Ecological Site Descriptions Literature : USDA ARS

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Ecological Site Descriptions Literature

Foundation Papers
Rangelands Special Issue (Dec 2010)
General Concepts and Techniques
Soil Science Resources
Africa
Asia
Australia
Europe
North America
South America
Wildlife/Animals in State and Transition Models

Foundation Papers

Archer, S. 1989. Have southern Texas savannas been converted to woodlands in recent history? The American Naturalist 134(4):545-561.
Bestelmeyer, B.T., J.R. Brown, K.M. Havstad, G. Chavez, R. Alexander, and J.E. Herrick. 2003. Development and use of state-and-transition models for rangelands. Journal of Range Management 56:114-126.
Bestelmeyer, B.T., A.J. Tugel, G.L. Peacock, Jr., D.G. Robinett, P.L. Shaver, J.R. Brown, J.E. Herrick, H. Sanchez, K.M. Havstad. 2009. State-and-transition models for heterogeneous landscapes: A strategy for development and application. Rangeland Ecology and Management 62:1-15.
Briske, D.D., B.T. Bestelmeyer, T.K. Stringham, P.L. Shaver. 2008. Recommendations for development of resilience-based state-and-transition models. Rangeland Ecology and Management 61:359-367.
Briske, D.D., S.D. Fuhlendorf, F.E. Smeins. 2005. State-and-transition models, thresholds, and rangeland health: a synthesis of ecological concepts and perspectives. Rangeland Ecology and Management 58:1-10.
Brown J.R., Herrick J.E., Price D. 1999. Managing low-output agroecosystems sustainably: the importance of ecological thresholds. Canadian Journal of Forest Research 29:1112-1119.
Dyksterhuis, E.J. 1949. Condition and management of rangeland based on quantitative ecology. Journal of Range Management 2:104-115.
Dyksterhuis, E.J. 1958. Ecological principles in range evaluation. Botanical Review 24:253-272.
Herrick, J.E., B.T. Bestelmeyer, S.R. Archer, A.J. Tugel, J.R. Brown. 2006. An integrated framework for science-based arid land management. Journal of Arid Environments 65:319-335.
Shiflet, T.N. 1975. Range sites and soils in the United States. In: D.N. Hyder (ed). Proceedings of the Third Workshop of the US/Australia Rangelands Panel. Society for Range Management, Denver, CO.
Stringham, T.K., W.C. Krueger, P.L. Shaver. 2003. State and transition modeling: an ecological process approach. Journal of Range Management 56:106-113.
Westoby, M. 1979/80. Elements of a theory of vegetation dynamics in arid rangelands. Israel Journal of Botany 28:169-194.
Westoby, M., B. Walker, I. Noy-Meir. 1989. Opportunistic management for rangelands not at equilibrium. Journal of Range Management 42:266-274.

Rangelands Special Issue, Volume 32, Issue 6 (December 2010)

Bestelmeyer, B.T., J.R. Brown. 2010. An Introduction to the special issue on ecological sites. Rangelands 32:3-4.
Bestelmeyer, B.T., K. Moseley, P.L. Shaver, H. Sanchez, D.D. Briske, M.E. Fernandez-Gimenez. 2010. Practical guidance for developing state-and-transition models. Rangelands 32:23-30.
Brown, J.R. 2010. Ecological sites: Their history, status, and future. Rangelands 32:5-8.
Duniway, M.C., B.T. Bestelmeyer, A. Tugel. 2010. Soil processes and properties that distinguish ecological sites and states. Rangelands 32:9-15.
Gilgert, W., S. Zack. 2010. Integrating multiple ecosystem services into ecological site descriptions. Rangelands 32:49-54.
Karl, J.W., J.E. Herrick. 2010. Monitoring and assessment based on ecological sites. Rangelands 32:60-64.
Knapp, C.N., M.E. Fernandez-Gimenez, E. Kachergis. 2010. The role of local knowledge in state-and-transition model development. Rangelands 32:31-36.
Moseley, K., P.L. Shaver, H. Sanchez, B.T. Bestelmeyer. 2010. Ecological site development: A gentle introduction. Rangelands 32:16-22.
Stringham, T.K., J.P. Repp. 2010. Ecological site descriptions: Consideration for riparian systems. Rangelands 32:43-48.
Talbot, C.J., S.B. Campbell, M. Hansen, A.B. Price. 2010. Information technologies and ecological site descriptions. Rangelands 32:55-59.
Townsend, L. 2010. Ecological site descriptions: Developmental considerations for woodlands and forests. Rangelands 32:37-42.

