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This study demonstrates the importance of episodic periods of favorable weather for long-term plant population recovery following disturbance. Management strategies that increase opportunities for seed availability to coincide with favorable weather conditions, such as retaining unburned patches or repeated seeding treatments, can improve restoration outcomes in high-priority areas.
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The primary goal of seed collecting by European Native Seed Conservation Network (ENSCONET) is the long-term conservation in seed banks of representative samples of the genetic diversity of seed-bearing plant populations. The methods included in this collecting manual should be widely applicable (including outside Europe), with adaptation as necessary to local circumstances. Where the biology of the species is well known, the methods may be made more sophisticated. The quality of seed collections depends upon the expertise of the collector, the circumstances at the collection site on the day of collection, and the knowledge available. This guide helps to address the latter.
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This study describes a three-step process to reduce crested wheatgrass competition, introduce desired species, and manage to maintain desired species for use long term.
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This review suggests that when applied, both prescribed fire and its mechanical surrogates are generally successful in meeting short-term
fuel-reduction objectives and in changing stand structure and fuel beds such that treated stands are more resistant and resilient to high-intensity wildfire.
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This study examined stand structure and development of mixed-conifer ecosystems in the south-central Great Basin where pinyon (Pinus monophylla) and juniper (Juniperus osteosperma) are found together with other species, such as ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa). Because wildfire regime and land-use changes were not identical between the study sites, and increases of pinyon-juniper populations have occurred in other Great Basin areas at about the same time, climate was the most likely driver. Therefore, pinyon-juniper woodlands, which have recently experienced dramatic episodes of climate-related dieoffs in regions where pinyon is present, have not been negatively impacted by climate in the Great Basin, where the pinyon species is Pinus monophylla.
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This study found that more than 20 years were required for adaptive differences to emerge among 13 populations of Wyoming big sagebrush grown in common gardens.
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Discussions of successes, struggles, and failures with partner-specific tools are vital to the successful implementation of “translational ecology” a formal term for biological conservation partnerships.
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This synthesis describes what is known about the cumulative impacts of historic livestock grazing patterns and short-term effects of livestock grazing on fuels and fire in sagebrush ecosystems. Over years and decades grazing can alter fuel characteristics of ecosystems. On a yearly basis, grazing can reduce the amount and alter the continuity of fine fuels, potentially changing wildlife fire spread and intensity. However, how grazing-induced fuel alterations affect wildland fire depends on weather conditions and plant community characteristics. As weather conditions become extreme, the influence of grazing on fire behavior is limited, especially in communities dominated by woody plants.
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This study investigated how grazing affected plant communities in terms of cover and richness of native and invasive species and how topographic sites of summit, backslope and toeslope altered these relationships. The plant communities were affected by the independent effects of grazing, site and year. Across years, native cover was 39% greater in grazed plots compared with ungrazed plots. Native species richness was slightly lower in ungrazed compared with grazed plots for toeslope sites relative to the other topographic positions. Invasive species cover was 17% lower in grazed plots compared with ungrazed plots and no predictors were found to contribute to significant differences across plots. Although we generally did not find expected relationships between site and plant response to grazing, this work demonstrates how managers can use livestock to quickly modify plant communities in areas with a long history of grazing absence.
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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.