State-and-Transition Simulation Models, parameters, input data, and simulation results

This is a spatially-explicit state-and-transition simulation model (STSM) of sagebrush-steppe vegetation dynamics for greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) Priority Areas for Conservation (PACs) in the Great Basin. The STSM was built using the ST-Sim platform and uses an integrated stock-flow submodel (STSM-SF) to simulate and track continuous vegetation component cover changes caused by annual growth, natural regeneration, and post-fire sagebrush seeding and planting restoration. Spatially explicit models were built for three sage-grouse PACs (Klamath Oregon/California [KLAM], NW Interior Nevada [NWINV], Strawberry Utah [STRAW]) that differed in historic wildfire patterns and the amounts of various component...

Tags: California, Centrocercus urophasianus, Greater sage-grouse, Klamath OR/CA Priority Area for Conservation, NW Interior NV Priority Area for Conservation, All tags... Nevada, Oregon, Sagebrush biome, Simulation model, Strawberry Priority Area for Conservation, United States, Utah, annual grass cover, biota, environment, perennial grass cover, pinyon-juniper cover, post-fire restoration, sage-grouse habitat, sagebrush cover, sagebrush revegetation, state-and-transition simulation model, vegetation change, Fewer tags

NW-Interior Nevada time series (2018-2068) of potential habitat and 50-year change

Potential future greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) habitat restoration was projected (2018-2068) for three sage-grouse Priority Area for Conservation (PACs) populations located along the northwestern, central, and eastern edge of the Great Basin using outputs from a spatially explicit state-transition simulation model (STSM) developed for sagebrush ecosystems. These datasets, for the NW-Interior Nevada, USA (NWINV) sage-grouse population, include: 1) a set of 78 categorical raster layers illustrating a time series (decade intervals) of potential future habitat, and 2) a set of 15 uncategorized raster layers illustrating potential change in habitat classification across space, after simulating 50 years...

Tags: Centrocercus urophasianus, Greater sage-grouse, NW-Interior Nevada Priority Area for Conservation, Nevada, Sagebrush biome, All tags... United States, biota, environment, perennial grass cover, post-fire restoration, sage-grouse habitat, sagebrush cover, sagebrush revegetation, state-and-transition simulation model, vegetation change, Fewer tags

Natural Regeneration Processes in Big Sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata)

Abstract (from http://www.srmjournals.org/doi/abs/10.2111/REM-D-13-00079.1): Big sagebrush, Artemisia tridentata Nuttall (Asteraceae), is the dominant plant species of large portions of semiarid western North America. However, much of historical big sagebrush vegetation has been removed or modified. Thus, regeneration is recognized as an important component for land management. Limited knowledge about key regeneration processes, however, represents an obstacle to identifying successful management practices and to gaining greater insight into the consequences of increasing disturbance frequency and global change. Therefore, our objective is to synthesize knowledge about natural big sagebrush regeneration. We identified...

Categories: Publication; Types: Citation; Tags: North Central CASC, Plants, Wildlife and Plants, recruitment, sage-grouse habitat, All tags... sagebrush steppe, seedlings, seeds, Fewer tags

Color Country South Canyon Restoration

Background information. The South Canyon project area consists of 121,000 acres within the Upper Sevier River Watershed in southern Utah. This watershed is ranked as a high priority for restoration because of degraded riparian and upland vegetation and erosion, the presence of hazardous fuels placing communities at increased risk of wildfire, and degraded greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) and mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) habitat because of the expansion and infilling of pinyon and juniper. In particular, this project was designed to reestablish and maintain sagebrush semi-desert habitat, open travel corridors, and provide benefits to sage-grouse and mule deer within and immediately adjacent to the...

Categories: Project; Types: Map Service, OGC WFS Layer, OGC WMS Layer, OGC WMS Service; Tags: Bureau of Land Management, Conifer, Fuels reduction project, Habitat-based, Herbaceous fuels management, All tags... Invasive species control, Sage-grouse habitat, Sagebrush restoration, Seeding, Shrub/scrub, State land, U.S. Department of the Interior land, Utah, Vegetation Restoration, Vegetation management, Watershed restoration, Woody fuels management, Fewer tags

State-and-Transition Simulation Models to explore post-fire habitat restoration in three greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) Priority Areas for Conservation, USA (2018-2068)

Wildfires are increasingly modifying wildlife habitat in the western United States and managers need ways to scope the pace and degree to which post-fire restoration actions can re-create habitat in dynamic landscapes. We simulated post-fire revegetation and greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) habitat restoration using a spatially explicit state-transition simulation model (STSM) developed for sagebrush ecosystems. The STSM represented the vegetation dynamics of the sagebrush ecosystem and included annual fires, annual grass invasion, conifer encroachment, and sagebrush revegetation restoration. We compared simulated vegetation output with sage-grouse perennial grass and sagebrush cover habitat needs...

