Pub Date : 2025-11-01Epub Date: 2025-08-30DOI: 10.1016/j.rama.2025.07.001
Samantha M. Cady, Craig A. Davis, Samuel D. Fuhlendorf
Weather extremes are increasing in frequency and magnitude, and this trend is projected to continue as anthropogenic climate change progresses. These extremes can include increases in severe drought as well as anomalously heavy rainfall. As birds continue to face novel climatic pressures, including precipitation extremes, the need to hone our understanding of their variable responses is becoming increasingly urgent. Though many studies have evaluated wildlife responses to precipitation variability, less is known about possible biome-specific responses within a single species. Using a half-century of systematically collected count data, we investigate northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus) responses to drought and abnormally high rainfall in the Great Plains and Eastern Temperate Forest biomes of North America. Our study demonstrated that, though bobwhite underwent a significant response to declining precipitation throughout its range, the direction of effect was biome-dependent. Specifically, bobwhite relative abundance declined following 12-month droughts prior to the breeding season April in the Great Plains but had a weak, positive association with drought in the Eastern Temperate Forest. This study adds complexity to our understanding of how bobwhite respond to the same environmental pressure (i.e., drought) across its geographic range and highlights the importance of developing region-specific management strategies in the face of a changing climate.
{"title":"Northern Bobwhite Response to Drought is Biome-Specific","authors":"Samantha M. Cady, Craig A. Davis, Samuel D. Fuhlendorf","doi":"10.1016/j.rama.2025.07.001","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.rama.2025.07.001","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Weather extremes are increasing in frequency and magnitude, and this trend is projected to continue as anthropogenic climate change progresses. These extremes can include increases in severe drought as well as anomalously heavy rainfall. As birds continue to face novel climatic pressures, including precipitation extremes, the need to hone our understanding of their variable responses is becoming increasingly urgent. Though many studies have evaluated wildlife responses to precipitation variability, less is known about possible biome-specific responses within a single species. Using a half-century of systematically collected count data, we investigate northern bobwhite (<em>Colinus virginianus</em>) responses to drought and abnormally high rainfall in the Great Plains and Eastern Temperate Forest biomes of North America. Our study demonstrated that, though bobwhite underwent a significant response to declining precipitation throughout its range, the direction of effect was biome-dependent. Specifically, bobwhite relative abundance declined following 12-month droughts prior to the breeding season April in the Great Plains but had a weak, positive association with drought in the Eastern Temperate Forest. This study adds complexity to our understanding of how bobwhite respond to the same environmental pressure (i.e., drought) across its geographic range and highlights the importance of developing region-specific management strategies in the face of a changing climate.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49634,"journal":{"name":"Rangeland Ecology & Management","volume":"103 ","pages":"Pages 113-116"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2025-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144919907","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-11-01Epub Date: 2025-09-04DOI: 10.1016/j.rama.2025.08.002
Siqi Zhang , WenYang Xu , Iram Naz , Xiangtian Zheng , Mohammad Suhail Meer , Habib Kraiem , Rana Muhammad Zulqarnain , Qaiser Abbas
Drought poses a critical threat to rangeland ecosystems, land use sustainability, and the resilience of infrastructure systems, including energy networks near urban fringes. This study applies a multi-index remote sensing approach to evaluate the spatial and temporal impacts of drought on rangelands by comparing nondrought (2023) and drought (2024) conditions. Satellite-derived indices such as Vegetation Health Index (VHI), Vegetation Condition Index (VCI), Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Soil Moisture Index (SMI), Normalized Difference Water Index (NDWI), Temperature Condition Index (TCI), Land Surface Temperature (LST), Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI), Evaporative Stress Index (ESI), Palmer Drought Severity Index (PDSI), and Drought Severity Index (DSI) were integrated to characterize drought manifestations. Principal Component Analysis identified three core drought dimensions: vegetation response, thermal stress, and soil moisture dynamics, explaining 78% of the total variance. Notably, VCI, NDWI, and TCI emerged as the most sensitive indicators of drought stress. Western regions rangelands experienced the highest severity, while eastern regions showed greater ecological resilience. Land cover analysis revealed a 1.2% increase in rangeland area during drought, largely due to the conversion of shrublands, indicating a potential shift in vegetation regimes. These findings inform not only ecological management but also urban fringe planning, where land-use shifts under drought may affect infrastructure vulnerability and power system reliability. By offering a comprehensive, spatially explicit drought assessment framework, this study supports integrated land-use planning and enhances the adaptive capacity of socio-ecological and energy systems in semi-arid urbanizing regions. The results enhance our understanding of how rangeland ecosystems respond to drought and offer a methodological framework for assessing drought impacts in comparable semi-arid regions worldwide.
