A History of the Fitzner/Eberhardt Arid Lands Ecology Reserve: Four Decades of Environmental Research

O'Connor, Georganne P.; Rickard, W.H.; Kennedy, Ellen P.; Dirkes, Roger L.; Feaster-Alley, Kathy

doi:10.2172/887455

Cited by 5 publications

(4 citation statements)

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“…ALE was designated a Federal Research Natural Area in 1971 and incorporated into the National Monument in 2000. Prior to European settlement, the area comprising ALE had been utilized by humans for millennia, with Rattlesnake Mountain being of particular importance to the Yakama tribe (O'Connor and Rickard 2003). Before 1943, the area was used for homesteading, dryland and irrigated agriculture, sheep and cattle grazing, natural gas exploration, and by the military.…”

Section: Study Sitementioning

confidence: 99%

“…All of the plots included in this study (see Appendix A) burned in both years. Although these were the largest recent fires, historical records (Rickard et al 1988, O'Connor andRickard 2003) and the MTBS (Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity; data available online) 6 and GeoMAC (Geospatial Multi-Agency Coordination Group; data available online) 7 databases show that at least 10 other fires .10 000 ha have burned on ALE since 1952. Our plots were not impacted by most of these fires, although one plot (23) was burned by a small fire in 1998, four were burned in the Hanford fire of 1984, and two were burned in 1981.…”

Section: Study Sitementioning

confidence: 99%

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Trajectories of change in sagebrush steppe vegetation communities in relation to multiple wildfires

Davies

Bakker

Dettweiler‐Robinson

et al. 2012

Ecological Applications

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Repeated perturbations, both biotic and abiotic, can lead to fundamental changes in the nature of ecosystems, including changes in state. Sagebrush steppe communities provide important habitat for wildlife and grazing for livestock. Fire is an integral part of these systems, but there is concern that increased ignition frequencies and invasive species are fundamentally altering them. Despite these issues, the majority of studies of fire effects in systems dominated by Artemisia tridentata wyomingensis have focused on the effects of single burns. The Arid Lands Ecology Reserve (ALE), in south-central Washington (USA), was one of the largest contiguous areas of sagebrush steppe habitat in the state until large wildfires burned the majority of it in 2000 and 2007. We analyzed data from permanent vegetation transects established in 1996 and resampled in 2002 and 2009. Our objective was to describe how the fires, and subsequent postfire restoration efforts, affected communities' successional pathways. Plant communities differed in response to repeated fire and restoration; these differences could largely be ascribed to the functional traits of the dominant species. Lowelevation communities, previously dominated by obligate seeders, moved furthest from their initial composition and were dominated by weedy, early-successional species in 2009. Higherelevation sites with resprouting shrubs, native bunchgrasses, and few invasive species were generally more resilient to the effects of repeated disturbances. Shrub cover has been almost entirely removed from ALE, although there was some recovery where communities were dominated by resprouters. Bromus tectorum dominance was reduced by herbicide application in areas where it was previously abundant, but it increased significantly in untreated areas. Several resprouting species, notably Phlox longifolia and Poa secunda, expanded remarkably following competitive release from shrub canopies and/or abundant B. tectorum. Our results suggest that community dynamics can be understood through a state and transition model with two axes (shrub/grass and native/invasive abundance), although such models also need to account for differences in plant functional traits and disturbance regimes. We use our results to develop a conceptual model that will be validated with further research.

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Section: Study Sitementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Study Sitementioning

confidence: 99%

Trajectories of change in sagebrush steppe vegetation communities in relation to multiple wildfires

Davies

Bakker

Dettweiler‐Robinson

et al. 2012

Ecological Applications

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“…Despite the occurrence of agricultural practices outside of the reserve, we classified this site as low human disturbance because elk typically resided within the protected boundary of ALE that was managed as an ecological reserve closed to public entry and received no vehicle traffic on most days and only a few research/management related vehicles each week. In addition, during our sampling, limited harvest occurred for animals that ventured outside of the reserve and there has been no hunting disturbance within the reserve since the 1970's [19,20,21].…”

Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

Human Disturbance and the Physiological Response of Elk in Eastern Washington

Jachowski¹,

McCorquodale²,

Washburn³

et al. 2015

Wildl. Biol. Pract

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Stress hormone measures have proven useful for assessing effects of human disturbance on wildlife populations. However, most studies are of short duration or limited geographic scope (i.e., without spatial replication), leading to concerns about confounding effects of biotic conditions. Previous research correlated fecal glucocorticoid metabolites (FGMs) of elk (Cervus elaphus) with human disturbance, but this factor also co-varied with seasonal climatic conditions, making it difficult to make broader inference regarding the role of human disturbance. In this study we attempted to simultaneously evaluate the effects of climatic conditions and human disturbance by comparing the year-round physiological stress response of elk to varying levels of human disturbance at three study sites in south-central Washington State. FGMs were consistently elevated throughout the year at the study site receiving the greatest amount of human disturbance. We observed support for a positive effect of precipitation and increasing temperature on FGMs at the low-disturbance site, but less support for importance of climatic variables in explaining FGMs at the high-disturbance sites-suggesting that climatic variables were likely of secondary importance compared to anthropogenic stressors in elk at those sites. Collectively, while we were unable to disentangle the effects of sitespecific stressors, our findings suggest that in this environment, humans were a dominant stressor influencing FGM levels. Therefore, interpreting results of physiological studies requires that researchers account for a broad combination of biotic and abiotic stressors at a particular study location. We particularly encourage future investigators to account for the potential confounding effect of human disturbance that could override other stressors.

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“…The primary purpose of the survey was to begin to document the arthropod fauna of the monument, especially endemic and invasive species. The monument was created in 2000 (O'Connor and Rickard 2003) from portions of the Hanford Nuclear Reservation, the Saddle Mountain National Wildlife Refuge, and the Wahluke Wildlife Area. Some portions of the monument have suffered significant human disturbances, while others are relatively undisturbed.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

European Earwig,Forficula auriculariaL. (Dermaptera: Forficulidae), at the Hanford Reach National Monument, Washington State

Zack

Strenge²,

Landolt³

et al. 2011

Western North American Naturalist

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The European earwig, Forficula auricularia L., was surveyed using pitfall traps at 3 sites at the Hanford Reach National Monument in south central Washington State. Pitfall traps were collected weekly from April 2002 through April 2003. The earwig was consistently taken during all months of the year at a disturbed, weedy site along the Columbia River (White Bluffs Ferry site) but was rare or not collected in 2 less-disturbed shrubsteppe habitats. Highest numbers occurred during April-May, when immatures accounted for the majority of the catch; immatures reached the adult stage during mid-July, and the species is univoltine at the site. Possible reasons why earwigs have not colonized the monument's shrubsteppe habitat include the arid climate with lack of available moisture, especially for breeding purposes, and a lack of burrow sites.RESUMEN.-La tijereta Europea, Forficula auricularia L., fue estudiada usando trampas de caída en tres sitios del Hanford Reach National Monument en el sur del estado de Washington. Se colectaron los contenidos de las trampas de caída semanalmente desde abril de 2002 hasta abril de 2003. La tijereta apareció constantemente durante todos los meses del año en un sitio perturbado de vegetación herbácea en la orilla del Río Columbia (el lugar del antiguo transbordador White Bluffs) pero su colecta fue escasa o nula en dos hábitats de estepa arbustiva menos perturbados. Los mayores números ocurrieron durante abril y mayo cuando los organismos inmaduros representaron la mayoría de los especímenes capturados; éstos alcanzaron la etapa adulta a mediados de julio y la especie es univoltina en este sitio. Posibles causas de que las tijeretas no hayan colonizado el hábitat de estepa arbustiva del Monumento podrían incluir su clima árido carente de agua disponible, especialmente para la reproducción, y una falta de sitios para madrigueras.

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A History of the Fitzner/Eberhardt Arid Lands Ecology Reserve: Four Decades of Environmental Research

Cited by 5 publications

References 0 publications

Trajectories of change in sagebrush steppe vegetation communities in relation to multiple wildfires

Trajectories of change in sagebrush steppe vegetation communities in relation to multiple wildfires

Human Disturbance and the Physiological Response of Elk in Eastern Washington

European Earwig,Forficula auriculariaL. (Dermaptera: Forficulidae), at the Hanford Reach National Monument, Washington State

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