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Collaboration has taken root in national forest planning, providing expanded opportunities for stakeholder participation in decision-making, but are these processes considered meaningful by key stakeholders? Do the processes result in increased participation by key stakeholders? We present results of a study of stakeholder perspectives of a collaborative planning process on the Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre, and Gunnison National Forests in Western Colorado, U.S.A. The stakeholders were stratified by participation levels in order to explore a possible relationship between participation and perceptions of the collaborative process. We used a Q-methodology approach to compare and contrast perspectives across participant...
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Summers on the Colorado Plateau (USA) are typified by harsh conditions such as high temperatures, brief soil hydration periods, and high UV and visible radiation. We investigated whether community composition, physiological status, and pigmentation might vary in biological soil crusts as a result of such conditions. Representative surface cores were sampled at the ENE, WSW, and top microaspects of 20 individual soil crust pedicels at a single site in Canyonlands National Park, Utah, in spring and fall of 1999. Frequency of cyanobacterial taxa, pigment concentrations, and dark adapted quantum yield [F(v)/F(m)] were measured for each core. The frequency of major cyanobacterial taxa was lower in the fall compared to...
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This study examines the establishment patterns of exotic and ruderal species along trail corridors in grassland areas of the Colorado Front Range. The effects of trail presence, trail age, and trail traffic levels on exotic and ruderal species establishment are explored to ascertain the potential impacts of trails on surrounding vegetation. Established trails exhibited a greater presence of exotic and ruderal species along the immediate trailside, showing that disturbed trailsides tend to encourage the growth of these species over time. Furthermore, the established trails exhibited significantly less native, nonruderal, and overall species richness at the trailside. These trailside patterns did not show a significant...
Desert grasslands, which are very sensitive to external drivers like climate change, are areas affected by rapid land degradation processes. In many regions of the world the common form of land degradation involves the rapid encroachment of woody plants into desert grasslands. This process, thought to be irreversible and sustained by biophysical feedbacks of global desertification, results in the heterogeneous distribution of vegetation and soil resources. Most of these shrub-grass transition systems at the desert margins are prone to disturbances such as fires, which affect the interactions between ecological, hydrological, and land surface processes. Here we investigate the effect of prescribed fires on the landscape...
We quantified annual sediment deposition, bank erosion, and sediment budgets in nine riverine wetlands that represented a watershed continuum for 1 year in the unregulated Yampa River drainage basin in Colorado. One site was studied for 2 years to compare responses to peak flow variability. Annual mean sediment deposition ranged from 0.01 kg/m(2) along a first-order subalpine stream to 21.8 kg/m(2) at a sixth-order alluvial forest. Annual mean riverbank erosion ranged from 3 kg/m-of-bank at the first-order site to 1000 kg/m at the 6(th)-order site. Total sediment budgets were nearly balanced at six sites, while net export from bank erosion occurred at three sites. Both total sediment deposition (R(2) = 0.86, p <...
Non-native shrub species in the genus Tamarix (saltcedar, tamarisk) have colonized hundreds of thousands of hectares of floodplains, reservoir margins, and other wetlands in western North America. Many resource managers seek to reduce saltcedar abundance and control its spread to increase the flow of water in streams that might otherwise be lost to evapotranspiration, to restore native riparian (streamside) vegetation, and to improve wildlife habitat. However, increased water yield might not always occur and has been substantially lower than expected in water salvage experiments, the potential for successful revegetation is variable, and not all wildlife taxa clearly prefer native plant habitats over saltcedar....
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Climate change may affect ecosystem functioning through increased temperatures or changes in precipitation patterns. Temperature and water availability are important drivers for ecosystem processes such as photosynthesis, carbon translocation, and organic matter decomposition. These climate changes may affect the supply of carbon and energy to the soil microbial population and subsequently alter decomposition and mineralization, important ecosystem processes in carbon and nutrient cycling. In this study, carried out within the cross-European research project CLIMOOR, the effect of climate change, resulting from imposed manipulations, on carbon dynamics in shrubland ecosystems was examined. We performed a 14C-labeling...
