Proceedings brand creation for a prescribed fire culture – utilizing key social media parameters. Lars Coleman*1, J. Kelly Hoffman1, Thomas McDaniel1, R. Patrick Bixler2, Urs P. Kreuter1, Morgan Russell3

In 2007, the Coronado National Forest (CNF) in southeastern Arizona was facing major NEPA deadlines and was lacking sufficient supporting data. The CNF had the innovative idea of implementing “Monitoring Week.” Monitoring Week was so successful they have continued to have one every year since then with the exception of 2014 due to the government furlough. Monitoring Week is moved from district to district depending on where the highest priority needs are. In 2017, the University of Arizona Cooperative Extension Rangeland Monitoring Program held their own monitoring week in Yuma Arizona for the Bureau of Land Management trend sites. Because of the success they experienced, they have plans to expand Monitoring Week in their area. Monitoring Weeks have been found to be highly successful because of the large amount of work that can be completed in just four or five days. Typically, 12 to 20 people are involved and usually divided into teams of three people. Because of the efficiency of camping or boarding close to the sites, 30 to 40 sites can be sampled throughout the week. Almost reaching the yearly monitoring goals for a single district on CNF. Another benefit of having a monitoring week is getting range and other inter-disciplinary professionals together in a central location. Invitations are sent out to ranchers, wildlife biologists, soil scientists, and hydrologists. This gives time to discuss concerns that they might have at the regional, forest, or district level. It brings together people from other areas as a team instead of just being counterparts in another district. Lastly, Monitoring Week is a lot of fun and a highlight of the year for many of us! 

DEVELOPING A YEAR-ROUND OBJECTIVE MEASURE OF COLORADO RANGELAND NUTRIENT COMPOSITION

A goal for any rangeland grazing operation is to attain an appropriate balance among available forage resources, where forage nutrient composition and supplementation (i.e. if needed) meets the daily nutritional requirements of livestock. To accomplish this on a short-term basis, the producer needs to have current information about the nutrient content of the forage. There is no comprehensive, quantitative seasonal description of rangeland forage quality available for Colorado. Therefore, the objective of this project is to field-test a sampling and analysis protocol to estimate variability in seasonal rangeland forage nutrient composition over spatial scales. Four geographically diverse locations in Colorado were chosen for this pilot project. Monthly forage samples are collected for approximately one year to capture seasonal variation in quality. Forage samples are collected at each location via clipping (n=12) and grab sampling (n=3) techniques. All forage collected within a hoop (0.5 m diameter) is combined into a single composite sample. Ocular estimates of foliar cover (%) for different types of vegetation, litter, bare ground, and live or dead forage are recorded before forage is clipped. Phenological stage for each vegetation type is recorded. Forage quality will be assessed based on levels of crude protein (CP), total digestible nutrients (TDN), acid detergent fiber (ADF), neutral detergent fiber (NDF) and minerals. This data will then be used to develop near infrared spectroscopy equations for rapid assessment of the remaining samples. Once this sampling protocol is validated, it will be used to construct a more comprehensive state-wide study. Pilot survey results will highlight the importance of site-specific forage analysis to develop more cost-effective supplementation programs. Results will strengthen producer knowledge and the value of range beef cow nutrition management recommendations in Colorado. 

MONITORING AND RECOVERY OF SILENE SPALDINGII AT FAIRCHILD AIR FORCE BASE
. Julie L. Conley*¹, Michael A. Gregg¹, Kelsey Prickett²; ¹USFWS, Burbank, WA, ²BFI Native Seeds, Inc., Moses Lake, WA

ABSTRACT

The southern portion of Fairchild Air Force Base (AFB) in Spokane County, Washington contains “biscuit-swale” topographic features and vernal pools. Some of the “biscuits” (soil mounds) provide habitat for the threatened species, Spalding’s catchfly (Silene spaldingii) (SISP), first discovered there in 1994. From 2014-2017  the Land Management Research Demonstration (LMRD) team from Mid-Columbia River National Wildlife Refuge Complex, has monitored this SISP population, comprised of 8 flower clusters on less than 18 acres. The number of plants detected has increased each year with 67 individuals found in 2014 and 134 in 2017- the bulk of the increases coming from just 3 of the 8 clusters. We observed that mounds with fewer or no SISP have a higher percent cover of noxious weeds.  In 2015 we partnered with Washington State University Extension to release and monitor Chrysolina hyperici beetles for the control of St. John’s Wort (Hypericum perforatum). In 2016 we selected several soil mounds with no SISP detected in 5-10 years for restoration and SISP augmentation. Small plots approximately 40 meters square were hand-cleared of noxious weeds in June, August, and November of 2016, and native grass seed was hand broadcast, raked and foot-packed in November. SISP seeds from the 6 clusters with detected plants in August 2016 were collected and provided to BFI Native Seeds Inc. The seeds underwent cold stratification over winter, germinated in March 2017 and were transplanted into 20cm deep plugs. The plugs are now rosettes with healthy root systems entering dormancy and ready for out planting along with native forb and grass plugs in October 2017. LMRD plans to monitor survival for several years (SISP can be dormant for 1-3 years) and use lessons learned to continue and expand SISP recovery efforts at Fairchild AFB.  

