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Keyword: sagebrush steppe

Evaluating a seed technology for sagebrush restoration across an elevation gradient: Support for bet hedging

Publications Posted on: October 02, 2019
Big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata Nutt.) restoration is needed across vast areas, especially after large wildfires, to restore important ecosystem services. Sagebrush restoration success is inconsistent, with a high rate of seeding failures, particularly at lower elevations. Seed enhancement technologies may overcome limitations to restoration success.

Consequences of inoculation with native arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi for root colonization and survival of Artemisia tridentata ssp. wyomingensis seedlings after transplanting

Publications Posted on: October 02, 2019
In arid environments, the propagule density of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) may limit the extent of the plant–AMF symbiosis. Inoculation of seedlings withAMF could alleviate this problem, but the success of this practice largely depends on the ability of the inoculum to multiply and colonize the growing root system after transplanting. These phenomena were investigated in Artemisia tridentata ssp.

Abundances of coplanted native bunchgrasses and crested wheatgrass after 13 years

Publications Posted on: October 02, 2019
Crested wheatgrass (Agropyron cristatum [L] Gaertm) has been seeded on more than 5 million hectares in western North America because it establishes more readily than native bunchgrasses.

The hidden potential within soil seed banks

Science Spotlights Posted on: July 31, 2019
Wildfire and other disturbances to plant communities are becoming larger and more frequent across arid lands of the western U.S. Degradation caused by these disturbances affects the ability of these plant communities to deliver important food and shelter to wildlife. Understanding how to predict the presence of native seeds within the soil seed bank, and where there are abundant seeds of invasive species, will help land managers determine the regeneration potential within the seed bank and inform restoration planning to reestablish biodiversity and ecosystem function in disturbed areas. Wildfire and other disturbances to plant communities are becoming larger and more frequent across arid lands of the western U.S. Degradation caused by these disturbances affects the ability of these plant communities to deliver important food and shelter to wildlife. Understanding how to predict the presence of native seeds within the soil seed bank, and where there are abundant seeds of invasive species, will help land managers determine the regeneration potential within the seed bank and inform restoration planning to reestablish biodiversity and ecosystem function in disturbed areas.

Landscape and organismal factors affecting sagebrush-seedling transplant survival after megafire restoration

Publications Posted on: July 25, 2019
Larger and more frequent disturbances are motivating efforts to accelerate recovery of foundational perennial species by focusing efforts into establishing island patches to sustain keystone species and facilitate recovery of the surrounding plant community.

Mortality and flowering of Great Basin perennial forbs after experimental burning: Implications for wild bees

Publications Posted on: April 09, 2019
The fates of native bee communities in the Great Basin sagebrush steppe are linked with the susceptibilities of their floral hosts to increasingly frequent wildfires. Postfire survival and subsequent flowering of six prevalent perennial wildflowers representing five families were quantified across a range of realistic fire severities created using a calibrated propane burn barrel.

Understanding mountain big sagebrush seed production variability

Science Spotlights Posted on: November 15, 2017
Historically, the sagebrush biome was the most widespread non-forest vegetation type in temperate North America. Compared with historic conditions, current sagebrush ecosystems are reduced in extent, fragmented, degraded, and face multiple threats (Welch 2005), including altered fire regimes (USDI 2015).

Seeding techniques for restoring sagebrush ecosystems following wildfire

Science Spotlights Posted on: September 25, 2017
Sagebrush ecosystems of the Great Basin are rapidly being converted to annual grasslands dominated by invasive weeds such as cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum L.) which thrives following wildfire and competes with native plants. Restoring diverse plant communities containing perennial grasses, shrubs and forbs is an important priority in this region. Scientists in Boise have partnered with public and private agencies to evaluate the effectiveness of seeding techniques designed to re-establish native plants following fire.

Seed production estimation for mountain big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata ssp. vaseyana)

Publications Posted on: September 25, 2017
Seed production is an essential component of postdisturbance recovery for mountain big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata Nutt. ssp vaseyana [Rydb] Beetle; MBS). We tested a method for rapid estimation of MBS seed production using measurements of inflorescence morphology.

Nesting pair density and abundance of ferruginous hawks (Buteo regalis) and golden eagles (Aquila chrysaetos) from aerial surveys in Wyoming

Publications Posted on: December 16, 2015
Raptors that inhabit sagebrush steppe and grassland ecosystems in the western United States may be threatened by continued loss and modification of their habitat due to energy development, conversion to agriculture, and human encroachment. Actions to protect these species are hampered by a lack of reliable data on such basic information as population size and density.

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