Webinar
Webinar registration.
The webinar outlines recommendations for working with Indigenous communities based on the knowledge that long term relationship building with these communities is the foundation upon which educational programs, research collaborations, and other initiatives must be co-created. This presentation seeks to define best practices in approach and process for establishing and maintaining effective collaborations with Indigenous communities that respect sovereignty and self-determination and which have application across many types of efforts. These practices will have a lasting impact on Equity, Diversity and Inclusion at universities, professional societies, educational organizations, and agencies, on the STEM workforce broadly, and for Indigenous youth and communities toward realization of their dreams and aspirations.
Webinar registration.
As residential development continues into flammable landscapes, wildfires increasingly threaten homes, lives, and livelihoods in the wildland–urban interface (WUI). Although this problem seems distinctly modern, Native American communities have lived in WUI contexts for centuries. When carefully considered, the past offers valuable lessons for coexisting with wildfire, climate change, and related challenges. This webinar will show that ancestors of Native Americans from Jemez Pueblo used ecologically savvy intensive burning and wood collection to make their ancient WUI resistant to climate variability and extreme fire behavior. Learning from the past offers modern WUI communities more options for addressing contemporary fire challenges. Public/private–tribal partnerships for wood and fire management can offer paths forward to restore fire-resilient WUI communities.
Webinar join link.
The following topics and presenters are included:
Cheatgrass Impacts and Management Options in Western U.S. Ecosystems, presented by Ali Urza and Brice Hanberry
Impacts of Invasive Cogongrass on Private and Public land: Prevention and Control Strategies, presented by Rima Lucardi
Ventenata Invasion in the Western U.S.: Using Remote Sensing & Model Output to Understand Invasion Risk, presented by Becky K. Kerns
Webinar join link.
Description: Rangelands produce ecosystem services that not only support biodiversity and wildlife, but also sustain livestock operations and rural economies. Woody encroachment is a threat to rangeland productivity, but its impact is often overlooked due to its slow pace and the positive public perception of trees. The Rangeland Analysis Platform (RAP) is an innovative online tool that combines current and historical satellite imagery with thousands of on-the-ground vegetation measurements to facilitate an exploration of trends in western vegetation over time. Using RAP’s recently developed remotely sensed products of rangeland production, we quantify the amount of forage lost to woody encroachment across western rangelands over the past three decades. Translating these losses into dollars, we demonstrate how this knowledge can be integrated into area-wide planning to stop further economic loss and prevent wholescale ecosystem transitions.
Presenters: Brady Allred (University of Montana) and Dirac Twidwell (University of Nebraska-Lincoln).
Webinar registration.
Description: Dryland ecosystems form the largest global biome and support one third of the global human population but are highly vulnerable to land degradation via disturbance and climate change. Despite widespread demand for dryland restoration and rehabilitation, little information is available to help land managers effectively reestablish native perennial vegetation across drylands. RestoreNet is a restoration field trial network that systematically tests appropriate revegetation techniques across environmental gradients. We tracked seedling density and height following the use of different seed mixes and treatments to increase soil moisture at seven RestoreNet sites across Arizona from summer 2018 – 2019. Across sites, seedling recruitment was consistently controlled by treatment and seed mix type. Pitting and mulch treatments increased total seedling density, with pits promoting the highest seeded species recruitment while limiting non-native species establishment. Seeding increased total seedling density regardless of seed mix type, but cooler-adapted seed mixes promoted greater seeded species density and resulted in lower density of unseeded (non-native) species relative to warmer-adapted mixes. Seedling recruitment was also controlled by the temporal and environmental context of restoration with the positive effect of high precipitation greatest in the weeks immediately following seeding. Above-average precipitation during the study period across most of the sites may partially explain why the highest seeded species recruitment occurred in pit treatments and seed mixes with cooler, wetter niche requirements. Results from RestoreNet will help to better understand variation in the success of seeding and other restoration treatments across space and time in drylands. Relationships between restoration practices and environmental conditions in our study suggest the importance of anticipatory restoration strategies that forecast seasonal and sub-seasonal weather conditions and select plant species with climate niche requirements appropriate to current and future climate conditions. This information is critical to land managers tasked with improving ecosystem conditions across degraded dryland regions.
Presenter: Caroline Havrilla is an ecologist and postdoctoral scholar at the US Geological Survey Southwest Biological Science Center studying dryland ecology, restoration, and adaptation to climate change.
Webinar registration.
Description: Native plant diversity is the hallmark of a healthy ecosystem. In Nevada, our native plant communities are threatened by the accelerated invasion of non-native species, altered fire regimes, grazing, drought, and climate change. Slowing and reversing this largescale conversion requires coordinated efforts between researchers and land managers, working collaboratively to identify the most promising seed sources for restoring disturbed and invaded sites. The Nevada Native Seed Partnership is a group of state, federal, university, and nonprofit partners working together to increase the availability and use of native seed for rehabilitation, reclamation, and restoration activities in Nevada. This presentation will highlight some of the science and restoration efforts this partnership has accomplished to date to restore and preserve our most impacted native plant communities.
Presenter: Sarah Kulpa is the Restoration Ecologist/Botanist for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Reno, Nevada. Her work focuses on Great Basin sagebrush ecosystem restoration and threatened and endangered plant species. Sarah leads the native seed collection, increase, and restoration activities of the Reno FWS including mentoring the first FWS Seeds of Success team and helping establish the Nevada Native Seed Partnership. She received her M.S. in Natural Resources and Environmental Science from the University of Nevada, Reno and her B.S. in Biology from St. Michael’s College.
The webinar series will address the challenges and advances in restoration, with a particular focus on the role of seed enhancement technologies, across drylands of North America and Australia. We hope that this series will facilitate new collaborations and promote knowledge sharing for continued research and development in restoration.
Last webinar in the series:
5/6 | Building partnerships to solve complex restoration problems & general discussion
The webinar series will address the challenges and advances in restoration, with a particular focus on the role of seed enhancement technologies, across drylands of North America and Australia. We hope that this series will facilitate new collaborations and promote knowledge sharing for continued research and development in restoration.
4/22 | Seed handling and deployment
5/6 | Building partnerships to solve complex restoration problems & general discussion
The webinar series will address the challenges and advances in restoration, with a particular focus on the role of seed enhancement technologies, across drylands of North America and Australia. We hope that this series will facilitate new collaborations and promote knowledge sharing for continued research and development in restoration.
4/8 | Seed technologies: Pellets, pods, pucks, and seed balls
4/22 | Seed handling and deployment
5/6 | Building partnerships to solve complex restoration problems & general discussion
The webinar series will address the challenges and advances in restoration, with a particular focus on the role of seed enhancement technologies, across drylands of North America and Australia. We hope that this series will facilitate new collaborations and promote knowledge sharing for continued research and development in restoration.
3/25 | Seed technologies: coating and flash flaming
4/8 | Seed technologies: Pellets, pods, pucks, and seed balls
4/22 | Seed handling and deployment
5/6 | Building partnerships to solve complex restoration problems & general discussion