Publications, manuscripts in various stages of progress, presentations made at scientific meetings, and undergraduate honor thesis and one Ph.D. dissertation are contained

Reiners, William A.

English

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FINAL TECHNICAL REPORT
for grant titled
BIOGEOCHEMICAL PROCESSES IN SAGEBRUSH STEPPE: INTERACTIONS OF
TERRAIN, VEGETATION AND CHEMICAL CYCLES
(NASA-Ames Agreement No. NAG 2-355)
prepared by
William A. Reiners
Department of Botany
The University of Wyoming
Laramie, Wyoming 82070
(307)766-2235
For the period 1 June 1985 to 29 February 1988
(hgSg-Cl_- 1814£6) £1G6£OCE_I(A£ _BCCESSES
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1
https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=19890003717 2020-03-20T04:34:40+00:00Z
INTRODUCTION
This is the terminal report on a subcontract between the
University of Wyoming and NASA/Ames (NAG 2-355) for work
contributing to an award made to NASA/Ames under the NASA
Announcement of Opportunity titled "Thematic Mapper Research in
the Earth Sciences" (A.O. No. OSSA-3-84). This report consists
of lists of publications, manuscripts in various stages of
progress, presentations made at scientific meetings, and
undergraduate honors thesis and one Ph.D. dissertation. Because
this was a collaborative effort with NASA/Ames personnel (P.A.
Matson and L.L. Strong), this report contains references to
products produced or planned by all persons involved in this
effort, not just by University of Wyoming personnel. Copies of
two reprints and three preprints (one a galley proof) are
attached.
Although funding for this project ended in February, 1988,
synthesis is continuing through manuscript preparation until the
publication goals listed below are met.
Ph.D. DISSERTATION
Burke, I.C. Distribution and turnover of nitrogen in a sagebrush
landscape. Ph.D. Dissertation. University of Wyoming,
Laramie, WY. 140 p.
UNDERGRADUATE STUDENT HONORS THESIS
Vinton, M.A. 1987. Distribution and nitrogen-fixing activity of
Lupinus argenteus on sagebrush-steppe in Wyoming.
Undergraduate honors thesis, Department of Botany,
University of Wyoming. 37 p.
ABSTRACT: Distribution of Lupinus argenteus, a conspicuous legume
2
on sagebrush-steppes of Wyoming, is largely relegated to stands
of Artemisia tridentata ssp. vaseyana (mountain big sage) which
are typically located on more mesic positions of the landscape.
The nltrogen-flxlng activity of the nodules as measured in the
field via the actylene-reductlon assay is comparatively high.
Consequently, nitrogen fixed per unit area within mountain big
sage-dominated stands is significant. The amount of nitrogen
fixed per unit area averaged over the entire landscapes, however,
is much lower. Nitrogen fixation by Lupinus argenteus is
primarily significant on a local scale within the landscape.
PUBLICATIONS AND MANUSCRIPTS IN VARIOUS STAGES OF DEVELOPMENT
BY TOPICAL AREA
A. Vegetation
i. Burke, I.C., W.A. Reiners and R.K. Olson.
1989. Topographic control of vegetation in a mountain big
sagebrush steppe. IN SECOND ROUND OF REVISION. PLANNED FOR
SUBMISSION TO VEGETATIO.
B. Remote sensing
i. Strong, L. L. 1986. Temporal trends in earth-atmosphere
system reflectance factor for sagebrush steppe vegetation
communities. 20th International Symposium on Remote Sensing of
Environment. Nairobi, Kenya. Dec. 4-10. pp. 1309-1318.
PUBLISHED.
ABSTRACT: Four consecutive Landsat-5 Thematic Mapper acquisitions
were used to examine trends in earth-atmosphere system
reflectance factors of sagebrush steppe vegetation communities
following soil moisture recharge from snow melt. Significant
differences in trends between vegetation communities correspond
to known differences in the initiation and duration of active
vegetation growth. Information on short-term vegetation
processes are a valuable supplement to estimates of total
vegetation cover which can be obtained using satellite brightness
images at less frequent temporal intervals.
2. Strong, L.L. 1989. Mapping sagebrush steppe vegetation-
soil associations using Thematic Mapper reflectance factors.
PLANNED FOR REMOTE SENSING OF THE ENVIRONMENT.
3. Strong, L.L. 1989. Thematic Mapper spectral reflectance
factors and albedo of sagebrush steppe vegetation-soil
associations. PLANNED FOR ECOLOGY.
4. Strong, L.L. 19889. Relationships of Thematic Mapper
spectral reflectance factors with vegetation cover and phytomass
production of sagebrush-steppe. PLANNED FOR JOURNAL OF RANGE
MANAGEMENT.
3
C. Nutrient cycling
I. Burke, I.C., W.A. Reiners, D.S. Sturges and P.A. Matson.
1987. Herbicide treatment effects on properties of mountain big
sagebrush soils after fourteen years. Soil Science Society of
America Journal. 51: 1337-1343. PUBLISHED.
