examined the effect of comorbid ASPD on outcome in 65 persons with BPD who participated in a randomized controlled trial at an academic medical centre. In Study 2, we examined the effect of comorbid ASPD on outcome in 64 offenders with BPD who participated in STEPPS in correctional settings. All subjects were assessed for the presence of BPD and ASPD. In Study 1, subjects with ASPD experienced greater improvement in BPD symptoms, impulsiveness and global symptoms. In Study 2, offenders with ASPD experienced greater improvement in positive and negative behaviours and positive affectivity. We conclude that persons with BPD plus ASPD benefit from STEPPS in community and correctional settings. The findings suggest that persons with BPD plus ASPD show greater improvement in some domains than persons with BPD only. People with ASPD should not be automatically excluded from participation in the program. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  12. [Responses of soil fauna to environment degeneration in the process of wind erosion desertification of Hulunbeir steppe].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lü, Shi-Hai; Lu, Xin-Shi; Gao, Ji-Xi

    2007-09-01

    To reveal the relationships between soil fauna and soil environmental factors in the process of steppe desertification, field survey combined with laboratory analysis was made to study the community structure, population density and biodiversity of soil fauna, and their relationships with the changes of soil organic matter, hydrolysable nitrogen, available phosphorus and moisture contents and soil pH at different stages of desertification of Hulunbeir steppe. The soil faunal specimens collected belonged to 4 phyla, 6 classes and 12 orders. Nematoda was the only dominant group of medium- and small-sized soil fauna, occupying 94.3% of the total, while Coleoptera and Hemiptera were the dominant groups of large-sized soil fauna, with the amount of 79.7%. The group amount, population density, diversity, and evenness of soil fauna had an obvious decreasing trend with the aggravation of steppe desertification. At serious stage of desertification, soil fauna vanished completely. The population density of soil fauna in 0-20 cm soil layer had significant linear correlations with soil nutrients and moisture contents, soil pH, and litter mass, indicating that soil fauna had stronger sensibility to the changes of soil environmental factors in the process of wind erosion desertification of Hulunbeir steppe.

  13. A synoptic review of U.S. rangelands: a technical document supporting the Forest Service 2010 RPA Assessment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Matthew Clark Reeves; John E. Mitchell

    2012-01-01

    The Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974 requires the USDA Forest Service to conduct assessments of resource conditions. This report fulfills that need and focuses on quantifying extent, productivity, and health of U.S. rangelands. Since 1982, the area of U.S. rangelands has decreased at an average rate of 350,000 acres per year owed mostly to conversion to...

  14. History of fire and Douglas-fir establishment in a savanna and sagebrush-grassland mosaic, southwestern Montana, USA

    Science.gov (United States)

    Emily K. Heyerdahl; Richard F. Miller; Russell A. Parsons

    2006-01-01

    Over the past century, trees have encroached into grass- and shrublands across western North America. These include Douglas-fir trees (Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco var. glauca (Beissn.) Franco) encroaching into mountain big sagebrush Nutt. ssp. vaseyana (Rydb.) Beetle) from stable islands of savanna in...

  15. Parameterization of erodibility in the Rangeland Hydrology and Erosion Model

    Science.gov (United States)

    The magnitude of erosion from a hillslope is governed by the availability of sediment and connectivity of runoff and erosion processes. For undisturbed rangelands, sediment is primarily detached and transported by rainsplash and sheetflow (splash-sheet) processes in isolated bare batches, but sedime...

  16. Introducing cattle grazing to a noxious weed-dominated rangeland shifts plant communities

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Josh S. Davy

    2015-10-01

    Full Text Available Invasive weed species in California's rangelands can reduce herbaceous diversity, forage quality and wildlife habitat. Small-scale studies (5 acres or fewer have shown reductions of medusahead and yellow starthistle using prescribed grazing on rangelands, but little is published on the effects of pasture-scale (greater than 80 acres prescribed grazing on weed control and plant community responses. We report the results of a 6-year collaborative study of manager-applied prescribed grazing implemented on rangeland that had not been grazed for 4 years. Grazing reduced medusahead but did not alter yellow starthistle cover. Medusahead reductions were only seen in years that did not have significant late spring rainfall, suggesting that it is able to recover from heavy grazing if soil moisture is present. Later season grazing appears to have the potential to suppress medusahead in all years. In practice, however, such grazing is constrained by livestock drinking water availability and forage quality, which were limited even in years with late spring rainfall. Thus, we expect that grazing treatments under real-world constraints would reduce medusahead only in years with little late spring rainfall. After 10 years of grazing exclusion, the ungrazed plant communities began to shift, replacing medusahead with species that have little value, such as ripgut and red brome.

  17. Rangelands Vegetation under Different Management Systems and Growth Stages in North Darfur State, Sudan (Range Attributes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mohamed AAMA Mohamed

    2014-09-01

    Full Text Available This study was conducted at Um Kaddada, North Darfur State, Sudan, at two sites (closed and open for two consecutive seasons 2008 and 2009 during flowering and seed setting stages to evaluate range attributes at the locality. A split plot design was used to study vegetation attributes. Factors studied were management systems (closed and open and growth stages (flowering and seed setting. Vegetation cover, plant density, carrying capacity, and biomass production were assessed. Chemical analyses were done for selected plants to determine their nutritive values. The results showed high significant differences in vegetation attributes (density, cover and biomass production between closed and open areas. Closed areas had higher carrying capacity compared to open rangelands. Crude protein (CP and ash contents of range vegetation were found to decrease while Crude fiber (CF and Dry matter yield (DM had increased with growth. The study concluded that closed rangelands are better than open rangelands because it fenced and protected. Erosion index and vegetation degradation rate were very high. Future research work is needed to assess rangelands characteristics and habitat condition across different ecological zones in North Darfur State, Sudan.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/ije.v3i3.11093 International Journal of Environment Vol.3(3 2014: 332-343

  18. Use of biosolids to enhance rangeland forage quality.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McFarland, Michael J; Vasquez, Issaak Romero; Vutran, MaiAnh; Schmitz, Mark; Brobst, Robert B

    2010-05-01

    Biosolids land application was demonstrated to be a potentially cost-effective means for restoring forage productivity and enhancing soil-moisture-holding capacity on disturbed rangelands. By land-applying aerobically digested, anaerobically digested, composted, and lime-stabilized biosolids on rangeland test plots at rates of up to 20 times (20X) the estimated nitrogen-based agronomic rate, forage yields were found to increase from 132.8 kg/ha (118.2 lb/ac) (control plots) to 1182.3 kg/ha (1052.8 lb/ac). Despite the environmental benefits associated with increased forage yield (e.g., reduced soil erosion, improved drainage, and enhanced terrestrial carbon sequestration), the type of forage generated both before and after biosolids land application was found to be dominated by invasive weeds, all of which were characterized as having fair to poor nutritional value. Opportunistic and shallow rooting invasive weeds not only have marginal nutritional value, they also limit the establishment of native perennial grasses and thus biodiversity. Many of the identified invasive species (e.g., Cheatgrass) mature early, a characteristic that significantly increases the fuel loads that support the increased frequency and extent of western wildfires.

  19. Linking ecosystem services with state-and-transition models to evaluate rangeland management decisions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lohani, S.; Heilman, P.; deSteiguer, J. E.; Guertin, D. P.; Wissler, C.; McClaran, M. P.

    2014-12-01

    Quantifying ecosystem services is a crucial topic for land management decision making. However, market prices are usually not able to capture all the ecosystem services and disservices. Ecosystem services from rangelands, that cover 70% of the world's land area, are even less well-understood since knowledge of rangelands is limited. This study generated a management framework for rangelands that uses remote sensing to generate state and transition models (STMs) for a large area and a linear programming (LP) model that uses ecosystem services to evaluate natural and/or management induced transitions as described in the STM. The LP optimization model determines the best management plan for a plot of semi-arid land in the Empire Ranch in southeastern Arizona. The model allocated land among management activities (do nothing, grazing, fire, and brush removal) to optimize net benefits and determined the impact of monetizing environmental services and disservices on net benefits, acreage allocation and production output. The ecosystem services under study were forage production (AUM/ac/yr), sediment (lbs/ac/yr), water runoff (inches/yr), soil loss (lbs/ac/yr) and recreation (thousands of number of visitors/ac/yr). The optimization model was run for three different scenarios - private rancher, public rancher including environmental services and excluding disservices, and public rancher including both services and disservices. The net benefit was the highest for the public rancher excluding the disservices. A result from the study is a constrained optimization model that incorporates ecosystem services to analyze investments on conservation and management activities. Rangeland managers can use this model to understand and explain, not prescribe, the tradeoffs of management investments.

  20. Agroforestry potential of Acacia senegal in the rangelands of luwero ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Agroforestry potential of Acacia senegal in the rangelands of luwero and Nakasongola districts. Jacob Godfrey Agea, Joseph Obua, Sara Namirembe, Mukadasi Buyinza, Daniel Waiswa. Abstract. No Abstract. Full Text: EMAIL FREE FULL TEXT EMAIL FREE FULL TEXT · DOWNLOAD FULL TEXT DOWNLOAD FULL TEXT.

  1. Session B1 Management for sustainable use — Rangeland auditing ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Social, economic and cultural needs, values and expectations will be examined together with the biophysical technologies and approaches which underlie auditing in rangeland science. Adaptive frameworks which enhance sustainable strategic responses, and the state of art in scale dilemmas will be addressed. A hybrid ...

  2. Multi-scale wind erosion monitoring and assessment for US rangelands

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wind erosion is a major resource concern for rangeland managers. Although wind erosion is a naturally occurring process in many drylands, land use activities, and land management in particular, can accelerate wind-driven soil loss – impacting ecosystem dynamics and agricultural production, air quali...

  3. Session A6 Rangelands as dynamic systems — Fragmentation of ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Biological complexity in rangelands arises from spatially-linked ecological states and processes. Herbivores, humans and other agents integrate distinct spatial units into complex systems by moving among and exploiting these units. Spatial heterogeneity plays a central role in the structure and function of grazed ...

  4. A Proposal on the Restoration of Nostoc flagelliforme for Sustainable Improvement in the Ecology of Arid Steppes in China

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xiang Gao

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available Nostoc flagelliforme, a filamentous nitrogen-fixing cyanobacterium, is widely distributed in arid steppes of the west and northwestern parts of China. However, as a food delicacy this species has been overexploited from 1970 to 2000. Moreover, overgrazing, land reclamation and the removal of medicinal herbs have caused severely reduced vegetation coverage there. In this communication, a badly damaged but slowly rehabilitating N. flagelliforme-inhibiting steppe is described, and the rehabilitation of desertified steppes by the renewed growth of N. flagelliforme is proposed. The restoration of this dominant nitrogen supplier would be an ecologically sustainable solution for supplementing current measures already taken in the desertified regions. In addition, a goal of 50%–60% vegetation coverage is proposed by the N. flagelliforme restoration.

  5. A review of climate change effects on terrestrial rangeland birds

    Science.gov (United States)

    D. M. Finch; K. E. Bagne; M. M. Friggens; D. M. Smith; K. M. Brodhead

    2011-01-01

    We evaluated existing literature on predicted and known climate change effects on terrestrial rangeland birds. We asked the following questions: 1) How does climate change affect birds? 2) How will birds respond to climate change? 3) Are species already responding? 4) How will habitats be impacted?

  6. Determining termite diversity in arid Namibian rangelands – a ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Three methods of sampling termite diversity in arid rangelands were tested in Namibia during the wet (March) and dry (October) seasons of 1998. Six sites were chosen: one pair on each of three farms representing a gradient of land use intensity. At each site, two adjacent plots of 1 ha each were sampled: one plot by a ...

  7. The Role of Rangelands in Diversified Farming Systems: Innovations, Obstacles, and Opportunities in the USA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nathan F. Sayre

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available Discussions of diversified farming systems (DFS rarely mention rangelands: the grasslands, shrublands, and savannas that make up roughly one-third of Earth's ice-free terrestrial area, including some 312 million ha of the United States. Although ranching has been criticized by environmentalists for decades, it is probably the most ecologically sustainable segment of the U.S. meat industry, and it exemplifies many of the defining characteristics of DFS: it relies on the functional diversity of natural ecological processes of plant and animal (reproduction at multiple scales, based on ecosystem services generated and regenerated on site rather than imported, often nonrenewable, inputs. Rangelands also provide other ecosystem services, including watershed, wildlife habitat, recreation, and tourism. Even where non-native or invasive plants have encroached on or replaced native species, rangelands retain unusually high levels of plant diversity compared with croplands or plantation forests. Innovations in management, marketing, incentives, and easement programs that augment ranch income, creative land tenure arrangements, and collaborations among ranchers all support diversification. Some obstacles include rapid landownership turnover, lack of accessible U.S. Department of Agriculture certified processing facilities, tenure uncertainty, fragmentation of rangelands, and low and variable income, especially relative to land costs. Taking advantage of rancher knowledge and stewardship, and aligning incentives with production of diverse goods and services, will support the sustainability of ranching and its associated public benefits. The creation of positive feedbacks between economic and ecological diversity should be the ultimate goal.

  8. Pleistocene Park: the restoration of steppes as a tool to mitigate climate change through albedo effect

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zimov, N.; Loranty, M. M.; Edgar, C.; Kropp, H.; Zimov, S. A.

    2017-12-01

    In the late Pleistocene, the world largest ecosystem was the mammoth steppe. It stretched from the Iberian Peninsula to Canada and from the New Siberian Islands to China. It was a highly productive steppe ecosystem with numerous predators and herbivores that maintained the dominance of grasslands. With the end of the Pleistocene, the climate warmed and humans entered Siberia and the Americas. The introduction of humans as predators in these regions led to the extinction of most large animals, and the further degradation of the steppes. Mosses, shrubs and larch forest soon replaced grasses and herbs. Pleistocene Park is an experiment conducted in the far north of Siberia; its main goal is to revive the extinct steppe ecosystem in the Arctic. This would increase the richness of the northern ecosystems and, bioproductivity, and through a series of ecological mechanisms help to mitigate climate change. To conduct the experiment, was fenced 2000 hectares of land, and continue the ongoing process of introducing animals that either lived on this territory in the past or that can adapt to the modern northern environment. Through grazing, animals slowly transform the vegetation, replacing mosses, shrubs, and trees with grasses and herbs. Here we present the effects grazing animals have on the albedo of the landscape. Several years of year-round measurement of albedo and incoming and reflected radiation conducted in the grasslands in the park indicate substantially higher albedo compared with most modern ecosystems like larch forest and shrublands. Since grasses are lighter than forest, they reflect a higher portion of energy back to space. Results indicate the most dramatic difference in reflected solar radiation is in April and early May. Grasslands covered with snow reflect most of the sun's energy, while dark stems of forests and shrubs absorb that energy and promote warming. We argue that large-scale promotion of highly productive steppes in the Arctic will

  9. Lethal Encephalitozoon cuniculi genotype III infection in Steppe lemmings (Lagurus lagurus)

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Hofmannová, L.; Sak, Bohumil; Jekl, V.; Mináriková, A.; Škorič, M.; Kváč, Martin

    2014-01-01

    Roč. 205, 1-2 (2014), s. 357-360 ISSN 0304-4017 R&D Projects: GA ČR(CZ) GAP505/11/1163 Institutional support: RVO:60077344 Keywords : Encephalitozoon cuniculi genotype III * Steppe lemmings * Lethal infection * PCR * Histology Subject RIV: EG - Zoology Impact factor: 2.460, year: 2014

  10. Effects of Spring Drought on Carbon Sequestration, Evapotranspiration and Water Use Efficiency in the Songnen Meadow Steppe in Northeast China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gang Dong; Jixun Guo; Jiquan Chen; Ge Sun; Song Gao; et al

    2011-01-01

    Global climate change projections suggest an increasing frequency of droughts and extreme rain events in the steppes of the Eurasian region. Using the eddy covariance method, we measured carbon and water balances of a meadow steppe ecosystem in Northeast China during 2 years which had contrasting precipitation patterns in spring seasons in 2007 and 2008. The meadow...

  11. Plant age, communication, and resistance to herbivores: young sagebrush plants are better emitters and receivers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shiojiri, Kaori; Karban, Richard

    2006-08-01

    Plants progress through a series of distinct stages during development, although the role of plant ontogeny in their defenses against herbivores is poorly understood. Recent work indicates that many plants activate systemic induced resistance after herbivore attack, although the relationship between resistance and ontogeny has not been a focus of this work. In addition, for sagebrush and a few other species, individuals near neighbors that experience simulated herbivory become more resistant to subsequent attack. Volatile, airborne cues are required for both systemic induced resistance among branches and for communication among individuals. We conducted experiments in stands of sagebrush of mixed ages to determine effects of plant age on volatile signaling between branches and individuals. Young and old control plants did not differ in levels of chewing damage that they experienced. Systemic induced resistance among branches was only observed for young plants. Young plants showed strong evidence of systemic resistance only if airflow was permitted among branches; plants with only vascular connections showed no systemic resistance. We also found evidence for volatile communication between individuals. For airborne communication, young plants were more effective emitters of cues as well as more responsive receivers of volatile cues.

  12. Session B1 Management for sustainable use — Rangeland auditing ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    We need to monitor the capacity of healthy rangeland to support a broad suite of ecosystem services for a wide range of stakeholders — in a fair, objective and representative way. ... A hybrid session structure will be utilised: distilling wisdom from relevant posters; formal presentations; and stimulating structured debate.

  13. Conservation and restoration of sagebrush ecosystems and sage-grouse: An assessment of USDA Forest Service Science

    Science.gov (United States)

    Deborah M. Finch; Douglas A. Boyce; Jeanne C. Chambers; Chris J. Colt; Kas Dumroese; Stanley G. Kitchen; Clinton McCarthy; Susan E. Meyer; Bryce A. Richardson; Mary M. Rowland; Mark A. Rumble; Michael K. Schwartz; Monica S. Tomosy; Michael J. Wisdom

    2016-01-01

    Sagebrush ecosystems are among the largest and most threatened ecosystems in North America. Greater sage-grouse has served as the bellwether for species conservation in these ecosystems and has been considered for listing under the Endangered Species Act eight times. In September 2015, the decision was made not to list greater sage-grouse, but to reevaluate its status...

  14. Satellite tracking of a young Steppe Eagle from the United Arab ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Following recovery and successful rehabilitation, a young Steppe Eagle Aquila nipalensis was tagged with a 45 g GPS satellite transmitter to track its migration and identify potential wintering and summering areas of the species passing through the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The study is part of a larger study on ...

  15. Power and limitation of soil properties as predictors of rangeland health and ecosystem functioning in a Northern mixed-grass prairie[Abstract

    Science.gov (United States)

    Soil properties are thought to affect rangeland ecosystem functioning (e.g. primary productivity, hydrology), and thus soil variables that are consistently correlated with key ecosystem functions may be general indicators of rangeland health. We summarize results from several studies in mixed-grass...

  16. Conditions favouring Bromus tectorum dominance of endangered sagebrush steppe ecosystems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reisner, Michael D.; Grace, James B.; Pyke, David A.; Doescher, Paul S.

    2013-01-01

    1. Ecosystem invasibility is determined by combinations of environmental variables, invader attributes, disturbance regimes, competitive abilities of resident species and evolutionary history between residents and disturbance regimes. Understanding the relative importance of each factor is critical to limiting future invasions and restoring ecosystems.

  17. Session A5 Rangelands as dynamic systems Role of wildlife in ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Rangelands in southern Africa are increasingly being used for conservation, ecotourism, game farming and hunting. This impacts people's livelihoods and the state of natural resources. Complimentarity and competition between wildlife and domestic livestock can be explored. Theme: This session focuses on ecosystem ...

  18. Temperament affects rangeland use patterns and reproductive performance of beef cows

    Science.gov (United States)

    • The American beef industry is paying more attention to cattle temperament, but studies examining relationships between temperaments and grazing behavior or animal performance on rangelands are limited. • We studied range beef cow temperaments using the behavioral syndromes framework. Cows classifi...

  19. Evolutionary and ecological implications of genome size in the North American endemic sagebrushes and allies (Artemisia, Asteraceae)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sonia Garcia; Miguel A. Canela; Teresa Garnatje; E. Durant McArthur; Jaume Pellicer; Stewart C. Sanderson; Joan Valles

    2008-01-01

    The genome size of 51 populations of 20 species of the North American endemic sagebrushes (subgenus Tridentatae), related species, and some hybrid taxa were assessed by flow cytometry, and were analysed in a phylogenetic framework. Results were similar for most Tridentatae species, with the exception of three taxonomically conflictive species: Artemisia bigelovii Gray...

