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Evaluation of treatment type and grass species for restoring Artemisia-dominated rangelands in the Great Basin of North America
Author
Thacker, E
Bryan, R
Clifford, A
Publisher
XII International Rangeland Congress
Publication Year
2025
Body

Decades of research and management activities have focused on restoring Artemisia-dominated rangelands. Future climate projections suggest that drought and wildfire may become more frequent; therefore, being able to restore rangelands following these events is critical for the future maintenance of ecological services. We initiated two studies, one focusing on assessing treatment types (chaining, drill seeding, and aerial seeding) for post-fire restoration, and in a separate study, we evaluated 52 grass species that were opportunistically exposed to drought and fire over seven years to determine which groups of species are resilient to these drivers. The treatment analysis relied on the Rangeland Analysis Platform tool to evaluate how burned areas responded to treatment by examining the cover estimates of functional groups before and after treatment. The functional groups varied significantly in their responses to different treatments. Overall, we discovered mild successes in perennial grass and forb establishment. Conversely, postfire invasive annual forbs and grasses were more dependent on pretreatment conditions than treatment type. We also concluded that restoration success may depend more on pretreatment conditions than treatment type. Our results also demonstrate that a wide array of plant materials can establish, persist, and resist cheatgrass (B. tectorum) invasion through drought and fire and that species selection for restoration should be based on their possession of functional traits that can meet management objectives. Thus, in the future, managers attempting rangeland restoration must carefully consider pretreatment conditions and select species for restoration based on functional traits that ensure the resilience of rangelands.

Language
English
Resource Type
Text
Document Type
Conference Proceedings
Additional Information
This paper is part of the larger XII International Rangelands Congress Proceedings. Page Numbers: 828-832. Theme: Theme 4 / Controlling the invaders
ISSN
978-0-646-72121-7
Conference Name
International Rangeland Congress
Collection
International Rangelands Congress
Keywords
sagebrush
restoration
grasses
rangeland
wildfire