Life Sciences Commons^™

Overcoming Barriers To Aquatic Plant Restoration: Addressing Gaps In Species Identification And Planting Techniques In The Intermountain West, Kate A. Sinnott

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Aquatic ecosystems provide many critical and economically valuable benefits, including drinking water, food, recreational opportunities, and water supply for irrigation and agriculture. However, the health of these systems has been severely impacted by human activities such as pollution, land conversion, and introductions of harmful species. Restoring native aquatic plants can help reverse this damage and reestablish benefits, though it is not a common practice. With an objective to increase capacity for aquatic plant restoration in the Intermountain West, I identified and addressed two major barriers: 1) a lack of confidence in aquatic species identification among wetland professionals, and 2) underdeveloped …

Transplanting Mature Mountain Big Sagebrush Plants Yields High First-Year Survival In Dryland Pasture Restoration, Elizabeth C. Bailey

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Approximately 10-20% of global dryland ecosystems are severely degraded, an amount that is expected to increase, threatening the environment and ecosystem services that 38% of the global population relies upon. Human activities such as agriculture, livestock grazing, mining and urban development have contributed to the degradation and loss of rangelands worldwide. A need for reestablishing sagebrush in disturbed landscapes across the Western United States, including dryland pastures, has been identified but traditional, primarily seeding-based, restoration methods have largely been unsuccessful. To improve restoration outcomes, there has been increased interest in the planting of containerized greenhouse “tubelings”, but transplanting of mature …

Effect Of Biocrust Development On Establishment Of Native Plants In A Salt Desert System, Merran Owen

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Salt desert shrublands are semiarid, shrub-dominated ecosystems that inhabit salt- affected soils. In Great Basin salt deserts, exotic annual plants are invading and displacing native plants. Low plant productivity and slow population growth of native plants in these ecosystems makes them vulnerable to invasion and limits their ability to compete with invasive plants and return to a natural state. Active revegetation efforts, such as planting and direct seeding of native plants, are often unsuccessful for the same reasons. Biological soil crusts (communities of cyanobacteria, lichen, moss, microfungi and other microorganisms that live on the surface layer of the soil) are …

An Evaluation Of Arthropod Assemblages In Great Salt Lake Wetland Habitats: Differences Between Native And Invasive Vegetation And Implications For Restoration, Emily E. Leonard

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Wetlands provide important habitat for various birds. Invasive plants can disrupt wetland food webs by altering the arthropod assemblages (invertebrate animals such as spiders, mites, insects, centipedes, and millipedes) on which these birds rely. However, differences between the wetland arthropods found in invasive vs. native vegetation are poorly defined. Wetlands are often managed for the creation of bird habitat through invasive species removal and native plant revegetation, yet few studies have examined the effects of these restoration methods on arthropod bird food sources. Phragmites australis (common reed), is an aggressive grass species in wetlands surrounding the Great Salt Lake, Utah, …

Impacts Of Phragmites Australis Management On Wetland Plant Community Recovery, Seedbank Composition, And The Physical Environment In The Chesapeake Bay, Eric L. G. Hazelton

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Biological invasions have adverse economic, cultural, and ecological effects worldwide. Among the most impactful in North America is the invasion of Phragmites australis (Phragmites), a large-scale clonal grass that rapidly colonizes wetlands. Phragmites crowds out native plants and alters habitat for native fauna. In doing so, Phragmites also alters human access to water resources and has adverse economic effects, including decreasing property value, inhibiting recreational use, and limiting populations of game species.

The efforts described in this dissertation are a component of a large, multidisciplinary effort to better understand the anthropogenic stressors to Chesapeake Bay, Maryland, at the …

Assessment Of Restoration Seedings On Utah Watershed Restoration Initiative Project Sites, Lacey E. Wilder

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Overabundance of shrubs poses a major threat to semiarid ecosystems due to degraded understory vegetation. Previous efforts suggest a need for greater understanding of which management practices work best to improve these ecosystems. I sought to develop a better understanding of how the relative performance of commonly seeded species is influenced by three sagebrush removal techniques.

I calculated effect sizes for cover and frequency to estimate relative changes in abundance of 15 common plant species seeded at 63 restoration sites throughout Utah. Shrubs were reduced by fire or mechanical treatment. Effect sizes were assessed using meta-analysis techniques for two post-treatment …

Bridging Post-Wildfire Communication Gaps Between Managers, Researchers, And Local Communities, Including A Biological Soil Crust Case Study, Hilary Louise Whitcomb

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Immediately after a wildfire land managers act quickly to protect water supplies, soil stability, habitat, and forage. We don't currently understand how managers make trade-off decisions between social, political, and ecological factors in these tight timelines or if they are able to use new science. We do know ecosystems often benefit from local engagement, and new, scientifically-grounded methods that improve restoration efforts are needed. As post-wildfire timelines don’t often allow for outside input, I asked managers what they and stakeholders think about post-wildfire projects and what managers think about new science. I asked local citizens what they think about postwildfire …

