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ARS Home » Plains Area » Las Cruces, New Mexico » Range Management Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #221084
Title: Historical and Modern Disturbance Regimes, Stand Structures, and Landscape Dynamics in Piñon-Juniper Vegetation of the Western U.S.

Author
item ROMME, WILLIAM - COLORADO STATE UNIV.
item ALLEN, CRAIG - USGS
item BAILEY, JOHN - OREGON STATE UNIV.
item BAKER, WILLIAM - UNIVERSITY OF WYOMING
item Bestelmeyer, Brandon
item BROWN, PETER - COLORADO STATE UNIV.
item EISENHART, KAREN - EDINBORO UNIVERSITY
item FLOYD-HANNA, LISA - PRESCOTT COLLEGE
item HUFFMAN, DAVID - NORTHERN ARIZONA UNIV.
item JACOBS, BRIAN - NPS
item MILLER, RICHARD - OREGON STATE UNIV.
item MULDAVIN, ESTEBAN - UNIV OF NEW MEXICO
item SWETNAM, THOMAS - UNIV OF ARIZONA
item TAUSCH, ROBIN - USDA FOREST SERVICE
item WEISBERG, PETER - UNIV OF NEVADA, RENO

Submitted to: Government Publication/Report
Publication Type: Government Publication
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/2/2008
Publication Date: 6/4/2008
Citation: Romme, W.H., Allen, C.D., Bailey, J.D., Baker, W.L., Bestelmeyer, B.T., Brown, P.M., Eisenhart, K.S., Floyd-Hanna, L., Huffman, D.W., Jacobs, B.F., Miller, R., Muldavin, E.H., Swetnam, T.W., Tausch, R., Weisberg, P.J. 2008. Historical and Modern Disturbance Regimes, Stand Structures, and Landscape Dynamics in Piñon-Juniper Vegetation of the Western U.S. Colorado Forest Restoration Institute. Available: http://www.cfri.colostate.edu/docs/P-J_disturbance_regimes_short%20synthesis_5-07.pdf.

Interpretive Summary: Piñon-juniper is one of the major vegetation types in western North America. It covers a huge area, provides many resources and ecosystem services, and is of great management concern. Management of piñon-juniper vegetation has been hindered in the past by inadequate understanding of its prehistoric and historic dynamics, of the mechanisms controlling those dynamics, and of the variability in ecosystem structure and process that exists among the many different environmental contexts and floristic combinations of piñon, juniper and associated species. This paper presents a summary of what we currently know – and don’t know – about historical and modern stand and landscape structure and dynamics, in three major and fundamentally different kinds of piñon-juniper vegetation in the western U.S.: persistent woodlands, savannas, and wooded shrublands. It is the product of a workshop that brought together experts from across the geographical range of piñon-juniper vegetation. The intent of this synthesis is to provide a source of information for managers and policy-makers, and to stimulate researchers to address the most important unanswered questions.

Technical Abstract: Piñon-juniper is one of the major vegetation types in western North America. It covers a huge area, provides many resources and ecosystem services, and is of great management concern. Management of piñon-juniper vegetation has been hindered in the past by inadequate understanding of its prehistoric and historic dynamics, of the mechanisms controlling those dynamics, and of the variability in ecosystem structure and process that exists among the many different environmental contexts and floristic combinations of piñon, juniper and associated species. This paper presents a summary of what we currently know – and don’t know – about historical and modern stand and landscape structure and dynamics, in three major and fundamentally different kinds of piñon-juniper vegetation in the western U.S.: persistent woodlands, savannas, and wooded shrublands. It is the product of a workshop that brought together experts from across the geographical range of piñon-juniper vegetation. The intent of this synthesis is to provide a source of information for managers and policy-makers, and to stimulate researchers to address the most important unanswered questions.