Source: UTAH STATE UNIVERSITY submitted to NRP
REPRODUCTIVE ECOLOGY AND RECRUITMENT OF UTAH RANGELAND PLANTS
Sponsoring Institution
National Institute of Food and Agriculture
Project Status
COMPLETE
Funding Source
HATCH
Reporting Frequency
Annual
Accession No.
0221870
Grant No.
(N/A)
Cumulative Award Amt.
(N/A)
Proposal No.
(N/A)
Multistate No.
(N/A)
Project Start Date
Jul 1, 2010
Project End Date
Jun 30, 2015
Grant Year
(N/A)
Program Code
[(N/A)]- (N/A)
Recipient Organization
UTAH STATE UNIVERSITY
(N/A)
LOGAN,UT 84322
Performing Department
Wildland Resources
Non Technical Summary
Productive, healthy rangelands are critical for maintaining healthy rural communities in Utah and elsewhere in the Intermountain West. They support livestock grazing and herds of big game; provide clean water, natural resources of economic value, and recreational opportunities; and much more. Unfortunately, healthy Utah rangelands face a multitude of challenges, including invasion by exotic weeds, expansion of pinyon-juniper woodlands into sagebrush shrublands, increasing fire frequency and extent, frequently unregulated recreation, and intense droughts. Land management in the face of such challenges requires scientific knowledge of the ecology of rangelands, especially the ecology of both desirable and undesirable plant species. Rangeland plant ecology historically focused on larger-scale community ecology: for example, the species composition of a community or the percent cover of particular species. However, in the last decades it has become increasingly clear that a better understanding of what limits the recruitment of new plants into populations is crucial for understanding the dynamics of populations and communities, the recovery of damaged ecosystems, and the maintenance of healthy rangelands. Nonetheless, even today relatively little research focuses on the critical stages of seed production, seed survival, and seedling emergence and survival, the stages where the vast majority of recruitment failure occurs. Gaining a better understanding of these stages and where limitations to recruitment occur can inform management decisions that contribute to increasing the health of rangelands.
Animal Health Component
(N/A)
Research Effort Categories
Basic
(N/A)
Applied
(N/A)
Developmental
(N/A)
Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)Subject of Investigation (SOI)Field of Science (FOS)Percent
1210799106050%
1210799107050%
Knowledge Area
121 - Management of Range Resources;

Subject Of Investigation
0799 - Rangelands and grasslands, general;

Field Of Science
1060 - Biology (whole systems); 1070 - Ecology;
Goals / Objectives
In this project I propose to address three related primary objectives in three distinct ecological rangeland systems. The first study system involves the long-term monitoring of post-drought patterns of tree recruitment in pinon-juniper woodlands across an elevation gradient that is a surrogate for a climate gradient. This aspect is a minor but very important part of the project because it continues to gather valuable data on a system that has been studied for the past 5 years. This information will inform post-drought management plans for 8,948,000 acres of Utah woodlands and as such it can contribute to a change in actions and, ultimately, a change in condition of the land. The second study system addresses the challenge of re-establishing desirable perennial grasses in degraded sagebrush ecosystems that have low densities of perennials and high densities of the invasive annual cheatgrass, a common condition of Utah sagebrush rangelands. Establishing perennials in these systems will improve forage for livestock and wildlife, improve the ability of rangelands to recover from fire, improve the quality and quantity of water delivered from rangelands, reduce erosion and dust generation, and more, all of which are beneficial to both rural and urban communities. The third study system focuses on recovery of a federally-listed plant species in the Uintah Basin. The shrubby reed-mustard (Glaucocarpum [=Schoenocrambe] suffrutescens) is found only in Duchesne and Uintah Counties, Utah, and occurs on lands that are used for grazing and for energy development. Because virtually nothing is known about the species it is difficult to develop a valid recovery plan and until it is determined what activities do and do not negatively impact population size both grazing and energy exploration activities are limited. Of particular concern to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service are the reproductive biology, levels of seed production, and impacts of disturbances such as roads on seed production. Until more is known about these aspects of reproductive ecology use of these lands will continue to be limited. Objective 1: Monitor the spatial and temporal pattern of tree seedling recruitment in four woodland plots spanning a 350 m elevational gradient in the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument (GSENM). Objective 2: Experimentally assess the effects of vegetation management treatments (e.g. burning, thinning) and sowing treatments (e.g. nitrogen immobilization, pre-emergent herbicide application, activated carbon application) on the emergence and establishment of desirable perennial grass species seeded into degraded rangelands at Golden Spike National Historic Site. Objective 3: Experimentally investigate the breeding system (e.g. inbreeding vs outbreeding), seed production (quantity and quality), and the impacts of roads and the dust they create on seed production of the shrubby reed-mustard in the Uintah Basin.
Project Methods
Objective 1: We will continue monitoring 4, 0.5 ha woodland plots in the Circle Cliffs of GSENM for tree recruitment and mortality. Plots span a 350 m elevation range and all are on the same parent material. Objective 2: This study is at Golden Spike National Historic Site. Each of 4 replicates has 8 treatment plots (4 vegetation x 2 herbicide treatments). Each plot has 5 seeding treatments. Each vegetation treatment is randomly allocated to 2 of the 8 plots. Vegetation treatments are: 1) Control - sagebrush unmanipulated; 2) Burn, 100%; 3) Hand thin, 100%; 4) Hand thin, 50%. Two pre-emergent herbicide treatments will be randomly applied to 1 of the 2 plots receiving 1 vegetation treatment: (1) No Plateau and (2) With Plateau, 2 oz/acre. There will be 5 seed sowing treatments using a mix of 6 native grasses. Each treatment will be applied randomly to 1 of 5 subplots/plot. Treatments: 1) aerial sowing in fall; 2) aerial sowing on snow; 3) aerial with activated C; 4) aerial with sucrose; 5) aerial, raked into soil. Seeds will be sown at 600/m2, or 100/species/m2. Except for aerial on snow all sowing will be in fall. Aerial on snow will follow ground-covering snow. In each subplot a 1.5 m x 3.0 m sampling area will be marked for censusing perennials. Annuals will be censused in 2, 0.1 m x 0.1 m quadrats. We will collect data on density, size, and reproduction. In yr 2 seed pools will be sampled to determine effects of treatments on seed production of weeds and perennials. Establishment is expected to be low. If so, we will re-seed in yr 2 to test whether seeding over multiple years can accumulate desirable grasses and to determine whether differences in weed seed production in yr 1 affect perennial establishment in yr 2. We will re-seed all subplots with aerial seeding. Objective 3: In 3 populations 40 plants will be selected; on each we will use 4 branches, each for a pollination treatment, and enclose 3 in mesh bags before flower opening. In each treatment on each plant we will select 3 flowers to be treated: 1) Spontaneous selfing - flowers marked, bagged, and left unmanipulated; 2) Selfing - flowers marked, bagged, and pollinated from the same plant; 3) Outcrossing - as treatment #2 but from a different plant; 4) Open pollination - uses unbagged branch. Mature fruits will be collected and seeds counted and weighed. Subsamples will be germinated and grown in a greenhouse to quantify vigor. In the largest known population we will select 4 plots at each of 5 distance-from-road classes (0-100 m to 400-700 m). In each plot on 10 plants we will count a) flowers, b) initiated fruits and c) mature fruits, and will collect fruits and (d) count seeds and (e) calculate seed weight for each plant. We will regress these measures of reproduction against plant size to determine if plants nearer roads have less success for a given plant size than plants further from roads. In each plot we will also outcross flowers on 5 other plants and compare reproduction to observed plants. If control flowers have reduced success near roads but hand pollinated flower success is independent of distance it suggests disruption of pollination.