Soils play a key role in the global cycling of carbon (C), storing organic C, and releasing CO2 to the atmosphere. Although a large number of studies have focused on the CO2 flux at the soil–air interface, relatively few studies have examined the rates of CO2 production in individual layers of a soil profile. Deeper soil horizons often have high concentrations of CO2 in the soil air, but the sources of this CO2 and the spatiotemporal dynamics of CO2 production throughout the soil profile are poorly understood. We studied CO2 dynamics in six soil profiles arrayed across a grassland hillslope in coastal southern California. Gas probes were installed in each profile and gas samples were collected weekly or biweekly...
The Prokaryotes, credited to Stackebrandt, Erko, published in 2006. Published by Springer New York, in 2006.
Categories: Publication; Types: Book Citation, Citation; Tags: Springer New York
A single muscle plug was collected from each of 25 live razorback suckers inhabiting the Colorado River basin and analyzed for selenium by instrumental neutron activation. Eight fish from Ashley Creek and three from Razorback Bar exhibited selenium concentrations exceeding 8 �g/g, a level associated with reproductive failure in fish. Concentrations of selenium in eggs and milt were significantly correlated with selenium concentrations in muscle plugs and together indicate a possible explanation for the decline of this species in the Colorado River basin. Muscle plugs (<50mg) and muscle tissue (20 g) were collected from dorsal, anterior, and posterior areas of common carp, flannelmouth sucker, and an archived razorback...
Early succession aspen and late succession conifer forests have different architecture and physiology affecting hydrologic transfer processes. An evaluation of water pools and fluxes was used to determine differences in the hydrologic dynamics between stands of quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides) and associated stands of mixed conifer consisting of white fir (Abies concolor), Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii), and Engelmann spruce (Picea engelmannii). In 2005 and 2006, measurements of snow water accumulation, snow ablation (melt), soil water content, snowpack sublimation, and evapotranspiration (ET) were measured in adjacent aspen and conifer stands. Peak snow water equivalent (SWE) averaged 34–44% higher in...
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Heavy visitor use in many areas of the world have necessitated development of ways to assess visitation impacts. Arches National Park recently completed a Visitor Experience and Resource Protection (VERP) plan. Integral to this plan was developing a method to identify biological indicators that would both measure visitor impacts and response to management actions. The process used in Arches for indicator selection is outlined here as a model applicable to many areas facing similar challenges. The steps were: (1) Vegetation types most used by visitors were identified. Impacted and unimpacted areas in these types were sampled, comparing vegetation and soil factors. (2) Variables found to differ significantly between...
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We used field studies and imaging spectroscopy to investigate the effect of grazing on vegetation cover in historically grazed and ungrazed high-mesa rangelands of the Grand Staircase?Escalante National Monument, Utah, USA. Airborne hyperspectral remote sensing data coupled with spectral mixture analysis uncovered subtle variations in the key biogeophysical properties of these rangelands: the fractional surface cover of photosynthetic vegetation (PV), nonphotosynthetic vegetation (NPV), and bare soil. The results show that a high-mesa area with long-term grazing management had significantly higher PV (26.3%), lower NPV (54.5%), and lower bare soil (17.2%) cover fractions in comparison to historically ungrazed high-mesa...
State-and-transition models are increasingly being used to guide rangeland management. These models provide a relatively simple, management-oriented way to classify land condition (state) and to describe the factors that might cause a shift to another state (a transition). There are many formulations of state-and-transition models in the literature. The version we endorse does not adhere to any particular generalities about ecosystem dynamics, but it includes consideration of several kinds of dynamics and management response to them. In contrast to previous uses of state-and-transition models, we propose that models can, at present, be most effectively used to specify and qualitatively compare the relative benefits...
Although field studies have demonstrated an ecosystem-specific effect of experimental atmospheric nitrogen (N) deposition on litter decomposition, a mechanistic understanding of how ligninolytic microbial communities respond to atmospheric deposition is lacking. Because high levels of inorganic N suppress lignin decomposition by some basidiomycetes, it is plausible that the abundance and activity of these key microorganisms underlies differential ecosystem responses of decomposition to atmospheric N deposition. We hypothesize that: (a) atmospheric N deposition will cause an ecosystem-specific reduction in basidiomycete activity and abundance with greatest decreases in ecosystems with lignin-rich forest litter and...
