In the face of rapid environmental and cultural change, orthodox concepts in restoration ecology such as historical
fidelity are being challenged. Here we re-examine the diverse roles played by historical knowledge in restoration,
and argue that these roles remain vitally important. As such, historical knowledge will be critical in shaping...
Slickspots are soil inclusions with unique loamy soils that provide habitats for many endemic plants worldwide, including those within sagebrush steppe. Sagebrush-dominated communities are declining and require restoration, but restoration techniques commonly used may impact negatively some intermixed communities found on soil inclusions including those on slickspot soils. Slickspot soils...
Western juniper (Juniperus occidentalis ssp.
occidentalis Hook) encroachment into mountain big sagebrush
(Artemisia tridentata spp. vaseyana (Rydb.) Beetle)
steppe has reduced livestock forage production, increased
erosion risk, and degraded sagebrush-associated wildlife
habitat. Western juniper has been successfully controlled
with partial cutting followed by prescribed burning the next
fall, but the...
Streams make up only one percent of the watershed. Nonetheless, they are an essential component to watershed health. Streams are home to wildlife and fish. Well-functioning streams contribute to water quantity and quality. And streams play an important role in flood and erosion control.
Medusahead (Taeniatherum caput-medusae [L.] Nevski) is an exotic annual grass invading western rangelands. Successful
revegetation of invaded-plant communities can be prohibitively expensive because it often requires iterative applications of
integrated control and revegetation treatments. Prescribed burning has been used to control medusahead and prepare seedbeds
for revegetation, but burning has...
Wyoming big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata ssp. wyomingensis [Beetle & A. Young] S.L. Welsh) plant communities with degraded native herbaceous understories occupy vast expanses of the western United States. Restoring the native herbaceous understory in these communities is needed to provide higher-quality wildlife habitat, decrease the risk of exotic plant invasion,...
Question: Most results of restoration efforts are species-specific and/or site-specific and therefore are not general enough to be easily applied to other species and other sites. Our research addresses the issue of species-specific results by investigating the feasibility of using plant traits instead of taxonomic species to characterize species responses...
This publication is for people involved in the important task of rehabilitating and restoring Oregon’s threatened or degraded habitats. Growing numbers of private landowners, local organizations, and government entities are embarking on projects to restore the health or function of their riparian areas, wetlands, prairies, savannas, and other habitats. Choosing...
Crested wheatgrass (Agropyron cristatum [L] Gaertm) has been seeded on more than 5 million hectares in western North America because it establishes more readily than native bunchgrasses. Currently, there is substantial interest in reestablishing native species in sagebrush steppe, but efforts to reintroduce native grasses into crested wheatgrass stands have...
Monotypic stands of crested wheatgrass (Agropyron cristatum [L] Gaertm. and Agropyron desertorum [Fisch.] Schult.), an
introduced grass, occupy vast expanses of the sagebrush steppe. Efforts to improve habitat for sagebrush-associated wildlife by
establishing a diverse community of native vegetation in crested wheatgrass stands have largely failed. Instead of concentrating
on...