  20. Promoting Action on Research Implementation in Health Services framework applied to TeamSTEPPS implementation in small rural hospitals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ward, Marcia M; Baloh, Jure; Zhu, Xi; Stewart, Greg L

    A particularly useful model for examining implementation of quality improvement interventions in health care settings is the PARIHS (Promoting Action on Research Implementation in Health Services) framework developed by Kitson and colleagues. The PARIHS framework proposes three elements (evidence, context, and facilitation) that are related to successful implementation. An evidence-based program focused on quality enhancement in health care, termed TeamSTEPPS (Team Strategies and Tools to Enhance Performance and Patient Safety), has been widely promoted by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, but research is needed to better understand its implementation. We apply the PARIHS framework in studying TeamSTEPPS implementation to identify elements that are most closely related to successful implementation. Quarterly interviews were conducted over a 9-month period in 13 small rural hospitals that implemented TeamSTEPPS. Interview quotes that were related to each of the PARIHS elements were identified using directed content analysis. Transcripts were also scored quantitatively, and bivariate regression analysis was employed to explore relationships between PARIHS elements and successful implementation related to planning activities. The current findings provide support for the PARIHS framework and identified two of the three PARIHS elements (context and facilitation) as important contributors to successful implementation. This study applies the PARIHS framework to TeamSTEPPS, a widely used quality initiative focused on improving health care quality and patient safety. By focusing on small rural hospitals that undertook this quality improvement activity of their own accord, our findings represent effectiveness research in an understudied segment of the health care delivery system. By identifying context and facilitation as the most important contributors to successful implementation, these analyses provide a focus for efficient and effective sustainment of TeamSTEPPS

  1. Steppe development on the Northern Tibetan Plateau inferred from Paleogene ephedroid pollen

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Han, Fang; Rydin, Catarina; Bolinder, Kristina; Dupont-Nivet, Guillaume; Abels, Hemmo A.; Koutsodendris, Andreas; Zhang, Kexin; Hoorn, Carina

    2016-01-01

    Steppe vegetation represents a key marker of past Asian aridification and is associated with monsoonal intensification. Little is, however, known about the origin of this pre-Oligocene vegetation, its specific composition and how it changed over time and responded to climatic variations. Here, we

  2. Vulnerability of amphibians to climate change: implications for rangeland management

    Science.gov (United States)

    Karen E. Bagne; Deborah M. Finch; Megan M. Friggens

    2011-01-01

    Many amphibian populations have declined drastically in recent years due to a large number of factors including the emerging threat of climate change (Wake 2007). Rangelands provide important habitat for amphibians. In addition to natural wetlands, stock tanks and other artificial water catchments provide habitat for many amphibian species (Euliss et al. 2004).

  3. Analysis reveals potential rangeland impacts if Williamson Act eliminated

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    William C. Wetzel

    2012-10-01

    Full Text Available California budget cuts have resulted in dramatic reductions in state funding for the Williamson Act, a land protection program that reduces property taxes for the owners of 15 million acres of California farms and rangeland. With state reimbursements to counties eliminated, the decision to continue Williamson Act contracts lies with individual counties. We investigated the consequences of eliminating the Williamson Act, using a geospatial analysis and a mail questionnaire asking ranchers for plans under a hypothetical elimination scenario. The geospatial analysis revealed that 72% of rangeland parcels enrolled in Williamson Act contracts contained habitat important for statewide conservation goals. Presented with the elimination scenario, survey respondents reported an intention to sell 20% of their total 496,889 acres. The tendency of survey participants to respond that they would sell land was highest among full-time ranchers with low household incomes and without off-ranch employment. A majority (76% of the ranchers who reported that they would sell land predicted that the buyers would develop it for nonagricultural uses, suggesting substantial changes to California's landscape in a future without the Williamson Act.

  4. 25 CFR 166.307 - Will the grazing capacity be increased if I graze adjacent trust or non-trust rangelands not...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... § 166.307 Will the grazing capacity be increased if I graze adjacent trust or non-trust rangelands not... trust or non-trust rangeland in common with the permitted land. Grazing capacity will be established... 25 Indians 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Will the grazing capacity be increased if I graze...

  5. Reality of rangeland degradation mapping with remote sensing: the South African experience

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    Wessels, Konrad J

    2008-09-01

    Full Text Available Globally there is an urgent need for standardized, quantitative measures rangeland degradation. Over the past 10 years in South Africa (SA), significant research efforts have been directed at this challenge, using diverse methods and data...

  6. CONTEMPORARY CHANGES OF THE CLIMATIC CONDITIONS OF THE CASPIAN SEMI-DESERT LANDSCAPES OF THE EASTERN CISCAUCASIA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Z. V. Ataev

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available The article analyzes the changes in the hydrothermal conditions within the pricaspian littoral plains accumulation and denudation-accumulative in places aeolian landscapes saltwort, saltwort-sagebrush deserts and semi-deserts in light chestnut soils based on data from weather stations "Makhachkala" for years 1945-2005.Tendencies of changes in temperature, precipitation, and hydrothermal coefficient and coefficient of moisture are shown. Tendency of modern fluctuations suggests that the climatic conditions of the last period contribute to the development of dry steppes and significant deviations from the conditions of the previous period do not occur.

  7. DYNAMICS OF ALGAE NUMBER AND BIOMASS OF STEPPE BIOGEOCOENOSES AND AGROCOENOSES IN KHERSON REGION

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shcherbina V.V.

    2011-12-01

    Full Text Available Characteristics of daily dynamics of seaweeds abundance and biomass were determined for steppe biogeocoenosis and agrocoenosis of Biosphere reserve “Askaniya-Nova” in spring of 2011. Fluctuation ranges in seaweeds abundance and biomass have been registered.Analyzing the indices of total number and algae biomass in studied biogeocoenoses it should be noted that the maximal values of alga number in virgin soil steppe exceeded minimal in 3,3 times; biomasses - in 2,1. For virgin soil steppe of post-fire-induced development the relation between maximum and minimal value of total number of algae was up to 2,1; biomass - 2,4. For agrocoenosis we noted the largest ranges in variation of number and biomass. In conditions of dry-land arable land the maximum values of total number of alga exceeded minimal in 21,9 times; biomasses - in 8,7; for irrigated arable land - in 12,5 and 5,6 respectively.In soil samples, selected within the limits of virgin soil biogeocoenoses of biosphere reserve “Askania-Nova” and agrocoenosis of dry-land and irrigated arable land in biosphere reserve by direct count, the algae species of Bacillariophyta, Cyanophyta, Chlorophyta, Xanthophyta and Eustigmatophyta have been found. The largest contribution to number and biomass of algae belonged to Bacillariophyta. The number and biomass of agrocoenosis algae is more dynamic feature, than for algae of virgin soil biogeocoenoses.

  8. Evaluating the outcomes of the STEPPS programme in a UK community-based population; implications for the multidisciplinary treatment of borderline personality disorder.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hill, N; Geoghegan, M; Shawe-Taylor, M

    2016-08-01

    WHAT IS KNOWN ON THE SUBJECT?: Individuals with a diagnosis of Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) now constitute a substantial portion of the caseload for community teams. Specialized treatments for BPD often consume a large portion of available psychology resources and also involve lengthy waiting lists. The STEPPS programme is a treatment approach which is growing in evidence, particularly in the US. However, further evidence for the effectiveness of this programme within the UK healthcare system is needed. The results of this study support the preliminary evidence for the effectiveness of STEPPS in a UK community-based population. A reduction in symptom severity was in evidence. Novel measures were used to build on previous evaluations of the STEPPS programme. These measures show a significant reduction in patients' affinity for unhelpful schemas, as well as an increase in patients' self-reported quality of life; an important perspective for a recovery focused approach to treatment. WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE?: The STEPPS programme has shown its merit as an effective and more accessible treatment option for the community-based treatment of BPD, though some methodological limitations are noted. Furthermore, the results of this study demonstrate that STEPPS can be delivered effectively by teams of facilitators from different professional backgrounds who do not necessarily have extensive training in psychotherapeutic interventions. The result is a well-rounded and diverse skill set possessed by the team of facilitators, adding to the richness of the patient's recovery journey and leading to a more favourable spread of teams' resources. Aims & Background Systems Training for Emotional Predictability and Problem Solving (STEPPS) is a group treatment for individuals with a diagnosis of Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) which has a growing evidence base, particularly in the US. Evidence is sparse for its use with UK populations, and this study seeks

  9. Sulfidogenesis in hypersaline chloride-sulfate lakes of Kulunda Steppe (Altai, Russia)

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Sorokin, D.Y.; Zacharova, E.E.; Pimenov, N.V.; Tourova, T.P.; Panteleeva, A.N.; Muyzer, G.

    2012-01-01

    The activity and culturable diversity of sulfidogens were investigated in anoxic sediments of four hypersaline lakes with pH 7.6-8.2 in the Kulunda Steppe (Altai, Russia). Sulfate reduction rates were low, varying from 0.1 to 6.0 nmol HS−/(cm3 h) with a maximum in the top 10 cm layer. Potential

  10. Carbon balance assessment of a natural steppe of southern Siberia by multiple constraint approach

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    L. Belelli Marchesini

    2007-08-01

    Full Text Available Steppe ecosystems represent an interesting case in which the assessment of carbon balance may be performed through a cross validation of the eddy covariance measurements against ecological inventory estimates of carbon exchanges (Ehman et al., 2002; Curtis et al., 2002.

    Indeed, the widespread presence of ideal conditions for the applicability of the eddy covariance technique, as vast and homogeneous grass vegetation cover over flat terrains (Baldocchi, 2003, make steppes a suitable ground to ensure a constrain to flux estimates with independent methodological approaches.

    We report about the analysis of the carbon cycle of a true steppe ecosystem in southern Siberia during the growing season of 2004 in the framework of the TCOS-Siberia project activities performed by continuous monitoring of CO2 fluxes at ecosystem scale by the eddy covariance method, fortnightly samplings of phytomass, and ingrowth cores extractions for NPP assessment, and weekly measurements of heterotrophic component of soil CO2 effluxes obtained by an experiment of root exclusion.

    The carbon balance of the monitored natural steppe was, according to micrometeorological measurements, a sink of carbon of 151.7±36.9 g C m−2, cumulated during the growing season from May to September. This result was in agreement with the independent estimate through ecological inventory which yielded a sink of 150.1 g C m−2 although this method was characterized by a large uncertainty (±130% considering the 95% confidence interval of the estimate. Uncertainties in belowground process estimates account for a large part of the error. Thus, in particular efforts to better quantify the dynamics of root biomass (growth and turnover have to be undertaken in order to reduce the uncertainties in the assessment of NPP. This assessment should be preferably based on the application of multiple methods, each one characterized by its

  11. Salinity mobilization and transport from rangelands: assessment, recommendations, and knowledge gaps

    Science.gov (United States)

    The purpose of the salinity project is to improve the understanding of sources and transport mechanisms in rangeland catchments that deliver dissolved solids (salts) to streams within the Upper Colorado River Basin (UCRB) through a review of relevant literature on what is known about the impact of r...

  12. U.S. Geological Survey shrub/grass products provide new approach to shrubland monitoring

    Science.gov (United States)

    Young, Steven M.

    2017-12-11

    In the Western United States, shrubland ecosystems provide vital ecological, hydrological, biological, agricultural, and recreational services. However, disturbances such as livestock grazing, exotic species invasion, conversion to agriculture, climate change, urban expansion, and energy development are altering these ecosystems.Improving our understanding of how shrublands are distributed, where they are changing, the extent of the historical change, and likely future change directions is critical for successful management of these ecosystems. Remote-sensing technologies provide the most likely data source for large-area monitoring of ecosystem disturbance—both near-real time and historically. A monitoring framework supported by remote-sensing data can offer efficient and accurate analysis of change across a range of spatial and temporal scales.The U.S. Geological Survey has been working to develop new remote-sensing data, tools, and products to characterize and monitor these changing shrubland landscapes. Nine individual map products (components) have been developed that quantify the percent of shrub, sagebrush, big sagebrush, herbaceous, annual herbaceous, litter, bare ground, shrub height, and sagebrush height at 1-percent intervals in each 30-meter grid cell. These component products are designed to be combined and customized to widely support different applications in rangeland monitoring, analysis of wildlife habitat, resource inventory, adaptive management, and environmental review.

  13. Integrated disposal Facility Sagebrush Habitat Mitigation Project: FY2007 Compensation Area Monitoring Report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Durham, Robin E.; Sackschewsky, Michael R.

    2007-09-01

    This report summarizes the first year survival of sagebrush seedlings planted as compensatory mitigation for the Integrated Disposal Facility Project. Approximately 42,600 bare root seedlings and 26,000 pluglings were planted at a mitigation site along Army Loop Road in February 2007. Initial baseline monitoring occurred in March 2007, and first summer survival was assessed in September 2007. Overall survival was 19%, with bare root survival being marginally better than pluglings (21% versus 14%). Likely major factors contributing to low survival were late season planting and insufficient soil moisture during seedling establishment.

  14. Linear objects impact on grassland degradation in the typical steppe region of China

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Li, Suying; Verburg, Peter H.; Lv, Shihai; Gao, Shangyu; Wu, Jingle

    2011-01-01

    Despite growing recognition of the issue of grassland degradation, few regional estimates of linear object impacts on grassland degradation [1]. We presented a methodology for evaluating regional impacts on steppe degradation from linear objects which were two uppermost types, rivers and roads, in

  15. Bread winter wheat breeding (Triticum aestivum L. using spring varieties genepool in forest-steppe Environments of Ukraine

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    В. С. Кочмарський

    2010-10-01

    Full Text Available It is concluded by investigations that wheat crossing of various development types between themselves cause increase of formbuilding process in hybrid progeny, promoting the selection of practically valuable recombinats. The genotypes which present the practical valuable by complex of adaptive traits and properties have been selected by phenotype stability in the breeding process. The new bread winter wheat variety Pamyati Remesla developed with participation of spring wheat variety Hja 22139 (Finland has been proposed for including it into the Register of Plant varieties of Ukraine adapted for use in Steppe, Forest- Steppe and Woodland of Ukraine since 2010.

  16. Data Report: Meteorological and Evapotranspiration Data from Sagebrush and Pinyon Pine/Juniper Communities at Pahute Mesa, Nevada National Security Site, 2011-2012

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jasoni, Richard L [DRI; Larsen, Jessica D [DRI; Lyles, Brad F. [DRI; Healey, John M [DRI; Cooper, Clay A [DRI; Hershey, Ronald L [DRI; Lefebre, Karen J [DRI

    2013-04-01

    Pahute Mesa is a groundwater recharge area at the Nevada National Security Site. Because underground nuclear testing was conducted at Pahute Mesa, groundwater recharge may transport radionuclides from underground test sites downward to the water table; the amount of groundwater recharge is also an important component of contaminant transport models. To estimate the amount of groundwater recharge at Pahute Mesa, an INFIL3.0 recharge-runoff model is being developed. Two eddy covariance (EC) stations were installed on Pahute Mesa to estimate evapotranspiration (ET) to support the groundwater recharge modeling project. This data report describes the methods that were used to estimate ET and collect meteorological data. Evapotranspiration was estimated for two predominant plant communities on Pahute Mesa; one site was located in a sagebrush plant community, the other site in a pinyon pine/juniper community. Annual ET was estimated to be 310±13.9 mm for the sagebrush site and 347±15.9 mm for the pinyon pine/juniper site (March 26, 2011 to March 26, 2012). Annual precipitation measured with unheated tipping bucket rain gauges was 179 mm at the sagebrush site and 159 mm at the pinyon pine/juniper site. Annual precipitation measured with bulk precipitation gauges was 222 mm at the sagebrush site and 227 mm at the pinyon pine/juniper site (March 21, 2011 to March 28, 2012). A comparison of tipping bucket versus bulk precipitation data showed that total precipitation measured by the tipping bucket rain gauges was 17 to 20 percent lower than the bulk precipitation gauges. These differences were most likely the result of the unheated tipping bucket precipitation gauges not measuring frozen precipitation as accurately as the bulk precipitation gauges. In this one-year study, ET exceeded precipitation at both study sites because estimates of ET included precipitation that fell during the winter of 2010-2011 prior to EC instrumentation and the precipitation gauges started

  17. Determining RUSLE P-factors for stonebunds and trenches in rangeland and cropland, Northern Ethiopia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Taye, Gebeyehu; Poesen, Jean; Vanmaercke, Matthias; Van Wesemael, Bas; Tesfay, Samuel; Teka, Daniel; Nyssen, Jan; Deckers, Jozef; Haregeweyn, Nigussie

    2017-04-01

    The implementation of soil and water conservation (SWC) measures in the Ethiopian highlands is a top priority to reduce soil erosion rates and to enhance the sustainability of agroecosystem. Nonetheless, the effectiveness of many of these measures for different hillslope and land use conditions remains currently poorly understood. As a result, the overall effects of these measures at regional or catchment scale remain hard to quantify. This study addresses this knowledge gap by determining the cover-management (C) and support practice (P) factors of the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE), for commonly used SWC measures in semi-arid environments (i.e. stone bunds, trenches and a combination of both). Calculations were based on soil loss data collected with runoff plots in Tigray, northern Ethiopia (i.e. 21 runoff plots of 600 to 1000 m2, monitored during 2010, 2011 and 2012). The runoff plots were installed in rangeland and cropland sites corresponding to a gentle (5%), medium (12%) and steep (16%) slope gradients. The C and P factors of the RUSLE were calculated following the recommended standard procedures. Results show that the C-factor for rangeland ranges from 0.31 to 0.98 and from 0.06 to 0.39 for cropland. For rangeland, this large variability is due to variations in vegetation cover caused by grazing. In cropland, C-factors vary with tillage practices and crop types. The calculated P-factors ranged from 0.32 to 0.74 for stone bunds, from 0.07 to 0.65 for trenches and from 0.03 to 0.22 for a combination of both stone bunds and trenches. This variability is partly due to variations in the density of the implemented measures in relation to land use (cropland vs rangeland) and slope angles. However, also annual variations in P factor values are highly significant. Especially trenches showed a very significant decline of effectiveness over time, which is attributable to their reduced static storage capacity as a result of sediment deposition (e.g. for

  18. Towards a remote sensing based indicator of rangeland ecosystem resistance and resilience

    Science.gov (United States)

    Understanding ecosystem resistance and resilience to disturbance and invasive species is critical to the sustainable management of rangeland systems. In this context, resistance refers to the inherent ability of an ecosystem to resist disturbance, while resilience refers to the capacity of an ecosys...

  19. Changes in Biomass and Quality of Alpine Steppe in Response to N & P Fertilization in the Tibetan Plateau

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dong, Junfu; Cui, Xiaoyong; Wang, Shuping; Wang, Fang; Pang, Zhe; Xu, Ning; Zhao, Guoqiang; Wang, Shiping

    2016-01-01

    In the alpine steppe zone on the Central Tibetan Plateau, a large amount of area has been degraded due to natural and artificial factors. N & P fertilization is widely accepted to recover degraded pastures in other regions all over the world. However, it is not clear how alpine steppe communities respond to N & P fertilization, and what is the optimal application rate, in the perspective of forage production. To attempt to explore these questions, in July 2013, two fencing sites were designed in Baingoin County with 12 treatments of different levels of nitrogen (N0: 0; N1: 7.5 g m-2 yr-1; N2: 15 g m-2 yr-1) & phosphate (P0: 0; P1: 7.5 gP2O5 m-2 yr-1; P2: 15 gP2O5 m-2 yr-1; P3: 30 gP2O5 m-2 yr-1). The results indicated N&P addition was capable to ameliorate the quality of the two sites in the Tibetan Plateau steppe. Increasing N application level resulted in significant increment in Gramineae and total biomass in the two sites. P addition significantly improved the quantity of Compositae, total biomass and the biomasss of other species in site II, while it only significantly improved the total biomass in site I. Gramineae was much more sensitive to N-induced changes than P-induced changes, and this indicated N addition was better to ameliorate the quality of plateau steppe than P-induced changes. No strong evidence was found for critical threshold within 15 g N m-2 yr-1, and there was decreasing tendency when P addition rate was above 15 g m-2 yr-1. N&P has the potential to accelerate soil acidification, which improved the content of available K, likely as a result of nonsignificant correlation between biomass and soil moisture. This work highlights the the tradeoffs that exist in N and P addition in recovering degraded steppe. PMID:27223104

  20. Population status, habitat associations, and distribution of the steppe polecat Mustela eversmanii in Europe

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Šálek, Martin; Spassov, N.; Anděra, M.; Enzinger, K.; Ottlecz, B.; Hegyeli, Z.

    2013-01-01

    Roč. 58, č. 3 (2013), s. 233-244 ISSN 0001-7051 Institutional support: RVO:68081766 Keywords : Steppe polecat * Mustela eversmanii * Distribution * Habitat associations * Population status * Europe Subject RIV: EG - Zoology Impact factor: 1.161, year: 2013

  1. Evaluating new SMAP soil moisture for drought monitoring in the rangelands of the US High Plains

    Science.gov (United States)

    Velpuri, Naga Manohar; Senay, Gabriel B.; Morisette, Jeffrey T.