Progress 07/01/10 to 06/30/15

Outputs
Target Audience:Target Audience State, Federal, and NGO Land Managers, General Public Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Opportunities This project has provided training in field ecological research for five graduate students and four undergraduate technicians. Jan Summerhays, Alexandra Reinwald, and Jesse Poulos, MS students at USU, were primarily responsible for collecting the Golden Spike data; Summerhays and Reinwald completed theses with these data. Matt Lewis, MS student at USU, was primarily responsible for the shrubby reed-mustard data collection and wrote a thesis based on this work. Andrew Rayburn, Ph.D. student at USU, contributed to the Golden Spike and shrubby reed-mustard parts of this project. Corrin Liston, Kourtney Blanc, April Darger, and Shannon Kay, undergraduate students at USU, were research technicians working on all aspects of this project. This project has also provided professional development by sending four graduate students to present results of their research at international professional meetings. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Dissemination Results of this project have been disseminated through presentations of results at professional scientific meetings and peer-reviewed publications, through the presentation of final reports (e.g. final report for Golden Spike National Historic Site including recommendations for increasing the resilience of the native sagebrush ecosystem), through the production and depositing in Digital Commons of theses (making the information available free to anyone on earth with an internet connection), and through informal meetings with land managers (e.g. the BLM Ecologist for the Grand Staircase National Monument, Fish & Wildlife Service Botanists and Ecologists, etc.). What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Nothing Reported

