Carissa Wonkka

Research Ecologist

Research Ecologist 

Phone: 406.433.9416
Fax: 406.433.5038
www.ars.usda.gov/pa/nparl/cwonkka

• Education • Current Research • Selected Publications • Grants

Additional Pages:  Research Projects,*Publications *
*Taken from the Agricultural Research Information System (ARIS) database.

EDUCATION
Ph.D.  2014    Ecosystem Science and Management   Texas A&M University
M.S.   2010    Rangeland Ecology and Management    Texas A&M University
J.D.    2008    Land Use and Environmental Policy       Suffolk Law School            
B.S.    2003    University of Massachusetts, Amherst   Wildlife Conservation and Management

CURRENT RESEARCH
I am a plant ecologist focused on developing ecologically-based restoration strategies that improve invasion resistance of native plant communities. My current research includes restoration of woody-encroached and weed-invaded rangeland plant communities in the Great Plains, assessing the utility of plant functional traits for understanding rangeland response to invasion and disturbance, and determining how land-use change and disturbance influence plant community invasion resistance. My main studies currently include:

• A multi-scaled (greenhouse, plot, and landscape), trait-based, empirical and modeling study to identify traits and groups of traits that confer resistance to invasion on restored pipelines
• Studies exploring the potential for extreme conditions (wildfire and drought) to provide restoration pathways for woody-encroached rangelands (focusing on creeping juniper in the Northern Plains and Mesquite in the Southern Plains)
• A study using invasive species distribution models within a traits-based framework to understand dynamics of insipient invasions

RESEARCH EXPERIENCE
Prior to joining the Northern Plains Agricultural Research Laboratory in April 2020, I was a postdoctoral research associate at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln. During my postdoc, I studied the mechanisms of woody plant persistence in encroached rangelands, the potential of extreme fire and drought for large-scale rangeland restoration, and social-ecological barriers to prescribed burning. My graduate work at Texas A&M University investigated the influence of disturbance, soils, and socio-economic constraints on restoration of invaded rangelands.

    
    
SELECTED PUBLICATIONS

• McGranahan, D.A., Wonkka, C.L. 2022. Fuel properties of effective greenstrips in simulated cheatgrass fires. Environmental Management. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-022-01659-y.

• Scholtz, R., Donovan, V.M., Strydom, T., Wonkka, C.L., Kreuter, U.P., Rogers, W.E., Taylor, C.A., Smit, I.P., Govender, N., Trollope, W.S., Fogarty, D.T., Twidwell, D. 2022. High-intensity fire experiments to manage shrub encroachment: Lessons learned in South Africa and the United States. African Journal of Range and Forest Science. 39(1):148-159. https://doi.org/10.2989/10220119.2021.2008004.

• Starns, H.D., Wonkka, C.L., Dickinson, M.B., Lodge, A.G., Treadwell, M.L., Kavanagh, K., Tolleson, D.R., Twidwell, D., Roders, W.E. 2021. Prosopis glandulosa persistence is facilitated by differential protection of buds during low- and high-energy fires. Journal of Environmental Management. 303. Article 114141. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2021.114141.

• Treadwell, M.L., Bawldin, C., Bammerlin, L., Wonkka, C.L., Watson, M. 2021. Prescribed burning communication kit. Texas A&M Agrilife Extension. RWFM-PU-352. p.1-9. https://gpfirescience.org/resources/prescribed-burning-communication-kit/

• McDaniel, T.W., Wonkka, C.L., Treadwell, M.L., Kreuter, U.P. 2021. Factors influencing County Commissioners’ decisions about burn bans in the Southern Plains, USA. Land. 10(7):686. https://doi.org/10.3390/land10070686.

