@proceedings {JRN55366, title = {Beef supply chains of the Southwestern United States: Inputs to marketing to consumption}, year = {2022}, month = {02/10/2022}, abstract = {Consumers and producers worldwide are paying attention to the environmental and social impacts of the beef industry, demonstrating preferences for beef produced with high standards of animal welfare, environmental quality, and well-being of agricultural communities. At the same time, major pressures such as climate change impacts, market variation, and disease complicate prospects for achieving the environmental, social, and economic targets that result in sustainable beef production systems. Climate impacts are especially pronounced in the Southwestern US: as temperatures rise and rainfall becomes more erratic, forage production is decreasing and ranching input costs are increasing. Also, this region is dependent on other regions for finishing its ranch-raised cattle {\textendash} and ultimately for marketing the beef from the cattle originating in the Southwest. A team of 25 organizations led by New Mexico State University and funded by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture is exploring the performance of three management strategies with promise to improve sustainability outcomes in these conditions: heritage cattle genetics, digital ranching, and alternative finishing options include grass-finishing on southwestern rangeland and recycling the feedlot manure produced by cattle that originate on southwestern ranches. We will introduce our integrated research/extension/education approach and describe how we are using a supply chain perspective to understand and communicate the tradeoffs of the three strategies under investigation, from pasture to plate. We will also provide context for the other talks and discussions in the the symposium and make sure the attendees are well prepared to enjoy and learn with the SRM community in the session.}, keywords = {beef supply chains, consumption, Inputs, marketing, southwestern United States}, author = {S. Spiegal and G. Duff and Andr{\'e}s F. Cibils and Jean Steiner and Matthew M. McIntosh and Skye Aney and Emile H. Elias and Brandon T Bestelmeyer and Stephanie Bestelmeyer and Richard E. Estell} } @booklet {JRN55434, title = {Beef Brief: A new Normal for Irrigated Agriculture to Sustain the Ogallala Aquifer}, year = {2022}, abstract = {The Ogallala Aquifer underlies 45 million hectares, providing water for approximately 1.9 million people and supporting the robust agricultural economy of the US Great Plains. Beef is the dominant commodity, with Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas - major destinations for cattle from ranches of the arid Southwest {\textendash} representing 35\% of the nation{\textquoteright}s cattle sales. Concentrated feeding operations in this region rely on irrigated agriculture for feeds and forages. Water in the Ogallala Aquifer has been severely depleted, particularly in the southern end. Continuing with business-as-usual water withdrawals puts the aquifer and the agricultural economy that is built upon it at risk. Kansas water policy allows flexible solutions to reduce groundwater extraction while supporting productivity and economic. Water allocations are reduced in exchange for increased flexibility such as multi-year water allocation, banking of unused water for future years, and changes in location or use of allocated water. Demonstrated water conservation successes in Kansas show a path toward a {\textquotedblleft}new normal{\textquotedblright} for irrigation in the Ogallala Aquifer region. Water managers and policy makers capitalize on the value of increased flexibility to encourage irrigators to accept reduced allocation. Creative government and private{\textendash}public partnerships should support adoption of innovative technologies and management as end-users chart a new normal for irrigated agriculture to sustain this critical aquifer resource and the vibrant beef sector that is an economic engine for the Southern Plains and Southwest regions. The Ogallala Aquifer underlies 45 million hectares, providing water for approximately 1.9 million people and supporting the robust agricultural economy of the US Great Plains. Beef is the dominant commodity, with Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas - major destinations for cattle from ranches of the arid Southwest {\textendash} representing 35\% of the nation{\textquoteright}s cattle sales. Concentrated feeding operations in this region rely on irrigated agriculture for feeds and forages. Water in the Ogallala Aquifer has been severely depleted, particularly in the southern end. Continuing with business-as-usual water withdrawals puts the aquifer and the agricultural economy that is built upon it at risk. Kansas water policy allows flexible solutions to reduce groundwater extraction while supporting productivity and economic. Water allocations are reduced in exchange for increased flexibility such as multi-year water allocation, banking of unused water for future years, and changes in location or use of allocated water. Demonstrated water conservation successes in Kansas show a path toward a {\textquotedblleft}new normal{\textquotedblright} for irrigation in the Ogallala Aquifer region. Water managers and policy makers capitalize on the value of increased flexibility to encourage irrigators to accept reduced allocation. Creative government and private{\textendash}public partnerships should support adoption of innovative technologies and management as end-users chart a new normal for irrigated agriculture to sustain this critical aquifer resource and the vibrant beef sector that is an economic engine for the Southern Plains and Southwest regions.}, keywords = {beef cattle, Groundwater, Sustainable agriculture, water conservation}, doi = {10.5281/zenodo.7383476}, url = {files/bibliography/22-029.pdf}, author = {Steiner, Jean L. and Spiegal, Sheri and Emile H. Elias and Skye Aney} } @conference {JRN55403, title = {Building a wind erosion and dust emission model for rangelands using National Wind Erosion Research Network data }, booktitle = {2021 LTAR Annual Meeting}, year = {2021}, month = {7/22/2021}, abstract = {Existing wind erosion and dust emission models are poorly developed for assessing the impacts of land management and environmental change on rangelands. Models that leverage standardized vegetation and soil monitoring data and produce estimates that capture intra- and inter-annual spatial variability in sediment transport rates are needed to develop indicators and benchmarks for wind erosion in support of land health and air quality assessments. It is also important to describe, quantify, and communicate estimates of model uncertainty to users. The Aeolian EROsion (AERO) model was developed in response to these concerns and has been parametrized for rangelands. We used a Generalized Likelihood Uncertainty Estimation (GLUE) framework to calibrate AERO using vegetation, sediment transport, and meteorological data collected from 2015 to 2019 at five grassland and shrubland National Wind Erosion Research Network (NWERN) sites. Results show good agreement for individual sampling periods across the sites and a one-to-one relationship between median predictions and sediment flux observations. In addition, on a site-by-site basis, combined distributions of aeolian sediment flux estimates closely approximate the probability distribution of observed flux at the site over intermediate time scales (seasons to years). These results suggest AERO effectively represents temporal variability in aeolian transport rates and provides robust estimates suitable for assessing rangeland health and better predicting changes in air quality and the impacts of land management activities. Here, we present the AERO wind erosion and dust emission model, the parameterization for rangelands, and example applications of AERO to large monitoring data sets.}, author = {Brandon Edwards and Nicholas Webb and Brad Cooper and Ericha Courtright and Danielle Duni and Beth Newingham and Frederick B. Pierson and Drew Scott and John Tatarko and Negussie H. Tedela and David P. Toledo and Paul S. Verburg and Jason C. Williams and Scott Van Pelt and Justin Van Zee} } @conference {JRN55248, title = {Big data, local science: Not an oxymoron}, booktitle = {Ecological Society of America}, year = {2020}, month = {08/2020}, address = {Virtual Conference}, abstract = {Collaborative natural resource management (CNRM) projects are increasingly a common approach to link science to decision-making in rangelands, forests, and fisheries. Such approaches emphasize interactions among scientists from a variety of disciplines with stakeholders to manage adaptively. The availability of human and data resources, however, limit the initiation of CNRM projects and their benefits to stakeholders and ecosystems. We propose a {\textquotedblleft}big data{\textquotedblright} framework for catalyzing and supporting CNRM projects based on standardized monitoring, open access databases, gridded spatial data products, data-model integration, and mobile applications. Results/Conclusions We provide examples of information products used to support local decision-making from desert grassland areas of the Southwestern U.S. used for livestock production and that are experiencing widespread shrub encroachment. Products include 1) long-term evaluations of vegetation and wind erosion responses to shrub control using standard monitoring methods coupled to models and gridded spatial data and 2) remote sensing-based analyses of long-term trends in vegetation composition and forage production at 30m and 4 km resolutions, respectively, used to provide region-scale environmental context for a collaborative landscape management effort. A unified big data framework has yet to be fully developed, but its creation could help scale up CNRM activities that will be essential to promoting human well-being and conserving biodiversity. Poster $\#$81832.}, author = {Brandon T Bestelmeyer and Sarah McCord and Nicholas Webb and Joel R. Brown and Jeffrey E. Herrick and Debra C. Peters} } @article {JRN55215, title = {Big data-model integration and AI for vector-borne disease predictor}, journal = {Ecosphere}, volume = {11}, year = {2020}, month = {06/2020}, pages = {1-20}, chapter = {1}, abstract = {Predicting the drivers of incursion and expansion of vector-borne diseases as part of early-warning strategies (EWS) is a major challenge for geographically extensive diseases where spread is mediated by spatial heterogeneity in climate and other environmental drivers. Geospatial data on these environmental drivers are increasingly available affording opportunities for application to a predictive disease ecology paradigm provided the data can be synthesized and harmonized with fine-scale, highly resolved data on vector and host responses to their environment. Here, we apply a multi-scale big data{\textendash}model integration approach using human-guided machine learning to objectively evaluate the importance of a large suite of spatially distributed environmental variables (>400) to develop EWS for vesicular stomatitis (VS), a common viral vectorborne vesicular disease affecting livestock throughout the Americas. Two temporally and phylogenetically distinct events were used to develop disease occurrence{\textendash}environment relationships in incursion (2004) and expansion years (2005), and then to test those relationships (2014, 2015) at two scales: (1) local and (2) landscape to regional. Our results show that VS occurrence at a local scale of individual landowners was related to conditions that can be monitored (rainfall, temperatures, streamflow) or modified (vegetation). On-site green vegetation during the month of occurrence and higher rainfall four months prior combined with either cool daytime (expansion) or nighttime (incursion) temperatures one month prior were indicators of VS occurrence. Distance to running water (incursion) and host density based on neighboring ranches (expansion) with infected animals were also important in individual years. At landscape-to-regional scales, conditions that favor specific VSV biological vectors were indicated, either black flies in incursion years or biting midges in expansion years. Changes in viral genetic lineage were less important to patterns in VS occurrence than factors affecting the host{\textendash}vector{\textendash}environment interactions. In combination with our onset map based on latitude, elevation, and long-term annual precipitation, this year- and scale-specific information can be used to develop strategies to minimize effects of future VS events. This big data approach coupled with expert knowledge and machine learning can be applied to other emerging diseases for improvement in understanding, prediction, and management of vector-borne diseases.}, keywords = {artificial intelligence, continental scale, expert knowledge, insect vectors, livestock, phylogeography, regional scale, RNA virus, vesicular stomatitis virus}, doi = {https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.3157}, url = {files/bibliography/20-024.pdf}, author = {Debra C. Peters and David McVey and Emile H. Elias and Angela Pelzel-McCluskey and J. D. Derner and N. Dylan Burruss and Scott T. Schrader and Jin Yao and Steven J. Pauszek and Lombard, Jason and Luis L Rodriguez} } @article {JRN55273, title = {Beef Production in the southwestern United States: Strategies toward sustainability}, journal = {Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems}, volume = {4}, year = {2020}, month = {08/19/2020}, pages = {1-8}, abstract = {From grazing lands to meat packing, beef production systems in the United States are striving to meet global demands without compromising environmental quality or local profitability. These challenges and opportunities are manifest in four US regions connected ecologically and socially through beef production: the American Southwest, the Ogallala Aquifer region, the Northern Plains, and the Upper Midwestern Corn Belt. Most calves raised on extensive, arid Southwestern ranches are exported to the Ogallala Aquifer region for finishing on grains that are grown either locally on Ogallala Aquifer water or imported from the Upper Midwest. Changes in climate, vegetation, and human demographics threaten the sustainability of the regionally-interconnected system. Heritage cattle genetics, precision ranching, and alternative supply chain options are three strategies that show promise for addressing these sustainability threats, but major knowledge gaps exist. For instance, while environmentally-friendly landscape use by Raramuri Criollo, a heritage cattle type, has been identified in several arid rangeland settings, little is known about their performance in conventional feed yards. While precision agriculture is already prevalent in croplands, less is known about how such technologies can be cost effective in arid rangelands. Moreover, many perceive grass-finishing on rangeland as environmentally friendly and beneficial for local agricultural communities, but tradeoffs involving greenhouse gas emissions, increased rangeland use, and disruption of cattle feeding systems of the Ogallala Aquifer region must be assessed. Here we introduce a USDA-NIFA Coordinated Agricultural Project designed to fill these knowledge gaps and advance sustainability of beef production linked to the US Southwest. With a boundary-spanning approach of education, participatory research, and extension, the project is identifying tradeoffs of the three strategies with explicit attention to pericoupling (i.e., socioeconomic and environmental interactions) of regions connected by beef production and full consideration of the coupled ecological and social systems within those regions.}, keywords = {Coordinated Agricultural Project, pericoupling framework, rangelands, southwestern United States, sustainable agricultural systems}, doi = {10.3389/fsufs.2020.00114}, url = {files/bibliography/20-034.pdf}, author = {S. Spiegal and Andr{\'e}s F. Cibils and Brandon T Bestelmeyer and Jean Steiner and Richard E. Estell and D W Archer and BW Auvermann and Stephanie Bestelmeyer and LE Boucheron and Huiping Cao and Andrew Cox and Devlin, D and G. Duff and Ehlers, KK and Emile H. Elias and Craig Gifford and Amy L. Gonzalez and J P Holland and Jennings, JS and Marshall, AM and McCracken, DI and Matthew M. McIntosh and Richard E. Miller and Musumba, M and Robert Paulin and Place, SE and Matthew Redd and C. A. Rotz and C. Tolle and Tony Waterhouse} } @conference {JRN55144, title = {Body temperature and movement patterns of Raramuri Criollo vs. Angus-crossbred cows grazing Chihuahuan Desert rangeland in summer}, booktitle = {2019 ASAS-CSAS Annual Meeting and Trade Show }, year = {2019}, month = {07/10/2019}, publisher = {American Society of Animal Science}, organization = {American Society of Animal Science}, address = {Austin, Texas}, abstract = {