General Concepts and Techniques

Bashari, H., C. Smith, O.J.H. Bosch. 2009. Developing decision support tools for rangeland management by combining state and transition models and Bayesian belief networks. Agricultural Systems 99:23-34
Bestelmeyer, B.T. 2006. Threshold concepts and their use in rangeland management and restoration: the good, the bad, and the insidious. Restoration Ecology 14:325-329.
Bestelmeyer, B.T., D. P. Goolsby, S.R. Archer. 2011. Spatial perspectives in state-and-transition models: a missing link to land management? Journal of Applied Ecology 48:746-757.
Bestelmeyer, B.T., D.A. Trujillo, A.J. Tugel, K.M. Havstad. 2006. A multi-scale classification of vegetation dynamics in arid lands: what is the right scale for models, monitoring, and restoration? Journal of Arid Environments 65:296-318.
Briske, D.D., S.D. Fuhlendorf, F.E. Smeins. 2006. A unified framework for assessment and application of ecological thresholds. Rangeland Ecology and Management 59:225-236.
Brown, J.R., B.T. Bestelmeyer. 2008. Resolving critical issues for the development of ecological site descriptions: Summary of a symposium. Rangelands 30:16-18.
Brown, J.R., MacLeod, N. 2011. A site-based approach to delivering rangeland ecosystem services. The Rangeland Journal 33(2):99-108.
Brown, J.R., T. Svejcar, M. Brunson, J. Dobrowolski, E. Fredrickson, U. Krueter, K. Launchbaugh, J. Southworth, T. Thurow. 2002. Range sites: Are they the appropriate spatial unit for measuring and managing rangelands? Rangelands 24:7-12.
Creque, J.A., S.D. Bassett, N.E. West. 1999. Viewpoint: Delineating ecological sites. Journal of Range Management 52:546-549.
Friedel, M.H. 1991. Range condition assessment and the concept of thresholds: A viewpoint. Journal of Range Management 44(5):422-426.
Knapp, C.N., M.E. Fernandez-Gimenez. 2009. Understanding change: Integrating rancher knowledge Into state-and-transition models. Rangeland Ecol Manage 62:510-521.
Knapp, C.N., M.E. Fernandez-Gimenez, D.D. Briske, B.T. Bestelmeyer, X.B. Wu. 2011. An assessment of state-and-transition models: perceptions following two decades of development and implementation. Rangeland Ecology and Management 64:598-606.
Lopez, D.R., L. Cavallero, M.A. Brizuela, M.R. Aguiar. 2011. Ecosystemic structural-functional approach of the state and transition model. Applied Vegetation Science 14:6-16.
Rodriguez Iglesias, R.M., M.M. Kothmann. 1997. Structure and causes of vegetation change in state and transition model applications. Journal of Range Management 50:399-408.
Rumpff, L., D.H. Duncan, P.A. Vesk, D.A. Keith, B.A. Wintle. 2011. State-and-transition modelling for adaptive management of native woodlands. Biological Conservation 144:1224-1236.
Skaggs, R., Z. Edwards, B.T. Bestelmeyer, J.B. Wright, J. Williamson, P. Smith. 2011. Vegetation maps at the passage of the Taylor Grazing Act (1934): A baseline to evaluate rangeland change after a regime shift. Rangelands 33(1):13-19.
Steele, C.M., B.T. Bestelmeyer, L.M. Burkett, P.L. Smith, S. Yanoff. 2012. Spatially explicit representation of state-and-transition models. Rangeland Ecology and Management 65:213-222.
Williamson, J.C., L. Burkett, B.T. Bestelmeyer, R. Skaggs, K.M. Havstad. 2011. Reinterpreting historical data for evidence-based shrubland management. Natural Resources and Environmental Issues 17(1):1-10.

Soil Science Resources

Bestelmeyer, B., J. Ward, J. Herrick, A. Tugel. 2006. Fragmentation effects on soil aggregate stability in a patchy arid grassland. Rangeland Ecology and Management 59:406-415.
Burkett, L.M., B.T. Bestelmeyer, A.J. Tugel. 2012. A field guide to pedoderm and pattern classes, version 2.3. 74 pp.
Peterson, F.F. 1981. Landforms of the basin and range province, defined for soil survey. Technical Bulletin 28, Nevada Agricultural Experiment Station, University of Nevada, Reno.
Schoeneberger, P.J., D.A. Wysocki, E.C. Benham, W.D. Broderson (editors). 2012. Field book for describing and sampling soils, Version 3.0. Natural Resources Conservation Service, National Soil Survey Center, Lincoln, NE.
Tugel, A., J.E. Herrick, J.R. Brown, M.J. Mausbach, W. Puckett, K. Hipple. 2005. Soil change, soil survey, and natural resources decision making: a blueprint for action. Soil Science Society of America Journal 69:738-747.