• Hiers, Q.A., M.L. Treadwell, M.B. Dickinson, K.L. Kavanagh, A.G. Lodge, H.D. Starns, D.R. Tolleson, D. Twidwell, C.L. Wonkka, W.E. Rogers. 2021. Grass bud bank responses to fire in a semi-arid savanna system. Ecology and Evolution 00: 1– 14. https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.7516

• Donovan, V.M., C.P. Roberts, C.L. Wonkka, D.R. Uden, D.G. Angeler, C.R. Allen, D.A. Wedin, R.A. Drijber, D. Twidwell. 2021. Collapse, reorganization, and regime identity: breaking down past management paradigms in a forest-grassland ecotone. Ecology and Society 26(2)

• Hinojosa, A., U.P. Kreuter, C.L. Wonkka. 2020. Liability and the use of prescribed fire in the Southern Plains, USA: A survey of district court judges. Land 9 (9), 318. https://doi.org/10.3390/land9090318

• Stroman, D.A., U.P. Kreuter, C.L. Wonkka. 2020. Landowner perceptions of woody plants and prescribed fire in the Southern Plains, USA. PloS One 15(9), e0238688

• Clark, M.D., C.L. Wonkka, U.P. Kreuter, W.E. Rogers. 2020. Interactive effects of prescribed fire and livestock grazing on Seriphium plumosum in South African sour bushveld. In press: African Journal of Range and Forage Science.

• Donovan, V.M., C.L. Wonkka, D. Wedin, D. Twidwell. 2020. Land-use type as a driver of large wildfire occurrence in the Great Plains. Remote Sensing. 12:1869. doi.org/10.3390/rs12111869

• Donovan, V.M., C.P. Roberts, C.L. Wonkka, J.L. Beck, J.N. Popp, C.R. Allen, D. Twidwell. 2020. Range-wide monitoring of translocation outcomes for Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep. Biological Conservation. doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2020.108639

• Kreuter, U.P, D.A. Stroman, A.A. Abney, C.L. Wonkka, J.R. Weir. 2019. Landowner Perceptions of Legal Liability for Using Prescribed Fire to Counter Woody Plant Expansion in the Southern Great Plains. Rangeland Ecology and Management. 72(6):959-967. doi.org/10.1016/j.rama.2019.08.004

• Arterburn, J.R., D. Twidwell, W.H. Schacht, C.L. Wonkka, D.A. Wedin. 2019. Restoring Fire-Grazer Interactions to Pursue Heterogeneity in Sandhills Prairie. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution. 7:365

• Angeler, D.G., H. Fried-Petersen, C.R. Allen, A. Garmestani, D.Twidwell, W. Chuang, V.M. Donovan, T. Eason, C.P. Roberts, S.M. Sundstrom, and C.L. Wonkka. 2019. Adaptive capacity in ecosystems. Advances in Ecological Research. Volume 60.

• Twidwell, D., C.L. Wonkka, H.H. Wang, W.E. Grant, C.R. Allen, S.D. Fuhlendorf, A.S. Garmestani, D.A. Angeler, C.A. Taylor, U.P. Kreuter, W.E. Rogers. 2019. Coerced resilience in fire management. Journal of Environmental Management. 240:368-373. doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2019.02.073

• Wonkka, C.L., D. Twidwell, B.W. Allred, C.H. Bielski, V.M. Donovan, C.P. Roberts S.D. Fuhlendorf. 2019. Rangeland vulnerability to state transition under global climate change. Climatic Change. 153:59-78. doi-org.libproxy.unl.edu/10.1007/s10584-018-02365-7

• Weir, J.R., C.L. Wonkka, D. Twidwell, D.A. Stroman, M. Russell, U.P. Kreuter, C.A. Taylor. 2019. Liability and prescribed fire: Perception and reality. Rangeland Ecology and Management 72(3):533-538; doi: 10.1016/j.rama.2018.11.010

• Donovan, V.M., C.P. Roberts, C.L. Wonkka, D.A. Wedin, D. Twidwell. 2019. Ponderosa pine regeneration, wildland fuels management, and habitat conservation: Identifying trade-offs following wildfire. Forests. 10(3):286. doi.org/10.3390/f10030286

• Roberts, C.R., V.M. Donovan, C.L. Wonkka, L. Powell, C.R. Allen, D.G. Angeler, D.A. Wedin, D. Twidwell. 2019. Fire legacies in eastern ponderosa pine forests. Ecology and Evolution. 9(4):1869-1879. doi:10.1002/ece3.4879