Body temperature and movement patterns of Angus Hereford crossbred (AH) vs. Raramuri Criollo (RC) nursing cows were monitored in summer 2016 and 2017. AH and RC cows grazed separately in two adjacent Chihuahuan Desert pastures (1190ha, 1165ha) in a crossover design for 4 weeks each year. Body temperature (BodyT) was monitored at 10 min intervals by placing blank CIDRs containing a temperature logger in 10 cows per breed. Seven to 9 AH and RC cows were also fitted with GPS collars that recorded position and ambient temperature (CollarT) at 10 min intervals. A landscape thermal map (LandT) was developed for habitat analysis. Data were analyzed within four daytime segments: dawn (sunrise {\textendash} 9AM); pre-noon (9AM {\textendash} noon); post-noon (noon {\textendash} 3PM); and dusk (3PM {\textendash} sunset). ANOVA was used to determine whether BodyT, animal movement, CollarT, and mean LandT position within each day segment were different for AH vs. RC cows. Breed nested within Year*Pasture was treated as the experimental unit. BodyT increased as a day progressed and was higher (P \< 0.05) in AH vs. RC during post-noon (38.83 vs. 38.42oC) and dusk (39.22 vs. 38.70oC). Compared to AH counterparts, RC cows traveled farther (4.7 vs. 2.7 km*daytime h-1, P\<0.05), at higher velocities (5.9 vs. 3.5 m*min-1, P\<0.05) and spent more time grazing (5.6 vs. 4.3 daytime h; P\<0.05) and traveling (0.7 vs. 0.3 daytime h; P\<0.05) during all four daytime segments. Largest breed differences were observed during the hottest segments of the day (post-noon and dusk). Increasing CollarT throughout a day was associated with selection of cooler landscape locations (LandT) in both breeds. Apparent lower body heat load in RC cows may reduce constraints on their movement patterns compared to AH cows grazing Chihuahuan Desert rangeland in summer.

}, author = {S. Nyamuryekung{\textquoteright}e and Andr{\'e}s F. Cibils and Richard E. Estell and Amy L. Gonzalez and Matthew M. McIntosh and S. Spiegal and Martha Anderson and Caitriana Steele and F. G. Continanza} } @article {JRN54950, title = {Broadening the impact of k{\textendash}12 science education collaborations in a shifting education landscape}, journal = {BioScience}, volume = {68}, year = {2018}, pages = {706-714}, abstract = {

For more than 75 years, scientists and educators in New Mexico have provided programs that translate research on dryland ecosystems into broader scientific understanding for the public. Kindergarten through twelfth grade (K{\textendash}12) students and teachers became a primary audience for these programs in the 1990s. Our team from the Jornada Long-Term Ecological Research Program, the US Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service Jornada Experimental Range, and the nonprofit Asombro Institute for Science Education navigated changes in K{\textendash}12 science education to educate more than 200,000 students. The goal of this article is to describe our program{\textquoteright}s responses to six education trends in order to provide experience-based guidance to others designing and delivering K{\textendash}12 programs in a shifting science education landscape. We expect our experience will be relevant to others who are trying to scale their outreach programs to larger, more diverse communities while maintaining alignment with changing trends in education at local, state, and federal levels.

}, keywords = {deserts, ecological literacy, ecology, education, K{\textendash}12 science education}, doi = {10.1093/biosci/biy088}, url = {files/bibliography/18-022.pdf}, author = {Stephanie Bestelmeyer and Grace, Elizabeth and Stephanie Haan-Amato and Pemberton, Ryan and Kris Havstad} } @article {JRN54808, title = {Breaks in MODIS time series portend vegetation change: verification using long-term data in an arid grassland ecosystem}, journal = {Ecological Applications}, volume = {27}, year = {2017}, month = {07/2017}, pages = {1677-1693}, chapter = {1677}, abstract = {

Frequency and severity of extreme climatic events are forecast to increase in the 21st century. Predicting how managed ecosystems may respond to climatic extremes is intensified by uncertainty associated with knowing when, where, and how long effects of the extreme events will be manifest in the ecosystem. In water-limited ecosystems with high inter-annual variability in rainfall, it is important to be able to distinguish responses that result from seasonal fluctuations from long-term increases or decreases in rainfall. A tool that successfully distinguishes seasonal from directional biomass responses in the long-term trend would allow land managers to make informed decisions during extreme climatic events. We leveraged long-term observations (2000-2013) of quadrat-level plant biomass at multiple locations across a semi-arid landscape in southern New Mexico to verify the use of NDVI time-series derived from 250-m MODIS data as a proxy for changes in above-ground productivity. This time period encompassed years of sustained drought (2000-2003) and record-breaking high rainfall (2006 and 2008) followed by subsequent drought years (2011 through 2013) that resulted in a restructuring of plant community composition in some locations. Our objective was to decompose vegetation patterns derived from MODIS NDVI over this period into contributions from: (1) the long-term trend, (2) seasonal cycle, and (3) unexplained variance using the Breaks For Additive Season and Trend (BFAST) model. BFAST breakpoints in NDVI trend and seasonal components were verified with field-estimated biomass at 15 sites ranging in species diversity, vegetation cover, and soil properties. We found that 42 of 45 breaks in NDVI trend reflected large changes in mean biomass and 16 of 19 seasonal breaks accompanied changes in the contribution to biomass by perennial and/or annual grasses. The BFAST method using satellite imagery proved useful for detecting previously reported ground-based changes in vegetation in this arid ecosystem. We demonstrate that time-series analysis of NDVI data holds potential for monitoring landscape condition in arid ecosystems at the large spatial scales needed to differentiate responses to a changing climate from responses to seasonal variability.

}, doi = {10.1002/eap.1561}, url = {files/bibliography/17-026_0.pdf}, author = {Dawn M. Browning and Jonathan Maynard and Jason W. Karl and Debra C. Peters} } @proceedings {JRN54664, title = {Behavior of Raramuri Criollo vs. Angus-crossbred cows in relation to desert summer ambient heat conditions}, year = {2017}, month = {01/29/2017}, publisher = {Society for Range Management}, address = {St. George, Utah}, abstract = {

Cattle in the Chihuahuan Desert are exposed to extreme temperatures during certain times of year. We examined relationships between temperature and behavior for Angus Hereford (AH) and Raramuri Criollo (RC) cattle. We monitored 10 mature nursing cows of each breed that grazed separately in each of two adjacent pastures (1190ha, 1165ha) during July 2015 for 26 days. Five individuals per group were fitted with Lotek 3300 GPS collars set to record location and temperature at 10 min intervals. Collar temperature sensors were located on the GPS motherboards within plastic encasements that hung below the animals{\textquoteright} necks. Sensors were presumed to record ambient temperature in the proximity of the collared animal. We calculated distance traveled, movement velocity, time spent within 100m of water, vegetation selection, and collar temperature during the hottest (1:00-3:00PM; H) and coolest (6:00 {\textendash} 8:00AM; C) hours of each day. We also calculated the difference between temperature readings recorded by the collars and by a weather station located 3 km away. \ We used a repeated measures mixed ANOVA to quantify differences between the breeds{\textquoteright} distribution, behavior, and temperature. Each collared cow was treated as an experimental unit. During H hours, RC cows traveled 40 m farther (P\<0.01), moved 4.7 m/min faster (P\<0.01), spent less time close to water (-18 min; P\<0.01), exhibited higher preference for vegetation types with least shade (bare ground, P\<0.01), and had collar temperatures that were 1.3 oC hotter (P\<0.01) than AH counterparts. Temperature differences between collar and weather station records for H hours was also greater for RC (+ 2.7 oC) than for AH (+1.5 oC) cows (P\<0.01). During C hours, differences between breeds were either considerably smaller or non-existent. With our preliminary data analysis, RC cows may be better able to withstand the hot summers of the Chihuahuan Desert compared to commonly-used British crossbreds.

}, author = {S. Nyamuryekung{\textquoteright}e and Andr{\'e}s F. Cibils and Richard E. Estell and Amy L. Gonzalez and Cano, D. E. and S. Spiegal} } @conference {JRN54673, title = {Building software tools to help contextualize and interpret monitoring data}, booktitle = {70th Annual Society for Range Managment}, volume = {Jan 29 - Feb 02, 2017}, year = {2017}, month = {01/2017}, publisher = {Society for Range Management}, organization = {Society for Range Management}, address = {Saint George, Utah}, abstract = {
Even modest monitoring efforts at landscape scales produce large volumes of data.These are most useful if they can be interpreted relative to land potential or other similar sites. However, for many ecological systems reference conditions may not be defined or are poorly described, which hinders understanding what values for a monitoring indicator are acceptable. One solution for this problem is to mine existing monitoring data to examine the distribution of the indicator values across sites and compare the distributions of subsets of the data against each other. In the case of the BLM{\textquoteright}s Terrestrial Assessment, Inventory, and Monitoring Database (TerrADat), pre-computed indicator values are available for thousands of monitoring locations. \ By grouping these data by geographic region, land potential (e.g. ecological site), or other factors, indicator values in TerrADat can be visualized and analyzed to determine potential indicator ranges, supporting management decisions even though none of the monitoring locations are designated as reference. \ We have developed a web-based statistical tool which streamlines histogram-based exploration of TerrADat, giving users a graphical interface to select survey locations to include and which indicators to use. Users can select data from TerrADat to plot using either an uploaded polygon shapefile to restrict spatially or by metadata queries. Figures can include multiple subsets of TerrADat to compare distributions of indicators between landscape units, e.g. ecological sites or grazing allotments. Additionally, the tool dynamically adapts its output to reflect common sense visualization rules for clarity. Visualizing indicator value ranges from similar areas can allow users to see, if not how conditions compare to reference, at least how conditions compare to the greater context on the landscape. This can be used to help support decisions about prioritization of management effort or as evidence toward defining what reference conditions are for portions of the landscape.
}, author = {Nelson Stauffer and Jason W. Karl} } @article {JRN54604, title = {Biophysical influences on the spatial distribution of fire in the desert grassland region of the southwestern USA}, journal = {Landscape Ecology}, volume = {31}, year = {2016}, month = {05/2016}, type = {Peer Reviewed}, chapter = {2079}, abstract = {
Context: Fire is an important driver of ecological processes in semiarid systems and serves a vital role in shrub-grass interactions. In desert grasslands of the Southwestern US, the loss of fire has been implicated as a primary cause of shrub encroachment. Where fires can currently be re-introduced and managed given past state changes and recent restoration actions, however, is unknown and controversial. We predicted that climate, soil, and topographic variables could be used to predict fire distributions and map the potential for use of fire in management. We also predicted that under conditions of intermediate precipitation, soil-landscape properties would have a significant effect on fire ignition frequencies.
Methods: We characterized the spatial distribution of fire in the Chihuahuan Desert and Madrean Archipelago ecoregions and investigated the influence of soil properties compared to other commonly used biophysical variables using multi-model inference techniques.\ 
Results: Soil-landscape properties significantly influenced the spatial distribution of fire ignition points. Bottomland ecological sites (i.e., soil-landscape classes) experienced more fires than expected in contrast to ecological sites with coarse soil textures and high fragment content that experienced fewer fire ignitions than expected. Influences of mean annual precipitation, distance to road/rail, soil available water holding capacity and topographic variables varied between ecoregions and by political jurisdictions and differed for peak and nonpeak fire seasons.\ 
Conclusions: Understanding the spatiotemporal distribution of recent fires in desert grasslands is perhaps the most important factor for predicting future patterns of fire in response to climate change. While climate variables have proven useful for predicting fire patterns in most systems, the use of landscape units such as ecological sites presents an opportunity for incorporating fire-related ecological processes into management planning. The application of soil property information readily available in soil survey for predicting fire size and spatial distribution is an important addition to the toolbox for predicting and managing fire.
}, doi = {10.1007/s10980-016-0383-9}, url = {/files/bibliography/16-027.pdf}, author = {Matthew Levi and Brandon T Bestelmeyer} } @article {JRN54605, title = {Biophysical controls over concentration and depth distribution of soil organic carbon and nitrogen in desert playas}, journal = {Journal of Geophysical Research - Biogeosciences}, volume = {121}, year = {2016}, abstract = {

Playa wetlands are important areas of soil organic carbon and nutrient storage in drylands. We conducted this study to assess how catchment biophysical variables control soil organic carbon and nitrogen in playas and how playas function differently than upland ecosystems. We found that playa organic carbon and nitrogen corresponded primarily with catchment vegetation cover and secondarily with catchment area, slope, and soil texture. The effect of increased organic matter production associated with high catchment vegetation cover overshadowed the potential effect of reduced run-on. We also found soil carbon and nitrogen profiles to be significantly shallower in playas than uplands. This trend is correlated with evidence of sedimentation and shallow-rooted plants in playas. Upland soils had a deeper carbon and nitrogen profile, which correlated with organic matter being generated by deeply rooted vegetation. In playas, C:N ratios remained constant through depth but in uplands, C:N ratios increased through depth. We found evidence that differences in rooting depth distributions and soil texture may explain these C:N variations between uplands and playas. In uplands, clay concentration increased with depth, whereas in playas, clay concentration did not change with depth, which highlighted the important role of sedimentation in these ecosystems. Our results suggest that small changes in playa catchment vegetation cover in response to climate change or grazing intensity would greatly impact playa soil organic carbon and nitrogen stocks. This effect would be due to the playa soils dependence on allochthonous organic matter and the large upland area that drains into playas.