    2016-01-01

    Level 3 soil moisture datasets from the recently launched Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) satellite are evaluated for drought monitoring in rangelands.Validation of SMAP soil moisture (SSM) with in situ and modeled estimates showed high level of agreement.SSM showed the highest correlation with surface soil moisture (0-5 cm) and a strong correlation to depths up to 20 cm.SSM showed a reliable and expected response of capturing seasonal dynamics in relation to precipitation, land surface temperature, and evapotranspiration.Further evaluation using multi-year SMAP datasets is necessary to quantify the full benefits and limitations for drought monitoring in rangelands.

  2. Biomorphological traits of Callistephus chinensis (L. Nees cultivars under conditions of the Central Forest-Steppe zone of Ukraine

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    С. М. Левандовська

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Purpose. Determining prospects of introducing Callistephus chinensis cultivars of foreign breeding for further cultivation under conditions of the Central Forest-Steppe zone of Ukraine. Methods. Field, laboratory, analytical and statistical ones. Results. Ten C. сhinensis cultivars of theGerman breeding were tested under conditions of the Central Forest-Steppe zone of Ukraine. Biomorphological traits of the varieties of five sort types were identified, and their comparative analysis was conducted. Seasonal dynamics of growth and development of cultivars in the growing area was studied. Conclusions. Cultivars with short and mean duration phases of development can be grown under conditions of the Central Forest-Steppe zone of Ukraine by direct sowing that does not affect their seed productivity and sowing quality of seeds. Seeds of late cultivars can reach complete maturity only in case of seedling use. C. chinensis cultivars of the German breeding have successfully passed the initial test for suitability to introduction into the studied area.

  3. Grazing management, resilience and the dynamics of a fire driven rangeland system

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Anderies, J.M.; Janssen, M.A.; Walker, B.H.

    2002-01-01

    We developed a stylized mathematical model to explore the effects of physical, ecological, and economic factors on the resilience of a managed fire-driven rangeland system. Depending on grazing pressure, the model exhibits one of three distinct configurations: a fire-dominated, grazing-dominated, or

  4. Vulnerability of cattle production to climate change on U.S. rangelands

    Science.gov (United States)

    Matt C. Reeves; Karen E. Bagne

    2016-01-01

    We examined multiple climate change effects on cattle production for U.S. rangelands to estimate relative change and identify sources of vulnerability among seven regions. Climate change effects to 2100 were projected from published models for four elements: forage quantity, vegetation type trajectory, heat stress, and forage variability. Departure of projections from...

  5. Application of MODIS Land Products to Assessment of Land Degradation of Alpine Rangeland in Northern India with Limited Ground-Based Information

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Masahiro Tasumi

    2014-09-01

    Full Text Available Land degradation of alpine rangeland in Dachigam National Park, Northern India, was evaluated in this study using MODerate resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS land products. The park has been used by a variety of livestock holders. With increasing numbers of livestock, the managers and users of the park are apprehensive about degradation of the grazing land. However, owing to weak infrastructure for scientific and statistical data collection and sociopolitical restrictions in the region, a lack of quality ground-based weather, vegetation, and livestock statistical data had prevented scientific assessment. Under these circumstances, the present study aimed to assess the rangeland environment and its degradation using MODIS vegetation, snow, and evapotranspiration products as primary input data for assessment. The result of the analysis indicated that soil water content and the timing of snowmelt play an important role in grass production in the area. Additionally, the possibility of land degradation in heavily-grazed rangeland was indicated via a multiple regression analysis at a decadal timescale, whereas weather conditions, such as rainfall and snow cover, primarily explained year-by-year differences in grass production. Although statistical uncertainties remain in the results derived in this study, the satellite-based data and the analyses will promote understanding of the rangeland environment and suggest the potential for unsustainable land management based on statistical probability. This study provides an important initial evaluation of alpine rangeland, for which ground-based information is limited.

  6. Improving dynamic global vegetation model (DGVM) simulation of western U.S. rangelands vegetation seasonal phenology and productivity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kerns, B. K.; Kim, J. B.; Day, M. A.; Pitts, B.; Drapek, R. J.

    2017-12-01

    Ecosystem process models are increasingly being used in regional assessments to explore potential changes in future vegetation and NPP due to climate change. We use the dynamic global vegetation model MAPSS-Century 2 (MC2) as one line of evidence for regional climate change vulnerability assessments for the US Forest Service, focusing our fine tuning model calibration from observational sources related to forest vegetation. However, there is much interest in understanding projected changes for arid rangelands in the western US such as grasslands, shrublands, and woodlands. Rangelands provide many ecosystem service benefits and local rural human community sustainability, habitat for threatened and endangered species, and are threatened by annual grass invasion. Past work suggested MC2 performance related to arid rangeland plant functional types (PFT's) was poor, and the model has difficulty distinguishing annual versus perennial grasslands. Our objectives are to increase the model performance for rangeland simulations and explore the potential for splitting the grass plant functional type into annual and perennial. We used the tri-state Blue Mountain Ecoregion as our study area and maps of potential vegetation from interpolated ground data, the National Land Cover Data Database, and ancillary NPP data derived from the MODIS satellite. MC2 historical simulations for the area overestimated woodland occurrence and underestimated shrubland and grassland PFT's. The spatial location of the rangeland PFT's also often did not align well with observational data. While some disagreement may be due to differences in the respective classification rules, the errors are largely linked to MC2's tree and grass biogeography and physiology algorithms. Presently, only grass and forest productivity measures and carbon stocks are used to distinguish PFT's. MC2 grass and tree productivity simulation is problematic, in particular grass seasonal phenology in relation to seasonal patterns

  7. Fodder Biomass Monitoring in Sahelian Rangelands Using Phenological Metrics from FAPAR Time Series

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Abdoul Aziz Diouf

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available Timely monitoring of plant biomass is critical for the management of forage resources in Sahelian rangelands. The estimation of annual biomass production in the Sahel is based on a simple relationship between satellite annual Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI and in situ biomass data. This study proposes a new methodology using multi-linear models between phenological metrics from the SPOT-VEGETATION time series of Fraction of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (FAPAR and in situ biomass. A model with three variables—large seasonal integral (LINTG, length of growing season, and end of season decreasing rate—performed best (MAE = 605 kg·DM/ha; R2 = 0.68 across Sahelian ecosystems in Senegal (data for the period 1999–2013. A model with annual maximum (PEAK and start date of season showed similar performances (MAE = 625 kg·DM/ha; R2 = 0.64, allowing a timely estimation of forage availability. The subdivision of the study area in ecoregions increased overall accuracy (MAE = 489.21 kg·DM/ha; R2 = 0.77, indicating that a relation between metrics and ecosystem properties exists. LINTG was the main explanatory variable for woody rangelands with high leaf biomass, whereas for areas dominated by herbaceous vegetation, it was the PEAK metric. The proposed approach outperformed the established biomass NDVI-based product (MAE = 818 kg·DM/ha and R2 = 0.51 and should improve the operational monitoring of forage resources in Sahelian rangelands.

  8. Emerging issues and challenges in conservation of biodiversity in the rangelands of Tanzania

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jafari Kideghesho

    2013-11-01

    Full Text Available Tanzania rangelands are a stronghold for biodiversity harbouring a variety of animal and plant species of economic, ecological and socio-cultural importance. Efforts to protect these resources against destruction and loss have involved, among other things, setting aside some tracks of land as protected areas in the form of national parks, nature reserves, game reserves, game controlled and wildlife management areas. However, these areas and adjacent lands have long been subjected to a number of emerging issues and challenges, which complicate their management, thus putting the resources at risk of over exploitation and extinction. These issues and challenges include, among other things, government policies, failure of conservation (as a form of land use to compete effectively with alternative land uses, habitat degradation and blockage of wildlife corridors, overexploitation and illegal resource extraction, wildfires, human population growth, poverty, HIV/AIDS pandemic and human-wildlife conflicts. In this paper, we review the emerging issues and challenges in biodiversity conservation by drawing experience from different parts of Tanzania. The paper is based on the premise that, understanding of the issues and challenges underpinning the rangelands is a crucial step towards setting up of plausible objectives, strategies and plans that will improve and lead to effective management of these areas. We conclude by recommending some proactive measures that may enhance the sustainability of the rangeland resources for the benefit of the current and future generations.

  9. Soil Moisture Variability and its Effects on Herbage Production in Semi-arid Rangelands of Kenya

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Too, D.K.; Trlica, M.J.; Swift, D.M.; Musembi, D.K.

    1999-01-01

    Results obtained from recent studies focused on rangelands potential as influenced by human activity and climatic factors in the semi-arid and arid pastoral ecosystems of Northern Kenya indicated great temporal and spatial forage production variability. The objective of the studies was to document primary production in relation to water stress (drought), herbivory and direct human activities. Efforts also focused on finding possibilities of increasing productivity while conserving the finite resources for sustainable use. Laboratory, field and numerical methods were employed over several seasons and years. Forb and grass production was more variable than that of the browse (dwarf shrub) layer. Compared to forbs and dwarf shrubs, the grass layer contributed less to the total production in all seasons, indicating that the region had less potential for grazers compared to browsers. Spatial-temporal variation in rangeland carrying capacity reflected the great spatial heterogeneity in vegetation types and production. Similarly, seasonal differences were very evident, with highest estimates in the long rainy and the lowest during the dry and short rainy seasons, respectively. Factors limiting rangeland production potential were identified to be moisture deficiency, resource-use conflicts, an increasing and partially sedentarised nomadic population, overgrazing, tree felling, and land degradation (desert encroachment). Measures that can improve rangeland production potential and provide a better way of life for the inhabitants of the region include: (a) identification of land degradation (e.g. by means of bio-indicators and Geographical Information Systems, GIS); (b) technical interventions (i.e. soil and water conservation, restoration of degraded areas, fodder production); (c) social-economic interventions (i.e. resolution of resource-use conflicts, alleviation of poverty, infrastructure development improvement of livestock marketing channels etc.) and (d) continued

  10. Virtual TeamSTEPPS(®) Simulations Produce Teamwork Attitude Changes Among Health Professions Students.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sweigart, Linda I; Umoren, Rachel A; Scott, Patrician J; Carlton, Kay Hodson; Jones, James A; Truman, Barbara; Gossett, Evalyn J

    2016-01-01

    The majority of the estimated 400,000 or more patient deaths per year in the United States are from preventable medical errors due to poor communication. Team training programs have been established to teach teamwork skills to health professions students. However, it is often challenging to provide this training at a physical site. A brief intervention using a virtual learning environment with TeamSTEPPS(®)-based scenarios is described. Using a pretest-posttest design, the effects on teamwork attitudes in 109 health professional students from two institutions and multiple disciplines were measured using the TeamSTEPPS Teamwork Attitudes questionnaire. Participants showed significant attitude changes in the categories of leadership, situation monitoring, mutual support, and communication (p ⩽ .05), with significance in four of the six indicator attitudes in the communication section at the p ⩽ .001 level. These findings indicate the potential impact that virtual learning experiences may have on teamwork attitudes in learners across professions on multiple campuses. Copyright 2016, SLACK Incorporated.

  11. Forage seeding in rangelands increases production and prevents weed invasion

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Josh Davy

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available Increasing forage productivity in the Sierra foothill rangelands would help sustain the livestock industry as land availability shrinks and lease rates rise, but hardly any studies have been done on forage selections. From 2009 to 2014, in one of the first long-term and replicated studies of seeding Northern California's Mediterranean annual rangeland, we compared the cover of 22 diverse forages to determine their establishment and survivability over time. Among the annual herbs, forage brassica (Brassica napus L. and chicory (Cichorium intybus L. proved viable options. Among the annual grasses, soft brome (Bromus hordeaceus and annual ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum performed well. However, these species will likely require frequent reseeding to maintain dominance. Long-term goals of sustained dominant cover (> 3 years are best achieved with perennial grasses. Perennial grasses that persisted with greater than 50% cover were Berber orchardgrass (Dactylis glomerata, Flecha tall fescue (Lolium arundinaceum and several varieties of hardinggrass (Phalaris aquatica L., Perla koleagrass, Holdfast, Advanced AT. In 2014, these successful perennials produced over three times more dry matter (pounds per acre than the unseeded control and also suppressed annual grasses and yellow starthistle (Centaurea solstitialis L. cover.

  12. Stakeholder Theory and Rangeland Management: The Importance of Ranch Income Dependence

    Science.gov (United States)

    Elias, S.; Roche, L. M.; Elias, E.

    2016-12-01

    The California drought beginning in 2012 has been driven by reduced precipitation and record high temperatures. Hydrologic drought in the Southwest United States is projected to become the new climatology of the region. While ranchers are considered naturally adaptive, often adeptly altering management based upon conditions, the projected increased aridity may challenge rangeland management. Certain rancher characteristics are likely to impact how well ranchers adapt. Based on Stakeholder Theory (ST), we hypothesize that the extent to which ranchers are dependent on their ranches as a source of income would serve as a predictor of several key variables related to ranching adaptation and success. Data were obtained from 507 ranchers throughout the State of California via the Rangeland Decision-Making Survey implemented by University of California, Davis in 2010, just prior to the unprecedented California drought. Consistent with the ST urgency facet, results of linear regression analyses indicate the more dependent ranchers are on their ranches for their income, the more aware they are of USDA ranching initiatives (β = 0.19, p < .001) and state ranching initiatives (β = 0.10, p < .05). In addition, more dependent ranchers are more likely to use multiple and diverse sources of information about ranching (β = 0.18, p < .001), are more likely to realize the severity and extent of the most recent drought's impacts (β = 0.18, p < .001), and were more likely to have a drought management plan in place during the most recent drought (β = 0.18, p < .001). These findings are important in relation to both outreach/extension efforts and rangeland research. Outreach/extension efforts should take into account that people less dependent on their ranches are less aware of resources, as well as, less prepared to adapt to drought. Researchers should control for the extent to which ranchers are dependent on their ranches for income in order to ensure more accurate findings.

  13. Effects of Applied Land Use Strategies on Farmland Soils in the Southwestern Siberian Kulunda-Steppe

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grunwald, Lars-Christian; Illiger, Patrick; Stephan, Eckart; Frühauf, Manfred

    2014-05-01

    The Kulunda steppe in southwestern Siberia is one of the most intensely used agricultural regions in the world. The study area of the KULUNDA project is the Kulunda steppe, which is a part of the conversion region created during the so called "virgin land campaign" in the soviet era. Nowadays it is characterized by widespread soil degradation. Despite the fact that agriculture is the basis of existence, land use practice is maladjusted to the local conditions. The widespread soil degradation and accordingly the decreased soil humus content have negative effects on crop yields in this region. With respect to climate change, the current study analyses the cause effect relationship between land use practice and soil properties. In particular, different methods of soil cultivation will be tested and for each of the cases the soil humus content, soil water, soil solute balance will be measured and compared. In addition, the possibilities of soil carbon sequestration capacity will be analyzed. Furthermore, the study aims to achieve properly adapted sustainable cropping systems to stabilize the yields and to increase the productivity of plant production per spatial unit in this high vulnerable dry farming region. In 2012 the long term field trials started at three test farms in different steppe biomes, containing different soil types from chernozems to kastanozems. Each of them is characterized by a negative water balance. Successfully running cropping models, such as crop rotation, tilling intensity, plant protection and nutrition strategies from south Canadian steppe regions were adapted to regional agronomic needs. The traditional Russian cultivation system will be compared with two modern systems, including no-tillage methods on specially randomized test plots. Additionally, these plots are equipped with soil moisture monitoring systems to analyze the soil water content in different depths under the different cropping methods. The expected results will not only deepen

  14. Dairy cattle on Norwegian alpine rangelands – grazing preferences and milk quality

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Sickel, H; Abrahamsen, R K; Eldegard, K; Lunnan, T; Norderhaug, A; Petersen, M.A.; Sickel, M.; Steenhuisen, F.; Ohlson, M.

    2014-01-01

    The results from the study ‘Effects of vegetation and grazing preferences on the quality of alpine dairy products’ will be presented. The main objective of the project was to investigate the connections bet - ween alpine rangeland vegetation, landscape use and grazing preferences of free ranging

  15. Identification and Mapping of Sagebrush/Grass Successional Stages with Landsat Thematic Mapper Data at Yakima Training Center, Washington

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Leedy, Craig

    2004-01-01

    .... This research attempted to identify and map successional changes on semiarid rangelands at Yakima Training Center, WA, using remote sensing techniques by developing a model derived from analysis...

  16. Estimating Rangeland Forage Production Using Remote Sensing Data from a Small Unmanned Aerial System (sUAS)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, H.; Jin, Y.; Devine, S.; Dahlgren, R. A.; Covello, S.; Larsen, R.; O'Geen, A. T.

    2017-12-01

    California rangelands cover 23 million hectares and support a $3.4 billion annual cattle industry. Rangeland forage production varies appreciably from year-to-year and across short distances on the landscape. Spatially explicit and near real-time information on forage production at a high resolution is critical for effective rangeland management, especially during an era of climatic extremes. We here integrated a multispectral MicaSense RedEdge camera with a 3DR solo quad-copter and acquired time-series images during the 2017 growing season over a topographically complex 10-hectare rangeland in San Luis Obispo County, CA. Soil moisture and temperature sensors were installed at 16 landscape positions, and vegetation clippings were collected at 36 plots to quantify forage dry biomass. We built four centimeter-level models for forage production mapping using time series of sUAS images and ground measurements of forage biomass and soil temperature and moisture. The biophysical model based on Monteith's eco-physiological plant growth theory estimated forage production reasonably well with a coefficient of determination (R2) of 0.86 and a root-mean-square error (RMSE) of 424 kg/ha when the soil parameters were included, and a R2 of 0.79 and a RMSE of 510 kg/ha when only remote sensing and topographical variables were included. We built two empirical models of forage production using a stepwise variable selection technique, one with soil variables. Results showed that cumulative absorbed photosynthetically active radiation (APAR) and elevation were the most important variables in both models, explaining more than 40% of the spatio-temporal variance in forage production. Soil moisture accounted for an additional 29% of the variance. Illumination condition was selected as a proxy for soil moisture in the model without soil variables, and accounted for 18% of the variance. We applied the remote sensing-based models to map daily forage production at 30-cm resolution for the

  17. Modeling vegetation heights from high resolution stereo aerial photography: an application for broad-scale rangeland monitoring.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gillan, Jeffrey K; Karl, Jason W; Duniway, Michael; Elaksher, Ahmed

    2014-11-01

    Vertical vegetation structure in rangeland ecosystems can be a valuable indicator for assessing rangeland health and monitoring riparian areas, post-fire recovery, available forage for livestock, and wildlife habitat. Federal land management agencies are directed to monitor and manage rangelands at landscapes scales, but traditional field methods for measuring vegetation heights are often too costly and time consuming to apply at these broad scales. Most emerging remote sensing techniques capable of measuring surface and vegetation height (e.g., LiDAR or synthetic aperture radar) are often too expensive, and require specialized sensors. An alternative remote sensing approach that is potentially more practical for managers is to measure vegetation heights from digital stereo aerial photographs. As aerial photography is already commonly used for rangeland monitoring, acquiring it in stereo enables three-dimensional modeling and estimation of vegetation height. The purpose of this study was to test the feasibility and accuracy of estimating shrub heights from high-resolution (HR, 3-cm ground sampling distance) digital stereo-pair aerial images. Overlapping HR imagery was taken in March 2009 near Lake Mead, Nevada and 5-cm resolution digital surface models (DSMs) were created by photogrammetric methods (aerial triangulation, digital image matching) for twenty-six test plots. We compared the heights of individual shrubs and plot averages derived from the DSMs to field measurements. We found strong positive correlations between field and image measurements for several metrics. Individual shrub heights tended to be underestimated in the imagery, however, accuracy was higher for dense, compact shrubs compared with shrubs with thin branches. Plot averages of shrub height from DSMs were also strongly correlated to field measurements but consistently underestimated. Grasses and forbs were generally too small to be detected with the resolution of the DSMs. Estimates of

  18. How did climate drying reduce ecosystem carbon storage in the forest-steppe ecotone? A case study in Inner Mongolia, China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Yuke; Liu, Hongyan

    2010-07-01

    The projected recession of forests in the forest-steppe ecotone under projected climate drying would restrict the carbon sink function of terrestrial ecosystems. Previous studies have shown that the forest-steppe ecotone in the southeastern Inner Mongolia Plateau originally resulted from climate drying and vegetation shifts during the mid- to late-Holocene, but the interrelated processes of changing soil carbon storage and vegetation and soil shifts remain unclear. A total of 44 forest soil profiles and 40 steppe soil profiles were excavated to determine soil carbon storage in deciduous broadleaf forests (DBF), coniferous forests (CF) and steppe (ST) in this area. Carbon density was estimated to be 106.51 t/hm(2) (DBF), 73.20 t/hm(2) (CF), and 28.14 t/hm(2) (ST) for these ecosystems. Soil organic carbon (SOC) content was negatively correlated with sand content (R = -0.879, P ecotone. Changes in carbon storage caused by climate drying can be divided into two stages: (1) carbon storage of the ecosystem was reduced to 68.7%, mostly by soil coarsening when DBF were replaced by CF at approximately 5,900 (14)C years before present (BP); and (2) carbon storage was reduced to 26.4%, mostly by vegetation shifts when CF were replaced by ST at approximately 2,900 (14)C years BP.

