@conference {50147,
	title = {Weed management using goats: Effects on water infiltration rate},
	booktitle = {Society for Range Management},
	series = {62nd Society for Range Management Annual Meeting},
	year = {2009},
	month = {February 8-12, 2},
	pages = {75-7},
	publisher = {Society for Range Management},
	organization = {Society for Range Management},
	address = {Alb., NM},
	abstract = {Goats are used increasingly for weed control, fire fuel reduction and ecological restoration. The high stocking rates typical of these applications have been reported to decrease the rate of water infiltration in goat pastures. The hypothesis that annual goat browsing for weed control decreases infiltration rate was tested in the Rio Grande River floodplain near Socorro, New Mexico (mean annual rainfall 200.9 {\textpm} 60.82 mm). Soils were coarse-loamy, mixed (calcareous), thermic Typic Torrifluvents with sandy loam surface texture. One plot (0.17-1.6 ha) from each of six pairs of plots was browsed at the end of the summer growing seasons. The 400-630 Boer/Spanish meat goats browsed the plots for 1-3 days at a mean stocking rate of 3.2{\textpm} 2.4 goat h m-2. Vegetation cover was measured using line point-intercept transects. Water infiltration rate was measured using a standardized saturated single-ring infiltration method. After four years of annual goat browsing and regrowth of vegetation, the rate of water infiltration was faster (P=0.036) in browsed areas (mean 1024 mm hr-1) than in unbrowsed areas (mean 896 mm hr-1). The increased cover of grasses and forbs, plus decreased cover of shrubs, increased mean infiltration rate in the browsed plots. Infiltration rate increased in unvegetated areas, probably due to disruption of the soil crust. The effects of goats on infiltration rate are probably influenced by climate, soil and vegetation characteristics, as well as season and stocking rate. The possible effects of goats on infiltration should be considered when designing weed management programs.},
	keywords = {goats, management, SRM, water infiltration, weed},
	author = {S. Tartowski and D. K. James}
}
@conference {50287,
	title = {Multiple constraints on ecological restoration: Re-establishment of black grama grass (Bouteloua eriopoda) after intensive grazing},
	booktitle = {Ecological Society of America Abstracts},
	series = {93rd ESA Annual Meetings},
	year = {2008},
	month = {August 4-8, 2008},
	pages = {COS 119-7},
	address = {Milwaukee, WI},
	abstract = {Climate change may alter potential ecological restoration of semi-arid rangeland. Bouteloua eriopoda (black grama, BOER) is a perennial C4 grass that usually fails to re-establish in degraded rangeland and may be constrained by increased atmospheric CO2 and reduced or seasonally redistributed rainfall. Eighteen contiguous 0.5-ha plots were established in a remnant black grama grassland at the Jornada Experimental Range in the Northern Chihuahuan Desert. Removal of mesquite shrubs (Prosopis glandulosa) and intensive seasonal grazing (none, winter, summer) were applied in a randomized complete block design. From 1996-2000 annual grazing removed 65-85\% of the available forage in 24-36 h, a grazing intensity 30X greater than in the previous 40 years. In 2002 the mean percent cover of BOER was 5.82{\textpm}0.94 in grazed plots compared to 27.3{\textpm}1.33 in ungrazed plots. By 2005 BOER had not re-established. A pair of circular 1 m diameter, 6.35 mm wire mesh exclosures, were randomly located in each of the 18 plots. Annually from 2005-2007 the treatment exclosure of each pair had non-BOER above-ground biomass removed and viable BOER seed planted and fertilized.},
	keywords = {abstract, climate change, restoration},
	author = {S. Tartowski and D. K. James}
}
@conference {50390,
	title = {Effects of goats on Tamarix spp. and understory vegetation for riparian restoration},
	booktitle = {Society for Range Management 60th Annual Meeting and Trade Show},
	year = {2007},
	month = {02/2007},
	pages = {Paper No. 425},
