Shrub Size Modulates Resource Heterogeneity in a Sagebrush-Steppe Ecosystem

This chapter offers a general set of steps for writing models to assist the researcher in formulating their own approach to the Bayesian model. The crucial skill of specifying models is often neglected in statistical texts in general and texts on Bayesian modeling in particular. The central importance of model specification also motivates this chapter. The overarching challenge in building models is to specify the components of the posterior distribution and the joint distribution and to factor the joint distribution into sensible parts. This chapter first lays out a framework for doing just that, albeit in somewhat abstract terms, before moving on to a more concrete example—the effects of grazing by livestock and wild ungulates on structure and function of a sagebrush steppe ecosystem.

Dataset for Relationship Between Plant and Soil Isotopes and Climate in a Sagebrush-Steppe Ecosystem of Southern Idaho

Boise State ScholarWorks ◽

10.18122/reynoldscreek/20/boisestate ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Amy S. Commendador ◽

Kathleen A. Lohse ◽

Bruce P. Finney ◽

Ken A. Aho

Keyword(s):

Sagebrush Steppe ◽

Steppe Ecosystem

Developing and optimizing shrub parameters representing sagebrush (<i>Artemisia</i> spp.) ecosystems in the northern Great Basin using the Ecosystem Demography (EDv2.2) model

Geoscientific Model Development ◽

10.5194/gmd-12-4585-2019 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 12 (11) ◽

pp. 4585-4601

Author(s):

Karun Pandit ◽

Hamid Dashti ◽

Nancy F. Glenn ◽

Alejandro N. Flores ◽

Kaitlin C. Maguire ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Great Basin ◽

Dynamic Models ◽

Gross Primary Production ◽

Model Performance ◽

Field Measurements ◽

Fire Regimes ◽

Ecosystem Model ◽

Sagebrush Steppe ◽

Steppe Ecosystem

Abstract. Ecosystem dynamic models are useful for understanding ecosystem characteristics over time and space because of their efficiency over direct field measurements and applicability to broad spatial extents. Their application, however, is challenging due to internal model uncertainties and complexities arising from distinct qualities of the ecosystems being analyzed. The sagebrush-steppe ecosystem in western North America, for example, has substantial spatial and temporal heterogeneity as well as variability due to anthropogenic disturbance, invasive species, climate change, and altered fire regimes, which collectively make modeling dynamic ecosystem processes difficult. Ecosystem Demography (EDv2.2) is a robust ecosystem dynamic model, initially developed for tropical forests, that simulates energy, water, and carbon fluxes at fine scales. Although EDv2.2 has since been tested on different ecosystems via development of different plant functional types (PFT), it still lacks a shrub PFT. In this study, we developed and parameterized a shrub PFT representative of sagebrush (Artemisia spp.) ecosystems in order to initialize and test it within EDv2.2, and to promote future broad-scale analysis of restoration activities, climate change, and fire regimes in the sagebrush-steppe ecosystem. Specifically, we parameterized the sagebrush PFT within EDv2.2 to estimate gross primary production (GPP) using data from two sagebrush study sites in the northern Great Basin. To accomplish this, we employed a three-tier approach. (1) To initially parameterize the sagebrush PFT, we fitted allometric relationships for sagebrush using field-collected data, information from existing sagebrush literature, and parameters from other land models. (2) To determine influential parameters in GPP prediction, we used a sensitivity analysis to identify the five most sensitive parameters. (3) To improve model performance and validate results, we optimized these five parameters using an exhaustive search method to estimate GPP, and compared results with observations from two eddy covariance (EC) sites in the study area. Our modeled results were encouraging, with reasonable fidelity to observed values, although some negative biases (i.e., seasonal underestimates of GPP) were apparent. Our finding on preliminary parameterization of the sagebrush shrub PFT is an important step towards subsequent studies on shrubland ecosystems using EDv2.2 or any other process-based ecosystem model.

Shrub Litter Production in a Sagebrush-Steppe Ecosystem: Rodent Population Cycles as a Regulating Factor

Journal of Range Management ◽

10.2307/3899361 ◽

1987 ◽

Vol 40 (1) ◽

pp. 50 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Robert R. Parmenter ◽

Mark R. Mesch ◽

James A. MacMahon

Keyword(s):

Population Cycles ◽

Sagebrush Steppe ◽

Litter Production ◽

Rodent Population ◽

Steppe Ecosystem

Does vegetation structure regulate the spatial structure of soil respiration within a sagebrush steppe ecosystem?

Journal of Arid Environments ◽

10.1016/j.jaridenv.2013.12.006 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 103 ◽

pp. 1-10 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Bhaskar Mitra ◽

D. Scott Mackay ◽

Elise Pendall ◽

Brent E. Ewers ◽

Meagan B. Cleary

Keyword(s):

Soil Respiration ◽

Spatial Structure ◽

Vegetation Structure ◽

Sagebrush Steppe ◽

Steppe Ecosystem

Seasonal Wetness, Soil Organic Carbon, and Fire Influence Soil Hydrological Properties and Water Repellency in a Sagebrush‐Steppe Ecosystem

Water Resources Research ◽

10.1029/2017wr021567 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 54 (10) ◽

pp. 8514-8527

Author(s):

David G. Chandler ◽

Yang Cheng ◽

Mark S. Seyfried ◽

Matthew D. Madsen ◽

Chris E. Johnson ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Organic Carbon ◽

Soil Organic Carbon ◽

Water Repellency ◽

Sagebrush Steppe ◽

Steppe Ecosystem

Insect community response to plant diversity and productivity in a sagebrush–steppe ecosystem

Journal of Arid Environments ◽

10.1016/j.jaridenv.2007.04.005 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 72 (1) ◽

pp. 24-33 ◽

Cited By ~ 64

Author(s):

E.J. Wenninger ◽

R.S. Inouye

Keyword(s):

Plant Diversity ◽

Community Response ◽

Sagebrush Steppe ◽

Insect Community ◽

Steppe Ecosystem

Upscaling CO2 fluxes using leaf, soil and chamber measurements across successional growth stages in a sagebrush steppe ecosystem

Journal of Arid Environments ◽

10.1016/j.jaridenv.2015.05.013 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 121 ◽

pp. 43-51 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

M.B. Cleary ◽

K.J. Naithani ◽

B.E. Ewers ◽

E. Pendall

Keyword(s):

Sagebrush Steppe ◽

Growth Stages ◽

Co2 Fluxes ◽

Steppe Ecosystem ◽

Chamber Measurements