Synthesis / Tech Report
View report.
The flow of ecosystem services derived from forests and grasslands in the Southwestern United States may change in the future. People and communities may be vulnerable if they are exposed, are sensitive, and have limited ability to adapt to ecological changes. Geospatial descriptions of ecosystem services, projected climate-related ecological changes, and socioeconomic conditions are used to assess socioeconomic vulnerability to changes in the provision of ecosystem services by national forests and grasslands in the Southwest. Vulnerability is uneven in the Southwest due to varying projected effects of climate on forest ecosystem services, and different levels of exposure, sensitivity, and adaptive capacity of people in the region.
Read UT Conservation Plan.
This Plan identifies strategies to address localized threats to sage-grouse populations in Utah. Those strategies include—but are not limited to—the following:
- Identify the highest-priority sage-grouse habitats and migration corridors, and protect at least 5,000 of those acres annually through conservation easements, or other mechanisms.
- Improve and increase sage-grouse seasonal habitats by 75,000 acres each year, including riparian and mesic habitats.
- Monitor sage-grouse population trends annually and, if necessary, implement adaptive management responses to ensure that priority populations remain viable and stable.
- Coordinate with local, state and federal firefighting jurisdictions to include sage-grouse habitats as a priority during pre-fire attack planning and suppression, second only to the protection of human life and property.
- Fund, support and implement critical research that supports the implementation of this Plan.
The Revegetation Equipment Catalog provides provides descriptions, applications, photos, and vendors of equipment used for seed collection and cleaning, site preparation, revegetation, and vegetation management.
View progress report.
This document highlights work being done to address each goal of the Seed Strategy, followed by ecoregional projects that illustrate the extent of collaborations that are underway to lay the foundation for a more comprehensive network of collectors, testers, and growers to make native plants more available across the country.
Strategy actions are centered around four major goals:
- Identifying and quantifying seed needs
- Undertaking research and improving technologies for seed production and use
- Developing tools for land managers
- Ensuring good communications
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This report synthesized insights from current understanding of drought impacts at stand-to-biogeographic scales, including management options, and we identify challenges to be addressed with new research. Large stand-level shifts underway in western forests already are showing the importance of interactions involving drought, insects, and fire. Diebacks, changes in composition and structure, and shifting range limits are widely observed. Throughout the continental United States, the combination of projected large climate-induced shifts in suitable habitat from modeling studies and limited potential for the rapid migration of tree populations suggests that changing tree and forest biogeography could substantially lag habitat shifts already underway. Forest management practices can partially ameliorate drought impacts through reductions in stand density, selection of drought-tolerant species and genotypes, artificial regeneration, and the development of multistructured stands. However, silvicultural treatments also could exacerbate drought impacts unless implemented with careful attention to site and stand characteristics. Gaps in our understanding should motivate new research on the effects of interactions involving climate and other species at the stand scale and how interactions and multiple responses are represented in models. This assessment indicates that, without a stronger empirical basis for drought impacts at the stand scale, more complex models may provide limited guidance.
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Fifty years ago, riparian habitats were not recognized for their extensive and critical contributions to wildlife and the ecosystem function of watersheds. This changed as riparian values were identified and documented, and the science of riparian ecology developed steadily. Papers in this volume range from the more mesic northwestern United States to the arid Southwest and Mexico. More than two dozen authors – most with decades of experience – review the origins of riparian science in the western United States, document what is currently known about riparian ecosystems, and project future needs. Topics are widespread and include: interactions with fire, climate change, and declining water; impacts from exotic species; unintended consequences of biological control; the role of small mammals; watershed response to beavers; watershed and riparian changes; changes below large dams; water birds of the Colorado River Delta; and terrestrial vertebrates of mesquite bosques. Appendices and references chronicle the field’s literature, authors, “riparian pioneers,” and conferences.
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This synthesis presents existing information and identifies critical knowledge gaps in our understanding of seed-based aspen regeneration, in particular as it relates to flowering and seed production, as well as germination, first year growth, and survival of aspen seedlings. This information is discussed further in the context of aspen ecology and its application in both passive and active management approaches to aspen seedling regeneration and restoration.
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This study reviews published studies on reburns in fire-adapted ecosystems of the world, including temperate forests of North America, semi-arid forests and rangelands, tropical and subtropical forests, grasslands and savannas, and Mediterranean ecosystems. To date, research on reburns is unevenly distributed across the world with a relative abundance of literature in Australia, Europe and North America and a scarcity of studies in Africa, Asia and South America. This review highlights the complex role of repeated fires in modifying vegetation and fuels, and patterns of subsequent wildfires. In fire-prone ecosystems, the return of fire is inevitable, and legacies of past fires, or their absence, often dictate the characteristics of subsequent fires.
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A group of people knowledgeable about wildland fire have produced a 52-page document that attempts to assemble and summarize areas of agreement and disagreement regarding the management of forested areas in the western United States. Calling themselves the Fire Research Consensus Working Group, they looked for areas of common ground to provide insights for scientists and land managers with respect to recent controversies over the role of low-, moderate-, and high-severity fires.
Want to beef-up your library? You can request the following resources in hard copy from Génie (listed in order of most recent publication date). You can also add them to your electronic library, just follow the links for downloads.
Fire patterns in piñon and juniper land cover types in the Semiarid Western United States from 1984 through 2013, 2018. RMRS-GTR-372
Restoration handbook for sagebrush steppe ecosystems with emphasis on greater sage-grouse habitat—Part 3. Site level restoration decisions, 2018. USGS Circular 1426
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, 2017. RMRS-GTR-360
Pocket Guide to Sagebrush Birds, reprint, 2017. A partnership between Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory and PRBO Conservation Science
Pocket Guide to Sagebrush, reprint, 2017. Made possible by USU, NRCS, USFS, BLM, PRBO Conservation Science, NDOW, GBFSE
Ecohydrologic impacts of rangeland fire on runoff and erosion: A literature synthesis, 2016. RMRS-GTR-351
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, 2016. RMRS-GTR-356
A field guide for rapid assessment of post-wildfire recovery potential in sagebrush and pinon-juniper ecosystems in the Great Basin: Evaluating resilience to disturbance and resistance to invasive annual grasses and predicting vegetation response, 2015. RMRS-GTR-338
A review of fire effects on vegetation and soils in the Great Basin Region: Response and site characteristics, 2013. RMRS-GTR-308