Opening Letter

Hello and happy fall!

Since our last newsletter in the spring, we finished installing RestoreNet version 2.0 with targeted livestock treatments and topsoil inoculations at five sites, presented multiple talks at conferences, and participated in the 2024 USGS Flagstaff Science Center Open House. We are excited to share project and research updates with you, and as always, please reach out if you have any questions or would like to collaborate:

Laura Shriver
RAMPS Coordinator
lshriver@usgs.gov

In the Field

Society for Ecological Restoration Conference: Santa Rita Experimental Range Site Visit

In September 2024, RAMPS personnel Laura Shriver and Sarah Costanzo attended the Society for Ecological Restoration – Southwest Chapter 2024 Annual Conference in Tucson, Arizona. During this conference, Laura Shriver gave a presentation entitled “Seed coat treatments expand emergence window of dominant Intermountain West grasses under different regimes of water availability”, and Sarah Costanzo gave a presentation entitled “A review on treatment effectiveness to reduce fire-prone invasive grasses in the western U.S.” and presented a poster entitled “RestoreNet 2.0: Using seedballs, microbes, pits, and livestock for dryland restoration in the Southwest.” Additionally, our collaborators Megan Korte of Northern Arizona University and Lia Ossanna of the University of Arizona presented climate analyses of RestoreNet version 1.0 (2018 – 2022) data entitled “Climate resilient restoration: leveraging the mismatch between species climatic niches and site conditions”, and “Weedy vs. native plant response to intra- and inter-annual precipitation variation following restoration seeding in drylands”.

At the conference, we also joined a field trip to the Santa Rita Experimental Range (SRER) led by Elise Gornish of the University of Arizona. Laura and Sarah led a visit to the RestoreNet site at SRER, summarizing RestoreNet version 1.0 results, and showcasing newly installed RestoreNet version 2.0 treatments.

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Albert Klein (University of Arizona) shows the pollinator garden designed and installed by University of Arizona students at the Santa Rita Experimental Range.

Finished Installing RestoreNet Version 2.0 with Livestock Treatments

In 2023, RAMPS and collaborators received a Western Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (WSARE) grant to incorporate live topsoil inoculation, seedballs, soil pits, and targeted livestock treatments into RestoreNet seeding treatments. These treatments are designed to improve seeding success and soil health in restoration experiments throughout the Southwest. Read more about the experiment in the Fall 2023 RAMPS Newsletter and Spring 2024 RAMPS Newsletter.

We are happy to announce that we have finished every installation for this project and collected initial fall 2024 monitoring data. RestoreNet has always been highly collaborative, and this project was no different. Our project partners from Colorado State University, Northern Arizona University, University of Arizona, and New Mexico State University were instrumental in designing and installing treatments. The land managers and land owners at Diablo Trust, the Tonto National Forest, the Canyonlands Research Center, the Santa Rita Experimental Range, and the Jornada Experimental Range generated innovative ideas to test and solutions to logistical challenges, as well as helped successfully implement targeted livestock treatments. We are looking forward to continuing working with our partners to monitor these experiments and share results on cutting-edge dryland restoration treatments with the research and restoration community.

Project Highlights

Seed Coat Experiments

Seed-based restoration is widely implemented to recover degraded drylands in the Western U.S., but seeding efforts often result in low germination and establishment. This may be due to a myriad of factors, including improper site preparation and seeding practices, unfavorable climatic and environmental conditions, competition from other plants including invasive species, and seed biology. Seed coats, which are artificial treatments applied to seeds, may help seeds overcome these barriers by improving germination, increasing seedling vigor, and buffering environmental stress. In 2024, the USGS experimented with several seed coats designed to improve restoration outcomes by expanding the window of germination. Our project partners in Matt Madsen’s lab at Brigham Young University applied seed coats designed to accelerate or delay germination for four native perennial grasses that are commonly used for restoration in the Intermountain West. We then subjected these seeds to different watering regimes at the Northern Arizona University research greenhouse that were designed to mimic variable precipitation patterns under various climate scenarios. Over 10 weeks, we collected data on emergence timing and abundance, growth rate, plant size, and drought tolerance. Laura Shriver presented the initial results from this project at the Society for Ecological Restoration – Southwest Chapter Annual Conference in September 2024, and RAMPS is working on publishing these results and their implications for seed-based dryland restoration.

