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Davies KW, Clenet DR, Madsen MD, Brown VS, Ritchie AL, Svejcar LN. Activated carbon seed technologies: Innovative solutions to assist in the restoration and revegetation of invaded drylands. JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT 2024; 371:123281. [PMID: 39541810 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2024.123281] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/15/2024] [Revised: 10/17/2024] [Accepted: 11/06/2024] [Indexed: 11/16/2024]
Abstract
The demand for seed-based restoration and revegetation of degraded drylands has intensified with increased disturbance and climate change. Invasive plants often hinder the establishment of seeded species; thus, they are routinely controlled with herbicides. Herbicides used to control invasive plants may maintain soil activity and cause non-target damage to seeded species. Activated carbon (AC), which has a high adsorption of many herbicides, has been incorporated into seed pellets and coatings (seed technologies) to limit herbicide damage. Though various AC seed technologies have been examined in numerous laboratory and field studies, questions remain regarding their effectiveness and how to improve it, and what causes variation in results. We synthesized the literature on AC seed technologies for dryland restoration and revegetation to attempt to answer these questions. AC pellets compared to seed coatings were more thoroughly tested in the field and generally provide strong herbicide protection. However, greater amounts of AC in seed coatings appear to increase their effectiveness. Seed coatings show more potential for use than pellets because they are less logistically challenging to use compared to pellets, but need more field testing and refinement. Results often differ between laboratory and field studies, suggesting that field studies are critical in determining realized effects. However, seedling establishment failures from other barriers make it challenging to evaluate the effectiveness of AC seed technologies in the field. AC seed technologies are an innovative tool that with continued refinement, especially if other barriers to seedling establishment can be overcome, may improve the restoration and revegetation of degraded drylands.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kirk W Davies
- USDA - Agricultural Research Service, United States.
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Svejcar LN, Martyn TE, Edlund HR, Davies KW. A Test of Activated Carbon and Soil Seed Enhancements for Improved Sub-Shrub and Grass Seedling Survival With and Without Herbicide Application. PLANTS (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2024; 13:3074. [PMID: 39519992 PMCID: PMC11548513 DOI: 10.3390/plants13213074] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/02/2024] [Revised: 10/17/2024] [Accepted: 10/17/2024] [Indexed: 11/16/2024]
Abstract
Re-establishing native plants while controlling invasive species is a challenge for many dryland restoration efforts globally. Invasive plants often create highly competitive environments so controlling them is necessary for effective establishment of native species. In the sagebrush steppe of the United States, invasive annual grasses are commonly controlled with herbicide treatments. However, the same herbicides that control invasive annual grasses also impact the native species being planted. As such, carbon-based seed technologies to protect native seeds from herbicide applications are being trialed. In addition to controlling invasive species, ensuring good seed-to-soil contact is important for effective establishment of native species. In this grow room study, we explored the impact of different seed ameliorations when no herbicide was applied and when herbicide was applied. We selected two native species that are important to the sagebrush steppe for this study-the sub-shrub Krascheninnikovia lanata and the perennial bunchgrass Pseudoroegneria spicata-and used three different seed ameliorations-seed pelleting with local soil alone, local soil plus activated carbon and activated carbon alone-to ensure both greater seed-to-soil contact and protection against herbicides. Shoot and root biomass data were collected eight weeks after planting. We found that when herbicide was not applied, K. lanata had the strongest response to the soil alone amelioration, while P. spicata had the strongest response to the activated carbon alone amelioration. However, when herbicide was applied, K. lanata performed best with the soil plus activated carbon treatments, with an average 1500% increase in biomass, while P. spicata performed best with the activated carbon alone treatments, with an over 4000% increase in biomass, relative to bare seed. The results from our study indicate that there is a positive effect of local soils and activated carbon as seed ameliorations, and further testing in the field is needed to understand how these ameliorations might perform in actual restoration scenarios.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lauren N. Svejcar
- Eastern Oregon Agricultural Research Center, United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service, Burns, OR 97720, USA; (H.R.E.); (K.W.D.)
| | - Trace E. Martyn
- Eastern Oregon Agricultural Research Center, Oregon State University, Union, OR 97883, USA;
| | - Hayley R. Edlund
- Eastern Oregon Agricultural Research Center, United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service, Burns, OR 97720, USA; (H.R.E.); (K.W.D.)
