Restoration of Mountain Big Sagebrush Steppe Following Prescribed Burning to Control Western Juniper

2014 ◽  
Vol 53 (5) ◽  
pp. 1015-1022 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. W. Davies ◽  
J. D. Bates ◽  
M. D. Madsen ◽  
A. M. Nafus
Keyword(s):  
Prescribed Burning ◽  
Sagebrush Steppe ◽  
Big Sagebrush ◽  
Western Juniper

scholarly journals The Seasonal Water Balance of Western-Juniper-Dominated and Big-Sagebrush-Dominated Watersheds

Hydrology ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 156
Author(s):  
Nicole Durfee ◽  
Carlos G. Ochoa
Keyword(s):  
Water Balance ◽  
Water Availability ◽  
Potential Evapotranspiration ◽  
Shallow Aquifer ◽  
Annual Precipitation ◽  
Sagebrush Steppe ◽  
Deep Percolation ◽  
Aquifer Recharge ◽  
Big Sagebrush ◽  
Western Juniper

The combined impacts of woody plant encroachment and climate variability have the potential to alter the water balance in many sagebrush steppe ecosystems in the Western USA, leading to reduced water availability in these already water-scarce regions. This study compared the water-balance characteristics of two adjacent semiarid watersheds in central Oregon, USA: one dominated by big sagebrush and one dominated by western juniper. Precipitation, springflow, streamflow, shallow groundwater levels, and soil moisture were measured. The potential evapotranspiration was calculated using the Hargreaves–Samani method. Potential evapotranspiration and a water-balance approach were used to calculate seasonal actual evapotranspiration. The shallow aquifer recharge was calculated using the Water-Table-Fluctuation-Method. Evapotranspiration, followed by deep percolation, accounted for the largest portion (83% to 86% of annual precipitation) of water output for both watersheds. Springflow and streamflow rates were generally greater at the sagebrush-dominated watershed. Snow-dominated years showed greater amounts of groundwater recharge and deep percolation than years where a larger portion of precipitation fell as rain, even when total annual precipitation amounts were similar. This study’s results highlight the role of vegetation dynamics, such as juniper encroachment, and seasonal precipitation characteristics, on water availability in semiarid rangeland ecosystems.

scholarly journals Aboveground and Belowground Carbon Pools After Fire in Mountain Big Sagebrush Steppe

2010 ◽  
Vol 63 (2) ◽  
pp. 187-196 ◽  
Author(s):  
Meagan B. Cleary ◽  
Elise Pendall ◽  
Brent E. Ewers
Keyword(s):  
Sagebrush Steppe ◽  
Carbon Pools ◽  
Big Sagebrush ◽  
Belowground Carbon

Spatial patterns on the sagebrush steppe/Western juniper ecotone

Plant Ecology ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 190 (2) ◽  
pp. 159-173 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eva K. Strand ◽  
Andrew P. Robinson ◽  
Stephen C. Bunting
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Patterns ◽  
Sagebrush Steppe ◽  
Western Juniper

scholarly journals Fire History and Western Juniper Encroachment in Sagebrush Steppe

1999 ◽  
Vol 52 (6) ◽  
pp. 550 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard F. Miller ◽  
Jeffrey A. Rose
Keyword(s):  
Fire History ◽  
Sagebrush Steppe ◽  
Western Juniper

Longer-term post-fire succession on Wyoming big sagebrush steppe

2020 ◽  
Vol 29 (3) ◽  
pp. 229
Author(s):  
Jonathan D. Bates ◽  
Chad S. Boyd ◽  
Kirk W. Davies
Keyword(s):  
Total Yield ◽  
Canopy Cover ◽  
Sagebrush Steppe ◽  
Burn Treatment ◽  
Burned Areas ◽  
Big Sagebrush ◽  
Annual Component ◽  
Wyoming Big Sagebrush ◽  
Two Stages ◽  
Sagebrush Obligate

We assessed plant community succession following prescribed fire on ungrazed Wyoming big sagebrush steppe, eastern Oregon. Treatments were burned (Burn; September and October, 2002) and unburned (Control) sagebrush steppe. Herbaceous yield, vegetation canopy cover and density were compared between treatments after fire (2003–18). Herbaceous yield in the Burn treatment was about double the Control for most of the study period. Prior to fire, native perennials comprised 90–95% of herbaceous yield. After fire, native perennials represented 78% (range 67–93%) and exotic annuals 22% (range 7–33%) of total yield. Exotic annuals increased after fire and responded in two stages. In the first 8 years after fire, desert alyssum dominated the annual plant composition. In the last half of the study, cheatgrass co-dominated the annual component with alyssum. Sagebrush recovery was slow and we estimated sagebrush cover would return to pre-burn levels, at the earliest, in 115 years. Burning Wyoming big sagebrush steppe would be detrimental to sagebrush-obligate wildlife for an extended time period, because of lost cover and structure provided by sagebrush. The additional forage provided on burned areas may give livestock manager’s greater flexibility to rest or defer unburned habitat for wildlife species of critical concern.

