RAMPS: Restoration Assessment & Monitoring Program for the Southwest
Land Enhancement Information Portal & Decision Support Center
Science briefs, RAMPS program updates and more!
The Restoration Assessment and Monitoring Program for the Southwest (RAMPS) seeks to assist U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) and other land management agencies in developing successful techniques for improving land condition in dryland ecosystems of the southwestern United States. Invasion by non-native species, wildfire, drought, and other disturbances are growing rapidly in extent and frequency, creating novel ecosystem conditions that can outpace the knowledge base of local land managers. These growing problems often cross administrative boundaries, requiring agencies to proactively work together. In light of these challenges, managers can benefit from collaborative, innovative, and dynamic approaches to sharing information. To meet this need, RAMPS has created a hub for science-based information and tools to help managers identify effective and resource-efficient strategies to successfully restore degraded areas.
RAMPS Research
The latest in drylands restoration
Research for management
Read & use in 10 minutes!
Arid Grassland Climate Adaptation Menu
Seed Technology Training Course
RestoreNet - Guidance for revegetation in the SW
RAMPS SOLUTIONS FOR MANAGING CHALLENGING DRYLAND ECOSYSTEMS
Stakeholder engagement
PROBLEM: The importance of knowledge sharing and collaboration is well-understood. The importance of knowledge sharing and collaboration is well-understood. However, managers and scientists are often time-limited and intentions to build partnerships suffers as a result.
SOLUTION: RAMPS projects are multi-disciplinary, collaborative, and co-created. RAMPS identifies systemic gaps in restoration knowledge and develops projects and creative solutions that create new insight using scientifically-credible research. Through these solutions, RAMPS increases skills, knowledge, and expertise needed to manage public lands across the Southwest.
EXAMPLES: Symposia and meetings, peer-to-peer knowledge sharing, facilitation and collaboration, training and education
Research
PROBLEM: Several obstacles prevent land managers from implementing successful land treatments, including a lack of: information on costs relative to outcomes, post-treatment monitoring data, and science-informed innovation.
SOLUTION: RAMPS uses state-of-the-art scientific analysis and tools to increase the efficacy of land treatments across waterlimited ecosystems and finds innovative approaches to mitigate large disturbances. Through these solutions, RAMPS ensures progress in planning and implementing projects, and provides guidance and support for monitoring and adaptive management.
EXAMPLES: Data synthesis and integration, cost-benefit analysis, site re-visits, experimentation, energy development and reclamation best management practices, invasive species management, wildfire recovery
Decision support
PROBLEM: Scientific advancements can be difficult for land managers to access and incorporate into their project planning.
SOLUTION: RAMPS provides decision support via tools, protocols, and science delivery portals. This support distills scientific findings into readily accessible information on when, where, and how to restore. Through these solutions, RAMPS helps bridge the science-land management gap.
EXAMPLES:RAMPS news and information, decision-support tools, newsletters and social media, information briefs, guidance on restoration techniques, and monitoring guidance
Below are other science projects associated with this project.
Restoration and Ecosystem Recovery Dynamics in Arid and Semiarid Landscapes
Colorado Plateau Native Plant Program Field Trial Study
Dryland Forest Sustainability
Ecohydrology and Climate Change in Drylands
New Approaches for Restoring Colorado Plateau Grasslands
Plant Responses to Drought and Climate Change in the Southwestern United States
Aeolian Dust in Dryland Landscapes of the Western United States
Big Sagebrush Ecosystem Response to Climate & Disturbance
RAMPS is publishing papers relevant to land management and improving the condition of ecosystems in the Southwest. For quick briefs of these papers, visit the RAMPS Land Enhancement Information Portal.
Divergent climate change effects on widespread dryland plant communities driven by climatic and ecohydrological gradients
Sharing knowledge to improve ecological restoration outcomes
Dominant Sonoran Desert plant species have divergent phenological responses to climate change
Non-analog increases to air, surface, and belowground temperature extreme events due to climate change
Wildfire risk and hazardous fuel reduction treatments along the US-Mexico border: A review of the science (1985-2019)
Ecological forecasting—21st century science for 21st century management
Natural resource managers are coping with rapid changes in both environmental conditions and ecosystems. Enabled by recent advances in data collection and assimilation, short-term ecological forecasting may be a powerful tool to help resource managers anticipate impending near-term changes in ecosystem conditions or dynamics. Managers may use the information in forecasts to minimize the adverse ef
RestoreNet: An emerging restoration network reveals controls on seeding success across dryland ecosystems
Robust ecological drought projections for drylands in the 21st century
Low stand density moderates growth declines during hot droughts in semi-arid forests
The right trait in the right place at the right time: Matching traits to environment improves restoration outcomes
Assessment of population genetics and climatic variability can refine climate‐informed seed transfer guidelines
Bridging the research-management gap: Landscape ecology in practice on public lands in the western United States
The Restoration Assessment and Monitoring Program for the Southwest (RAMPS) supports land management by offering the latest science relevant that can be incorporated into decision making today.
