Sagebrush on Relict Ranges in the Snake River Plains and Northern Great Basin

Passey, H. B.; Hugie, V.K.

doi:10.2307/3895230

Cited by 10 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 1 publication

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…state in Wyoming big sagebrush steppe related to heavy spring grazing (Cagney et al 2010); more research is needed to establish this link on these ecological sites. Three-tip sagebrush potential states were associated with mechanical treatment on both soil types, consistent with others' findings that this resprouting shrub is associated with recent disturbance (Passey and Hugie 1962;Winward 2004).…”

Section: Two Ecological Sites Have Similar and Contrasting States Andsupporting

confidence: 90%

“…Comparison between the two STMs reveals many similarities in the effects of management on these ecological sites. The Diverse potential states in both ecological sites had greater cover of perennial plants and species richness than most other groups (Claypan: 73% average cover and 38 species; Mountain Loam: 75% average cover and 41 species), granular soil structure, higher organic matter content, and no invasive species, consistent with others' descriptions of ''reference states'' (USDA-NRCS 2003) for sagebrush steppe (Supplement 1; available online at http://dx.doi.org/10.2111/REM-D-11-00137.s1; Blaisdell 1953;Ellison 1960;Passey and Hugie 1962). Wheatgrass potential states were the most frequent and were similar to reference states except for the dominance of western wheatgrass (Claypan: 80% of perennial grass cover and Mountain Loam: 30%) and lower sagebrush cover.…”

Section: Two Ecological Sites Have Similar and Contrasting States Andsupporting

confidence: 84%

“…Claypan and Mountain Loam are defined by the dominant sagebrush species and their associated soils (Robertson et al 1966;USDA-SCS 1975), under the assumption that these areas have the same potential vegetation and response to management. However, many herbaceous understory species occur within a different range of environmental characteristics than sagebrush species (Passey and Hugie 1962;Robertson et al 1966;USDA-SCS 1975). On the landscape, we and others have found that locations with the same sagebrush species and site history often have different understory species (Passey et al 1982;Burke et al 1987;Ewers and Pendall 2008); for example, western wheatgrass is more common on clayey soils within Mountain Loam.…”

Section: Site History and Environment Drive Species Differences Withimentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Differences in Plant Species Composition as Evidence of Alternate States in the Sagebrush Steppe

Kachergis¹,

Fernández‐Giménez²,

Rocca

2012

Rangeland Ecology & Management

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

State-and-transition models (STMs), conceptual models of vegetation change based on alternate state theory, are increasingly applied as tools for land management decision-making. As STMs are created throughout the United States, it is crucial to ensure that they are supported by ecological evidence. Plant species composition reflects ecosystem processes that are difficult to measure and may be a useful indicator of alternate states. This study aims to create data-driven STMs based on plant species composition for two ecological sites (Claypan and Mountain Loam) in northwestern Colorado sagebrush steppe. We sampled 76 plots with different management and disturbance histories. Drawing on the hierarchical approach currently taken to build STMs, we hypothesized that A) differences in species composition between the two ecological sites would be related to environmental factors and B) differences in species composition within each ecological site would be related to management and disturbance history. Relationships among species composition, site history, and environmental variables were evaluated using multivariate statistics. We found that between ecological sites, species composition was related to differences in soil texture, supporting Hypothesis A and the creation of separate STMs for each site. Within ecological sites, species composition was related to site history and also to environmental variation. This finding partially supports Hypothesis B and the identification of alternate states using species composition, but also suggests that these ecological sites are not uniform physical templates upon which plant community dynamics play out. This data-driven, plant species-based approach created two objective, credible STMs with states and transitions that are consistent with the sagebrush steppe literature. Our findings support the hierarchical view of landscapes currently applied in building STMs. An approach that acknowledges environmental heterogeneity within ecological sites is necessary to help define finer-resolution ecological sites and elucidate cases in which specific abiotic conditions make transitions between states more likely.

