Historically fire has been the primary disturbance factor in the sagebrush-steppe. The settlement of the West by Euro-Americans, grazing by domestic livestock, and the concomitant spread of invasive species have altered the historical fire regime. Understanding the long-term vegetation structure and fuel succession of the various sagebrush-dominated communities of this...
We are at risk of losing the sagebrush steppe in the floristic Great Basin to the invasion of Bromus tectorum L., cheatgrass. The floristic Great Basin includes the Central Basin and Range, the Northern Basin and Range, and the Snake River Plain. The Great Basin receives most of its precipitation...
Identifying habitat and spatial requirements of wildlife species across multiple spatial scales is a challenging, yet crucial component of wildlife management. Habitat use of bats is particularly difficult to study, and managing habitat to conserve bats is especially challenging because bats are highly vagile organisms that exploit several different types...
Crested wheatgrass (Agropyron cristatum [L] Gaertm), an introduced bunchgrass, has been seeded on over 5 million hectares of degraded rangeland in western North America because it establishes more readily than native bunchgrasses. Because crested wheatgrass stands are associated with native species displacement and low biological diversity, there is substantial interest...
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A BRIEF INTRODUCTION OF THE ECOLOGY OF THE SAGEBRUSHSTEPPE IN SOUTHEASTERN OREGON
The historical function of fire in sagebrush steppe has been altered by 19th century overgrazing, active fire suppression, annual grass invasion and encroachment of woody species. The significance of fire to these systems is known, but research on long-term fire effects are limited. The Sheep Rock management unit of the...
The sagebrush steppe ecosystem of the Columbia Plateau has become degraded by a long history of alternative land use and associated perturbations. Protection of remnant stands of intact sagebrush steppe currently relies upon their preservation within the nation's network of parks and protected-areas. The John Day Fossil Beds National Monument,...
Biological plant invasions are diminishing the ecological integrity and function of ecosystems worldwide. A primary example of this is in the Great Basin of the United States, where invasive annual grasses, like cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum L.) and medusahead (Taeniatherum caput-medusae L. Nevski), are dominating many sagebrush-steppe ecosystems. In these invaded...
Intact sagebrush communities in the Great Basin are rapidly disappearing due
to invasion of non-native plants, large wildfires, and encroachment of pinyon pine
and juniper woodlands. Land management options include the use of prescribed
fire, grazing, herbicides and mechanical treatments to reduce the potential for
wildfire and restore plant communities....
This white paper outlines interim guidance for development of Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife habitat mitigation recommendations associated with renewable energy development and associated infrastructure or other landscape scale industrial-commercial developments in greater sage-grouse habitat in Oregon. This guidance is interim until empirical data are available that quantify the...