Progress 05/01/22 to 04/30/23
Outputs
Target Audience:A key element of this work is sharing results with managers and ranchers we collaborate with in Utah and across theUS West, plus sharing findings with managers and scientists more broadly. The leadership team at WLC, also strongly believes in mentoringyoung scientists hired for field crew and manager positions. We reached the following Target Audiences using the listed Efforts: 1. Local, state, and national ranchers: Extension & outreach: Presented at the Rich County Coordinated Resource management meetingto ~30 local & regional stakeholders. This is where local work on resource management is shared among partners. Attendees includeranchers, state & federal managers, non-profits, & universities (June 2022, April 2023). Research presentation to the La Sals Sustainability Coalition in Moab, UT. Lead Scientist (Dr. Kris Hulvey)joined the group'squarterly meeting to discuss possible collaboration that stems from the Three Creeks work(~25 attendees; July 2022). Annual report summing research results for BLM managers and Three Creeks LLC board(Aug 2022, April 2023). Lead Scientist (Dr. Kris Hulvey) presented at the Idaho Rangeland Center's Fall Forum(Pocatello, ID):Monitoring Conservation Outcomes: The Three Creeks Grazing Project (Oct 2022). Lead Scientist & Research Scientist presentedat the'A Community on Ecosystem Services' Conference (DC) (Dec 2022) Managing for multiple ecosysteem services in sei-arid rangelands The effects of livestock grazing on soil health and carbon in semi-arid rangelands Lead Scientist& Research Scientist presented at Society for Range Management Annual Meeting (Boise, ID) (Feb 2023). How do we manage for stacked ecosystem services in semi-arid rangelands? The effects of livestock grazing on soil organic carbon in semi-arid rangelands: A case study from northern Utah Lead Scientist & Research Scientistpresented at the West Box Elder Coordinated Resource Managementmeeting on soil health, soil carbon, and soil carbon sequestration (March 2023). 2. State and Federal rangeland managers (only unique activities listed below, some overlap with activities listed above) -Extension & outreach: Organized & participated in MIM training with BLM Riparian Specialist and Utah State University students (and field crew members), and WLC researchers (May 2022). Lead Scientist presented in a 2-day field tour organized by the BLM for Utah State University researchers. Discussed the Three Creeks Grazing Project and NIFA research to about 8 participants (Aug 2022). Lead Scientist & Research Scientist participated, presented & distributed a fact sheet focused on this NIFA research during a Sage-grouse Workshop Field Tour organized by the Utah Department of Wildlife. Discussed the Three Creeks Grazing Project and NIFA research with about 140 participants (Aug 2022). >20 meetings with Utah Grazing Improvement Program (Utah Dept of Ag and Food) Manager & NIFA collaborator Taylor Payne to discuss project logistics, potential future developments, applying for further project support, initial research results 1 meeting with BLM specialist about soil carbon sequestration in Utah rangelands. Throughout this reporting period, WLC scientistscontinued to develop a collaboration with NRCS scientists to partner on additional studies at our Three Creeks field site. This partnership will assess rangeland soil health and carbon sequestration across the Three Creeks area and will complement the work sponsored by this current NIFA project. WLC Research Scientist traveled to Missoula, MT (Jan/Feb 2023) to work with NRCS scientsits on their MIR instrument. This analysis technique complements our current technique for analyzing soils, which is cumbustion. 3. Postdoctoral students and other full time employees - Experiential learning opportunity: WLC Lead Scientistis mentoring one early career female scientist to join our team (May 2021) as a post-doctoral researcher. Moved this position to a full-time Research Scientistposition May 2022. 4. Undergraduate students and recent college graduates, including people traditionally underrepresented in STEM disciplines as well as range management positions -Experiential learning opportunity: Lead Scientist & Research Scientist mentoredfield crews for the 2022 field season. This crew consisted of2 male undergraduate students, 1 female student, and 2recently graduated male students. They hired, a field crew for the 2023 field season. This crew consists of 1 female and 1 male undergraduatestudent from Utah State University, and 1 recently graduated female student from Colorado State University. Lead Scientist & Research Scientist worked with Project Manager to analyze and interpret collect plant composition data throughout winter/spring of 2022 & 23. Provided opportunity for the WLC Project Manager to attend the National Society for Range Management meeting in Feb 2023. 