Project : USDA ARS

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Research Project: Science and Technologies for the Sustainable Management of Western Rangeland Systems

2019 Annual Report

Accomplishments
1. Multi-scale big data-model integration to improve production and environmental quality on western rangelands. Vector-borne diseases such as vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) have major economic implications for animal agriculture globally, including animal quarantine, animal loss, and lost capital. ARS scientists in Las Cruces, New Mexico, are collaborating with others to retrospectively integrate environmental, vector, host and viral variables with disease occurrence in an effort to predict future occurrence and distribution of vector-borne diseases. Landscape-scale analyses within select counties of Colorado, Texas, and New Mexico showed the importance of distance to water and host density to the transmission of VSV between vectors and hosts. VSV genetic data were used to build phylogenetic trees and develop relationships with environmental variables across the western U.S. in an effort to identify outbreak and dispersal pathways. Vector-specific proactive mitigation strategies were examined that could be employed by producers at the ranch level to reduce economic costs during VSV incursions and outbreaks. Successful implementation of tools to predict VSV outbreaks could prevent them and prevent financial losses to ranchers and horse owners throughout the Western U.S.

2. Building climate-resilient landscapes and communities in the Southwest. Weather and climate impacts on Southwestern U.S. ecosystems and communities include weather-related crop loss, large interannual and spatial variability in precipitation and rangeland production, wildfire, and extreme drought. As members of the USDA Southwest Climate Hub (SW Climate Hub), ARS scientists in Las Cruces, New Mexico, engage in collaborative projects with resource managers and stakeholders to 1) investigate and report on impacts using the best-available scientific information, 2) develop decision-support tools, and 3) convene stakeholder sessions regarding drought, wildfire, extreme events, as well as future projections of these stressors and adaptation and mitigation strategies to minimize their effects. The SW Climate Hub team recently completed the launch of two online decision support tools (the AgRisk Viewer and the Climate Smart Restoration Tool) to inform members of the agricultural community, and contribute to drought vulnerability assessment projects linked to ecological sites. Of particular importance, the SW Climate Hub team co-authored the 4th National Climate Assessment. During the past year, we hosted more than 12 stakeholder meetings and workshops and gave more than 20 presentations to stakeholder groups and scientific audiences, and helped launch the Weather and Climate working group in the Long-Term Agroecosystem Research (LTAR) network. Collectively, these efforts will assist Southwestern farmers, ranchers, foresters, and other land managers in strategically adapting to the impacts of extreme weather and climate change.

3. Ecological Site Description database. Ecological Site Descriptions (ESDs) provide the scientific basis for conservation decisions made by Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and Bureau of Land Management (BLM) planners, yet this information is not organized such that it can be readily accessed and integrated with other decision tools. A new version of the web-based Ecosystem Dynamics Interpretative Tool (EDIT) developed by ARS scientists in Las Cruces, New Mexico, was released in 2019 based on feedback from NRCS staff across the country. The EDIT database now contains approximately 8000 ESDs and is actively being used for ESD development by NRCS and other agency staff, receiving approximately 250 site visits per day. The database dramatically improves access to ESD information by land managers and the public that is currently in demand but unavailable to them, which in turn allows for more effective land management decisions across the entire U.S.

4. Land-Potential Knowledge System (LandPKS) development and implementation. Land managers in the U.S. currently lack an efficient system for accessing and sharing knowledge about land management that is relevant to the potential of their land. Because land potential depends on soil, topography and climate, the identification of appropriate management systems begins by matching areas with similar conditions. ARS scientists in Las Cruces, New Mexico, continued development of the LandPKS app on iOS and Android phones and tablets, allowing managers to rapidly collect and store soil and topographic information (LandInfo) and monitor vegetation (LandCover) of a given area, both of which are necessary to support outcome-based land management. A soil identification function and the first version of a management module were deployed, providing small farmers with a simple, rapid recordkeeping tool that can be used to document their management practices. These tools will be combined with other apps to allow for the identification of site-specific management options by land managers worldwide in the field; site-specific information is in high demand by landowners and the agricultural industry. Access to site-specific information will enhance global land productivity and sustainability.

5. Wind erosion network implementation to support a national assessment. Rangeland and cropland wind erosion reduces soil productivity and causes highway fatalities, human health problems, and infrastructure damage. Long-term networked research using standardized methodology is needed to accurately measure and model effects of management practices on wind erosion to mitigate this problem. ARS scientists in Las Cruces, New Mexico, led the coordination of National Wind Erosion Research Network sites at thirteen locations. Five additional sites in cropland and rangeland sites are being coordinated in collaboration between ARS and the Bureau of Land Management. These Network sites are part of the Long-Term Agroecosystem Research (LTAR) network that collects data in real time (e.g., sediment mass flux, meteorological conditions, dust deposition). Personnel training and standardized data collection methods were implemented across the network during the past year that resulted in a quantitative study to assess sampling rigor across the network. Network data were analyzed that allowed changes in wind erosion to be detected across cropland and rangelands. These analyses were used to support wind erosion modeling for a national wind erosion assessment that will inform producers and land managers regarding land use practices that help reduce wind erosion.