EXPLORING THE JORDANIANS’ RANGELAND STATUS TRANSITION: MERGING THE RESTORATION EXPERIMENT WITH MODELING.

Due to recurring droughts and severe overgrazing, Jordan’s dry rangelands are exceptionally prone to degradation. Establishing both restoration and sustainable rangeland management practices are crucial to reverse the negative impacts on soil stability, biotic integrity, and hydrological function of the ecosystem; however, a primary estimate of baseline water and sediment fluxes is essential to properly identify ecological potential for a sustainable transition from degraded to a more productive re-vegetated landscape. In Jordan, application of mechanized micro-Water Harvesting (WH) for an out-planting of native shrub seedlings is a widely applied restoration approach; thus, supporting the development of shrub communities forming islands within the previously ploughed micro-pits on degraded and hard-crusted lands. In this study, the Rangeland Hydrology and Erosion Model (RHEM) was used to explore three different rangeland states and their implications on water and soil fluxes: i) the purported historical vegetation and baseline of site condition using peer reviewed literature, testimonies provided by scientists, and citizen science provided data, ii) the actual land degradation status, and iii) micro-Water Harvesting equilibrium restored site scenarios based on field monitoring and modeling. A rangeland experimental site near Amman, Jordan, provided diverse monitoring data for subsequent validation by modeling. RHEM was applied to conduct 1) a long-term state and transition assessment for hill slope scenarios (i-iii), and 2) an event based on spatially distributed watershed models that provided different scenarios which suggested various landscape response patterns. The spatial-temporal assessment of water and sediment transport at baseline, and on degraded and restored rangelands in Jordan sheds light on the sustainability of sites restored with the micro-WH approach and assessment of future applications of restoration to approximate resilient equilibrium water and soil dynamics.

CONTRASTING ECOLOGICAL SITE CONCEPT DEVELOPMENT METHODS USING SSURGO DATA AND A REMOTE CATENA APPROACH

A provisional ecological site is a conceptual grouping of soil map unit components within a major land resource area (MLRA) based on the similarities in response to management. Under the USDA-NRCS National Instruction, “Ecological Site Inventory and Ecological Site Description” one of the protocols for developing pESD’s includes defining soil properties to separate ecological sites. The National Instruction implements a 5-year initiative where all existing products, along with Soil Survey, should be utilized to the fullest extent possible in developing priorities and allocating resources. A catena method and product was developed to identify major patterns within the soil survey as supported by associated datasets. 

Purpose of developing Catena’s:

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  Identify patterns we cannot detect relying on SSURGO data alone
  
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  Capture what we know about the landscape
  
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  Develop hypotheses regarding observed patterns and ask questions to address gaps
  
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  Communicate with and debate others seeking explanations based on evidence and logic of scale
  

CONCEPTUALIZING PLANT ASSOCIATIONS AND ECOLOGICAL SITES FOR USE IN WATERSHED ANALYSES ON THE KAZAKHSTAN PLAINS.

Kazakhstan, situated in the center of the Euro-Asia continent, is the largest country in Central Asia and the ninth largest country in the world (7.0 million km2). Kazakhstan extends about 3,000 km from the Caspian Sea in the West to the Altai Mountains in the East, and 1,600 km from the Tien-Shan Mountains in the South to the western-Siberian lowland in the North. On the Kazakhstan Plains, the following four main ecoregions exist: steppe (25%), semi desert (25%), desert regions (40%), and mountainous (7%). Rangeland watershed dynamics are modeled using tools such as the Automated Geospatial Watershed Assessment (AGWA) model, a GIS-based hydrologic assessment tool that contains the Rangeland Hydrology and Erosion Model (RHEM), and a vegetation type classification system with defined plant growth lifeforms at various resolution levels (i.e., rangeland vegetation types and rangeland plant/soil associations). For detailed analyses of the sustainability of a site, an equivalent corresponding system in congruence with the Ecological Site classification system used by United States Department of Agriculture is required. A vegetation/soil site reconnaissance survey was conducted in the grassland steppe between Almaty and Astana, Kazakhstan in the summer of 2017. A conceptual vegetation classification system for watershed model parameterization was developed using aggregated soil and vegetation associations. This allows for first order evaluation of risk for accelerated soil erosion and sustainability to be defined for broad regions of Kazakhstan. For detailed analysis of risk to sustainability at the ranch to pasture level, specific data from hillslopes of concern are required. Evaluation of this approach will be presented along with required next steps in the process to implement systematic rangeland assessments for Kazakhstan.

