Application of Ecological Site Information to Transformative Changes on Great Basin Sagebrush Rangelands

C. Jason Williams, Frederick B. Pierson, Kenneth E. Spaeth, Joel R. Brown, Osama Z. Al-Hamdan, Mark A. Weltz, Mark A. Nearing, Jeffrey E. Herrick, Jan Boll, Peter R. Robichaud, David C. Goodrich, Philip Heilman, D. Phillip Guertin, Mariano Hernandez, Haiyan Wei, Viktor O. Polyakov, Gerardo Armendariz, Sayjro K. Nouwakpo, Stuart P. Hardegree, Patrick E. Clark, Eva K. Strand, Jonathan D. Bates, Loretta J. Metz, Mary H. Nichols

Abstract


• The utility of ecological site descriptions (ESD) in the management of rangelands hinges on their ability to characterize and predict plant community change, the associated ecological consequences, and ecosystem responsiveness to management.
• We demonstrate how enhancement of ESDs with key ecohydrologic information can aid predictions of ecosystem response and targeting of conservation practices for sagebrush rangelands that are strongly regulated by ecohydrologic or ecogeomorphic feedbacks.
• The primary point of thiswork is that ESD concepts are flexible and can be creatively augmented for improved assessment and management of rangelands.

Keywords: adaptive management, ecological site, erosion, Rangeland Hydrology and Erosion Model, resilience, runoff.


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