Intraspecific Variation In The Response Of Elymus Elymoides To Competition From Bromus Tectorum, Rebecca K. Mann

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

In the western United States, thousands of acres of degraded rangelands are dominated by aggressive invasive species such as cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum), and are seeded by managers with native plants in an attempt to restore species diversity, wildlife habitat, and ecosystem services. There are many options for obtaining seeds of native plants; for instance, they can be collected from the region where restoration is to occur, or they may be purchased through commercial producers. For a given plant species, managers may also select seeds from unique subspecies, cultivars, and populations. Genetic differentiation among these within-species groups can not only affect …

Control Of Large Stands Of Phragmites Australis In Great Salt Lake, Utah Wetlands, Chad R. Cranney

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Phragmites (common reed) is a non-native, invasive perennial grass from Eurasia that is taking over wetlands across North America. In Utah, Phragmites has expanded to cover tens of thousands of acres in and around the Great Salt Lake (GSL). The GSL and its associated wetlands are recognized regionally and hemispherically as an important bird area (IBA) that provide critical habitat for a wide variety of wetland dependent birds. The invasion and expansion of Phragmites has replaced many of the high quality habitats these avian populations rely on. This research aimed to determine the most effective methods to control Phragmites and …

Use Of A Net Rate Of Energy Intake Model To Examine Differences In Juvenile Steelhead (Oncorhynchus Mykiss) Densities And The Energetic Implications Of Restoration, C. Eric Wall

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) Fish and Wildlife Program mitigates for impacts of hydroelectric dams on ESA-listed salmon and steelhead populations in the Columbia River Basin (CRB). Considering the sizable investments in mitigation and the diversity of stream habitats within the CRB, there has been a pointed effort to develop and identify meaningful metrics relating to fish populations and trends in their habitat across the CRB. The Integrated Status and Effectiveness Monitoring Program (ISEMP) was developed in 2003 specifically for this purpose, and is tasked with developing and testing strategies for determining the status and trend of salmonid populations and …

The Ecology And Genetics Of Schoenoplectus Maritimus, An Important Emergent Macrophyte, Across Diverse Hydrologic Conditions—Implications For Restoration, Amanda Clare Sweetman

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Wetlands in the Intermountain West are typically dominated by large monotypic stands of emergent wetland plants, are highly productive, and support millions of migratory birds as important stops along the Pacific Flyway. In systems with low species diversity, such as these, diversity within a species (intraspecific diversity) can play an important role in population fitness and ecosystem functioning and can impact restoration success. Our research was designed to inform future restoration and management activities by studying the pattern of diversity within and among natural plant populations, and by studying how hydrology and plant materials used in restoration (source and diversity …

Effects Of Non-Surface-Disturbing Restoration Treatments On Native Grass Revegetation And Soil Seed Bank Composition In Cheatgrass-Invaded Sagebrush-Steppe Ecosystems, Alexandra D. Reinwald

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The sagebrush-steppe communities of the Great Basin have been dramatically transformed by the invasion of the non-native annual grass cheatgrass. In many areas of the Great Basin, this invasion has resulted in the loss of native plant species and ultimately the conversion to cheatgrass-dominated communities. As healthy sagebrush communities provide multiple ecosystem services such as diverse wildlife habitat, forage for cattle grazing, and water filtration, restoration of these communities is a high priority to landowners and land management agencies. Established perennial grasses can successfully compete with non-native annual grasses and increase the resistance of plant communities to invasion by non-native …

Establishment And Aesthetic Value Of Native Grass, Legume, And Forb Species For Grassland Restoration In The Northern Intermountain West, Bridget M. Atkin

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Interest in the restoration of landscapes native to the Intermountain West is growing as the value of these arid ecosystems is increasingly recognized. Many landscapes within the Intermountain region have been impacted by grazing, development, recreation, and other human-caused disturbances. The complex relationships within the native plant communities of these arid landscapes need to be well-understood biologically, while considering their aesthetic contribution, if restoration efforts are to succeed. Although the use of ecologically appropriate native species is increasing in popularity, there is discontinuity between aesthetics and meaningful ecological contributions. A series of studies was designed to aid in the restoration …

Seed Pool Dynamics Of A Great Basin Sagebrush Community In The Context Of Restoration, Kristen M. Pekas

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Restoration of Great Basin sagebrush communities is often attempted without understanding the potential impacts of either restoration treatments on the seed pool or the seed pool on restoration efforts. In addition, few studies have examined seed pools of the Great Basin and the role of vegetation in structuring seed pool communities. I evaluated soil seed pool dynamics of a Great Basin sagebrush community in a restoration context.

In Chapter 1, I determined the relationship between the compositions of the seed pool and aboveground vegetation and the effect of shrubs (microhabitat effects) and perennial bunchgrass cover (community phase effects) on the …