	abstract = {Goats were used to reduce Tamarix spp. along the Rio Grande in New Mexico. Seventy 0.1-1.6 ha plots at two locations were either browsed by 400-630 goats for 1-3 days annually, or left unbrowsed. After two annual treatments, nearly every available Tamarix plant in mixed vegetation was browsed (100\%), broken (91\%) or debarked (60\%). Goats reduced the Leaf Area Index of resprouts by about 24\% each year. However, nearly all of the Tamarix biomass that was removed regrew between annual treatments. During the second year, goats reduced the mean height of Tamarix by 8\% and the mean width by 21\% in open-canopy mixed vegetation. Overall, the number of Tamarix decreased by less than 5\% after three years of goat browsing treatments. In large, dense, closed-canopy Tamarix, goats opened up the understory, reduced laddering fuels and improved access, potentially reducing costs of subsequent mechanical or manual clearing. Rusian olive (Elaeagnus angustifolia) was heavily browsed and cover declined about 10\% per year. Large cottonwoods (Populus deltoides) were not damaged, but small cottonwoods were heavily browsed. Willows (Salix spp.) were browsed and resprouted vigorously. Goats increased the area of bare soil by about 20\% and reduced the cover of most understory plant species, including native perennial grasses, such as Sporobolus spp. The cover of native annual grasses associated with disturbance (Bouteloua barbatus, B. aristoides) increased from less than 1\% to about 20\% one year after browsing, following substantial rainfall. Goats may be useful, in combination with other methods, for controlling Tamarix resprouts or where partial control of Tamarix is desired. Goats may be especially effective in removing understory weeds and preparing the seed bed for vegetation. The use of livestock for land management and ecological restoration, rather than production of agricutlural commodities, offers new economic opportunity for entrepreneurial ranchers.},
	keywords = {goats, Rio Grande, riparian, Tararix, vegetation},
	author = {S. Tartowski and D. K. James}
}
@conference {50391,
	title = {Restoration of spatial heterogeneity and ecohydrological processes in semi-arid grassland: Influence of timing and landscape context on long-term changes in soil and vegetation},
	booktitle = {Ecological Society of America Abstracts},
	year = {2007},
	month = {August 5, 2007},
	pages = {105},
	address = {San Jose, CA},
	abstract = {The success of ecosystem restoration in semi-arid grasslands is variable and unpredictable. Water retention dikes (7.5-30 cm tall, 50-150 m long) were installed at the Jornada Experimental Range (3-6 dikes/site) in the Chihuahuan Desert from 1975-1981 in an effort to restore ecosystem structure and function. There was little detectable change for several years after installation of the dikes. Compared to nearby reference areas, soil moisture was 20-45\% higher behind the dikes (except TW), even though ponded saturated infiltration rates were 20- 80\% slower behind the dikes. Soil aggregate stability was consistently greater behind the dikes. Clay and silt soil fractions were greater behind the dikes generally, but one site (AT) had the opposite pattern. Differences in soil texture were likely influenced by transport processes and source areas. Percent cover of vegetation behind the dikes was 1.5-3 times the cover at nearby reference areas, but 20 times greater at one site (TW). Plant species richness behind the dikes was about double that in the reference areas, but 6 times greater at one site (TW). Mesquite (Prosopis spp.) and unpalatable shrubs were less dominant behind the dikes, while cover of small shrubs, grasses and forbs was greater than in reference areas. Fertilization with nitrogen and micronutrients increased vegetation cover behind dikes, but not in reference areas. The addition of native grass seed (black grama, Bouteloua eriopoda) allowed establishment of plants in some sandy areas at both dike and reference sites (mainly at DA), but only when other above ground vegetation was removed. Installation of water retention structures was sufficient to initiate the formation of islands of increased resource availability and increased biological productivity, but the development of soil and vegetation interactions was influenced by the local site characteristics, the landscape context, and the rainfall pattern.},
	keywords = {ecohydrological, spatial heterogeneity},
	author = {S. Tartowski and Jeffrey E. Herrick and A. Rango}
}
@conference {50508,
	title = {Restoration of spatial heterogeneity and ecohydrological processes in deserts: Development of artificial islands of hydrologically-enhanced productivity},
	booktitle = {American Geophysical Union},
	volume = {87},
	number = {52},
	year = {2006},
	month = {December 11-15, },
	pages = {H13A-135B},
	address = {San Francisco, CA},
