Collaborative management and research in the Great Basin - examining the issues and developing a framework for action

Abstract

Collaborative management and research in the Great Basin-examining the issues and developing a framework for action. Gen.

Extracting Plant Phenology Metrics in a Great Basin Watershed: Methods and Considerations for Quantifying Phenophases in a Cold Desert

“…Cheatgrass ( Bromus tectorum ), a prolific invasive annual grass characterized by an early season growing phenology [24] is invading many communities in the Great Basin. Pinyon and juniper (PJ) has expanded into sagebrush steppe systems causing negative ecosystem consequences [25,26,27]. Western juniper ( Juniperus occidentalis ) catchments have been found to have greater snow water equivalent, but on average a nine day earlier melt out, than areas where juniper was removed and sagebrush was the dominant species [28].…”

Fire patterns in the range of the greater sage-grouse, 1984-2013 - Implications for conservation and management

“…Mean fire return intervals may have ranged from decades in colder-moister sagebrush ecosystems (Miller and Heyerdahl, 2008) to hundreds of years in hotter-drier sagebrush ecosystems (Bukowski and Baker, 2013), allowing for recovery and persistence of sagebrush communities adapted to those conditions. However, during recent decades, fire probability and occurrence have increased across large portions of the cold desert ecoregion of Western United States (Whisenant, 1989;Knick and Rotenberrry, 1997;Chambers, 2008;Miller and others, 2011;Baker, 2013;Balch and others, 2013), hindering recovery of sagebrush and threatening sage-grouse habitat.…”

Investing in rangeland restoration in the Arid West, USA: Countering the effects of an invasive weed on the long-term fire cycle

“…Increasing carbon dioxide levels are expected to increase the invasibility of cheatgrass, and higher temperatures are expected to increase the total area burned annually in the Great Basin, by increasing the length of the fire season (Chambers, 2008). These changes will likely result in higher overall management costs due to more fires.…”