• Wang, H.H.*, C.L. Wonkka*, M.L. Treglia, W.E. Grant, F.E. Smeins, W.E. Rogers. 2019. Incorporating local-scale variables into distribution models enhances predictability for rare plant species with biological dependencies. Biodiversity and Conservation. 28(1):171-182. doi:10.1007/s10531-018-1645-4 (*indicates co-authorship)

• Keele, E.C., V.M. Donovan, C.P. Roberts, S.M. Nodskov, C.L. Wonkka, C.R. Allen, L. Powell, D.A. Wedin, D.G. Angeler, D. Twidwell. 2019. Relationships between a burn severity gradient, cavity-dwelling birds, and habitat in Ponderosa Pine forest. American Midland Naturalist. 181(1):1-18.

• McGranahan, D.A., C.L. Wonkka. 2018. Wildland fire science literacy: Education, creation, and application. Fire. 1(3):52. doi:10.3390/fire1030052

• Raynor, E.J., C.P. Griffith, D. Twidwell, W.H. Schacht, C.L. Wonkka, C.P. Roberts; C.H. Bielski, D.M. Debinski, J.R. Miller. 2018. The emergence of heterogeneity in invasive-dominated grassland: a matter of the scale of detection. Landscape Ecology. 33(12):2103–2119. doi:10.1007/s10980-018-0725-x

• Roberts, C.R., J.L. Burnett, V.M. Donovan, C.L. Wonkka, C.H. Bielski, C.R. Allen, A. Garmestani, D.G. Angeler, T. Eason, S. Sundstrom, H.E. Birge, D. Twidwell. 2018. Early warnings for state transitions. Rangeland Ecology and Management. 71(6):651-670. doi:10.1016/j.rama.2018.04.012

• Twidwell, D., C.L. Wonkka, C.H. Bielski, C.R. Allen, D.G. Angeler, J. Drozda, A.S. Garmestani, J. Johnson, L.A. Powell, C.P. Roberts. 2018. A perpetual state of emergency that sacrifices protected areas in a changing climate. Biological Conservation. 32(4):902-915. doi:10.1111/cobi.13099

• Bielski, C.H., D. Twidwell, S.D. Fuhlendorf, C.L. Wonkka, B.W. Allred, T. Ochsner, E.S. Krueger, J.D. Carlson, D.M. Engle. 2018. Pyric herbivory, scales of heterogeneity, and drought. Functional Ecology. 32(6):1599-1608.

• Arterburn, J.R., D. Twidwell, W.H. Schacht, C.L. Wonkka, D.A. Wedin. 2018. Resilience of sandhills grassland to wildfire. 2018. Rangeland Ecology and Management. 71:53-57. doi:10.1016/j.rama.2017.07.010

• Wonkka, C.L., D. Twidwell, C.H. Bielski, C.R. Allen, M.C. Stambaugh. 2018. Regeneration and invasion of cottonwood riparian forest following wildfire. Restoration Ecology. 26(3):456-465. doi: 10.1111/rec.12577

• Donovan, V.M., D. Twidwell, C.L. Wonkka. 2017. Surging wildfire activity in a grassland biome. Geophysical Research Letters. 44:5986-5993. doi:10.1002/2017GL072901

• Wonkka, C.L., J.B. West, D. Twidwell, W.E. Rogers. 2017. Grass mortality and turnover following core rangeland restoration practices. Rangeland Ecology and Management. 70:290-30. doi:10.1016/j.rama.2016.10.011

• Wonkka, C.L., D. Twidwell, T.E. Franz, C.A. Taylor, W.E. Rogers. 2016. Persistence of a severe drought increases desertification but not woody dieback in semiarid savanna. Rangeland Ecology and Management. 69:491-498. doi:10.1016/j.rama.2016.07.005

• Breshears, D.D., A.K. Knapp, D.J. Law, M.D. Smith, D. Twidwell, C.L. Wonkka. 2016. Rangeland responses to predicted increases in drought extremity. Rangelands. 38:191-196. doi:10.1016/j.rala.2016.06.009

• Wonkka, C.L., D. Twidwell., J.B. West, W.E. Rogers. 2016. Shrubland resilience varies across soil types: implications for operationalizing resilience in ecological restoration. Ecological Applications. 26(1):128-145. doi:10.1890/15-0066

