Field note
An investigation into the relationship between seed bank density and juniper abundance in Oregon’s sagebrush steppe
View report. Our data support the hypothesis that in years receiving above average precipitation, areas with lower amounts of western juniper contain a higher abundance of seeds than areas with high amounts of western juniper. This hypothesis suggests that the ability of a site to recover after disturbance may be strongest in areas of low…
Read MoreA history of woodland dynamics in the Owyhee’s: Encroachment, stand closure, understory dynamics, and tree biomass
View report. To evaluate the magnitude of expansion on a regional level we evaluated six woodlands from their lower to upper elevational boundaries in four different ecological provinces (Miller et al. 2008). In this report we summarize our findings of woodland expansion in the Owyhee Mountains and discuss our preliminary findings from an ongoing study…
Read MoreTree removal and grass response: Linking vegetation with available soil water
This year, SageSTEP researchers are engaged in an effort to compile a number of scientific papers as a special feature in the open-source journal Ecosphere. This includes papers on vegetation, fuels and fire behavior, soils, hydrology, and biodiversity. To date, two papers have been accepted, and several more are in the review process. The collection…
Read MorePinyon jay decline has roots in pinyon-juniper removal
Restoration of sagebrush ecosystems through removal of pinyon-juniper woodlands is in full swing across much of the Intermountain West—reclaiming sagebrush where pinyon juniper expansion has occurred due to lack of fire and more precipitation during past climatic cycles. This practice has measurable benefits including restoration of habitats and connectivity for greater sage-grouse and other sagebrush…
Read MoreBiological soil crusts as restoration targets in sagebrush steppe and woodland communities
Across the globe, biological soil crusts – commonly called biocrusts – aid ecosystem functions like nutrient and hydrologic cycling, soil stabilization and the maintenance of albedo (the amount of light reflected by the earth’s surface). Biocrusts are a mostly photoautotrophic (creates its own food) soil surface community composed of moss, lichen, cyanobacteria, algae, and fungi…
Read MoreDo fuel treatments modify fire behavior in the sagebrush steppe?
Invasive species, land cover change, altered fire regimes, and a changing climate interact to imperil sagebrush steppe ecosystems that are critically important for local economies, as well as for species of conservation concern (e.g. greater sage-grouse). One of the major challenges in sagebrush steppe conservation is altered fire regimes and the resultant uncharacteristic fire behavior…
Read MoreWildfire and SageSTEP research: An inevitable collision
In a matter of just hours, the Martin Fire swept down from the Goat Corral Mountains on July 6, 2018 near Winnemucca, Nevada – ballooning by nearly 88,000 acres overnight. Over the course of four days, it worked its way, sizzling and smoking, through 700 square miles of land in northern Nevada and was the…
Read More