Life Sciences Commons^™

Ncer Assistance Agreement Annual Progress Report For Grant #83582401 - Assessment Of Stormwater Harvesting Via Manage Aquifer Recharge (Mar) To Develop New Water Supplies In The Arid West: The Salt Lake Valley Example, Ryan Dupont, Joan E. Mclean, Richard C. Peralta, Sarah E. Null, Douglas B. Jackson-Smith

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

The goals of the original proposed project remain the same, that is, to test the hypothesis that Managed Aquifer Recharge (MAR) for stormwater harvesting is a technically feasible, socially and environmentally acceptable, economically viable, and legally feasible option for developing new water supplies for arid Western urban ecosystems experiencing increasing population, and climate change pressures on existing water resources. The project is being carried out via three distinct but integrated components that include: 1) Monitoring of existing distributed MAR harvesting schemes involving a growing number of demonstration Green Infrastructure (GI) test sites; 2) Integrated stormwater/vadose zone/groundwater/ ecosystem services modeling; and …

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 …

Low Offspring Survival In Mountain Pine Beetle Infesting The Resistant Great Basin Bristlecone Pine Supports The Preference-Performance Hypothesis, Erika L. Eidson, Karen E. Mock, Barbara J. Bentz

Wildland Resources Faculty Publications

The preference-performance hypothesis states that ovipositing phytophagous insects will select host plants that are well-suited for their offspring and avoid host plants that do not support offspring performance (survival, development and fitness). The mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae), a native insect herbivore in western North America, can successfully attack and reproduce in most species of Pinus throughout its native range. However, mountain pine beetles avoid attacking Great Basin bristlecone pine (Pinus longaeva), despite recent climate-driven increases in mountain pine beetle populations at the high elevations where Great Basin bristlecone pine grows. Low preference for a potential …

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 …

Great Basin Forb Restoration: Lupine Response To Altered Precipitation Predicted By Climate Change, Andrea Jo Johnson, Kristin Hulvey, Scott Jensen, Tom Monaco

Research on Capitol Hill

Abundance of native forb species is declining, leading to degraded ecosystems within the Great Basin.

Forbs provide many ecosystem functions, including wildlife habitat for species such as Sage Grouse, increased biodiversity, resistance to erosion, and protection from invasive plant species.

Climate change is predicted to affect timing, frequency, and intensity of precipitation within the Great Basin. During the fall season, precipitation is expected to increase by 30%.

Changes in precipitation will likely affect fall emergence of forbs, which is essential for overwintering and establishment.

Learning how precipitation affects forb emergence could lead to new methods that increase fall emergence and …