Rangeland Ecology & Management

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A CONSERVATION PLANNING TOOL FOR RESTORING ECOSYSTEMS IN THE SAGEBRUSH BIOME CONSIDERING FUTURE CLIMATE CONDITIONS
Author
Haufler, Jon
Yeats, Scott
Mehl, Carolyn
Publisher
Society for Range Management
Publication Year
2015
Body

Maintaining and restoring functional sagebrush ecosystems is a current management priority given the potential listing of sage-grouse under the endangered species act. Primary efforts have been to identify and map key areas that need to be maintained to conserve sage-grouse. What is also recognized is the need to restore functional sagebrush ecosystems in many areas where they have been degraded, and to identify future needs given likely impacts from climate change. We developed a sagebrush ecosystem restoration planning tool that uses the information contained in NRCS soils maps and data, as well as ecological site descriptions (ESD's) to identify sagebrush ecosystem restoration objectives. Specifically, this tool is designed to be a module of Natural Resources Conservation Service WEB SOIL SURVEY (WSS). WSS provides the capability to select a desired area and display a map of the underlying soils and ecological sites. The sagebrush ecosystem restoration module provides the ability to display the ecological sites relative to having - 1) “high”, “moderate”, or “low” sagebrush potential, 2) “tall”, “moderate”, or “no” sagebrush stature, and 3) a tabular description of the desired reference plant community for restoration. Linked with this tool, we developed a summary report of downscaled climate change predictions for each ecological site within the sagebrush biome, and evaluated these predicted changes for their potential effects on sagebrush plant communities. Potential future impacts caused by changes in precipitation and temperature on sagebrush species and grass species were evaluated, and potential locations where changes are likely to occur were mapped. Our evaluation showed few changes in sagebrush species are likely based on changes in precipitation, but that substantial changes in associated grass communities are likely due to shifts in temperatures.

Language
English
Resource Type
Text
Document Type
Conference Proceedings
Conference Name
SRM Sacramento, CA