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

State-and-Transition Models (STM) describe how an ecological site responds to various treatments and disturbances. STM can be used to select appropriate objectives and treatments for fuels and vegetation management projects.  Disturbance Response Groups (DRG) are a series of ecological sites that respond similarly to disturbance and treatment.  When planning at landscape scales, DRG, in association with STM can help plan treatments and predict their outcomes over larger areas. The BLM, NRCS, and the University of Nevada, Reno have developed STM for much of eastern Nevada.  Examples of planning, implementation and monitoring will be presented showing how to integrate STM and DRG into fuels and habitat management planning. 

UTILIZING DISTURBANCE RESPONSE GROUPS FOR POST-FIRE REHABILITATION PLANNING. Keith D. Barker*; Carson City District, Carson City, NV

The BLM Carson City District is in the implementation phase of a landscape level habitat resiliency, health and restoration project in the Desatoya mountain range in both Churchill and Lander counties, Nevada.  Within the project area, up to 32,000 acres of vegetation treatments will be implemented over a 10 year period.  The purpose of the project is to improve availability, quantity, and quality of sagebrush, woodland, and wet meadow/riparian habitats that multiple wildlife species, wild horses, and livestock depend on.  How do you establish a base line vegetation community layer, adaptively manage treatment implementation over the life of the project, and define success after project completion?  This presentation will identify the process used to develop treatment specifications and prioritize areas for treatment based on the existing vegetation communities using current ecological site descriptions and the development of disturbance response groups for the project area.

DEVELOPMENT OF DISTURBANCE RESPONSE GROUPS. Devon K. Snyder*¹, Tamzen K. Stringham², Patti Novak-Echenique³; ¹University of Nevada Reno, Reno, NV, ²Univ. Nevada Reno, Reno, NV, ³USDA-NRCS, Reno, NV

ABSTRACT

Ecological site descriptions are increasingly being used by land managers to develop monitoring plans, design post-fire rehabilitation plans, and restore wildlife habitat. We have developed a system of grouping ecological sites that enhances the utility of ecological sites at larger spatial scales and improves the ability to make ecological inferences between and among individual ecological sites. A Disturbance Response Group (DRG) is a collection of ecological sites within a Major Land Resource Area that respond similarly to disturbance. Group membership is initially determined by dominant vegetation, soils and mean annual precipitation range and then is refined further by the disturbance ecology of the Reference plant community in combination with environmental variables. Because the DRG process incorporates ecological dynamics from the start, sites within a DRG have similar state-and-transition models. This expedites the field verification and model-building process for multiple ecological sites. DRGS can be joined to existing soil maps in a GIS using the NRCS Gridded Soil Survey Geographic (gSSURGO) database; in Nevada the resulting DRG maps have been utilized for stratification of monitoring points and for fire rehabilitation. An intended byproduct of the DRG process is the enhancement of users’ ability to understand the underlying processes behind the ecological site concepts through consolidation of models and ecological site mapping.

UTILIZING DISTURBANCE RESPONSE GROUPS TO EXPEDITE STATE-AND-TRANSITION MODELS FOR MANAGEMENT. Tamzen K. Stringham*¹, Devon K. Snyder², Patti Novak-Echenique³; ¹Univ. Nevada Reno, Reno, NV, ²University of Nevada Reno, Reno, NV, ³USDA-NRCS, Reno, NV

ABSTRACT

Disturbance Response Groups (DRGs) are used to scale up ecological sites by grouping ecological sites based on abiotic and biotic similarities and disturbance ecology of the Reference plant community.  The disturbance response focus in group building facilitates the development of a modal state-and-transition model (STM) for the DRG that is refined through field investigations and for each individual member or ecological site contained in the DRG.  This method of STM development and refinement provides an expedited, scientifically sound process for creating robust, field tested, conceptual STMs that can be up-scaled to the DRG level or down-scaled to individual ecological sites.  Furthermore, the process follows guidance provided by the USDA, NRCS National Ecological Site Handbook (2014) and subsequent Title 306 National Instructions (2015) for STM development for Provisional Ecological Sites.  This methodology has successfully completed Disturbance Response Groups in Nevada for MLRA 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28A, 28B and 29 and on Oregon’s Crooked River Grasslands (MLRA B10).  State-and-transition models are available for the Crooked River Grasslands and MLRA 24, 25, 28A, and 28B with draft models available for MLRA 23 within Nevada.