	abstract = {Temporal and spatial heterogeneity in biological productivity, from the scale of plants to landscapes, is characteristic of arid and semi-arid ecosystems. The processes which control the formation of resource islands and determine the size, shape, longevity and distribution of resource islands across the landscape are influenced by climate, topography, soils and biota. The installation of water retention dikes (7.5-30 cm tall, 50-150 m long) at the Jornada Experimental Range (3-6 dikes/site at 4 sites) in the Chihuahuan Desert from 1975-1981 enabled us to test whether increased surface water retention was sufficient to initiate the formation of islands of enhanced resource availability and biological productivity. Compared to nearby reference areas, soil moisture was 20-45\% higher behind dikes. Clay and silt soil fractions tended to be greater behind the dikes, though the detailed pattern depended upon the local site conditions. Soil aggregate stability was higher and saturated infiltration rates were up to 80\% lower behind the dikes. Vegetation cover behind the dikes was more than twice that in nearby reference areas. Plant species richness was up to 4 times greater behind the dikes. Mesquite (Prosopis spp.) and unpalatable shrubs were less dominant behind the dikes, while cover of small shrubs, grasses and forbs was greater than in reference areas. Rehabilitation of degraded arid ecosystems often entails the restoration of spatial heterogeneity and the creation of islands of concentrated resources. Artificial water retention structures can mimic natural processes that reduce surface water flow rates, allowing more time for infiltration, and can initiate formation of islands of increased resource availability and increased biological productivity. The effects of these water retention dikes persisted for up to 30 years without maintenance.},
	keywords = {echohydrological, heterogeneity, hydrologically-enhanced, spatial},
	author = {S. Tartowski and Jeffrey E. Herrick and A. Rango}
}
@booklet {50608,
	title = {Browsing the Bosque},
	howpublished = {Network News},
	volume = {18},
	number = {1},
	year = {2005},
	month = {May 30, 2005},
	pages = {7},
	publisher = {Newsletter of the Long Term Ecological Research Network},
	abstract = {Invasive Salt Cedar (Tamarix spp.) occupies riparian zones throughout the Western United States and has been reported to increase evapotranspiration, increase fire frequency, reduce habitat values, and replace native plant species.  Herbicides and mechanical clearing are the main methods used to remove salt cedar. We are conducting the first study of the use of goats to control salt cedar. Goats readily browsed salt cedar and Russian olive in replicated 1-3 acre plots along the Rio Grande, while maintaining weight and health. Nearly every salt cedar plant was damaged by browsing, breaking branches or stripping bark.  Goats had an especially severe impact on resprouts, removing about half of the vegetation in the first year of browsing.  Goats had much less impact on large dense salt cedar , but cleared out the understory, reducing laddering fuels, improving access for recreation and reducing costs for mechanical or manual clearing. After two years of goat treatment, the width of salt cedars was reduced by about 35\%, but only about 4\% of the large salt cedars were killed.  It may take five years of goat browsing to deplete the root reserves of salt cedar sufficiently to increase tree mortality. Goats browsed desirable native plants as well as salt cedar, but most of the understory vegetation recovered during the following growing season.  Large cottonwoods were not damaged and browsed willows resprouted vigorously.  Grass cover, especially native grama grasses (Bouteloua barbatus and B. aristoides), increased from less than 1\% immediately before goat browsing to about 20\% one year after goat browsing.},
	keywords = {Bosque, goats, New Mexico, salt cedar},
	author = {S. Tartowski}
}
@conference {50611,
	title = {Coastal nutrient and pollutant dynamics: The interaction of fast and slow processes.},
	booktitle = {Ecological Society of American Abstracts Annual Meeting},
	year = {2005},
	month = {August 7, 2005},
	pages = {CDROM},