6. Tools and techniques for multi-scale inventory, monitoring, and assessment. Standardized approaches for monitoring rangelands are needed to allow land managers and public land agencies to collect and share data that address numerous rangeland management and policy needs. ARS scientists in Las Cruces, New Mexico, led the expansion of the rangeland monitoring program that directly supports the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) national inventory and monitoring programs as well as the interagency National Wind Erosion Research Network. Design tools (sample.design R package, statistical analysis programs) were developed to improve quality assurance and control, enhance existing monitoring designs, and streamline sample designs. Additional analytical improvements were added to the terradactyl and aim.analysis R packages to include new data formats, expedite data processing, and combine multiple sample designs in a statistically valid manner. These tools and R packages are used by BLM staff to produce reports and make management decisions regarding sage-grouse habitat suitability and to improve grazing management systems. Methods, tools, databases, information resources and training are available online and are being used by land managers and policy makers to manage rangelands at local to continental scales over millions of acres. The use of these tools will allow managers to detect resource problems in time to avoid persistent and expensive damage.

7. Long-Term Agroecosystem Research. The Long-Term Agroecosystem Research (LTAR) network seeks to integrate scientific research across a network of 18 sites via integration of experimental approaches, measurements, and data. ARS scientists in Las Cruces, New Mexico, led or co-led network initiatives on wind erosion, phenology, grazingland nutrient transport, and grazinglands common indicators, and provided data for other initiatives. These coordinated research activities will link ARS science to stakeholders across the country seeking to sustainably intensify agricultural production guided by multi-disciplinary, systems-level science. Specifically, our customers seek new options for adapting their operations and management practices to increasingly arid environments. Our research will lead to adoption of new livestock production systems, more effective restoration strategies, and increased use of science information in management decisions by private and public lands managers throughout the western U.S.

8. Low input livestock production strategies. New world cattle biotypes may help ranchers cope with low and variable forage production that often occurs on western U.S. rangelands. Raramuri Criollo cattle have undergone approximately 500 years of natural selection and adaptation to harsh rangeland conditions. ARS scientists in Las Cruces, New Mexico, have been examining attributes of this biotype. Movement patterns of nursing vs. non-nursing cows and cow-calf proximity patterns of nursing cows were compared using GPS collars on cows and proximity loggers on cow-calf pairs. Nursing and dry Criollo cows travelled similar distances per day, moved at similar speeds, and did not differ in time spent grazing, resting, or traveling each day. Area explored per day by a calf and its mother were similar and cow-calf contact events occurred throughout the entire area grazed by the dams. This biotype exhibited a strong follower behavior, suggesting Raramuri Criollo cows are less constrained by the presence of a calf than typically observed in conventional breeds of rangeland cattle. Identifying biotypes with behaviors that match forage resources in extensive semiarid ecosystems will benefit ranchers by optimizing use of available forage.

9. Remotely sensed phenological indicators of plant production for livestock management. Integration of remote sensing and data acquisition technologies is needed to improve rangeland vegetation monitoring and use of natural resources. ARS scientists in Las Cruces, New Mexico, developed a method to support data-driven decision-making tools for livestock management. The method uses online tools to depict forage production in real time for guiding livestock management decisions. Land managers and producers will benefit from new technologies to remotely determine vegetation characteristics and forecast forage production that can be used to enhance livestock production. These integrated analyses will increasingly allow managers to target management interventions, including grazing, herbicide applications, and prescribed fire, with pinpoint accuracy in both space and time.

10. Evaluation of conservation practices for desert grasslands. Grassland restoration success in arid southwestern rangelands is highly variable, and little is known about the sources of variability that can be used in restoration planning. ARS scientists in Las Cruces, New Mexico, established a new experiment—the “Duneland Restoration Project”—designed to understand the causes of variability in grassland recovery within shrub-dominated areas. Data are being collected that compare reference, restored, and unrestored areas with respect to vegetation and soil seed banks, soil physical and chemical properties, landscape position, soil water dynamics, wind erosion, and phenology using a variety of instruments. These studies will establish the barriers to grass recovery in unrecovered areas as a basis for designing novel restoration strategies for use by land managers.

11. Prediction of climate-driven vegetation state changes. Directional decreases or increases in precipitation are predicted for rangelands in the future. ARS scientists in Las Cruces, New Mexico, are integrating long-term datasets with sensor and imagery products, static and dynamic maps, and conceptual models, to improve understanding and prediction of vegetation responses of drylands to alternative climate scenarios. These modeling efforts indicate that sequences of four or more years with above-average precipitation which promote establishment and persistence of perennial grasses in degraded shrublands are expected to lead to state change reversals under managed livestock grazing. This information will assist land managers and producers in responding to shifting weather conditions.

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Range Management Research: Las Cruces, NM