ABSTRACT: Soil properties under stands of vegetation dominated by
mountain big sagebrush (Artemisia trldentata ssp. vaseyana) and
grass were examined 14 yr after spraying with 2,4-dichlorophenoxy
acetic acide (2,4-D) to control sagebrush. Changes in only a few
soil chemical properties were found after conversion to
grassland. Phosphorus and K were apparently redistributed from
depth to the surface 5 cm of soil by grass-dominated vegetation.
Conversely, surface concentrations of N were lower under grass
vegetation than under undisturbed vegetation. No changes
attributable to vegetation conversion were found for total C, Na,
Mg, cation exchange capacity, base saturation, pH, bulk density,
or potential net N mineralization rates at any depth. In situ N-
mineralization rates at a 5- to 15-cm depth were measured under
and between shrubs for both vegetation conditions 15 yr after
spraying. Nitrogen mineralization was similar from positions
between and under former shrubs in converted (grass) vegetation,
whereas in the sagebrush vegetation, mineralization rates were
higher under live sagebrush plants than in interspaces between
plants. Undershrub net N mineralization rates were higher under
shrubs in the sagebrush vegetation than under former shrubs in
the grass vegetation. Essentially, control of big sagebrush, in
the absence of grazing, had no effect on site fertility. The
spatial distributions of the elements and of their cycling,
however, have been altered.
2. Burke, I.C., W. A. Reiners and D. Schlmel. 1988. Organic
matter turnover in a sagebrush steppe. Biogeochemistry. IN
PRESS.
ABSTRACT: Laboratory incubations of 15N-amended soils from a
sagebrush steppe in southcentral Wyoming indicate that nutrient
turnover and availability have complex patterns across the
landscape and between microsites. Total and available N and P
and microbial C and N were highest in topographic depressions
characterized by tall shrub communities. Net and gross N
mineralization rates and respiration were also highest in these
areas, but microbial efficiencies expressing growth relative to
respiration cost were highest in soils of exposed ridgetop sites
(prostrate shrub communities). Similar patterns occurred between
shrub and intershrub soils, with greater nutrient availability
under shrubs, but lower microbial efficiencies under shrubs than
between. Surface soils had higher soil nutrient pools and N
mineralization rates than subsurface soils, but N and C turnover
and microbial efficiencies were lower in those surface soils.
All soils decreased in respiration, mineralization, and
immobilization rates during the 30-day incubation period,
4
apparently approaching a steady-state substrate use. Soll
microbial activity of the high organic matter accumulation areas
was apparently more limited by labile substrate.
3. Burke, I.C. 1988. Control of N-mlneralization in a
sagebrush steppe. Ecology. IN PRESS.
ABSTRACT: Factors controlling N turnover in sagebrush ecosystems
are separable into two groups. The first group comprises
properties having strong spatial patterning at a landscape scale,
but being temporally static at time scales of years or tens of
years. These static properties include plant species
assemblages, total soil nutrient pools, and soil texture. A
second group includes properties that vary across the landscape
over shorter time scales, i.e. annually, seasonally, and
diurnally. These dynamic properties include soil moisture,
temperature, and amount of available nutrients. This paper
evaluates the landscape variability of properties in both of
these groups, and examines the extent to which these factors
control N turnover.
Static ecosystem properties were entered into a principal
components analysis resulting in four axes of landscape
variability. A statistical analysis of the relationship of net N
mineralization with the principal components and with soil
temperature and moisture suggested that soll microclimate and
organic matter quality both control in situ turnover. Soil
microcllmate limited N mineralization to a short season in early
spring and summer; only during this time did soil organic matter
exert control. In landscape positions where soil organic matter
pools were low, improved soll mlcroclimate conditions did not
increase N mineralization rates. A similar approach may be
useful in evaluating control over ecosystem processes in other
systems that are characterized by strong seasonal and spatial
variability.
4. Matson, P.A. and K. Copplnger. 1989. Nitrous oxide flux
from sagebrush steppe ecosystems. MANUSCRIPT PLANNED FOR
BIOGEOCHEMISTRY.
5. Coppinger, K., W.A. Reiners, I.C. Burke and R.K. Olson.
1989. Net erosion on a sagebrush steppe landscape as determined
by 137Cs distribution. IN SECOND ROUND OF REVISION FOR
SUBMISSION TO SOIL SCIENCE SOCIETY OF AMERICA JOURNAL.
ABSTRACT: Redistribution of soils within and between ecosystems
can have important effects on ecological properties including
soil and vegetation characteristics, prlmary production and
nutrient cycling. This study examined patterns and assessed
transport mechanisms of soil erosion and deposition in a n_ve
sagebrush steppe landscape in south central Wyoming using _'Cs.
In this little-disturbed site, regressionlg_alysis failed to
produce consistent rel_onships between _'Cs and selected
landscape variables. Cs values were generally the same across
the site, suggesting that intermediate-scale (aproximately I00 m)
5
fluvial soll transport is unimportant in this system over time
since bomb-test deposition occurred. A_ysls of variance showed
that in windswept landscape positions, _'Cs was significantly
higher under shrubs than between them. These results suggest
that wind-driven redistrlb_t_n has occurred at a small scale(0.5 - i0 m). Even though_'Cs data indicate that intermediated
scale transport is not occurring, analysis of the soil fine
fraction shows net transport of fines donwslope. These results
suggest that in this sagebrush ecosystem, soil redistribution by
_vial erosion occurs too slowly to be determined by bomb test
Cs.