{"title":"Remote Sensing of Drought Impacts to Support Resilient Land Use and Urban Fringe Planning and Power Supply System","authors":"Siqi Zhang , WenYang Xu , Iram Naz , Xiangtian Zheng , Mohammad Suhail Meer , Habib Kraiem , Rana Muhammad Zulqarnain , Qaiser Abbas","doi":"10.1016/j.rama.2025.08.002","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.rama.2025.08.002","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Drought poses a critical threat to rangeland ecosystems, land use sustainability, and the resilience of infrastructure systems, including energy networks near urban fringes. This study applies a multi-index remote sensing approach to evaluate the spatial and temporal impacts of drought on rangelands by comparing nondrought (2023) and drought (2024) conditions. Satellite-derived indices such as Vegetation Health Index (VHI), Vegetation Condition Index (VCI), Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Soil Moisture Index (SMI), Normalized Difference Water Index (NDWI), Temperature Condition Index (TCI), Land Surface Temperature (LST), Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI), Evaporative Stress Index (ESI), Palmer Drought Severity Index (PDSI), and Drought Severity Index (DSI) were integrated to characterize drought manifestations. Principal Component Analysis identified three core drought dimensions: vegetation response, thermal stress, and soil moisture dynamics, explaining 78% of the total variance. Notably, VCI, NDWI, and TCI emerged as the most sensitive indicators of drought stress. Western regions rangelands experienced the highest severity, while eastern regions showed greater ecological resilience. Land cover analysis revealed a 1.2% increase in rangeland area during drought, largely due to the conversion of shrublands, indicating a potential shift in vegetation regimes. These findings inform not only ecological management but also urban fringe planning, where land-use shifts under drought may affect infrastructure vulnerability and power system reliability. By offering a comprehensive, spatially explicit drought assessment framework, this study supports integrated land-use planning and enhances the adaptive capacity of socio-ecological and energy systems in semi-arid urbanizing regions. The results enhance our understanding of how rangeland ecosystems respond to drought and offer a methodological framework for assessing drought impacts in comparable semi-arid regions worldwide.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49634,"journal":{"name":"Rangeland Ecology & Management","volume":"103 ","pages":"Pages 138-151"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2025-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144988634","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-11-01Epub Date: 2025-11-29DOI: 10.1016/j.rama.2025.10.003
Grace Campbell, Tonya Haigh
Critical dates are timely points in the annual management cycle that help land managers identify when to implement different phases of their drought management plans. Critical dates related to grazing decisions may be identified based on key relationships between seasonal precipitation and total forage production for the year. In this paper, we explore whether critical months for precipitation may be identified from analysis of precipitation and forage relationships at broad geographic scales and using remotely sensed data to estimate forage production and precipitation. To explore these regional relationships, we used a stepwise linear regression model focused on monthly precipitation (mm) to predict annual forage (kg-ha−1) across 121 Major Land Resource Areas (MLRAs) in the Great Plains and western United States. The results are months of precipitation that have the most statistically significant relationship with herbage production, also called “critical months,” in each MLRA. The strongest statistical relationships between precipitation and total annual herbage production occur in MLRAs located along the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains, the Southern Plains, and Southwest. A weak to lack of relationship is generally found for MLRAs located in the Pacific Northwest and at high elevations. This study’s findings can help inform guidance for ranchers who want to take a more proactive approach to grazing and drought management by helping set critical dates based on precipitation timing criteria.
