Resilience to Stress and Disturbance, and Resistance to Bromus tectorum L. Invasion in Cold Desert Shrublands of Western North America

Chambers, Jeanne C.; Bradley, Bethany A.; Brown, Cynthia S.; D’Antonio, Carla M.; Germino, Matthew J.; Grace, James B.; Hardegree, Stuart P.; Miller, Richard F.; Pyke, David A.

doi:10.1007/s10021-013-9725-5

Cited by 369 publications

(483 citation statements)

References 75 publications

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“…In general, instead of increasing invasive an-nual grasses, where BSC cover was reduced in burned plots, bare soil increased; bare soil was also the only variable that we examined that was positively related to burn severity. The interaction between B. tectorum and wildfires has been the subject of several studies in the western USA (for example, Chambers et al, 2014), but less is known about similar sites without this exotic annual grass. Since our study suggests that these ecosystems may differ from the paradigm in areas dominated by B. tectorum, other sites not dominated by B. tectorum, which include a substantial area of the western USA (Brummer et al, 2016), may warrant further study.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Recovery of biological soil crust richness and cover 12–16 years after wildfires in Idaho, USA

2017

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Abstract. Changing fire regimes in western North America may impact biological soil crust (BSC) communities that influence many ecosystem functions, such as soil stability and C and N cycling. However, longer-term effects of wildfire on BSC abundance, species richness, functional groups, and ecosystem functions after wildfire (i.e., BSC resilience) are still poorly understood. We sampled BSC lichen and bryophyte communities at four sites in Idaho, USA, within foothill steppe communities that included wildfires from 12 to 16 years old. We established six plots outside each burn perimeter and compared them with six plots of varying severity within each fire perimeter at each site. BSC cover was most strongly negatively impacted by wildfire at sites that had well-developed BSC communities in adjacent unburned plots. BSC species richness was estimated to be 65 % greater in unburned plots compared with burned plots, and fire effects did not vary among sites. In contrast, there was no evidence that vascular plant functional groups or fire severity (as measured by satellite metrics differenced normalized burn ratio (dNBR) or relativized differenced normalized burn ratio (RdNBR)) significantly affected longer-term BSC responses. Three large-statured BSC functional groups that may be important in controlling wind and water erosion (squamulose lichens, vagrant lichens, and tall turf mosses) exhibited a significant decrease in abundance in burned areas relative to adjacent unburned areas. The decreases in BSC cover and richness along with decreased abundance of several functional groups suggest that wildfire can negatively impact ecosystem function in these semiarid ecosystems for at least 1 to 2 decades. This is a concern given that increased fire frequency is predicted for the region due to exotic grass invasion and climate change.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Recovery of biological soil crust richness and cover 12–16 years after wildfires in Idaho, USA

2017

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“…We were particularly interested in areas predicted to have high foundation species abundance, following recommendations by Sheley et al (2006), Chambers et al (2014) and others (Chambers and Wisdom 2009, Davies and Sheley 2011, in which the emphasis for Wyoming big sagebrush ecosystems is increasingly on protection of intact stands of native vegetation rather than on expensive and often unsuccessful active restoration of heavily degraded sites. Our primary focus was on bluebunch wheatgrass because of its ecological dominance and iconic status in the Monument.…”

Section: Landscape Prioritizationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Predicting foundation bunchgrass species abundances: model‐assisted decision‐making in protected‐area sagebrush steppe

et al. 2014

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Abstract. Foundation species are structurally dominant members of ecological communities that can stabilize ecological processes and influence resilience to disturbance and resistance to invasion. Being common, they are often overlooked for conservation but are increasingly threatened from land use change, biological invasions, and over-exploitation. The pattern of foundation species abundances over space and time may be used to guide decision-making, particularly in protected areas for which they are iconic. We used ordinal logistic regression to identify the important environmental influences on the abundance patterns of bluebunch wheatgrass (Pseudoroegneria spicata), Thurber's needlegrass (Achnatherum thurberianum), and Sandberg bluegrass (Poa secunda) in protected-area sagebrush steppe. We then predicted bunchgrass abundances along gradients of topography, disturbance, and invasive annual grass abundance. We used model predictions to prioritize the landscape for implementation of a management and restoration decision-support tool. Models were fit to categorical estimates of grass cover obtained from an extensive ground-based monitoring dataset. We found that remnant stands of abundant wheatgrass and bluegrass were associated with steep north-facing slopes in higher and more remote portions of the landscape outside of recently burned areas where invasive annual grasses were less abundant. These areas represented only 25% of the landscape and were prioritized for protection efforts. Needlegrass was associated with south-facing slopes, but in low abundance and in association with invasive cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum). Abundances of all three species were strongly negatively correlated with occurrence of another invasive annual grass, medusahead (Taeniatherum caput-medusae). The rarity of priority bunchgrass stands underscored the extent of degradation and the need for prioritization. We found no evidence that insularity reduced invasibility; annual grass invasion represents a serious threat to protected-area bunchgrass communities. Our study area was entirely within the Wyoming big sagebrush ecological zone, understood to have inherently low resilience to disturbance and resistance to weed invasion. However, our study revealed important variation in abundance of the foundation species associated with resilience and resistance along the topographic-soil moisture gradient within this zone, providing an important foothold for conservation decision-making in these steppe ecosystems. We found the foundation species focus a parsimonious strategy linking monitoring to decision-making via biogeographic modeling.

