Pinyon and Juniper Invasion in Black Sagebrush Communities in East‐Central Nevada

Blackburn, W. H.; Tueller, Paul T.

doi:10.2307/1933976

Cited by 142 publications

(103 citation statements)

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“…Juniper has increased in cover and relative abundance throughout the western United States, including the Great Basin (Blackburn and Tueller 1970;Tausch et al 1981;Miller and Rose 1999;Wall et al 2001), northwest Texas (Ansley et al 1995;Ueckert et al 2001), and oak savannas in the Edwards Plateau region of central Texas (Archer 1994;Van Auken 2000). This expansion has been attributed in part to reduced fire frequency (Belsky 1996;Miller and Rose 1999;Van Auken 2000) and to livestock herbivory (Archer 1994;Belsky 1996;Miller and Rose 1999;Van Auken 2000).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Removing Adult Overstory Trees Stimulates Growth and Transpiration of Conspecific Juvenile Trees

Moore¹,

Owens²

2006

REM

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During the last century, the density of Ashe juniper (Juniperus ashei Buchholz) has greatly increased in oak savannahs of central Texas. Recently, juniper removal has been advocated as a regional water conservation tool. In this study, we investigated whether juvenile trees released from an overstory canopy after clearing exhibited accelerated growth and water consumption. We compared leaf-level transpiration (E l ) and carbon assimilation (A net ) rates among juvenile juniper under three different treatment scenarios: 1) in the open, 2) under an adult juniper canopy or 3) recently released by the removal of an adult juniper canopy. Released plants apparently grew faster and used more water than other juvenile trees; average A net of released plants was 94%-162% greater (P , 0.05) than those beneath an adult canopy and 22%-44% greater than open-grown plants. Furthermore, average E l of released plants was 22%-72% greater than those beneath an adult canopy and 13%-22% greater than open-grown plants. These differences persisted for at least two years after treatment. Rates of A net were particularly elevated in released plants compared to other plants during periods of low water stress; whereas E l tended to be higher in released plants compared to other plants at all levels of water availability. Our evidence suggests released plants have better access to water, because at two out of three study sites, predawn leaf water potential (W p ) was significantly more favorable for released plants than open-grown or under-canopy plants (P , 0.05). Although adult canopy removal temporarily reduced leaf area of juniper on a community level, and likely total water use, we demonstrated that released juveniles, at a minimum, partially compensated for the reduced overstory by increasing rates of water use and growth. ResumenDurante el siglo pasado la densidad de ''Ashe juniper'' (Juniperus ashei Buchholz) se ha incrementado grandemente en las savanas de encino de la regió n central de Texas. Recientemente la remoció n de ''Juniper'' se ha enfocado como una herramienta de conservació n de agua. En este estudio investigamos si los árboles juveniles liberados de una cobertura superior, después de un aclareo, muestran un crecimiento y consumo de agua acelerados. Comparamos las tasas de transpiració n a nivel de hoja (E l ) y la asimilació n de carbó n (A net ) entre arboles juveniles bajo tres tratamientos: 1) á rea abierta, 2) bajo una cobertura de á rboles adultos y 3) recientemente liberados por la remoció n de la cobertura de á rboles adultos de ''Juniper.'' Las plantas liberadas aparentemente crecieron mas rá pido y usaron mas agua que otros á rboles juveniles; el promedio de A net de las plantas liberadas fue 94%-162% mayor (P , 0.05) que aquellas debajo de la vcoberura de arboles adultos y 22%-44% mayor que la de las plantas creciendo en espacios abiertos. Ademá s, el promedio de E l de las plantas liberadas fue 22%-72% mayor que el de las plantas bajo la cobertura de plantas adultas y 13%-22% mayor que las del espa...

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Removing Adult Overstory Trees Stimulates Growth and Transpiration of Conspecific Juvenile Trees

Moore¹,

Owens²

2006

REM

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“…Of these, at least one tree had to be ofthe "mature" size-age-form class (Blackburn and Tueller 1970). These criteria kept the samples from extending into grasslands, shrub steppes, or brushlands that have been invaded by small trees over only the past few decades.…”

Section: How the Data Were Obtainedmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Each of the original five growth form categories was then considered separately and the relative cover of each species within each of the four vertical layers of the vegetation was assessed. A size-age-form "maturity" class rating (Blackburn and Tueller 1970) was assigned to each individual tree within the macroplot and densities of each tree species estimated. A total of 257 plots on 48 mountain ranges were sampled at the "rapid" level.…”

Section: How the Data Were Obtainedmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A management-oriented classification of pinyon-juniper woodlands of the Great Basin