• Weir, J.H., D. Twidwell, C.L. Wonkka. 2016. From grassroots to national alliance: the emerging trajectory for landowner prescribed burn associations. Rangelands. 38:113-119. doi:10.1016/j.rala.2016.02.005

• Twidwell, D., W.E. Rogers, C. Wonkka, C.A. Taylor, Jr., U.P. 2016 Kreuter. 2016. Extreme prescribed fire during drought reduces survival and density of woody resprouters. Journal of Applied Ecology. doi:10.1111/1365-2664.12674

• Wang, H.H.*, C.L. Wonkka*, W.E. Grant, and W.E. Rogers. 2016. Range expansion of invasive shrubs: implication for crown fire risk in forestlands of the southern United States. AoB PLANTS. 8:plw012 doi:10.1093/aobpla/plw012. (*indicates co-authorship)

• Twidwell, D. C.L. Wonkka, M.T. Sindelar, J.R. Weir. 2015. First approximations of prescribed fire risks relative to other management techniques used on private lands. PLoS ONE. 10(10):e0140410. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0140410

• Wonkka, C.L., W.E. Rogers, U.P. Kreuter.  2015. Legal barriers to effective ecosystem management: Exploring linkages between liability, regulations, and prescribed fire application. Ecological Applications. 25:2382-2393. doi: 10.1890/14-1791.1

• Wang, H.H.*, C.L. Wonkka*, M.L. Treglia, W.E. Grant, F.E. Smeins, W.E. Rogers. 2015. Species distribution modeling for conservation of an endangered endemic orchid, Spiranthes parksii (Correll).  AoB Plants. plv039, doi:10.1093/aobpla/plv039 (*indicates co-authorship)

• Twidwell, D., C.L. Wonkka, C.A. Taylor Jr., C.B. Zou, J. J. Twidwell, W.E. Rogers. 2014. Drought-induced woody plant mortality in an encroached semi-arid savanna depends on topoedaphic factors and land management.  Applied Vegetation Science. 17:42-52.

• Wonkka, C. L., W.E. Rogers, F. E. Smeins, J. R. Hammons, S.J. Haller, M. Ariza. 2013.  The ecology and conservation of Navasota Ladies’ Tresses (Spiranthes parksii Correll), an endangered terrestrial orchid located in east-central Texas. Native Plants Journal. 13:236-243.

• Wonkka, C.L., C.W. Lafon, C.M. Hutton, A.J. Joslin.  2013. A CSR Classification of Tree Life History Strategies and Implications for Ice Storm Damage.  Oikos. 122:209-222.

• Twidwell, D., W.E.Rogers, S.D. Fuhlendorf, C.L. Wonkka, D.M. Engle, J.R. Weir, U.P. Kreuter, C.A. Taylor, Jr.  2013. The rising Great Plains fire campaign: citizenry response to woody plant encroachment.  Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment.  11:e64-e71. doi:10.1890/130015

• Wang, H.H., C.L. Wonkka, W.E. Grant, W.E. Rogers. 2012. Potential range expansion of Japanese honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica Thunb.) in Southern U.S. forestlands.  Forests. 3:573-590.

 

RESEARCH GRANTS
2019-2024: Updating Species Reviews for the Fire Effects Information System; Joint Venture Agreement with USFS: Contract # 19-JV-11221637-177. C.L. Wonkka (PI), D. Twidwell (Co-PI)

2017-2020: Pyrogenic controls on grass-shrub persistence in the Great Plains; Joint Fire Science Program: Contract # 17-1-04-7. W.E. Rogers (PI), M.B. Dickinson (Co-PI), K.L. Kavanagh (Co-PI), A.G. Lodge (Co-PI), M.L. Treadwell (Co-PI), D. Twidwell (Co-PI), C.L. Wonkka (Co-PI)

2016-2019: Fighting wildfire with prescribed burning; Joint Fire Science Program: Contract # 16-1-02-10. U.P Kreuter (PI), F. Fleischman (Co-PI), M.L. Treadwell (Co-PI), R.P. Bixxler (Co-PI), D.L. Doan-Crider (Co-PI), C.L. Wonkka (Collaborator/contributor)