Resistance & Resilience
Access training modules.
This learning series responds to Section 7.b.iii, Action Item #5 within the Fuels section of the 2015 Integrated Rangeland Fire Management Strategy, which calls for a comprehensive knowledge transfer program to enhance the fuels management program’s role in sagebrush-steppe management. The Strategy is intended to improve the efficiency and efficacy of actions to address rangeland fire, to better prevent and suppress rangeland fire, and improve efforts to restore fire-impacted landscapes.
The learning modules synthesize the state of the science for six management topics:
- Background and origins of the conservation problems facing the sagebrush steppe and greater sage-grouse
- Understanding and applying the concepts of resistance and resilience
- Management of sagebrush ecosystems experiencing conifer encroachment
- Management of sagebrush ecosystems at risk of or invaded by invasive annual grasses
- Restoration of sagebrush steppe ecosystems
- Issues specific to the eastern range of greater sage-grouse
View paper.
Vegetation responses to environmental change may be mediated through changes in bud bank dynamics and phenology. Environmental change that depletes the bud bank or prohibits its formation likely results in a loss of vegetation resilience and plant species diversity. Standardization of bud sampling, examination of bud banks in more ecosystems and their response to environmental variation and disturbance regimes, employment of stage-structured bud bank modelling and evaluation of the cost of bud bank construction and maintenance will benefit this expanding field of research.
Access presentation slides. To play, select start slide show option at top left of your screen.
The National Grassland Council prepared an audiovisual presentation about the history and value of USFS National Grasslands. Research Ecologist Jackie Ott narrates.
Webinar recording.
The Science Framework for Conservation and Restoration of the Sagebrush Biome is a two-part volume on managing sagebrush ecosystems in the West that was developed by an extensive interagency team of scientists and managers. An overview of using the concepts of resilience to disturbance (ability to recover) and resistance to invasive annual grasses across three geographic scales (sagebrush biome, ecoregions, and local sites) to prioritize conservation and restoration actions is provided.
The webinar discusses how to use the Science Framework in management planning efforts, focusing on considerations like monitoring and adaptive management, climate adaptation, wildfire and vegetation management, nonnative invasive plant management, application of National Seed Strategy concepts, livestock grazing management, and wild horse and burro considerations.
Michele Crist, BLM National Interagency Fire Center, and Jeanne Chambers, USFS Rocky Mountain Research Station, present.
Access podcasts from Washington State University
The Art of Range podcast provides education through conversation with some of the brightest minds in rangeland management. We interview researchers, ranchers, and resource professionals to bring you extended discussion on topics that are of interest to all. A new episode will be released every two weeks, with several episodes on a general topic area. This podcasting project is funded by a grant from the Western Center for Risk Management and has specific learning objectives which will drive the topics list.
If you are a Certified Professional in Range Management through the SRM, you may claim continuing education units for these episodes (.5 or 1 CEU per episode) by following the instructions at the conclusion of the survey.
Using wildfire as an example, we develop a framework to expose and separate two important dimensions of resilience: the inherent properties that maintain structure, function, or states of an SES and the human perceptions of desirable or valued components of an SES. In doing so, the framework distinguishes between value-free and human-derived, value-explicit dimensions of resilience. Four archetypal scenarios highlight that ecological resilience and human values do not always align and that recognizing and anticipating potential misalignment is critical for developing effective management goals. Our framework clarifies existing resilience theory, connects literature across disciplines, and facilitates use of the resilience concept in research and land-management applications.
View study.
This study examined the genetic composition and habitat associations of aspen in a mixed-species forest in Cedar Breaks National Monument on the Markagunt Plateau, southwestern Utah. Genetic analysis of 94 stems ≥1 cm diameter at breast height (dbh) selected from a population census of 2742 stems within a contiguous 13.64-ha plot revealed 2 spatially cohesive triploid genets and 2 diploid genets (all differing in 8 to 15 alleles). Aspen abundance within the 13.64 ha varied between 0 and 634 stems/ha across 8 distinct habitat types. Regenerating aspen stems (1 cm ≤ dbh < 5 cm) varied between 0 and 112 stems/ha, with higher levels of regeneration in habitats with greater aspen dominance relative to other tree species. Recent regeneration may have been stimulated by a Dendroctonous rufipennis outbreak in the 1990s, which killed a high proportion of Picea engelmannii. Even though the visual impression is of a single aspen clone, the 4 identified genets suggest a higher-than-expected level of genetic diversity in this mixed-species stand which may confer resilience to increasing climate variability and drought. Furthermore, aspen regeneration in areas of both low and high adult aspen densities show that these mixed stands can support vigorous aspen populations.