	abstract = {The North basin of the Caspian Sea is cleaner now than in the 1980s and early 1990s and cleaner than widely assumed. Agricultural inputs of nutrients declined with the break-up of the USSR. The Volga River is the main source (more than 80\%) of both nutrients and pollutants to the North Caspian. Nutrient fluxes to the North Caspian through the Volga are controlled by upstream dams and other river control structures and by the the downstream processes in the large Volga Delta. The residence time of water in the North Basin is about 1-3 years. The Volga river inputs control the salinity of the North basin which ranges from 0 ppt at the river mouths to approximately 12 ppt at the boundary with the mid Caspian. The North Caspian is highly productive, and production is usually P-limited, but occasionally co-limited by N and P. Nitrogen inputs average 800,000 tons/year, but export to the mid caspian is about 600,000 tons/year. Phytoplankton primary production contributes more than 50\% of the organic carbon to the ecosystem (14-22 TG C /yr.), with the remainder flowing into the basin through the Volga and Ural rivers. The annual high flow of the Volga River is usually in late spring, somewhat delayed and decreased by regulation for flood control and human use. The extent of seasonal ice cover is weather dependent, but ice covers most of the North Basin in cooler years. Retreat of the ice is accompanied by an early spring phytoplankton bloom which is sustained by the spring flush from the Volga. The shallow well},
	keywords = {Caspian Sea, coastal, nutrient, pollutant},
	author = {S. Tartowski and V. Bashkin}
}
@conference {50610,
	title = {Linking ecological processes adn environmental impacts across scales: Coastal ecology and energy development in the Caspian Sea},
	booktitle = {Ecological Society of American Abstracts Annual Meeting},
	year = {2005},
	month = {August 7, 2005},
	pages = {CDROM},
	abstract = {Coastal regions, such as the Caspian Sea and the Gulf of Mexico face a multitude of serious environmental challenges, including energy development, overfishing and invasive species. The largest oil discovery in the past 30 years was found in the North Caspian Sea, home to the endemic Caspian Seal and source of more than 90\% of the world{\textquoteright}s caviar. Coastal ecology is organized by the cross-scale interactions of climate and geology, fluctuating population dynamics and local to global anthropogenic impacts, but there is considerable disagreement concerning the relative importance of local and global controls on ecological processes. This symposium will bring together leading scientists from the Former Soviet Union, Iran, Europe and North America to compare hotly debated aspects of coastal ecology relevant to energy development in the Caspian Sea and the Gulf of Mexico, including changing freshwater, nutrient and pollutant inputs, status of sturgeon and seals, and impacts of <i>Mnemiopsis leidyi.</i>},
	keywords = {Caspian Sea, ecological},
	author = {S. Tartowski and T.J. Butler and V. Bashkin}
}
@conference {50612,
	title = {Livestock as land management tools: weed control using goats},
	booktitle = {Proceedings of the Annual Conference of the Quivira Coalition},
	year = {2005},
	month = {January 13, 2005},
	abstract = {Livestock can have both desirable and undesirable impacts on vegetation and rangeland. Use of livestock to rehabilitate range  and riparian ecosystems represents one aspect of the broader role of ranchers as land managers, rather than the more narrow role as livestock producers. Invasive species are a significant problem on western rangelands and salt cedar is a particularly damaging species that has infested riparian areas throughout the Southwest. Traditionally, chemical and mechanical methods are used to control salt cedar, but biological control methods are being developed and applied at several sites in New Mexico. The use of goats for the biocontrol of weeds is expanding rapidly, with new opportunities for commercial goatherders.  This workshop will describe the effects of goats used to control salt cedar in an experimental project at San Acacia on the Rio Grande.  This is the first study to quantify the damage done to salt cedar as well as the impact on other plant species.  The details of managing goats for weed removal, including stocking rate, control of herd movements, timing of browsing and protection of desirable species will be presented. Management of livestock for commercial weed control and business aspects of ranchers contracting as land managers will be discussed by Sarah Harris of Western Weedeaters, a successful commercial operation. Guidelines and advice for initiating use of goats for weed control will assist both ranchers and land managers in deciding whether and how to use goats to control weeds in specific situations.},
	keywords = {goats, land management tools, livestock, weed control},
	author = {S. Tartowski and Harris, S.}
}
@booklet {50609,
	title = {Livestock as Tools for Ecological Restoration: Using Goats to Control Salt Cedar},
	howpublished = {Jornada Trails},
	volume = {9},
	number = {2},
	year = {2005},