}, keywords = {biophysical controls, playas, soil nitrogen, soil organic carbon, SOM, Study 420}, doi = {10.1002/2016JG003545}, url = {files/bibliography/JRN00646.pdf}, author = {Owen P. McKenna and O. E. Sala} } @article {JRN54143, title = {Beyond desertification: new paradigms for dryland landscapes}, journal = {Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment}, volume = {13}, year = {2015}, month = {02/2015}, pages = {4-12}, chapter = {4}, abstract = {

The traditional desertification paradigm focuses on the losses of ecosystem services that typically occur when grasslands transition to systems dominated by bare (unvegetated) ground or by woody plants that are unpalatable to domestic livestock. However, recent studies reveal complex transitions across a range of environmental conditions and socioeconomic contexts. The papers in this Special Issue illustrate how an improved understanding of these dynamics is generating more robust paradigms, where state changes and regime shifts occurring within the context of changes in land use and climate are modified by landform and antecedent conditions. New and emerging technologies are being used to characterize and evaluate processes and outcomes across various scales and levels of organization. At the same time, developments in education are taking advantage of these new perspectives to improve the ecological literacy of future generations, and to better inform land-management decisions. A framework that integrates these perspectives provides a more comprehensive approach for understanding and predicting dryland dynamics.

}, keywords = {desertification, desertification paradigm, dryland landscapes, ecological literacy, ecosystem services, land management, land use, regime shifts, spatial connectivity}, doi = {10.1890/140276}, url = {/files/bibliography/15-001.pdf}, author = {Debra C. Peters and Kris Havstad and Steven R. Archer and O. E. Sala} } @article {49875, title = {Big questions emerging from a century of rangeland science and management}, journal = {Rangeland Ecology and Management}, volume = {65}, year = {2012}, month = {11/2012}, pages = {543-544}, chapter = {543}, abstract = {

This special feature commemorating the Jornada centennial addressed several big questions about the future of rangelands, including how livestock production can be sustained with reduced grass cover, responses to invasive species, and how to manage for diverse ecosystem services (among others).

}, doi = {10.2111/REM-D-12-00112.1}, url = {/files/bibliography/12-028.pdf}, author = {Brandon T Bestelmeyer and Richard E. Estell and Kris Havstad} } @article {49892, title = {Bottom-up regulation of desert grassland and shrubland rodent communities: implications of species-specific reproductive potentials}, journal = {Journal of Mammalogy}, volume = {93}, year = {2012}, pages = {1017-1028}, abstract = {

We conducted an 11-year comparative study on temporal variation in rodent density, biomass, and species composition dynamics from adjacent grassland and shrubland environments in the Chihuahuan Desert of North America, in relation to rainfall and plant production. We found that rodent assemblages from those environments were only 14\% similar in overall species composition, but consisted of different species in the same genera with similar ecological attributes. Each rodent community was numerically dominated by a different species of granivorous kangaroo rat, and the 2 rodent communities paralleled each other in body sizes and trophic structure. Rodent species compositions changed little over the 11-year period, despite considerable variation in rodent densities and biomass and in r nfall and plant production. Rodent abundance and biomass from both communities increased in relation to temporally variable r nfall and plant production, especially resulting from a series of El Ni{\~n}o and La Ni{\~n}a Southern Oscillation events. However, the grassland rodent community exhibited more rapid within-1-year lag-time responses to plant production, and prolonged high densities for 1 year before declining, whereas the shrubland rodent community exhibited primarily 1-year lag responses and immediate rapid decline in densities. Changes in rodent densities and biomass from both communities were significantly predicted by the production of annual grasses and forbs. Measured rodent reproductive activity was greater and happened sooner after r n and plant production events at the grass site than at the shrub site, and differences in the timing of rodent bottom-up responses between the grassland and shrubland habitats appeared to result from differences in the reproductive potentials of the 2 dominant rodent species. Dipodomys ordii, the dominant grassland rodent species, is known to produce more offspring than Dipodomys merriami, the dominant rodent in the shrubland community. We conclude that differences in the reproductive potentials of these 2 dominant rodent species likely accounted for the quicker and prolonged response of the grassland rodent community to bottom-up influences, rather than differences in the timing of plant production between the sites. Variation in reproductive potentials among rodent communities is likely a key factor affecting the timing of overall rodent community dynamics relative to changes in environmental resources.

}, keywords = {abundance, community composition, Dipodomys, El Ni{\~n}o-La Ni{\~n}a Southern Oscillation, ENSO, kangaroo rats, plant production, population dynamics, precipitation, rainfall, rodents, small mammals}, doi = {10.1644/11-MAMM-A-391.1}, url = {files/bibliography/JRN00593.pdf}, author = {David C. Lightfoot and A.D. Davidson and D. Parker and Lucina Hern{\'a}ndez and John W. Laundre} } @article {49912, title = {Banded vegetation-dune development during the Medieval Warm Period and 20th century, Chihuahuan Desert, New Mexico, USA}, journal = {Ecosphere}, volume = {3}, year = {2012}, month = {03/2012}, pages = {art21}, chapter = {art21}, abstract = {

With the advent of systematic high-resolution satellite photography, striking geometric shapes of banded vegetation several km2 in size, but not apparent from the ground, have been documented for many areas of the arid and semiarid world. Banded vegetation, in which dense perennial vegetation alternates with bands of bare soil may originate from geomorphic processes, ecological self-organization, or human land use. In the Chihuahuan Desert of New Mexico prominent arc-shaped bands of vegetation and dunes occur along the contact of a piedmont slope (bajada) and basin floor. The origin and chronology of this banded vegetation-dune complex was investigated using early aerial photography (1936{\textendash}1942), landscape photography (1918), vegetation and soil surveys (1858, 1918), soil stratigraphy, 13C/12C ratios, and 14C dating. These methods reveal two periods of eolian deposition. The first began in the Medieval Warm Period (ca. AD 900{\textendash}1300) and was followed by a period of landscape stability during the Little Ice Age (ca. AD 1500 to 1850). The second began in the late-1800s when widespread desertification occurred throughout the American Southwest. Banded vegetation was initiated after formation of erosional scarplets that functioned as obstacles upon which eolian sand accumulated, thus becoming a dam to overland flow and causing strips of vegetation to form. Banded vegetation in this study is an emergent pattern produced by a coupled ecologic-geomorphic-climatic system. The stratigraphic record produced by this system enables us to compare current ecological responses to climate change with baseline prehistorical responses to climate change.

}, keywords = {carbon isotopes, climate change, desert geomorphology, emergence, Little Ice Age, Medieval Warm Period, object-based image analysis, positive feedback mechanisms, soil radiocarbon dating}, doi = {10.1890/ES11-00194.1}, url = {/files/bibliography/12-010.pdf}, author = {Weems, Stacey L. and Curtis H. Monger} } @inbook {49922, title = {Brush management as a rangeland conservation strategy: a critical evaluation}, booktitle = {Conservation benefits of rangeland practices: assessment, recommendations, and knowledge gaps}, year = {2011}, publisher = {Allen Press}, organization = {Allen Press}, address = {Lawrence, KS}, abstract = {

Rangelands support the majority of the world{\textquoteright}s livestock production (Safriel and Adeel 2005) and play an important role in\  human health and global carbon, water, and nitrogen cycles (Campbell and Stafford Smith 2000). Their extensive airsheds and watersheds provide habitat for game and nongame wildlife and myriad ecosystem goods and services important to rapidly\  growing settlements and cities that may be geographically distant. Rangelands thus have considerable, multidimensional\  conservation value. Stewardship of vegetation composition, cover, and production is the foundation of sustainable rangeland management, a key component of which is maintaining vegetation within a desirable mix of herbaceous and woody plants\  (WPs).

}, keywords = {book, brush management, chapter, conservation, rangeland management, report}, url = {files/bibliography/JRN00556.pdf}, author = {Steven R. Archer and K. W. Davies and Fulbright, T. E. and K. C. McDaniel and Wilcox, B.P. and K. Predick} } @mastersthesis {49939, title = {Breeding bird responses to 30 years of grassland restoration on southern New Mexico public lands}, year = {2011}, school = {New Mexico State University}, type = {M.S. Thesis}, address = {Las Cruces, NM}, keywords = {birds, breeding ecology, dissertation, grassland restoration, New Mexico, public lands, thesis}, author = {John M. Coffman} } @article {49963, title = {BLM core terrestrail indicators and methods}, year = {2011}, pages = {1-13}, publisher = {BLM, National Operations Center}, abstract = {The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Assessment, Inventory, and Monitoring (AIM) Strategy was initiated, in part, to evaluate current monitoring activities and recommend procedures to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of these activities. To this end, the AIM Strategy supports an integrated approach to: (1) document the location and abundance of natural resources on public lands; (2) facilitate the description of resource conditions; and (3) identify natural resource trends or changes. This recommendation will be accomplished through the integration of fundamental processes including: (a) development and application of a consistent set of ecosystem indicators (i.e., quantitative core indicators) and consistent measurement methods; (b) development and implementation of a statistically valid sampling framework; (c) application and integration of remote sensing technologies; and (d) implementation of related data acquisition and management plans. The purpose/intent of this report is to provide an introduction to, and describe, the Core Indicators and Methods component of the AIM Strategy. Further, this report provides guidance on how to maintain consistency of effort and resources (i.e., cited materials) for further details on established protocols. This Core Indicators and Methods component identifies a small set of core indicators (i.e., measurements) that, when collected, can be used for many purposes across ecosystem types including rangeland, forest, and riparian areas. This set of core indicators, based on quantitative land cover and vegetation data using standardized measurements, will allow data to be integrated across field, district, and state office boundaries.}, url = {/files/bibliography/11-021.pdf}, author = {Mackinnon, W. Craig and Jeffrey E. Herrick and Gordon R. Toevs and Jason W. Karl and Michael S. Karl and Carol Spurrier and Jason Taylor} } @conference {JRN54479, title = {Bridging field observations and remotely sensed assessments of land surface phenology in the arid southwestern U.S.}, booktitle = {95th Ecological Society of America}, year = {2010}, month = {08/2010}, publisher = {Ecological Society of America}, organization = {Ecological Society of America}, address = {Pittsburgh, PA}, abstract = {

Strong seasonal patterns in vegetation greenness from TM reflected dynamics in aboveground plant biomass. TM-based responses in fall 2008 production to 2006 and 2008 above-average rainfall were consistent across all sites. The cumulative effect of 2006 and 2008 rainfall was most prominently reflected in biomass at mesquite-dominated sites. Biomass ranged widely over time and across sites (0.1 g m-2 to 422.2 g m-2). SAVI effectively tracked increases in biomass across all plant communities although values exhibited a low dynamic range across large differences in plant biomass. Field data regarding reproductive phenology constitute counts for given phenophases by species. Such measures of abundance are most informative to remotely sensed interpretations of phenology where there are clear dominant species. Nonetheless, the field perspective is historically unrivaled for highlighting species responses to climate drivers and is being evaluated further. The range in vegetation physiognomy and productivity at the JRN LTER is well-suited for field validation exercises for land surface phenology and retrieval of biophysical parameters via remote sensing. Plant responses to changes in climate (e.g., temperature and amount/seasonality of rainfall) manifest through phenological patterns. Therefore, field-tested protocols for monitoring plant phenology hold great promise for landscape monitoring and quantifying ecosystem responses to climate change.

