We\u27re moving into UNLV\u27s new Science and Engineering Building

Our research group is one of the few select groups that is moving into the new, $113-million UNLV Science and Engineering Building. The building is exclusively dedicated to research, and its four stories contain 200,000 square feet of research laboratories, faculty offices, and auditorium space for research symposia. Located on North Campus just northeast of the Biology Building, the building is anticipated to obtain LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification

Mojave Applied Ecology Notes Summer 2010

Survey of monitoring and management for conservation of rare plants, Roadside restoration techniques in Joshua Tree NP, and an update on renewable energy developments in the Southwestern desert

New book chapter reviewing Mojave Desert revegetation practices is forthcoming

I was invited to write a chapter for a forthcoming book on Arid Environments to be published by Nova Science Publishers. This book is anticipated to appear in late 2008 or early 2009, and we will be able to provide additional details about the entire book at that time. I co-authored our chapter on revegetation with Alice Newton, Vegetation Manager at Lake Mead National Recreation Area. We systematically reviewed 23 published studies of planting or seeding native species in the Mojave Desert

Quantifying ecosystem geomorphology of the southern Appalachian Mountains

Geomorphology is a dominant factor influencing vegetation distribution in the southern Appalachians, and quantifying landform characteristics is increasingly important for forest ecosystem classification. This study used slope gradient and two previously published geomorphic indices, terrain shape index and landform index that quantify landform shape and protection, to develop a field-based landform quantification system at four study areas in the southern Appalachians. Six major landform types (ridgetops, nose slopes, linear hillslopes, coves, stream ravines, and stream bottoms) exhibited quantitatively different characteristics, and these differences among landforms were not evident when using only categorical landform descriptions (e.g., convex, concave) that have been most common in southern Appalachian ecological research. Discriminant function resubstitution based on quantitative geomorphic variables distinguished 78% or more of categorical landform types, and misclassifications partly resulted from inadequacies of categorical data for capturing the continuum of landform characteristics. I applied the geomorphic quantification system by developing a classification tree model to predict the presence or absence of eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis) ecosystems in northwestern South Carolina. The quantitative model correctly identified 86% of sites actually supporting a hemlock ecosystem, substantially higher than a model using categorical landform data that correctly identified only 57% of hemlock sites. [Key words: ecosystem classification, terrain shape index, landform index, eastern hemlock.

Native species interactions with red brome: Suggestions for burn-area revegetation

In deserts, native perennial plants often actually facilitate the establishment of exotic annual grasses. One of our focal areas of research is to identify native species for use in revegetation projects that reduce the establishment of exotic annual grasses, or at least do not strongly facilitate exotic species establishment. An initial research effort involving a competition experiment of red brome with native species and a correlational field study of brome distribution among native perennial plants is in press with the journal Invasive Plant Science and Management

Undergraduate and graduate programs in environmental science at UNLV

The School of Environmental and Public Affairs at UNLV houses B.A. and B.S. degrees in Environmental Studies and M.S. and PhD degrees in Environmental Science. These degrees are flexible, multi-purpose, interdisciplinary programs that can be tailored for both breadth and depth

Survey of resource managers completed on monitoring and management actions for rare plants in Arizona and Nevada

In a collaborative project with Northern Arizona University and more than 35 resource managers in Arizona and Nevada, we completed a survey of monitoring and management activities that are ongoing in these states for conserving populations of rare plants. We sent questionnaires consisting of 16 questions to as many resource managers as possible in these states and had follow-up conversations with several managers willing to share their perspective on ongoing conservation actions. The findings may be interesting for managers to see what issues and management strategies other managers in the same or different regions are grappling with. Results will be published as a chapter in a book titled “Advances in Environmental Research” slated for printing in the fourth quarter of 2010. We thank Lake Mead National Recreation Area for partial support of the project and the many resource managers who provided their valuable help with this synthesis

Progress in strategic research areas

Three years ago through conversations with resource managers, assessing the status of knowledge of the scientific literature, and our own interests, we set forth several strategic research areas that we believed would be timely for advancing Mojave Desert conservation and management

Tree canopy types constrain plant distributions in Ponderosa Pine- Gambel Oak Forests, Northern Arizona

Trees in many forests affect the soils and plants below their canopies. In current high-density southwestern ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) forests, managers have opportunities to enhance multiple ecosystem values by manipulating tree density, distribution, and canopy cover through tree thinning. I performed a study in northern Arizona ponderosa pine-Gambel oak (Quercus gambelii) forests to measure the influences of tree canopy types on understory plant communities and soil properties. On ten 2.5-acre (1-ha) sites, I sampled five 43-ft2 (4-m2) plots below each of the following five canopy types: openings; single ponderosa pine; and Gambel oak single stems, dispersed clumps, and thickets. Soil properties, species richness, plant cover, and the distribution of cool- and warm-season grasses were canopy-type specific. Openings contained the most species/plot, three to eight times greater plant cover than any tree canopy type, and warm-season grasses (for example, purple threeawn [Aristida purpurea]) that were infrequent below trees. In contrast, aspen pea (Lathyrus laetivirens) and Fendler’s meadow-rue (Thalictrum fendleri) were most frequent below Gambel oak canopies. There were no species that were most frequent below ponderosa pine. Results suggest that canopy openings need to be reestablished and maintained on this landscape if understories are to be productive, diverse, and contain species dependent on these microsites