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Accomplishments Objective 1: Monitor the spatial and temporal pattern of tree seedling recruitment in four woodland plots spanning a 350 m elevational gradient in the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument (GSENM). 1) Major activities completed: Downloaded climate data loggers twice per year and conducted a thorough census of all plots for mortality and recruitment annually. 2) Specific objectives met: located, mapped, permanently marked, and measured all new recruits to the four study plots. Recorded mortality of pinyon and juniper that died during project period. 3) Significant results achieved, including major findings, developments, or conclusions (both positive and negative): Patterns of recruitment and mortality continue to be irregular and linked to climate. During extremely dry periods when trees are stressed there can be elevated mortality of adult pinyon trees due to beetle infestation. Otherwise adult mortality is extremely rare. Recruitment depends on the coincidence of a good seed crop (which is an irregular occurrence) with a wet winter/spring. However, even when seedlings recruit, nearly all die; the only surviving recruits of either pinyon or juniper are in the higher elevation plot. 4) Key impacts or other accomplishments realized: Results continue to support the idea that there are pulses of recruitment during favorable years occurring against a backdrop of more or less continuous mortality. In addition, we have demonstrated that pinyon has the flexibility to germinate in spring or late summer depending on environmental conditions, while juniper appears to be constrained to germinating in spring - and late recruitment during monsoons is successful in terms of producing one year old established seedlings. These results support the importance of continuing this long-term ongoing study that will contribute to management decisions impacting 17,000,000 acres of woodlands in the western US, including large parts of Utah. Because woodland management is contentious, with some groups arguing for removal of most trees and others advocating preservation of all, reliable information on natural recruitment and mortality across a range of climatic conditions is critical. Because of the slow dynamics of these woodlands reliable data require long term studies. Objective 2: Experimentally assess the effects of vegetation management treatments (e.g. burning, thinning) and sowing treatments (e.g. nitrogen immobilization, pre-emergent herbicide application, activated carbon application) on the emergence and establishment of desirable perennial grass species seeded into degraded rangelands at Golden Spike National Historic Site. 1) Major activities completed: Conducted field, greenhouse, and laboratory work; produced two theses, a document of management guidelines, and a draft manuscript. 2) Specific objectives met: Applied treatments, assessed effects on nutrients, censused emergence and survival of weeds and desirable perennial grasses, and assessed the seed bank. 3) Significant results achieved, including major findings, developments, or conclusions (both positive and negative): We have demonstrated that despite a low density and diversity of desirable perennials above ground there is a very diverse seed bank that might help improve the health of the sagebrush community; that there are management options (nutrient immobilization, pre-emergent herbicide application) that severely impact cheatgrass emergence, growth, and seed production and open a narrow but critical window for perennial establishment; that perennial emergence is negatively associated with cheatgrass density and biomass; and that repeated seeding over multiple years improves the success of perennial establishment. 4) Key impacts or other accomplishments realized: These results help with restoration and management decisions on nearly 100,000,000 acres of cheatgrass-invaded rangelands in the western US. In particular, our work has led to increased work on the potential use of pre-emergent herbicides as a restoration tool and increased consideration of the advantages of multi-year seeding in rangelands where emergence is unpredictable. Objective 3: Experimentally investigate the breeding system (e.g. inbreeding vs outbreeding), seed production (quantity and quality), and the impacts of roads and the dust they create on seed production of the shrubby reed-mustard in the Uintah Basin. 1) Major activities completed: Conducted field, greenhouse, and laboratory work; produced a thesis; published a peer-reviewed journal article and produced a draft manuscript for another. 2) Specific objectives met: Determined the breeding system, quantified pollen limitation, quantified the impact of road dust on seed production. 3) Significant results achieved, including major findings, developments, or conclusions (both positive and negative): We demonstrated that this federally listed endangered species is self-incompatible and requires pollinators, that it is pollinator limited (produces fewer seeds with natural pollination than with supplemental pollination), and that road dust significantly reduces reproductive success. Results support management concerns about proliferation of dirt roads for energy development near populations. Our precise mapping of a large portion of the known populations of this species provides information for land managers seeking to protect the species while allowing resource use. 4) Key impacts or other accomplishments realized: These results contribute to the development of management plans that allow for continued oil and natural gas extraction and livestock grazing while reducing threats to this endangered plant species. In particular, results demonstrate that pollinators also must be protected and that dust must be managed to minimize impacts of resource development. In sum, all parts of this project have contributed to a Change in Knowledge that is critical for wise land management. Although an understanding of the ecological processes addressed in this project and changes in management paradigms develop relatively slowly, knowledge that we are producing contribute to a Change in Actions and, ultimately, to a Change in Condition of the land and of the rural and urban communities deriving diverse values from healthy rangelands. This project has also contributed to a Change in Condition by adding to our basic ecological understanding of plant recruitment in semiarid environments.

Publications


    Progress 10/01/13 to 09/30/14

    Outputs
    Target Audience: Target Audience State, Federal, and NGO Land Managers, General Public Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Opportunities This project since its inception has provided training in field ecological research for three graduate students and at least six undergraduate technicians. It has also provided professional development by sending three graduate students to present results of their research at international professional meetings, although not in 2014. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Dissemination Results of this project have been disseminated through presentations of results at professional scientific meetings and peer-reviewed publications, through the presentation of final reports (e.g. final report for Golden Spike National Historic Site including recommendations for increasing the resilience of the native sagebrush ecosystem), and through informal meetings with land managers (e.g. the BLM Ecologist for the Grand Staircase National Monument). What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Plan of Work 1) Continue to monitor recruitment and survival of the natural woodland stands. This will involve censusing for mortality and locating, marking, measuring and mapping the locations of new recruits. It will also involve downloading data loggers recording temperature and relative humidity periodically. This work is related to Objective 1. 2) Use a published technique to estimate pinyon cone production over the preceding decade across the elevational gradient of the pinyon-juniper woodland study to better understand recruitment and its limitation. This work also is related to Objective 1. 3) Re-measure the Golden Spike National Historic Site plots for perennial grass recruitment success. The primary purpose of this continued sampling is to determine whether multiple years of seeding perennial grasses results in significantly greater recruitment success and thus is a viable approach in harsh sites where only limited recruitment is expected in any given year. This work is related to Objective 2. 4) Continue with preparation of peer-reviewed publications. This work is related to Objectives 1, 2, and 3.

