Data and software code from two long-term experiments (1996-2011 and 2005-2018) at three sites on the Colorado Plateau of North America

These data were compiled to examine how climate change affects biocrust recovery from both physical and climate-induced disturbance. Objective(s) of our study were to uncover the trajectory of biological soil crust communities and soil stability following disturbance and under warming. These data represent biological soil crust surveys under 5 treatments at three sites. These data were collected at three sites: Arches National Park, Canyonlands National Park and Castle Valley. Data collection for a physical disturbance experiment where annual human-trampling occurred at the sites in Arches and Canyonlands began in 1996 and was concluded in 2018. Data collection for a 13-year full-factorial in situ climate manipulation...

Tags: 20 point-intercept frames, Arches National Park, Canyonlands National Park, Castle Valley, Climatology, All tags... Ecology, Geography, Information Sciences, PRISM Climate Data, Soil Sciences, USGS Science Data Catalog (SDC), Utah, air temperature, altered precipitation, biocrust recovery, biological soil crusts, biota, climate change, climate manipulation experiment, climate-induced disturbance, effects of climate change, field experiments, field inventory and monitoring, field sampling, field soil aggregate stability kitshuman-trampling, geoscientificInformation, habitat alteration and disturbance, in situ, long-term experiment data, mechanical disturbance, physical disturbance experiment, precipitation (atmospheric), soil sciences, soil stability, surveys, treatmtents, undisturbed control, warming, warming and altered precipitation, Fewer tags

Site data from observations of post-fire and thinned stands of piñon-juniper woodlands on the Colorado Plateau

These data were compiled to evaluate pinyon-juniper regeneration dynamics following stand-replacing wildfire and thinning treatments. Objectives of our study were to investigate vegetation community composition and tree recruitment in post-fire and post-thinning environments. These data represent plant and biological soil crust community composition and climatological records among intact, thinned, and burned pinyon–juniper woodlands. These data were collected in Mesa Verde National Park and Ute Mountain Ute Tribal Park from 6/1/2021 to 6/10/2021 and from 03/1/2022 to 11/30/2022 at two burned and two intact pinyon-juniper ecosystems in Mesa Verde National Park only. These data were collected by the U.S. Geological...

Categories: Data; Tags: Botany, Colorado, Echo House (historical), Ecology, Geography, All tags... Information Sciences, Johnson Canyon, Juniperus osteosperma, Long Mesa, Mancos Canyon, Mesa Verde National Park, Montezuma County, Pinus edulis, Soil Sciences, USGS Science Data Catalog (SDC), Ute Mountain Ute Tribal Park, Ute Mountain Ute Tribal Park, Wetherill Mesa, air temperature, biogeography, biological soil crusts, biota, burned forest, climate change, climatological differences, climatological records, climatologyMeteorologyAtmosphere, community composition, community ecology, data release, ecosystem management, elevation, fires, forest ecosystems, forest management, intact forest, natural resource management, net radiation, photosynthetically active radiation, pinyon–juniper woodlands, plants (organisms), relative humidity, soil moisture, soil temperature, thinned forest, thinning management treatments, vascular plants, wildfire, Fewer tags

Determining Successful Management and Restoration Strategies for Pinyon-Juniper Communities in the Face of Changing Climate and Wildfire

Pinyon-juniper woodlands are important ecosystems in the western U.S. that provide numerous critical environmental, economic, and cultural benefits. For example, pinyon pines are a significant cultural resource for multiple Native American Tribes and provide necessary habitat for plants and wildlife (including at risk species, such as the pinyon-jay). Despite their importance, stress put on pinyon-juniper woodlands by wildfires and other interacting effects of climate change are causing major population declines of these woodland trees. Such changes to pinyon-juniper woodlands lead to uncertainty for land managers on best practices for protecting these ecosystems from stand replacing fire (where most or all of...

Categories: Project; Types: Map Service, OGC WFS Layer, OGC WMS Layer, OGC WMS Service; Tags: 2020, CASC, Drought, Fire and Extreme Weather, Drought, Fire and Extreme Weather, Fire, All tags... Fire, Forests, Forests, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Peoples, Landscapes, Landscapes, North Central, North Central CASC, Plants, Plants, Projects by Region, Tribes and Tribal Organizations, Tribes and Tribal Organizations, Wildlife and Plants, Wildlife and Plants, Fewer tags