Sagebrush

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Sage-grouse require sagebrush steppe- An infographic

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Relationship between sagebrush habitat characteristics and sage-grouse use in a graphic summary.

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Pinyon-juniper expansion in the Great Basin- An infographic

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Reasons and consequences of pinyon-juniper expansion and treatment options are provided in a graphic summary.

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Fire as a threshold-reversal mechanism on woodland-encroached sagebrush

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This study evaluated whether tree removal by burning can decrease late‐succession woodland ecohydrologic resilience by increasing vegetation and ground cover over a 9‐year period after fire and whether the soil erosion feedback on late‐succession woodlands is reversible by burning. To address these questions, we employed a suite of vegetation and soil measurements and rainfall simulation and concentrated overland flow experiments across multiple plot scales on unburned and burned areas at two sagebrush sites in the later stages of woodland succession.

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Factors affecting sagebrush-seedling post-fire transplant survival

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The most significant landscape variable affecting survival was soil taxonomic subgroup, with much lower survival where buried restrictive layers reduce deep water infiltration. Survival also decreased with greater slope steepness, exotic annual grass cover, and burn severity. Survival was optimal where perennial bunchgrasses comprised 8–14% of total cover. These soil, topographic, and community condition factors revealed through monitoring of landscape-level treatments can be used to explain the success of plantings and to strategically plan future restoration projects.

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Mountain big sagebrush – Fire regimes

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Estimates of historical fire regime parameters in mountain big sagebrush communities can be compared with current fire regimes and trends to establish general guidelines for ecological restoration. A synthesis of information on historical patterns and contemporary changes in fuels and fire regimes in mountain big sagebrush communities is available in the Fire Effects Information System (FEIS). This research brief summarizes information from that FEIS Fire Regime Synthesis.

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Wildfires, invasive grass threaten future of western sagebrush

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Humans are the source of 84 percent of wildfires, and not all are intentional. Often they come from vehicle accidents in dry landscapes. In fact, over the last 20 years, 11 of the 50 largest wildfires in the U.S. have occurred in the Great Basin. From 2000 to 2018, approximately 15 million acres of sagebrush burned primarily in the Great Basin, and approximately 9 million of those acres burned from 2014 to 2018 alone, said Michele Crist, a landscape ecologist with the Bureau of Land Management at the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, Idaho.

Webinar, video, audio icon

SageSuccess Project Findings

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.

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Nevada Society for Range Management Suggested Reading – Winter 2019

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Abstracts of Recent Papers on Range Management in the West. Prepared by Charlie Clements, Rangeland Scientist, USDA Agricultural Research Service, Reno, NV

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Managing big sagebrush in changing climate

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This publication identifies areas where big sagebrush populations are most and least vulnerable to climate change and demonstrates where continued investment in sagebrush conservation and restoration could have the most impact.

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Long-term evidence for climate adaptation

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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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