    Impacts
    What was accomplished under these goals? Accomplishments Objective 1: Monitor the spatial and temporal pattern of tree seedling recruitment in four woodland plots spanning a 350 m elevational gradient in the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument (GSENM). 1) Major activities completed: Downloaded climate data loggers twice and conducted a thorough census of all plots for mortality and recruitment. 2) Specific objectives met: located, mapped, permanently marked, and measured all new recruits to the four study plots. Recorded mortality of pinyon and juniper seedlings that died since last census. 3) Significant results achieved, including major findings, developments, or conclusions (both positive and negative): Only 12 of 30 pinyon seedlings (40%) that recruited into the highest elevation plot in 2013 are still surviving. There is little evidence that over the short-term the microhabitat of a seedling affects survival: 14 seedlings recruited under pinyon pine canopies, 6 of which survived; 15 seedlings recruited under juniper canopies, 5 of which survived; 1 seedling recruited in open interspaces and it is still alive. Although sample sizes are small, these subtle differences in survival appear to be statistically and biologically unimportant. No plants older than the 2013 cohort died over the year. 4) Key impacts or other accomplishments realized: In the woodland study our results continue to support the idea that there are pulses of recruitment during favorable years occurring against a backdrop of more or less continuous mortality. In addition, we have demonstrated that pinyon has the flexibility to germinate in spring or late summer depending on environmental conditions, while juniper appears to be constrained to germinating in spring - and late recruitment during monsoons is successful in terms of producing one year old established seedlings. These results support the importance of continuing this long-term ongoing study that will contribute to management decisions impacting 17,000,000 acres of woodlands in the western US, including large parts of Utah. Because woodland management is contentious, with some groups arguing for removal of most trees and others advocating preservation of all, reliable information on natural recruitment and mortality across a range of climatic conditions is critical. Because of the slow dynamics of these woodlands reliable data require longterm studies. Objective 2: Experimentally assess the effects of vegetation management treatments (e.g. burning, thinning) and sowing treatments (e.g. nitrogen immobilization, pre-emergent herbicide application, activated carbon application) on the emergence and establishment of desirable perennial grass species seeded into degraded rangelands at Golden Spike National Historic Site. This objective, as outlined in the proposal, has been completed. However, a reconnaissance of the plots in 2014 in order to determine whether continued sampling is justified was made. Low-level preliminary sampling suggests that more thorough sampling of the part of the experiment focusing on repeated seeding versus one-time seeding is justified for 2015, and perhaps longer (project renewal). Objective 3: Experimentally investigate the breeding system (e.g. inbreeding vs outbreeding), seed production (quantity and quality), and the impacts of roads and the dust they create on seed production of the shrubby reed-mustard in the Uintah Basin. This objective has been completed in terms of providing a final report to the Bureau of Land Management and The Fish & Wildlife Service. However, dissemination continues: one chapter of the M.S. thesis coming from this objective is in press and a second is being revised for submission.

    Publications

    • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: Lewis, M. B., Schupp, E. W. (2014). Reproductive ecology of the endangered Utah endemic Hesperidanthus suffrutescens with implications for conservation. The American Midland Naturalist, 172, 236-251.
    • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: McIver, J., Brunson, M. W., Bunting, S., Chambers, J., Doescher, P., Grace, J., Hulet, A., Knick, S., Miller, R., Pierson, F., Pyke, D., Rau, B., Rollins, K., Roundy, B., Schupp, E. W., Tausch, R., Williams, J. (2014). A synopsis of short-term response to alternative restoration treatments in sagebrush steppe: the SageSTEP project. Rangeland Ecology & Management, 67(5).
    • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: Poulos, J. M., Rayburn, A. P., Schupp, E. W. (2014). Simultaneous, independent, and additive effects of shrub facilitation and understory competition on the survival of a native forb (Penstemon palmeri). Plant Ecology, 215, 417-426.
    • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: Pyke, D. A., Shaff, S. E., Lindgren, A. I., Schupp, E. W., Doescher, P. S., Chambers, J. C., Burnham, J. S., Huso, M. M. (2014). Region-wide ecological responses of arid Wyoming big sagebrush communities to fuel treatments. Rangeland Ecology and Management, 67, 455-467.
    • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: Refereed Journal Articles Chambers, J. C., Miller, R. F., Board, D. I., Pyke, D. A., Roundy, B. A., Grace, J. B., Schupp, E. W., Tausch, R. J. (2014). Resilience and resistance of sagebrush ecosystems: Implications for state and transition models and management treatments. Rangeland Ecology and Management, 67, 440-454.
    • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: Rau, B. M., Chambers, J. C., Pyke, D. A., Roundy, B. A., Schupp, E. W., Doescher, P. S., Caldwell, T. G. (2014). Soil resources influence vegetation and response to fire and fire-surrogate treatments in sagebrush-steppe ecosystems. Rangeland Ecology and Management, 67, 506-521.
    • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: Rayburn, A. P., Schupp, E. W., Kay, S. (2014). Effects of perennial semi-arid bunchgrass spatial patterns on performance of the invasive annual cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum L.). Plant Ecology, 215, 247-251.
    • Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: Van Scoyoc, M., Schupp, E. W. (2014). A quantitative approach to the development of ecological sites and state-and-transition models. Logan, UT: Utah State University.
    • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2014 Citation: Presentations Chambers, J. C. (Presenter & Author), Miller, R. F. (Author Only), Board, D. I. (Author Only), Pyke, D. A. (Author Only), Roundy, B. A. (Author Only), Grace, J. B. (Author Only), Schupp, E. W. (Author Only), Tausch, R. J. (Author Only), IUFRO World Congress, "Resilience to Disturbance and Management Treatments and Resistance to Invasive Annual Plants in Sagebrush and Pi�on Pine/Juniper Ecosystems," IUFRO and Society of American Foresters, Salt Lake City, UT. (October 2014)
    • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2014 Citation: Davis, M. L. (Presenter & Author), Schupp, E. W. (Author Only), Burnham, J. (Author Only), Chambers, J. C. (Author Only), Doescher, P. S. (Author Only), Pyke, D. A. (Author Only), Shaff, S. E. (Author Only), Annual Meetings of the Ecological Society of America, "Imazapic interacts with perennial grass cover to mediate cheatgrass cover after fuels reduction treatments in arid Wyoming big sagebrush sites," Ecological Society of America, Sacramento, California. (August 2014)
    • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2014 Citation: Pyke, D. A. (Presenter & Author), Knick, S. T. (Author Only), Chambers, J. C. (Author Only), Pellant, M. (Author Only), Beck, J. L. (Author Only), Schupp, E. W. (Author Only), Doescher, P. S. (Author Only), Annual Meetings of the Ecological Society of America, "Restoration of Greater Sage-Grouse habitat: a framework for landscape and site-specific decisions," Ecological Society of America, Sacramento, California. (August 2014)
    • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2014 Citation: Schupp, E. W. (Presenter & Author), Large Wildland Fires: Social, Political and Ecological Effects, "SageSTEP: Short-term vegetation responses to fuels treatments in sagebrush ecosystems," Association for Fire Ecology/International Association of Wildland Fires, Missoula, MT. (May 22, 2014)