  19. Challenges and Experiences of Building Multidisciplinary Datasets across Cultures

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jamiyansharav, K.; Laituri, M.; Fernandez-Gimenez, M.; Fassnacht, S. R.; Venable, N. B. H.; Allegretti, A. M.; Reid, R.; Baival, B.; Jamsranjav, C.; Ulambayar, T.; Linn, S.; Angerer, J.

    2017-12-01

    Efficient data sharing and management are key challenges to multidisciplinary scientific research. These challenges are further complicated by adding a multicultural component. We address the construction of a complex database for social-ecological analysis in Mongolia. Funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) Dynamics of Coupled Natural and Human (CNH) Systems, the Mongolian Rangelands and Resilience (MOR2) project focuses on the vulnerability of Mongolian pastoral systems to climate change and adaptive capacity. The MOR2 study spans over three years of fieldwork in 36 paired districts (Soum) from 18 provinces (Aimag) of Mongolia that covers steppe, mountain forest steppe, desert steppe and eastern steppe ecological zones. Our project team is composed of hydrologists, social scientists, geographers, and ecologists. The MOR2 database includes multiple ecological, social, meteorological, geospatial and hydrological datasets, as well as archives of original data and survey in multiple formats. Managing this complex database requires significant organizational skills, attention to detail and ability to communicate within collective team members from diverse disciplines and across multiple institutions in the US and Mongolia. We describe the database's rich content, organization, structure and complexity. We discuss lessons learned, best practices and recommendations for complex database management, sharing, and archiving in creating a cross-cultural and multi-disciplinary database.

  20. The economic impact of global climate change on Mediterranean rangeland ecosystems. A Space-for-Time approach

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fleischer, Aliza; Sternberg, Marcelo

    2006-01-01

    Global Climate Change (GCC) can bring about changes in ecosystems and consequently in their services value. Here we show that the urban population in Israel values the green landscape of rangelands in the mesic Mediterranean climate region and is willing to pay for preserving it in light of the expected increasing aridity conditions in this region. Their valuation of the landscape is higher than that of the grazing services these rangelands provide for livestock growers. These results stem from a Time-for-Space approach with which we were able to measure changes in biomass production and rainfall at four experimental sites along an aridity gradient. (author)

  1. Analytical approaches to quality assurance and quality control in rangeland monitoring data

    Science.gov (United States)

    Producing quality data to support land management decisions is the goal of every rangeland monitoring program. However, the results of quality assurance (QA) and quality control (QC) efforts to improve data quality are rarely reported. The purpose of QA and QC is to prevent and describe non-sampling...

  2. Transport of biologically important nutrients by wind in an eroding cold desert

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sankey, Joel B.; Germino, Matthew J.; Benner, Shawn G.; Glenn, Nancy F.; Hoover, Amber N.

    2012-01-01

    Wind erosion following fire is an important landscape process that can result in the redistribution of ecologically important soil resources. In this study we evaluated the potential for a fire patch in a desert shrubland to serve as a source of biologically important nutrients to the adjacent, downwind, unburned ecosystem. We analyzed nutrient concentrations (P, K, Ca, Mg, Cu, Fe, Mn, Al) in wind-transported sediments, and soils from burned and adjacent unburned surfaces, collected during the first to second growing seasons after a wildfire that burned in 2007 in Idaho, USA in sagebrush steppe; a type of cold desert shrubland. We also evaluated the timing of potential wind erosion events and weather conditions that might have contributed to nutrient availability in downwind shrubland. Findings indicated that post-fire wind erosion resulted in an important, but transient, addition of nutrients on the downwind shrubland. Aeolian sediments from the burned area were enriched relative to both the up- and down-wind soil and indicated the potential for a fertilization effect through the deposition of the nutrient-enriched sediment during the first, but not second, summer after wildfire. Weather conditions that could have produced nutrient transport events might have provided increased soil moisture necessary to make nutrients accessible for plants in the desert environment. Wind transport of nutrients following fire is likely important in the sagebrush steppe as it could contribute to pulses of resource availability that might, for example, affect plant species differently depending on their phenology, and nutrient- and water-use requirements.

  3. Facilitation and interference of seedling establishment by a native legume before and after wildfire.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goergen, Erin; Chambers, Jeanne C

    2012-01-01

    In semi-arid ecosystems, heterogeneous resources can lead to variable seedling recruitment. Existing vegetation can influence seedling establishment by modifying the resource and physical environment. We asked how a native legume, Lupinus argenteus, modifies microenvironments in unburned and burned sagebrush steppe, and if L. argenteus presence facilitates seedling establishment of native species and the non-native annual grass, Bromus tectorum. Field treatments examined mechanisms by which L. argenteus likely influences establishment: (1) live L. argenteus; (2) dead L. argenteus; (3) no L. argenteus; (4) no L. argenteus with L. argenteus litter; (5) no L. argenteus with inert litter; and (6) mock L. argenteus. Response variables included soil nitrogen, moisture, temperature, solar radiation, and seedling establishment of the natives Elymus multisetus and Eriogonum umbellatum, and non-native B. tectorum. In both unburned and burned communities, there was higher spring soil moisture, increased shade and reduced maximum temperatures under L. argenteus canopies. Adult L. argenteus resulted in greater amounts of soil nitrogen (N) only in burned sagebrush steppe, but L. argenteus litter increased soil N under both unburned and burned conditions. Although L. argenteus negatively affected emergence and survival of B. tectorum overall, its presence increased B. tectorum biomass and reproduction in unburned plots. However, L. argenteus had positive facilitative effects on size and survival of E. multisetus in both unburned and burned plots. Our study indicates that L. argenteus can facilitate seedling establishment in semi-arid systems, but net effects depend on the species examined, traits measured, and level of abiotic stress.

  4. Trends and patterns of anthropogenic evolution of chernozems in lands of agricultural afforestation within the territory of forest-steppe in the center of eastern Europe

    Science.gov (United States)

    The anthropogenic evolution of chernozems as a result of plowing and the creation of forest shelterbelts on three meadow-steppe areas of forest-steppe were studied. It was established, that in all areas there are similar patterns, caused by the transformation of virgin soils into arable soils and vi...

  5. Ethnobotanical survey of medicinal plants used by nomadic peoples in the Algerian steppe.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miara, Mohamed Djamel; Bendif, Hamdi; Ait Hammou, Mohammed; Teixidor-Toneu, Irene

    2018-06-12

    This study is the first ethnobotanical survey focusing on the herbal medicines traditionally used by the nomadic community of the Algerian steppe, identifying new medicinal plants and uses from one of the most characteristic indigenous populations in Algeria. Moreover, the study contributes to the understanding of transmission of medicinal plant knowledge in the Mediterranean basin. This work aims to document the phytotherapeutical knowledge and practice of the nomadic community of the Algerian steppe, and compare it with neighbouring sedentary populations and Mediterranean historical texts. Through this, the study strives to evaluate processes of transmission of knowledge among this population, for whom written sources have been largely unavailable. Ethnobotanical surveys were carried out during two years (2015-2017). In total, 73 informants from nomadic populations were interviewed in several steppe regions including areas in the administrative departments of Tiaret, Saida, Naama, Djelfa and M'sila. Structured interviews about medicinal plant knowledge were combined with guided tours with the informants. Prior informed consent was always obtained. The surveys allowed for the collection of sociodemographic data and traditional knowledge about medicinal plants and their uses. Informant Consensus Factor (F IC ) was calculated to evaluate agreement among informants. Results were compared to existing literature to evaluate similarities between this nomadic medicinal flora, that of neighbouring communities and historical texts and identify new plant citations and uses. Among Algerian nomadic communities, herbal remedies are used mostly by women and elders, who are often illiterate. We identified 97 taxa of medicinal plants belonging to 42 botanical families, importantly Lamiaceae, Asteraceae and Apiaceae, like in neighbouring communities. The most common plant parts and method of preparation are also shared with neighbouring populations. New uses are described for 25

  6. Rangeland Brush Estimation Toolbox (RaBET): An Approach for Evaluating Brush Management Conservation Efforts in Western Grazing Lands

    Science.gov (United States)

    Holifield Collins, C.; Kautz, M. A.; Skirvin, S. M.; Metz, L. J.

    2016-12-01

    There are over 180 million hectares of rangelands and grazed forests in the central and western United States. Due to the loss of perennial grasses and subsequent increased runoff and erosion that can degrade the system, woody cover species cannot be allowed to proliferate unchecked. The USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) has allocated extensive resources to employ brush management (removal) as a conservation practice to control woody species encroachment. The Rangeland-Conservation Effects Assessment Project (CEAP) has been tasked with determining how effective the practice has been, however their land managers lack a cost-effective means to conduct these assessments at the necessary scale. An ArcGIS toolbox for generating large-scale, Landsat-based, spatial maps of woody cover on grazing lands in the western United States was developed through a collaboration with NRCS Rangeland-CEAP. The toolbox contains two main components of operation, image generation and temporal analysis, and utilizes simple interfaces requiring minimum user inputs. The image generation tool utilizes geographically specific algorithms developed from combining moderate-resolution (30-m) Landsat imagery and high-resolution (1-m) National Agricultural Imagery Program (NAIP) aerial photography to produce the woody cover scenes at the Major Land Resource (MLRA) scale. The temporal analysis tool can be used on these scenes to assess treatment effectiveness and monitor woody cover reemergence. RaBET provides rangeland managers an operational, inexpensive decision support tool to aid in the application of brush removal treatments and assessing their effectiveness.

  7. Response of gross ecosystem productivity, light use efficiency, and water use efficiency of Mongolian steppe to seasonal variations in soil moisture

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Sheng-Gong; Eugster, Werner; Asanuma, Jun; Kotani, Ayumi; Davaa, Gombo; Oyunbaatar, Dambaravjaa; Sugita, Michiaki

    2008-03-01

    The examination of vegetation productivity and use of light and water resources is important for understanding the carbon and water cycles in semiarid and arid environments. We made continuous measurements of carbon dioxide and water vapor fluxes over an arid steppe ecosystem in Mongolia by using the eddy covariance (EC) technique. These measurements allow an examination of EC-estimated gross ecosystem productivity (GEP), light use efficiency (LUE), and water use efficiency (WUE) of the steppe. Daily variations of GEP, LUE, and WUE were associated with daily variations of incident photosynthetically active radiation (PAR), ambient temperature (Ta), and vapor pressure deficit (VPD). The magnitudes of these variations were also dependent on canopy development. On the daily basis, GEP linearly correlated with evapotranspiration rate and PAR. LUE correlated positively with leaf area index, Ta, and soil moisture availability but negatively with the surface reflectivity for short-wave solar radiation. Throughout the growing season, both GEP and LUE responded strongly to precipitation-fed soil moisture in the top 20 cm of the soil. An examination of the responses of LUE and WUE to PAR under different soil moisture conditions shows that when soil water availability exceeded VPD, the steppe was most efficient in light use, whereas it was less efficient in water use. The multivariate analysis of variance also suggests that soil moisture availability, especially water status in the upper 20-cm soil layer with dense distribution of grass roots, is the most significant factor that governs GEP, WUE, and LUE. This study provides a preliminary assessment of the use of available water and light by the Mongolian arid steppe ecosystems under seasonally varying soil moisture conditions. A better understanding of these functional responses is required to predict how climate change may affect arid steppe ecosystems.

  8. Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory Wildland Fire Management Environmental Assessment

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Irving, John S

    2003-04-01

    DOE prepared an environmental assessment (EA)for wildland fire management activities on the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (INEEL) (DOE/EA-1372). The EA was developed to evaluate wildland fire management options for pre-fire, fire suppression, and post fire activities. Those activities have an important role in minimizing the conversion of the native sagebrush steppe ecosystem found on the INEEL to non-native weeds. Four alternative management approaches were analyzed: Alternative 1 - maximum fire protection; Alternative 2 - balanced fire protection; Alternative 2 - balanced fire protection; Alternative 3 - protect infrastructure and personnel; and Alternative 4 - no action/traditional fire protection.

  9. Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory Wildland Fire Management Environmental Assessment - April 2003

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Irving, J.S.

    2003-04-30

    DOE prepared an environmental assessment (EA)for wildland fire management activities on the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (INEEL) (DOE/EA-1372). The EA was developed to evaluate wildland fire management options for pre-fire, fire suppression, and post fire activities. Those activities have an important role in minimizing the conversion of the native sagebrush steppe ecosystem found on the INEEL to non-native weeds. Four alternative management approaches were analyzed: Alternative 1 - maximum fire protection; Alternative 2 - balanced fire protection; Alternative 2 - balanced fire protection; Alternative 3 - protect infrastructure and personnel; and Alternative 4 - no action/traditional fire protection.

  10. Study on Rangeland production Potential and its Limitations in the Semi-Arid lands of Northern Kenya

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Keya, G.A.; Hornetz, B.

    1999-01-01

    Results obtained from recent studies focused on rangeland potential as influenced by human activity and climatic factors in the semi-arid and pastoral ecosystems of Northern Kenya indicated great temporal and spatial forage production variability. The objective of the studies was to document the primary production potential in relation to water stress (drought), herbivory and direct human activities. Efforts also focused on finding possibilities of increasing productivity while conserving the finite resources for sustainable use. Laboratory field and numeric methods were employed over several seasons and years. Forb and grass production was more viable than that of the brows (dwarf shrub) layer. Compared to forbs and dwarf shrubs, The grass layer contributed less to the total of production in all seasons, indicating that the region had less potential for grazers compared to browsers. Spatial-temporal variations in rangeland carrying capacity reflected the great spatial heterogeneity in vegetation types and production. Similarly, seasonal difference were very evident, with highest estimates in the long rainy and lowest during the dry and short rainy seasons, respectively. Factors limiting rangeland production potential and were identified to be moisture deficiency, resource-use conflicts, an increasing and partial sedentarised nomadic population, overgrazing, tree felling, and land degradation (desert encroachment). Measures that can increase rangelands production potential and provide a better way of life for the inhabitants of the region include: (a) identification of land degradation (e.g. by means of bio-indicators and Geographical Information systems, GIS); (b) technical interventions (i.e. soil and water conservation,restoration of degraded ares, fodder production); (c)socio-economic interventions (i.e. resolution of resource-use conflicts, alleviation of poverty, infrastructure development, improvement of livestock marketing channels, etc) and (d) continued

  11. Revolutionary land use change in the 21st century: Is (rangeland) science relevant?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rapidly increasing demand for food, fiber and fuel together with new technologies and the mobility of global capital are driving revolutionary changes in land use throughout the world. Efforts to increase land productivity include conversion of millions of hectares of rangelands to crop production, ...

  12. Bridging Drought – Resilience in Rangeland Management in Times of Climate Change

    OpenAIRE

    Isele, Judith

    2014-01-01

    Organic livestock farming in semiarid regions greatly depends on the sustainable management of the natural rangeland as the resource for livestock sustenance. High stock density in combination with short grazing and long recovery periods achieve effective rainfall utilisation and considerably higher fodder production resulting in a high degree of resilience in drought situations.

  13. Human-modified landscapes: patterns of fine-scale woody vegetation structure in communal savannah rangelands

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    Fisher, T

    2011-11-01

    Full Text Available structure in five communal rangelands around 12 settlements in Bushbuckridge, a municipality in the Kruger to Canyons Biosphere Reserve (South Africa). The importance of underlying abiotic factors was evaluated by measuring size class distributions across...

  14. Climate Compatible Development in the Mongolia Steppe: analysis of vulnerability and adaptation response to global changes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ojima, D. S.; Togtokh, C.; Galvin, K. A.

    2015-12-01

    INTRODUCTION: Climate change and variability, market and policy changes are shaping pastoral communities' decisions on what pathways their future livelihoods will take and how the steppe landscapes and river basins, are managed. Recent droughts and damaging winter storms (zuds) of the past two decades have exacerbated the situation and undermined the natural capital on which the pastoral livelihoods depend upon. River basins are critical natural resources well-being of social-ecological systems in Mongolia. River basins provide the ecosystem services which support pastoral communities and industrial and urban development. Green development strategies are strongly dependent on water resources. Consequently, integrated planning of river basin management is needed to maintain these critical ecosystem services to meet the multiple needs of livelihoods of communities in these basins and to support sustainable development activities within the basins. For this study our team worked in nine sums (i.e., county level administrative areas) in three river basins in two provinces (aimags) to collect household data from 144 households. We also collected census data from the aimags and national level to understand trends at the level of ecosystems and river basins. We have selected 3 sums in each river basis, representing forest steppe, steppe and desert steppe regions for comparison across river basins and ecological zones. FINDINGS: Integrated planning efforts would be enhanced through, one, use of a social-ecological framework and, two, the development of a cross-ministerial working group to address natural resource considerations. Across the three basins agriculture, pastoral, industrial, and urban needs vie for similar ecosystem services. The natural capital and ecosystem services of these basins need to be assessed to understand the vulnerability and capacity of the resources. The most frequently listed "best coping strategy" across all ecosystem types was for herders to

  15. The Kazakh Steppe at the Turn of the 18th-19th Centuries: Reforms and Projects

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vasilyev Dmitriy Valentinovich

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available The following article is written on the basis of published and archival sources. O. Igelstrom’s reforms, and also the projects for government of the Kazakh Steppe prepared by some Russian officials, officers and ecclesiastics are considered by the author. Their singularities and differences are shown; the conclusion on their influence on the Russian policy in the region is drawn. The main attention is paid to reforms of O. Igelstrom who created the administrative institutions founded on local political tradition in the Small Horde. He intended to use them as instruments for the Russian influence in the Kazakh steppe. Local patrimonial leaders turned into government officials. But this experience was unsuccessful. Traditional Kazakh institutions didn’t conform to requirements of the Russian administration. The failure of those reforms provoked search of new models for the organization of Kazakh steppe’s administration. The Orenburg official D. Grankin suggested to refuse patrimonial division of the Small horde and to divide it according to the territorial principle. He suggested to include Russian officials and mullahs in all administrative bodies and to strengthen them by military detachments. The chief of the Siberian Lines Ya. Bouver suggested introducing the territorial division in the Middle Horde close to the imperial one. Expansion of the Russian sociocultural codes to the region was the main idea of his project. In the article considerable attention is paid to proposals of the Orenburg mufti M. Khusainov. He suggested to divide the Small Horde into two parts taking into account the patrimonial principle. The khan with sultans and advisers had to be at the head of each part. The deputies elected by notable Kazakhs had to become a sort of representative body in the part. The group of the armed Russian Muslims had to support safety in the Steppe. The Russian participation in internal administration of the Steppe was offered to minimize

  16. The interconnectedness between landowner knowledge, value, belief, attitude, and willingness to act: policy implications for carbon sequestration on private rangelands.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cook, Seth L; Ma, Zhao

    2014-02-15

    Rangelands can be managed to increase soil carbon and help mitigate emissions of carbon dioxide. This study assessed Utah rangeland owner's environmental values, beliefs about climate change, and awareness of and attitudes towards carbon sequestration, as well as their perceptions of potential policy strategies for promoting carbon sequestration on private rangelands. Data were collected from semi-structured interviews and a statewide survey of Utah rangeland owners, and were analyzed using descriptive and bivariate statistics. Over two-thirds of respondents reported some level of awareness of carbon sequestration and a generally positive attitude towards it, contrasting to their lack of interest in participating in a relevant program in the future. Having a positive attitude was statistically significantly associated with having more "biocentric" environmental values, believing the climate had been changing over the past 30 years, and having a stronger belief of human activities influencing the climate. Respondents valued the potential ecological benefits of carbon sequestration more than the potential financial or climate change benefits. Additionally, respondents indicated a preference for educational approaches over financial incentives. They also preferred to work with a private agricultural entity over a non-profit or government entity on improving land management practices to sequester carbon. These results suggest potential challenges for developing technically sound and socially acceptable policies and programs for promoting carbon sequestration on private rangelands. Potential strategies for overcoming these challenges include emphasizing the ecological benefits associated with sequestering carbon to appeal to landowners with ecologically oriented management objectives, enhancing the cooperation between private agricultural organizations and government agencies, and funneling resources for promoting carbon sequestration into existing land management and

  17. ISOTOPES, PLANTS, AND RESERVOIR EFFECTS : CASE STUDY FROM THE CASPIAN STEPPE BRONZE AGE

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Shishlina, N.; Zazovskaya, E.; van der Plicht, J.; Sevastyanov, V.; Boaretto, E.; Rebollo Franco, N.R.