- National Park Service, Yellowstone, WY 82190, USA
| | - Kirk W. Davies
- Eastern Oregon Agricultural Research Center, United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service, Burns, OR 97720, USA; (H.R.E.); (K.W.D.)
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Case MF, Davies KW, Boyd CS, Aoyama L, Merson J, Penkauskas C, Hallett LM. Cross-scale analysis reveals interacting predictors of annual and perennial cover in Northern Great Basin rangelands. ECOLOGICAL APPLICATIONS : A PUBLICATION OF THE ECOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA 2024; 34:e2953. [PMID: 38558271 DOI: 10.1002/eap.2953] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2023] [Revised: 09/04/2023] [Accepted: 10/28/2023] [Indexed: 04/04/2024]
Abstract
Exotic annual grass invasion is a widespread threat to the integrity of sagebrush ecosystems in Western North America. Although many predictors of annual grass prevalence and native perennial vegetation have been identified, there remains substantial uncertainty about how regional-scale and local-scale predictors interact to determine vegetation heterogeneity, and how associations between vegetation and cattle grazing vary with environmental context. Here, we conducted a regionally extensive, one-season field survey across burned and unburned, grazed, public lands in Oregon and Idaho, with plots stratified by aspect and distance to water within pastures to capture variation in environmental context and grazing intensity. We analyzed regional-scale and local-scale patterns of annual grass, perennial grass, and shrub cover, and examined to what extent plot-level variation was contingent on pasture-level predictions of site favorability. Annual grasses were widespread at burned and unburned sites alike, contrary to assumptions of annual grasses depending on fire, and more common at lower elevations and higher temperatures regionally, as well as on warmer slopes locally. Pasture-level grazing pressure interacted with temperature such that annual grass cover was associated positively with grazing pressure at higher temperatures but associated negatively with grazing pressure at lower temperatures. This suggests that pasture-level temperature and grazing relationships with annual grass abundance are complex and context dependent, although the causality of this relationship deserves further examination. At the plot-level within pastures, annual grass cover did not vary with grazing metrics, but perennial cover did; perennial grasses, for example, had lower cover closer to water sources, but higher cover at higher dung counts within a pasture, suggesting contrasting interpretations of these two grazing proxies. Importantly for predictions of ecosystem response to temperature change, we found that pasture-level and plot-level favorability interacted: perennial grasses had a higher plot-level cover on cooler slopes, and this difference across topography was starkest in pastures that were less favorable for perennial grasses regionally. Understanding the mechanisms behind cross-scale interactions and contingent responses of vegetation to grazing in these increasingly invaded ecosystems will be critical to land management in a changing world.
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Affiliation(s)
- Madelon F Case
- US Geological Survey, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center, Corvallis, Oregon, USA
- Institute of Ecology and Evolution, University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon, USA
| | - Kirk W Davies
- US Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Eastern Oregon Agricultural Research Center, Burns, Oregon, USA
| | - Chad S Boyd
- US Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Eastern Oregon Agricultural Research Center, Burns, Oregon, USA
| | - Lina Aoyama
- Institute of Ecology and Evolution, University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon, USA
- Environmental Studies Program, University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon, USA
| | - Joanna Merson
- InfoGraphics Lab, University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon, USA
| | - Calvin Penkauskas
- Institute of Ecology and Evolution, University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon, USA
| | - Lauren M Hallett
- Institute of Ecology and Evolution, University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon, USA
- Environmental Studies Program, University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon, USA
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Crist MR. Rethinking the focus on forest fires in federal wildland fire management: Landscape patterns and trends of non-forest and forest burned area. JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT 2023; 327:116718. [PMID: 36565577 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2022.116718] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/10/2022] [Revised: 10/11/2022] [Accepted: 11/04/2022] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
