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Álvarez-Holguín A, Morales-Nieto CR, Corrales-Lerma R, Ochoa-Rivero JM, Ponce-García OC, Prieto-Amparán JA, Vega-Mares JH, Villarreal-Guerrero F. Grass species with potential for rangelands restoration in northern Mexico: an assessment with environmental niche modeling. Sci Rep 2024; 14:6318. [PMID: 38491325 PMCID: PMC10943106 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-56918-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2023] [Accepted: 03/12/2024] [Indexed: 03/18/2024] Open
Abstract
Environmental niche modeling (ENM) has emerged as a promising tool for identifying grass species with potential for rangeland restoration. This approach can detect suitable areas and environments where these species can be planted. In this study, we employed ENM to estimate the potential distribution range of 50 grass species of the grasslands and shrublands of northern Mexico. The outcome of the ENM served to identify grass species with potential for restoration in Mexico, especially those not commonly used for that purpose in the past. Results suggested the possibility of selecting seven grass species with the potential for revegetating degraded grasslands, nine for shrublands, and six for alkaline soils. This research provides insights into the environmental adaptations of different grass species distributed in the rangelands of northern Mexico. Ecologists, conservation planners, researchers, and range managers could use these outcomes and the maps of the potential distribution ranges as supportive information to conduct effective restoration efforts. In turn, this can assist in increasing the probability of success of future rangelands restoration programs, which are often costly in terms of financial investments and labor.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alan Álvarez-Holguín
- Facultad de Zootecnia y Ecología, Universidad Autónoma de Chihuahua, Periférico Francisco R. Almada Km 1, 31453, Chihuahua, Chih., Mexico
| | - Carlos Raúl Morales-Nieto
- Facultad de Zootecnia y Ecología, Universidad Autónoma de Chihuahua, Periférico Francisco R. Almada Km 1, 31453, Chihuahua, Chih., Mexico
| | - Raúl Corrales-Lerma
- Facultad de Zootecnia y Ecología, Universidad Autónoma de Chihuahua, Periférico Francisco R. Almada Km 1, 31453, Chihuahua, Chih., Mexico
| | - Jesús Manuel Ochoa-Rivero
- Campo Experimental La Campana, Instituto Nacional de Investigaciones Forestales, Agrícolas y Pecuarias (INIFAP), Carretera Chihuahua-Ojinaga Km. 33.3, 32190, Aldama, Chih., Mexico
| | - Omar Castor Ponce-García
- Campo Experimental La Campana, Instituto Nacional de Investigaciones Forestales, Agrícolas y Pecuarias (INIFAP), Carretera Chihuahua-Ojinaga Km. 33.3, 32190, Aldama, Chih., Mexico
| | - Jesús Alejandro Prieto-Amparán
- Facultad de Zootecnia y Ecología, Universidad Autónoma de Chihuahua, Periférico Francisco R. Almada Km 1, 31453, Chihuahua, Chih., Mexico
| | - José Humberto Vega-Mares
- Facultad de Zootecnia y Ecología, Universidad Autónoma de Chihuahua, Periférico Francisco R. Almada Km 1, 31453, Chihuahua, Chih., Mexico
| | - Federico Villarreal-Guerrero
- Facultad de Zootecnia y Ecología, Universidad Autónoma de Chihuahua, Periférico Francisco R. Almada Km 1, 31453, Chihuahua, Chih., Mexico.
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Javadian M, Scott RL, Biederman JA, Zhang F, Fisher JB, Reed SC, Potts DL, Villarreal ML, Feldman AF, Smith WK. Thermography captures the differential sensitivity of dryland functional types to changes in rainfall event timing and magnitude. THE NEW PHYTOLOGIST 2023; 240:114-126. [PMID: 37434275 DOI: 10.1111/nph.19127] [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: 05/11/2023] [Accepted: 06/21/2023] [Indexed: 07/13/2023]
Abstract
Drylands of the southwestern United States are rapidly warming, and rainfall is becoming less frequent and more intense, with major yet poorly understood implications for ecosystem structure and function. Thermography-based estimates of plant temperature can be integrated with air temperature to infer changes in plant physiology and response to climate change. However, very few studies have evaluated plant temperature dynamics at high spatiotemporal resolution in rainfall pulse-driven dryland ecosystems. We address this gap by incorporating high-frequency thermal imaging into a field-based precipitation manipulation experiment in a semi-arid grassland to investigate the impacts of rainfall temporal repackaging. All other factors held constant, we found that fewer/larger precipitation events led to cooler plant temperatures (1.4°C) compared to that of many/smaller precipitation events. Perennials, in particular, were 2.5°C cooler than annuals under the fewest/largest treatment. We show these patterns were driven by: increased and consistent soil moisture availability in the deeper soil layers in the fewest/largest treatment; and deeper roots of perennials providing access to deeper plant available water. Our findings highlight the potential for high spatiotemporal resolution thermography to quantify the differential sensitivity of plant functional groups to soil water availability. Detecting these sensitivities is vital to understanding the ecohydrological implications of hydroclimate change.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mostafa Javadian
- School of Natural Resources and the Environment, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, 85721, USA
| | - Russell L Scott
- Southwest Watershed Research Center, USDA Agricultural Research Service, Tucson, AZ, 85719, USA
| | - Joel A Biederman
- Southwest Watershed Research Center, USDA Agricultural Research Service, Tucson, AZ, 85719, USA
| | - Fangyue Zhang
- School of Natural Resources and the Environment, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, 85721, USA
- Southwest Watershed Research Center, USDA Agricultural Research Service, Tucson, AZ, 85719, USA
| | - Joshua B Fisher
- Schmid College of Science and Technology, Chapman University, Orange, CA, 92866, USA
| | - Sasha C Reed
- Southwest Biological Science Center, US Geological Survey, Moab, UT, 84532, USA
| | - Daniel L Potts
- Biology Department, SUNY Buffalo State, Buffalo, NY, 14222, USA
| | - Miguel L Villarreal
- Western Geographic Science Center, US Geological Survey, Moffett Field, CA, 94035, USA
| | - Andrew F Feldman
- Biospheric Sciences Laboratory, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, 20771, USA
- NASA Postdoctoral Program, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, 20771, USA
| | - William K Smith
- School of Natural Resources and the Environment, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, 85721, USA
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