    2012-01-01

    Bronze Age human and animal bone collagen from several steppe Bronze Age cultures (i.e. Early Catacomb, East and West Manych Catacomb, and Lola cultures) shows large variations in delta C-13 and delta N-15 values. In general, we observed that the older the sample, the lower the delta C-13 and delta

  18. Land use and soil organic matter in South Africa 1: A review on spatial variability and the influence of rangeland stock production

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pearson N.S. Mnkeni

    2011-05-01

    Full Text Available Degradation of soil as a consequence of land use poses a threat to sustainable agriculture in South Africa, resulting in the need for a soil protection strategy and policy. Development of such a strategy and policy require cognisance of the extent and impact of soil degradation processes. One of the identified processes is the decline of soil organic matter, which also plays a central role in soil health or quality. The spatial variability of organic matter and the impact of grazing and burning under rangeland stock production are addressed in this first part of the review. Data from uncoordinated studies showed that South African soils have low organic matter levels. About 58% of soils contain less than 0.5% organic carbon and only 4% contain more than 2% organic carbon. Furthermore, there are large differences in organic matter content within and between soil forms, depending on climatic conditions, vegetative cover, topographical position and soil texture. A countrywide baseline study to quantify organic matter contents within and between soil forms is suggested for future reference. Degradation of rangeland because of overgrazing has resulted in significant losses of soil organic matter, mainly as a result of lower biomass production. The use of fire in rangeland management decreases soil organic matter because litter is destroyed by burning. Maintaining or increasing organic matter levels in degraded rangeland soils by preventing overgrazing and restricting burning could contribute to the restoration of degraded rangelands. This restoration is of the utmost importance because stock farming uses the majority of land in South Africa.

  19. Climate-change adaptation on rangelands: Linking regional exposure with diverse adaptive capacity

    Science.gov (United States)

    David D. Briske; Linda A. Joyce; H. Wayne Polley; Joel R. Brown; Klaus Wolter; Jack A. Morgan; Bruce A. McCarl; Derek W. Bailey

    2015-01-01

    The ecological consequences of climate change are predicted to vary greatly throughout US rangelands. Projections show warming and drying in the southern Great Plains and the Southwest, warmer and drier summers with reduced winter snowpack in the Northwest, and warmer and wetter conditions in the northern Great Plains. Primarily through their combined effects on soil...

  20. Principles of optimizing animal production from rangeland

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Stubbendieck, J.; Waller, S.S.

    1983-01-01

    Increasing world population is one of the dominant factors escalating demands for the world's natural resources. Range and forage resources, which are used primarily for food and fibre, could be more efficiently used if management techniques were improved. The principles of managing forage resources are directly associated with both the growth and development of plants and the actions and needs of the grazing animal. An understanding of the effects of environmental factors and herbage removal (frequency, intensity and season of defoliation) on growth and regrowth of plants is the first step towards optimizing animal productivity from rangelands. Most potential changes will fit into three categories: (1) increase the quantity of forage, (2) improve the quality of forage, and (3) improve use of forage. The principles of grazing management can be separated into four intricately related categories: (1) proper degree of grazing, (2) proper season of grazing, (3) proper kind of livestock, and (4) proper distribution of grazing. Grazing management is affected by the manner in which both improvements and manipulation of vegetation affect forage yield and quality. The adaptation and application of existing knowledge to individual locations will be one step towards optimizing animal production from rangeland. Some of the problems may be solved through better dissemination of present knowledge through existing educational programmes, while others will require expanded programmes of information dissemination. A third group of problems may also be solved with present technology, but the solutions are not currently economical. Some of the problems will be solved only through expanded research. These research efforts need to be directed towards grazing or browsing animals, plant resources and the interaction between plants and animals. Application of nuclear techniques will be an integral part of this research. (author)

  1. Movement and spatial proximity patterns of rangeland-raised Raramuri Criollo cow-calf pairs

    Science.gov (United States)

    The objective of this study was to compare movement patterns of nursing vs. nonnursing mature cows and to characterize cow-calf proximity patterns in two herds of Raramuri Criollo cattle. Herds grazed rangeland pastures in southern New Mexico (4355 ha) and west-central Chihuahua, Mexico (633 ha)'' A...

  2. Soil water repellency and infiltration in coarse-textured soils of burned and unburned sagebrush ecosystems

    Science.gov (United States)

    F. B. Pierson; P. R. Robichaud; C. A. Moffet; K. E. Spaeth; C. J. Williams; S. P. Hardegree; P. E. Clark

    2008-01-01

    Millions of dollars are spent each year in the United States to mitigate the effects of wildfires and reduce the risk of flash floods and debris flows. Research from forested, chaparral, and rangeland communities indicate that severe wildfires can cause significant increases in soil water repellency resulting in increased runoff and erosion. Few data are available to...

  3. Searls prairie clover (Dalea searlsiae) for rangeland revegetation: Phenotypic and genetic evaluations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kishor Bhattarai; Shaun Bushman; Douglas A. Johnson; John G. Carman

    2011-01-01

    Few North American legumes are available for use in rangeland revegetation in the western USA, but Searls prairie clover [Dalea searlsiae (A. Gray) Barneby] is one that holds promise. Commercial-scale seed production of this species could address the issues of unreliable seed availability and high seed costs associated with its wildland seed collection. To evaluate its...

  4. Conservation state of populations of rare plant species in highly transformed meadow steppes of Southern Opillya

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    I. I. Dmytrash-Vatseba

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available Degradation of natural habitats causes rapid extinction of rare plant populations. The diversity of rare plant species in the meadow steppes of Southern Opillya (Western Ukraine depends strongly on patch area, pasture digression of vegetation and a variety of eco-coenotical conditions. The main threats for the rare components of the meadow steppe flora are reduction of habitat and overgrazing. Spatial connections between sites are unable to support a constant rare plant population. The analysis of the composition of rare plant meadow-steppe species indicated that habitats with similar rare species composition usually have similar parameters of area, stages of pasture digression and eco-coenotical conditions. Spatial connectivity of patches does not ensure species similarity of rare components of the flora. Rare plant species were grouped according to their preferences for habitat , area and condition. In small patches subject to any stage of pasture digression grow populations of Adonis vernalis L., Pulsatilla patens (L. Mill., P. grandis Wender., Stipa capillata L., S. рennata L., Chamaecytisus blockianus (Pawł. Klásková etc. On the contrary, populations of other species (Carlina onopordifolia Besser. ex Szafer., Kuecz. et Pawł., Adenophora liliifolia (L. Ledeb. ex A. DC., Crambe tataria Sebeók, Euphorbia volhynica Besser ex Racib., Stipa tirsa Stev. etc. prefer large habitats, not changed by pasture digression. Prevention of reduction of rare species diversity requires preservation (also extension of patch area and regulation of grazing intensity.

  5. Re-creating the commons and re-configuring Maasai women’s roles on the rangelands in the face of fragmentation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Caroline S Archambault

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available Throughout the world pastoralists today face a particularly daunting challenge of intensified rangeland fragmentation combined with human population growth and climate change. In many pastoral settings, rangelands are undergoing processes of fragmentation due to tenure transformations, as previously communal lands are privatized into individual holdings. Such processes of enclosure have raised concerns over the long-term costs on pastoral communities and on rangeland eco-systems. This paper explores pastoral responses and adaptations to enclosure based on long-term ethnographic engagement in a Maasai community in Southern Kenya that has recently privatized. Detailed family case studies and herd tracking illuminate the ways in which families try to re-create the commons by relying on social networks for free access to resources. In particular, women’s social networks (for example, their kin, affines, friends, or religious associates seem to play an important role. This paper calls attention to the need to better understand women’s changing roles in pastoral governance and production and the implications these new roles have for women’s well-being and for pastoralism in the face of fragmentation.

  6. A review of concentrated flow erosion processes on rangelands: fundamental understanding and knowledge gaps

    Science.gov (United States)

    Concentrated flow erosion processes are distinguished from splash and sheetflow processes in their enhanced ability to mobilize and transport large amounts of soil, water and dissolved elements. On rangelands, soil, nutrients and water are scarce and only narrow margins of resource losses are tolera...

  7. Composted manure application promotes long-term invasion of semi-arid rangeland by Bromus tectorum

    Science.gov (United States)

    Composted organic matter derived from sewage treatment facilities or livestock manure from feedlots is often applied to rangelands of western North America to increase soil fertility, forage production, forage quality, and soil carbon (C) storage. This practice can have a number of undesirable side ...

  8. Separating the cows from the trees: toward development of national definitions of forest and rangeland

    Science.gov (United States)

    H. Gyde Lund

    2007-01-01

    This paper introduces issues surrounding the need for national definitions of forest and rangeland, and it review types of definitions in use, reviews past agreements and their status, and finally gives recommendations as to what should be done next.

  9. Energy budgets and resistances to energy transport in sparsely vegetated rangeland

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nichols, W.D.

    1992-01-01

    Partitioning available energy between plants and bare soil in sparsely vegetated rangelands will allow hydrologists and others to gain a greater understanding of water use by native vegetation, especially phreatophytes. Standard methods of conducting energy budget studies result in measurements of latent and sensible heat fluxes above the plant canopy which therefore include the energy fluxes from both the canopy and the soil. One-dimensional theoretical numerical models have been proposed recently for the partitioning of energy in sparse crops. Bowen ratio and other micrometeorological data collected over phreatophytes growing in areas of shallow ground water in central Nevada were used to evaluate the feasibility of using these models, which are based on surface and within-canopy aerodynamic resistances, to determine heat and water vapor transport in sparsely vegetated rangelands. The models appear to provide reasonably good estimates of sensible heat flux from the soil and latent heat flux from the canopy. Estimates of latent heat flux from the soil were less satisfactory. Sensible heat flux from the canopy was not well predicted by the present resistance formulations. Also, estimates of total above-canopy fluxes were not satisfactory when using a single value for above-canopy bulk aerodynamic resistance. ?? 1992.

  10. Dynamics of sugar content in vegetative organs of Syringa Genus representatives introduced into Steppe Zone

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    L. G. Dolgova

    2005-12-01

    Full Text Available Quantitative and qualitative contents of sugars in phases of growth and development in overground organs of species of Syringa L. genus were determined. It is shown a cryoprotective role of sugars in plants. Conclusions on resistance of plants under conditions of a steppe zone are made.

  11. The Screening Test for Emotional Problems-Parent Report (STEP-P): Studies of Reliability and Validity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Erford, Bradley T.; Alsamadi, Silvana C.

    2012-01-01

    Score reliability and validity of parent responses concerning their 10- to 17-year-old students were analyzed using the Screening Test for Emotional Problems-Parent Report (STEP-P), which assesses a variety of emotional problems classified under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act. Score reliability, convergent, and…

  12. Revolutionary land use change in the 21st century: Is (rangeland) science relevant?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Herrick, J.E.; Brown, J.R.; Bestelmeyer, B.T.; Andrews, S.S.; Baldi, G.; Davies, J.; Duniway, M.; Havstad, K.M.; Karl, J.W.; Karlen, D.L.; Peters, Debra P.C.; Quinton, J.N.; Riginos, C.; Shaver, P.L.; Steinaker, D.; Twomlow, S.

    2012-01-01

    Rapidly increasing demand for food, fiber, and fuel together with new technologies and the mobility of global capital are driving revolutionary changes in land use throughout the world. Efforts to increase land productivity include conversion of millions of hectares of rangelands to crop production, including many marginal lands with low resistance and resilience to degradation. Sustaining the productivity of these lands requires careful land use planning and innovative management systems. Historically, this responsibility has been left to agronomists and others with expertise in crop production. In this article, we argue that the revolutionary land use changes necessary to support national and global food security potentially make rangeland science more relevant now than ever. Maintaining and increasing relevance will require a revolutionary change in range science from a discipline that focuses on a particular land use or land cover to one that addresses the challenge of managing all lands that, at one time, were considered to be marginal for crop production. We propose four strategies to increase the relevance of rangeland science to global land management: 1) expand our awareness and understanding of local to global economic, social, and technological trends in order to anticipate and identify drivers and patterns of conversion; 2) emphasize empirical studies and modeling that anticipate the biophysical (ecosystem services) and societal consequences of large-scale changes in land cover and use; 3) significantly increase communication and collaboration with the disciplines and sectors of society currently responsible for managing the new land uses; and 4) develop and adopt a dynamic and flexible resilience-based land classification system and data-supported conceptual models (e.g., state-and-transition models) that represent all lands, regardless of use and the consequences of land conversion to various uses instead of changes in state or condition that are

  13. Biotic constraints on the establishment and performance of native, naturalized, and invasive plants in Pacific Northwest (USA steppe and forest

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Brian M. Connolly

    2017-02-01

    Full Text Available Factors that cause differential establishment among naturalized, invasive, and native species are inadequately documented, much less often quantified among different communities. We evaluated the effects of seed addition and disturbance (i.e., understory canopy removal on the establishment and seedling biomass among two naturalized, two invasive, and two native species (1 forb, 1 grass in each group within steppe and low elevation forest communities in eastern Washington, USA. Establishment within each plant immigrant class was enhanced by seed addition: naturalized species showed the greatest difference in establishment between seed addition and no seed addition plots, native and invasive species establishment also increased following seed addition but not to the same magnitude as naturalized species. Within seed addition plots, understory canopy disturbance resulted in significant increases in plant establishment (regardless of plant immigration class relative to undisturbed plots and the magnitude of this effect was comparable between steppe and adjacent forest. However, regardless of disturbance treatment fewer invasive plants established in the forest than in the steppe, whereas native and naturalized plant establishment did not differ between the habitats. Individual biomass of naturalized species were consistently greater in disturbed (canopy removed versus undisturbed control plots and naturalized species were also larger in the steppe than in the forest at the time of harvest. Similar trends in plant size were observed for the native and invasive species, but the differences in biomass for these two immigration classes between disturbance treatments and between habitats were not significant. We found that strong limitations of non-native species is correlated with intact canopy cover within the forest understory, likely driven by the direct or indirect consequences of low light transmittance through the arboreal and understory canopy

  14. Using resilience and resistance concepts to manage threats to sagebrush ecosystems, Gunnison sage-grouse, and Greater sage-grouse in their eastern range: A strategic multi-scale approach

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chambers, Jeanne C.; Beck, Jeffrey L.; Campbell, Steve; Carlson, John; Christiansen, Thomas J.; Clause, Karen J.; Dinkins, Jonathan B.; Doherty, Kevin E.; Griffin, Kathleen A.; Havlina, Douglas W.; Mayer, Kenneth F.; Hennig, Jacob D.; Kurth, Laurie L.; Maestas, Jeremy D.; Manning, Mary E.; Mealor, Brian A.; McCarthy, Clinton; Perea, Marco A.; Pyke, David A.

    2016-01-01

    This report provides a strategic approach developed by a Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies interagency working group for conservation of sagebrush ecosystems, Greater sage-grouse, and Gunnison sage-grouse. It uses information on (1) factors that influence sagebrush ecosystem resilience to disturbance and resistance to nonnative invasive annual grasses and (2) distribution and relative abundance of sage-grouse populations to address persistent ecosystem threats, such as invasive annual grasses and wildfire, and land use and development threats, such as oil and gas development and cropland conversion, to develop effective management strategies. A sage-grouse habitat matrix links relative resilience and resistance of sagebrush ecosystems with modeled sage-grouse breeding habitat probabilities to help decisionmakers assess risks and determine appropriate management strategies at both landscape and site scales. Areas for targeted management are assessed by overlaying matrix components with Greater sage-grouse Priority Areas for Conservation and Gunnison sage-grouse critical habitat and linkages, breeding bird concentration areas, and specific habitat threats. Decision tools are discussed for determining the suitability of target areas for management and the most appropriate management actions. A similar approach was developed for the Great Basin that was incorporated into the Federal land use plan amendments and served as the basis of a Bureau of Land Management Fire and Invasives Assessment Tool, which was used to prioritize sage-grouse habitat for targeted management activities.

  15. Community structure affects annual grass weed invasion during restoration of a shrub-steppe ecosystem

    Science.gov (United States)

    Phil S. Allen; Susan E. Meyer

    2014-01-01

    Ecological restoration of shrub-steppe communities in the western United States is often hampered by invasion of exotic annual grasses during the process. An important question is how to create restored communities that can better resist reinvasion by these weeds. One hypothesis is that communities comprised of species that are functionally similar to the invader will...

  16. The First Record of Case of the Imperial Eagle and the Steppe Eagle Successful Breeding in the Mixed Pair in Western Kazakhstan and Records of Probable Hybrids of These Species in Russia and Kazakhstan

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Igor V. Karyakin

    2016-04-01

    Full Text Available Facts mentioned in paper give evidence of the possibility of forming the mixed pairs between Steppe and Imperial Eagles, breeding success and fertility of hybrids. All the observed mixed pairs were found in the contact zone of the two species on the periphery of the Steppe Eagle breeding range under conditions of either decrease in numbers of one species (Steppe Eagle and the growth of another (in Western Kazakhstan, or decline in numbers of both species and the lack of birds of their own species (in Dauria. Considering the fact that the number of Steppe Eagles continues to decline, the hybridization process may amplify and this phenomenon requires a more thorough examination.

  17. Mother-Offspring Interactions in Raramuri Criollo Cattle on New Mexico and Chihuahua (Mexico) Rangelands

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rangeland beef cows spend approximately six months of a typical year raising their calf. This endeavor is known to significantly alter a dam’s grazing behavior and spatial distribution patterns. The objective of this study was to characterize cow-calf contact events in two herds of Raramuri Criollo ...

  18. Deforestation of "degraded" rangelands: The Argentine Chaco enters the next stage of the Anthropocene

    Science.gov (United States)

    Twenty years ago I completed my Master’s work in the Chaco forests of northern Argentina. The native forests are, in fact, rangelands. In addition to livestock grazing, there is timber extraction, wildlife harvest (think tegu lizard cowboy boots), and charcoal production. I took part in a project co...

  19. Mapping Erosion and Salinity Risk Categories Using GIS and the Rangeland Hydrology Erosion Model

    Science.gov (United States)

    Up to fifteen percent of rangelands in the state of Utah in the United States are classified as being in severely eroding condition. Some of these degraded lands are located on saline, erodible soils of the Mancos Shale formation. This results in a disproportionate contribution of sediment, salinity...

  20. Identifying treatment effect heterogeneity in clinical trials using subpopulations of events: STEPP.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lazar, Ann A; Bonetti, Marco; Cole, Bernard F; Yip, Wai-Ki; Gelber, Richard D

    2016-04-01

    Investigators conducting randomized clinical trials often explore treatment effect heterogeneity to assess whether treatment efficacy varies according to patient characteristics. Identifying heterogeneity is central to making informed personalized healthcare decisions. Treatment effect heterogeneity can be investigated using subpopulation treatment effect pattern plot (STEPP), a non-parametric graphical approach that constructs overlapping patient subpopulations with varying values of a characteristic. Procedures for statistical testing using subpopulation treatment effect pattern plot when the endpoint of interest is survival remain an area of active investigation. A STEPP analysis was used to explore patterns of absolute and relative treatment effects for varying levels of a breast cancer biomarker, Ki-67, in the phase III Breast International Group 1-98 randomized clinical trial, comparing letrozole to tamoxifen as adjuvant therapy for postmenopausal women with hormone receptor-positive breast cancer. Absolute treatment effects were measured by differences in 4-year cumulative incidence of breast cancer recurrence, while relative effects were measured by the subdistribution hazard ratio in the presence of competing risks using O-E (observed-minus-expected) methodology, an intuitive non-parametric method. While estimation of hazard ratio values based on O-E methodology has been shown, a similar development for the subdistribution hazard ratio has not. Furthermore, we observed that the subpopulation treatment effect pattern plot analysis may not produce results, even with 100 patients within each subpopulation. After further investigation through simulation studies, we observed inflation of the type I error rate of the traditional test statistic and sometimes singular variance-covariance matrix estimates that may lead to results not being produced. This is due to the lack of sufficient number of events within the subpopulations, which we refer to as instability of

  1. Effect of summer fire on cursorial spider (Aranei and beetle (Coleoptera assemblages in meadow steppes of Central European Russia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Polchaninova Nina

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available Fire is an important structuring force for grassland ecosystems. Despite increased incidents of fire in European steppes, their impact on arthropod communities is still poorly studied. We assessed short-term changes in cursorial beetle and spider assemblages after a summer fire in the meadow steppe in Central European Russia. The responses of spider and beetle assemblages to the fire event were different. In the first post-fire year, the same beetle species dominated burnt and unburnt plots, the alpha-diversity of beetle assemblages was similar, and there were no pronounced changes in the proportions of trophic groups. Beetle species richness and activity density increased in the second post-fire year, while that of the spiders decreased. The spider alpha-diversity was lowest in the first post-fire year, and the main dominants were pioneer species. In the second year, the differences in spider species composition and activity density diminished. The main conclusion of our study is that the large-scale intensive summer fire caused no profound changes in cursorial beetle and spider assemblages of this steppe plot. Mitigation of the fire effect is explained by the small plot area, its location at the edge of the fire site and the presence of adjacent undisturbed habitats with herbaceous vegetation.