{"title":"Critical Precipitation Months Across the Western United States","authors":"Grace Campbell, Tonya Haigh","doi":"10.1016/j.rama.2025.10.003","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.rama.2025.10.003","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Critical dates are timely points in the annual management cycle that help land managers identify when to implement different phases of their drought management plans. Critical dates related to grazing decisions may be identified based on key relationships between seasonal precipitation and total forage production for the year. In this paper, we explore whether critical months for precipitation may be identified from analysis of precipitation and forage relationships at broad geographic scales and using remotely sensed data to estimate forage production and precipitation. To explore these regional relationships, we used a stepwise linear regression model focused on monthly precipitation (mm) to predict annual forage (kg-ha<sup>−1</sup>) across 121 Major Land Resource Areas (MLRAs) in the Great Plains and western United States. The results are months of precipitation that have the most statistically significant relationship with herbage production, also called “critical months,” in each MLRA. The strongest statistical relationships between precipitation and total annual herbage production occur in MLRAs located along the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains, the Southern Plains, and Southwest. A weak to lack of relationship is generally found for MLRAs located in the Pacific Northwest and at high elevations. This study’s findings can help inform guidance for ranchers who want to take a more proactive approach to grazing and drought management by helping set critical dates based on precipitation timing criteria.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49634,"journal":{"name":"Rangeland Ecology & Management","volume":"103 ","pages":"Pages 527-534"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2025-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145617651","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-11-01Epub Date: 2025-08-13DOI: 10.1016/j.rama.2025.07.006
Savannah L. Bartel, Robert S. Arkle, David S. Pilliod
Rangeland fires can quickly change the structure of wildlife habitat and cause changes that persist for years to decades. To facilitate habitat recovery, postfire restoration actions often involve sowing seeds of native and nonnative perennial grasses and shrubs. Empirical information on whether such restoration activities are effective and how wildlife will respond is unknown. We evaluated the effects of wildfire and postfire seeding on rodent communities in sagebrush steppe by measuring environmental characteristics and live-trapping rodents at three wildfire locations in the northern Great Basin that burned 2–14 yr prior. Sampled plots were either 1) burned (control), 2) burned and seeded with nonnative species, 3) burned and seeded with native species, or 4) not burned (reference). Unburned reference plots had 95.7% more shrub cover and less cover of nonnative annual grasses than all burned plots. Burned plots seeded with native species had greater cover of native perennial grasses and less bare ground compared with burned plots seeded with nonnative species or control plots. Wildfire and postfire seeding significantly changed rodent community composition but not species richness. American deermouse (Peromyscus maniculatus) and least chipmunk (Tamias minimus) were less likely to occur in burned plots than in unburned reference plots. Ord’s kangaroo rat (Dipodomys ordii) and Piute ground squirrel (Urocitellus mollis) were more likely to occur in burned plots than in unburned reference plots. Sagebrush vole (Lemmiscus curtatus) was more likely to occur in burned plots with native seeding than with all other treatments. Species’ responses to wildfire and seeding reflected their relationships to cover of shrubs, perennial grasses, and nonnative annual grasses. These results suggest that wildfire and postfire seeding have long-lasting effects on wildlife communities. Landscape-level rodent diversity may be enhanced when small-scale disturbances or restoration actions increase landscape heterogeneity.
