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Long‐Term Effects Of Tree Expansion And Reduction On Soil Climate In A Semiarid Ecosystem, Bruce A. Roundy, R. F. Miller, R. J. Tausch, J. C. Chambers, B. M. Rau
Long‐Term Effects Of Tree Expansion And Reduction On Soil Climate In A Semiarid Ecosystem, Bruce A. Roundy, R. F. Miller, R. J. Tausch, J. C. Chambers, B. M. Rau
Articles
In sagebrush ecosystems, pinyon and juniper tree expansion reduces water available to perennial shrubs and herbs. We measured soil water matric potential and temperatures at 13–30 and 50–65 cm soil depths in untreated and treated plots across a range of environmental conditions. We sought to determine the effects of tree expansion, tree reduction treatments, and expansion phase at time of treatment over 12–13 yr post‐treatment. Because the effects of tree reduction on vegetation can vary with the soil temperature/moisture regime, we also analyzed differences in soil climate variables between the mesic/aridic‐xeric and frigid/xeric regime classifications for our sites. Growing conditions …
Long-Term Effectiveness Of Tree Removal To Re-Establish Sagebrush Steppe Vegetation And Associated Spatial Patterns In Surface Conditions And Soil Hydrologic Properties, C. Jason Williams, Justin C. Johnson, Frederick B. Pierson, Cameron S. Burleson, Viktor O. Polyakov, Patrick R. Kormos, S. Kossi Nouwakpo
Long-Term Effectiveness Of Tree Removal To Re-Establish Sagebrush Steppe Vegetation And Associated Spatial Patterns In Surface Conditions And Soil Hydrologic Properties, C. Jason Williams, Justin C. Johnson, Frederick B. Pierson, Cameron S. Burleson, Viktor O. Polyakov, Patrick R. Kormos, S. Kossi Nouwakpo
Articles
Pinyon (Pinus spp.) and juniper (Juniperus spp.) woodland encroachment into sagebrush (Artemisia spp.) steppe communities throughout western North America has substantially altered the vegetation structure and hydrologic function of one of the most ecologically important rangeland ecosystems in the world. Various pinyon and juniper tree removal practices are employed to re-establish sagebrush steppe vegetation and an associated resource-conserving ecohydrologic function. The effectiveness of these practices is highly variable owing to the vast domain in which woodland encroachment occurs, climate fluctuations, differences in treatment applications, and myriads of pre-treatment conditions and post-treatment land uses. This study evaluated the …
Effectiveness Of Prescribed Fire To Re-Establish Sagebrush Steppe Vegetation And Ecohydrologic Function On Woodland-Encroached Sagebrush Reangelands, Great Basin, Usa: Part Ii: Runoff And Sediment Transport At The Patch Scale, Sayjro K. Nouwakpo, Christopher Jason Williams, Frederick B. Pierson, Mark A. Weltz, Patrick R. Kormos, Osama Z. Al-Hamdan
Effectiveness Of Prescribed Fire To Re-Establish Sagebrush Steppe Vegetation And Ecohydrologic Function On Woodland-Encroached Sagebrush Reangelands, Great Basin, Usa: Part Ii: Runoff And Sediment Transport At The Patch Scale, Sayjro K. Nouwakpo, Christopher Jason Williams, Frederick B. Pierson, Mark A. Weltz, Patrick R. Kormos, Osama Z. Al-Hamdan
Articles
Woody species encroachment into herbaceous and shrub-dominated vegetations is a concern in many rangeland ecosystems of the world. Arrival of woody species into affected rangelands leads to changes in the spatial structure of vegetation and alterations of biophysical processes. In the western USA, encroachment of pinyon (Pinus spp.) and juniper (Juniperus spp.) tree species into sagebrush steppes poses a threat to the proper ecohydrological functioning of these ecosystems. Prescribed fire has been proposed and used as one rangeland improvement practice to restore sagebrush steppe from pinyon-juniper encroachment. Short-term effects of burning on the ecohydrologic response of these systems …
Long-Term Evidence For Fire As An Ecohydrologic Threshold-Reversal Mechanism On Woodland-Encroached Sagebrush Shrublands, Christopher Jason Williams, Frederick B. Pierson, Sayjro K. Nouwakpo, Patrick R. Kormos, Osama Z. Al-Hamdan, Mark A. Weltz
Long-Term Evidence For Fire As An Ecohydrologic Threshold-Reversal Mechanism On Woodland-Encroached Sagebrush Shrublands, Christopher Jason Williams, Frederick B. Pierson, Sayjro K. Nouwakpo, Patrick R. Kormos, Osama Z. Al-Hamdan, Mark A. Weltz
Articles