  2. Pine Plantations and Invasion Alter Fuel Structure and Potential Fire Behavior in a Patagonian Forest-Steppe Ecotone

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Juan Paritsis

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available Planted and invading non-native plant species can alter fire regimes through changes in fuel loads and in the structure and continuity of fuels, potentially modifying the flammability of native plant communities. Such changes are not easily predicted and deserve system-specific studies. In several regions of the southern hemisphere, exotic pines have been extensively planted in native treeless areas for forestry purposes and have subsequently invaded the native environments. However, studies evaluating alterations in flammability caused by pines in Patagonia are scarce. In the forest-steppe ecotone of northwestern Patagonia, we evaluated fine fuels structure and simulated fire behavior in the native shrubby steppe, pine plantations, pine invasions, and mechanically removed invasions to establish the relative ecological vulnerability of these forestry and invasion scenarios to fire. We found that pine plantations and their subsequent invasion in the Patagonian shrubby steppe produced sharp changes in fine fuel amount and its vertical and horizontal continuity. These changes in fuel properties have the potential to affect fire behavior, increasing fire intensity by almost 30 times. Pruning of basal branches in plantations may substantially reduce fire hazard by lowering the probability of fire crowning, and mechanical removal of invasion seems effective in restoring original fuel structure in the native community. The current expansion of pine plantations and subsequent invasions acting synergistically with climate warming and increased human ignitions warrant a highly vulnerable landscape in the near future for northwestern Patagonia if no management actions are undertaken.

  3. Surface fluxes and water balance of spatially varying vegetation within a small mountainous headwater catchment

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    G. N. Flerchinger

    2010-06-01

    above the aspen canopy than from the other sites. While growing season carbon fluxes were very similar for the sagebrush and aspen understory, latent heat fluxes for the sagebrush were consistently higher, likely because it is more exposed to the wind. Sensible heat flux from the aspen tended to be slightly less than the sagebrush site during the growing season when the leaves were actively transpiring, but exceeded that from the sagebrush in May, September and October when the net radiation was not offset by evaporative cooling in the aspen. Results from this study demonstrate the utility of EC systems in closing the water balance of headwater mountain catchments and illustrate the influence of vegetation on the spatial variability of surface fluxes across mountainous rangeland landscapes.

  4. Rangeland monitoring using remote sensing: comparison of cover estimates from field measurements and image analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ammon Boswell

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Rangeland monitoring is important for evaluating and assessing semi-arid plant communities. Remote sensing provides an effective tool for rapidly and accurately assessing rangeland vegetation and other surface attributes such as bare soil and rock. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of remote sensing as a surrogate for field-based sampling techniques in detecting ground cover features (i.e., trees, shrubs, herbaceous cover, litter, surface, and comparing results with field-based measurements collected by the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources Range Trent Program. In the field, five 152 m long transects were used to sample plant, litter, rock, and bare-ground cover using the Daubenmire ocular estimate method. At the same location of each field plot, a 4-band (R,G,B,NIR, 25 cm pixel resolution, remotely sensed image was taken from a fixed-wing aircraft. Each image was spectrally classified producing 4 cover classes (tree, shrub, herbaceous, surface. No significant differences were detected between canopy cover collected remotely and in the field for tree (P = 0.652, shrub (P = 0.800, and herbaceous vegetation (P = 0.258. Surface cover was higher in field plots (P < 0.001, likely in response to the methods used to sample surface features by field crews. Accurately classifying vegetation and other features from remote sensed information can improve the efficiency of collecting vegetation and surface data. This information can also be used to improve data collection frequency for rangeland monitoring and to efficiently quantify ecological succession patterns.

  5. Threats to Mediterranean rangelands: a case study based on the views of citizens in the Viotia prefecture, Greece.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kyriazopoulos, Apostolos P; Arabatzis, Garyfallos; Abraham, Eleni M; Parissi, Zoi M

    2013-11-15

    Rangelands in Greece constitute a very important natural resource as they occupy 40% of the total surface. Not only is their forage production essential for the development of extensive livestock farming, but also they play a key role in outdoor recreational activities, protection from erosion, provision of water supplies and biodiversity conservation. However, land use changes, inappropriate management and wildfires threaten their existence. The research was conducted among the citizens of Viotia prefecture, an area close to Athens, Greece, using personal interviews with a structured questionnaire in 2008. The aim was to record citizens' opinions regarding the threats to rangelands. The results suggest that the main threats as perceived by the respondents, are land use changes especially for urban development, and wildfires. The application of cluster analysis highlighted the differentiation among the respondents in ranking these threats. The more ecologically aware citizens recognised that mismanagement, abandonment and agriculture also threaten rangelands. These threats can have a considerable impact on the lives of the local people. Policy makers and managers should take the opinions of local citizens into consideration, and engage them in decision making so that sustainable management policies could be applied. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  6. The first horse herders and the impact of early Bronze Age steppe expansions into Asia

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Damgaard, Peter de Barros; Martiniano, Rui; Kamm, Jack

    2018-01-01

    The Eurasian steppes reach from the Ukraine in Europe to Mongolia and China. Over the past 5000 years, these flat grasslands were thought to be the route for the ebb and flow of migrant humans, their horses, and their languages. de Barros Damgaard et al. probed whole-genome sequences from the rem...

  7. Occurrence and abundance of ants, reptiles, and mammals: Chapter 7

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-01-01

    Sagebrush (Artemisia spp.)- associated wildlife are threatened by habitat loss and fragmentation and by impacts associated with anthropogenic disturbances, including energy development. Understanding how species of concern as well as other wildlife including insects, reptiles, and mammals respond to type and spatial scale of disturbance is critical to managing future land uses and identifying sites that are important for conservation. We developed statistical models to describe species occurrence or abundance, based on area searches in 7.29-ha survey blocks, across the Wyoming Basins Ecoregional Assessment (WBEA) area for six shrub steppe-associated species: harvester ant (Pogonomyrmex spp.), thatch ant (Formica spp.), short-horned lizard (Phrynosoma hernandesi), white-tailed jackrabbit (Lepus townsendii), cottontail (Sylvilagus spp.) and least chipmunk (Tamius minimus). We modeled patterns in occupancy or abundance relative to multi-scale measures of vegetation type and pattern, abiotic site characteristics, and anthropogenic disturbance factors. Sagebrush habitat was a strong predictor of occurrence for shorthorned lizards and white-tailed jackrabbits, but weak for the other four species. Vegetation and abiotic characteristics were strong determinants of species occurrence, although the scale of response was not consistent among species. All species, with the exception of the short-horned lizard, responded to anthropogenic disturbance, although responses again varied as a function of scale and direction (negative and positive influences). Our results improve our understanding of how environmental and anthropogenic factors affect species distributions across the WBEA area and facilitate a multi-species approach to management of this sagebrush ecosystem.

  8. Ring Recoveries from Steppe Eagles and Eastern Imperial Eagles from the Russian and Kazakhstan Breeding Populations and a Review of Major Threats to Eagles in Iraq

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Omar F. Al-Sheikhly

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available The article summarizes ring recoveries from 2 Steppe Eagles (Aquila nipalensis and 2 Eastern Imperial Eagles (Aquila heliaca from Iraq that were ringed in Russia and Kazakhstan, as well as ring recoveries from 2 Steppe Eagles and 3 Eastern Imperial Eagles from the border regions of Iraq (Iran, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia that were ringed in Russia. Threats for eagles in Iraq are discussed in this article.

  9. A planning support system for rangeland allocation in Iran : case of Chadegan sub-region

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Farahpour, M.

    2002-01-01

    Rangelands, like other natural resources are subject to many changes. In Iran, one of the changes is the land tenure reform, that may have significant effects on both the land and the land user. Land tenure changes not only affect the life of the present, but also that of next generations,

  10. Basin wildrye (Leymus cinereus) pooled tetraploid accessions for U.S. Intermountain rangeland reclamation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stanford A. Young; Jason Vernon; Nancy Shaw

    2013-01-01

    Basin wildrye (Leymus cinereus [Scribn. & Merr.] A. Love) is an important perennial, hardy, long-lived, cool season C3 native grass of rangeland plant communities throughout much of western United States and Canada. All classes of livestock and wildlife, including large and small birds and mammals, utilise the grass year round for food and protection due to its 2-3...

  11. Bio solids Effects in Chihuahuan Desert Rangelands: A Ten-Year Study

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wester, D.B; Sosebee, R.E; Fish, E.B; Villalobos, J.C; Zartman, R.E; Gonzalez, R.M; Jurado, P.; Moffet, C.A

    2011-01-01

    Arid and semiarid rangelands are suitable for responsible bio solids application. Topical application is critical to avoid soil and vegetation disturbance. Surface-applied bio solids have long-lasting effects in these ecosystems. We conducted a 10-year research program investigating effects of bio solids applied at rates from 0 to 90 dry Mg ha -1 on soil water infiltration; runoff and leachate water quality; soil erosion; forage production and quality; seedling establishment; plant physiological responses; nitrogen dynamics; bio solids decomposition; and grazing animal behavior and management. Bio solids increased soil water infiltration and reduced erosion. Effects on soil water quality were observed only at the highest application rates. Bio solids increased soil nitrate-nitrogen. Bio solids increased forage production and improved forage quality. Bio solids increased leaf area of grasses; photosynthetic rates were not necessarily increased by bio solids. Bio solids effects on plant establishment are expected only under moderately favorable conditions. Over an 82-mo exposure period, total organic carbon, nitrogen, and total and available phosphorus decreased and inorganic matter increased. Grazing animals spent more time grazing, ruminating, and resting in bio solids-treated areas; positive effects on average daily gain were observed during periods of higher rainfall. Our results suggest that annual bio solids application rates of up to 18 Mg ha -1 are appropriate for desert rangelands.

  12. Quantitative assessment of pedodiversity and soil erosion within a karst sinkhole in the dry steppe subzone

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smirnova, M. A.; Gennadiev, A. N.

    2017-08-01

    A detailed study of the soil cover of a sinkhole (300 m2) in the dry steppe landscape of the Bogdinsk-Baskunchak Natural Reserve in Astrakhan oblast has been performed, and the factors of its differentiation have been analyzed. The indices of pedodiversity have been calculated and compared for karst sinkholes in the dry steppe and northern taiga landscapes. Quantitative parameters of the lateral migration of solid soil substances on the slopes of the sinkhole have been determined. The rate of soil erosion decreases from the slope of southern aspect to the slopes of western, northern, and eastern aspects. On the average, it is estimated at 0.4 mm/yr. The average rate of accumulation of solid substances on the lower parts of the slopes and in the bottom of the sinkhole reaches 0.74 mm/yr. A comparative analysis of the soil properties attests to their dependence on the particular position of a given soil within the sinkhole. Downward the slopes of the sinkhole, full-profile brown arid soils (Cambic Calcisols) are replaced by sierozem-like soils (Haplic Calcisols), light-humus poorly developed soils (Luvisols), lithozems (Leptosols), and stratified soils (stratozems, or Colluvic Regosols). The soils within the upper ring-shape soil microzone are more diverse and contrasting with respect to their morphological, physical, chemical, and physicochemical properties. The degree of soil contrasts decreases down the slopes of the sinkhole towards its bottom. The studied sinkhole is characterized by considerable pedodiversity. Quantitative parameters of pedodiversity for the sinkhole in the dry steppe zone are higher than those form the sinkholes in the northern taiga zone.

  13. Genotype, soil type, and locale effects on reciprocal transplant vigor, endophyte growth, and microbial functional diversity of a narrow sagebrush hybrid zone in Salt Creek Canyon, Utah

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miglia, K.J.; McArthur, E.D.; Redman, R.S.; Rodriguez, R.J.; Zak, J.C.; Freeman, D.C.

    2007-01-01

    When addressing the nature of ecological adaptation and environmental factors limiting population ranges and contributing to speciation, it is important to consider not only the plant's genotype and its response to the environment, but also any close interactions that it has with other organisms, specifically, symbiotic microorganisms. To investigate this, soils and seedlings were reciprocally transplanted into common gardens of the big sagebrush hybrid zone in Salt Creek Canyon, Utah, to determine location and edaphic effects on the fitness of parental and hybrid plants. Endophytic symbionts and functional microbial diversity of indigenous and transplanted soils and sagebrush plants were also examined. Strong selection occurred against the parental genotypes in the middle hybrid zone garden in middle hybrid zone soil; F1 hybrids had the highest fitness under these conditions. Neither of the parental genotypes had superior fitness in their indigenous soils and habitats; rather F1 hybrids with the nonindigenous maternal parent were superiorly fit. Significant garden-by-soil type interactions indicate adaptation of both plant and soil microorganisms to their indigenous soils and habitats, most notably in the middle hybrid zone garden in middle hybrid zone soil. Contrasting performances of F1 hybrids suggest asymmetrical gene flow with mountain, rather than basin, big sagebrush acting as the maternal parent. We showed that the microbial community impacted the performance of parental and hybrid plants in different soils, likely limiting the ranges of the different genotypes.

  14. Incorporating biodiversity into rangeland health: Plant species richness and diversity in great plains grasslands

    Science.gov (United States)

    Symstad, Amy J.; Jonas, Jayne L.

    2011-01-01

    Indicators of rangeland health generally do not include a measure of biodiversity. Increasing attention to maintaining biodiversity in rangelands suggests that this omission should be reconsidered, and plant species richness and diversity are two metrics that may be useful and appropriate. Ideally, their response to a variety of anthropogenic and natural drivers in the ecosystem of interest would be clearly understood, thereby providing a means to diagnose the cause of decline in an ecosystem. Conceptual ecological models based on ecological principles and hypotheses provide a framework for this understanding, but these models must be supported by empirical evidence if they are to be used for decision making. To that end, we synthesize results from published studies regarding the responses of plant species richness and diversity to drivers that are of management concern in Great Plains grasslands, one of North America's most imperiled ecosystems. In the published literature, moderate grazing generally has a positive effect on these metrics in tallgrass prairie and a neutral to negative effect in shortgrass prairie. The largest published effects on richness and diversity were caused by moderate grazing in tallgrass prairies and nitrogen fertilization in shortgrass prairies. Although weather is often cited as the reason for considerable annual fluctuations in richness and diversity, little information about the responses of these metrics to weather is available. Responses of the two metrics often diverged, reflecting differences in their sensitivity to different types of changes in the plant community. Although sufficient information has not yet been published for these metrics to meet all the criteria of a good indicator in Great Plains Grasslands, augmenting current methods of evaluating rangeland health with a measure of plant species richness would reduce these shortcomings and provide information critical to managing for biodiversity.

  15. Meat fatty acid and cholesterol level of free-range broilers fed on grasshoppers on alpine rangeland in the Tibetan Plateau.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sun, Tao; Liu, Zhiyun; Qin, Liping; Long, Ruijun

    2012-08-30

    Meat safety and nutrition are major concerns of consumers. The development of distinctive poultry production methods based on locally available natural resources is important. Grasshoppers are rich in important nutrients and occur in dense concentrations in most rangelands of northern China. Foraging chickens could be used to suppress grasshopper infestations. However, knowledge of the fatty acid content of meat from free-range broilers reared on alpine rangeland is required. Rearing conditions and diet did not significantly (P > 0.05) affect concentrations of saturated fatty acid (SFA), arachidonic acid, docosahexaenoic acid or the ratio of total n-6 to total n-3 fatty acids. Breast muscle of chickens that had consumed grasshoppers contained significantly (P 0.05) higher than intensively reared birds. Compared with meat from intensively reared birds, meat from free-range broilers had less cholesterol and higher concentrations of total lipid and phospholipids. Chickens eating grasshoppers in rangeland produce superior quality meat and reduce the grasshopper populations that damage the pastures. This provides an economic system of enhanced poultry-meat production, which derives benefits from natural resources rather than artificial additives. Copyright © 2012 Society of Chemical Industry.

  16. The phylogeographical history of the Iberian steppe plant Ferula loscosii (Apiaceae): a test of the abundant-centre hypothesis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pérez-Collazos, E; Sanchez-Gómez, P; Jiménez, F; Catalán, P

    2009-03-01

    The geology and climate of the western Mediterranean area were strongly modified during the Late Tertiary and the Quaternary. These geological and climatic events are thought to have induced changes in the population histories of plants in the Iberian Peninsula. However, fine-scale genetic spatial architecture across western Mediterranean steppe plant refugia has rarely been investigated. A population genetic analysis of amplified fragment length polymorphism variation was conducted on present-day, relict populations of Ferula loscosii (Apiaceae). This species exhibits high individual/population numbers in the middle Ebro river valley and, according to the hypothesis of an abundant-centre distribution, these northern populations might represent a long-standing/ancestral distribution centre. However, our results suggest that the decimated southern and central Iberian populations are more variable and structured than the northeastern ones, representing the likely vestiges of an ancestral distribution centre of the species. Phylogeographical analysis suggests that F. loscosii likely originated in southern Spain and then migrated towards the central and northeastern ranges, further supporting a Late Miocene southern-bound Mediterranean migratory way for its oriental steppe ancestors. In addition, different glacial-induced conditions affected the southern and northern steppe Iberian refugia during the Quaternary. The contrasting genetic homogeneity of the Ebro valley range populations compared to the southern Iberian ones possibly reflects more severe bottlenecks and subsequent genetic drift experienced by populations of the northern Iberia refugium during the Pleistocene, followed by successful postglacial expansion from only a few founder plants.

  17. Weight gain and behavior of Raramuri Criollo versus Corriente steers developed on Chihuahuan Desert rangeland

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ranchers that raise Criollo cattle must overcome the challenge of lack of markets for weaned calves. Raramuri Criollo (RC) steers are commonly raised for beef and finished on rangelands, while Corriente (CR) are often raised for rodeo sports. No data exist on weight gains and grazing behavior of ran...

  18. Weight gain and behavior of Raramuri Criollo versus crossbred steers developed on Chihuahuan Desert rangeland

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ranchers that raise Raramuri Criollo (RC) cattle must overcome the challenge of lack of markets for weaned calves. Growing and finishing RC or RC-crossbred steers on rangeland pastures is increasingly common; however, no data exist on their weight gains or grazing behavior. We tracked the weight a...

  19. Mid-Holocene bottleneck for central European dry grasslands: Did steppe survive the forest optimum in northern Bohemia, Czech Republic?

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Pokorný, P.; Chytrý, M.; Juřičková, L.; Sádlo, Jiří; Novák, J.; Ložek, V.

    2015-01-01

    Roč. 25, č. 4 (2015), s. 716-726 ISSN 0959-6836 Institutional support: RVO:67985939 Keywords : MId-Holocene * forest-steppe * pollen analysis Subject RIV: EF - Botanics Impact factor: 2.135, year: 2015

  20. Comparative Assessment of Goods and Services Provided by Grazing Regulation and Reforestation in Degraded Mediterranean Rangelands

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Papanastasis, Vasilios P.; Bautista, Susana; Chouvardas, Dimitrios; Mantzanas, Konstantinos; Papadimitriou, Maria; Garcia Mayor, Angeles; Koukioumi, Polina; Papaioannou, Athanasios; Vallejo, Ramon V.

    2017-01-01

    Several management actions are applied to restore ecosystem services in degraded Mediterranean rangelands, which range from adjusting the grazing pressure to the removal of grazers and pine plantations. Four such actions were assessed in Quercus coccifera L. shrublands in northern Greece: (i)

  1. Moisture, plant-plant interactions and herbivory as drivers of rangeland restoration success in the western US

    Science.gov (United States)

    Restoration efforts in the western US occur across a diverse array of plant communities and climatic conditions. Restoration is likely constrained by different factors in different locations, but few efforts have compared the outcomes of rangeland restoration experiments across broad spatial scales....

  2. Data resources for range-wide assessment of livestock grazing across the sagebrush biome

    Science.gov (United States)

    Assal, T.J.; Veblen, K.E.; Farinha, M.A.; Aldridge, Cameron L.; Casazza, Michael L.; Pyke, D.A.

