Treesearch

Ecosystem services are the specific results of ecosystem processes that either directly sustain or enhance human life (as does natural protection from the sun's harmful ultraviolet rays) or maintain the qualify of ecosystem goods (as water purification maintains the quality of streamflow). "Ecosystem service" has come to represent several related topics ranging from the measurement to the marketing of ecosystem service flows. In this article we examine several of these topics by first clarifying the meaning of "ecosystem service" and then (1) placing ecosystem goods and services within an...

Fishlake National Forest, Dixie National Forest, Bureau of Land Management - Richfield Field Office, and Capitol Reef National Park became partners in an Interagency Agreement to inventory and monitor threatened, endangered, and sensitive plant species shared by these agencies. From 1998 to 2003, the Interagency Rare Plant Team surveyed and recorded over 650 new locations for 32 TES plant species, covering more than 70,000 acres of federally managed lands. Geographical Information System and Global Positioning System technologies were used to predict and map all known and newly discovered...

Dune communities occur across the western Great Plains and in isolated spots in eastern Colorado. They are biologically important due to their endemic nature, their rapid succession, and their ephemeral abundance in response to climate, grazing practices, and ranchland management. The abundance of these terrestrial islands has changed considerably over scales from tens to thousands of years. The Colorado dune communities have high conservation value due to their unusual biota and diminished presence. They also are of value as sentinel communities for more wide-scale biotic change in...

Many traditional land management activities and supporting research have concentrated on one or two resources, with limited evaluations of interactions among other potential values. An ecosystem approach to land management requires an evaluation of the blend of physical and biological factors needed to assure productive, healthy ecosystems. Ideally, social and economic values also should be considered. The U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service's Coronado National Forest and its partners have just completed a draft for the Peloncillo Programmatic Fire Plan to address fire management...

The Lane Mountain milk-vetch (Astragalus jaegerianus) is a federally endangered species. It was first discovered in 1939 by Edmund Jaeger in the central Mojave Desert of California. This plant species was not collected again until the army became interested in expanding Fort Irwin’s western boundary in the 1980’s. Following its rediscovery, volunteers eventually found a few scattered plants in three populations within a 10-mile radius. Army-funded surveys since 1990 defined four generally distinct populations. The most extensive survey, in conjunction with a GIS analysis of potential...

Information about the hydrology of oak ecosystems of the southwestern United States and northern Mexico is lacking (Lopes and Ffolliott 1992, Baker et al. 1995) even though the woodlands and savannas cover more than 31,000 square miles. These ecosystems generally are found between 4,000 and 7,300 feet in elevation. Precipitation occurs in the winter and summer and averages between 15 and 20 inches annually. Soils usually are shallow and rocky and many are classified as Mollisols, Alfisols, and Entisols. The lands are important for rangelands for livestock, tree products, wildlife habitats,...

Implementing further research was beyond the scope of the U.S. Forest Service's 2004 Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) and 2005 Wasatch Powderbird Guides (WPG) Special Use Permit Renewal process for heli-skiing in the Tri-Canyon Area in the Wasatch Mountains, just east of Salt Lake City, Utah. However, in their Record of Decision the Wasaatch-Cache (WCNF) and Uinta National Forests expressed full support for undertaking a comprehensive study to more intensively examine helicopter-golden eagle interactions. This research project is a result of that commitment, with a goal of...

Individuals of E. sneedii var. sneedii were found to occur in greater abundance within the Guadalupe Mountains than was previously recorded. No additional populations morphologically intermediate between E. guadalupensis and E. sneedii were found. Taxonomic affiliation and geographic distribution among three Escobaria taxa were readdressed with phenetic analyses. Principle components analysis (PCA) showed moderate resolution between individuals representing E. guadalupensis and E. sneedii. Resolution was poor between those of E. sneedii var. sneedii and E. sneedii var. leei. Results from...

Hillslope soil erosion on watershed landscapes can lower the productivity of upland sites and adversely impact water quality and downstream (off-site) areas. It is not surprising, therefore, that excessive soil erosion and the consequent sedimentation can represent significant costs to the land and people that are affected. The first known estimates of hillslope soil erosion rates on a watershed-basis in the oak savannas of the southwestern borderland region of the United States have been obtained on the Cascabel Watersheds. Initial estimates of soil erosion rates following the monsoon...

Wildland fire is a major disturbance in most ecosystems worldwide (Crutzen and Goldammer 1993). The interaction of fire with climate and vegetation over long time spans, often referred to as the fire regime (Agee 1993; Clark 1993; Swetnam and Baisan 1996; Swetnam 1997), has major effects on dominant vegetation, ecosystem carbon budget, and biodiversity (Gardner et aL 1996; Lenihan et aL 1998; Ryan 1991; Starfield and Chapin 1996). These effects include cycling nutrients, regulating succession, maintaining diversity, reducing biomass, controlling insect and disease populations, triggering...