Encroachment of sagebrush (Artemisia spp.) shrublands by pinyon (Pinus spp.) and juniper (Juniperus spp.) conifers (woodland encroachment) induces a shift from biotic‐controlled resource retention to abiotic‐driven loss of soil resources. This shift is driven by a coarsening of the vegetation structure with increasing dominance of site resources by trees. Competition between the encroaching trees and understory vegetation for limited soil and water resources facilitates extensive bare intercanopy area between trees and concomitant increases in run‐off and erosion that, over time, propagate persistence of the shrubland‐to‐woodland conversion. We evaluated whether tree removal by burning can decrease late‐succession woodland …
Vegetation, Hydrologic, And Erosion Responses Of Sagebrush Steppe 9 Yr Following Mechanical Tree Removal, Christopher Jason Williams, Frederick B. Pierson, Patrick R. Kormos, Osama Z. Al-Hamdan, Sayjro K. Nouwakpo, Mark A. Weltz
Vegetation, Hydrologic, And Erosion Responses Of Sagebrush Steppe 9 Yr Following Mechanical Tree Removal, Christopher Jason Williams, Frederick B. Pierson, Patrick R. Kormos, Osama Z. Al-Hamdan, Sayjro K. Nouwakpo, Mark A. Weltz
Articles
Land managers across the western United States are faced with selecting and applying tree-removal treatments on pinyon (Pinus spp.) and juniper (Juniperus spp.) woodland-encroached sagebrush (Artemisia spp.) rangelands, but current understanding of long-term vegetation and hydrological responses of sagebrush sites to tree removal is inadequate for guiding management. This study applied a suite of vegetation and soil measures (0.5 − 990 m2), small-plot rainfall simulations (0.5 m2), and overland flow experiments (9 m2) to quantify the effects of mechanical tree removal (tree cutting and mastication) on vegetation, runoff, and erosion at …
Effectiveness Of Prescribed Fire To Re-Establish Sagebrush Steppe Vegetation And Ecohydrologic Function On Woodland-Encroached Sagebrush Rangelands, Great Basin, Usa: Part I: Vegetation, Hydrology, And Erosion Responses, Christopher Jason Williams, Frederick B. Pierson, Sayjro K. Nouwakpo, Osama Z. Al-Hamdan, Patrick R. Kormos, Mark A. Weltz
Effectiveness Of Prescribed Fire To Re-Establish Sagebrush Steppe Vegetation And Ecohydrologic Function On Woodland-Encroached Sagebrush Rangelands, Great Basin, Usa: Part I: Vegetation, Hydrology, And Erosion Responses, Christopher Jason Williams, Frederick B. Pierson, Sayjro K. Nouwakpo, Osama Z. Al-Hamdan, Patrick R. Kormos, Mark A. Weltz
Articles
Pinyon (Pinus spp.) and juniper (Juniperus spp.) woodland encroachment has imperiled a broad ecological domain of the sagebrush steppe (Artemisia spp.) ecosystem in the Great Basin Region, USA. As these conifers increase in dominance on sagebrush rangelands, understory vegetation declines and ecohydrologic function can shift from biotic (vegetation) controlled retention of soil resources to abiotic (runoff) driven loss of soil resources and long-term site degradation. Scientists, public land management agencies, and private land owners are challenged with selecting and predicting outcomes to treatment alternatives to improve ecological structure and function on these rangelands. This study is the …
Sage Grouse Groceries: Forb Response To Piñon-Juniper Treatments, Jonathan D. Bates, Kirk W. Davies, April Hulet, Richard F. Miller, Bruce Roundy
Sage Grouse Groceries: Forb Response To Piñon-Juniper Treatments, Jonathan D. Bates, Kirk W. Davies, April Hulet, Richard F. Miller, Bruce Roundy
Articles
Juniper and piñon coniferous woodlands have increased 2- to 10-fold in nine ecoregions spanning the Intermountain Region of the western United States. Control of piñon-juniper woodlands by mechanical treatments and prescribed fire are commonly applied to recover sagebrush steppe rangelands. Recently, the Sage Grouse Initiative has made conifer removal a major part of its program to reestablish sagebrush habitat for sage grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) and other species. We analyzed data sets from previous and ongoing studies across the Great Basin characterizing cover response of perennial and annual forbs that are consumed by sage grouse to mechanical, prescribed fire, …
Short-Term Effects Of Tree Removal On Infiltration, Runoff, And Erosion In Woodland-Encroached Sagebrush Steppe, Frederick B. Pierson, Christopher Jason Williams, Patrick R. Kormos, Osama Z. Al-Hamdan