show abstract

Section: Two Ecological Sites Have Similar and Contrasting States Andsupporting

confidence: 90%

Section: Two Ecological Sites Have Similar and Contrasting States Andsupporting

confidence: 84%

Section: Site History and Environment Drive Species Differences Withimentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Differences in Plant Species Composition as Evidence of Alternate States in the Sagebrush Steppe

Kachergis¹,

Fernández‐Giménez²,

Rocca

2012

Rangeland Ecology & Management

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Range condition at time of treatment was not determined quantitatively. However, judgement of condition was based on productivity of relict low sagebrush sites in Idaho (Passey and Hugie, 1962) and on frequency data from very good low sagebrush sites in Nevada (Zamora, 1968). Silver Creek was considered to be in very poor condition at time…”

Section: Site Potential and Range Conditionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Response of Understory Species following Herbicidal Control of Low Sagebrush

Eckert¹,

Bruner²,

Klomp³

1972

Journal of Range Management

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Highlight Control of low sagebrush in northern Nevada increased productivity of understory grass species. On fair condition sites, climax dominant species such as Idaho fescue, bluebunch wheatgrass, and Thurber needlegrass gave a yield response but the response was not obtained for 2 years after treatment. However, the rapid response of Sandberg bluegrass resulted in a significant total perennial grass response the year after treatment. On poor condition sites, squirreltail gave a smaller response and the response was not obtained for 2 to 4 years after treatment. Dense stands of annual species gave a large yield response the year after treatment and suppressed the response of squirreltail. Scattered stands of annuals did not respond until 4 years after treatment. Soil moisture relations explained differences in total yield. However, differences in early spring growth were attributed to soil nitrogen. Low sagebrush species (Artemisia arbuscula and A. longiloba) are found on approximately 28 million acres in the western United States (Beetle, 1960). This acreage represents about one-tenth of the total sagebrush type. Ecological aspects of low sagebrush and associated soils have been studied (Eckert,

show abstract

“…Wildfire or prescribed burning can promote the formation of threetip sagebrush-dominated stands because of the ability of this shrub to sprout following fire (Passey & Hugie 1962, Wright & Bailey 1982, Hironaka et al 1983). As fire frequency increases (Baker 2006), so does the likelihood of increases in the abundance of threetip sagebrush in some parts of the range of greater sage-grouse.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Greater Sage‐Grouse Centrocercus urophasianus Use of Threetip Sagebrush Relative to Big Sagebrush in South‐Central Idaho

2009

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Disturbances that change sagebrush Artemisia spp.‐steppe communities may have an impact on greater sage‐grouse Centrocercus urophasianus populations. Fire can rapidly alter sagebrush‐steppe communities and may result in an increase in threetip sagebrush A. tripartita because this shrub is one of the few species of sagebrush that will sprout following fire. We examined the use of threetip sagebrush by sage‐grouse as nest cover and compared nest success of grouse using threetip sagebrush to that of grouse using big sagebrush A. tridentata. Sage‐grouse used threetip sagebrush as nest cover less than expected based on the abundance of this shrub. The only other species of sagebrush used as nest cover was big sagebrush, and sage‐grouse used big sagebrush more than expected based on big sagebrush abundance. However, nest site selection was confounded by age of sage‐grouse females. Sage‐grouse that used big sagebrush as nest cover had greater nest success than grouse using threetip sagebrush. Our findings demonstrate another negative, but subtle, effect of fire on sage‐grouse populations and further underscore the need for fire suppression and carefully implemented habitat rehabilitation projects.

show abstract

Sagebrush on Relict Ranges in the Snake River Plains and Northern Great Basin

Cited by 10 publications

References 1 publication

Differences in Plant Species Composition as Evidence of Alternate States in the Sagebrush Steppe

Differences in Plant Species Composition as Evidence of Alternate States in the Sagebrush Steppe

Response of Understory Species following Herbicidal Control of Low Sagebrush

Greater Sage‐Grouse Centrocercus urophasianus Use of Threetip Sagebrush Relative to Big Sagebrush in South‐Central Idaho

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About