{"title":"Wildfire and Postfire Restoration Treatments Have Lasting Effects on Rodent Habitat and Community Composition","authors":"Savannah L. Bartel, Robert S. Arkle, David S. Pilliod","doi":"10.1016/j.rama.2025.07.006","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.rama.2025.07.006","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Rangeland fires can quickly change the structure of wildlife habitat and cause changes that persist for years to decades. To facilitate habitat recovery, postfire restoration actions often involve sowing seeds of native and nonnative perennial grasses and shrubs. Empirical information on whether such restoration activities are effective and how wildlife will respond is unknown. We evaluated the effects of wildfire and postfire seeding on rodent communities in sagebrush steppe by measuring environmental characteristics and live-trapping rodents at three wildfire locations in the northern Great Basin that burned 2–14 yr prior. Sampled plots were either 1) burned (control), 2) burned and seeded with nonnative species, 3) burned and seeded with native species, or 4) not burned (reference). Unburned reference plots had 95.7% more shrub cover and less cover of nonnative annual grasses than all burned plots. Burned plots seeded with native species had greater cover of native perennial grasses and less bare ground compared with burned plots seeded with nonnative species or control plots. Wildfire and postfire seeding significantly changed rodent community composition but not species richness. American deermouse (<em>Peromyscus maniculatus</em>) and least chipmunk (<em>Tamias minimus</em>) were less likely to occur in burned plots than in unburned reference plots. Ord’s kangaroo rat (<em>Dipodomys ordii</em>) and Piute ground squirrel (<em>Urocitellus mollis</em>) were more likely to occur in burned plots than in unburned reference plots. Sagebrush vole (<em>Lemmiscus curtatus</em>) was more likely to occur in burned plots with native seeding than with all other treatments. Species’ responses to wildfire and seeding reflected their relationships to cover of shrubs, perennial grasses, and nonnative annual grasses. These results suggest that wildfire and postfire seeding have long-lasting effects on wildlife communities. Landscape-level rodent diversity may be enhanced when small-scale disturbances or restoration actions increase landscape heterogeneity.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49634,"journal":{"name":"Rangeland Ecology & Management","volume":"103 ","pages":"Pages 28-36"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2025-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144830909","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-11-01Epub Date: 2025-10-09DOI: 10.1016/j.rama.2025.09.003
Devan Allen McGranahan
Wildfire is occurring more frequently in areas identified as wildland-urban interface (WUI), where natural vegetation meets or mixes with the human built environment. Although understanding of the spatial extent of WUI has been expanded to include rural areas and rangeland ecosystems, products that identify WUI based on the location of homes and other buildings appear to miss components of the built environment that dominate these unconventional locations, specifically, energy production structures (e.g., petroleum wells, wind turbines, solar arrays, and geothermal plants). This study describes the spatial distribution and density of energy production areas in the US Interior West, summarizes the land cover and current WUI designations within energy production areas, and describes historical wildfire activity within energy production areas by state. An analysis of a combination of publicly available geospatial data identified a 2 022 201 km2 energy production footprint comprised of 1 220 347 individual energy production structures. Only 6% of the footprint is currently designated as WUI, and 67% of the footprint is comprised of rangeland. Four out of the five states with the largest energy production footprint have also experienced the greatest historical wildfire activity within the energy production areas, suggesting these structures are at risk of fast-spreading wildfire through rangeland fuels. Despite the fire risk to energy production assets and the challenges energy infrastructure might pose to emergency managers, there is a paucity of research or resources addressing these changes within rural landscapes.
{"title":"Energy Infrastructure as Built Environment in Rural Rangelands of the US Interior West","authors":"Devan Allen McGranahan","doi":"10.1016/j.rama.2025.09.003","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.rama.2025.09.003","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Wildfire is occurring more frequently in areas identified as wildland-urban interface (WUI), where natural vegetation meets or mixes with the human built environment. Although understanding of the spatial extent of WUI has been expanded to include rural areas and rangeland ecosystems, products that identify WUI based on the location of homes and other buildings appear to miss components of the built environment that dominate these unconventional locations, specifically, energy production structures (e.g., petroleum wells, wind turbines, solar arrays, and geothermal plants). This study describes the spatial distribution and density of energy production areas in the US Interior West, summarizes the land cover and current WUI designations within energy production areas, and describes historical wildfire activity within energy production areas by state. An analysis of a combination of publicly available geospatial data identified a 2 022 201 km<sup>2</sup> energy production footprint comprised of 1 220 347 individual energy production structures. Only 6% of the footprint is currently designated as WUI, and 67% of the footprint is comprised of rangeland. Four out of the five states with the largest energy production footprint have also experienced the greatest historical wildfire activity within the energy production areas, suggesting these structures are at risk of fast-spreading wildfire through rangeland fuels. Despite the fire risk to energy production assets and the challenges energy infrastructure might pose to emergency managers, there is a paucity of research or resources addressing these changes within rural landscapes.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49634,"journal":{"name":"Rangeland Ecology & Management","volume":"103 ","pages":"Pages 302-306"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2025-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145265993","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-11-01Epub Date: 2025-10-10DOI: 10.1016/j.rama.2025.08.007