Short-Term Effects Of Tree Removal On Infiltration, Runoff, And Erosion In Woodland-Encroached Sagebrush Steppe, Frederick B. Pierson, Christopher Jason Williams, Patrick R. Kormos, Osama Z. Al-Hamdan
Articles
Land owners and managers across the western United States are increasingly searching for methods to evaluate and mitigate the effects of woodland encroachment on sagebrush steppe ecosystems. We used small-plot scale (0.5 m2) rainfall simulations and measures of vegetation, ground cover, and soils to investigate woodland response to tree removal (prescribed fire and mastication) at two late-succession woodlands. We also evaluated the effects of burning on soil water repellency and effectiveness of aggregate stability indices to detect changes in erosion potential. Plots were located in interspaces between tree and shrub canopies and on undercanopy tree and shrub microsites. Erosion from …
Mechanical Mastication Of Utah Juniper Encroaching Sagebrush Steppe Increases Inorganic Soil N, Kert R. Young, Bruce A. Roundy, Dennis L. Eggett
Mechanical Mastication Of Utah Juniper Encroaching Sagebrush Steppe Increases Inorganic Soil N, Kert R. Young, Bruce A. Roundy, Dennis L. Eggett
Articles
Juniper (Juniperus spp.) has encroached on millions of hectares of sagebrush (Artemisia spp.) steppe. Juniper mechanical mastication increases cover of understory species but could increase resource availability and subsequently invasive plant species. We quantified the effects of juniper mastication on soil resource availability by comparing total C, total N, C : N ratio, Olsen extractable P, sulfate S, and pH using soil samples and inorganic N (NO3-+NH4+) using ion exchange membranes. We compared resource availability in paired masticated and untreated areas in three juniper-dominated sagebrush and bunchgrass ecosystems in the Utah portion …
Hydrologic And Erosion Responses To Wildfire Along The Rangeland-Xeric Forest Continuum In The Western Us: A Review And Model Of Hydrologic Vulnerability, Christopher Jason Williams, Frederick B. Pierson, Peter R. Robichaud, Jan Boll
Hydrologic And Erosion Responses To Wildfire Along The Rangeland-Xeric Forest Continuum In The Western Us: A Review And Model Of Hydrologic Vulnerability, Christopher Jason Williams, Frederick B. Pierson, Peter R. Robichaud, Jan Boll
Articles
The recent increase in wildfire activity across the rangeland–xeric forest continuum in the western United States has landscape-scale consequences in terms of runoff and erosion. Concomitant cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum L.) invasions, plant community transitions and a warming climate in recent decades along grassland–shrubland–woodland–xeric forest transitions have promoted frequent and large wildfires, and continuance of the trend appears likely if warming climate conditions prevail. These changes potentially increase overall hydrologic vulnerability by spatially and temporally increasing soil exposure to runoff and erosion processes. Plot and hillslope-scale studies demonstrate burning may increase event runoff or erosion by factors of 2–40 over …
Woodland Expansion's Influence On Belowground Carbon And Nitrogen In The Great Basin U.S., Benjamin M. Rau, Dale W. Johnson, Robert R. Blank, Robin J. Tausch, Bruce A. Roundy, Richard F. Miller, Todd G. Caldwell, Annmarie Lucchesi
Woodland Expansion's Influence On Belowground Carbon And Nitrogen In The Great Basin U.S., Benjamin M. Rau, Dale W. Johnson, Robert R. Blank, Robin J. Tausch, Bruce A. Roundy, Richard F. Miller, Todd G. Caldwell, Annmarie Lucchesi
Articles
Vegetation changes associated with climate shifts and anthropogenic disturbance can have major impacts on biogeochemical cycling and soils. Much of the Great Basin, U.S. is currently dominated by sagebrush (Artemisia tridentate (Rydb.) Boivin) ecosystems. Sagebrush ecosystems are increasingly influenced by pinyon (Pinus monophylla Torr. & Frém and Pinus edulis Engelm.) and juniper (Juniperus osteosperma Torr. and Juniperus occidentalis Hook.) expansion. Some scientists and policy makers believe that increasing woodland cover in the intermountain western U.S. offers the possibility of increased organic carbon (OC) storage on the landscape; however, little is currently known about the distribution of OC …