USGS Open House

Laura Shriver led a booth on soils and restoration at the USGS Flagstaff Science Campus Open House in September, 2024. The booth featured native plant seed, a biocrust display, a soil texturing activity, and handouts about biocrusts and RestoreNet. The event was open to the public, and people of all ages in the Flagstaff community came to learn about USGS work in astrogeology, lunar rovers, water science, and dryland restoration.

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Laura Shriver at the soil and restoration science booth at the USGS Flagstaff Science Center Open House. The booth included native seeds, biocrusts, a soil texturing activity, and science brief handouts.

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USGS Flagstaff Science Campus Group Photo.

Research Updates - New Publications

Annotated bibliography of research relevant to oil and gas reclamation in the Western U.S.

In this report, RAMPS researchers and university partners summarized scientific research relevant to oil and gas reclamation in the western U.S. in an annotated bibliography. The studies summarized in the report may inform planning and management actions for oil and gas reclamation.

CITATION: Mann, R.K., McCormick, M.L., Munson, S.M., Cooper, H.F., Bryant, L.C., Swenson, J.K., Johnston, L.A., Wilson, S.L. and Duniway, M.C., 2024. Annotated bibliography of scientific research relevant to oil and gas reclamation best management practices in the western United States, published from 1969 through 2020 (No. 2023-1068). US Geological Survey.

How do dryland soils recover after disturbance on the Colorado Plateau?

This study, led by the USGS with university and federal partners, explored the time required for dryland soils to recover to undisturbed conditions after oil and gas reclamation and identify factors that affect reclamation outcomes on the Colorado Plateau. They found that the predicted time to total soil recovery was 96 years, and that site aridity was the largest predictor of reclamation outcomes, but effects differed by soil type.

CITATION: Eckhoff, K.D., Reed, S.C., Bradford, J.B., Daly, N.C., Griffen, K., Reibold, R., Lupardus, R., Munson, S.M., Sengsirirak, A., Villarreal, M.L. and Duniway, M.C., 2024. Dryland soil recovery after disturbance across soil and climate gradients of the Colorado Plateau. Science of The Total Environment, 932, p.172976.

Predicting the effects of solar energy development on plants and wildlife in the desert Southwest

In this study, a team of USGS scientists led by Claire Karban explored the effects of solar energy development on plants and wildlife in the desert southwest. They found that solar energy development may impact native species with specialized niches, can facilitate the spread of invasive species, and that there are opportunities to mitigate impacts during facility development and operation.

CITATION: Karban, C.C., Lovich, J.E., Grodsky, S.M. and Munson, S.M., 2024. Predicting the effects of solar energy development on plants and wildlife in the Desert Southwest, United States. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 205, p.114823.

What drives non-native plant invasion after fire in the western U.S.?

This study, led by USGS researchers, examined the patterns and predictors of non-native plant invasion following fire across the western U.S. They found that the post-fire cover of non-native plants varied by plant functional type and climate, with a potential for increasing post-fire invasion risk at higher elevations and latitudes from 2041-2100. These findings highlight priorities for mitigation, monitoring, and restoration efforts to reduce post-fire plant invasion risk across the western U.S.

CITATION: Prevéy, J.S., Jarnevich, C.S., Pearse, I.S., Munson, S.M., Stevens, J.T., Barrett, K.J., Coop, J.D., Day, M.A., Firmage, D., Fornwalt, P.J. and Haynes, K.M., 2024. Non-native plant invasion after fire in western USA varies by functional type and with climate. Biological Invasions, 26(4), pp.1157-1179.

RAMPS is a program of the USGS Southwest Biological Science Center located in Flagstaff, AZ

RAMPS engages stakeholders within the U.S. Department of the Interior, other federal and state agencies, Tribal governments, and on private lands to provide guidance and support for effective restoration strategies across the southwestern U.S. The RAMPS network consists of over 500 individuals representing 50+ agencies, organizations, and universities working together to increase land productivity and reduce threats posed by environmental hazards. 

To sign up to the RAMPS listserv, click here.