Western juniper is a native species in eastern Oregon that became invasive during the last century since its range increased fivefold from 1936 to 1988. Western juniper’s ability to absorb rainfall and groundwater has deleterious effects on stream flow and sensitive sage grouse habitat in eastern Oregon. New methods of...
Understanding the effects of disturbance and restoration on a species’ habitat is essential for understanding the demographic rates and population trends observed in a species. Sufficient habitat provides the space and resources required for survival and successful reproduction, such as food availability, access to water, protection from predators, protection from...
Knowledge of old-growth Juniperus occidentalis woodlands, which occur in central and eastern Oregon, is limited. Wise management of these woodlands necessitates a better understanding of the community ecology. The community structure of woodlands at seven sites in three areas of central Oregon was studied. Measurements taken at nine plots per...
The expansion of native, woody plants is a global phenomenon with characteristics and effects that are often indistinguishable from exotic invasions. These expansions have largely been driven by altered fire regimes and favorable climatic conditions. In the Great Basin of western North America, expansion of conifers such as western juniper...
Logging and forest thinning operations generate large amounts of residues in the form of small trees, branches and foliage that are usually left on the ground to decay or are burned. These resources are readily available, but it is uneconomical to remove them from the forest. The potential utilization of...
Western juniper (Juniperus occidentalis) poses both a challenge and an opportunity for natural resource management in the rangelands of the northern Great Basin. The continued expansion of western juniper on the rangelands of the interior Northwest will likely continue as there are currently no practical options for returning this area...
Central Oregon has attracted attention as a potential location for a biomass industry based on a locally fixed source of western juniper (Juniperus occidentalis Hook) feedstock. This study identifies a supply of juniper from private lands to determine how much of the available juniper is economically supplied at alternative prices...
A tenfold expansion of western juniper (Juniperus occidentalis spp.
occidentalis) into the sagebrush steppe has led to the degradation of the
economic and ecological potential of these landscapes. Land managers have
enacted numerous methods to reduce distributions and densities of these trees.
Assessment of above ground juniper biomass, expressed overall...
Western juniper (Juniperus occidentalis) cover has more than doubled within the last century and currently occupies over 9 million acres in the Intermountain West. Encroachment has altered the spatial distribution of soil nutrients and plants in these systems, forming nutrient enriched 'resource islands,' under tree canopies. The purpose of this...
On piñon-juniper encroached sites that lack the understory fuels to carry a prescribed fire, treatment options are limited to mechanical methods. Cutting with chainsaws and leaving the trees on site has been the primary treatment method for such sites, however this method creates a potential fire hazard, particularly in the...