For most of the 20th century and beyond, national wildland fire policies concerning fire suppression and fuels management have primarily focused on forested lands. Using summary statistics and landscape metrics, wildfire spatial patterns and trends for non-forest and forest burned area over the past two decades were examined across the U.S, and federal agency jurisdictions. This study found that wildfires burned more area of non-forest lands than forest lands at the scale of the conterminous and western U.S. and the Department of Interior (DOI). In an agency comparison, 74% of DOI burned area occurred on non-forest lands and 78% of U.S. Forest Service burned area occurred on forested lands. Landscape metrics revealed key differences between forest and non-forest fire patterns and trends in total burned area, burned patch size, distribution, and aggregation over time across the western U.S. Opposite fire patterns emerged between non-forest and forest burns when analyzed at the scale of federal agency jurisdictions. In addition, a fire regime departure analysis comparing current large fire probability with historic fire trends identified certain vegetation types and locations experiencing more fire than historically. These patterns were especially pronounced for cold desert shrublands, such as sagebrush where increases in annual area burned, and fire frequency, size, and juxtaposition have resulted in substantial losses over a twenty-year period. The emerging non-forest fire patterns are primarily due to the rapid expansion of non-native invasive grasses that increase fuel connectivity and fire spread. These invasions promote uncharacteristic frequent fire and loss of native ecosystems at large-scales, accelerating the need to place greater focus on managing invasive species in wildland fire management. Results can be used to inform wildfire management and policy aimed at reducing uncharacteristic wildfire processes and patterns for both non-forest and forest ecosystems as well as identify differing management strategies needed to address the unique wildfire issues each federal agency faces.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michele R Crist
- Landscape Ecologist, U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management, Fire and Aviation Directorate, Boise, ID, 83705, USA.
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Landscape and connectivity metrics as a spatial tool to support invasive annual grass management decisions. Biol Invasions 2023. [DOI: 10.1007/s10530-022-02945-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/28/2023]
Abstract
AbstractThe spatial patterns and context of invasions are increasingly recognized as important for successful and efficient management actions. Beyond mapping occurrence or percent cover in pixels, spatial summary information that describes the size and arrangement of patches in the context of a larger landscape (e.g., infested regions, connected patch networks) can add a depth of information for managing invasive grasses that threaten native ecosystems. Few invasive annual grass analyses have explored the use of landscape and circuit-based connectivity metrics to characterize and compare spatial patterns of invasion. To assess the transferability and applicability of these landscape ecology analyses, we calculated landscape metrics (4 area-based, 3 configuration) and a connectivity metric (circuit-based centrality), using a weighted-average map of invasive annual grass cover in the Great Basin, USA. We calculated metrics at local and regional scales, allowing invasion statistics to be compared across the landscape and illustrating varying patterns of invasion extent and connectedness. We found the metrics provided additional, complementary information at the sampled local and regional scales beyond abundance measures alone. We also illustrated how key metrics could be used to categorize and map areas needing different management strategies, for example, where strategies could proactively protect uninvaded cores, disconnect fine fuel patches, or contain established invasions. The landscape and connectivity metric approach can be applied across scales to spatially target patches locally, provide broader context within a single region, as well as to compare metrics and spatial variation in patterns among different regions.
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Invasive annual grasses show decrease in seed size but no change in growth or carbon economy following invasion. Biol Invasions 2023. [DOI: 10.1007/s10530-023-02999-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/13/2023]
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Thomas T, Davies K, Mata-Gonzalez R, Svejcar LN, Clenet D. Effects of a decade of grazing exclusion on three Wyoming big sagebrush community types. Glob Ecol Conserv 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.gecco.2022.e02338] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
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Svejcar LN, Kerby JD, Svejcar TJ, Mackey B, Boyd CS, Baughman OW, Madsen MD, Davies KW. Plant recruitment in drylands varies by site, year and seeding technique. Restor Ecol 2022. [DOI: 10.1111/rec.13750] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Lauren N. Svejcar
- Rangeland scientists, US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Agricultural Research Services (ARS), Eastern Oregon Agricultural Research Center Burns OR 97720 USA
| | - Jay D. Kerby