USING DISTURBANCE RESPONSE GROUPS AND STATE AND TRANSITION MODELS TO ASSESS RISK OF NON-NATIVE INVASION AND OPTIONS FOR RESTORATION. Steven D. Gibson*; U.S. Forest Service, Prineville, OR

The Crooked River National Grassland (CRNG) has a long history of a level of intensive management and associated environmental conditions which are typical of National Grasslands but which are uncharacteristic of the majority of National Forest System (NFS) lands.   Since federal acquisition of these lands in the early to mid 30’s the administrative federal agencies have attempted to stabilize, rehabilitate and/or restore the system processes and functions on these lands, while, “…promot[ing] development of grassland agriculture and sustained yield management …” (36 CFR213.1, (c)).  On the CRNG many management activities have been employed over the years in order to accomplish these goals.  During the past forty years many of these CRNG management activities have been aimed at the control of the density and distribution of western juniper on this landscape.  During this same time period the spread and establishment of medusa head rye has increased dramatically often in association with implemented western juniper control practices.  In consultation with Dr. Tamzen Stringham and in cooperation with the Natural Conservation Service, National Forest/Grassland personnel have conducted intensive Ecological Site data collection in order to refine STMs and disturbance response groupings, and are utilizing these products to inform management decisions and better predict outcomes of management actions intended for landscape restoration particularly in relation to non-native invasive grasses.

USING DISTURBANCE RESPONSE GROUPS AND ECOSITES TO DELINEATE SAMPLING UNITS WITHIN NEVADA’S CONSERVATION CREDIT SYSTEM. Katie Andrle*, Kathleen Petter; Sagebrush Ecosystem Technical Team, Carson City, NV

ABSTRACT

Nevada is diverse in its ecosystems and industries. Mining, ranching and agriculture, energy development and manufacturing are all vital to Nevada’s economy, but we also need to protect our heritage, natural landscapes, and wildlife that make Nevada unique. With this in mind, Nevada’s Sagebrush Ecosystem Program has developed the Conservation Credit System (CCS), a new approach to compensatory mitigation that allows anthropogenic impacts such as mines, roads, energy development and transmission lines to be developed within greater sage-grouse (GRSG) habitats while ensuring that those impacts are mitigated to achieve an overall conservation gain for GRSG habitats. The CCS uses science-based, quantitative assessments to calculate direct and indirect impacts to GRSG habitats (debits). Credits are quantified using a similar process as that used to determine debits, and are generated through habitat preservation, enhancement, and restoration. Vegetative sampling is an essential component in determining habitat quality for GRSG and quantifying credit obligation and credit generation; however, it can be challenging to define seemingly homogeneous areas of vegetation to adequately capture cover, forbs, and invasive grasses, among others, on projects of varying sizes across the state. Ultimately, Disturbance Response Groups (DRGs) and Ecological sites have helped solve this dilemma by serving as the starting point for map unit delineation by vegetation, precipitation, and soil types. Careful evaluation from other sources including aerial imagery is still recommended in order to capture additional variables prior to map unit finalization, and ultimately, on-the-ground sampling.  DRGs serve as the desired tool to anchor map unit formation and ensure the level of consistency necessary for the system to allow for better outcomes for CCS users and ultimately, the GRSG and its habitat.  

HOW MOISTURE GRADIENTS AFFECT RESTORATION OF NATIVE GRASSLANDS IN ALBERTA
. Darin E. Sherritt*; Tannas Conservation Services, St Albert, AB

ABSTRACT

Within the province of Alberta, moisture availability whether from summer rain or winter snows, is one of the main drivers for determining grassland plant communities. Moisture is also critically important to the success or failure in the attempts to restore these grasslands following various types of disturbances. While increased moisture means more above ground biomass production, a correlation between increased moisture and successful restoration hasn’t followed the same trend. On native rangeland in Alberta, generally the drier the site is, the greater the likelihood of success at native species restoration. However, being too dry also creates restoration difficulties. Given that, there may be an optimum range of site moisture that’s leads to a greater restoration success rate.  A number of factors are thought to contribute to this, but one of the dominant factors is that native species are better able to compete under stressed growing conditions. This presentation will examine both successes and failures of native grassland restoration within environments with varying moisture levels and evaluate the some of the factors leading to this higher success rate on drier sites.