STATE-AND-TRANSITION MODELS: A TOOL FOR BUSH ENCROACHMENT MANAGEMENT ON TROPICAL RANGELAND

. Sandra A. Santos*¹, Dylan M. Young², Humberto P. Baldivieso³; ¹Embrapa, Corumbá, Brazil, ²University of Leeds, Leeds, England, ³Texas A&M University-Kingsville, Kingsville, TX

ABSTRACT

Tropical rangelands are composed of heterogeneous landscape mosaics associated with soil properties, topography and climates with highly variable primary productivity and species composition controlled mainly by seasonal precipitation that can be influenced by natural (e.g. flooding, wildfire) or human (e.g. fire, grazing) disturbance regimes at multiple scales resulting in three broad habitat configurations: savanna grassland, savanna shrublands and savanna woodlands. The encroaching woody species by the proliferation of indigenous woody species on savanna grassland leading to a decline in biodiversity and grazing capacity of both wild and domestic herbivores. The purpose of this research is to characterize influences of increasing Byrsnonima. cydoniifolia on vegetation structure in the sandy Pantanal habitats and to identify and predict states and thresholds using state-and-transition models (STM). In order to develop the STM, we measured vegetation structure and diversity in areas invaded by B. cydoniifolia, and used these values to determine the presence of thresholds for the development of conceptual STM. Three states (reference, invasive and degraded) were identified for savanna woodland, savanna shrublands, savanna grassland and wetland ponds vegetation types. Significant breakpoints values for B. cydoniifolia density and Pielou’s evenness index were identified in savanna woodland and savanna shrublands (421 and 649 stems ha-1 respectively). Our results suggest that the expansion of B. cydoniifolia and subsequent switch to an alternative state, is a process driven mainly by climatic conditions rather than overgrazing. This finding has significant implications for the management and conservation of the Pantanal grazing areas in light of predicted climate change

GRASSLAND-SHRUBLAND STATE TRANSITIONS IN ARID RANGELANDS: COMPETITION MATTERS. Nathan A. Pierce*¹, Steven Archer², Brandon T. Bestelmeyer³; ¹University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, ²The University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, ³USDA-ARS Jornada Experimental Range, Las Cruces, NM

ABSTRACT

Background: State transition from grassland to shrubland is synonymous with desertification in many arid rangeland systems. Traditional desertification models emphasize abiotic feedbacks that modify the physical environment in ways that promote shrub proliferation and impede grass survival. Inherent in this perspective is the assumption that biotic interactions between grasses and shrubs have little bearing on state transition dynamics. Furthermore, the extent to which density-dependent interactions among shrubs might determine the magnitude and pattern of their cover is unknown. We addressed these assumptions and knowledge gaps over 4 years using selective removal experiments. Shrub-on-Grass Interactions: Grass ANPP responded positively to shrub removal in all years, but more so in years with above-average rainfall and in plots with high shrub abundance. Grass allocation to vegetative reproduction and grass patch area also increased when shrub neighbors were removed. These results demonstrate that biotic interference by shrubs upon grasses can reinforce and magnify abiotic feedbacks during grassland–shrubland transitions. Grass-on-Shrub Interactions: In years with above-average growing season precipitation, ANPP of small shrubs increased when grasses were removed, a result not evident in dry years or in larger shrubs. Grasses may therefore slow the rate at which shrubs attain a physical stature that can modify the physical environment in self-promoting ways. Shrub-Shrub Interactions: Intraspecific interactions between shrubs were not evident in any year, supporting the assumption that abiotic variables rather than competitive interactions constrain maximum shrub cover. Summary: Results from these field experiments provide insights on how shrub-grass interactions amplify or dampen the abiotic drivers of desertification, help explain how woody plants can continue to proliferate despite low or reduced livestock grazing pressure, and generate hypotheses that can help us refine experiments to address the mechanisms of belowground competition at play where grasses and shrubs co-occur in arid ecosystems.