Africa

Dougill, A.J., D.S.G. Thomas, A.L. Heathwaite. 1999. Environmental change in the Kalahari: Integrated land degradation studies for nonequilibrium dryland environments. Annals of the Association of American Geographers 89(3):420-442.
Joubert, D.F., A. Rothauge, G.N. Smit. 2008. A conceptual model of vegetation dynamics in the semiarid Highland savanna of Namibia, with particular reference to bush thickening by Acacia mellifera. Journal of Arid Environments 72:2201-2210.

Asia

Koniak, G., I. Noy-Meir. 2009. A hierarchical, multi-scale, management-responsive model of Mediterranean vegetation dynamics. Ecological Modelling 220:1148-1158.

Australia

Ash, A.J., J.A. Bellamy, T.G.H. Stockwell. 1994. State and transition models for rangelands: Application of state and transition models to rangelands in northern Australia. Tropical Grasslands 28:223-228.
Bellamy, J.A., J.R. Brown. 1994. State and transition models for rangelands: Building a state and transition model for management and research on rangelands. Tropical Grasslands 28:247-255.
Brown, J.R. 1994. State and transition models for rangelands: Ecology as a basis for rangeland management: Performance criteria for testing models. Tropical Grasslands 28:206-213.
Filet, P.G. 1994. State and transition models for rangelands: The impact of the state and transition model on grazing lands research, management and extension - A review. Tropical Grasslands 28:214-222.
Grice, A.C., N.D. MacLeod. 1994. State and transition models for rangelands: State and transition models as aids to communication between scientists and land managers. Tropical Grasslands 28:241-246.
Hall, T.J., P.G. Filet, B. Banks, R.G. Silcock. 1994. State and transition models for rangelands: A state and transition model of the Aristida-Bothriochloa pasture community of central and southern Queensland. Tropical Grasslands 28:270-273.
Jones, P., W.H. Burrows. 1994. State and transition models for rangelands: A state and transition model for the mulga zone of south-west Queensland. Tropical Grasslands 28:279-283.
McArthur, S.R., H.J. Chamberlain, D.G. Phelps. 1994. State and transition models for rangelands: A general state and transition model for the mitchell grass, bluegrass-browntop and Queensland bluegrass pasture zones of northern Australia. Tropical Grasslands 28:274-278.
McIntyre, S., S. Lavorel. 2007. A conceptual model of land use effects on the structure and function of herbaceous vegetation. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment 119:11-21.
McIvor, J.G., J.C. Scanlan. 1994. State and transition models for rangelands: A state and transition model for the northern speargrass zone. Tropical Grasslands 28:256-259.
Orr, D.M., C.J. Paton, S. McIntyre. 1994. State and transition models for rangelands: A state and transition model for the southern black speargrass zone of Queensland. Tropical Grasslands 28:266-269.
Scanlan, J.C. 1994. State and transition models for rangelands: The use of state and transition models for predicting vegetation change in rangelands. Tropical Grasslands 28:229-240.
Stockwell, T.G.H., R.T. Andison, A.J. Ash , J.A. Bellamy, R.M. Dyer. 1994. State and transition models for rangelands: Development of state and transition models for pastoral management of the golden beard grass and limestone grass pasture lands of NW Australia. Tropical Grasslands 28:260-265.
Whalley, R.D.B. 1994. State and transition models for rangelands: Successional theory and vegetation change. Tropical Grasslands 28:195-205.
Yates, C.J., R.J. Hobbs. 1997. Woodland restoration in the Western Australian Wheatbelt: A conceptual framework using a state and transition model. Restoration Ecology 5(1):28-35.

Europe

Casado, M.A., J.M. de Miguel, F.D. Pineda. 1997. Modelo de estados y transiciones en pastizales Mediterraneos Montana y Dehesa del centro de la Peninsula Iberica. Ecotropicos 10(2):113-132.
Fernandez Ales, R., M.J. Leiva. 1997. Sabanas Mediterraneas: Modelo de sstados y transiciones. Ecotropicos 10(2):133-150.