	month = {October 2005},
	pages = {2},
	address = {Las Cruces, NM},
	abstract = {Salt Cedar (Tamarix spp.) has invaded riparian areas throughout the Western United States and has been reported to increase evapotranspiration, increase fire frequency, reduce habitat values, and replace native plant species.  Herbicides and mechanical clearing are the main methods used to remove salt cedar. Goats readily browsed salt cedar, Russian olive and undesirable weeds in experimental plots along the Rio Grande, while maintaining weight and health. Nearly every salt cedar plant was damaged by browsing, but goats had an especially severe impact on resprouts, removing about half of the above ground vegetation.  Goats had much less impact on large dense salt cedar, but cleared out the understory, reducing laddering fuels, improving access for recreation and reducing costs for subsequent mechanical or manual clearing. After two years of goat treatment, the width of salt cedars was reduced by about 35\%, but only about 4\% of the large salt cedars were killed.  It may take several more years of goat browsing to deplete the root reserves of salt cedar sufficiently to increase tree mortality. Grass cover, especially native grama grasses (Bouteloua barbatus and B. aristoides), increased from less than 1\% before goat browsing to about 20\% after goat browsing.},
	keywords = {ecological, goats, livestock, salt cedar},
	author = {S. Tartowski}
}
@conference {50613,
	title = {Use of Goats for the Control of Salt Cedar},
	year = {2005},
	month = {January 9, 2005},
	address = {Sevilleta, NM},
	abstract = {Fire, flood, herbicide, manual, mechanical and insect biocontrol methods have all been used to remove invasive salt cedar. Each method has advantages and disadvantages in particular circumstances. We used goats to browse replicated 1-3 acre plots in salt cedar near San Acacia and San Marcial along the Rio Grande.  Goats damaged nearly all the salt cedar in the browsed areas. The width of salt cedars was decreased by 33\% -36\%  in mixed vegetation. In areas where salt cedar was removed mechanically, then allowed to regrow for 4 years, goats reduced the LAI by about 37\%.  Goat browsing was less effective in dense stands of large salt cedar, with LAI decreased by about 27\%.  The number of salt cedar decreased by only 4\% after the second year of treatment. It may take more than 5 years to kill individual salt cedars with repeated goat browsing.  Goats browsed desirable native plants as well as salt cedar, but most of the vegetation recovered during the following growing season.},
	keywords = {goats, salt cedar, Sevilleta},
	author = {S. Tartowski}
}
@booklet {50614,
	title = {Use of Goats to Control Salt Cedar},
	howpublished = {The Nature Park News},
	volume = {14},
	number = {2},
	year = {2005},
	month = {May 15, 2005},
	pages = {3},
	publisher = {Chihuahuan Desert Nature Park},
	address = {Las Cruces, NM},
	abstract = {Invasive Salt Cedar (Tamarix spp.) occupies riparian zones throughout the Western United States and has been reported to increase evapotranspiration, increase fire frequency, reduce habitat values, and replace native plant species.  Herbicides and mechanical clearing are the main methods used to remove salt cedar. We are conducting the first study of the use of goats to control salt cedar. Goats readily browsed salt cedar and Russian olive in replicated 1-3 acre plots along the Rio Grande, while maintaining weight and health. Nearly every salt cedar plant was damaged by browsing, breaking branches or stripping bark.  Goats had an especially severe impact on resprouts, removing about half of the vegetation in the first year of browsing.  Goats had much less impact on large dense salt cedar , but cleared out the understory, reducing laddering fuels, improving access for recreation and reducing costs for mechanical or manual clearing. After two years of goat treatment, the width of salt cedars was reduced by about 35\%, but only about 4\% of the large salt cedars were killed.  It may take five years of goat browsing to deplete the root reserves of salt cedar sufficiently to increase tree mortality. Goats browsed desirable native plants as well as salt cedar, but most of the understory vegetation recovered during the following growing season.  Large cottonwoods were not damaged and browsed willows resprouted vigorously.  Grass cover, especially native grama grasses (Bouteloua barbatus and B. aristoides), increased from less than 1\% immediately before goat browsing to about 20\% one year after goat browsing.},
