Location: Great Basin Rangelands Research
2022 Annual Report
Accomplishments
1. Diversity of seed-feeding insects in juniper species associated with severe wildfires reveals global evolutionary trend. Populations of juniper species in the western United States have increased in density and geographical distribution in recent decades, encroaching on productive range and contributing to increases in the intensity and size of wildfires. ARS researchers in Reno, Nevada, collected and identified more than 60 species of insects, plus one new mite species, from berries of California, western, and Utah junipers. Many of these insects, as well as the mite, are damaging to seeds and thus affect density and spread of these tree populations. Comparison of insects collected from these three juniper species with insects reported in the literature from Virginia juniper (from eastern North America) and two Mediterranean juniper species revealed remarkable parallel evolution of related insects occupying the same berry niches in the six far-flung juniper species. This was a significant finding in the field of evolutionary ecology, in addition to having important real-world applications. Given the growing role of junipers in western wildfires, this new knowledge could lead to new management strategies for reducing viability of juniper seeds and limiting spread of these trees.
Review Publications
Clements, D.D., Harmon, D.N., Blank, R.R. 2022. Seed mix performance and cheatgrass suppression on arid rangelands. Rangelands. 44(2):129-135. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rala.2022.02.003.
Newingham, B.A., Kachergis, E., Ganguli, A.C., Foster, B., Price, L., McCord, S.E. 2021. Lessons given and learned from rangeland monitoring courses. Rangelands. 44(1):29-38. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rala.2021.08.003.
Haddad, M., Strohmeier, S.M., Nouwakpo, S.K., Rimawi, O., Weltz, M.A., Sterk, G. 2022. Rangeland restoration in Jordan: Restoring vegetation cover by water harvesting measures. International Soil and Water Conservation Research. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.iswcr.2022.03.001.
Pyke, D.A., Schaff, S.C., Chambers, J.C., Schupp, E.W., Newingham, B.A., Gray, M.L., Ellsworth, L.M. 2022. Ten-year ecological responses to fuel treatments within semiarid Wyoming big sagebrush ecosystems. Ecosphere. 13(7). Article e4176. https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.4176.
