Effects of Changing Climate on the Hydrological Cycle in Cold Desert Ecosystems of the Great Basin and Columbia Plateau

Snyder, Keirith A.; Evers, Louisa; Chambers, Jeanne C.; Dunham, Jason B.; Bradford, John B.; Loik, Michael E.

doi:10.1016/j.rama.2018.07.007

Cited by 71 publications

(61 citation statements)

References 96 publications

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“…as well as increases in winter precipitation in the form of rain(Palmquist et al 2016, Brabec et al 2017, Snyder et al 2019. Our results suggest that a 2°C increase in daytime minimum temperatures would cause a ∼13% reduction in sagebrush establishment probability (figure 3).…”

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confidence: 66%

“…Any further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the title of the work, journal citation and DOI. thresholds, resulting in major changes in their structure and function (Crausbay et al 2017, Snyder et al 2019. Even though the duration and magnitude of a water deficit causing threshold-like change must be known for a particular ecosystem or community in order to designate and predict ecological drought, there are few examples of ecological drought being resolutely (i.e.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Small-scale water deficits after wildfires create long-lasting ecological impacts

O’Connor

Germino

Barnard

et al. 2020

Environ. Res. Lett.

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Ecological droughts are deficits in soil-water availability that induce threshold-like ecosystem responses, such as causing altered or degraded plant-community conditions, which can be exceedingly difficult to reverse. However, 'ecological drought' can be difficult to define, let alone to quantify, especially at spatial and temporal scales relevant to land managers. This is despite a growing need to integrate drought-related factors into management decisions as climate changes result in precipitation instability in many semi-arid ecosystems. We asked whether success in restoration seedings of the foundational species big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata) was related to estimated water deficit, using the SoilWat2 model and data from >600 plots located in previously burned areas in the western United States. Water deficit was characterized by: (1) the standardized precipitation-evapotranspiration index (SPEI), a coarse-scale drought index, and (2) the number of days with wet and warm conditions in the near-surface soil, where seeds and seedlings germinate and emerge (i.e. days with 0-5 cm deep soil water potential >−2.5 MPa and temperature above 0°C). SPEI, a widely used drought index, was not predictive of whether sagebrush had reestablished. In contrast, wet-warm days elicited a critical drought threshold response, with successfully reestablished sites having experienced seven more wet-warm days than unsuccessful sites during the first March following summer wildfire and restoration. Thus, seemingly small-scale and short-term changes in water availability and temperature can contribute to major ecosystem shifts, as many of these sites remained shrubless two decades later. These findings help clarify the definition of ecological drought for a foundational species and its imperiled semi-arid ecosystem. Drought is well known to affect the occurrence of wildfires, but drought in the year(s) after fire can determine whether fire causes long-lasting, negative impacts on ecosystems.

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confidence: 66%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Small-scale water deficits after wildfires create long-lasting ecological impacts

O’Connor

Germino

Barnard

et al. 2020

Environ. Res. Lett.

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“…shrublands within the Great Basin Region Miller et al, 2011). Wildfire activity is also increasing on woodland-encroached sagebrush shrublands throughout the Great Basin due to woody fuel loading and changing climate (Board, Chambers, Miller, & Weisberg, 2018;Keane et al, 2008;Miller & Tausch, 2001;Romme et al, 2009;Snyder et al, 2019). Woodland encroachment on sagebrush shrublands poses a host of negative ramifications to ecosystem services, including degradation of understory vegetation and wildlife habitat, limited forage for wild and domestic animals, and high rates of run-off and soil loss (Bates, Davies, & Sharp, 2011;Coates et al, 2017;Davies et al, 2011;Miller et al, 2005Miller et al, , 2011Miller, Svejcar, & Rose, 2000;Petersen & Stringham, 2008;Petersen, Stringham, & Roundy, 2009;Pierson et al, 2010;Williams, Pierson, Al-Hamdan, et al, 2014;Williams, Pierson, Robichaud, et al, 2016;Williams, Pierson, Spaeth, et al, 2016).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Prescribed fire is commonly used to halt woodland encroachment on sagebrush rangelands and thereby prevent or reverse shrublandto-woodland conversions (Bates & Davies, 2016;Bates, Sharp, & Davies, 2014;Miller et al, 2014;Pierson et al, 2015;Williams, Pierson, Al-Hamdan, et al, 2014;Williams, Pierson, Robichaud, et al, 2016;. Wildfire activity is also increasing on woodland-encroached sagebrush shrublands throughout the Great Basin due to woody fuel loading and changing climate (Board, Chambers, Miller, & Weisberg, 2018;Keane et al, 2008;Miller & Tausch, 2001;Romme et al, 2009;Snyder et al, 2019).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Long‐term evidence for fire as an ecohydrologic threshold‐reversal mechanism on woodland‐encroached sagebrush shrublands

et al. 2019

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Encroachment of sagebrush (Artemisia spp.) shrublands by pinyon (Pinus spp.) and juniper (Juniperus spp.) conifers (woodland encroachment) induces a shift from biotic-controlled resource retention to abiotic-driven loss of soil resources. This shift is driven by a coarsening of the vegetation structure with increasing dominance of site resources by trees. Competition between the encroaching trees and understory vegetation for limited soil and water resources facilitates extensive bare intercanopy area between trees and concomitant increases in run-off and erosion that, over time,propagate persistence of the shrubland-to-woodland conversion. We evaluated /journal/eco 1 of 28 plant community physiognomy and thereby can reverse the soil erosion feedback on sagebrush shrublands in the later stages of woodland encroachment.