ISHRUB RESTORATION IN THE NORTHERN GREAT PLAINS. Matthew J. Rinella*¹, Jeremy J. James², Erin Espeland³; ¹USDA-ARS, Miles City, MT, ²Center Director, Browns Valley, CA, ³USDA Agricultural Research Service, Sidney, MT

Using seeding to restore degraded rangelands of the northern Great Plains is a major challenge.  Often, seeded species fail to establish and areas remain/become dominated by downy brome and other unwanted plants.  Even where some seeded species establish, species diversity is typically low, and big sagebrush and other shrub are nearly nonexistent.  We gathered vegetation data on >350 seeded fields on nine strip coal mines in Wyoming and Montana and then paired these vegetation data with management (e.g. seeding rate) and environmental (e.g. 1st growing season precipitation) data in order to better understand factors regulating seeding outcomes.  We found seeding aggressive, cool-season grasses, such as western wheatgrass and green needlegrass, reduced annual weed cover.  These grasses became similarly abundant whether sown at low or high rates, so low rates could likely be safely used to reduce seed costs.  More importantly, reducing grass seed rates reduced the onset of intense grass competition and thereby increased cover of shrubs, the plants most difficult to restore to our system.  Grass competition had the potential to be so intense that seeded shrubs established at higher densities in dryer-than-average years, presumably because dry conditions reduced seeded grass establishment and competition.  These results point to cost-effective management strategies that could be used to improve restoration outcomes in mixed grass prairie.  In addition to our large-scale observational study, we briefly discuss a study strategically using seed mix diversity to buffer seeding outcomes against weather variation.   

INTEGRATED MANAGEMENT PRACTICES FOR NATIVE GRASSLAND RESTORATION IN MEDITERRANEAN CALIFORNIA

California is characterized by a Mediterranean climate, with moderately wet winters and dry summers, that creates unique challenges for vegetation management. In particular, exotic annual plants from Mediterranean regions of Europe are adept at quickly taking advantage of rain, making them strong competitors against native perennial bunchgrasses. Exotic annual grasses now dominate most California grasslands, fundamentally altering the ecosystem and reducing forage quality.  Restoration and vegetation management are important for reestablishing the economic and ecological value of rangelands. However, restoration efforts often have low success due to high cost and persistence of highly competitive invasive plants. To address these challenges, we are testing an integrated management approach incorporating low-cost spatially-patterned seeding with targeted grazing and burning. Spatially-patterned seeding of desired plant species (i.e. “strip seeding”) has been suggested to reduce revegetation costs up to 66%. However, little research has been done on the effectiveness of strip seeding.  In Fall 2012, we seeded fields with native perennial bunchgrasses in different strip widths (seeding coverage from 0%-100%). In the springs of 2016 and 2017 we measured community diversity and abundance across transects in the middle and edges of seeded and unseeded strips. We used PERMANOVA to understand how strip size affected community dynamics across the seeded strips. We found that native species successfully established in all seeded strips and conferred some degree of invasion resistance, but that unseeded strips were dominated by invasive species regardless of strip size. Therefore, to reduce invasive cover and encourage dispersal of native species from seeded to unseeded strips, we implemented grazing and burning treatments in Spring 2017. We will measure post-treatment community composition and reproductive output of a common invasive grass, Elymus caput-medusae (medusahead), to determine if combining strip seeding, grazing, and burning is an effective strategy to establish native grasses and reduce invasive cover. 

UNPACKING SEED REGENERATION FOR RESTORATION IN AUSTRALIAN DRYLANDS: COMPLEX INTERACTIONS BETWEEN SPECIES, MOISTURE AVAILABILITY, AND SOIL TYPE

Plant regeneration in degraded landscapes is critical to temper the on-going impact of human disturbance. Yet for many species required for large-scale restoration in biodiverse drylands, initiating their establishment via seed is challenging. More often than not, clear protocols to consider and manage seed germination and establishment requirements are lacking. Important establishment barriers include narrow ‘environmental envelopes’ that limit plant recruitment to rare periods of high, and consistent rainfall, and a reduced water holding capacity in soils impacted by human activities (e.g. reconstructed soil profiles). Cumulatively, these impediments prevent practitioners from reliably establishing a wide and representative array of native plants species from seeds.

RANGELAND RESTORATION FOR HIROLA, THE WORLD'S MOST ENDNAGERED ANTELOPE.

Rangeland restoration can improve habitat for threatened species such as the hirola antelope (Beatragus hunteri) that inhabit savannas of eastern Kenya. However, restoration success likely varies across soil types and target restoration species, as well as according to restoration approach. We tested the response of four native grass species (Cenchrus ciliaris, Enteropogon macrostachyus, Eragrostis superba, and Chloris roxbhurgiana) to four different restoration approaches (tilling, manure application + seeding, seeding, no treatment). We also tested the interaction between planted grass and other functional groups using ANOVA. In each of two soil types, we located three 50m x 20m treatment blocks. Within each block, were 16 treatment plots that were randomly assigned to one of 16 species-site preparation combinations (4 species * 4 site preparation treatments). We seeded in May 2017 and assessed species cover in July and August 2017. Preliminary results suggest total grass cover was higher in the seeded treatment than the seeding + manure treatment. Both tilling and no treatment did not result in any significant above ground biomass suggesting that lack of seeds rather than soil capping or water availability might be the key mechanism limiting grass growth. There were no statistically significant interactions between the effects of the treatments and the occurrence of other, non-planted, grass species on planted grass cover. In contrast, the Tukey’s HSD post hoc paired tests showed significant differences among all treatments. Overall, planted grass species performed better in loam soils (median 45% cover) than in high clay (black cotton) soils (median =40% cover). Similarly planted grasses performed better than other grass species and forbs in both loam and black cotton soils. These experiments are aimed at informing landscape level grassland restoration for hirola, where tree encroachment has suppressed their recovery for nearly three decades.