}, author = {Dawn M. Browning and A. Rango and John P. Anderson and Debra C. Peters} } @article {50056, title = {A Brief History of Data Sharing in the U.S. Long Term Ecological Research Network}, journal = {Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America}, volume = {91}, number = {1}, year = {2010}, note = {//NONE//NONE//entered 01/04/2010; pdf available}, month = {2010}, pages = {14-20}, abstract = {A brief history of data sharing in the U.S. Long Term Ecological Research network}, keywords = {article, history, data sharing, information management, data sharing, journal}, isbn = {doi: 10.1890/0012-9623-91.1.14}, url = {http://www.esajournals.org/doi/abs/10.1890/0012-9623-91.1.14}, author = {John Porter} } @inbook {50068, title = {Behaviour - The keystone in optimizing free-ranging ungulate production}, booktitle = {Encycloedia of Life Suport Systems (EOLSS)}, year = {2009}, publisher = {Eolss Publishers}, organization = {Eolss Publishers}, chapter = {12}, address = {Oxford, UK}, abstract = {Free-ranging animal behaviour is a keystone to optimizing free-ranging domestic animal production. This chapter focuses on several aspects that emanate from foraging including defining terms, concepts and the complexity that underlie managing animals and landscapes. Behaviour is investigated in light of individuals as well as groups and the key role plant chemistry plays in the foraging process. Ethics and animal welfare, especially in terms of low-stress management strategies, are discussed in terms of production in 21st century range animal ecology. A section on melding animals and machines stress how using innate animal behaviour in order to realize management goals is a win -win for both humans and animals as long as the final judgments that must be made in management of biological resources are not replaced by technology alone. The final section of this chapter stresses the importance of using today\’s technology together with animal husbandry to optimize range animal ecology in the 21st century.}, keywords = {behaviour, free-ranging}, url = {/files/bibliography/09-034.pdf}, author = {D.M. Anderson and Richard E. Estell} } @article {50092, title = {Badger (Taxidea taxus) disturbances increase soil heterogeneity in a degraded shrub-steppe ecosystem}, journal = {Journal of Arid Environment}, number = {73}, year = {2009}, month = {01/2009}, pages = {66-73}, chapter = {66}, abstract = {

In the western United States, overgrazing, weed invasion and wildfire have resulted in the conversion of shrub-steppe to annual grasslands, with substantial effects on ecosystem function. In these lands capes, badgers disturb large areas of soil while foraging for fossorial animals. Mounds created by badgers contained the lowest concentrations of total carbon, nitrogen and sulphur, mineral nitrogen and mineralizable nitrogen, inter-mound soils had the highest concentrations, and excavation pits had intermediate levels. Soil C:N ratio and pH were greater, and electrical conductivity and soluble Ca2{\th}, Mg2{\th} and K{\th} were lower on mound soils compared with either pit or inter-mound soils. Larger pits generally trapped more litter, and increased litter mass equated with greater concentrations of active carbon, but only at the burned sites. Older mounds supported more vascular plants and cryptogamic crusts. Our results demonstrate reduced levels of nutrients and a higher C:N ratio on the mounds compared with either the pits or inter-mounds. Alteration to the homogeneous post-fire landscape by badgers contributes to patchiness in soils and vegetation, which is critical to the functioning of arid systems. Given their effect on soil C:N ratios, mounds may be important sites for recovery of indigenous shrub-steppe plant species.

}, keywords = {Badger, Biopedturbation, disturbance, ecosystem engineering, mounding, soil nutrients}, doi = {10.1016/j.jaridenv.2008.09.004}, url = {/files/bibliography/09-002.pdf}, author = {D.J. Eldridge and Walter G. Whitford} } @inbook {50130, title = {Boundary dynamics in landscapes}, booktitle = {The Princeton Guide to Ecology}, year = {2009}, month = {August 2009}, pages = {458-463}, publisher = {Princeton University Press}, organization = {Princeton University Press}, chapter = {5}, address = {Princeton, NJ}, abstract = {Landscapes consist of a mosaic of distinct vegetation types and their intervening boundaries with distinct characteristics. Boundaries can exist along abrupt environmental gradients or along gradual changes that are reinforced by feedback mechanisms between plants and soil properties. Boundaries can be defined based on the abundance, spatial distribution, and connectivity of the underlying patches. There are three major types of boundary dynamics that differ in the direction and rate of movement of the boundary in response to climatic fluctuations: stationary, directional, shifting. Future conditions in climate and the disturbance regime, including land use, may fundamentally alter the type of boundary as well as its location and composition through time.}, keywords = {book, boundaries, chapter, landscapes, mosaic, vegetation}, author = {Debra C. Peters and J. R. Gosz and S.L. Collins} } @mastersthesis {50188, title = {Bioclimatic changes recorded in Holocene soils at the Jornada Basin LTER site and Lincoln National Forest, southern New Mexico}, year = {2008}, note = {//USDA//LTER V//entered 06/11/2009; abstract added 06/22/2009ProCite field[12]: Not in File (06/11/2009)}, month = {2008}, pages = {67}, school = {New Mexico State University}, type = {M.S. Thesis}, address = {Las Cruces, NM}, abstract = {In order to understand the impact humans are having on desertification, it is necessary to address the magnitude of natural cycles of climate change and how it drives the migration of dryland biomes. Paleoclimate studies are useful for obtaining information about natural cycles of climate-driven vegetation change. This paleoclimate study uses carbon isotopes (13C/12C) in Holocene soils to derive paleoclimate information about the movement of arid, semiarid, and subhumid bioclimatic boundaries along an elevational transect in southern NM. Soil profiles of limestone alluvium at four sites of increasing rainfall and decreasing temperature were analyzed for their stable carbon values in order to make inferences about bioclimatic changes (C3 versus C4 vegetation) during the Holocene. This paleoclimate record suggests that the arid site was dominated by C3 shrub vegetation for the last 4,000 years, the semiarid site by C4 grasslands for approximately the last 3,000 yrs, and the subhumid A site by C3 trees or C3 cool season grasses for the last 7,000 yrs. However, minor shifts in the relative proportions of C3 versus C4 vegetation did occur during these time periods. The implications of these findings are that there were no major changes in vegetation (biome movement) during the last 4,000 to 7,000 years this time period. Within each bioclimatic zone vegetation was similar to today\&$\#$39;s vegetation. Still, subtle changes in the isotopic record may reflect the climatic influences of the Medieval Warm Period and Little Ice Age.}, keywords = {bioclimate, carbon isotope ratios, climate change, dissertation, Jornada Basin, Lincoln National Forest, soils, Holocene, thesis}, url = {NMSU Branson Library call $\#$: S 1999 .C88 2008 c.2}, author = {Cruz, Janella} } @conference {50280, title = {Bulldozers, mental models, and aerial photography: Geographies of long-term private restoration on semi-arid rangelands}, booktitle = {Association of American Geographers Annual Meeting}, series = {Association of American Geographers}, year = {2008}, month = {April 14-19, 200}, pages = {18115}, abstract = {Private efforts to restore degraded Southwestern desert grasslands have been under way at least since the 1920s, but their effects are little studied and poorly understood. Most are considered simply to have failed, or to have been swamped by the effects of climate and fire suppression. These judgments may need to be reevaluated on longer temporal scales, however, in light of evidence that semiarid rangeland systems are strongly determined by "slow" variables and thresholds of nonlinear change. Drought, erosion, fire, grazing and other disturbances may leave historical legacies that persist on scales of decades or longer, and management interventions may require comparable periods of time to show significant responses in target organisms. Long-term data have been collected for a handful of government research sites, and repeat photography and aerial photographs have enabled analysis of broader patterns of vegetation change, but historical information about management of private ranches has been almost wholly lacking. We use a combination of interviews, archival records, aerial photography, remote sensing and GIS to evaluate restoration efforts on the Elbrock Ranch in southwestern New Mexico over the past seventy years. This research contributes to efforts to historicize state-and-transition models in rangeland ecology, and to understand ranchers{\textquoteright}"mental models" as slow variables in their own right. It also enables us to see beyond dualisms of human/natural and pristine/degraded to geographies of restoration on very large spatial and temporal scales.}, keywords = {aerial photography, bulldozers, private, restoration}, author = {N. F. Sayre and Whelan, M. and E.L. Fredrickson and Brandon T Bestelmeyer} } @article {50403, title = {A bed-load transport model for rough turbulent open-channel flows on plane beds}, journal = {Earth Surface Processes and Landforms}, volume = {31}, year = {2006}, note = {//NMSU//LTER IV//entered 7/12/2006}, month = {2006}, pages = {910-928}, abstract = {

Data from flume studies are used to develop a model for predicting bed-load transport rates in rough turbulent two-dimensional open-channel flows moving well sorted non-cohesive sediments over plane mobile beds. The object is not to predict transport rates in natural channel flows but rather to provide a standard against which measured bed-load transport rates influenced by factors such as bed forms, bed armouring, or limited sediment availability may be compared in order to assess the impact of these factors on bed-load transport rates. The model is based on a revised version of Bagnold{\textquoteright}s basic energy equation ibsb = eb{\`u}, where ib is the immersed bed-load transport rate, {\`u} is flow power per unit area, eb is the efficiency coefficient, and sb is the stress coefficient defined as the ratio of the tangential bed shear stress caused by grain collisions and fluid drag to the immersed weight of the bed load. Expressions are developed for sb and eb in terms of G, a normalized measure of sediment transport stage, and these expressions are substituted into the revised energy equation to obtain the bed-load transport equation ib = {\`u} G 3{\textperiodcentered}4. This equation applies regardless of the mode of bed-load transport (i.e. saltation or sheet flow) and reduces to ib = {\`u} where G approaches 1 in the sheet-flow regime. That ib = {\`u} does not mean that all the available power is dissipated in transporting the bed load. Rather, it reflects the fact that ib is a transport rate that must be multiplied by sb to become a work rate before it can be compared with {\`u}. It follows that the proportion of {\`u} that is dissipated in the transport of bed load is ibsb/{\`u}, which is approximately 0{\textperiodcentered}6 when ib = {\`u}. It is suggested that this remarkably high transport efficiency is achieved in sheet flow (1) because the ratio of grain-to-grain to grain-to-bed collisions increases with bed shear stress, and (2) because on average much more momentum is lost in a grain-to-bed collision than in a grain-to-grain one. Copyright {\textcopyright} 2006 John Wiley \& Sons, Ltd.

}, keywords = {article, hydrology, bed-load transport, hydrology, saltation, hydrology, sediment transport, hydrology, sheet flow, journal, model, model, bed-load transport, model, hydrology}, doi = {10.1002/esp.1300}, url = {files/bibliography/JRN00434.pdf}, author = {Athol D. Abrahams and Gao, Peng} } @inbook {50402, title = {Biogeochemical fluxes across piedmont slopes of the Jornada Basin}, booktitle = {Structure and Function of a Chihuahuan Desert Ecosystem. The Jornada Basin Long-Term Ecological Research Site}, year = {2006}, month = {July 1, 2006}, pages = {150-175}, publisher = {Oxford University Press}, organization = {Oxford University Press}, chapter = {Chapter 7}, address = {New York}, abstract = {This chapter is an overview of recent studies of the movement of water, sediment, and nutrients across a principle piedmont slope, or bajada, of the Jornada Basin. Bajadas are extensive, gently sloping surfaces formed by the coalescence of alluvial fans and are a major landscape component of the basin and range province. During the past four decades a considerable body of research has elucidated the form and function of alluvial fans (Bull 1977; Blair and McPherson 1994; Harvey 1997), but less attention has been paid to bajadas. In particular, the bajadas most neglected are those where channels converge and diverge at irregular intervals downslope. This type of bajada is found at the base of Summerford Mountain, the northernmost peak of the Dona Ana Mountains on the western edge of the Jornada Basin. For convenience, this bajada is hereafter referred to as the Summerford bajada. The research has involved rainfall simulation experiments on small plots, monitoring of two small watersheds on this bajada, and computer modeling of the processes operating in these watersheds and over the bajada as a whole. A detailed understanding of the hydrology and hydraulics of overland flow on this bajada requires a numerical model of the rainfall-runoff process. The objective of this chapter is to detail the model and draw conclusions from model simulations about hydrologic transports of sediment and nutrients across this bajada. Since these piedmonts are important surfaces in this desert an understanding of their hydrologic and biogeochemical dynamics is crucial to understanding landscape dynamics in the basin and throughout arid regions.}, keywords = {alluvial, bajada, biogeochemical, coalescence, fluxes, movement, nutrients, piedmont, sediment, slopes, water}, url = {/files/bibliography/06-058.pdf}, author = {Athol D. Abrahams and Melissa Neave and W. H. Schlesinger and John Wainwright and David A. Howes and A.J. Parsons}, editor = {Kris Havstad and L. Huenneke and W. H. Schlesinger} } @article {50432, title = {Bridging historical and ecological approaches in biogeography}, journal = {Australian Systematic Botany}, volume = {19}, year = {2006}, note = {//Other//None//entered 08/14/2007}, month = {2006}, pages = {1-10}, abstract = {The practice of biogeography is rooted in disciplines that traditionally have had little intellectual exchange and yielded two complementary biogeographic approaches: ecological and historical biogeography. This paper reviews alternative biogeographic approaches in the context of spatial analysis. Biogeography can be used to set priorities for conservation of biological diversity, but also to design strategies to control biological invasions and vectors of human diseases, to provide information about the former distribution of species, and to guide development of ecological restoration initiatives, among other applications. But no one of these applications could be fully carried out until an integrative framework on biogeography, which bridges biogeographical historical and ecological paths of thinking, has been developed. Although we do not propose a new biogeographic method, we highlight the causes and consequences of the lack of a conceptual framework integrating ecology and history in biogeography, and how this required framework would allow biogeography to be fully utilized in fields such as conservation.}, keywords = {article, biogeography, ecological approaches, biogeography, historical approaches, historical approaches, biogeography, journal}, author = {Crisci, Jorge and O. E. Sala and Katinas, Liliana and Possadas, Paula} } @proceedings {50516, title = {Building a community modeling and information sharing culture}, year = {2006}, month = {July 9-13, 2006}, pages = {Workshop 13}, address = {Burlington, VT}, abstract = {