    Progress 01/01/13 to 09/30/13

    Outputs
    Target Audience: State, Federal, and NGO Land Managers, General Public Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? This project since its inception has provided training in field ecological research for three graduate students and at least six undergraduate technicians. It has also provided professional development by sending three graduate students to present results of their research at international professional meetings, although not in 2013. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Results of this project have been disseminated through presentations of results at professional scientific meetings, through the presentation of final reports (e.g. final report for Golden Spike National Historic Site including recommendations for increasing the resilience of the native sagebrush ecosystem), and through informal meetings with land managers (e.g. the BLM Ecologist for the Grand Staircase National Monument). What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? 1) Continue to monitor recruitment and survival of the natural woodland stands. This will involve censusing for mortality and locating, marking, measuring and mapping the locations of new recruits. It will also involve downloading data loggers recording temperature and relative humidity periodically. This work is related to Objective 1. 2) Use a published technique to estimate pinyon cone production over the preceding decade across the elevational gradient of the pinyon-juniper woodland study to better understand recruitment and its limitation. This work also is related to Objective 1. 3) Re-measure the Golden Spike National Historic Site plots for perennial grass recruitment success. The primary purpose of this continued sampling is to determine whether multiple years of seeding perennial grasses results in significantly greater recruitment success and thus is a viable approach in harsh sites where only limited recruitment is expected in any given year. This work is related to Objective 2. 4) Continue with preparation of peer-reviewed publications. This work is related to Objectives 1, 2, and 3.

    Impacts
    What was accomplished under these goals? Objective 1: Monitor the spatial and temporal pattern of tree seedling recruitment in four woodland plots spanning a 350 m elevational gradient in the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument (GSENM). 1) Major activities completed: Downloaded climate data loggers twice and conducted a thorough census of all plots for mortality and recruitment. 2) Specific objectives met: located, mapped, permanently marked, and measured all new recruits to the four study plots. Recorded mortality of pinyon and juniper seedlings that died since last census. 3) Significant results achieved, including major findings, developments, or conclusions (both positive and negative): All seedlings of both juniper and pinyon that recruited in 2011 died in the lower three elevation plots (3 of each species). However, 2 of 8 pinyon seedlings that recruited in the higher elevation plot survived; both of these seedlings were growing beneath juniper adults. No older individuals died since the last intensive census conducted in fall 2011. In 2013 there was an additional bout of recruitment, but only in the highest elevation plot. Total seedling emergence recorded was 3 juniper in a single cache (probably by a rodent) and 27 pinyon emerging either singly or in clusters of two – all appeared to be cached by jays. All 3 juniper appear to have emerged in the spring and all were dead, likely due to drought because of the very dry winter and hot dry early summer. In contrast, there was no evidence that any pinyon emerged in the dry conditions of spring when germination is most typical. Instead, they were all very recently emerged in late September in response to unusually heavy monsoonal rains in late summer. 4) Key impacts or other accomplishments realized: In the woodland study our results continue to support the idea that there are pulses of recruitment during favorable years occurring against a backdrop of more or less continuous mortality. In addition, we have demonstrated that pinyon has the flexibility to germinate in spring or late summer depending on environmental conditions, while juniper appears to be constrained to germinating in spring. These results support the importance of continuing this long-term ongoing study that will contribute to management decisions impacting 17,000,000 acres of woodlands in the western US, including large parts of Utah. Because woodland management is contentious, with some groups arguing for removal of most trees and others advocating preservation of all, reliable information on natural recruitment and mortality across a range of climatic conditions is critical. Objective 2: Experimentally assess the effects of vegetation management treatments (e.g. burning, thinning) and sowing treatments (e.g. nitrogen immobilization, pre-emergent herbicide application, activated carbon application) on the emergence and establishment of desirable perennial grass species seeded into degraded rangelands at Golden Spike National Historic Site. No work was performed on this objective during the current year. A reconnaissance of the plots in order to plan a sampling strategy for 2014 was planned I October but the Government shutdown precluded this trip. Objective 3: Experimentally investigate the breeding system (e.g. inbreeding vs outbreeding), seed production (quantity and quality), and the impacts of roads and the dust they create on seed production of the shrubby reed-mustard in the Uintah Basin. This objective has been completed.