We investigated the influence of long-term (56 years) grazing on organic and inorganic carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) contents of the plant-soil system (to 90 cm depth) in shortgrass steppe of northeastern Colorado. Grazing treatments included continuous season-long (May-October) grazing by yearling heifers at heavy (60-75% utilization) and light (20-35% utilization) stocking rates, and nongrazed exclosures. The heavy stocking rate resulted in a plant community that was dominated (75% of biomass production) by the C4 grass blue grama (Bouteloua gracilis), whereas excluding livestock grazing increased the production of C3 grasses and prickly pear cactus (Opuntia polycantha). Soil organic C (SOC) and organic N were not...
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Predicted changes in climate may affect key soil processes such as respiration and net nitrogen (N) mineralization and thus key ecosystem functions such as carbon (C) storage and nutrient availability. To identify the sensitivity of shrubland soils to predicted climate changes, we have carried out experimental manipulations involving ecosystem warming and prolonged summer drought in ericaceous shrublands across a European climate gradient. We used retractable covers to create artificial nighttime warming and prolonged summer drought to 20-m 2 experimental plots. Combining the data from across the environmental gradient with the results from the manipulation experiments provides evidence for strong climate controls...
Two decades of uncharacteristically severe wildfires have caused government and private land managers to actively reduce hazardous fuels to lessen wildfire severity in western forests, including riparian areas. Because riparian fuel treatments are a fairly new management strategy, we set out to document their frequency and extent on federal lands in the western U.S. Seventy-four USDA Forest Service Fire Management Officers (FMOs) in 11 states were interviewed to collect information on the number and characteristics of riparian fuel reduction treatments in their management district. Just under half of the FMOs surveyed (43%) indicated that they were conducting fuel reduction treatments in riparian areas. The primary...
Removal of nonnative riparian trees is accelerating to conserve water and improve habitat for native species. Widespread control of dominant species, however, can lead to unintended erosion. Helicopter herbicide application in 2003 along a 12-km reach of the Rio Puerco, New Mexico, eliminated the target invasive species saltcedar (Tamarix spp.), which dominated the floodplain, as well as the native species sandbar willow (Salix exigua Nuttall), which occurred as a fringe along the channel. Herbicide application initiated a natural experiment testing the importance of riparian vegetation for bank stability along this data-rich river. A flood three years later eroded about 680,000 m(3) of sediment, increasing mean...
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The Gunnison River in the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park (BCNP) near Montrose, Colorado is a mixed gravel and bedrock river with ephemeral side tributaries. Flow rates are controlled immediately upstream by a diversion tunnel and three reservoirs. The management of the hydraulic control structures has decreased low-frequency, high-stage flows, which are the dominant geomorphic force in bedrock channel systems. We developed a simple model to estimate the extent of sediment mobilization at a given flow in the BCNP and to evaluate changes in the extent and frequency of sediment mobilization for flow regimes before and after flow regulation in 1966. Our methodology provides a screening process for identifying...
map background search result map search result map Climate Change Affects Carbon Allocation to the Soil in Shrublands Assessment of coarse sediment mobility in the Black Canyon of the Gunnison River, Colorado. Choosing Indicators of Natural Resource Condition: A Case Study in Arches National Park, Utah, USA Impacts of recreation trails on exotic and ruderal species distribution in grassland areas along the Colorado Front Range. Why won't they come? Stakeholder perspectives on collaborative national forest planning by participation level. The Response of Soil Processes to Climate Change: Results from Manipulation Studies of Shrublands Across an Environmental Gradient Changes in Vegetation Structure after Long-term Grazing in Pinyon-Juniper Ecosystems: Integrating Imaging Spectroscopy and Field Studies Temporal variation in community composition, pigmentation, and F(v)/F(m) of desert cyanobacterial soil crusts. Assessment of coarse sediment mobility in the Black Canyon of the Gunnison River, Colorado. Impacts of recreation trails on exotic and ruderal species distribution in grassland areas along the Colorado Front Range. Temporal variation in community composition, pigmentation, and F(v)/F(m) of desert cyanobacterial soil crusts. Changes in Vegetation Structure after Long-term Grazing in Pinyon-Juniper Ecosystems: Integrating Imaging Spectroscopy and Field Studies Why won't they come? Stakeholder perspectives on collaborative national forest planning by participation level. Climate Change Affects Carbon Allocation to the Soil in Shrublands The Response of Soil Processes to Climate Change: Results from Manipulation Studies of Shrublands Across an Environmental Gradient