D. Modeling
i. Ojima D.S., I.C. Burke and W.J. Parton. 1989. Adaptation
of the CENTURY ecosystem simulation model to sagebrush steppe.
FIRST DRAFT SCHEDULED FOR END OF DECEMBER, 1988; SUBMISSION
PLANNED FOR ECOLOGICAL MODELING.
2. Reiners, W.A., L.L. Strong, P.A. Matson, I.C. Burke and
D.S. Ojima. 1988. Estimating biogeochemical fluxes across
sagebrush-steppe landscapes with Thematic Mapper imagery.
SUBMITTED TO REMOTE SENSING OF THE ENVIRONMENT.
ABSTRACT: Thematic Mapper (TM) satellite data were coupled to an
ecosystem simulation model to simulate variation in nitrogen
mineralization over time and space in a sagebrush steppe. This
system of data inputs and calculations provides estimates of
ecosystem properties including rates of biogeochemical processes
over extensive and complex landscapes, and under changing
management and climatic conditions. Efforts to measure late-
spring snow cover and distribution, the major source of soil
moisture in this semi-arld system, failed because of insufficient
frequency of satellite overpasses at this cloudy time of year.
3. Matson, P.A., W. A. Reiners, L.L. Strong, I.C. Burke and D.S.
Ojima. 1989. Spatial-temporal modeling of sagebrush ecosystems
using TM-CENTURY spatial model. INITIATION OF THIS MANUSCRIPT
PENDING COMPLETION OF NO. 1 ABOVE.
PAPERS PRESENTED AT SCIENTIFIC MEETINGS
BY YEAR
1986
Burke, I.C. and W. A. Reiners. 1986. Patterns of nitrogen
flux rates across a sagebrush landscape. Presented at
Contributed Paper Session 86, 71st Annual Meeting of the
Ecological Society of America, IV International Congress of
Ecology, Syracuse, N.Y., 10-16 August 1986. Abstract: Congress
Program: p. 106.
6
Matson, P.A. 1986. Biogeochemlcal Processes in sagebrush
ecosystems: interaction of terrain and management practices.
Presented at the Landsat TM/AO Workshop, NASA/Goddard Space
Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland, 3-5 September 1986.
Abstract: Proceedings of Landsat Workshop p. 279-293.
Reiners, W.A., P.A. Matson, L.L. Strong and I.C. Burke.
1986. Estimating biogeochemical properties of a sagebrush steppe
with remote sensing. Presented at INTECOL Symposium: Modeling
and remote sensing of Biogeochemical Processes, IV International
Congress of Ecology, Syracuse, N.Y., 10-16 August 1986.
Abstract: Congress Program: p. 284.
Strong, L.L. 1986. Temporal trends in earth-atmosphere
system reflectance factor for sagebrush steppe vegetation
communities. Presented at the Twentieth International Symposium
on Remote Sensing of Environment, Nairobi, Kenya, 4-10 December
1986. Published in proceedings (see above).
1987
Burke, I.C. and W.A. Relners. 1987. Predicting nitrogen
mineralization rates across a sagebrush steppe from topographic
variables. Presented at 72nd Annual Meeting, Ecological Society
of America, Columbus, Ohio, 9-14 August. Abstract: Bulletin of
the Ecological Society of America 68(3):273.
Matson, P.A., L.L. Strong, W.A. Reiners and I.C. Burke.
1987. Predictions of biogeochemlcal processes in sagebrush
ecosystems through the use of remote sensing. Presented at
International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium. Ann Arbor,
Michigan, 18-21 May 1987. Abstract:l:449-450.
Matson, P.A. and L.L. Strong. 1987. Biogeochemical processes
in sagebrush ecosystems. Presented at Landsat TM/AO Workshop,
Santa Barbara, California, September, 1987. Abstract: Proceedings
of Landsat TM/AO Workshop.
Strong, L.L. 1987. Inventory and monitoring of sagebrush
steppe using temporal Thematic Mapper satellite data. Presented
at the 40th Annual Meeting of the Society for Range Management,
Boise, Idaho, 8-13 February 1987.
1988
Coppinger, K., C. Volksmann and P. Matson. 1988.
Relationships between nitrous oxide flux and soll nitrogen in
sagebrush steppe. Presented at 73rd Annual Meeting, Ecological
Society of America, Davis, California, 14-19 August, 1988.
Abstract: Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America
69(2):106.
Reiners, W.A., L.L. Strong, P.A. Matson, I.C. Burke and D.S.
OJima. 1988. Estimating blogeochemlcal fluxes across sagebrush-
steppe landscapes with Thematic Mapper imagery. Presented at
Final Landsat TM/AO Workshop, Greenbelt, Maryland, 22-25 August
1988. To be published under same title in dedicated volume of
Remote Sensing of the Environment.
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Biogeochemical processes in sagebrush steppe: Interactions of terrain, vegetation and chemical cycles

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