5. Academic researchers - Extension & outreach: Throughout the Summer and Fall of this reporting period, WLC's Research Scientistcontinued to collaboratewith Utah State University Soil Scientist Paul Grossl, working in his laboratory as needed and sharing information onsoil analyses. Throughout this reporting period, WLC's Research Scientist continued collaboration with University of Nevada, Reno Soil Scientist, Benjamin Sullivan. This collaboration opens the potential to compare data collected from two distinct areas of the Great Basin onsoil carbon. PIis currently serving on the Advisory Board for NIFA/AFRI Sustainable Agricultural Systems (SAS) grant: Villabla et al. - Using smart foodscapes to transform cowherd nutrition on western rangelands (2021-2023) 6. Nonprofit groups/Foundations - Extension & outreach: Throughout the summer 2022 the PIcontinued to work with the Western Landowners Alliance on a soils-focused project sponsored by NFWF in Roswell NM.We also learned that four additionalgrants we submitted together last year were funded: 1 NFWF, and 3 Partners for Climate Smart Commodities. Through these additional grants we will continueto expand research that focuses on how grazing management affects multiple rangeland ecosystem services including soil carbon sequestration, and soil health. Lead Scientistpresented about Three Creeks research during the TNC's monthly Sage-grouse and Sagebursh Ecosystem call(Sept 2022). >50 meetings with Western Landowners Alliance Stewardship Director, Bre Owens about WSARE work & future collaborations. PI invited to & attended Stanford Univerisity's Ninth Annual Eccles Family Rurual West Conference. Two of the four focal areas included regenerative agriculture and soil carbon sequestration potential. 7. Regional Policy Makers - Extension & outreach: Invited member of a working group focused on stream restoration in the US Southwest and restoration of stream resilience, ecosystem service provision, and carbon sequestration (2 in person meetings & ~ 10 virtual meetings). This bult upon work begun via this NIFA grant. Invited talk by Lead Scientist and partner agency specialist about the Three Creeks Project including the economics, community dynamics, ecosystem service benefits, and carbon sequestration benefits (April 2023). 8. Public - Extension & outreach: Lead scientist participated in a short video about carbon sequestration in rangelands produced by the Idaho Rangeland Resource Commision: Carbon Sequestration in Rangelands: An introduction (Oct 2022). Research scientist participated in a podcastwith Decode 6 about soil carbon sequestration in rangelands (May 2023). All of WLC staff spent the day visiting science classes at the Randolph High School talking to students about grazing, soil carbon, and rangeland health. Randolph is the town where we are conducting our research (May 2023). Changes/Problems:Objective 1: Collection of data for stream bank stability using MIM protocol: In pilot data, we noticed that conducing MIM sampling monthlycausedpaths to form on the streamsides, which we believe can affect monthly assessments of plant composition and cover and hinder recovery of streambanks with the switch in grazing across our sites.We discussed this problem with the BLM partners who manage the streams where our project is taking place. It was mutually decided that we should limit our monitoring to 2x per season, including 1x early season and 1x late season (early June and mid sept). The mid sept date corresponds to historical monitoring conducted for MIM at our sites. The early June date will allow our team to capture early season species cover and composition after most plants have grown significantly so they can be identified, and after woodies have leafed out so we can discern any browsing on woodies across the season. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?This project does not have key objectives dedicated to conducting workshops or professional training seminars. However, a key element of ourwork is sharing results with land managers and ranchers in Utah and across the USWest.Wealso strongly believe in serving asmentors to young scientists hired for field crew, managerial, and post-doctoral positions, particularly those that are members of underrepresented groups in both STEM sciences and range management. As such, wehave been involved in a number of opportunities to mentor and share knowledge in this reporting period. Training: Each summer, WLChires a field crew to collect field data (May-Sept). Our2022 crew consisted of one Project Manager who isa recent Utah State University (USU) graduate, and sixtechnicians. Four technicianswere USU students, one was a recent USU graduate, and the other was a recent graduate from Cal Poly Humboldt. One of these technicianswas awoman. Weprovidefield skills training for crews and serveas mentors throughout the field season. Skills training included use of foundational field research monitoring techniques including: soil health assessments,soil sampling, riparian health assessments, pointline intercept, biomass collection, andplant identification. The PI and Research Scientist mentorall students and young employeesabout how to advance their careers. To do this, wediscuss future job opportunities and encourage them to think about what jobs they want after working with WLC. Weshare job opportunities received from colleagues at Federal and State agencies, as well as provide introductions to other natural resource professionals. Weconsider this kind of mentoring critical for undergraduate students or recent graduatesto gain skills at applying for jobs and developing a professional network. One technician now works as a botonist for a for-profit company, one is a wildlife guide for Yellowstone National Park, one works in USU Extension, one