Free and open exchange of information in research endeavors is beneficial and can lead to much more rapid advances and important discoveries that might otherwise take much longer to achieve. Nevertheless, exchange of information is still restricted by patent law, as well as by institutional, cultural and traditional hurdles that create protective barriers hindering the free flow of this valuable commodity. We believe that one of the greatest challenges we face in creating a new open research paradigm will be building the community modeling and information sharing culture. How do we get engineers and scientists to put aside their traditional modes of doing business that discourage free and open exchange of data and ideas? How do we provide the incentives that will be required to make these changes happen? How do we get our colleagues to see that the benefits of sharing resources far outweigh the costs? We argue that timely sharing of data and information is not only in the best interest of the research community, but that it is also in the best interest of the scientist who is doing the sharing.

}, keywords = {blogs, data sharing, General Public License, idea sharing, information, knowledge sharing, open data, open education, Open source, research}, url = {/files/bibliography/06-075Proc.pdf}, author = {Voinov, A. and Hood, R. and J.D. Daues} } @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 {50689, title = {Broad-scale landscape, soil, and wind influences on fine-scale dynamics}, booktitle = {Sixth Symposium on the Natural Resources of the Chihuahuan Desert Region}, year = {2004}, month = {October 15, 2004}, pages = {35}, address = {Alpine, TX}, abstract = {Desertification and other ecogeomorphic changes in the Chihuahuan Desert are connected to broad-scale landscape, soil, and wind drivers via fine-scale processes. Landscapes function as a driver by their lithic composition and topographic configuration. These impact water redistribution and wind movement across the landscape that influence soil patterns at the landscape scale. Strong winds in the Jornada Basin, for example, have decapitated sandy soils, formed erosional streets, pushed sand grains up the piedmont slope and over ridges into intermountain valleys where they have accumulated as thick, eolian deposits overlying bedrock. Fine-scale processes are influenced by these broad-scale drivers in several ways. Wind erosion, for instance, removes organic matter and coarsens soil texture, thereby lowering water-holding capacity, cation exchange capacity, and nutrient availability. Because such fine-scale processes exert important controls on plants, vegetation patterns at the landscape scale reflect patterns of the broad-scale drivers. Consequently, some ecogeomorphic conditions, such as black grama on sandy, eolian upland soils, are more prone to desertification than other conditions, like tobosa grass on silty, alluvial soils in run-in positions.}, keywords = {broad-scale, Chihuahuan Desert, desertification, ecogeomorphic, fine-scale dynamics, landscape, soil, wind}, author = {Curtis H. Monger and D. E. Gillette and Brandon T Bestelmeyer} } @article {50735, title = {Bed-load transport equation for sheet flow}, journal = {Journal of Hydrologic Engineering}, volume = {129}, number = {2}, year = {2003}, note = {//NONE//LTER IV//added 6/29/2005; updated 8/8/2006}, month = {2003}, pages = {159-163}, abstract = {

When open-channel flows become sufficiently powerful, the mode of bed-load transport changes from saltation to sheet flow. Where there is no suspended sediment, sheet flow consists of a layer of colliding grains whose basal concentration approaches that of the stationary bed. These collisions give rise to a dispersive stress that acts normal to the bed and supports the bed load. An equation for predicting the rate of bed-load transport in sheet flow is developed from an analysis of 55 flume and closed conduit experiments. The equation is i(b) = omega where i(b) = immersed bed-load transport rate; and omega = flow power. That i(b) = omega implies that e(b) = tan alpha = u(b)/u, where e(b) = Bagnold{\textquoteright}s bed-load transport efficiency; u(b) = Mean grain velocity in the sheet-flow layer; and tan alpha = dynamic internal friction coefficient. Given that tan alpha approximate to 0.6 for natural sand, u(b) approximate to 0.6u, and e(b)approximate to 0.6. This finding is confirmed by an independent analysis of the experimental data. The value of 0.60 for e(b) is much larger than the value of 0.12 calculated by Bagnold, indicating that sheet flow is a much more efficient mode of bed-load transport than previously thought.

}, keywords = {article, geomorphology, bedload transport, geomorphology, sheet flow, hydrology, bedload, hydrology, channels, hydrology, processes, hydrology, sediment transport, hydrology, sheet flow, journal, model, bedload transport rate, model, hydrology}, isbn = {0733-9429/2003/2-159-163}, doi = {10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9429(2003)129:2(159)}, url = {files/bibliography/JRN00378.pdf}, author = {Athol D. Abrahams} } @conference {50791, title = {Black grama seedling herbivory and mortality in the Chihuahuan Desert: An experiment across shrub-grass ecotones}, booktitle = {2003 All Scientists Meeting, Long-Term Ecological Research Network}, year = {2003}, abstract = {Limitations to grass seedling recruitment, including herbivory and abiotic causes of seedling mortality, are expected to differ across an shrub-grass ecotone. Grass seedlings at shrub dominated ends of the gradient will likely have higher rates of mortality due to herbivory (because of increased predator presence and increased seedling visibility) and overall mortality (due to harsher abiotic conditions).Black grama seedlings were placed across three replicate ecotones (each containing a shrub-dominated position, a midpoint, and grass-dominated position) and rates of herbivory and overall mortality were observed. Rodent, lagomorph, and grasshopper abundances were measured across the three ecotone positions. Rates of mortality due to herbivory and overall mortality were highest in the shrub position, followed by the midpoint position, and least in the grass position. Small animal abundance did not follow this pattern (rodents and lagomorph pellets were most prevalent in the midpoint position, while grasshoppers were most prevalent in the grass position). The shrub dominated position has the highest rate of overall mortality because of abiotic factors that create a harsh environment in shrub dominated areas. Increased visibility of grass seedlings to predators in the shrub position may cause the shrub position to have the highest rate of death due to herbivory.}, author = {Khalil, N.I. and Brandon T Bestelmeyer and Debra C. Peters} } @conference {50802, title = {Black grama grass under the microscope; anatomical festures of a native palnt from southwestern United States}, booktitle = {Microscopy and Microanalysis}, volume = {9}, number = {2}, year = {2003}, month = {2003}, pages = {1348-1349}, abstract = {Black grama grass (Bouteloua eriopoda) is a perennial desert grass native to the arid Southwestern United States. It is most common in the Chihuahuan Desert, occupying large areas of New Mexico and Arizona, where occurrence of drought conditions are high. Black grama tends to grow in sandy loam soils low in organic matter. However, it contains one of the highest protein contents of any desert grass, thus offering very nutritious forage for livestock and wildlife. Due to its bunchgrass-like nature, black grama aids in reducing soil erosion from rainfall. Some drought tolerance adaptive features include a root system that extends four or more feet into the soil and a small leaf blade size (2mm wide). Unfortunately, abundance of black grama is being greatly reduced by factors such as overgrazing and invasion of Honey mesquite plants. Due to the importance of black grama grass and its easily observable adaptive features, we investigated its cellular structures to find more specialized components of this plant that allow it to survive in drought conditions.}, keywords = {Arizona, black grama, grass, native, New Mexico}, url = {/files/bibliography/03-040.pdf}, author = {O{\textquoteright}Donnell, B. and Kersey, S. and Gallegos, L. and J.R. Barrow and Ghoshroy, S.} } @conference {50846, title = {BRDF reconstruction in Chihuahuan Desert grass-shrub transition canopy-soil complexes: validation with an airborne multi-angular dataset}, booktitle = {Third International Workshop on Multi-Angular Measurements and Models (IWMMM-3)}, year = {2002}, month = {June 10-12, 2002}, pages = {8}, address = {Steamboat Springs, CO}, abstract = {The objective of this study was to evaluate the importance of the different elements (overstory, understory, soil) in the bidirectional reflectance distribution function (BRDF) of a Chihuahuan Desert grass-shrub transition zone by simulations using the POVRAY and RGM raytracing packages with parameters provided by detailed explicit measurement of plant locations, dimensions and type surveyed over plots of 25 m2 (comparable to the intrinsic length scale of the albedo of the landscape at approximately 33 m). The simulated reflectance values were assessed against samples of the BRDF at 650 nm acquired from the air at six view zenith angles and three solar zenith angles by a tilting, radiometrically calibrated digital camera. The 2 m ground resolution multiangular images were used to simulate the spatial response of a sensor with a 50 m footprint and were then mapped at a 25 m2 interval. The results shed light on the potential and limitations of a simplified geometrical-optics/radiative transfer model (SGM) with a limited parameterization developed for inversion with limited multiangular observations. In particular, the understory of small forbs and subshrubs, such as snakeweed, play an extremely important role in determining the brightness and reflectance anisotropy of grass-shrub transition landscapes, in relation to that of larger shrubs such as mesquite and ephedra. This is owing to the large numbers of small plants relative to large shrubs and also to a positive feedback: where there is a higher density of snakeweed there is also a higher proportion of (senescent) black grama grass and prone grass litter, both of which darken the scene.}, author = {M. Chopping and Borel, C. and L. Su and A. Rango and Connie J. Maxwell} } @article {50891, title = {A bibliography of important plant species in the Chihuahuan Desert of North America (1904-2002)}, number = {ERDC/CERL SR-02-8}, year = {2002}, month = {July 2002}, pages = {277}, publisher = {U.S. Corps of Engineers}, abstract = {

Desert covers an area of 453,000 km2 in the United States and Mexico. Managers of military lands in the desert require a detailed understanding of installation natural resources. A comprehensive bibliography of current research and information on desert plants is needed. The objective of this work was to assemble as much published ecological information as possible about five dominant arid land species found in the North American Chihuahuan Desert. The species of focus were selected because of their importance in the desert grassland and shrubland communities of the desert. Chapter 2 contains selected references that significantly contribute to the understanding of arid land ecology but do not specifically speak about the species of interest. Chapter 3 contains reference information on Bouteloua eriopoda (black grama). Chapter 4 contains references on Pleuraphis mutica (=Hilaria mutica, tobosa). Chapter 5 contains Larrea tridentata (creosotebush). Chapter 6 contains Prosopis glandulosa (honey mesquite). Chapter 7 contains Flourensia cernua (tarbush). Furthermore, information gathered on an important subdominant half-shrub, Gutierrezia sarothrae (=Xanthocephalum sarothrae, broom snakeweed), is presented in Chapter 8. Chapter 9 contains reference information on the ecology of annual species.

