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Ecological resilience and resistance to cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum) invasion in southwestern U.S. drylands: 1980-2019

dataset
posted on 2024-10-31, 04:07 authored by Jeanne C. Chambers, Jessi L. Brown, Steve Campbell, Shane A. Green, Matthew C. Reeves, Daniel R. Schlaepfer, Vaughn Thacker
Spatially explicit and climate sensitive information on the responses of ecosystems to global change processes is required for strategic planning and prioritization of conservation and restoration. Indicators of ecological resilience and invasion resistance (R&R) are used increasingly to understand the influence of climate regimes on ecosystem responses to global change processes and determine effective management strategies. We developed multiclass indicators of R&R based on proxy soil temperature and moisture regimes, or climate regimes, for southwestern U.S. drylands that accounted for precipitation seasonality and climate change at a scale of 1 kilometer (km) for the time period from 1980-2019. The climate variables that we used, mean annual temperature, precipitation, and monsoon index, allowed us to construct climate sensitive and ecologically meaningful climate regimes that mirrored the soil temperature and moisture regimes in the U.S. National Cooperative Soil Survey data and Ecological Site Descriptions that are widely used by managers in the western U.S. The climate regimes reflected the dominant ecological types and plant functional groups and allowed us to develop meaningful indicators of R&R. Particularly important was identification of a monsoon index value (0.30) to delineate areas with an ustic (summer moist) precipitation regime as indicated by the frequency of C4 vs. C3 grass species. The climate regimes included four temperature regimes (cryic, frigid, mesic, and hypermesic), both ustic and xeric/aridic moisture regimes, and multiple moisture subclasses based on average precipitation zones (PZ). These climate regimes were used to develop two spatial data layers (rasters in GeoTIFF format) representing R&R for the time period 1980-2019.
Previous indicators of ecological resilience and resistance to invasion (R&R) focused on the sagebrush biome and relied on soil temperature and moisture regimes mapped as part of the U.S. National Cooperative Soil Survey or climate and water availability indicators derived from ecohydrological process models. However, proxy soil temperature and moisture regimes (climate regimes), and their associated R&R indicators, based on atmospheric climate variables are likely preferable to those based on soil climate because (1) soil temperature and moisture regimes from the Soil Survey are static and challenges exist in evaluating climate change effects based on these indicators, (2) discontinuities exist in soil map units across state boundaries, and (3) many areas, notably some U.S. National Forests, do not yet have published soil surveys. The finer-scale climate regimes and multiclass R&R indicators that we developed allowed us to account for precipitation seasonality and thus to provide more accurate information on the likely responses to disturbances and climate suitability to the widespread invasive annual, cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum), across the southwest drylands. We expect the climate regimes and R&R indicators will provide valuable information for strategic planning and prioritization and will be useful to develop prioritization strategies for fire prevention and management, invasive species management, conservation of species habitat, and to evaluate restoration success.
For more information about these data, see Chambers et al. (in review).

Funding

USDA-FS

History

Data contact name

Jeanne C. Chambers

Data contact email

jeanne.chambers@usda.gov

Publisher

Forest Service Research Data Archive

Use limitations

These data were collected using funding from the U.S. Government and can be used without additional permissions or fees. If you use these data in a publication, presentation, or other research product please use the following citation: Chambers, Jeanne C.; Brown, Jessi L.; Campbell, Steve; Green, Shane A.; Reeves, Matthew C.; Schlaepfer, Daniel R.; Thacker, Vaughn. 2024. Ecological resilience and resistance to cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum) invasion in southwestern U.S. drylands: 1980-2019. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2024-0072

Temporal Extent Start Date

1980-01-01

Temporal Extent End Date

2019-12-31

Theme

  • Not specified

Geographic Coverage

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Geographic location - description

Data represent the southwestern United States, including portions of Utah, Nevada, Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico.

ISO Topic Category

  • environment
  • biota
  • geoscientificInformation
  • climatologyMeteorologyAtmosphere

National Agricultural Library Thesaurus terms

Forestry, Wildland Management

OMB Bureau Code

  • 005:96 - Forest Service

OMB Program Code

  • 005:059 - Management Activities

Pending citation

  • No

Public Access Level

  • Public

Identifier

RDS-2024-0072