scholarly journals Relationships Between Western Juniper (Juniperus occidentalis) and Understory Vegetation

2008 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-11 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. E. Coultrap ◽  
K. O. Fulgham ◽  
D. L. Lancaster ◽  
J. Gustafson ◽  
D. F. Lile ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Canopy Cover ◽  
Understory Vegetation ◽  
Sagebrush Steppe ◽  
Grass Cover ◽  
Bare Ground ◽  
Western Juniper ◽  
Steppe Communities ◽  
Juniper Woodland ◽  
Successional Stages ◽  
The Impact

AbstractWestern juniper has been actively invading sagebrush plant communities for about 130 yr. Western juniper canopy cover generally increases as western juniper invades sagebrush steppe communities and succession progresses toward a western juniper woodland. Our goal was to estimate the impact of juniper invasion and canopy increase on understory vegetation structure and productivity on 101 sites in northeastern California. The primary objectives of this study were to: (1) examine the influence of increasing western juniper canopy cover on the composition and productivity of understory vegetation; and (2) assess the effects of western juniper removal on understory vegetation. Sites in early, mid-, and late successional stages and sites on the same soils that had not been invaded were selected. Sites where western juniper had been removed by prescribed fire, mechanical, or chemical methods were compared to adjacent untreated sites. Western juniper canopy cover, understory cover and species composition, productivity, and bare ground were determined at each site during May through July 2005 and 2006. Regression analysis was used to evaluate the relationship between western juniper canopy cover and understory vegetation parameters. Logistic regression was used to detect understory differences between treated (juniper removed) and untreated (juniper not removed) sites. A significant relationship was found between western juniper canopy cover and understory species richness, shrub cover, forb cover, total grass cover, cheatgrass cover, herbaceous productivity, and bare ground. Removal of western juniper increased total grass cover, cheatgrass cover, and productivity, and reduced bare ground. The results of this study support findings by researchers in other states that western juniper influences plant community structure and productivity, and removal of western juniper might reverse these changes in structure, but also might increase opportunities for invasion of cheatgrass.

scholarly journals Short-term Effects of Burning Wyoming Big Sagebrush Steppe in Southeast Oregon

2007 ◽  
Vol 60 (5) ◽  
pp. 515-522 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kirk W. Davies ◽  
Jonathan D. Bates ◽  
Richard F. Miller
Keyword(s):  
Sagebrush Steppe ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Big Sagebrush ◽  
Wyoming Big Sagebrush ◽  
Short Term Effects

Topographic control of vegetation in a mountain big sagebrush steppe

Vegetatio ◽  
1989 ◽  
Vol 84 (2) ◽  
pp. 77-86 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ingrid C. Burke ◽  
William A. Reiners ◽  
Richard K. Olson
Keyword(s):  
Sagebrush Steppe ◽  
Big Sagebrush

Identifying key climate and environmental factors affecting rates of post-fire big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata) recovery in the northern Columbia Basin, USA

2016 ◽  
Vol 25 (9) ◽  
pp. 933 ◽  
Author(s):  
Douglas J. Shinneman ◽  
Susan K. McIlroy
Keyword(s):  
Artemisia Tridentata ◽  
Fire Frequency ◽  
Mixed Effects Models ◽  
Sagebrush Steppe ◽  
Columbia Basin ◽  
Percentage Cover ◽  
Climate Conditions ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Big Sagebrush ◽  
Wyoming Big Sagebrush

Sagebrush steppe of North America is considered highly imperilled, in part owing to increased fire frequency. Sagebrush ecosystems support numerous species, and it is important to understand those factors that affect rates of post-fire sagebrush recovery. We explored recovery of Wyoming big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata ssp. wyomingensis) and basin big sagebrush (A. tridentata ssp. tridentata) communities following fire in the northern Columbia Basin (Washington, USA). We sampled plots across 16 fires that burned in big sagebrush communities from 5 to 28 years ago, and also sampled nearby unburned locations. Mixed-effects models demonstrated that density of large–mature big sagebrush plants and percentage cover of big sagebrush were higher with time since fire and in plots with more precipitation during the winter immediately following fire, but were lower when precipitation the next winter was higher than average, especially on soils with higher available water supply, and with greater post-fire mortality of mature big sagebrush plants. Bunchgrass cover 5 to 28 years after fire was predicted to be lower with higher cover of both shrubs and non-native herbaceous species, and only slightly higher with time. Post-fire recovery of big sagebrush in the northern Columbia Basin is a slow process that may require several decades on average, but faster recovery rates may occur under specific site and climate conditions.

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