}, keywords = {government publication}, url = {files/bibliography/03-051.pdf}, author = {Hochstrasser, T. and Debra C. Peters and J.S. Fehmi and Von Finger, K.} } @inbook {50912, title = {Biotic and abiotic processes and rates of pedogenic carbonate accumulation in the southwestern United States: Relationship to atmospheric CO2 sequestration}, booktitle = {Global climate change and pedogenic carbonates}, year = {2002}, note = {//?//LTER IV//ProCite field[6]: In}, month = {2002}, pages = {273-289}, publisher = {CRC Press}, organization = {CRC Press}, address = {Boca Raton}, keywords = {book, books, chapter, chapters, global change, climate, pedogenic carbonates, report, reports}, author = {Curtis H. Monger and R. A. Gallegos}, editor = {R. (ed.) Lal} } @booklet {50973, title = {Buffelgrass invasion: What is the value of a desert?}, howpublished = {Chihuahuan Desert Nature Park Newsletter}, year = {2001}, month = {April 1, 2001}, pages = {1}, abstract = {This popular article summarizes the reasons why buffelgrass (Cenchrus ciliaris=Pennisetum ciliare) may threaten biodiversity in southern desert areas. This presents an interesting problem when you consider that this grass can be used to improve forage production and reduce erosion. Unfortunately, buffelgrass also introduces fire to areas in which this disturbance has not been common (at least in recent history). This proces can result in the transformation of species-rich shrublands to species-impoverished buffelgrass monocultures. More research is needed to evaluate the costs and benefits of buffelgrass cultivation.}, keywords = {buffelgrass, desert, invasion, value}, author = {Brandon T Bestelmeyer} } @article {50978, title = {Biological and geochemical controls on phosphorus fractions in semiarid soils}, journal = {Biogeochemistry}, volume = {52}, year = {2001}, note = {//?//LTER IV//}, month = {2001}, pages = {155-172}, abstract = {

This study examined the concentration of organic and inorganicphosphorus in surface soils of a Boutelouagracilis-Bouteloua eriopoda grassland, and a Larreatridentata shrubland, in the northern Chihuahuan Desert, NewMexico, U.S.A. In this desert where the grassland vegetation has auniform spatial distribution and individual shrubs have a patchy spatialdistribution across the landscape, vegetation strongly influences thedistribution of soil nutrients. Most studies of soil phosphorusfractions in desert soils have focused primarily on inorganic Pfractions and have demonstrated the importance of geochemical controlson soil P cycling. The research presented here addressed the question ofwhether organic phosphorus, determined by the presence of differentvegetation types, also contributes to soil P cycling. Within soils ofsimilar age, topography, parent material, and climatic regime, sampleswere collected under and between vegetation and analyzed for P fractionsfollowing a modified sequential fractionation scheme. Most soilinorganic P was found in the HCl- and cHCl-extractable forms in both thegrassland and shrubland soils, indicating CaCO3 control overphosphorus availability. In contrast, most soil organic P was bound toAl and Fe minerals. Labile, plant-available P fractions summed to9.5\% of total P in the grassland and 6.1\% in theshrubland. Organic P comprised 13.3\% of the total phosphorus poolin the grassland and 12.0\% in the shrubland. Our results showthat the organic P pool may represent an important, yet oftenoverlooked, source of P in semiarid ecosystems.

}, keywords = {article, articles, biological controls, desert soils, geochemistry, journal, journals, New Mexico, phosphorous,soil, sequential P fractionation, soil organic phosphorus, soil phosphorus, soil, phosphorous}, doi = {10.1023/A:1006437504494}, url = {files/bibliography/JRN00322.pdf}, author = {Cross, Anne F. and W. H. Schlesinger} } @inbook {51080, title = {Biodiversity and evolution of mycorrhizae of the desert}, booktitle = {Microbial Endophytes}, year = {2000}, note = {//NMSU,USDA//LTER III//ProCite field[6]: InProCite field[8]: Eds.}, month = {2000}, pages = {141-160}, publisher = {Marcel Dekker, Inc.}, organization = {Marcel Dekker, Inc.}, address = {New York}, abstract = {Refers to some of the literature on arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF). The focus is on aspects of the role of AMF in plants from arid and semiarid environments.}, keywords = {biodiversity, mycorrhizae, book, books, chapter, chapters, fungal community, fungi, biodiversity, fungi, mycorrhizae, mycorrhizae, biodiversity, report, reports}, author = {Peter Herman}, editor = {Bacon, Charles W. and White, James F. , Jr.} } @inbook {51097, title = {Biotic and abiotic processes and rates of pedogenic carbonate accumulation in the southwestern United States - relationships to atmospheric CO2 sequestration}, booktitle = {Global Climate Change and Pedogenic Carbonate}, year = {2000}, note = {//NMSU,USDA//LTER III//ProCite field[6]: In}, month = {2000}, pages = {273-289}, publisher = {CRC Press}, organization = {CRC Press}, address = {Boca Raton}, keywords = {abiotic processes, pedogenic carbonate, biotic processes, pedogenic carbonate, book, books, chapter, chapters, report, reports, soil, calcium carbonate, soil, pedogenic carbonates}, author = {Curtis H. Monger and R. A. Gallegos}, editor = {R. (ed.) Lal} } @article {51144, title = {Burrowing activities of kangaroo rats and patterns in plant species dominance at a shortgrass steppe-desert grassland ecotone}, journal = {Journal of Vegetation Science}, volume = {10}, year = {1999}, month = {1999}, pages = {123-130}, abstract = {

Our objective was to evaluate the effects of burrowing activities by banner-tail kangaroo rats (Dipodomys spectabilis Merriam) on plant community structure and species dominance for two patch types at the ecotone between shortgrass steppe and desert grassland in New Mexico, USA. 10 mounds produced by kangaroo rats were selected in patches dominated by Bouteloua gracilis (the dominant in shortgrass steppe communities) and 10 mounds were selected in patches dominated by B. eriopoda (the dominant in Chihuahuan desert grasslands). Plant cover and density by species were sampled from three locations associated with each mound: the mound proper, the edge of the mound in the transition area, and the off-mound vegetation. Similar cover of B. eriopoda for the edges of mounds in both patch types indicates the ability of this species to respond to animal disturbances regardless of the amount of cover in the surrounding undisturbed vegetation. By contrast, cover of B. gracilis was low for all mounds and mound edges in patches dominated by this species. Much higher cover of B. eriopoda on mound edges compared to the undisturbed vegetation in B. gracilis-dominated patches indicates that kangaroo rats have important positive effects on this species. Lower cover of perennial grasses and higher cover of forbs, shrubs, and succulents on the edges of mounds in B. eriopoda-dominated patches compared to patches dominated by B. gracilis indicate the importance of surrounding vegetation to plant responses on disturbed areas.

}, keywords = {Bouteloua, Chihuahuan Desert, Dipodomys spectabilis, disturbance, dominant species, kangaroo rat}, doi = {10.2307/3237167}, url = {/files/bibliography/654.pdf}, author = {Fields, M.J. and D.P. Coffin and J. R. Gosz} } @article {51201, title = {Biopedturbation by mammals in deserts: A review}, journal = {Journal of Arid Environments}, volume = {41}, number = {2}, year = {1999}, month = {February 1, 1999}, pages = {203-230}, abstract = {

Disturbance-caused patchiness is important for development and maintenance of spatial and temporal heterogeneity in ecosystems. Mammals are important agents of biopedturbation (soil disturbance by organisms) which is a major source of patchiness in arid ecosystems. The contribution of soil disturbance by mammals to heterogeneity is a function of the size and longevity of the soil disturbance. Foraging pits produced by a variety of mammals are relatively short-lived features that trap plant litter and seeds that are rapidly buried. These form nutrient-rich germination sites. High water infiltration rates, a low bulk density rooting environment, and frequently increased soil nutrient content (especially mounds of central-place foragers and larder-hoarders) characterize warren complexes. Productivity tends to be higher on these mounds and the vegetation tends to differ in composition and richness from the surrounding areas. Soil ejected from fossorial mammal burrow systems is generally of low bulk density, erodes readily, and varies greatly with respect to concentration of nutrients and organic matter depending upon the species and landscape in which the species lives. The variability in soil properties of fossorial burrow system ejecta mounds precludes generalizations about the effects of these disturbances on vegetation. Long-lived features such as Mima-like mounds and heuweltjies are nutrient-rich features that support high productivity and a distinct floral assemblage. There is a significant relationship between longevity of mammal soil disturbance and size of the disturbance: longevity in years=9.33 Area0.735. The data suggest that pedturbation by mammals can be an important force in pedogenesis, in structuring landscapes, and in maintaining heterogeneity in ecosystems. Data on mammalian pedturbation is based on scattered autecological studies. There is a need for long-term studies that focus on biopedturbation (soil disturbance by invertebrates and vertebrates) as a process at scales from the patch to the landscape.

}, keywords = {Biopedturbation, burrows, deserts, disturbance, fossorial rodents, patch dynamics, small mammals, soil properties}, doi = {10.1006/jare.1998.0482}, url = {/files/bibliography/696.pdf}, author = {Walter G. Whitford and F. R. Kay} } @article {51266, title = {Biodiversity and ecosystem function in soil}, journal = {Ambio}, volume = {26}, year = {1997}, note = {//??//LTER III//}, month = {1997}, pages = {563-70}, abstract = {

We review the current knowledge on biodiversity in soils, its role in ecosystem processes, its importance for human purposes, and its resilience against stress and disturbance. The number of existing species is vastly higher than the number described, even in the macroscopically visible taxa, and biogeographical syntheses are largely lacking. A major effort in taxonomy and the training of a new generation of systematists is imperative. This effort has to be focussed on the groups of soil organisms that, to the best of our knowledge, play key roles in ecosystem functioning. To identify such groups, spheres of influence (SOI) of soil biota-such as the root biota, the shredders of organic matter and the soil bioturbators-are recognized that presumably control ecosystem processes, for example, through interactions with plants. Within those SOI, functional groups of soil organisms are recognized. Research questions of the highest urgency are the assignment of species to functional groups and determining the redundancy of species within functional groups. These priorities follow from the need to address the extent of any loss of functioning in soils, associated with intensive agriculture, forest disturbance, pollution of the environment, and global environmental change. The soil biota considered at present to be most at risk are species-poor functional groups among macrofaunal shredders of organic matter, bioturbators of soil, specialized bacteria like nitrifiers and nitrogen fixers, and fungi forming mycorrhizas. An experimental approach in addressing these research priorities is needed, using long-term and large-scale field experiments and modern methods of geostatistics and geographic information systems.

}, keywords = {article, articles, biodiversity, soil, ecosystem function, biodiversity, ecosystem, biodiversity, journal, journals, soil, biodiversity, soil, ecosystem function}, doi = {10.1111/j.0269-8463.2005.00969.x}, url = {files/bibliography/JRN00231.pdf}, author = {Brussaard, L. and Behan-Pelletier, V. M. and Bignell, D. E. and Brown, V. K. and Didden, W. A. M. and Folgarait, P. J. and Fragoso, C. and D. W. Freckman and Gupta, V. S. R. and Hattori, T. and Hawksworth, D. and Klopatek, C. and Lavelle, P. and Malloch, D. and Rusek, J. and Soderstrom, B. and Tiedje, J. M. and R. A. Virginia} } @article {51342, title = {Biological Diversity in the Land of Enchantment: New Mexico{\textquoteright}s Natural Heritage}, journal = {New Mexico Journal of Science}, volume = {36}, year = {1996}, note = {//OTHER//LTER-III//}, month = {1996}, pages = {1-375}, keywords = {article, articles, biodiversity, journal, journals}, author = {Herrera, E.A. and L. Huenneke} } @article {51367, title = {Biomass distribution mapping using airborne digital video imagery and spatial statistics in a semi-arid environment}, journal = {Journal of Environmental Management}, volume = {47}, year = {1996}, note = {//NMSU,USDA//LTER-III//}, month = {1996}, pages = {139-164}, abstract = {

High resolution airborne digital video image data, biomass measurements and spatial statistics were used to map above-ground biomass for the five major semi-arid plant communities in the Jornada Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) site (southern New Mexico). The two principle objectives were to determine: (1) spatial characteristics of arid shrub versus semi-arid grassland vegetation; and (2) a suitable image spatial resolution and ground sampling interval to map above-ground biomass spatial distribution for these vegetation types. The spatial characteristics of each plant community were established by analyzing digital images at varying pixel sizes using semi-variograms. As pixel size increased from 0.5 m to 16 m, little information on vegetation pattern and abundance was lost in grassland and ;playa grassland sites. In comparison, the pattern and abundance of vegetation became indistinct in shrubland sites once pixel size exceeded mean shrub diameter. This work illustrates the utility of variograms from remotely sensed data for two applications: (1) determining a suitable scale to examine an ecosystem{\textquoteright}s spatial structure; and (2) providing information on the spatial pattern of vegetation as an indicator of ecosystem condition in the context of a model for desertification.