LONG-TERM PLANT RESPONSES TO CLIMATE ARE MODERATED BY BIOPHYSICAL ATTRIBUTES ACROSS THE SOUTHWESTERN U.S. Seth M. Munson*¹, Robert H. Webb², Erin Bunting³; ¹U.S. Geological Survey, Flagstaff, AZ, ²University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, ³Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI

Recent elevated temperatures and prolonged droughts in many rangelands throughout the world are likely to intensify according to future climate-model projections. This warming and drying can negatively affect the establishment and growth of perennial vegetation and lead to restoration failures. To better forecast these detrimental effects, we formulate a conceptual model of rangeland vulnerability to enhanced aridity that integrates hypotheses on plant species responses to reductions in water availability and how these responses are modified by biophysical attributes, including landscape, soil and plant properties. We test the model by integrating long-term monitoring results across the southwestern U.S. and employing a novel “climate pivot point” approach. Plant species, communities, and ecoregions ranged in their sensitivities to precipitation in different seasons, capacities to increase in abundance during wet conditions, and resistances to drought. Our model successfully explains how plant responses to climate are moderated by biophysical attributes. For example, deep-rooted plants were not as vulnerable to drought on soils that allowed for deep-water percolation, whereas shallow-rooted plants were better buffered from drought on soils that promoted water retention near the surface. Our results imply that multiple biophysical attributes of a site should collectively be considered in restoration planning because they mediate the performance of plant species through their influence on water availability and use.

UNDERSTANDING SPATIAL VARIABILITY IN PERENNIAL GRASS RESTORATION FOLLOWING SHRUB REMOVAL IN THE CHIHUAHUAN DESERT: THE RESTORE NEW MEXICO COLLABORATIVE MONITORING PROGRAM
. Brandon T. Bestelmeyer*¹, Laura M. Burkett¹, Leticia Lister²; ¹USDA-ARS Jornada Experimental Range, Las Cruces, NM, ²Bureau of Land Management, Las Cruces, NM

ABSTRACT

Grassland to shrubland transitions are well documented throughout the desert grassland region of the Chihuahuan Desert. These transitions were triggered in the early 20th century by overgrazing of perennial grasses during drought periods, loss of fire regimes, and seed dispersal by livestock. Shrublands dominated by C3 species are highly resilient to natural disturbances, so herbicides specific to the C3 photosynthetic pathway are used to reduce the competitive preemption of soil water resources by shrubs and trigger the recovery of C4 perennial grasses. Anecdotally, there is evidence that shrub management treatments have been effective in some cases, but not in others, creating controversy about their value. As part of the Restore New Mexico partnership, we initiated a region-scale, long-term monitoring experiment embedded within shrub management treatments beginning in 2007. Within shrub management areas, we created treatment and control plots that were matched according to soils/ecological sites and initial state prior to treatments, such that control plots were excluded from treatment. Line-point intercept was used to measure cover prior to and after treatments. In addition, we sampled older treatments (2004 and earlier) using space-for-time substitution assumptions. Our records to date indicate that 1) treatments are generally effective in increasing perennial grass cover, 2) the composition of grasses that increase usually differs from that of putative reference states, creating “novel ecosystems” and 3) soil and climate properties are related to the magnitude of grass response to treatments; specifically, loamy soils and drier climates yield reduced grass response. Experimental monitoring data can be used to refine restoration approaches and resolve controversies about them.

MOISTURE, PLANT-PLANT INTERACTIONS AND HERBIVORY AS DRIVERS OF RANGELAND RESTORATION SUCCESS IN THE WESTERN US. Lauren Porensky*¹, Elizabeth A. Leger², Barry Perryman³, Jay Davison⁴, Matthew Williamson⁵, Matthew D. Madsen⁶; ¹USDA-ARS, Fort Collins, CO, ²University of Nevada, Reno, NV, ³University of Nevada Reno, Reno, NV, ⁴Univ. NV Cooperative Extension, Fallon, NV, ⁵UC Davis, Davis, CA, ⁶Brigham Young University, Provo, UT