    Publications

    • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2013 Citation: Langton, A. (Presenter & Author), Schupp, E. W. (Author Only), Annual Meetings of the Ecological Society of America, "Reproductive Strategy of Phacelia submutica (Boraginaceae; Formerly in Hydrophyllaceae), a Threatened Plant Species in Western Colorado," Ecological Society of America, Minneapolis, Minnesota. (August 6, 2013)
    • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Rayburn, A. P., Davidson, J. B., Schupp, E. W. (2013). Effect of storage time, site, and floral morph on seed germination of the threatened distylous primrose Primula cusickiana var. maguirei. Plant Species Biology, 28, 101-108.
    • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2013 Citation: Schupp, E. W. (Author Only), Van Scoyoc, M. (Presenter & Author), Annual Meetings of the Ecological Society of America, "Assessing Ecosystem Health Using the Ecological Site Framework in the absence of Ecological Site Descriptions," Ecological Society of America, Minneapolis, Minnesota. (August 8, 2013)
    • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2013 Citation: Kristen, P. M. (Author Only), Schupp, E. W. (Presenter & Author), Annual Meetings of the Ecological Society of America, "Effects of Sagebrush Fire and Fire Surrogate Treatments on a Great Basin Seed Bank Community," Ecological Society of America, Minneapolis, Minnesota. (August 8, 2013)
    • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Ostoja, S. M., Schupp, E. W., Klinger, R., Durham, S. (2013). Seed harvesting is influenced by associational effects in mixed seed neighbourhoods, not just by seed density. Functional Ecology, 27, 775-785.
    • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Ostoja, S. M., Schupp, E. W., Klinger, R. C. (2013). Seed harvesting by a generalist consumer is context dependent: Interactive effects across multiple spatial scales. Oikos, 122, 563574.
    • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Pekas, K. M., Schupp, E. W. (2013). Influence of aboveground vegetation on seed bank composition and distribution in a Great Basin Desert sagebrush community. Journal of Arid Environments, 88, 113-120.
    • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Rayburn, A. P., Schupp, E. W. (2013). Effects of plant spatial patterns on ecological processes in experimental semiarid grassland communities. Oecologia.


    Progress 01/01/12 to 12/31/12

    Outputs
    OUTPUTS: Outputs were largely Activities. In the pinyon juniper woodland part of this study we censused last year's new recruits for survival and searched unsuccessfully for new recruits. We also downloaded data loggers in each of the four plots for temperature and relative humidity twice. For the shrubby reed-mustard study we conducted pollinator censuses to add to the information collected in the major part of the study over the previous two years, mapped the locations of more individuals in our three populations, and conducted final analyses and began writing results. For the Golden Spike National Historic Site (GSNHS) study we censused our new experiment to determine if sowing with seeds embedded in "seed balls" constructed of varying mixtures of clay and compost and improve the success of surface seeding. Analyses for this study are ongoing. The seed bank study and seedling emergence study were also thoroughly analyzed during 2012 and writing was initiated. Lastly, In addition to Activities there were some important Products produced. In the past year two M.S. students (Matthew Lewis, working on the shrubby reed-mustard study, and Alexandra Reinwald, working on the GSNHS study) successfully defended their theses as part of their degrees in Ecology. In addition detailed results and interpretation of our investigations into treatment effects on nutrient dynamics and on cheatgrass dynamics were presented to the National Park Service (Golden Spike) in the form of a thesis. A second thesis associated with this project will be delivered in early 2013 and a more succinct report on implications that will be more accessible and interpretable to land managers is being prepared. In addition, a thesis on shrubby reed-mustard reproductive success will be delivered to the US Fish & Wildlife Service in early 2013. PARTICIPANTS: Dr. Eugene W. Schupp is the PI and participated in all aspects of this project. Drs. Steve Ostoja and Matt Brooks, USGS Western Ecological Research Center, helped with design of Golden Spike Experiments. Alexandra Reinwald and Jesse Poulos, MS candidates at USU, were primarily responsible for collecting and analyzing the GSNHS data. Matt Lewis, MS candidate at USU, was primarily responsible for the shrubby reed-mustard data collection and analyses. Kourtney Blanc, April Darger, and Shannon Kay, undergraduate students at USU, were research technicians working on all aspects of this project. Dr. Jose Maria Gomez, University of Granada, Spain, participated in the pinyon-juniper woodland part of the project. TARGET AUDIENCES: Bureau of Land Management, US Forest Service, National Park Service, State Agencies, academic community at large, and general public. Efforts have included discussions with land management agencies, University and Federal scientists, and formal classroom education for a general education class on Ecology for non-scientists. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.

