Seasonal trends in forage quality and production were studied on improved
and unimproved portions of four plant communities in eastern Oregon. The range
improvements consisted of seeding and/or thinning. Improvement doubled forage
production on the lodgepole pine site (thinned but not seeded), tripled production
on the grassland and moist meadow...
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AUTHORS: TonySvejcar, former graduate student of Oregon State
University, Eastern Oregon
Western rangelands are currently under severe threat from exotic annual grasses. To successfully manage rangelands that are either infested with or susceptible to exotic annual grasses, we must focus on increasing resilience to disturbance and resistance to exotic annual grass invasion. Here, we present a fuel-based model and research framework...
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...
Declining greater sage-grouse populations are causing concern for the future of this species across the western United States. Major
ecosystem issues, including exotic annual grass invasion and conifer encroachment, threaten vast acreages of sagebrush rangeland
and are primary threats to sage-grouse. We discuss types of problems facing sage-grouse habitat and...
The rapid expansion of western juniper into neighboring plant communities during the past 130 years has caused considerable concern because of increased soil erosion, reduced stream
flows; reduced forage production; altered wildlife habitat; changes in plant community composition, structure, and biodiversity; and the replacement of mesic and semi-arid plant communities...
In a previous article, Beschta et al. (Environ
Manag 51(2):474–491, 2013) argue that grazing by large
ungulates (both native and domestic) should be eliminated
or greatly reduced on western public lands to reduce
potential climate change impacts. The authors did not
present a balanced synthesis of the scientific literature, and...