Economics of Western Juniper Control in Central Oregon

Aldrich, Gwendolyn A.; Tanaka, John; Adams, Richard M.; Buckhouse, John C.

doi:10.2111/04-164r2.1

Cited by 23 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 10 publications

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“…Long‐term soil erosion and site degradation are likely exacerbated by frequent re‐burning (Pierson et al ., ; Wilcox et al ., ). Long‐term soil loss from sagebrush steppe is a paramount concern for ecosystem health in the Great Basin (Miller et al ., ) and has negative ramifications on flora, sagebrush obligate fauna, and local economies reliant on rangeland ecosystem goods and services (Connelly et al ., ; Knick et al ., ; Aldrich et al ., ; Miller et al ., ; Havstad et al ., ; Davies et al ., ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Can wildfire serve as an ecohydrologic threshold‐reversal mechanism on juniper‐encroached shrublands

et al. 2013

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Woody plant encroachment on water-limited lands can induce a shift from biotic (plant)-controlled resource retention to abiotic (physical)-driven losses of critical soil resources. The biotic-to-abiotic shift occurs where encroachment propagates connectivity of runoff processes and amplified cross-scale erosion that, in-turn, promote ecohydrologic resilience of the post-encroachment community. We investigated these relationships for woodland-encroached sagebrush steppe in the Great Basin, USA, and evaluated wildfire as a mechanism to reverse the post-encroachment soil erosion feedback. We measured vegetation, soil properties, and runoff/ erosion from experimental plots on burned and unburned areas of a late-succession woodland 1 and 2 years post-fire. Our findings suggest that the biotic-to-abiotic shift and amplified cross-scale erosion occur where encroachment-induced bare ground exceeds 50-60% and bare gaps between plant bases frequently extend beyond 1 m. The trigger for amplified cross-scale erosion is formation of concentrated flow within the degraded intercanopy between trees. Burning in this study decreased ecohydrologic resilience of the latesuccession woodland through herbaceous recruitment 2 years post-fire. Increased intercanopy herbaceous productivity decreased connectivity of bare ground, improved infiltration, and reduced erosion, but the study site remained vulnerable to runoff and erosion from high-intensity rainfall. We conclude that burning can reduce woodland ecohydrologic resilience and that woodland encroachment-induced structural and functional ecohydrologic attributes may persist during high-intensity storms for an undetermined period post-fire. We cannot conclude whether wildfire reverses the woodland-induced soil erosion feedback on sagebrush rangelands. However, our results suggest that wildfire may provide a restoration pathway for sagebrush steppe by reducing woodland ecohydrologic resilience over time. Published 2013. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Can wildfire serve as an ecohydrologic threshold‐reversal mechanism on juniper‐encroached shrublands

et al. 2013

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“…Thinning juniper with fire is difficult, since there is often so little groundcover left to carry surface fire. Mechanical juniper removal is a possible solution, but the immediate, short-term cost is often too high for many ranchers, even though there are long-term economic and ecological benefits (Aldrich et al 2005).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Acute aquatic toxicity of western juniper (Juniperus occidentalis) foliage and Port Orford cedar (Chamaecyparis lawsoniana) heartwood oils

Duringer

Swan²,

Walker³

et al. 2009

Environ Monit Assess

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Recently, interest has developed for using essential oils from Western juniper (Juniperus occidentalis) foliage and Port Orford cedar (Chamaecyparis lawsoniana) heartwood in commercial products such as pest repellents and cosmetics. In order to gauge the relative toxicological risk that these oils pose to freshwater and marine organisms, the acute aquatic toxicity of these oils was evaluated using OPPTS guidelines to the cladoceran Daphnia magna, the rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss and the green alga Selenastrum capricornutum. For western juniper foliage oil, no toxicity was exhibited toward D. magna or O. mykiss, even at 5.0 mg/L (the highest concentration tested and limit of solubility). For toxicity to S. capricornutum using algal cell density, the 72 and 96 h EC50 value was 1.7 mg/L and the no observable effect concentration (NOEC) was 0.63 mg/L. For Port Orford cedar heartwood oil, no toxicity was exhibited toward O. mykiss or S. capricornutum, even at 5.0 mg/L (the highest concentration tested and limit of solubility). The 48-h D. magna EC50 value was 1.9 mg/L; the NOEC values for algal cell density were 1.25 mg/L (72 h) and 0.63 mg/L (96 h). In summary, this study shows that western juniper foliage and Port Orford cedar heartwood oils demonstrate little to no risk to aquatic organisms.

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“…Weather plays an obvious role in annual variability, but changes in vegetation composition also can affect the amount of relative forage in each season (Aldrich et al 2005;Satyal 2006;Maher 2007). Wildfire can cause significant forage loss during critical times of the year.…”

Section: Ranch-level Economic Decisionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…While many ranches have adapted to this change in seasonal forage availability, it does leave them somewhat vulnerable when cheatgrass is not available. Efforts are ongoing to make values beyond forage values, such as wildlife habitat and reduced soil erosion, part of the decision process to assess their impact on final outcomes (Aldrich et al 2005).…”

Section: Cheatgrass and Ranchingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Input–output modeling, outdoor recreation, and the economic impacts of weeds

Eiswerth¹,

Darden

Johnson

et al. 2005

Weed Science

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Nonindigenous invasive weed species can have substantial negative impacts on the quantity and quality of outdoor recreational activities such as fishing, hunting, hiking, wildlife viewing, and water-based recreation. Despite the significance of impacts on recreation, very little research has been performed to estimate the corresponding economic losses at spatial scales such as regions, states, and watersheds. This is true primarily because in most jurisdictions the data necessary to estimate recreational impacts are scarce and incomplete. Because of the challenges involved in measuring recreational losses precisely, we illustrate a method that can provide indications of the ranges in which the true economic losses likely lie. To reflect underlying uncertainty in parameters such as the number of acres infested in a jurisdiction and the rate at which wildlife-related recreation decreases as a function of increasing weed infestation, we developed a range of estimates using lower, medium, and higher scenario combinations of parameter and variable values. Our case study jurisdiction is a western state (Nevada) in which nonindigenous weed infestations on public lands have expanded rapidly in recent years. Under conservative assumptions, the negative economic impacts stemming from the adverse influence of nonindigenous weeds on wildlife-related recreation in Nevada likely range from $6 million to $12 million per year. Using the most conservative findings for annual recreation losses, the predicted discounted stream of negative economic impacts over a future time horizon of 5 yr ranges from about $30 million to $40 million in Nevada, depending on actual future expansion rates of weeds.

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Economics of Western Juniper Control in Central Oregon

Cited by 23 publications

References 10 publications

Can wildfire serve as an ecohydrologic threshold‐reversal mechanism on juniper‐encroached shrublands

Can wildfire serve as an ecohydrologic threshold‐reversal mechanism on juniper‐encroached shrublands

Acute aquatic toxicity of western juniper (Juniperus occidentalis) foliage and Port Orford cedar (Chamaecyparis lawsoniana) heartwood oils

Input–output modeling, outdoor recreation, and the economic impacts of weeds

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