    2012-01-01

    The data contained in this series were compiled, modified, and analyzed for the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) report "Range-Wide Assessment of Livestock Grazing Across the Sagebrush Biome." This report can be accessed through the USGS Publications Warehouse (online linkage: http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2011/1263/). The dataset contains spatial and tabular data related to Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Grazing Allotments. We reviewed the BLM national grazing allotment spatial dataset available from the GeoCommunicator National Integrated Land System (NILS) website in 2007 (http://www.geocommunicator.gov). We identified several limitations in those data and learned that some BLM State and/or field offices had updated their spatial data to rectify these limitations, but maintained the data outside of NILS. We contacted appropriate BLM offices (State or field, 25 in all) to obtain the most recent data, assessed the data, established a data development protocol, and compiled data into a topologically enforced dataset throughout the area of interest for this project (that is, the pre-settlement distribution of Greater Sage-Grouse in the Western United States). The final database includes three spatial datasets: Allotments (BLM Grazing Allotments), OUT_Polygons (nonallotment polygons used to ensure topology), and Duplicate_Polygon_Allotments. See Appendix 1 of the aforementioned report for complete methods. The tabular data presented here consists of information synthesized by the Land Health Standard (LHS) analysis (Appendix 2), and data obtained from the BLM Rangeland Administration System (http://www.blm.gov/ras/). In 2008, available LHS data for all allotments in all regions were compiled by BLM in response to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request made by a private organization. The BLM provided us with a copy of these data. These data provided three major types of information that were of interest: (1) date(s) (if any) of the most recent LHS evaluation for each

  3. Hydrologic Impacts Associated with the Increased Role of Wildland Fire Across the Rangeland-Xeric Forest Continuum of the Great Basin and Intermountain West, USA

    Science.gov (United States)

    Williams, C. J.; Pierson, F. B.; Robichaud, P. R.; Boll, J.; Al-Hamdan, O. Z.

    2011-12-01

    The increased role of wildland fire across the rangeland-xeric forest continuum in the western United States (US) presents landscape-scale consequences relative runoff and erosion. Concomitant climate conditions and altered plant community transitions in recent decades along grassland-shrubland-woodland-xeric forest transitions have promoted frequent and large wildland fires, and the continuance of the trend appears likely if current or warming climate conditions prevail. Much of the Great Basin and Intermountain West in the US now exists in a state in which rangeland and woodland wildfires stimulated by invasive cheatgrass and dense, horizontal and vertical fuel layers have a greater likelihood of progressing upslope into xeric forests. Drier moisture conditions and warmer seasonal air temperatures, along with dense fuel loads, have lengthened fire seasons and facilitated an increase in the frequency, severity and area burned in mid-elevation western US forests. These changes potentially increase the overall hydrologic vulnerability across the rangeland-xeric forest continuum by spatially and temporally increasing soil surface exposure to runoff and erosion processes. Plot-to-hillslope scale studies demonstrate burning may increase event runoff and/or erosion by factors of 2-40 over small-plots scales and more than 100-fold over large-plot to hillslope scales. Anecdotal reports of large-scale flooding and debris-flow events from rangelands and xeric forests following burning document the potential risk to resources (soil loss, water quality, degraded aquatic habitat, etc.), property and infrastructure, and human life. Such risks are particularly concerning for urban centers near the urban-wildland interface. We do not yet know the long-term ramifications of frequent soil loss associated with commonly occurring runoff events on repeatedly burned sites. However, plot to landscape-scale post-fire erosion rate estimates suggest potential losses of biologically

  4. Infection of Melanoplus sanguinipes Grasshoppers following Ingestion of Rangeland Plant Species Harboring Vesicular Stomatitis Virus▿

    Science.gov (United States)

    Drolet, Barbara S.; Stuart, Melissa A.; Derner, Justin D.

    2009-01-01

    Knowledge of the many mechanisms of vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) transmission is critical for understanding of the epidemiology of sporadic disease outbreaks in the western United States. Migratory grasshoppers [Melanoplus sanguinipes (Fabricius)] have been implicated as reservoirs and mechanical vectors of VSV. The grasshopper-cattle-grasshopper transmission cycle is based on the assumptions that (i) virus shed from clinically infected animals would contaminate pasture plants and remain infectious on plant surfaces and (ii) grasshoppers would become infected by eating the virus-contaminated plants. Our objectives were to determine the stability of VSV on common plant species of U.S. Northern Plains rangelands and to assess the potential of these plant species as a source of virus for grasshoppers. Fourteen plant species were exposed to VSV and assayed for infectious virus over time (0 to 24 h). The frequency of viable virus recovery at 24 h postexposure was as high as 73%. The two most common plant species in Northern Plains rangelands (western wheatgrass [Pascopyrum smithii] and needle and thread [Hesperostipa comata]) were fed to groups of grasshoppers. At 3 weeks postfeeding, the grasshopper infection rate was 44 to 50%. Exposure of VSV to a commonly used grasshopper pesticide resulted in complete viral inactivation. This is the first report demonstrating the stability of VSV on rangeland plant surfaces, and it suggests that a significant window of opportunity exists for grasshoppers to ingest VSV from contaminated plants. The use of grasshopper pesticides on pastures would decrease the incidence of a virus-amplifying mechanical vector and might also decontaminate pastures, thereby decreasing the inter- and intraherd spread of VSV. PMID:19286779

  5. Infection of Melanoplus sanguinipes grasshoppers following ingestion of rangeland plant species harboring vesicular stomatitis virus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Drolet, Barbara S; Stuart, Melissa A; Derner, Justin D

    2009-05-01

    Knowledge of the many mechanisms of vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) transmission is critical for understanding of the epidemiology of sporadic disease outbreaks in the western United States. Migratory grasshoppers [Melanoplus sanguinipes (Fabricius)] have been implicated as reservoirs and mechanical vectors of VSV. The grasshopper-cattle-grasshopper transmission cycle is based on the assumptions that (i) virus shed from clinically infected animals would contaminate pasture plants and remain infectious on plant surfaces and (ii) grasshoppers would become infected by eating the virus-contaminated plants. Our objectives were to determine the stability of VSV on common plant species of U.S. Northern Plains rangelands and to assess the potential of these plant species as a source of virus for grasshoppers. Fourteen plant species were exposed to VSV and assayed for infectious virus over time (0 to 24 h). The frequency of viable virus recovery at 24 h postexposure was as high as 73%. The two most common plant species in Northern Plains rangelands (western wheatgrass [Pascopyrum smithii] and needle and thread [Hesperostipa comata]) were fed to groups of grasshoppers. At 3 weeks postfeeding, the grasshopper infection rate was 44 to 50%. Exposure of VSV to a commonly used grasshopper pesticide resulted in complete viral inactivation. This is the first report demonstrating the stability of VSV on rangeland plant surfaces, and it suggests that a significant window of opportunity exists for grasshoppers to ingest VSV from contaminated plants. The use of grasshopper pesticides on pastures would decrease the incidence of a virus-amplifying mechanical vector and might also decontaminate pastures, thereby decreasing the inter- and intraherd spread of VSV.

  6. Rangeland livestock production: Developing the concept of sustainability on the Santa Rita Experimental Range

    Science.gov (United States)

    George B. Ruyle

    2003-01-01

    The Santa Rita Experimental Range (SRER) was established in 1903 at the behest of concerned stockmen and researchers as the first facility in the United States set aside to study range livestock production. At the time, severe overgrazing of the public domain had seriously reduced carrying capacities of Southwestern rangelands. Researchers on the SRER developed and...

  7. Grazing Effects on Water Use Efficiency on a Mongolian Desert Steppe

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shao, C.; Chen, J.; Li, L.; John, R.; Ouyang, Z.

    2015-12-01

    Ecosystem-level water use efficiency (WUE), defined as the ratio of gross primary production (GPP) to evapotranspiration (ET), was assessed by continuous and simultaneous direct eddy-covariance (EC) measurements of carbon and water fluxes on adjacent pastures of grazed (DS) and ungrazed steppes (FS) in the Mongolia Plateau for a two-year period from 2010 to 2012. We found that the WUE was well positively linear correlated (r2=0.90) with the GEP both in the DS and FS. Due to our desert steppe was very sensitive to the precipitation, WUE was co-varied with the precipitation. WUE increased with the GEP increase under good water conditions, when the GEP reached its maximal value (DS: 3 g C m-2, FS: 2 g C m-2), the WUE was suppressed and kept a stable value during the peak growing season. Both GEP and WUE was near zero when the soil moisture was lower. We also found that the WUE was negatively correlated with ET. The WUE was higher in GS than that in FS. The mean seasonal WUE was 0.93 in GS and 0.54 g C kg-1 H2O in FS, with a peak monthly WUE of 1.32 in GS and 0.73 g C kg-1 H2O in FS, respectively. The difference between GS and FS mainly caused by that the ET was changed with the GEP during the entire growing season. This suggests the importance of both plant population dynamics and water statues should be considered in WUE studies.

  8. Effect of canopy cover and canopy background variables on spectral profiles of savanna rangeland bush encroachment species based on selected Acacia species (mellifera, tortilis, karroo) and Dichrostachys cinerea at Mokopane, South Africa

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    Munyati, C

    2013-07-01

    Full Text Available The proliferation of woody plant species on savanna rangelands (i.e. bush encroachment) degrades rangeland quality, thereby threatening the biodiversity conservation effort as well as pastoral farming. Hyperspectral remote sensing offers...

  9. Assessment of the Current State of Agropastoral Landscapes in Semi-Arid Areas of the Republic of Kalmykia with Application of Gis-Technologies

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mushaeva Kermen Batnasunovna

    2015-04-01

    Full Text Available The state of lands in arid areas of southern Russia is entirely dependent on the state of natural steppe, dry steppe and semi-desert ecosystems. The study of vegetation traditionally enjoys a commanding position in synecological studies, because plant communities form the framework of terrestrial ecosystems. In this paper we give a detailed geobothanical description of the test plots made as a result of field research in the semi-desert areas of Kalmykia. In addition, we obtained photo samples of soils that were subsequently processed, analyzed and entered into the database of soils and used as an identifier of rangeland degradation, located in the semi-arid zone of the country. The creation of this database will improve the quality of remote sensing in the region. In the course of computer processing of materials using GIS technology, the geoinformation analysis of land degradation in the studied territory was held, and the area of these lands according to the levels of degradation was calculated.

  10. The Application of Soil-Agroclimatic Index for Assessing the Agronomic Potential of Arable Lands in the Forest-Steppe Zone of Russia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bulgakov, D. S.; Rukhovich, D. I.; Shishkonakova, E. A.; Vil'chevskaya, E. V.

    2018-04-01

    An assessment of the agronomic potential of arable lands in the forest-steppe zone of Russia (by the example of separate soil-agronomic districts) on the basis of the soil-agroclimatic index developed under the supervision of I.I. Karmanov is considered. The agricultural areas (64) separated on the territory of Russia and characterizing soil-agroclimatic conditions for cultivation of major and accompanying crops are differentiated into soil-agronomic districts (SADs) with due account for the administrative division of the country. A large diversity of agroclimatic and agronomical conditions creates the prerequisites for the inclusion of administrative regions into different SADs. The SADs concept implies a detailed analysis of information on the soil properties, geomorphic conditions, and farming conditions. The agronomic potential for major crops in the key SADs in the forest-steppe zone of the East European Plain (Voronezh and Penza oblasts) is high, though it is 25-30% lower than that in the North Caucasus (for winter wheat, sugar beet, sunflower, and spring barley) and in Kaliningrad oblast (for oats). In Western Siberia (Tyumen, Omsk, and Novosibirsk oblasts) and Eastern Siberia (Krasnoyarsk region and Irkutsk oblast), the agronomic potential of spring crops (wheat, barley, and oats) is only utilized by 35-45% in comparison with their European analogues. In the Far East with its monsoon climate and soil conditions (meadow podbels, brown forest soils), the crops characteristic of the European forest-steppe (soybean, rice, sugar beet) and the Trans-Ural forest-steppe (spring wheat) are cultivated. Their biological potential is utilized by only 50-60% in comparison with the European analogues. The materials of this study give us information on the degree of correspondence between the soilagroclimatic potential of the territory and the biological potential of cultivated crops. This is important in the context of improving the natural-agricultural zoning of Russia

  11. Consequences of pre-inoculation with native arbuscular mycorrhizae on root colonization and survival of Artemisia tridentata ssp. wyomingensis (Wyoming big sagebrush) seedlings after transplanting

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bill Eugene Davidson

    2015-01-01

    Inoculation of seedlings with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) is a common practice aimed at improving seedling establishment. The success of this practice largely depends on the ability of the inoculum to multiply and colonize the growing root system after transplanting. These events were investigated in Artemisia tridentata ssp. wyomingensis (Wyoming big sagebrush...

  12. The Fifth International Conference “Dialogue of Urban and Steppe Cultures on the Eurasian Space”, ad memoriam G.A. Fyodorov-Davydov

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zeleneev Yuriy A.

    2012-03-01

    Full Text Available The Fifth International Conference "Dialogue of Urban and Steppe Cultures on the Eurasian Space", dedicated to the memory of G. A. Fyodorov-Davydov, was held in the village of Selitrennoye, Astrakhan oblast, in October 2011. For the 10 years of holding these conferences, a range of constantly debated issues has formed. To these refer problems as: the steppes of Eurasia from the Early Iron Age through to the Middle Ages; relations of the Golden Horde with the outside world; medieval numismatics; natural science and combined statistics methods in archaeology. The contributions were mainly centered on these issues. The materials of the conference were published as a collection of articles.

  13. The infield varietu of available forms in the forest-steppe of western part Central Chernozemic region

    Science.gov (United States)

    Belik, Anton; Devyatova, Tatiana; Bozhko, Svetlana; Gorbunova, Yulia

    2016-04-01

    The infield varietu of available forms in the forest-steppe of western part Central Chernozemic region The Central Chernozemic region of Russia has been a region with a strong agricultural industry and determines the food security of the state by most part. The soil cover of the region is represented mainly by chernozems and is favorable for the cultivation of major crops and produce high crop yields. However, the high development of agriculture in the territory of Central Chernozemic region are led to the development of agrogenic degradation processes which impacts on the growth of the soil cover complexity and contrast, and as a consequence a significant infield variety of soil fertility and yields of major crops. In this regard, very promising direction in CChR is the development and practical application technologies of precision agriculture, which implies the spatial variety of soil fertility analysis within specific fields and work areas, especially the content of available forms of nutrients. The aim of our research was a study of the agro-ecological characteristics of the spatial variety of the content by available forms to plants of major nutrients in representative areas of sloping agricultural landscapes with forest-steppe chernozems in the western part of Central Chernozemic region of Russia. The research of infield variety by content of available forms of major nutrients are carried in the fields of Russian Research Institute of Agriculture and Protect the Soil from Erosion experimental and industrial farm in Medvensky district of Kursk region. The area characterized by a complex organization of relief. The soil cover is represented by full-profile typical (conventional and carbonate), leached chernozems. The growth of contrast of the soil cover are largely determined by the appearance of eroded soils of these analogues, as well as zoogenic dug and accumulative soils All of the studied areas with the forest-steppe chernozems were characterized by

  14. Impact of the invasive species Elaeagnus Angustifolia L. on vegetation in Pontic desert steppe zone (Southern Ukraine)

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Sudnik-Wojcikowska, B.; Moysiyenko, I.; Slim, P.A.; Moraczewski, I.R.

    2009-01-01

    The Irano-Turanian species – Russian olive (Elaeagnus angustifolia L.) – is one of most commonly planted tree in the shelterbelts in southern Ukraine. The consequences of introduction of the species from windbreaks, into areas of different land use in west and central Pontic desert steppe zone are

  15. The usefullness of ERTS-1 and supporting aircraft data for monitoring plant development in rangeland environments

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carneggie, D. M.; Degloria, S. D.

    1972-01-01

    The author has identified the following significant results. Preliminary analysis of ERTS-1 MSS imagery of annual and perennial rangeland in California yields the following observations: (1) Sufficient geomorphological detail can be resolved to differentiate upland and bottomland range sites in the foothill range areas. (2) Dry and green meadowland can be differentiated on MSS band 5. (3) Color composites prepared by NASA-Goddard were useful for locating perennial rangeland with varying amounts of herbaceous ground cover. (4) The ERTS-1 images received and interpreted cover nearly 50% of the state of California and show nearly two-thirds of the annual grassland type. (5) Satellite imagery obtained during the late summer season should be optimum for differentiating grassland from brushland and forested land. (6) The ERTS-1 imagery clearly shows areas which at one time were part of the annual grassland but which are now used for dry land farming (cropping of cereal grains). Similarly, the imagery show areas which have been converted from brushland to grassland.

  16. Estimating climate change effects on net primary production of rangelands in the United States

    Science.gov (United States)

    Matthew C. Reeves; Adam L. Moreno; Karen E. Bagne; Steven W. Running

    2014-01-01

    The potential effects of climate change on net primary productivity (NPP) of U.S. rangelands were evaluated using estimated climate regimes from the A1B, A2 and B2 global change scenarios imposed on the biogeochemical cycling model, Biome-BGC from 2001 to 2100. Temperature, precipitation, vapor pressure deficit, day length, solar radiation, CO2 enrichment and nitrogen...

  17. Three-dimensional framework of vigor, organization, and resilience (VOR) for assessing rangeland health: a case study from the alpine meadow of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Yuan-yuan; Dong, Shi-kui; Wen, Lu; Wang, Xue-xia; Wu, Yu

    2013-12-01

    Rangeland health assessments play an important role in providing qualitative and quantitative data about ecosystem attributes and rangeland management. The objective of this study is to test the feasible of a modified model and visualize the health in a three-dimensional model. A modified Costanza model was employed, and eight indicators, including the biomass, biodiversity, and carrying capacity [associated with the vigor, organization, and resilience (VOR)] were applied. An entropy method was also developed to calculate the weight of each indicator, and a three-dimensional framework was applied to visualize the indicators and health index. The conceptual model was demonstrated using data from a case study on the alpine rangeland of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, one of the globally important grassland biomes being severely degraded by natural and human factors. The health indices of four grassland plots at different levels of degradation were calculated using a modified approach to measuring their VOR. The results indicated that the least disturbed plot was relatively healthy compared to the other plots. In addition, the health indices presented in the three-dimensional VOR framework decreased in a consistent manner across the four plots along the disturbance gradients. Such rangeland health assessments should be integrated with management efforts to insure their long-term sustainable use.

  18. Effects of Water and Nitrogen Addition on Ecosystem Carbon Exchange in a Meadow Steppe

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Yunbo; Jiang, Qi; Yang, Zhiming; Sun, Wei; Wang, Deli

    2015-01-01

    A changing precipitation regime and increasing nitrogen deposition are likely to have profound impacts on arid and semiarid ecosystem C cycling, which is often constrained by the timing and availability of water and nitrogen. However, little is known about the effects of altered precipitation and nitrogen addition on grassland ecosystem C exchange. We conducted a 3-year field experiment to assess the responses of vegetation composition, ecosystem productivity, and ecosystem C exchange to manipulative water and nitrogen addition in a meadow steppe. Nitrogen addition significantly stimulated aboveground biomass and net ecosystem CO2 exchange (NEE), which suggests that nitrogen availability is a primary limiting factor for ecosystem C cycling in the meadow steppe. Water addition had no significant impacts on either ecosystem C exchange or plant biomass, but ecosystem C fluxes showed a strong correlation with early growing season precipitation, rather than whole growing season precipitation, across the 3 experimental years. After we incorporated water addition into the calculation of precipitation regimes, we found that monthly average ecosystem C fluxes correlated more strongly with precipitation frequency than with precipitation amount. These results highlight the importance of precipitation distribution in regulating ecosystem C cycling. Overall, ecosystem C fluxes in the studied ecosystem are highly sensitive to nitrogen deposition, but less sensitive to increased precipitation. PMID:26010888

  19. Development of the crop residue and rangeland burning in the 2014 National Emissions Inventory using information from multiple sources

    Data.gov (United States)

    U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — This workbook contains all the activity data, emission factor data, and ancillary data used to compute crop residue burning and rangeland emissions for the 2014 NEI...

  20. Biomass increases go under cover: woody vegetation dynamics in South African rangelands

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    Mograbi, PJ

    2015-05-01

    Full Text Available and ranging (LiDAR) data The communal rangelands were surveyed with airborne laser mapping as part of a Carnegie Airborne Observatory (http://cao.ciw.edu/) campaign in April 2008 and April 2012, concur- rently with the collected fieldwork data in 2012. Small... permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Data Availability Statement: All data necessary to replicate the results of this study are contained within the paper and its...

  1. Grazing exclusion, substrate type, and drought frequency affect plant community structure in rangelands of the arid unpredictable Arabian Deserts

    Science.gov (United States)

    El-Keblawy, Ali; El-Sheikh, Mohamed

    2017-04-01

    Grazing and drought can adversely affect the ecology and management of rangeland ecosystems. Several management actions have been applied to restore species diversity and community structure in degraded rangelands of the unpredictable arid environment. Protection from grazing is considered as a proper approach for restoration of degraded rangelands, but this depends on substrate type and sometime is hindered with water deficiency (drought). In this study, the effect of protection from grazing animals on species diversity and plant community structure was assessed after a dry and wet periods in both sandy and gravelly substrates in the Dubai Desert Conservation reserve (DDCR), United Arab Emirates. Two sites were selected during November 2012 on the two substrate types (fixed sandy flat and gravel plain) in the arid DDCR. An enclosure was established in each site. Plant community attributes (plant cover, density, frequency, species composition, and diversity indices) were assessed in a number of permanent plots laid inside and outside each enclosure during November 2012, April 2014 and April 2016. The results showed that protection improved clay content, but decreased the organic matters. Interestingly, the protection reduced the concentrations of most estimated nutrients, which could be attributed to the high turnover rate of nutrients associated grazing and low decomposition of accumulated dry plants of non-protected sites. Protection significantly increased all plant community attributes, but the only significant effect was for plant density. Plant density was almost twice greater inside than outside the enclosures. During the dry period, protection resulted in significantly greater deterioration in cover, density and all diversity indices in gravel, compared to sandy sites. Most of the grasses and shrubby plants had died in the gravel plains. However, plant community of the gravel plains was significantly restored after receiving considerable rainfalls. The

  2. Asymmetric ecological and economic responses for rangeland restoration: A case study of tree thickening in Queensland, Australia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ecological and economic thresholds are important considerations when making decisions about safeguarding or restoring degraded rangelands. When degradation levels have passed a threshold, most managers figure it is either time to take action or too late to take action depending on the particular c...