    Impacts
    In the woodland study our results continue to support the idea that there are pulses of recruitment during favorable years occurring against a backdrop of continuous mortality; this supports the importance of continuing this long-term ongoing study that will contribute to management decisions impacting 17,000,000 acres of woodlands in the western US, including large parts of Utah. Because woodland management is contentious, with some groups arguing for removal of most trees and others advocating preservation of all, reliable information on natural recruitment and mortality across a range of climatic conditions is critical. In the endangered shrubby reed-mustard study our final conclusions that the species is largely self incompatible and requires pollinators, that it is pollinator limited (produces fewer seeds with natural pollination than with supplemental pollination), and that road dust significantly reduces photosynthesis and reproductive success all support management concerns about proliferation of dirt roads for energy development near populations. Our mapping of a large portion of the known populations of this species provides information for interpreting reproductive ecology results as analyses continue. These results will contribute to the development of management plans that allow for continued oil and natural gas extraction and livestock grazing in the Uintah Basin while reducing threats to this endangered plant species. The GSNHS study has demonstrated that despite a low density and diversity of desirable perennials above ground there is a very diverse seed bank that might help improve the health of the sagebrush community; that there are management options (nutrient immobilization, pre-emergent herbicide application) that severely impact cheatgrass emergence, growth, and seed production and open a narrow but critical window for perennial establishment; that perennial emergence is negatively associated with cheatgrass density and biomass; and that repeated seeding over multiple years improves the success pf perennial establishment. These results will help with restoration decisions on nearly 100,000,000 acres of cheatgrass-invaded rangelands in the western US. Thus, all parts of this project have contributed to a Change in Knowledge that is critical for wise land management. Although an understanding of the ecological processes addressed in this project and changes in management paradigms develop relatively slowly, knowledge that we are producing will contribute to a Change in Actions and, ultimately, to a Change in Condition of the land and of the rural and urban communities deriving diverse values from healthy rangelands. This project has also contributed to a Change in Condition by adding to our basic ecological understanding of plant recruitment in semiarid environments and by contributing to the development of human resources through providing training in applied ecology to 2 MS and 3 undergraduate students during the past year alone.

    Publications

    • Pekas, K. M., & Schupp, E. W.. (2012) Influence of aboveground vegetation on seed bank compositio


    Progress 01/01/11 to 12/31/11

    Outputs
    OUTPUTS: Outputs were predominantly Activities. In the pinyon juniper woodland part of this study we conducted our biannual census of the four plots noting dead individuals and marking, measuring, and mapping new recruits. We also downloaded data loggers for temperature and relative humidity twice. In addition, we finished cleaning harvested juniper seeds for future experiments. For the shrubby reed-mustard study we conducted breeding system experiments, conducted pollinator censuses, and mapped the locations of several hundred additional individuals in our three populations. In the major population we also investigated the effects of plant spatial patterns and distance from roads on reproductive success, and conducted preliminary experiments on the effects of road dust deposition on fruit set and on gas exchange. Analyses are in progress. For the Golden Spike National Historic Site study we concluded the seed bank study, finally growing all unknown seedlings to reproductive stage to be identified. We also censused all plots for seedling emergence of both desirable perennials and undesirable weeds in early summer and re-seeded all plots once again with the 6-species native seed mixture in late October. Lastly, we initiated a new experiment to determine if sowing with seeds embedded in "seed balls" constructed of varying mixtures of clay and compost and improve the success of surface seeding. Analyses for this study are also ongoing. In addition to Activities there were some important Products produced. In the past year one M.S. student (Jan Summerhays) and one Ph.D. student (Andrew Rayburn) completed their degrees in Ecology in association with this project. In addition detailed results and interpretation of our investigations into treatment effects on nutrient dynamics and on cheatgrass dynamics were presented to the National Park Service (Golden Spike) in the form of a thesis; a more succinct report on implications that will be more accessible and interpretable to land managers is being prepared. PARTICIPANTS: Dr. Eugene W. Schupp is the PI and participated in all aspects of this project. Drs. Steve Ostoja and Matt Brooks, USGS Western Ecological Research Center, helped with design of Golden Spike Experiments. Jan Summerhays, Alexandra Reinwald, and Jesse Poulos, MS candidates at USU, were primarily responsible for collecting the Golden Spike data. Matt Lewis, MS candidate at USU, was primarily responsible for the shrubby reed-mustard data collection. Andrew Rayburn, Ph.D. candidate at USU, contributed to the Golden Spike and shrubby reed-mustard parts of this project. Corrin Liston, Kourtney Blanc, April Darger, and Shannon Kay, undergraduate students at USU, were research technicians working on all aspects of this project. Dr. Jose Maria Gomez, University of Granada, Spain, participated in the pinyon-juniper woodland part of the project. TARGET AUDIENCES: Bureau of Land Management, US Forest Service, National Park Service, State Agencies, academic community at large, and general public. Efforts have included discussions with land management agencies, University and Federal scientists, and formal classroom education for a general education class on Ecology for non-scientists. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.