Brynne E. Lazarus, Matthew J. Germino
{"title":"Corrigendum to “Risks and Rewards of Pre-emergent Herbicide (Indaziflam) to Defend Core Sagebrush-Steppe Ecosystems Under Suboptimal Precipitation” [Rangeland Ecology & Management, volume 102, September 2025, pages 153-159]","authors":"Brynne E. Lazarus, Matthew J. Germino","doi":"10.1016/j.rama.2025.08.007","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.rama.2025.08.007","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":49634,"journal":{"name":"Rangeland Ecology & Management","volume":"103 ","pages":"Page 318"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2025-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145265996","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-11-01Epub Date: 2025-10-08DOI: 10.1016/j.rama.2025.09.002
Zeng Tang , Lu Peng , Shijun Jiang , Funing Li , Menglin Zhao , Ying Liu , Yubing Fan
Weather index-based livestock insurance offers a promising risk management tool for pastoral systems, yet demand remains low due to affordability issues. Understanding pastoralists’ willingness to pay (WTP) for this innovative insurance product provides valuable insights for policymakers and insurers. This study investigates the WTP for a hypothetical snow disaster yak index insurance in the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau (QTP) using a double-bounded contingent valuation method with data from 480 households. The results indicate a significant proportion of participants (88.9%) demonstrate a desire to acquire this yak index insurance, with an approximate average WTP of 54.125 CNY per yak. The estimated WTP surpasses the premium of the current indemnity-based yak insurance (15 CNY/yak) but falls short of the actuarially fair premium for this hypothesized yak index insurance (117 CNY/yak). Herd size and income structure serve as key WTP determinants, with larger commercial operations demonstrating higher WTP levels. These findings suggest that yak index insurance is unlikely to achieve commercial viability without additional support in the QTP. It is important to view it as a supplementary rather than a replacement answer to current insurance choices. Furthermore, directing incentives toward pastoralists who are focused on commercial activities can increase the rate of adoption.
{"title":"Willingness to Pay for Weather Index-Based Livestock Insurance in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, China","authors":"Zeng Tang , Lu Peng , Shijun Jiang , Funing Li , Menglin Zhao , Ying Liu , Yubing Fan","doi":"10.1016/j.rama.2025.09.002","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.rama.2025.09.002","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Weather index-based livestock insurance offers a promising risk management tool for pastoral systems, yet demand remains low due to affordability issues. Understanding pastoralists’ willingness to pay (WTP) for this innovative insurance product provides valuable insights for policymakers and insurers. This study investigates the WTP for a hypothetical snow disaster yak index insurance in the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau (QTP) using a double-bounded contingent valuation method with data from 480 households. The results indicate a significant proportion of participants (88.9%) demonstrate a desire to acquire this yak index insurance, with an approximate average WTP of 54.125 CNY per yak. The estimated WTP surpasses the premium of the current indemnity-based yak insurance (15 CNY/yak) but falls short of the actuarially fair premium for this hypothesized yak index insurance (117 CNY/yak). Herd size and income structure serve as key WTP determinants, with larger commercial operations demonstrating higher WTP levels. These findings suggest that yak index insurance is unlikely to achieve commercial viability without additional support in the QTP. It is important to view it as a supplementary rather than a replacement answer to current insurance choices. Furthermore, directing incentives toward pastoralists who are focused on commercial activities can increase the rate of adoption.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49634,"journal":{"name":"Rangeland Ecology & Management","volume":"103 ","pages":"Pages 281-287"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2025-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145265990","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-11-01Epub Date: 2025-09-20DOI: 10.1016/j.rama.2025.07.015
Jenna LeBlanc, S. Eryn McFarlane
Seed dormancy is a protective adaptation meant to reduce the risk of germination in unsuitable or unpredictable conditions. However, dormancy can complicate or undermine restoration efforts if care is not taken to understand how dormancy-influencing seed storage conditions can affect germination outcomes. Additionally, assuming that closely related species will respond similarly to the same storage and germination conditions may obscure important life history differences, potentially leading to ineffective or biased restoration strategies. We examined how seed storage conditions influence germination outcomes in two foundational grassland species (Festuca hallii [Vasey] Piper and Festuca campestris Rydb.) by subjecting seeds of both species to different combinations of storage duration, temperature, and moisture, before conducting a germination assay under identical controlled conditions. We found that the two species had drastically different responses. F. campestris exhibited low overall germination (13%), which was not meaningfully influenced by any of our storage treatment combinations. F. hallii, meanwhile, had a mean germination of 69%, which increased to 94% simply by soaking the otherwise untreated seeds for 24 h before the germination assay. Our findings highlight the importance of considering seed handling and storage as critical steps in the restoration pipeline, with the potential to significantly impact germination and establishment success. They also highlight the need to consider species-specific management strategies, even among closely related taxa, and for clear communication among seed suppliers, land managers, and restoration practitioners to ensure shared understanding of seed histories and conditions before planting.
