A field guide for selecting the most appropriate treatment in sagebrush and pinon-juniper ecosystems in the Great Basin: Evaluating resilience to disturbance and resistance to invasive annual grasses, and predicting vegetation response

Miller, Richard F.; Chambers, Jeanne C.; Pellant, Mike

doi:10.2737/rmrs-gtr-322

Cited by 28 publications

(55 citation statements)

References 17 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Areas with warm to cool soil temperature regimes and moist precipitation regimes are typically characterized by either Wyoming or mountain big sagebrush, have moderate to moderately low resilience and resistance, Table 1. Predominant sagebrush ecological types in Sage-Grouse Management Zones III, IV, V, and VI based on soil temperature and soil moisture regimes, typical characteristics, and resilience to disturbance and resistance to invasive annual grasses (modified from and have the potential for piñon and juniper expansion (Miller et al 2014a;Chambers et al in press). Many of these areas also are of conservation concern because piñon and juniper expansion and tree infilling can result in progressive loss of understory species and altered fire regimes (Miller et al 2013).…”

Section: Soil Temperature and Moisture Regimes As Indicators Of Ecosymentioning

confidence: 99%

Preemergence Control of Nine Invasive Weeds with Aminocyclopyrachlor, Aminopyralid, and Indaziflam

Sebastian

Nissen

Sebastian³

et al. 2017

Invasive plant sci. manag.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This Report provides a strategic approach for conservation of sagebrush ecosystems and Greater SageGrouse (sage-grouse) that focuses specifically on habitat threats caused by invasive annual grasses and altered fire regimes. It uses information on factors that influence (1) sagebrush ecosystem resilience to disturbance and resistance to invasive annual grasses and (2) distribution, relative abundance, and persistence of sage-grouse populations to develop management strategies at both landscape and site scales. A sage-grouse habitat matrix links relative resilience and resistance of sagebrush ecosystems with sage-grouse habitat requirements for landscape cover of sagebrush to help decision makers assess risks and determine appropriate management strategies at landscape scales. Focal areas for management are assessed by overlaying matrix components with sage-grouse Priority Areas for Conservation (PACs), breeding bird densities, and specific habitat threats. Decision tools are discussed for determining the suitability of focal areas for treatment and the most appropriate management treatments.

show abstract

Section: Soil Temperature and Moisture Regimes As Indicators Of Ecosymentioning

confidence: 99%

Preemergence Control of Nine Invasive Weeds with Aminocyclopyrachlor, Aminopyralid, and Indaziflam

Sebastian

Nissen

Sebastian³

et al. 2017

Invasive plant sci. manag.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…9) and, depending on soils, slope, and understory species, an abiotic threshold to an eroded state (T7 in Fig. 9; Miller et al 2014a). We found that on relatively warm and dry sites, presence of cheatgrass and other annual exotics coupled with low cover of perennial native herbaceous species resulted in a wooded/invaded state following cut-and leave-treatments (T8 in Fig.…”

Section: State and Transition Models That Incorporate Resilience And mentioning

confidence: 80%

“…Perennial native herbaceous species are a primary determinant of site resilience to disturbance and management treatments and/or resistance to cheatgrass and annual exotic forbs Miller et al 2014a). In WY shrub sites, perennial native herbaceous cover of about 20% appeared necessary to maintain relatively low cover of cheatgrass in control plots and prevent significant increases after fire and mowing (Fig.…”

Section: Pretreatment Cover Of Perennial Native Herbaceous Species Anmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…As for WY PJ, in the absence of treatment, infilling of phase II woodlands can result in a biotic threshold to a wooded state and, depending on soils and topography, an abiotic threshold crossing to an eroded state (T7 in Fig. 10; Miller et al 2014a). Seeding of Phase III woodlands (closed wooded shrublands) with depleted understories after fire can increase perennial herbaceous species and sagebrush (R8 and R9 in Fig.…”

Section: State and Transition Models That Incorporate Resilience And mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…STMs that incorporate information on resilience to management treatments and resistance to annual exotics can be used as aids in the planning process. Sagebrush sites occur over continuums of ecological conditions, such as temperature and precipitation, and careful assessment of site conditions always will be necessary to determine the relevance of a particular STM, the suitability of a site for treatment, and the most appropriate treatment(s) (Pyke 2011;Chambers et al 2014;Miller et al 2013Miller et al , 2014a.…”

Section: Management Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Grazing Protection Influences Soil Mesofauna in Ungrazed and Grazed Riparian and Upland Pastures

Miller

Battigelli

Willms

2014

Rangeland Ecology & Management

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

A conservation planning tool for Greater Sage‐grouse using indices of species distribution, resilience, and resistance

Ricca

Coates

Gustafson

et al. 2018

Ecological Applications

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Managers require quantitative yet tractable tools that identify areas for restoration yielding effective benefits for targeted wildlife species and the ecosystems they inhabit. As a contemporary example of high national significance for conservation, the persistence of Greater Sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) in the Great Basin is compromised by strongly interacting stressors of conifer expansion, annual grass invasion, and more frequent wildfires occurring in sagebrush ecosystems. Associated restoration treatments to a sagebrush-dominated state are often costly and may yield relatively little ecological benefit to sage-grouse if implemented without estimating how Sage-grouse may respond to treatments, or do not consider underlying processes influencing sagebrush ecosystem resilience to disturbance and resistance to invasive species. Here, we describe example applications of a spatially explicit conservation planning tool (CPT) to inform prioritization of: (1) removal of conifers (i.e., pinyon-juniper); and (2) wildfire restoration aimed at improving habitat conditions for the Bi-State Distinct Population Segment of Sage-grouse along the California-Nevada state line. The CPT measures ecological benefits to sage-grouse for a given management action through a composite index comprised of resource selection functions and estimates of abundance and space use. For pinyon-juniper removal, we simulated changes in land-cover composition following the removal of sparse trees with intact understories, and ranked treatments on the basis of changes in ecological benefits per dollar-unit of cost. For wildfire restoration, we formulated a conditional model to simulate scenarios for land cover changes (e.g., sagebrush to annual grass) given estimated fire severity and underlying ecosystem processes influencing resilience to disturbance and resistance to invasion by annual grasses. For both applications, we compared CPT rankings to land cover changes along with sagebrush resistance and resilience metrics. Model results demonstrated how the CPT can be an important step in identifying management projects that yield the highest quantifiable benefit to Sage-grouse while avoiding costly misallocation of resources, and highlight the importance of considering changes in sage-grouse ecological response and factors influencing sagebrush ecosystem resilience to disturbance and resistance to invasion. This unique framework can be adopted to help inform other management questions aimed at improving habitat for other species across sagebrush and other ecosystems.

show abstract

A field guide for selecting the most appropriate treatment in sagebrush and pinon-juniper ecosystems in the Great Basin: Evaluating resilience to disturbance and resistance to invasive annual grasses, and predicting vegetation response

Cited by 28 publications

References 17 publications

Preemergence Control of Nine Invasive Weeds with Aminocyclopyrachlor, Aminopyralid, and Indaziflam

Preemergence Control of Nine Invasive Weeds with Aminocyclopyrachlor, Aminopyralid, and Indaziflam

Grazing Protection Influences Soil Mesofauna in Ungrazed and Grazed Riparian and Upland Pastures

A conservation planning tool for Greater Sage‐grouse using indices of species distribution, resilience, and resistance

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About