Tags: California, Centrocercus urophasianus, Ecology, Greater sage-grouse, Klamath OR/CA Priority Area for Conservation, All tags... NW Interior NV Priority Area for Conservation, Nevada, Oregon, Sagebrush biome, Strawberry Priority Area for Conservation, USGS Science Data Catalog (SDC), United States, Utah, annual grass cover, biota, environment, perennial grass cover, pinyon-juniper cover, post-fire restoration, sage-grouse habitat, sagebrush cover, sagebrush revegetation, state-and-transition simulation model, vegetation change, Fewer tags

Color Country Upper Kanab Creek Restoration

The Kanab Creek Project Area encompasses 130,000 acres in southern Utah. This project area receives National attention because it is home to the Paunsagunt mule deer herd which are prized by trophy hunters, and because it supports the southernmost population of greater sage grouse within the western United States. One of the focuses of this project area has been to conduct treatments that cross jurisdictional boundaries, by working closely with private landowners, Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) and Utah’s Watershed Restoration Initiative, to provide landscape-level benefits for sage grouse. Telemetry data show that sage grouse are actively using older treatment areas, and newer treatments will expand...

Categories: Project; Types: Map Service, OGC WFS Layer, OGC WMS Layer, OGC WMS Service; Tags: Arid/desert, Bank stabilization/erosion control, Barren/rock, Bureau of Land Management, Debris addition, All tags... Fuels reduction project, Habitat-based, Herbaceous (grass, sedge, forb), Herbaceous fuels management, Invasive species control, Lack of Fire, Sage-grouse habitat, Sagebrush restoration, Seeding, Shrub/scrub, Temporary Grazing Restoration, U.S. Department of the Interior land, Utah, Vegetation management, Watershed restoration, Woody fuels management, Fewer tags

Strawberry Utah time series (2018-2068) of potential habitat and 50-year change

Potential future greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) habitat restoration was projected (2018-2068) for three sage-grouse Priority Area for Conservation (PACs) populations located along the northwestern, central, and eastern edge of the Great Basin using outputs from a spatially explicit state-transition simulation model (STSM) developed for sagebrush ecosystems. These datasets, for the Strawberry Utah, USA (STRAW) sage-grouse population, include: 1) a set of 78 categorical raster layers illustrating a time series (decade intervals) of potential future habitat, and 2) a set of 15 uncategorized raster layers illustrating potential change in habitat classification across space, after simulating 50 years...

Tags: Centrocercus urophasianus, Greater sage-grouse, Sagebrush biome, Strawberry Priority Area for Conservation, United States, All tags... Utah, biota, environment, perennial grass cover, post-fire restoration, sage-grouse habitat, sagebrush cover, sagebrush revegetation, state-and-transition simulation model, vegetation change, Fewer tags

Burley Landscape Sage Grouse Habitat Restoration

Background information. Characterized by a vast landscape dotted with sagebrush and juniper-clad foothills, the area surrounding the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM’s) Burley Field Office in Idaho is home to a variety of species, such as the greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus), mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus), antelope (Antilocapra americana), bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis), and pygmy rabbit (Brachylagus idahoensis). Many of these species depend on the sagebrush steppe ecosystem that was historically present in this region. Starting in the late 1800s with the Euroamerican settlement of the west, this sagebrush steppe ecosystem has been rapidly changing into woodlands dominated by Utah juniper (Juniperus...

Categories: Project; Types: Map Service, OGC WFS Layer, OGC WMS Layer, OGC WMS Service; Tags: Alteration of Fire Regime Condition Class, BLM, Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Conifer, Fire, All tags... Fuels reduction project, Habitat-based, Herbaceous fuels management, Idaho, Idaho Fish and Game and Pheasants Forever, Invasive species control, Natural processes and hazards, Private land, Sage-grouse habitat, Sagebrush restoration, Seeding, Shrub/scrub, State land, U.S. Department of the Interior land, Vegetation management, Woody fuels management, Fewer tags

Klamath Oregon/California time series (2018-2068) of potential habitat and 50-year change

Potential future greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) habitat restoration was projected (2018-2068) for three sage-grouse Priority Area for Conservation (PACs) populations located along the northwestern, central, and eastern edge of the Great Basin using outputs from a spatially explicit state-transition simulation model (STSM) developed for sagebrush ecosystems. These datasets, for the Klamath Oregon/California, USA (KLAM) sage-grouse population, include: 1) a set of 78 categorical raster layers illustrating a time series (decade intervals) of potential future habitat, and 2) a set of 15 uncategorized raster layers illustrating potential change in habitat classification across space, after simulating...

Tags: California, Centrocercus urophasianus, Greater sage-grouse, Klamath OR/CA Priority Area for Conservation, Oregon, All tags... Sagebrush biome, United States, biota, environment, perennial grass cover, post-fire restoration, sage-grouse habitat, sagebrush cover, sagebrush revegetation, state-and-transition simulation model, vegetation change, Fewer tags

Color Country South Beaver Restoration

Background information. The South Beaver area encompasses 145,000 acres in Beaver County in southern Utah and contains public, State, and private lands. The area is crucial mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) winter habitat, and it contains important elk (Cervus elaphus) habitat and occupied sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) habitat (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 2013). Nearby population growth and the construction of Interstate 15 have increased the importance of this area for wildlife, but the encroachment of pinyon and juniper have nearly eliminated any possible use of this area by sage-grouse and greatly reduced the amount of sagebrush and other forage available for deer and elk. Restoration in this area...

Categories: Project; Types: Map Service, OGC WFS Layer, OGC WMS Layer, OGC WMS Service; Tags: Bureau of Land Management, Fuels reduction project, Habitat-based, Herbaceous (grass, sedge, forb), Invasive species control, All tags... Natural processes and hazards, Sage-grouse habitat, Sagebrush restoration, Seeding, Shrub/scrub, State land, U.S. Department of the Interior land, Utah, Vegetation management, Watershed restoration, Woody fuels management, Fewer tags