Restoration
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Thus, to understand the effects of removing contemporary grazing, we compared contemporary grazed areas to long-term (+10 yrs.) grazing exclusion areas in three common Wyoming big sagebrush community types: intact, degraded, and exotic annual grass-dominated types. Plant community characteristics (cover, density, diversity, richness, dissimilarity) were measured in 2020 and 2021 in five grazed and grazing excluded areas within each community type. Most plant community characteristics were not influenced by grazing exclusion, suggesting that the removal of contemporary grazing has little effect on Wyoming big sagebrush plant communities. The effect of grazing exclusion on Sandberg bluegrass abundance and litter cover varied among community types, suggesting that grazing exclusion effects slightly varied among community types. In contrast, most plant community characteristics varied among community types and between years, suggesting that grazing management plans need to account for the spatial and temporal variability among Wyoming big sagebrush communities. Furthermore, our results suggest that contemporary grazing exclusion has negligible effects compared to contemporary grazing on plant communities, and that exclusion of contemporary grazing (passive restoration) does not promote the recovery of degraded and annual grass invaded plant communities.
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We compare 2-year recruitment of emergent Pseudoroegneria spicata (bluebunch wheatgrass) seedlings in the sagebrush steppe biome for drill versus broadcast seeding methods across three seeding years, three landscape aspects and two soil types using a 95% confidence interval approach to avoid the penalty of multiplicity. We found drill seeding had 2.7 times greater recruitment of seedlings after 2 years compared with broadcast seeding. However, differences were highly subject to seeding year, aspect and soil type, likely because of soil moisture and temperature variations. Drill seeding had an advantage on clay soils with flat and north aspects (10.1 and 4.6 times greater for drill than broadcast seeding, respectively). In most conditions, drill seeding had greater recruitment than broadcast seeding, though in 2014 on south aspects broadcast seeding had 2.7 times greater recruitment than drill seeding. The results of this study demonstrate a need for restoration plans that account for spatiotemporal variation in seeding success.
The Bureau of Land Management and the Great Basin Fire Science Exchange have partnered to offer the following Restoration of Sagebrush Ecosystems Class, see course flyer.
*Registration is now full, check back in 2024 for next year’s course details.
What: Restoration of Sagebrush Ecosystems Class
Why: Learn about landscape and site planning, treatment options, monitoring, and more
Who can/should attend: DOI and Non-DOI Land Management Professionals
When: 10-13 April 2023
Where: Courtyard Marriott, Boise/West Meridian, ID
How: DOI link Course: Restoration of Sagebrush Ecosystems (doi.gov), non-DOI registration instructions
3/2 – Seed Zones and Adaptive Traits (11 PST/12 MST) – Recording
Setting the landscape for native seed technologies: Balancing the need for wild, adapted native seeds with modifications needed for agricultural production and large-scale seeding – Beth Leger, University of Nevada, Reno
Guiding restoration with seed transfer zones: Concepts and applications – Rob Massatti, USGS
3/3 – Seed Modifications (11 PST/12 MST) – Recording
Application of seed coating technologies for rangeland restoration – Matt Madsen, Brigham Young University
Seed balls and other seed restoration innovations – Elise Gornish, University of Arizona
3/7 – Seed Delivery (*1 PST/2 MST, note the different time) – Recording
Drone seeding technology: A case study – Annabelle Monti, USFS; Maria Mircheva, Sugar Pine Foundation; Lauren Fletcher, Beta-Earth
Robots for microclimate identification and planting – Nichole Barger, TNC
3/9 – Current Perspectives on Seed Technology (11 PST/12 MST) – Recording
Management perspectives: Survey results – Mark Brunson, Utah State University
Managers’ solutions to local seeding challenges: Panel Q&A and discussion – Owen Baughman, TNC; Kevin Gunnell, UDNR; Erik Kriwox, Tony Owens, and Michael McCampbell, BLM
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Within a common garden, 69 populations from diverse seed sources and 13 taxonomic varieties were evaluated for 17 phenological, morphological, and production traits in 2016 and 2017. Analyses of variance showed taxonomic varieties and seed source locations differed for all plant traits. Linear correlation revealed source locations with warmer mean temperature and more precipitation generally had later phenology, larger umbels, more leaf area, higher leaf dry weight, and more seed and shoot dry weight production. Canonical correlation strongly linked seed source climates at source locations with plant traits evaluated in the common garden, suggesting climate-driven adaptive evolution. Canonical variates 1 and 2, explaining 60% of the variation, were used to develop regression models that predicted their values from climate variables across the study area. Using geographic information technology these were mapped into 12 seed zones representing 1.31 million km2 in the Western United States. These zones were designed to provide guidance to practitioners when sourcing sulfur-flower buckwheat for restoration projects. We expect this methodology can be successfully applied to other species to develop seed zones based on adaptive evolution.