North America

Bagchi, S., D.D. Briske, X.B. Wu, M.P. McClaran, B.T. Bestelmeyer, M.E. Fernandez-Gimenez. 2012. Empirical assessment of state-and-transition models with a long-term vegetation record from the Sonoran Desert. Ecological Applications 22(2):400-411.
Bestelmeyer, B.T., J.E. Herrick, J.R. Brown, D.A. Trujillo, K.M. Havstad. 2004. Land management in the American Southwest: a state-and-transition approach to ecosystem complexity. Environmental Management 34:38-51.
Davies, G.M., J.D. Bakker, E. Dettweiler-Robinson, P.W. Dunwiddie, S.A. Hall, J. Downs, J. Evans. 2012. Trajectories of change in sagebrush steppe vegetation communities in relation to multiple wildfires. Ecological Applications 22(5):1562-1577.
George, M.R., J.R. Brown, W.J. Clawson. 1992. Application of nonequilibrium ecology to management of Mediterranean grasslands. Journal of Range Management 45:436-440.
Miller, M.E. 2005. The structure and functioning of dryland ecosystems: Conceptual models to inform long-term ecological monitoring. U. S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2005-5197. Reston, VA. 74 pp.
Miller, M.E., R.T. Belote, M.A. Bowker, S.L. Garman. 2011. Alternative states of a semiarid grassland
ecosystem: implications for ecosystem services. Ecosphere 2(5):art55.
Twidwell, D., S.D. Fuhlendorf, C.A. Taylor, Jr., W.E. Rogers. 2013. Refining thresholds in coupled fire-vegetation models to improve management of encroaching woody plants in grasslands. Journal of Applied Ecology 50(3):603-613.
Zweig, C.L., W.M. Kitchens. 2009. Multi-state succession in wetlands: a novel use of state and transition models. Ecology 90(7):1900-1909.

South America

Aguilera, M.O., D.F. Steinaker, M.R. Demar?a, A.O. ?vila. 1998. Estados y transiciones de los pastizales de Sorghastrum pellitum del ?rea medanosa de San Lu?s, Argentina. Ecotropicos 11:107-120.
Barrera, M.D., J.L. Frangi. 1997. Modelo de estados y transiciones de la arbustificacion de pastizales de Sierra de la Ventana, Argentina. Ecotropicos 10(2):161-166.
Kunst, C., E. Monti, H. Perez, J. Godoy. 2006. Assessment of the rangelands of southwestern Santiago del Estero, Argentina, for grazing management and research. Journal of Environmental Management 80:248-265.
Leon, R.J.C., S.E. Burkart. 1998. El pastizal de la pampa deprimida: Estados alternativos. Ecotropicos 11(2):121-130.
Meirelles, M.L., C.A. Klink, J.C. Sousa Silva. 1997. Un modelo de estados y transiciones para el Cerrado Brasileno. Ecotropicos 10(2):45-50.
Menghi, M., M. Herrera. 1998. Modelo de estados y transiciones para pastizales del Valle de Inundacion del Rio Dulce (Depresion de Mar Chiquita, Cordoba, Argentina). Ecotropicos 11(2):131-140.
Paruelo, J.M. 1993. Secuencias de deterioro en distintos ambientes patagonicos. Su caracterizacion mediante el modelo de estados y transiciones. Instituto Nacional de Tecnolog?a Agropecuaria, Deutsche Gesellschaft f?r Technische Zusammenarbeit, Bariloche, R?o Negro, Argentina.
Pereira da Silva, M., G. Sarmiento. 1997. Un modelo de estados y transiciones de la sabana hiperestacional de los Llanos Venezolanos. Ecotropicos 10(2):79-86.
Pucheta, E., M. Cabido, S. Diaz. 1997. Modelo de Estados y Transiciones Para los Pastizales de Altura de las Sierras de Cordoba, Argentina. Ecotropicos 10(2):151-160.
Sarmiento, G., J.F. Silva. 1997. Un Modelo de Estados y Transiciones de la Sabana Estacional de los Llanos Venezolanos. Ecotropicos 10(2):51-64.

Wildlife/Animals in State and Transition Models

Holmes, A.L., R.F. Miller. 2010. State-and-transition models for assessing grasshopper sparrow habitat use. Journal of Wildlife Management 74(8):1834-1840.
Letnic, M., C.R. Dickman. 2010. Resource pulses and mammalian dynamics: conceptual models for hummock grasslands and other Australian desert habitats. Biological Reviews 85(3):501-521.
Williams, M.I., G.B. Paige, T.L. Thurow, A.L. Hild, K.G. Gerow. 2011. Songbird relationships to shrub-steppe ecological site characteristics. Rangeland Ecology and Management 64:109-118.

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