A hierarchical analysis of vegetation on a Mojave Desert landscape, USA

Abella, Scott R.; Prengaman, Kathryn A.; Embrey, Teague M.; Schmid, Sarah; Newton, Alice C.; Merkler, Douglas J.

doi:10.1016/j.jaridenv.2011.11.014

Cited by 9 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…Individuals of P. congesta continued to establish from seed for at least 6 years resulting in 3.9% establishment in 2021. This is within the range of survival reported by other studies of plant establishment from field-sown seed, some in which supplemental water or protection from herbivory were also provided (Abella & Newton 2009;Albrecht & Maschinski 2012;Dalrymple et al 2012). Because we did not provide any such aftercare, higher rates of establishment from seed may be possible for P. congesta.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 80%

Outcomes associated with translocation techniques vary between two closely related and critically imperiled plant species

Jonas

Victor

Paschke

2023

Restoration Ecology

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Land use and climate change put many rare plant species at risk of extinction. Translocation of rare species within restoration projects may be essential for their future survival, but successful recruitment from translocated individuals can be difficult to achieve. Physaria obcordata and Physaria congesta are endemic to a narrow band of shale outcrops subject to intense energy development in the Piceance Basin (Colorado, U.S.A.). We examined approaches for establishing new populations of these critically imperiled species in suitable but unoccupied habitats within their endemic range by monitoring fall‐sown seeds and fall‐ or spring‐transplanted seedlings for 6 years. Because these species are obligately outcrossing and populations exhibit genetic clustering, we monitored three translocation sites near (<600 m, one cluster) and three far (>600 m, mixed clusters) from the existing conspecific populations. Seeding and spring transplanting were successful for P. congesta but fall transplants did not survive. P. congesta were more than twice as likely to survive in sites near existing populations. Seeding largely failed for P. obcordata but transplanting in either season performed equally well, especially in sites far from the existing populations. Transplants first flowered after 1 year and recruitment occurred after 3 years in both species. Recruitment continued in both species through 2021. Although these species share many life history traits and habitat requirements, we found they differ in important ways relevant to translocation and long‐term population viability. Our work highlights the importance of understanding the unique population ecology of even closely related rare species to improve the likelihood of successful conservation.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 80%

Outcomes associated with translocation techniques vary between two closely related and critically imperiled plant species

Jonas

Victor

Paschke

2023

Restoration Ecology

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“…ex DC.) Coville] to non-L. tridentata communities at a two-group level for the first variable and 10 community types at the ninth variable, from Abella et al (2012).…”

Section: Management Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Biophysical Correlates with the Distribution of the Invasive Annual Red Brome (Bromus rubens) on a Mojave Desert Landscape

Abella

Embrey

Schmid

et al. 2012

Invasive plant sci. manag.

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Because of its ability to transform ecosystems by increasing the prevalence of fire, the invasive annual red brome is a priority exotic species for management in arid lands of the southwestern United States. By sampling red brome presence and 97 environmental (climatic, topographic, and soil) and native vegetation (e.g., perennial species richness) variables on 126 sites, we assessed biophysical correlates with red brome distribution on a 755,000-ha (1.9 million ac) Mojave Desert landscape. Brome occupied 55 of 126 (44%) 0.09-ha plots. The simplest models (i.e., those containing the fewest or most easily obtained variables) in multivariate (classification trees and nonparametric multiplicative regression) and univariate (χ2) models often portrayed red brome distribution as well, or nearly as well, as more complicated models containing more variables harder to obtain. The models varied, however, in their abilities for describing brome presence compared with absence. For example, a simple classification tree using only elevation, soil great group, parent material, and vegetation type improved estimates of brome presence for 55% of sites, absences for 87%, and overall for 73% of sites compared with a naïve model containing the observed frequency of brome in the data. Conversely, a more complicated model, including soil boron and sulfur, performed better for presences (96%) than for absences (73%; 83% overall). Results also showed variable support for two general postulates in invasive species science. Red brome distribution was not correlated with soil N, which is inconsistent with the supposition that nutrient-rich soils are more prone to invasion. Brome was correlated with native perennial species richness to support the postulate that exotic species abundance is correlated with species-rich habitats, but the correlation was weak (r = 0.38) and similar in strength to correlations with many other environmental variables. On this relatively low-elevation landscape, the areas currently most invaded by red brome include the higher elevations (> 777 m [2,549 ft]), limestone–sandstone soils, and burrobush and mixed perennial communities. Areas least inhabited by brome are the lowest elevations (< 491 m), gypsum soils, and creosotebush and saltbush communities.

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“…Similarly, in salt‐marsh systems, the appearance of young yearling recruits in the pioneer zone often fails to amount to permanent marsh expansion because of extremely poor winter survival of yearling plants (Balke et al 2014 ). Furthermore, the survival of transplants in the first year is commonly below 50% among restoration projects in disturbance‐driven coastal (Bergin 1994 , Bayraktarov et al 2015 , Silliman et al 2015 , Derksen‐Hooijberg et al 2018 ) and arid environments (Bainbridge et al 1995 , Bean et al 2004 , Abella and Newton 2009 , Mor‐Mussery et al 2013 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Restoration of biogeomorphic systems by creating windows of opportunity to support natural establishment processes

Fivash

Temmink

D’Angelo

et al. 2021

Ecological Applications

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In degraded landscapes, recolonization by pioneer vegetation is often halted by the presence of persistent environmental stress. When natural expansion does occur, it is commonly due to the momentary alleviation of a key environmental variable previously limiting new growth. Thus, studying the circumstances in which expansion occurs can inspire new restoration techniques, wherein vegetation establishment is provoked by emulating natural events through artificial means. Using the salt-marsh pioneer zone on tidal flats as a biogeomorphic model system, we explore how locally raised sediment bed forms, which are the result of natural (bio)geomorphic processes, enhance seedling establishment in an observational study. We then conduct a manipulative experiment designed to emulate these facilitative conditions in order to enable establishment on an uncolonized tidal flat. Here, we attempt to generate raised growth-promoting sediment bed forms using porous artificial structures. Flume experiments demonstrate how these structures produce a sheltered hydrodynamic environment in which suspended sediment and seeds preferentially settle. The application of these structures in the field led to the formation of stable, raised sediment platforms and the spontaneous recruitment of salt-marsh pioneers in the following growing season. These recruits were composed primarily of the annual pioneering Salicornia genus, with densities of up to 140 individuals/m 2 within the structures, a 60-fold increase over ambient densities. Lower abundances of five other perennial species were found within structures that did not appear elsewhere in the pioneer zone. Furthermore, recruits grew to be on average three times greater in mass inside of the structures than in the neighboring ambient environment. The success of this restoration design may be attributed to the combination of three factors: (1) enhanced seed retention, (2) suppressed mortality, and (3) accelerated growth rates on the elevated surfaces generated by the artificial structures. We argue that restoration approaches similar to the one shown here, wherein the conditions for natural establishment are actively mimicked to promote vegetation development, may serve as promising tools in many biogeomorphic ecosystems, ranging from coastal to arid ecosystems.

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A hierarchical analysis of vegetation on a Mojave Desert landscape, USA

Cited by 9 publications

References 16 publications

Outcomes associated with translocation techniques vary between two closely related and critically imperiled plant species

Outcomes associated with translocation techniques vary between two closely related and critically imperiled plant species

Biophysical Correlates with the Distribution of the Invasive Annual Red Brome (Bromus rubens) on a Mojave Desert Landscape

Restoration of biogeomorphic systems by creating windows of opportunity to support natural establishment processes

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