works in Alaksa, and one works in a wildlife laboratory at USU. The PIand Research Scientist continueto mentor one early-career female employee who is a recent graduate of USU to be the Project Manager for the USDA NIFA AFRI funded research (Since May 2020). We have worked together to analyze species composition data. This researcher has also assembled and printed a stunning plant identificationbook for our field site, whichwe distributed to the ranchers we work with and all of our Federal and Stateagency partners. Finally, she just completed another extremelysuccessful summer field season leading our field crew. She has continued presenting at outreach events and creating content for our various social media platforms. The PI continues to mentor one early-career PhD-level female employee (Dr. Megan Nasto), who is now WLCs Research Scientist leading the soil work on this NIFA grant. She was hired as a post-doctoral researcher to expand the work we are undertaking through this USDA NIFA AFRI grant in 2021, and promotedto WLC's full time staff in 2022. Megan has contributed to ongoing work, and has successfuly developed a soil health and carbon study using our established experimental framework.She spearheaded the development of, and aquired a, USDA WSARE grant for this work, and her expertise was pivotal to WLC gaining a recent Partners for Climate Smart Commodities Grant. Some professional development goals we have outlined include: grant writing skills, presentations at outreach events, and building our research network to include soil experts. Professional development: In-field riparian Ecological Site Description (ESD) training with NRCS specialist: For ongoing WLC work, we are increasingly working to classify riparian areas for management and restoration. To further our knowledge, I organized an NRCS specialist to teach WLC researchers, regional NRCS employees, and local BLM riparian specialists about developing and classifying riparian ESDs. In-field training with BLM agency partners: This field season we worked with BLM riparian scientists to conduct one in-field MIM training session. During this session, we learned how to classify pools and riffles in rangelandstreams according to the Multi-Indicator Monitoring (MIM) protocol used by the BLM to monitor riparian health. Invited members of a working group focused on stream restoration in the US South West and restoration of stream resilience, ecosystem service provision, and Csequestration (3 in person meetings and10 virtual meetings). Conferences: Our whole full-time staff participated and presented at theSociety for Range Management Annual Meeting. This was ourProject Manager's first conference presentation. The PI and Research Scientist also presented at the A Community on Ecosystem Services Annual Meeting. Webinars: PI presented at a webinarorganized by Western Landowners Alliance, entitled,'Putting People and Data to Work: Collaborative Monitoring Successes'. Podcasts:WLCs Research Scientist was interviewed about soil organic C sequestration in rangelands of the US westin a podcast hosted by Decode6; PI participated in a podcast about soil carbon in rangelands byby the Idaho Rangeland Resource Commision How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Please see the answer in the 'Target Audience' Tab. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?During the next reporting period we will do the following to reach our goal of demonstrating that innovative grazing strategies can maintain a diverse suite of ecosystem services on public lands while also supporting producer livelihoods. Objective 1:Examine how historical grazing systems employing different grazing durations and timings affect four target ESs across a semi-arid rangeland, including: soil health, soil C sequestration, stream bank stability, and herbaceous biodiversity. We completed collected data for this objective in YR1. In YR2, we willuse these data to begin the development of three peer-reviewed publications in the scientific literature.We will also continue to share these data with target groups and project partners. Objective 2:Examine how the implementation of an innovative watershed-scale time-controlled rotational grazing system will alter generation of these four ESs. We synergized on a collaborative grazing project occurring on Utah public lands that is allowing ranchers to implement innovative grazing due to a successful National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process. We will use a before / after experimental design to measure improvements in ecosystem service provision now that grazing has switched from commongrazing systems to an innovative, watershed scale time-controlled rotation. In YR2, we will do the following to address this objective. Hire and train a 3-4 person field crew to collect 2023 field data, including data on soil health and organic C sequestration, riparian stability, and herbaceousdiversity. Begin to analyze these collected data. Apply for supplemental funding to continue to support this research Objective 3: Determine whether altering grazing management in semi-arid rangelands can generate profit for managers and ranchers. In YR2, wewill begin toDetermine whether altering grazing management in semi-arid rangelands can generate profit for managers and ranchers. We will do so by starting tocalculatethe