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In a 16-year study, Rocky Mountain Research Station Research Ecologist Sharon Hood and her colleagues assessed three types of radial thinning to determine whether they would improve the growth and survival of sugar pines, a species of white pine, in southwest Oregon on sites located in the Umpqua National Forest and Bureau of Land Management Roseburg District. In addition to evaluating a control group, the researchers examined three kinds of treatments in which trees and shrubs were removed around sugar pines to 3 m (10 ft); 7.6 m (25 ft), while retaining large trees with diameters greater than 64 cm (2 ft); or 7.6 m (25 ft). Though some of the radial thinning strategies seemed promising at the 9-year mark, the radial thinning did not improve sugar pine survival at the end of the study (year 16), as compared to the control group. The extended (7.6 m) radial thinning with complete tree removal treatment did increase tree growth for sugar pine that survived, but the level of tree mortality was similar regardless of whether trees had radial thinning or not. Most tree mortality was due to the native mountain pine beetle.
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Field data from 460 sagebrush populations sampled across the Great Basin revealed several patterns. Sagebrush seedlings were uncommon in the first 1–2 years after fire, with none detected in 69% of plots, largely because most fires occurred in areas of low resistance to invasive species and resilience to disturbance (hereafter, R&R). Post-fire aerial seeding of sagebrush dramatically increased seedling occupancy, especially in low R&R areas, which exhibited a 3.4-fold increase in occupancy over similar unseeded locations. However, occupancy models and repeat surveys suggested exceptionally high mortality, as occupancy rates declined by as much as 50% between the first and second years after fire. We found the prevalence of “fertile island” microsites (patches beneath fire-consumed sagebrush) to be the best predictor of seedling occupancy, followed by aerial seeding status, native perennial grass cover, and years since fire. In populations where no sagebrush seeding occurred, seedlings were most likely to occur in locations with a combination of high fertile island microsite cover and close proximity to a remnant sagebrush plant. These important attributes were only present in 13% of post-fire locations, making them rare across the Great Basin.
Webinar recordings.
- Monday, November 14 SCIENCE x Forests: Silviculture for the present and future
A compendium of silviculture treatments for forest types in the United States: Silviculture guidance to support modeling, scenario planning, and large-scale simulations, presented by Thomas Schuler
Prescribed burning considerations following mechanical treatments, presented by Sharon Hood
Reforestation in an era of megafires: A wicked problem for the Forest Service in Region 5 and elsewhere, presented by Martin Ritchie - Tuesday, November 15 SCIENCE x Forests: Forests and climate change
Preparing our forests for the future, presented by Mike Battaglia
The Pacific Northwest carbon dynamics research initiative: Co-production to assist land managers and policy makers, presented by Andrew Gray
Sink, swim, or surf: Surging climate change impacts and the role of climate-adaptive silviculture, presented by Alejandro Royo - Wednesday, November 16 SCIENCE x Forests: Innovations in forest research
From the forest to the faucet: Tools and data linking surface water from forested lands to public water systems, presented by Peter Caldwell
Cloud computing advances regional old-growth forest monitoring for the Northwest Forest Plan, presented by David M Bell
What is resilience in frequent-fire forests and how can it be measured?, presented by Malcolm North - Thursday, November 17 SCIENCE x Forests: Urban forestry, community, and wood utilization
The science and practice of urban silviculture, presented by Nancy Sonti and Rich Hallett
Expanding urban wood utilization, presented by Charlie Becker
Not by trees alone: Centering community in urban forestry, presented by Lindsay Campbell - Friday, November 18 SCIENCE x Forests: Invasion and outbreaks in forests
Species home-making in ecosystems: Toward place-based ecological metrics of belonging, presented by Susan Cordell
Invasion and outbreak within an epidemiological model, presented by Rima Lucardi
Mapping Armillaria-killed trees with high-resolution remote sensing, presented by Benjamin Bright
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Drawing on lessons from Indigenous knowledge systems in what is now called British Columbia, Canada, we demonstrate how place-based values directed the stewardship of historical oak-meadow and clam gardens, which created diverse and productive ecosystems that sustained for millennia. Drawing on examples of contemporary restoration projects (crabapple orchards and clam gardens) that utilize place-based values to inform the recovery of ecocultural landscapes, we propose a framework to help initiate a place-based values approach in contemporary restoration design congruent with ethics of inclusion.