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“…Recent increases in wildfire activity across much of the sagebrush steppe domain in the western USA necessitates improved understanding of the interaction in wind‐ and water‐driven erosion processes (Pierson et al, ; Williams et al, ; Edwards et al, ). Invasions of low‐ to mid‐elevation sagebrush rangelands by the fire‐prone annual cheatgrass ( Bromus tectorum L.) have substantially shorted fire return intervals (by 10‐fold in some areas), and fires at these elevations commonly move upslope into adjacent snow‐dominated sagebrush uplands, where fire activity is also projected to increase (Miller et al, ; Balch et al, ; Williams et al, ; Snyder et al, ). This increasing role of wildfire in sagebrush steppe has major ecohydrologic and economic ramifications for values‐at‐risk and potentially increases long‐term soil loss from these rangelands (Pierson et al, ; Wilcox et al, ; Williams et al, ; Edwards et al, ) Although knowledge of fire effects on hillslope hydrology and water‐driven erosion is well documented (e.g., Pierson and Williams, ), understanding regarding fire impacts on watershed‐scale streamflows and sediment yield from sagebrush rangelands remains limited.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Interaction of wind and cold‐season hydrologic processes on erosion from complex topography following wildfire in sagebrush steppe

Vega

Williams

Brooks

et al. 2020

Earth Surf Processes Landf

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Wildfire is a natural component of sagebrush (Artemisia spp.) steppe rangelands that induces temporal shifts in plant community physiognomy, ground surface conditions, and erosion rates. Fire alteration of the vegetation structure and ground cover in these ecosystems commonly amplifies soil losses by wind‐ and water‐driven erosion. Much of the fire‐related erosion research for sagebrush steppe has focused on either erosion by wind over gentle terrain or water‐driven erosion under high‐intensity rainfall on complex topography. However, many sagebrush rangelands are geographically positioned in snow‐dominated uplands with complex terrain in which runoff and sediment delivery occur primarily in winter months associated with cold‐season hydrology. Current understanding is limited regarding fire effects on the interaction of wind‐ and cold‐season hydrologic‐driven erosion processes for these ecosystems. In this study, we evaluated fire impacts on vegetation, ground cover, soils, and erosion across spatial scales at a snow‐dominated mountainous sagebrush site over a 2‐year period post‐fire. Vegetation, ground cover, and soil conditions were assessed at various plot scales (8 m2 to 3.42 ha) through standard field measures. Erosion was quantified through a network of silt fences (n = 24) spanning hillslope and side channel or swale areas, ranging from 0.003 to 3.42 ha in size. Sediment delivery at the watershed scale (129 ha) was assessed by suspended sediment samples of streamflow through a drop‐box v‐notch weir. Wildfire consumed nearly all above‐ground live vegetation at the site and resulted in more than 60% bare ground (bare soil, ash, and rock) in the immediate post‐fire period. Widespread wind‐driven sediment loading of swales was observed over the first month post‐fire and extensive snow drifts were formed in these swales each winter season during the study. In the first year, sediment yields from north‐ and south‐facing aspects averaged 0.99–8.62 t ha−1 at the short‐hillslope scale (~0.004 ha), 0.02–1.65 t ha−1 at the long‐hillslope scale (0.02–0.46 ha), and 0.24–0.71 t ha−1 at the swale scale (0.65–3.42 ha), and watershed scale sediment yield was 2.47 t ha−1. By the second year post fire, foliar cover exceeded 120% across the site, but bare ground remained more than 60%. Sediment yield in the second year was greatly reduced across short‐ to long‐hillslope scales (0.02–0.04 t ha−1), but was similar to first‐year measures for swale plots (0.24–0.61 t ha−1) and at the watershed scale (3.05 t ha−1). Nearly all the sediment collected across all spatial scales was delivered during runoff events associated with cold‐season hydrologic processes, including rain‐on‐snow, rain‐on‐frozen soils, and snowmelt runoff. Approximately 85–99% of annual sediment collected across all silt fence plots each year was from swales. The high levels of sediment delivered across hillslope to watershed scales in this study are attributed to observed preferential loading of fine sediments into swale channels by aeolian processes in ...

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Effects of Changing Climate on the Hydrological Cycle in Cold Desert Ecosystems of the Great Basin and Columbia Plateau

Cited by 71 publications

References 96 publications

Small-scale water deficits after wildfires create long-lasting ecological impacts

Small-scale water deficits after wildfires create long-lasting ecological impacts

Long‐term evidence for fire as an ecohydrologic threshold‐reversal mechanism on woodland‐encroached sagebrush shrublands

Interaction of wind and cold‐season hydrologic processes on erosion from complex topography following wildfire in sagebrush steppe

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