{"title":"Seed Storage Conditions Shape Germination Outcomes: Differing Responses in Two Closely Related Grass Species","authors":"Jenna LeBlanc, S. Eryn McFarlane","doi":"10.1016/j.rama.2025.07.015","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.rama.2025.07.015","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Seed dormancy is a protective adaptation meant to reduce the risk of germination in unsuitable or unpredictable conditions. However, dormancy can complicate or undermine restoration efforts if care is not taken to understand how dormancy-influencing seed storage conditions can affect germination outcomes. Additionally, assuming that closely related species will respond similarly to the same storage and germination conditions may obscure important life history differences, potentially leading to ineffective or biased restoration strategies. We examined how seed storage conditions influence germination outcomes in two foundational grassland species (<em>Festuca hallii</em> [Vasey] Piper and <em>Festuca campestris</em> Rydb.) by subjecting seeds of both species to different combinations of storage duration, temperature, and moisture, before conducting a germination assay under identical controlled conditions. We found that the two species had drastically different responses. <em>F. campestris</em> exhibited low overall germination (13%), which was not meaningfully influenced by any of our storage treatment combinations. <em>F. hallii</em>, meanwhile, had a mean germination of 69%, which increased to 94% simply by soaking the otherwise untreated seeds for 24 h before the germination assay. Our findings highlight the importance of considering seed handling and storage as critical steps in the restoration pipeline, with the potential to significantly impact germination and establishment success. They also highlight the need to consider species-specific management strategies, even among closely related taxa, and for clear communication among seed suppliers, land managers, and restoration practitioners to ensure shared understanding of seed histories and conditions before planting.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49634,"journal":{"name":"Rangeland Ecology & Management","volume":"103 ","pages":"Pages 202-209"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2025-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145095846","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-11-01Epub Date: 2025-10-21DOI: 10.1016/j.rama.2025.09.005
José L. Oviedo , Lynn Huntsinger , Nathan D. Van Schmidt , Steven R. Beissinger
Research on private ownership of rural land often draws on many factors in attempting to explain land use and management decisions, including landownership motivations. In this article, we present the results of a survey of private landowners in the Sierra Nevada foothills of Yuba, Nevada, and Butte counties (California), in a rangeland setting that is mostly open oak woodland intermixed with grassland and shrubland. We used factor analysis to identify landowner typologies based on the importance to respondents of various motivations for landownership. We then used regression models to analyze whether the identified typologies determine land and water management decisions. These decisions affect the size and distribution of shallow wetlands that provide key habitat for wildlife, particularly for the threatened California black rail (Laterallus jamaicensis coturniculus). Our results identified two typologies associated primarily with pecuniary motivations and four with nonpecuniary motivations. We also found that landowners driven by motives we termed Profit or Lifestyle were more likely to manage water-dependent areas and take actions affecting both wetlands and land uses, while those motivated by Recreation or land Investment were less likely to take any action. Property size was also a significant driver of management decisions. Our findings suggest the need for tailoring environmental schemes to different landowner typologies in the management of private rangelands.
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