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“…Extensive research efforts in the Great Basin have been focused on how sagebrush ecosystem structure and function influence resilience to disturbance and resistance to invasive vegetation (hereafter R&R; Chambers et al, 2014a). In general, R&R increases along a gradient based on plant productivity and elevation that correlates with variation in soil moisture and temperature , where corresponding vegetation types with underlying cold or cool and moist soils have higher R&R than those with underlying warm and dry soils.…”

Section: Geographical Data Sourcesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Populations of sage-grouse have declined concomitantly with the loss and fragmentation of sagebrush ecosystems that now occupy slightly more than half of their former range (Schroeder et al, 2004;Miller et al, 2011). In large parts of the Great Basin, encroachment of pinyon-juniper has been identified as a primary threat to sage-grouse populations (CFR, 2015a) by contributing to fragmentation of continuous expanses of sagebrush and accelerating a positive feedback between wildfire and invasive annual grass (the other primary threat in the Great Basin) that often eliminates and replaces sagebrush (Brooks et al, 2004;Balch et al, 2013;Chambers et al, 2014a).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Intraseasonal variation in survival and probable causes of mortality in greater sage‐grouse Centrocercus urophasianus

et al. 2013

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The mortality process is a key component of avian population dynamics, and understanding factors that affect mortality is central to grouse conservation. Populations of greater sage-grouse Centrocercus urophasianus have declined across their range in western North America. We studied cause-specific mortality of radio-marked sage-grouse in Eureka County, Nevada, USA, during two seasons, nesting (2008)(2009)(2010)(2011)(2012) and fall (2008)(2009)(2010), when survival was known to be lower compared to other times of the year. We used known-fate and cumulative incidence function models to estimate weekly survival rates and cumulative risk of cause-specific mortalities, respectively. These methods allowed us to account for temporal variation in sample size and staggered entry of marked individuals into the sample to obtain robust estimates of survival and cause-specific mortality. We monitored 376 individual sage-grouse during the course of our study, and investigated 87 deaths. Predation was the major source of mortality, and accounted for 90% of all mortalities during our study. During the nesting season (1 April -31 May), the cumulative risk of predation by raptors (0.10; 95% CI: 0.05-0.16) and mammals (0.08; 95% CI: 0.03-013) was relatively equal. In the fall (15 August -31 October), the cumulative risk of mammal predation was greater (M (mam) ¼ 0.12; 95% CI: 0.04-0.19) than either predation by raptors (M (rap) ¼ 0.05; 95% CI: 0.00-0.10) or hunting harvest (M (hunt) ¼ 0.02; 95% CI: 0.0-0.06). During both seasons, we observed relatively few additional sources of mortality (e.g. collision) and observed no evidence of disease-related mortality (e.g. West Nile Virus). In general, we found little evidence for intraseasonal temporal variation in survival, suggesting that the nesting and fall seasons represent biologically meaningful time intervals with respect to sage-grouse survival.

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Resilience to Stress and Disturbance, and Resistance to Bromus tectorum L. Invasion in Cold Desert Shrublands of Western North America

Cited by 369 publications

References 75 publications

Recovery of biological soil crust richness and cover 12–16 years after wildfires in Idaho, USA

Recovery of biological soil crust richness and cover 12–16 years after wildfires in Idaho, USA

Predicting foundation bunchgrass species abundances: model‐assisted decision‐making in protected‐area sagebrush steppe

Intraseasonal variation in survival and probable causes of mortality in greater sage‐grouse Centrocercus urophasianus

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