West¹,

Tausch²,

Tueller³

1998

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Research SummaryPinyon-juniper woodlands cover about 7.1 million ha (17.6 million acres), constituting about 18 percent of the land area of the Great Basin, yet no comprehensive ecological classification of them has been attempted before. To begin a classification, we sampled a random set of 66 of the approximately 110 mountain ranges within the Great Basin. Macroplots were systematically placed at 200 m elevation intervals up and down cardinal slopes. ~a t a on tree age, vegetational cover, soils, and land form were collected from 1972 to 1975 within 463 stands used to either develop or test the classification presented here.We used the already delineated National Hierarchical Frameworkof Ecological Units (ECOMAP 1993) down to the Section level to frame our classification to an intermediate coarseness. This subdivided the Great Basin into nine relatively environmentally homogenous Sections. Observable vegetational characteristics were used at lower layers because ECOMAP delineations are not yet available. Nine categories were recognized at the Series level based on variation in the relative cover contributions by the various junipers and pinyons. Subdividing the nine Sections by the nine possible Series gave 45 actual geographically distributed Series. The next lower level of the vegetation-based classification is the Association, identified by the dominant shrub species. Twenty-six species of dominant shrubs, combined with the Sections and Series, gave 183 Associations. The Sub-association level was based primarily on the 23 dominant native perennial grasses. When, rarely, a native, perennial grass was not present, the native perennial forb showing the greatest relative cover was used instead to name the Sub-association. This resulted in 326 Subassociations distributed over the entire Great Basin. The manager needs only be concerned with the subset that occurs in their Section of interest, however.With most Sub-associations found only once, our classification is only a beginning toward the desired end. It also reflects the complexity of the communities associated with Great Basin woodlands. Much more sampling redundancy will be required before we can begin to find out which Sub-associations are most common and how they relate to topographic and edaphic patterns. Our approach, however, provides a substantial beginning to a hierarchical classification of these woodlands and is easily modified and expanded. Using and building on our approach should allow the manager to better relate the results of previous as well as new studies and management experiences to each other.

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“…The degradation and loss of sagebrush habitats have been attributed to a variety of factors, including conversion to agriculture and inappropriate livestock grazing (Anderson and Holte, 1981;Beck and Mitchell, 2000), invasion of exotic plants (Germino and others, 2016), encroachment of pinyon-juniper (Blackburn and Tueller, 1970;Miller and Rose, 1999;Davies and others, 2011), and energy development (Walker and others, 2007;others, 2008, Green andothers, 2016). Populations of sage-grouse in the Great Basin, and particularly those in northeastern California and Nevada that comprise more than 25 percent of the species range-wide distribution (Coates, Casazza, and others, 2016), are vulnerable to a novel disturbance cycle of wildfire and annual grass invasion that destroys sagebrush (Bradley, 2010;Chambers and others, 2016;Coates, Ricca, and others, 2016).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hierarchical population monitoring of greater sage-grouse (<em>Centrocercus urophasianus</em>) in Nevada and California—Identifying populations for management at the appropriate spatial scale

Coates¹,

Prochazka²,

Ricca³

et al. 2017

Open-File Report

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For more information on the USGS-the Federal source for science about the Earth, its natural and living resources, natural hazards, and the environment-visit https://www.usgs.gov/ or call 1-888-ASK-USGS (1-888-275-8747).For an overview of USGS information products, including maps, imagery, and publications, visit https:/store.usgs.gov.Any use of trade, firm, or product names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.Although this information product, for the most part, is in the public domain, it also may contain copyrighted materials as noted in the text. Permission to reproduce copyrighted items must be secured from the copyright owner.Suggested citation Coates, P.S., Prochazka, B.G., Ricca, M.A., Wann, G.T., Aldridge, C.L., Hanser, S.E., Doherty, K.E., O'Donnell, M.S., Edmunds, D.R., and, Espinosa, S.P., 2017, Hierarchical population monitoring of greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) in Nevada and California-Identifying populations for management at the appropriate spatial scale: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2017-1089, 49 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20171089. ISSN 2331ISSN -1258 iii Preface This study was conducted to provide timely scientific information to establish an adaptive monitoring framework and modeling approach for greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) population trends at multiple spatial scales in northeastern California and Nevada. These findings fill a prominent information gap, and heighten understanding of sage-grouse population trends at nested spatial and temporal scales. Importantly, this study highlights an example of an 'early warning system' that can be carried out annually to identify where and when management action could be applied to benefit declining populations of sage-grouse at the appropriate scale. The rules of this framework can be modified to identify populations responding positively to management actions, and could ultimately be implemented across the geographic range of sage-grouse. This report is also intended to provide timely scientific information and inform newly established State and Federal monitoring programs, particularly those of the Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Forest Service. AbstractPopulation ecologists have long recognized the importance of ecological scale in understanding processes that guide observed demographic patterns for wildlife species. However, directly incorporating spatial and temporal scale into monitoring strategies that detect whether trajectories are driven by local or regional factors is challenging and rarely implemented. Identifying the appropriate scale is critical to the development of management actions that can attenuate or reverse population declines. We describe a novel example of a monitoring framework for estimating annual rates of population change for greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) within a hierarchical and spatially nested structure. Specifically, we conducted Bayesian analyses on a 17-year dataset (2000)(2001)(2002)(2003)(...

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Pinyon and Juniper Invasion in Black Sagebrush Communities in East‐Central Nevada

Cited by 142 publications

References 13 publications

Removing Adult Overstory Trees Stimulates Growth and Transpiration of Conspecific Juvenile Trees

Removing Adult Overstory Trees Stimulates Growth and Transpiration of Conspecific Juvenile Trees

A management-oriented classification of pinyon-juniper woodlands of the Great Basin

Hierarchical population monitoring of greater sage-grouse (<em>Centrocercus urophasianus</em>) in Nevada and California—Identifying populations for management at the appropriate spatial scale

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