- Southeast Oregon Project Manager, The Nature Conservancy Burns OR 97720 USA
- Current affiliation: Unaffiliated, 4 South Street, Pukerau, 9772 New Zealand
| | - Tony J. Svejcar
- Rangeland scientists, US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Agricultural Research Services (ARS), Eastern Oregon Agricultural Research Center Burns OR 97720 USA
| | - Bruce Mackey
- Statistician, US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Agricultural Research Services (ARS), Pacific West Area office Albany CA 94710 USA
| | - Chad S. Boyd
- Rangeland scientists, US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Agricultural Research Services (ARS), Eastern Oregon Agricultural Research Center Burns OR 97720 USA
| | | | - Matthew D. Madsen
- Brigham Young University, Plant and Wildlife Sciences, 5048 LSB Provo UT 84602 USA
| | - Kirk W. Davies
- Rangeland scientists, US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Agricultural Research Services (ARS), Eastern Oregon Agricultural Research Center Burns OR 97720 USA
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Svejcar LN, Brown VS, Ritchie AL, Davies KW, Svejcar TJ. A new perspective and approach to ecosystem restoration: a seed enhancement technology guide and case study. Restor Ecol 2022. [DOI: 10.1111/rec.13615] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Lauren N. Svejcar
- USDA‐Agricultural Research Service Eastern Oregon Agricultural Research Center 67826‐A Hwy 205 Burns OR 97720 U.S.A
| | - Vanessa S. Brown
- School of Biological Sciences, The University of Western Australia 35 Stirling Highway Crawley WA 6009 Australia
| | - Alison L. Ritchie
- School of Biological Sciences, The University of Western Australia 35 Stirling Highway Crawley WA 6009 Australia
| | - Kirk W. Davies
- USDA‐Agricultural Research Service Eastern Oregon Agricultural Research Center 67826‐A Hwy 205 Burns OR 97720 U.S.A
| | - Tony J. Svejcar
- Oregon State University, Eastern Oregon Agricultural Research Center 67826‐A Hwy 205 Burns OR 97720 U.S.A
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Magness DR, Hoang L, Belote RT, Brennan J, Carr W, Stuart Chapin F, Clifford K, Morrison W, Morton JM, Sofaer HR. Management Foundations for Navigating Ecological Transformation by Resisting, Accepting, or Directing Social–Ecological Change. Bioscience 2021. [DOI: 10.1093/biosci/biab083] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
Despite striking global change, management to ensure healthy landscapes and sustained natural resources has tended to set objectives on the basis of the historical range of variability in stationary ecosystems. Many social–ecological systems are moving into novel conditions that can result in ecological transformation. We present four foundations to enable a transition to future-oriented conservation and management that increases capacity to manage change. The foundations are to identify plausible social–ecological trajectories, to apply upstream and deliberate engagement and decision-making with stakeholders, to formulate management pathways to desired futures, and to consider a portfolio approach to manage risk and account for multiple preferences across space and time. We use the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska as a case study to illustrate how the four foundations address common land management challenges for navigating transformation and deciding when, where, and how to resist, accept, or direct social–ecological change.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dawn R Magness
- US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), Kenai National Wildlife Refuge, Soldotna, Alaska, United States
| | - Linh Hoang
- US Forest Service's Northern Region, Missoula, Montana, United States
| | | | - Jean Brennan
- USFWS and is now the climate adaptation coordinator for the Giant Sequoia Lands Coalition, Three Rivers, California, United States
| | - Wylie Carr
- National Park Service, Fort Collins, Colorado, United States
| | - F Stuart Chapin
- University of Alaska's Institute of Arctic Biology, Fairbanks, Alaska, United States
| | | | - Wendy Morrison
- National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries, Silver Springs, Maryland, United States
| | - John M Morton
- USFWS and is now vice president of the Alaska Wildlife Alliance, Anchorage, Alaska, United States
| | - Helen R Sofaer
- USGS Pacific Island Ecosystems Research Center, Hawaii National Park, Honolulu, Hawaii, United States
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Pilliod DS, Jeffries MA, Welty JL, Arkle RS. Protecting restoration investments from the cheatgrass‐fire cycle in sagebrush steppe. CONSERVATION SCIENCE AND PRACTICE 2021. [DOI: 10.1111/csp2.508] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- David S. Pilliod
- US Geological Survey Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center Boise Idaho USA
| | - Michelle A. Jeffries
- US Geological Survey Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center Boise Idaho USA
| | - Justin L. Welty
- US Geological Survey Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center Boise Idaho USA
| | - Robert S. Arkle
- US Geological Survey Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center Boise Idaho USA
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