}, keywords = {article, articles, journal, journals, plant community, remote sensing, plant community, structure, plant community,classification, remote sensing, biophysical patterns, remote sensing, plant biomass, remote sensing, plant communities}, doi = {10.1006/jema.1996.0042}, url = {files/bibliography/JRN00204.pdf}, author = {Phinn, Stuart and Janet Franklin and Allen Hope and Douglas Stow and L. Huenneke} } @article {51434, title = {Benefits and costs in controlling sheep bonded to cattle without wire fencing}, journal = {Small Ruminant Research}, volume = {14}, number = {1}, year = {1994}, note = {Reprinted with permission from Elsevier, Copyright \© 1993. (http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/09214488)}, month = {June 1, 1994}, pages = {1-8}, abstract = {

Mixed grazing groups of IS bonded ewes and five cows consistently (100\%) remained together in one of two adjoining arid rangeland paddocks during each of three seasons beginning in September 1991. The paddocks were separated with only two strands of wire fence. The bottom wire being 0.7 m off the ground. In contrast, non-bonded ewes (controls) were found in the adjoining paddock without cattle 54\% of the time. This created a mean separation distance between non-bonded ewes and cattle of 977 m.\  Locating ewes in the non-bonded treatment required additional time, thus reducing management efficiency and increasing costs by approx. $0.10/hd/d. In a separate study begun in January 1992 an enduring bond between sheep and cattle was produced by confining 65 to 86 day-old lambs with cattle in pens for 55 d at a cost of approx. $0.511hd/d. Bonding may provide an economically viable alternative to conventional wire fencing on many properties as a means of controlling the spatial distribution of sheep under mixed grazing.

}, keywords = {distribution, free-ranging livestock, pen feeding, ranch economics, sheep behavior}, doi = {10.1016/0921-4488(94)90002-7}, url = {/files/bibliography/413.pdf}, author = {D.M. Anderson and Kris Havstad and Shupe, W. Larry and R. Libeau and J. N. Smith and L. W. Murray} } @article {51497, title = {Breeding bird distribution in Chihuahuan desert habitats}, journal = {Southwestern Naturalist}, volume = {38}, year = {1993}, note = {//NMSU//LTER II//Listed in LTER3 proposal as citing LTER2 support//}, month = {1993}, pages = {43-51}, abstract = {

During late spring and early summer of 1985, we studied community composition and distributional patterns of breeding birds on a bajada in southern New Mexico. Twenty-eight species were found, of which the 13 more common were examined in detail. We compared mean densities of all species among four transects and among three physiognomically distinct habitats. Comparisons between transects yielded a few significant differences that cannot be attributed to features of the habitat, but significant variation among habitats was found for most species. Bivariate correlations between bird abundances and vegetation suggested a positive relationship between grassland birds and an increase in plant cover in open areas and between scrub birds and the increase in diversity of plant life-forms. Similar relationships were found between the multivariate axes resulting from principal component analysis of plant-cover data and both bird species richness and diversity.

}, keywords = {article, articles, bird,distribution, journal, journals}, doi = {10.2307/3671643}, url = {files/bibliography/JRN00166.pdf}, author = {L. G. Naranjo and Ralph J. Raitt} } @article {51549, title = {Botanical content of black-tailed jackrabbit diets on semidesert rangeland}, journal = {Great Basin Naturalist}, volume = {52}, number = {4}, year = {1992}, note = {//NMSU//LTER II//Listed in LTER3 proposal as citing LTER2 support//}, month = {1992}, pages = {300-308}, abstract = {Botanical content of black-tailed jackrabbit diets was determined by microhistological examination of fecal samples collected from six different vegetation types in southern New Mexico on three dates. Grasses comprised the largest component of the jackrabbit diets, with dropseed species (Sporobolus spp.) and black grama (Bouteloua eriopoda) the most abundant grasses in the diets. Leatherweed croton (Croton pottsii) and silverleaf nightshade (Solanum elaeagnifolium) were important forbs on most vegetation types. Diet composition varied in response to season and vegetation type. Grasses were important during the summer growing season, while forbs were selected during their growing season (summer or winter-spring). Shrubs were less abundant in the diet than grasses and forbs.}, keywords = {article, articles, diet,lagomorph, journal, journals, lagomorpha, diet, Lepus,diet}, author = {Wansi, Tchouassi and Pieper, Rex D. and Reldon F. Beck and L. W. Murray} } @book {51552, title = {Biogeochemical consequences of desertification}, series = {The Science of Global Change, The Impact of Human Activities on the Environment}, year = {1992}, note = {//NMSU//LTER II//Listed in LTER3 proposal as citing LTER2 support//ProCite field[6]: InProCite field[32]: ASC Symposium Series 483}, month = {1992}, pages = {352-359}, publisher = {American Chemical Society}, organization = {American Chemical Society}, address = {Washington, D. C.}, abstract = {

Processes that reduce the productivity of arid and semi-arid lands, collectively known as desertification, affect more than 3 billion hectares or more than 80\% of such lands. The degradation process results in redistribution of water and nutrients, loss of find soil fractions and replacement of palatable plants with undesirable plants. These changes frequently uncouple rainfall and productivity on a temporal scale. This uncoupling is probably due to modification of the nitrogen cycle as a result of the desertification processes. Changes in vegetation can produce changes in fluxes of radiatively active gasses and a variety of organic volatiles to the atmosphere. Redistribution of soil water may produce "hot" spots for denitrification and for ammonia volatilization that differ in extent both spatially and temporally from undesertified ecosystems. Dust from desertified areas can modify the chemistry of rainfall in areas distant from the dust source.

}, keywords = {biogeochemistry,desertification, book, books, chapter, chapters, community, desertification, desertification, biogeochemistry, report, reports}, doi = {10.1021/bk-1992-0483.ch018}, author = {Walter G. Whitford}, editor = {Dunnette, D. A. and R. J. O{\textquoteright}Brien (eds.)} } @conference {51553, title = {Browsing arid rangeland shrubs under multispecies management strategies}, booktitle = {IV International Rangeland Congress}, year = {1991}, month = {1991}, pages = {188}, abstract = {The deciduous shrub tarbush (Flourensiacernua DC.) grows on fertile clay loam soils of 5 to 6 x 106 ha of North America{\textquoteright}s Chihuahuan Desert. Blooming tarbush is toxic to ruminants, whereas vegetative tarbush can be safely browsed. Under conventional management strategies tarbush seldom exceeds 15\% of free-ranging animal diets. In an attempt to defoliate tarbush cattle, sheep, Spanish goats and Angora goats (8:20:17:2; 23 AU/ha) were used to stock eight 0.6 ha paddocks, four at a time, for 8 to 9 days during vegetative growth between August and September 1989. Mean tarbush canopy cover, estimated using line-point transects, was 17\% and 11\% before and after stocking, respectively. Daily tarbush defoliation was monitored on 120 plants randomly chosen among the eight paddocks. In addition, 20 tarbush plants, adjacent to the paddocks, were hand-harvested and -separated. Mean annual tarbush leaf, flower and twig production was 385 kg/ha. Individual tarbush plant defoliation ranged from 5 to 99\%. Cattle refused to browse only tarbush and were the first animal species removed due to a lack of other available forage. Sheep consistently lost liveweight (2.3 to 3.0 kg/hd) and body condition (0.8 unit) regardless of paddock. Goat body condition did not change overall. In four of the paddocks, Spanish goats gained 0.5 kg/ha while Angoras lost 1.4 kg/hd. Goat liveweight in the remaining four paddocks did not change (P > 0.05). Overall, 48, 67, 82 and 84\% of cattle, sheep, Spanish goat and Angora goat diets were tarbush, respectively. Short intervals of high-density multispecies stocking reduced tarbush foliage. However, unique plant and animal differences existed which affected tarbush use.}, author = {D.M. Anderson and Gibbens, Robert P. and Clarence V. Hulet and Kris Havstad and Richard E. Estell} } @article {51572, title = {Bonding of Spanish kid goats to cattle and sheep}, journal = {Applied Animal Behavior Science}, volume = {30}, year = {1991}, note = {Reprinted with permission from Elsevier, {\textcopyright} 1991. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/01681591}, month = {1991}, pages = {97-103}, abstract = {

Spanish kid goats, white-face range lambs, and yearling beef heifers were used to study the effects of close interspecies confinement on bonding of the small ruminant species to each other or to cattle. Treatment groups consisted of (1) 3 Spanish kids, 3 heifers and 3 young lambs (43{\textendash}53 days with no previous exposure to cattle); (2) 3 Spanish kids, 2 heifers and 3 older lambs (74{\textendash}105 days with some previous exposure to cattle). Each of these treatments was replicated three times. During field testing, following 30 days pen confinement, the older lambs stayed closer (P\<0.05) to the heifers than did the younger lambs. However, no difference (P\>0.05) existed between young and old lambs following 60 days pen confinement. Spanish kids did not differ (P\>0.05) in the degree of bonding from lambs. After testing at 60-days, the groups originally confined together were re-combined and sorted into kid-heifer and lamb-heifer groups and tested at pasture for affinity of kid goats to heifers and lambs to heifers, independent of the other small ruminant species. Lambs separated from cattle during the 3-h test; whereas kid goats consistently stayed with cattle. In an extended field test, kid goats stayed with cattle over a 5-consecutive-day test with no observed separations. It was concluded that Spanish kids can bond to cattle and stay with them under free-ranging conditions. The data also suggest that with lambs, a bond may become stronger as the time of close association is extended beyond 30 days.

}, doi = {10.1016/0168-1591(91)90088-F}, url = {/files/bibliography/373.pdf}, author = {Clarence V. Hulet and D.M. Anderson and J. N. Smith and Shupe, W. Larry and L. W. Murray} } @article {51636, title = {Biological Feedbacks in Global Desertification}, journal = {Science}, volume = {247}, number = {4946}, year = {1990}, month = {1990}, pages = {1043-1048}, abstract = {

Studies of ecosystem processes on the Jornada Experimental Range in southern New Mexico suggest that long-term grazing of semiarid grasslands leads to an increase in the spatial and temporal heterogeneity of water, nitrogen, and other soil resources. Heterogeneity of soil resources promotes invasion by desert shrubs, which leads to a further localization of soil resources under shrub canopies. In the barren area between shrubs, soil fertility is lost by erosion and gaseous emissions. This positive feedback leads to the desertification of formerly productive land in southern New Mexico and in other regions, such as the Sahel. Future desertification is likely to be exacerbated by global climate warming and to cause significant changes in global biogeochemical cycles.

}, doi = {10.1126/science.247.4946.1043 }, url = {/files/bibliography/111.pdf}, author = {W. H. Schlesinger and J. F. Reynolds and Gary L. Cunningham and L. Huenneke and W. M. Jarrell and R. A. Virginia and Walter G. Whitford} } @mastersthesis {51637, title = {Botanical diets and dietary overlap of black-tailed jackrabbits and cattle on black grama grassland}, year = {1990}, note = {//??//NONE//}, month = {1990}, pages = {51}, school = {New Mexico State University}, type = {M.S. Thesispp}, address = {Las Cruces, New Mexico}, keywords = {cattle,diet, dissertation, dissertations, rabbit,diet, theses, thesis}, author = {Schneberger, Al} } @mastersthesis {51640, title = {Brush control and grazing behavior of goats on semidesert mesquite brush dominated rangeland}, year = {1990}, note = {//??//NONE//}, month = {1990}, pages = {106}, school = {New Mexico State University}, type = {M.S. Thesispp}, address = {Las Cruces, New Mexico}, keywords = {brush control,goats, brush control,Prosopis, dissertation, dissertations, goat,behavior, goat,brush control, Prosopis,brush control, theses, thesis}, author = {Tejada Velez, Einstein Henry} } @article {51668, title = {Behavior, a key to more efficient and profitable lamb and wool production - a review}, journal = {SID Research Journal}, volume = {5}, year = {1989}, month = {1989}, pages = {26-33}, author = {Clarence V. Hulet} } @mastersthesis {51693, title = {Botanical content of blacktailed jackrabbit diets on semi-desert rangeland}, year = {1989}, note = {//NMSU//LTER II//}, month = {1989}, pages = {84}, school = {New Mexico State University}, type = {M.S. Thesispp}, address = {Las Cruces, New Mexico}, abstract = {Botanical content of the blacktailed jackrabbit (Lepus californicus) diets and relative preference indices for various plant species were evaluated. The study was conducted in southern New Mexico in June, August and October, on six vegetation types: mesquite-grass type, black grama type, snakeweed type, mixed-shrub grass type, creosotebush type and tarbush type. Diets were quantified using microhistological examination of fecal samples. Results from this study suggested that there is a significant (P<.01) difference for most of the important plant species in the diet for vegetational type, period and the vegetational type x period interaction. Grasses were preferred nearly in proportion to their availability. All forbs, except for broom snakeweed, were preferred. Tarbush and creosotebush were not preferred.}, keywords = {diet,lagomorph, dissertation, dissertations, lagomorpha, diet, Lepus,diet, rabbit,SEE , theses, thesis}, author = {Wansi, Tchouassi} } @proceedings {51706, title = {Behaviour modification in sheep to reduce canine predation and facilitate grazing with cattle}, volume = {II}, year = {1988}, month = {1988}, pages = {427-430}, address = {Jhansi, India}, abstract = {

Benefits of multispecies grazing are often overshadowed by ineffective predator control programs (Baker 1985). The coyote (Canis latrans) is probably one of north America{\textquoteright}s most versatile predators and continues to present one of the greatest challenges to United States sheep and goat producers (Green 1987). These producers have had varying degrees of success using steel traps, poisoned baits, calling and shooting, aerial gunning, guarding animals (primarily dogs) and electrified fences, used singly or in combination. During 1983, 63 of 144 sheep died while managed under free-ranging conditions on the Jornada Experimental Range, most were killed by coyotes (Hulet et al. 1987b).

