Restoration
View fact sheet, pg. 37.
Bareroot or container seedlings can be used to quickly re-establish big sagebrush and other native shrubs in situations where direct seeding is not feasible or unlikely to succeed. Guidelines are provided for developing a planting plan and timeline, arranging for seedling production, and installing and managing outplantings.
View all topics reviewed in the Fact Sheet series.
View fact sheet, pg. 12.
This fact sheet provides managers with tools and strategies to reestablish perennial-dominated plant communities in medusahead-invaded sagebrush rangelands.
View all topics reviewed in the Fact Sheet series.
View fact sheet, pg. 60.
This fact sheet provides land managers with information that can help identify different aspen types, assess the condition of aspen stands, and prioritize stands for restoration using appropriate treatments.
View all topics reviewed in the Fact Sheet series.
View fact sheet, pg 49.
This fact sheet provides land managers with state-of-the-art information on the establishment of big sagebrush through direct seeding.
View all topics reviewed in the Fact Sheet series.
View fact sheet, pg. 74.
Great Basin sagebrush communities are experiencing widespread degradation due to the introduction of invasive annual weeds and disturbances that promote weed expansion, including inappropriate grazing and fire. Many sites previously occupied by diverse communities of perennial grasses, forbs, and shrubs have been reduced to depauperate sagebrush stands that readily become dominated by invasive annuals following fire. Post-fire seeding may be necessary to prevent these areas from converting to annual grasslands.
View all topics reviewed in the Fact Sheet series.
Individual fact sheets comprising the Information and tools to conserve and restore Great Basin ecosystems – Factsheet Series are available below.
No. 1- Putting resilience and resistance into practice
No. 2- Limiting medusahead invasion and impacts in the Great Basin
No. 4- Conifer removal in the sagebrush steppe: The why, when, where, and how
No. 6- Wind erosion following wildfire in Great Basin ecosystems
No. 7- Post-fire grazing management in the Great Basin
No. 8- Establishing big sagebrush and other shrubs from planting stock
No. 9- Assessing fuel loads in sagebrush steppe and PJ woodlands
No. 10- Seeding big sagebrush successfully on Intermountain rangelands
No. 11- Assessing impacts of fire and post-fire mitigation on runoff and erosion from rangelands
No. 12- Management of aspen in a changing environment
No. 13- Woody fuels reduction in Wyoming big sagebrush communities
No. 14- Seeding techniques for sagebrush community restoration after fire
View report.
Findings of this research suggest that a hedge betting approach (employing more than one restoration method) can increase the probability of successful restoration. Broadcast seeding seed pillows and bare seed over two years resulted in a sagebrush restoration success rate of 86% compared to 36% if only one method was used in one year. Information generated from this study will help land managers successfully restore sage-grouse habitat after wildfires by pairing restoration methods with site characteristics.
View webinar recording.
Three speakers from three different federal agencies discuss implementation opportunities and challenges from a national, regional and local perspective. Examples will relate to strategy goals (producing and providing needed seed, conducting research, expanding tools for land managers and communications).
This two day field tour discussed conservation and restoration issues in watersheds, riparian ecosystems, and meadows on day one, and piñon-juniper expansion, cheatgrass invasion, and fire on day two. Presenters were from federal and state agencies and the University of Nevada, Reno.
View the flyer and the agenda.
Biological soil crusts refer to a community of organisms that live on the soil surface in arid and semi-arid lands, including fungi, lichens, mosses and cyanobacteria. These organisms contribute to nutrient and hydrologic cycling as well as the prevention of soil erosion. This webinar discusses the distribution of biocrusts in the region as well as their recovery from disturbance and restoration. Presented by Lea Condon, Research Ecologist at the USGS Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center, Corvallis, OR.