  3. Nest mortality of sagebrush songbirds due to a severe hailstorm

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hightower, Jessica N.; Carlisle, Jason D.; Chalfoun, Anna D.

    2018-01-01

    Demographic assessments of nesting birds typically focus on failures due to nest predation or brood parasitism. Extreme weather events such as hailstorms, however, can also destroy eggs and injure or kill juvenile and adult birds at the nest. We documented the effects of a severe hailstorm on 3 species of sagebrush-associated songbirds: Sage Thrasher (Oreoscoptes montanus), Brewer's Sparrow (Spizella breweri), and Vesper Sparrow (Pooecetes gramineus), nesting at eight 24 ha study plots in central Wyoming, USA. Across all plots, 17% of 128 nests failed due to the hailstorm; however, all failed nests were located at a subset of study plots (n = 3) where the hailstorm was most intense, and 45% of all nests failures on those plots were due to hail. Mortality rates varied by species, nest architecture, and nest placement. Nests with more robust architecture and those sited more deeply under the shrub canopy were more likely to survive the hailstorm, suggesting that natural history traits may modulate mortality risk due to hailstorms. While sporadic in nature, hailstorms may represent a significant source of nest failure to songbirds in certain locations, especially with increasing storm frequency and severity forecasted in some regions with ongoing climate change.

  4. Essai sur le rôle d’une espèce végétale rustique pour un développement durable de la steppe algérienne

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Benabdeli Khéloufi

    2006-07-01

    Full Text Available La steppe en Algérie est un espace stratégique en matière de lutte contre la désertification, il couvre plus de 20 millions d’hectares et connaît une dégradation importante. Différents programmes de protection et de réhabilitation de cet espace ont échoué et sont souvent à l’origine de l’aggravation de cette dégradation. Une synthèse sur les causes de cet échec permettront de proposer une nouvelle approche axée sur l’introduction d’une espèce végétale très rustique et dont l’impact écologique pourrait sauver la steppe.The steppe in Algeria is a strategic space as regards to the control of desertification, it covers more than 20 million hectares and knows an important degradation. Various programmes of protection and rehabilitation concerning this space failed and are at the origin of the aggravation of this degradation. A synthesis of the causes of this failure will make it possible to propose a new approach centered on the introduction of a very rustic plant species and whose ecological impact could save the steppe.

  5. Evaluation of environmental change in rangelands of Uzbekistan with application of nuclear techniques approach

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nasyrov, M.G.; Safarov, A.N.; Osmanov, B.S.

    2004-01-01

    Full text: Desertification and land degradation are a problem of major importance in the arid and semi-arid regions of the world. Deterioration of soil and plant cover has adversely affected nearly 50% of land areas as a result of extended droughts and human mismanagement of cultivated and rangelands. Due to several factors such as soil erosion, overgrazing, collection of plants and other anthropogenic activities the most part of these biomes are under degradation. The problem of assessments of current status of rangelands becomes very important days after days. Therefore, it needs to work out and implement new time and labor saving methods of assessment of current status of natural biomes. Soil erosion is a natural process caused by water, wind, and ice that have affected the earth's surface since the beginning if time. Man's activities often accelerate soil erosion. Soil erosion and its off-site, downstream damages are major concerns around the world causing losses in soil productivity, degradation of landscape, degradation of water quality, and loss of soil organic carbon. Current techniques for assessing soil erosion are (1) long-term soil erosion plot monitoring, (2) field surveys, and (3) soil erosion models (Evans, 1995). Each of this techniques has strengths and weaknesses. Over the last 30 years, research has shown the potential of using radioactive fallout 137 Cs to provide timely and quantitative estimates of soil erosion and redeposition at point, field, and reconnaissance scales. Applications of 137 Cs o provide an independent measurement of soil erosion rates, patterns, and redepositions are well-documented (Ritchie and McHenry, 1990). The unique advantages of the 137 Cs technique to study soil erosion rates and patterns are that it (a) requires only one trip to the field; (b) provides results quickly; (c) allows retrospective assessment of soil erosion rates; (d) provides average losses for 35 to 40 year period thus is less influenced by extreme

  6. The changing role of shrubs in rangeland-based livestock production systems: Can shrubs increase our forage supply?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Projected global increases in ruminant numbers and loss of native grasslands will present a number of challenges for livestock agriculture. Escalated demand for livestock products may stimulate interest in using shrubs on western rangelands. A paradigm shift is needed to change the role of shrubs in...

  7. Agrogenic degradation of soils in Krasnoyarsk forest-steppe

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shpedt, A. A.; Trubnikov, Yu. N.; Zharinova, N. Yu.

    2017-10-01

    Agrogenic degradation of soils in Krasnoyarsk forest-steppe was investigated. Paleocryogenic microtopography of microlows and microhighs in this area predetermined the formation of paragenetic soil series and variegated soil cover. Specific paleogeographic conditions, thin humus horizons and soil profiles, and long-term agricultural use of the land resulted in the formation of soils unstable to degradation processes and subjected to active wind and water erosion. Intensive mechanical soil disturbances during tillage and long-term incorporation of the underlying Late Pleistocene (Sartan) calcareous silty and clay loams into the upper soil horizons during tillage adversely affected the soil properties. We determined the contents of total and labile humus and easily decomposable organic matter and evaluated the degree of soil exhaustion. It was concluded that in the case of ignorance of the norms of land use and soil conservation practices, intense soil degradation would continue leading to complete destruction of the soil cover within large areas.

  8. Assessment of water resource potential for common use of cow and goat by GIS (Case study: Boroujerd Rangeland, Sarab Sefid, Iran)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ariapour, A; Karami, K; Sadr, A

    2014-01-01

    One of the most important factors to sustainability utilization of natural potential by rangeland grazing suitability is water resources suitability. This study is a model for quantitative, qualitative and spatial distance assessment of water resource's propriety for goat and cow grazing based on geographic information systems (GIS) in Boroujerd Sarab Sefid rangeland, Lorestan province, Iran 2013. In this research from combining three factors such as quantity, quality and water resource's distances; the final model of degree of propriety of water resources for goat and cow grazing is characterized. Results showed that slope factor was the reason of limitation, and it is considered as a limiting factor in propriety of water resources, so in terms of access to water resources for goat grazing, 4856.4 ha (100%) located in S1 classes and for cow grazing, 4023.14 ha (68.6%) located in S1(suitability) classes, 1,187 ha (20.24%) in S2 classes and 654.8 ha (11.16%) located in S3 classes, respectively for both. So according to the results the rangelands in this region are most suitable for goat because of terrain and weather but this, in combination with, cow hasbandry will allow diversity of economic production and stability of incomes

  9. Subpopulation Treatment Effect Pattern Plot (STEPP) analysis for continuous, binary, and count outcomes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yip, Wai-Ki; Bonetti, Marco; Cole, Bernard F; Barcella, William; Wang, Xin Victoria; Lazar, Ann; Gelber, Richard D

    2016-08-01

    For the past few decades, randomized clinical trials have provided evidence for effective treatments by comparing several competing therapies. Their successes have led to numerous new therapies to combat many diseases. However, since their conclusions are based on the entire cohort in the trial, the treatment recommendation is for everyone, and may not be the best option for an individual. Medical research is now focusing more on providing personalized care for patients, which requires investigating how patient characteristics, including novel biomarkers, modify the effect of current treatment modalities. This is known as heterogeneity of treatment effects. A better understanding of the interaction between treatment and patient-specific prognostic factors will enable practitioners to expand the availability of tailored therapies, with the ultimate goal of improving patient outcomes. The Subpopulation Treatment Effect Pattern Plot (STEPP) approach was developed to allow researchers to investigate the heterogeneity of treatment effects on survival outcomes across values of a (continuously measured) covariate, such as a biomarker measurement. Here, we extend the Subpopulation Treatment Effect Pattern Plot approach to continuous, binary, and count outcomes, which can be easily modeled using generalized linear models. With this extension of Subpopulation Treatment Effect Pattern Plot, these additional types of treatment effects within subpopulations defined with respect to a covariate of interest can be estimated, and the statistical significance of any observed heterogeneity of treatment effect can be assessed using permutation tests. The desirable feature that commonly used models are applied to well-defined patient subgroups to estimate treatment effects is retained in this extension. We describe a simulation study to confirm that the proper Type I error rate is maintained when there is no treatment heterogeneity, and a power study to show that the statistics have

  10. Geospatial Data as a Service: The GEOGLAM Rangelands and Pasture Productivity Map Experience

    Science.gov (United States)

    Evans, B. J. K.; Antony, J.; Guerschman, J. P.; Larraondo, P. R.; Richards, C. J.

    2017-12-01

    Empowering end-users like pastoralists, land management specialists and land policy makers in the use of earth observation data for both day-to-day and seasonal planning needs both interactive delivery of multiple geospatial datasets and the capability of supporting on-the-fly dynamic queries while simultaneously fostering a community around the effort. The use of and wide adoption of large data archives, like those produced by earth observation missions, are often limited by compute and storage capabilities of the remote user. We demonstrate that wide-scale use of large data archives can be facilitated by end-users dynamically requesting value-added products using open standards (WCS, WMS, WPS), with compute running in the cloud or dedicated data-centres and visualizing outputs on web-front ends. As an example, we will demonstrate how a tool called GSKY can empower a remote end-user by providing the data delivery and analytics capabilities for the GEOGLAM Rangelands and Pasture Productivity (RAPP) Map tool. The GEOGLAM RAPP initiative from the Group on Earth Observations (GEO) and its Agricultural Monitoring subgroup aims at providing practical tools to end-users focusing on the important role of rangelands and pasture systems in providing food production security from both agricultural crops and animal protein. Figure 1, is a screen capture from the RAPP Map interface for an important pasture area in the Namibian rangelands. The RAPP Map has been in production for six months and has garnered significant interest from groups and users all over the world. GSKY, being formulated around the theme of Open Geospatial Data-as-a-Service capabilities uses distributed computing and storage to facilitate this. It works behind the scenes, accepting OGC standard requests in WCS, WMS and WPS. Results from these requests are rendered on a web-front end. In this way, the complexities of data locality and compute execution are masked from an end user. On-the-fly computation of

  11. Effects of different management regimes on soil erosion and surface runoff in semi-arid to sub-humid rangelands

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Oudenhoven, van A.P.E.; Veerkamp, C.J.; Alkemade, Rob; Leemans, Rik

    2015-01-01

    Over one billion people's livelihoods depend on dry rangelands through livestock grazing and agriculture. Livestock grazing and other management activities can cause soil erosion, increase surface runoff and reduce water availability. We studied the effects of different management regimes on soil

  12. Grazing moderates increases in C3 grass abundance over seven decades across a soil texture gradient in shortgrass steppe

    Science.gov (United States)

    Questions: How does long-term grazing exclusion influence plant community composition in a semiarid grassland? Can spatial variation in the effects of grazing exclusion be explained by variation in soil texture? Location: The shortgrass steppe of northeastern Colorado, USA, located in the North Amer...

  13. Breeding ecology of the endemic Black Lark Melanocorypha yeltoniensis on natural steppe and abandoned croplands in post-Soviet Kazakhstan

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Lameris, T.K.; Fijen, Thijs P.M.; Urazaliev, Ruslan; Pulikova, Genrietta; Donald, Paul F.; Kamp, Johannes

    2016-01-01

    Since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, the abundance and distribution of many central Asian steppe birds have been affected by changes in agricultural land management, such as the abandonment of large areas of cropland and changing grazing patterns. However, the underlying population

  14. A potential to monitor nutrients as an indicator of rangeland quality using space borne remote sensing

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ramoelo, A; Madonsela, S; Mathieu, R; Van der Korchove, R; Kaszta, Z; Wolf, E; Cho, M A

    2014-01-01

    Global change consisting of land use and climate change could have huge impacts on food security and the health of various ecosystems. Leaf nitrogen (N) is one of the key factors limiting agricultural production and ecosystem functioning. Leaf N can be used as an indicator of rangeland quality which could provide information for the farmers, decision makers, land planners and managers. Leaf N plays a crucial role in understanding the feeding patterns and distribution of wildlife and livestock. Assessment of this vegetation parameter using conventional methods at landscape scale level is time consuming and tedious. Remote sensing provides a synoptic view of the landscape, which engenders an opportunity to assess leaf N over wider rangeland areas from protected to communal areas. Estimation of leaf N has been successful during peak productivity or high biomass and limited studies estimated leaf N in dry season. The objective of this study is to monitor leaf N as an indicator of rangeland quality using WorldView 2 satellite images in the north-eastern part of South Africa. Series of field work to collect samples for leaf N were undertaken in the beginning of May (end of wet season) and July (dry season). Several conventional and red edge based vegetation indices were computed. Simple regression was used to develop prediction model for leaf N. Using bootstrapping, indicator of precision and accuracy were analyzed to select a best model for the combined data sets (May and July). The may model for red edge based simple ratio explained over 90% of leaf N variations. The model developed from the combined data sets with normalized difference vegetation index explained 62% of leaf N variation, and this is a model used to estimate and map leaf N for two seasons. The study demonstrated that leaf N could be monitored using high spatial resolution with the red edge band capability

  15. Integrating spatially explicit indices of abundance and habitat quality: an applied example for greater sage-grouse management.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Coates, Peter S; Casazza, Michael L; Ricca, Mark A; Brussee, Brianne E; Blomberg, Erik J; Gustafson, K Benjamin; Overton, Cory T; Davis, Dawn M; Niell, Lara E; Espinosa, Shawn P; Gardner, Scott C; Delehanty, David J

    2016-02-01

    Predictive species distributional models are a cornerstone of wildlife conservation planning. Constructing such models requires robust underpinning science that integrates formerly disparate data types to achieve effective species management.Greater sage-grouse Centrocercus urophasianus , hereafter 'sage-grouse' populations are declining throughout sagebrush-steppe ecosystems in North America, particularly within the Great Basin, which heightens the need for novel management tools that maximize the use of available information.Herein, we improve upon existing species distribution models by combining information about sage-grouse habitat quality, distribution and abundance from multiple data sources. To measure habitat, we created spatially explicit maps depicting habitat selection indices (HSI) informed by >35 500 independent telemetry locations from >1600 sage-grouse collected over 15 years across much of the Great Basin. These indices were derived from models that accounted for selection at different spatial scales and seasons. A region-wide HSI was calculated using the HSI surfaces modelled for 12 independent subregions and then demarcated into distinct habitat quality classes.We also employed a novel index to describe landscape patterns of sage-grouse abundance and space use (AUI). The AUI is a probabilistic composite of the following: (i) breeding density patterns based on the spatial configuration of breeding leks and associated trends in male attendance; and (ii) year-round patterns of space use indexed by the decreasing probability of use with increasing distance to leks. The continuous AUI surface was then reclassified into two classes representing high and low/no use and abundance. Synthesis and application s. Using the example of sage-grouse, we demonstrate how the joint application of indices of habitat selection, abundance and space use derived from multiple data sources yields a composite map that can guide effective allocation of management

  16. Integrating spatially explicit indices of abundance and habitat quality: an applied example for greater sage-grouse management

    Science.gov (United States)

    Coates, Peter S.; Casazza, Michael L.; Ricca, Mark A.; Brussee, Brianne E.; Blomberg, Erik J.; Gustafson, K. Benjamin; Overton, Cory T.; Davis, Dawn M.; Niell, Lara E.; Espinosa, Shawn P.; Gardner, Scott C.; Delehanty, David J.

    2016-01-01

    Predictive species distributional models are a cornerstone of wildlife conservation planning. Constructing such models requires robust underpinning science that integrates formerly disparate data types to achieve effective species management. Greater sage-grouse Centrocercus urophasianus, hereafter “sage-grouse” populations are declining throughout sagebrush-steppe ecosystems in North America, particularly within the Great Basin, which heightens the need for novel management tools that maximize use of available information. Herein, we improve upon existing species distribution models by combining information about sage-grouse habitat quality, distribution, and abundance from multiple data sources. To measure habitat, we created spatially explicit maps depicting habitat selection indices (HSI) informed by > 35 500 independent telemetry locations from > 1600 sage-grouse collected over 15 years across much of the Great Basin. These indices were derived from models that accounted for selection at different spatial scales and seasons. A region-wide HSI was calculated using the HSI surfaces modelled for 12 independent subregions and then demarcated into distinct habitat quality classes. We also employed a novel index to describe landscape patterns of sage-grouse abundance and space use (AUI). The AUI is a probabilistic composite of: (i) breeding density patterns based on the spatial configuration of breeding leks and associated trends in male attendance; and (ii) year-round patterns of space use indexed by the decreasing probability of use with increasing distance to leks. The continuous AUI surface was then reclassified into two classes representing high and low/no use and abundance. Synthesis and applications. Using the example of sage-grouse, we demonstrate how the joint application of indices of habitat selection, abundance, and space use derived from multiple data sources yields a composite map that can guide effective allocation of management intensity across

  17. Common garden comparisons of reproductive, forage and weed suppression potential of rangeland rehabilitation grasses of the Great Basin

    Science.gov (United States)

    Common garden experiments are a means to remove environmental effects. Using 8 species of perennial rangeland grasses, we established a common garden (3 reps x28 plants = 84 plants/species). We found that ‘Hycrest’ crested wheatgrass (Agropyron cristatum) and bluebunch wheatgrass (Pseudoroegneria sp...

  18. A method to determine warm and cool steppe biomes from pollen data; application to the Mediterranean and Kazakhstan regions

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Tarasov, PE; Cheddadi, R; Guiot, J; Bottema, S; Peyron, O; Belmonte, J; Ruiz-Sanchez, [No Value; Saadi, F; Brewer, S

    1998-01-01

    An objective method for the assignment of pollen spectra to appropriate biomes has been published recently. The aim of this paper is to improve the distinction between warm and cool steppes, thus refining vegetation and climate reconstruction, particularly during the Last Glacial Maximum. A set of

  19. Monitoring Forage Production of California Rangeland Using Remote Sensing Observations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, H.; Jin, Y.; Dahlgren, R. A.; O'Geen, A. T.; Roche, L. M.; Smith, A. M.; Flavell, D.

    2016-12-01

    Pastures and rangeland cover more than 10 million hectares in California's coastal and inland foothill regions, providing feeds to livestock and important ecosystem services. Forage production in California has a large year-to-year variation due to large inter-annual and seasonal variabilities in precipitation and temperature. It also varies spatially due to the variability in climate and soils. Our goal is to develop a robust and cost-effective tool to map the near-real-time and historical forage productivity in California using remote sensing observations from Landsat and MODIS satellites. We used a Monteith's eco-physiological plant growth theory: the aboveground net primary production (ANPP) is determined by (i) the absorbed photosynthetically active radiation (APAR) and the (ii) light use efficiency (LUE): ANPP = APAR * LUEmax * f(T) * f(SM), where LUEmax is the maximum LUE, and f(T) and f(SM) are the temperature and soil moisture constrains on LUE. APAR was estimated with Landsat and MODIS vegetation index (VI), and LUE was calibrated with a statewide point dataset of peak forage production measurements at 75 annual rangeland sites. A non-linear optimization was performed to derive maximum LUE and the parameters for temperature and soil moisture regulation on LUE by minimizing the differences between the estimated and measured ANPP. Our results showed the satellite-derived annual forage production estimates correlated well withcontemporaneous in-situ forage measurements and captured both the spatial and temporal productivity patterns of forage productivity well. This remote sensing algorithm can be further improved as new field measurements become available. This tool will have a great importance in maintaining a sustainable range industry by providing key knowledge for ranchers and the stakeholders to make managerial decisions.

  20. Influence of forest and rangeland management on anadromous fish habitat in Western North America: economic considerations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    William R. tech. ed. Meehan

    1985-01-01

    Although many effects of forest and rangeland management on anadromous fisheries are difficult to measure, economic methods for the evaluation of costs and benefits can be helpful. Such methods can be used to address questions of equity as well as efficiency. Evaluations of equity can show who bears the costs and who captures the benefits of management actions, but...