Managing for resilient sagebrush plant communities in the modern era: We’re not in 1850 anymore

Authors: Boyd, Chad

Submitted to: Rangelands
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 2/17/2022
Publication Date: 4/6/2022
Citation: Boyd, C.S. 2022. Managing for resilient sagebrush plant communities in the modern era: We’re not in 1850 anymore. Rangelands. 44(3):167-172. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rala.2022.02.002.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rala.2022.02.002

Interpretive Summary: Invasive annual grasses on sagebrush rangelands are negatively impacting land uses and values ranging from forage for grazing livestock to native plant diversity, wildlife habitat, and human safety via associated increases in the wildfire footprint. In December of 2020 a diverse group of managers, scientists, and government officials held a symposium to discuss existing and emerging options for ameliorating the annual grass threat and associated impacts in the Northern Great Basin region. This paper provides a high elevation overview of sagebrush plant community ecology, how that ecology has varied through time, the role of invasive annual grasses in influencing sagebrush plant community ecology, and some thoughts on a productive path forward. This broad overview will serve as an operational context that frames the importance of and relationships between the papers to follow.

Technical Abstract: Invasive annual grasses on sagebrush rangelands are negatively impacting land uses and values ranging from forage for grazing livestock to native plant diversity, wildlife habitat, and human safety via associated increases in the wildfire footprint. These annual species have also modified the ecology of sagebrush plant communities such that contemporaneous management is more complicated and difficult than re-creating the pre-European ecological context. In the modern sagebrush steppe, the presence of invasive annual grasses creates fuels conditions that increase fire frequency to the detriment of native perennials. Conserving and restoring these native perennials is critical to combating the spread of invasive annuals. These actions are complicated by the fact that native perennial species are difficult to establish from seed, whereas invasive annual species readily establish from seed. In December of 2020 a diverse group of managers, scientists, and government officials held a symposium to discuss existing and emerging options for ameliorating the annual grass threat and associated impacts in the Northern Great Basin region. This paper provides a high elevation overview of sagebrush plant community ecology, how that ecology has varied through time, the role of invasive annual grasses in influencing sagebrush plant community ecology, and some thoughts on a productive path forward. This broad overview will serve as an operational context that frames the importance of and relationships between the papers to follow.