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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences
Plant Functional Groups And Species Contribute To Ecological Resilience A Decade After Woodland Expansion Treatments, Stephanie Freund, Beth A. Newingham, Jeanne C. Chambers, Alexandra K. Urza, Bruce A. Roundy, J. Hall Cushman
Plant Functional Groups And Species Contribute To Ecological Resilience A Decade After Woodland Expansion Treatments, Stephanie Freund, Beth A. Newingham, Jeanne C. Chambers, Alexandra K. Urza, Bruce A. Roundy, J. Hall Cushman
Articles
Woody plant expansions are altering ecosystem structure and function, as well as fire regimes, around the globe. Tree-reduction treatments are widely implemented in expanding woodlands to reduce fuel loads, increase ecological resilience, and improve habitat, but few studies have measured treatment outcomes over long timescales or large geographic areas. The Sagebrush Treatment Evaluation Project (SageSTEP) evaluated the ecological effects of prescribed fire and cut-and-leave treatments in sagebrush communities experiencing tree expansion in North American cold desert shrublands. We used 10 yr of data from the SageSTEP network to test how treatments interacted with pre-treatment tree dominance, soil climate, and time …
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 …
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 …
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 …