	keywords = {goats, salt cedar},
	author = {S. Tartowski}
}
@conference {50723,
	title = {Ecological function of the North Caspian Sea: Production, nutrients and pollutants},
	booktitle = {89th Annual Meeting, Ecological Society of America},
	year = {2004},
	month = {August 1, 2004},
	pages = {Abstract p. 500},
	address = {Portland, OR},
	abstract = {The Caspian Sea is the largest inland water body on earth (386,400 km2, maximum depth 1025 m). With its long history of oil and industrial development, the Caspian is often regarded as severely polluted and ecologically degraded. The North Basin of the Caspian Sea is a large (25\% of the Caspian Sea surface area), shallow (median depth 4 m), well-mixed, slightly brackish estuary fed by the Volga and Ural Rivers. We have synthesized historical Soviet data, post-Soviet data and data from a recent sampling cruise in September 2003 to investigate the current ecological status of the North Basin of the Caspian Sea. The Volga River supplies approximately 80\% of the water input to the entire Caspian Sea and is the major source of nutrients and pollutants to the North Basin. The North Basin of the Caspian Sea is less polluted with heavy metals, pesticides and probably hydrocarbons than commonly assumed and less polluted now than during the Soviet era. Pollutant levels in organisms such as fish and seals are generally lower or comparable to those of other large seas and lakes, such as the Mediterranean, Black, and Baltic Seas. Autochthonous primary production supplies the majority of the organic carbon inputs with more than 50\% provided by phytoplankton (14-22 TG C /yr) and about 4-9 TG C /yr added by the Volga River. Primary production in the North Basin is usually phosphorus-limited and significant oxygen depletion seldom develops. Commercial fish stocks in the North Caspian have declined significantly in recent years due to overfishing. The Caspian Sea supplies about 90\% of the world{\textquoteright}s caviar but less than 1\% of the remaining Beluga sturgeon (Huso huso) are mature breeders. Accurate, independent information on the size and age class distribution of valuable sturgeon species and the Caspian Seal are not available.},
	keywords = {current ecological status, North Caspian Sea, nutrients, pollutants, production},
	author = {S. Tartowski and T.J. Butler and Lychagin, M.Y. and V. Bashkin and Sisengalieva, G. and Yergaliyev, T.}
}
@conference {50832,
	title = {Manipulation of resource heterogeneity in restoration of arid grasslands and shrublands},
	booktitle = {15th Annual International Society for Ecological Restoration Conference},
	year = {2003},
	month = {August 2003},
	address = {Austin, TX},
	abstract = {Degradation of arid ecosystems is often signaled by the changes in the distribution of soil and water resources and by changes in plant species composition.  For example, shrub invasion of grassland typically leads to resource redistribution into larger resource islands that are more widely spaced and more different from the surrounding matrix than those associated with grasses, while increased grass cover has the opposite effect.   In both cases, positive feedbacks often develop, reinforcing the altered resource distribution and increasing resistance to management efforts to restore the pre-existing plant community.  Changes in vegetation spatial structure can alter other important ecosystem processes as well.  In parts of the western USA, the more continuous fuel of cheatgrass increases fire frequency, extent and intensity which is unfavorable for most shrub restoration.  In shrublands at Jornada Experimental Range in southern New Mexico, the larger interspaces between shrubs allow increased erosion which may hinder grass establishment.  Managed redistribution of resources, such as concentrating resources in grasslands to encourage the establishment of shrubs or reducing the spatial heterogeneity of resources in shrublands to promote the establishment of grasses, may be an effective component of restoration projects.  The effectiveness of manipulating the spatial distribution of resources for the restoration of shrubs in cheatgrass-dominated grasslands and the restoration of grasses in mesquite and creosote-dominated shrublands is predictably influenced by site and species characteristics and by the degree to which important ecosystem processes, such as fire and erosion, are modified by changes in the spatial distribution of resources.},
	url = {www.ser.org/content/abstracts.asp},
	author = {S. Tartowski and Salo, L.F. and Jeffrey E. Herrick}
}