    Impacts
    In the woodland study our discovery of new tree recruits (11 pinyon, 3 juniper) for the first time in 8 years of censuses while recording annual mortality contributes to an understanding of woodland dynamics. Observation of pulses of recruitment against a backdrop of continuous mortality is part of a long-term ongoing study that will contribute to management decisions impacting 17,000,000 acres of woodlands in the western US, including large parts of Utah. Because woodland management is contentious, with some groups arguing for removal of most trees and others advocating preservation of all, reliable information on natural recruitment and mortality across a range of climatic conditions is critical. In the endangered shrubby reed-mustard study our findings that the species is largely self incompatible and requires pollinators, that it is pollinator limited (produces fewer seeds with natural pollination than with supplemental pollination), and that road dust significantly reduces photosynthesis suggest supports manager concerns about proliferation of dirt roads for energy development near populations because of potential fragmentation effects on bee communities and dust effects on plant health. However, result showing road dust on flowers does not affect seed set relieves one concern about roads. Our mapping of a large portion of the known populations of this species provides information for interpreting reproductive ecology results as analyses continue. These results will contribute to the development of management plans for oil and natural gas extraction and livestock grazing in the Uintah Basin that do not threaten the extinction of this rare species. The Golden Spike study has demonstrated that despite a low density and diversity of desirable perennials above ground there is a very diverse seed bank that might help improve the health of the sagebrush community; that there are management options (nutrient immobilization, pre-emergent herbicide application) that severely impact cheatgrass emergence, growth, and seed production and open a narrow but critical window for perennial establishment; and that perennial emergence is negatively associated with cheatgrass density and biomass. These Golden Spike results will help with restoration decisions on nearly 100,000,000 acres of cheatgrass-invaded rangelands in the western US. Thus, all parts of this project have contributed to a Change in Knowledge that is critical for wise land management. Although an understanding of the ecological processes addressed in this project and changes in management paradigms develop relatively slowly, knowledge that we are producing will contribute to a Change in Actions and, ultimately, to a Change in Condition of the land and of the rural and urban communities deriving diverse values from healthy rangelands. This project has also contributed to a Change in Condition by adding to our basic ecological understanding of plant recruitment in semiarid environments and by contributing to the development of human resources through providing training in applied ecology to 1 PhD, 3 MS, and 4 undergraduate students during the past year.

    Publications

    • UTAO+1020 Schupp, E. W. (2011). Dispersal ability, plant. In Simberloff D. and M. Rejmanek (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Biological Invasions University of California Press: 159-165. (Published).
    • UTAO+1020 Summerhays, J., Schupp, E. W. (2011). Effects of non-surface-disturbing treatments for native grass revegetation on cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum L.) metrics and soil ion availabilities.. (Published).
    • UTAO+1020 Sivy, K. J., Ostoja, S. M., & Schupp, E. W., (2011). Effects of rodent species, seed species, and predator cues on seed fate: Acta Oecologica, 37: 321-328. (Published).
    • UTAO+1020 Rayburn, A. P., Schupp, E. W. (2011). Causes and consequences of plant spatial patterns in natural and experimental Great Basin plant Communities.. (Published).
    • UTAO+1020 Monaco, T. A., Schupp, E. W., Pendleton, R. L., Kitchen, S. G., & Palacios, P. K. (2011). Proceedings - Threats to Shrubland Ecosystem Integrity. S.J. and Jessie E. Quinney Natural Resources Research Library. Logan Utah. (Published).
    • UTAO+1020 Schupp, E. W., & Jordano, P., (2011). The full path of Janzen-Connell effects: genetic tracking of seeds to adult plant recruitment: Molecular Ecology, 20: 3953-3955. (Published).
    • UTAO+1020 Rau, B. M., Johnson, D. W., Blank, R. R., Lucchesi, A., Caldwell, T. G., & Schupp, E. W., (2011). Transition from sagebrush steppe to annual grass (Bromus tectorum): influence on belowground carbon and nitrogen: Rangeland Ecology and Management, 64: 139-147. (Published).
    • UTAO+1020 Rayburn, A. P., Schiffers, K. J., & Schupp, E. W., (2011). Use of precise spatial data for describing spatial patterns and plant interactions in a diverse Great Basin shrub community: Plant Ecology, 212: 585-594. (Published).


    Progress 01/01/10 to 12/31/10

    Outputs
    OUTPUTS: We have had few outputs in the period 1 July to 31 December. No work has been completed on the pinyon juniper woodland part of this study other than beginning to clean juniper seeds for future experiments. For the shrubby reed-mustard study we mapped the locations of 973 individuals in three populations in October with a survey quality GPS (spatial error < 3 cm). At Golden Spike National Historic Site we re-seeded all plots with the 6-species native seed mixture in late October. PARTICIPANTS: Dr. Steve Ostoja, USGS Western Ecological Research Center; Jan Summerhays, MS candidate USU; Alexandra Reinwald, MS candidate USU; Matt Lewis, MS candidate USU; Jared Stapp, undergraduate USU; Corrin Liston, undergraduate USU; Kourtney Blanc, undergraduate USU TARGET AUDIENCES: Bureau of Land Management, US Forest Service, National Park Service, State Agencies, academic community at large, and general public. Efforts have included discussions with land management agencies, University and Federal scientists, and formal classroom education for a general education class on Ecology for non-scientists. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.

    Impacts
    Mapping the precise locations of a large portion of the known populations of the endangered shrubby reed-mustard provides important information for interpreting the reproductive ecology results that will come in the following years and thus help develop compatible management plans for oil and natural gas extraction and livestock grazing in the Uintah Basin. Although no results are available yet on the seeding at Golden Spike, the results of this experiment will help with restoration decisions on nearly 100,000,000 acres of cheatgrass-invaded rangelands in the western US. Thus, we have laid the foundation for changing knowledge. The knowledge developed in this study will contribute to a change in actions and, ultimately, a change in condition of the land.

    Publications

    • Puerta-Pinero, C., Gomez, J., Schupp, E. 2010. Spatial patterns of acorn dispersal by rodents: does the environment matter? Oikos, Sweden, 119:179-187.
    • Schupp, E., Jordano, P., Gomez, J. 2010. Seed dispersal effectiveness revisited: a conceptual review. New Phytologist, UK, 188:333-353.