View the infographic.
View the Forest Service Bulletin summary.
View a list of information and tools for applying these concepts.
View the executive summary.
The Science Framework for Conservation and Restoration of the Sagebrush Biome is a two-part guide to managing sagebrush ecosystems in the West and was developed by an extensive interagency team of scientists and managers. It uses the concepts of resilience to disturbance (ability to recover) and resistance to invasive annual grasses across three geographic scales (sagebrush biome, ecoregions, and local sites) to prioritize conservation and restoration actions in areas where they are likely to have the greatest benefits.
Part 1 provides the science basis and decision-support tools for prioritizing areas and strategies for management.
Part 2 focuses on management considerations and tradeoffs for applying the information in Part 1, including monitoring and adaptive management, climate adaptation, wildfire and vegetation management, nonnative invasive plant management, application of National Seed Strategy concepts, livestock grazing management, and wild horse and burro considerations.
View webinar recording.
The increasing frequency and severity of fire and drought events have negatively impacted the capacity and success of reforestation efforts in many dry, western forests. Challenges to reforestation include the size, cost, and safety concerns of replanting large areas with standing dead trees, and high seedling and sapling mortality rates due to water stress, competing vegetation, and repeat fires that burn young stands. Resources for management are increasingly limited, reducing the capacity for young plantations to develop early resilience to fire, drought, and bark beetle stress. This talk summarizes recent research on the conditions under which current standard reforestation practices are no longer tenable, and provides suggestions on how these practices might be modified to improve their success.
Recording of Part I (2/20)
Recording of Part II (2/21)
The SageSuccess Project, a joint USGS, BLM, and USFWS effort, examines the factors contributing to big sagebrush establishment across the range of sage-grouse. In two webinars, USGS researchers will present major findings of studies on restoration, resistance and resilience, soils, population dynamics, and more.
SageSuccess Project findings were presented over two days by 6 presenters.
2/20 –
History, Study Design, and Partnerships of the SageSuccess Project: David Pilliod
The SageSuccess project required considerable planning and partnership building and coordination. Early partner engagement and flexibility were key to our success. This presentation sets the stage for why and how the project formed, what lessons we learned along the way, and where the science may take us next.
Big Picture Considerations for Sagebrush Restoration: Matt Germino
Sagebrush ecosystems, while often perceived as homogenous “seas” of shrubs, exhibit striking variation within and among sites. Heterogeneity exists over time and across space due to weather, climatic, topographic, and edaphic factors. In addition to this variability is remarkable genetic diversity within sagebrush and its associated species. This variability presents challenges and opportunities for sagebrush restoration.
Is Resistance & Resilience a Useful Predictive Tool? Robert Arkle
Ecological resistance and resilience to disturbance and subsequent invasion is becoming a cornerstone of conservation management in the Great Basin. However, whether this theory works in practice is largely untested at broad spatial and temporal scales. R & R theory was evaluated from field data from over 200 post-wildfire rehabilitation sites sampled from 1–35 years post-treatment throughout the Great Basin.
2/21 –
Gradients in Sagebrush Recovery after Fire are Associated with Soil and Biocrust Characteristics: Dave Barnard
The influence of soil properties on the recovery of sagebrush canopy structure after fire is not well documented. In this study, we investigated associations between soil depth, texture, and surface characteristics and the recovery of sagebrush canopy structure. We show that a diversity of associations exists and that soil characteristics such as depth and structure can surpass precipitation in terms explaining post-fire sagebrush responses.
Population Trajectories of Sagebrush after Restoration: Connecting Pattern and Process: Bob Shriver
It’s assumed that in the absence of drought, invasive species, or other disturbance, populations should recover soon after restoration, but there is little data to support this. When we examined the population dynamics of restoration, we found sagebrush populations declined for decades following seeding, even in the absence of environmental change. It took an average of 20 years to see increases in sagebrush cover. Much of this prolonged recovery can be linked to the sagebrush life history.
To Plant or to Seed? A Good Question: Dave Pyke
Sagebrush restoration typically takes two forms: seeding or transplanting. Transplants can bypass some of the roadblocks to establishment that seedings face. However, growth can sometimes be a challenge with transplanted species growing poorer than seeded species. We examine canopy and height growth of seeded and transplanted sagebrush across the Great Basin. Transplants have an early growth advantage in the first three to five years, but seeded plants eventually match the growth of transplants.