price of C offsets generated with the implementation of the new grazing system, minus the cost of measuring soil C sequestration. In Yr 2 we continue to add information to our cost spreadsheet about the cost of sampling and analyzing soil carbon, including any additional sampling costs we incurred in Yr2. Our cost spreadsheet includes information about the costs of labor, sample collection (supplies, travel), and sample analysis (supplies, travel). The total C offset price will be determined in the last year of the grant. Extension and Communication:In YR2, we will continue to share results with local producers and collaborating rangeland managers, plus managers, researchers, and policy makers beyond Utah. Other activities include the following: Write and submit multiple papers to peer-reviewed scientific journals based on collected data. Share project results with ranchers through local Coordinated Resource Management meeting presentations and presentations to the rancher-run grazing LLC that manages grazing on public lands in the project area. Share project results through personal meetings and invited seminars with BLM, US Forest Service, Utah Grazing Improvement Program, Utah Department of Environmental Quality, and National Resources Conservation Service managers and policy makers. Present results at the Society for Range Management and Ecological Society of America Annual Meetings. Produce and postinformation on our WLC website. Post project updates on social media platforms including Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Participate in field-days showcasing ecosystem services before & after altering grazing on public lands.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
After one year of study, we found that some target ESs can be improved by managing grazing duration and sometimes grazing timing. For example, shorter duration of grazing leads to healthier soils, increased soil carbon storage, and more stable streambanks. However, shorter grazing durations did not benefit all ESs. For example, medium duration grazing rather than no grazing or short-duration grazing led to higher overall herbaceous species diversity and greater cover of sage-grouse preferred forbs. Obj1: Comparison of ESS across historical grazing systems Activities:Completed field work; Applied for and acquired funding from: Western SARE (2022, 2023), BLM (2022), Partners for Climate Smart Commodities (2022), NFWF (2023). Data: Soil health & soil carbon: Collected data on seven soil health metrics (water-holding capacity,bioavailable nitrogen, microbial biomass(1x/mo; May - Sept);soil respiration(2x/season); infiltration,bulk density, organicC(1x/season)), across three locations (riparian bench, riparian upland, adjacent upland), on multiple streams with different historical grazing durations & timings. Stream bank stability: Usedthe BLM MIM (Multiple Indicator Monitoring) protocol tocollect bank stability datamonthly in May and Sept. Herbaceous biodiversity:Collected diversity datain bench(in July) and adjacent riparian upland areas (in June) using point-intercept methods. Statistics: Soil health: Grazing duration affected all indicators of soil health, though the effects varied across the riparian zones.Grazing timing affected onlybulk density and only in in the Riparian Bench. Riparian Benches had the most biologically activesoils e.g.water-holding capacity (P<0.001), bioavailable nitrogen (P<0.001), microbial biomass (P<0.01), soil respirationwerehighest (P<0.01), and bulk densitylowest (P=0.02), in these areas.Infiltration didn't vary by zone (P=0.32). The 'healthiest' soils across all study locationsare found in historically ungrazed pastures and those grazed for short-durations (0.5 mo) e.g. highestwater-holding capacity (P<0.01), bioavailable nitrogen (P<0.001),microbial biomass (P<0.01), and soil respiration(P<0.01),fastestinfiltration(P=0.01), and lowest bulk density (P<0.001). Notably, bulk densitywas also statistically similar to areasgrazed for medium-durations (2 mo/season)late in the season. The relationships within the Riparian Bench are the same as those listed above. Within Riparian Uplands, water-holding capacity(P=0.04), bioavailable nitrogen(P<0.001), microbial biomass(P<0.01), and soilrespiration(P<0.01) were highest in pastures historically excluded from grazing and grazed for short-durations,infiltration(P<0.001) was fastest in ungrazed pastures, and bulk density(P<0.01) was lowest in pastures historically grazed for short-durations. Within Adjacent Uplands, water-holding capacity (P=0.03),bioavailable nitrogen (P<0.001), microbial biomass (P<0.01), and soil respiration (P<0.01)were highest, and infiltration (P<0.001) fastest, in pastures historically grazed for short-durations. Bulk density didn't vary these areas(P=0.62). Organic C (OC): Grazing duration but not timing affected soil carbon in riparian bench (P=0.04) and riparian upland areas P<0.01). Here, short grazing durations increased soil OC but only at the surface (0-15 cm; P<0.001). OC was highest in the pastures that had no grazing, and those grazed for short duration. OC did not differ by grazing duration or timing on adjacent uplands (P=0.17). Stream bank stability: Both grazing duration and timing affected stream stability (P=0.003, 0.046, respectively). Streams thatwere not grazed were more stable