Research and Publications
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This study found that early seral natives generally outperformed late seral natives when growing with exotics and had earlier emergence timing, although results differed among functional groups and soil types. Survival probabilities, however, did not differ between the early and late seral mixes when growing without exotics. Within each seed mix, native grasses exhibited the highest emergence probabilities of the functional groups. Natives did not suppress exotics in early life stages. Performance of B. tectorum was higher on sandy loam, while T. caput-medusae was highly successful in both soil types. Performance of native functional groups differed by soil type when growing with exotics but did not differ when growing without exotics. Survival of native grasses, in particular, was generally higher on sandy loam when growing with exotics.
View the plan.
The Science and Traditional Ecological Knowledge Strategic Plan guides the Great Basin LCC’s science program over a three to five year period (2015-2019). The plan outlines the LCC’s priority topics and how they will be updated, describes the process to determine annual focal topics and activities, and outlines how the LCC will implement, evaluate and adjust the science program.
Priority topics are:
- Adaptation to changes in water availability, temperature, climate variability, and extreme climatic events
- Adaptation to changes in ecosystem structure, processes, function, and interactions
View guide.
Virtual field guide contains information about Idaho’s noxious weeds: best control methods available to manage that weed and links to other sources for more education and information.
View report.
This final report includes actions to be implemented by Interior’s bureaus to immediately address the threat of rangeland fire and other disturbances to Western sagebrush-steppe landscapes and improve fire and fuels management efforts.
View abstracts.
Abstracts of recent papers on climate change and land management in the West. Prepared by Louisa Evers, Science Liaison and Climate Change Coordinator, Bureau of Land Management, Oregon-Washington State Office.
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This study monitored the habitat-use patterns of 71 radio-marked sage-grouse inhabiting an area affected by wildfire in the Virginia Mountains of northwestern Nevada during 2009–2011 to determine the effect of micro-habitat attributes on reproductive success. Sage-grouse selected micro-sites with greater shrub canopy cover and less cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum) cover than random sites. Total shrub canopy, including sagebrush (Artemisia spp.) and other shrub species, at small spatial scales (0.8 ha and 3.1 ha) was the single contributing selection factor to higher nest survival. These results indicate that reducing the risk of wildfire to maintain important sagebrush habitats could be emphasized in sage-grouse conservation strategies in Nevada. Managers may seek to mitigate the influx of annual grass invasion by preserving large intact sagebrush-dominated stands with a mixture of other shrub species. For this area of Nevada, the results suggest that ≥40% total shrub canopy cover in sage-grouse nesting areas could yield improved reproductive success.
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This research brief summarizes a series of interviews with land managers who make decisions about post-fire rehabilitation and restoration. These interviews explored barriers to improving post-fire recovery that included: policies and funding cycles that constrain managers’ ability to monitor and re-treat effectively, pressure and legal action from interest groups, pressure from concerned public/neighbors, climate change, and
ecological debates such as native vs. non-native species use. These identified barriers provide a social-political-ecological framework that may influence on-the-ground manager decisions after wildfires in the Great Basin.
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In this study, researchers modeled the climatic envelope for subspecies wyomingensis for contemporary and future climates (decade 2050). Comparison of the contemporary and decade 2050 models shows a predicted 39% loss of suitable climate. Much of this loss will occur in the Great Basin where impacts from increasing fire frequency and encroaching weeds have been eroding the A. tridentata landscape dominance and ecological functions. The goal of this study is to provide a management tool to promote successful restoration by predicting the geographic areas where climate is suitable for this subspecies.
View fact sheet.
This fact sheet provides land managers with a brief summary of the effects of conifer expansion and infill in sagebrush ecosystems and of potential management strategies.
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These abstracts of recent papers on range management in the West were prepared by Charlie Clements, Rangeland Scientist, USDA Agricultural Research Service, Reno, NV.