USE OF A FUNCTIONAL INDEX AS ALTERNATIVE TO SIMILARITY INDEX FOR SORTING DATA LOCATIONS INTO A STM.

Locations with post-Reference vegetation occurring on a single Ecological Site presented here was collected over a 10 year period and in a prescribed manner. The data created the questions: What species are dominant in the vegetation database of today? In which ecological State should the locations be placed? What State or Threshold between States could be described by measuring natural variation at the 19 locations?  To answer these questions an importance rank (Functionality Index) was calculated for all species encountered from the 19 locations. To calculate the Functionality Index, the heaviest, tallest, longest foliar cover and associated constancy of appearance within each protocol was factored by-species with an added value if the species is listed on the Ecological Site Description. The Very Shallow ecological site in Washington revealed a 15% difference of location’s placement in State and Transition Model between the alternative Functional Index and the standard Similarity Index. Ratio of ESD species to total species per location is also a valid consideration to sort location data sets. The weight based Similarity Index was re-calculated for accuracy but no errors in reconstruction were found. An alternative is needed for some databases since Similarity Index is limited by spatial heterogeneity or too few standardized quadrat placements.

RESILIENCE AND RESISTANCE OF SAGEBRUSH STEPPE COMMUNITIES ARE ASSOCIATED WITH SOIL TEMPERATURE AND WATER AVAILABILITY

Fuel control treatments are implemented in sagebrush (Artemisia L.) steppe communities to reduce severe wildfire, and to enhance ecosystem function and wildlife habitat. Resilience of sagebrush steppe communities after fuel control treatments or other disturbances is dependent on resistance to  cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum L.).  High cover of cheatgrass after treatments puts the system at risk of passing through a biotic threshold of increased fire frequency and continued cheatgrass dominance.  Sagebrush steppe resilience in part depends on perennial herbaceous cover to resist cheatgrass.  Higher resilience and resistance of sagebrush steppe systems has been associated with a cooler and wetter soil climate which supports higher perennial herbaceous cover compared to warmer and drier conditions that support cheatgrass.  We tested effects of treatments on soil temperature and soil water availability and plant cover on six sagebrush sites lacking tree expansion and 11 sites with tree expansion.  We measured soil temperatures and soil water potentials at 13-30, and 50 cm from 2011 through spring of 2016 and related them to cover of perennial herbs and cheatgrass 6 years post treatment (2011-2012) for most sites.  Prescribed fire slightly increased soil temperatures, and increased  cheatgrass cover on most sites.  Mechanical treatments increased soil water availability and increased perennial herbaceous cover.  However, both soil and vegetation responses varied more among sites than among treatments.  Non-metric dimensional scaling ordination and decision dree partition analysis indicated that sites with warmer and wetter falls had highest cover of cheatgrass.  Sites with wetter winters and early springs had higher cover of perennial herbs.  Our concurrent measurement of soil climate and vegetation cover variables on similar treatments across a wide array of sites supports the idea that cooler and wetter sites are most resilient and resistant to cheatgrass, while warmer and drier sites are least resistant. 

FILLING IN THE GAPS: MANAGING AND INTERPRETING SITE-SPECIFIC PRECIPITATION OBSERVATIONS WITH THE MYRAINGE LOG TOOL. Michael A. Crimmins, Mitch McClaran*, Kelsey L. Hawkes; University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ

It is common on rangelands to have large gaps of distance between “official” rain gauges and gaps of time (up to 365 days) between measurements. Those gaps make it difficult for managers to understand the impact of precipitation on rangeland resources and the response of those resources to management. We developed the web-based myRAINge Log (https://myraingelog.arizona.edu) to help managers and ranchers organize and interpret their precipitation observations and fill those gaps. We reference measures to the SPI, Standardized Precipitation Index because 1) it is widely used to represent drought severity, 2) a minus 1 SPI (12-month window) triggers on-site evaluations for all livestock grazing allotments in Region 3 of the National Forest system, and 3) it provides a likelihood-based reference for current conditions. We rely on data from the PRISM gridded climate dataset (~4km, 1981-2016) to provide the interpolation-based estimate of amount and timing of precipitation.

TALKING ABOUT DROUGHT: SPI EXPLORER TOOL BUILDS A COMMON LANGUAGE. Mitch McClaran*, Michael A. Crimmins, Kelsey L. Hawkes; University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