Below are partners associated with this project.
The Restoration Assessment and Monitoring Program for the Southwest (RAMPS) seeks to assist U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) and other land management agencies in developing successful techniques for improving land condition in dryland ecosystems of the southwestern United States. Invasion by non-native species, wildfire, drought, and other disturbances are growing rapidly in extent and frequency, creating novel ecosystem conditions that can outpace the knowledge base of local land managers. These growing problems often cross administrative boundaries, requiring agencies to proactively work together. In light of these challenges, managers can benefit from collaborative, innovative, and dynamic approaches to sharing information. To meet this need, RAMPS has created a hub for science-based information and tools to help managers identify effective and resource-efficient strategies to successfully restore degraded areas.
RAMPS Research
The latest in drylands restoration
Research for management
Read & use in 10 minutes!
Arid Grassland Climate Adaptation Menu
Seed Technology Training Course
RestoreNet - Guidance for revegetation in the SW
RAMPS SOLUTIONS FOR MANAGING CHALLENGING DRYLAND ECOSYSTEMS
Stakeholder engagement
PROBLEM: The importance of knowledge sharing and collaboration is well-understood. The importance of knowledge sharing and collaboration is well-understood. However, managers and scientists are often time-limited and intentions to build partnerships suffers as a result.
SOLUTION: RAMPS projects are multi-disciplinary, collaborative, and co-created. RAMPS identifies systemic gaps in restoration knowledge and develops projects and creative solutions that create new insight using scientifically-credible research. Through these solutions, RAMPS increases skills, knowledge, and expertise needed to manage public lands across the Southwest.
EXAMPLES: Symposia and meetings, peer-to-peer knowledge sharing, facilitation and collaboration, training and education
Research
PROBLEM: Several obstacles prevent land managers from implementing successful land treatments, including a lack of: information on costs relative to outcomes, post-treatment monitoring data, and science-informed innovation.
SOLUTION: RAMPS uses state-of-the-art scientific analysis and tools to increase the efficacy of land treatments across waterlimited ecosystems and finds innovative approaches to mitigate large disturbances. Through these solutions, RAMPS ensures progress in planning and implementing projects, and provides guidance and support for monitoring and adaptive management.
EXAMPLES: Data synthesis and integration, cost-benefit analysis, site re-visits, experimentation, energy development and reclamation best management practices, invasive species management, wildfire recovery
Decision support
PROBLEM: Scientific advancements can be difficult for land managers to access and incorporate into their project planning.
SOLUTION: RAMPS provides decision support via tools, protocols, and science delivery portals. This support distills scientific findings into readily accessible information on when, where, and how to restore. Through these solutions, RAMPS helps bridge the science-land management gap.
EXAMPLES:RAMPS news and information, decision-support tools, newsletters and social media, information briefs, guidance on restoration techniques, and monitoring guidance
Below are other science projects associated with this project.
Restoration and Ecosystem Recovery Dynamics in Arid and Semiarid Landscapes
Colorado Plateau Native Plant Program Field Trial Study
Dryland Forest Sustainability
Ecohydrology and Climate Change in Drylands
New Approaches for Restoring Colorado Plateau Grasslands
Plant Responses to Drought and Climate Change in the Southwestern United States
Aeolian Dust in Dryland Landscapes of the Western United States
Big Sagebrush Ecosystem Response to Climate & Disturbance
RAMPS is publishing papers relevant to land management and improving the condition of ecosystems in the Southwest. For quick briefs of these papers, visit the RAMPS Land Enhancement Information Portal.
Divergent climate change effects on widespread dryland plant communities driven by climatic and ecohydrological gradients
Sharing knowledge to improve ecological restoration outcomes
Dominant Sonoran Desert plant species have divergent phenological responses to climate change
Non-analog increases to air, surface, and belowground temperature extreme events due to climate change
Wildfire risk and hazardous fuel reduction treatments along the US-Mexico border: A review of the science (1985-2019)
Ecological forecasting—21st century science for 21st century management
Natural resource managers are coping with rapid changes in both environmental conditions and ecosystems. Enabled by recent advances in data collection and assimilation, short-term ecological forecasting may be a powerful tool to help resource managers anticipate impending near-term changes in ecosystem conditions or dynamics. Managers may use the information in forecasts to minimize the adverse ef
RestoreNet: An emerging restoration network reveals controls on seeding success across dryland ecosystems
Robust ecological drought projections for drylands in the 21st century
Low stand density moderates growth declines during hot droughts in semi-arid forests
The right trait in the right place at the right time: Matching traits to environment improves restoration outcomes
Assessment of population genetics and climatic variability can refine climate‐informed seed transfer guidelines
Bridging the research-management gap: Landscape ecology in practice on public lands in the western United States
The Restoration Assessment and Monitoring Program for the Southwest (RAMPS) supports land management by offering the latest science relevant that can be incorporated into decision making today.
Below are partners associated with this project.