than those grazed for either 2- (P=0.005) or 4-months (P=0.053). Any grazing led to a loss of stability, regardless of length of grazing (2mo=4mo stability, P=0.558). Stream areas grazed later in the season were more stable than those grazed earlier (P=0.046), indicating that reducing disturbance early in the season when plants in this system are actively growing is important for streambank stabilization. Herbaceous biodiversity:Results are for riparian bench areas; we have not yet analyzed riparian upland data. Grazing duration affected richness (P=0.015) and invasive plant cover (P=0.011) but not sage-grouse preferred forb (SGPF) cover (P=0.223). Grazing timing only affected SGPF cover (P<0.001). Richness (used 2020 & 2021 data): Medium duration grazing (2 mo) led to more species (~30sp) than long duration grazing (4 mo; ~21sp; P=0.023). While there was a trend that medium duration grazing also led to more species than short duration grazing (0.5 mo; ~24sp) and no grazing (exclosures; ~27sp) these relationships were not significant. This suggests that some cattle disturbance in pastures leads to more species compared to no-, short-, or season-long disturbance. Sage-grouse preferred forb (SGPF) cover (used 2021 data): Areas grazed earlier (May-Jun) in the season had about twice as much SGPF cover than those grazed later in the season (Jul-Sept). One reason for this may be reduced competition with other plants when cattle graze early, thus encouraging forb growth. Invasive plant (IP) cover (used 2021 data): In this first year, the highest cover of IP was found in areas with no grazing, followed by areas grazed using medium durations, then both short and long durations. This suggests that some cattle disturbance in pastures may help control IP, when compared to no grazing, or less grazing. We didn't have large populations of invasive plants at sampling sites, so additional years of data will strengthen results. Obj2: ESS metric comparison before vs after implementation of new grazing practices Activities:Began field work in 2022. Data:Same as Obj 1. Statistics: Soil health, Soil Cabon, Stream bank stability: Nothing to report. Though, data collected for Obj 1 implies that implementing the time-controlled rotational grazing systemwill lead to improved soil health, increased OC stocks, and improved stream bank stability. Herbaceous biodiversity Results are for riparian bench areas. We expect implementation of the new grazing system might lead to changes in diversity across some pastures (ie those on Three Creeks grazed historically with medium or long durations), while having no effect on other pastures (ie our control pastures on a private ranch - historically grazed with a 'short' duration; and those on Three Creeks in exclosures). Evidence of this would be a significant 'interaction' term (grazing duration * grazing system change or grazing timing * grazing system change) for diversity metrics. We found no evidence of such interactions for richness or invasive species cover. The interaction is significant when examining timing for SGPF cover (P=0.024), but not for duration. After implementation of new grazing practices, pastures moved from having more SGPF cover in early-grazed pastures to having equal cover in historically early- and late-grazed pastures. It doesn't appear that cover declined in historically early-grazed pastures after the grazing shift, rather, it seems to have increased in those that previously were late-grazed. Since these forbs support the insects that sage-grouse chicks eat later in the season, this could be a good development. Obj 3: Activities:Began collecting financial data in 2022 to understand the expenses incurred to sample soil carbon. Data:Total expenses = $12,739.16 Labor: A Research Scientistand Field Technician spent 415 hours on sample collection, processing, and analysis, with pay rates ($22.60, $14.00/hr) and fringe benefits (45%,10%) = $8.853.80. Travel: Three tripsto collect baseline soil organic carbon samples, including: lodging ($72/trip), vehicle mileage ($172.50/trip), per diem ($60.00/trip) = $913.59 Supplies: To collect, process, and analyze soil samples for organic carbon = $2,971.86.
Publications
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2022
Citation:
Hulvey, Kristin B. 2022. Monitoring Conservation Outcomes: The Three Creeks Grazing Project. The Idaho Rangeland Center's Fall Forum, Pocatello, ID.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2022
Citation:
Hulvey, Kristin B. 2022. Managing for multiple ecosystem services in sei-arid rangelands. 'A Community on Ecosystem Services' (ACES) Conference. Washington DC.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2022
Citation:
Nasto, Megan. 2022. The effects of livestock grazing on soil health and carbon in semi-arid rangelands. 'A Community on Ecosystem Services' (ACES) Conference. Washington DC.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2023
Citation:
Hulvey, Kristin B. 2023. How do we manage for stacked ecosystem services in semi-arid rangelands? Society for Range Management Annual Meeting. Boise, ID.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2023
Citation:
Nasto, Megan. 2023. The effects of livestock grazing on soil organic carbon in semi-arid rangelands: A case study from northern Utah. Society for Range Management Annual Meeting. Boise, ID.
|