A5011607769- Earthquake Detection and Analysis
- Methane Hydrates and Related Phenomena
- Seismic Waves and Analysis
- Rangeland and Wildlife Management
- Geophysics and Gravity Measurements
- Ionosphere and magnetosphere dynamics
- Ruminant Nutrition and Digestive Physiology
- Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics Studies
- Rangeland Management and Livestock Ecology
- Soil Carbon and Nitrogen Dynamics
- Pasture and Agricultural Systems
- Plant Water Relations and Carbon Dynamics
- Fire effects on ecosystems
- Wildlife Ecology and Conservation
- Plant responses to elevated CO2
- Forest Management and Policy
- Genetic and phenotypic traits in livestock
- Soil and Water Nutrient Dynamics
- Plant and animal studies
- Climate change impacts on agriculture
- Species Distribution and Climate Change
- Remote Sensing in Agriculture
- Bioenergy crop production and management
- Botany, Ecology, and Taxonomy Studies
- Peatlands and Wetlands Ecology
Agricultural Research Service
2016-2025
United States Department of Agriculture
2014-2024
Agricultural Research Service - Plains Area
2006-2023
Wyoming Department of Agriculture
2023
Grassland, Soil and Water Research Laboratory
1999-2021
Center for Agricultural Resources Research
2021
Fort Keogh Livestock and Range Research Laboratory
2021
Natural Resources Conservation Service
2021
Ecological Society of America
2018
John Wiley & Sons (United States)
2018
Soil organic carbon (SOC) is closely tied to soil health. However, additional biological indicators may also provide insight about C dynamics and microbial activity. We used SOC the other (potential mineralization, permanganate oxidizable C, water extractable β-glucosidase enzyme activity) from North American Project Evaluate Health Measurements examine continental-scale drivers of these indicators, relationships among effects health practices on indicator values. All had greater values at...
ABSTRACT: Management of rangelands can aid in the mitigation rising atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations via storage biomass and soil organic matter, a process termed sequestration. Here we provide review current knowledge on effects land management practices (grazing, nitrogen inputs, restoration) precipitation sequestration rangelands. Although there was no statistical relationship between change with longevity grazing practice native North American Great Plains, general trend seems...
Good management of rangelands promotes C sequestration and reduces the likelihood these ecosystems becoming net sources CO 2 As part an ongoing study, soil was sampled in 2003 to investigate long‐term effects different livestock grazing treatments on organic carbon (SOC), total nitrogen (TN), microbial communities. The three studied (no grazing, EX; continuously, lightly grazed [10% utilization], CL; heavily [50% CH) have been imposed a northern mixed‐grass prairie near Cheyenne, WY, for 21...
Species diversity is thought to stabilize functioning of plant communities. An alternative view that stability depends more on dynamics dominant species than diversity. We compared inter‐annual variability (inverse stability) aboveground biomass in paired restored and remnant tallgrass prairies at two locations central Texas, USA. Data from these were used test the hypothesis greater richness evenness would reduce response natural variation rainfall. Restored chosen be similar...
Reducing concentrations of carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gases (GHG) in Earth's atmosphere is identified as one the most pressing modern-day environmental issues (IPCC 2007). As a signatory country to United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), States actively engaged critical international effort find solutions problems posed by climate change. Agriculture, addition being affected climate, contributes change through its exchanges GHG with atmosphere. Thus,...
Sustainable intensification is an emerging model for agriculture designed to reconcile accelerating global demand agricultural products with long-term environmental stewardship. Defined here as increasing production while maintaining or improving quality, sustainable hinges upon decision-making by producers, consumers, and policy-makers. The Long-Term Agroecosystem Research (LTAR) network was established inform these decisions. Here we introduce the LTAR Common Experiment, through which...
Grazing intensity elicits changes in the composition of plant functional groups both shortgrass steppe (SGS) and northern mixed-grass prairie (NMP) North America. How these grazing intensity-induced control aboveground net primary production (ANPP) responses to precipitation remains a central open question, especially light predicted climate changes. Here, we evaluated effects four levels (none, light, moderate, heavy) long-term (>30 yr) SGS NMP on: (1) ANPP; (2) precipitation-use efficiency...
Agriculture in the United States must respond to escalating demands for productivity and efficiency, as well pressures improve its stewardship of natural resources. Growing global population changing diets, combined with a greater societal awareness agriculture's role delivering ecosystem services beyond food, feed, fiber, energy production, require comprehensive perspective on where how US agriculture can be sustainably intensified, that is, made more productive without exacerbating local...
Increasing atmospheric [CO2 ] and temperature are expected to affect the productivity, species composition, biogeochemistry, therefore quantity quality of forage available herbivores in rangeland ecosystems. Both elevated CO2 (eCO2 ) warming plant tissue chemistry through multiple direct indirect pathways, such that cumulative outcomes these effects difficult predict. Here, we report on a 7-yr study examining enrichment (to 600 ppm) infrared (+1.5°C day/3°C night) under realistic field...
Fernández-Giménez, M. E., D. J. Augustine, L. Porensky, H. Wilmer, Derner, Briske, and Olsgard Stewart. 2019. Complexity fosters learning in collaborative adaptive management. Ecology Society 24(2):29. https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-10963-240229
Aggregate stability is a commonly used indicator of soil health because improvements in aggregate are related to reduced erodibility and improved soil–water dynamics. During the past 80 90 years, numerous methods have been developed assess stability. Limited comparisons among resulted varied magnitudes response management practices influences inherent properties climate. It not clear whether selection specific method creates any advantage investigator. This study assessed four measuring...
Abstract Currently accepted pedotransfer functions show negligible effect of management‐induced changes to soil organic carbon (SOC) on plant available water holding capacity (θ AWHC ), while some studies the ability substantially increase θ through management. The Soil Health Institute's North America Project Evaluate Measurements measured content at field using intact cores across 124 long‐term research sites that contained increases in SOC as a result management treatments such reduced...
Abstract To restore diversity of native vegetation, we must understand factors responsible for in targeted communities. These operate at different spatial scales and may affect the number relative abundances species differently. We measured plant functional groups replicated plots within paired restored remnant (relic) tallgrass prairies three locations central Texas, U.S.A. determine contributions patterns to differences between prairie types, separated into richness evenness (relative...
Abstract Plant species richness influences primary productivity via mechanisms that (1) favour with particular traits (selection effect) and (2) promote niche differentiation between (complementarity). Influences of evenness, plant density other properties communities on are poorly defined, but may depend whether selection or complementarity prevails in mixtures. We predicted effects insensitive to evenness increase density, the converse is true for complementarity. To test predictions, we...
Advances in global positioning system (GPS) technology have dramatically enhanced the ability to track and study distributions of free-ranging livestock. Understanding factors controlling distribution livestock requires assess when where they are foraging. For four years (2008–2011), we periodically collected GPS activity sensor data together with direct observations collared cattle grazing semiarid rangeland eastern Colorado. From these data, developed classification tree models that...
Extreme droughts like the recent 2011–2013 drought impacting central and western United States present a challenge to sustaining livestock ranching operations ecosystem goods services they produce. Wyoming ranchers manage half of this drought‐prone state are at forefront challenge. We examined ranchers' management strategies how ranch characteristics affect flexibility, key component resilience, through mail survey. find that many survey respondents in similar ways, by selling buying feed,...