}, url = {/files/bibliography/326.pdf}, author = {D.M. Anderson and Clarence V. Hulet and J. N. Smith and Shupe, W. Larry and L. W. Murray} } @article {51722, title = {Bonding of goats to sheep and cattle for protection from predators}, journal = {Applied Animal Behavior Science}, volume = {22}, year = {1988}, note = {Reprinted with permission from Elsevier, Copyright {\textcopyright} 1988. (http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/01681591)}, month = {1988}, pages = {261-267}, abstract = {

Fourteen 5-month-old mohair goats previously confined with heifers for 60 days were randomized into two groups. Group 1 was confined with two heifers for an additional 14 days. Group 2 was confined with eight previously cattle-bonded sheep and a heifer for 14 days. A third group of six non-bonded sheep and seven goats, and three heifers with calves served as a control. The three groups were randomized among three brushy range pastures averaging 190 ha and rotated whenever a goat or sheep was found dead or missing. Control goats, control lambs and Group 1 goats were observed to move independently of the cattle. Group 2 goats consistently stayed with the bonded sheep and cattle. Sheep and goats which did not stay with cattle were killed by predators starting 5 days after going to pasture. Within 10 days all goats, one lamb from the control group and six of the seven goats from Group 1 were dead, wounded or missing. Only the smallest goat in Group 2 was lost. This group was rotated among the three pastures for an additional 21 days with no further loss.

}, doi = {10.1016/0168-1591(89)90021-X}, url = {/files/bibliography/330.pdf}, author = {Clarence V. Hulet and D.M. Anderson and J. N. Smith and Shupe, W. Larry and D.A. Taylor Jr. and L. W. Murray} } @proceedings {51724, title = {Bonding to facilitate multispecies grazing}, year = {1988}, month = {1988}, pages = {42-43}, abstract = {

Cattle, sheep and goat diets have been shown to be complementary for efficient range forage utilization. Multispecies grazing has therefore been recommended, but has generally remained unimplemented because of unacceptably high predation losses of sheep and goats. An account of the social attachment of a ram to horses the temporary attachment of individual wether sheep to steers and of guard dogs to sheep suggested that social bonding of sheep and goats to cattle might be possible. Cattle protect their calves from predators. If bonding would occur then the close association of sheep and goats to cattle might provide protection from predation by coyotes and dogs.

}, url = {/files/bibliography/334.pdf}, author = {Clarence V. Hulet and D.M. Anderson and Shupe, W. Larry and J. N. Smith} } @article {51731, title = {The biogeochemistry of phosphorous cycling and phosphorous availability along a desert soil chronosequence}, journal = {Ecology}, volume = {69}, number = {1}, year = {1988}, note = {//NMSU//LTER I//Listed in LTER2 proposal as citing LTER1 support//}, month = {1988}, pages = {24-39}, abstract = {

The biogeochemistry of the weathering, landscape movements, and chemical transformations of phosphorus and its availability to plants were examined in a chronosequence of soils developed from quartz monzonite alluvium in southern New Mexico. Total P in the soil profile decreased with increasing soil age and was removed from the ecosystem as readily as the most easily leachable bas cations. Although Ca-bound forms of P decreased with increasing soil age, Ca-P remained the single largest fraction of total P in all soils. In contrast, Fe- and Al-bound P was a very small percent of total P in all soils. There was little evidence for the stabilization of P by soil organic matter within this ecosystem; both soil organic P and microbial P represented very small pools of total soil P. Phosphorus availability, measured by in situ resin bags, was not well correlated with soil age or total soil P, and P concentrations in shrub tissues did not reflect changes in forms or total amounts of soil P. The biogeochemical cycle of P in this system differs sharply from that in a more mesic, forested system, where fixation by iron and aluminum oxides and biological activity play more dominant roles in the conservation of P within the ecosystem.

}, keywords = {article, articles, biogeochemistry, calcium carbonate, journal, journals, nutrient cycling, phosphorous cycling, soil, chronosequence, soil, phosphorous, soil, SEE biogeochemistry, weathering}, doi = {10.2307/1943157 }, url = {files/bibliography/JRN00085.pdf}, author = {Kate Lajtha and W. H. Schlesinger} } @conference {51745, title = {Bonding of kids to heifers}, booktitle = {41st Annual Meeting, Society for Range Management}, year = {1988}, month = {1988}, pages = {Abstract 311}, abstract = {Cross-specific attachment formation (bonding) of Angora kids to growing heifers was measured under field conditions. For this study, a bonded kid was defined as one which showed cohesive tendencies to free-ranging heifers. Three treatment groups were represented by: (1) seven 52-day-old kids and three heifers, (2) seven 64-day-old kids and three heifers and (3) seven 94-day old kids and three heifers; the corresponding control groups were represented by (1) seven 52-day old kids, (2) seven 64-day old kids and (3) seven 94-day old kids, and (4) three heifers used to test all control kids. Each treatment group was maintained in rectangular (5M x 25M) pens for a total of 60 days to facilitate bonding. The control kids and heifers were penned separately for a total of 60 days. Early results indicate that kids 52 days old when penned with heifers for 30 days show cohesive tendencies and that the intensity of this cohesiveness varies among individuals. The interspecific association of kids to heifers did not appear to be individual specific.}, author = {D.A. Taylor Jr. and Garza, N.E., Jr. and D.M. Anderson and Clarence V. Hulet and J. N. Smith and Shupe, W. Larry} } @article {51759, title = {Bonding of young sheep to heifers}, journal = {Applied Animal Behavior Science}, volume = {19}, year = {1987}, note = {Reprinted with permission from Elsevier, {\textcopyright} 1987. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/01681591}, month = {1987}, pages = {31-40}, abstract = {

Rambouillet X Polypay lambs, averaging 45, 62 and 90 days of age, were penned with 8-9-month-old heifers for 60 days. Following 30 and 60 days of pen confinement, the treated and control lamb-heifer groups were observed in a 120-ha paddock for interspecific and intraspecific aggregation or dispersion; i.e. cross species bonding. Interspecies distances averaged\  <= 20 m in the treated groups vs. 600-1000 m in controls. Interspecific distance was not different between 45 and 90-day-old lambs. Treated lambs followed any heifer(s) which tolerated sheep. Bonding was poorly developed (lambs and heifers were widely separated) within the 62-day-old lamb-heifer group, possibly because two heifers periodically physically abused the lambs by butting and kicking them. It was concluded that 45 90-day-old lambs can be successfully bonded to cattle by penning the two animal species together for a period as short as 30 days.

}, doi = {10.1016/0168-1591(87)90200-0}, url = {/files/bibliography/308.pdf}, author = {D.M. Anderson and Clarence V. Hulet and J. N. Smith and Shupe, W. Larry and L. W. Murray} } @article {51779, title = {Bonding of sheep to cattle as an effective technique for predation control}, journal = {Applied Animal Behavior Science}, volume = {19}, year = {1987}, note = {Reprinted with permission from Elsevier, {\textcopyright} 1987. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/01681591}, month = {1987}, pages = {19-25}, abstract = {

Nine lambs that had been bonded to cattle were placed with 7 heifers in pastures frequented by coyotes (Canis latrans) to determine whether multi-species grazing with bonded lambs would reduce predation. Unbonded lambs were grazed alone in a nearby pasture. Bonded lambs with cattle and unbonded lambs were rotated among pastures to reduce pasture bias. None of the bonded lambs were lost to predation during the entire 163-day study (Trials 1, 2 and 3). Four of 8 unbonded lambs were lost, presumably to predators, during a 19-day period, and 9 of 15 unbonded lambs and ewes were lost to predation during a later 43-day period. Bonding sheep to cattle may be an effective method for reducing coyote depredation on sheep.

}, doi = {10.1016/0168-1591(87)90198-5}, url = {/files/bibliography/318.pdf}, author = {Clarence V. Hulet and D.M. Anderson and J. N. Smith and Shupe, W. Larry} } @proceedings {51785, title = {A baseline of soil erosion and vegetation monitoring in desert grasslands: Chihuahua, Texas and New Mexico}, volume = {General Technical Report RM-150}, year = {1987}, note = { //NMSU//NONE//ProCite field[6]: In}, month = {October 12-16, 1}, pages = {214-220}, publisher = {USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Forest and Range Experiment Station}, address = {Tucson, Arizona}, abstract = { A long-term monitoring for vegetation and soil changes in desert grasslands of the northern Chihuahuan Desert was started in 1981 as part of the USDA/SEA Antidesertification program. Five study areas were located on the Jornada Experimental Range, Otero Mesa, and Peloncillo Mountains in New Mexico, Big Bend National Park in Texas, and Rancho La Campana in Chihuahua, Mexico. Vegetation was charted in quadrats along 30m permanent transects in these study areas. A high-precision auto-level was used to establish baseline data on the current soil-surface levels along the transects. In the future, recharting vegetation and remeasuring soil-surface level should provide data on rates of change. This data could be used to validate models designed to predict rates of soil erosion and vegetation change.}, keywords = {abstract, abstracts, conference, conference proceedings, conferences, desertification, long term monitoring, soil erosion, model, validation data, proceeding, proceedings, soil erosion, transect, soil erosion, transect, vegetation, vegetation transect}, author = {J. Ludwig and Moir, William H.}, editor = {Earl F. Aldon and Gonzales-Vicente, C. E. and Moir, W. H. (eds.)} } @mastersthesis {51824, title = {Beef steer diets, forage intake, and fecal indices in south-central New Mexico}, year = {1986}, note = {//??//NONE//}, month = {1986}, pages = {82}, school = {New Mexico State University}, type = {M.S. Thesispp}, address = {Las Cruces, New Mexico}, keywords = {cattle, diet, cattle, fecal indices, cattle,forage intake, dissertation, dissertations, theses, thesis}, author = {M.D. Hakkila} } @mastersthesis {51838, title = {The biogeochemistry of phosphorous cycling and phosphorous availability in a desert ecosystem}, year = {1986}, note = {//NMSU//LTER I//}, month = {1986}, school = {Duke University}, type = {Ph.D. Dissertation}, address = {Durham, North Carolina}, abstract = {The geochemistry of the weathering, landscape movement, chemical transformations, and the plant availability of phosphorus was examined in a chronosequence of soils developed from quartz monzonite alluvium in southern New Mexico. All soils contained pedogenic carbonates in upper horizons with caliche layers at depth. Total P in the soil profile decreased with increasing soil age, and was removed from the ecosystem as readily as the most easily leachable base cations. Although Ca-bound forms of P decreased with increasing soil age, Ca-P remained the single largest fraction of total P in all soils.}, keywords = {biogeochemistry, calcium carbonate, chronosequence, dissertation, dissertations, Larrea, calcium carbonate, Larrea, phosphorous, Parthenium, calcium carbonate, Parthenium, phosphorous, phosphorous cycling, seedling response, calcium carbonate, theses, thesis}, author = {Kate Lajtha} } @mastersthesis {51844, title = {Bird distribution and habitat preferences on a Chihuahuan Desert bajada}, year = {1986}, note = {//NMSU//LTER II//Listed in LTER3 proposal as citing LTER2 support//}, month = {1986}, pages = {58}, school = {New Mexico State University}, type = {M.S. Thesispp}, address = {Las Cruces, New Mexico}, abstract = {Community composition, species densities and distributional patterns of breeding birds were studied during the late spring and early summer of 1985 on a bajada in southern New Mexico. Twenty-eight species were included in the sample, of which the 13 more commonly found were chosen for statistical analyses. Mean densities of all species were compared among four sampling transects, as well as among three physiognomically distinct habitats (i.e., basin slope, creosotebush, and piedmont). Comparisons between transects yielded a few significant differences that cannot be attributed to features of the habitat. Significant variation among habitats was found for most species; the creosotebush band had the lowest densities and the other two varied mainly in species composition.}, keywords = {bird, distribution, bird,community composition, bird,habitat preference, bird,species densities, dissertation, dissertations, theses, thesis}, author = {L. G. Naranjo} } @mastersthesis {51846, title = {Behavioral responses of Chihuahuan Desert lizards to habitat modification}, year = {1986}, note = {//USDA//LTER I//}, month = {1986}, pages = {45}, school = {New Mexico State University}, type = {Ph.D. Dissertationpp}, address = {Las Cruces, New Mexico}, abstract = {Behavioral responses of Chihuahuan Desert lizards to modified habitat were studied on two plots. One plot had been treated with an herbicide and was dominated by sub-shrubs (Xanthocephalum sarothrae) and grasses (Muhlenbergia porteri). The other plot was dominated by shrubs (Larrea tridentata, Flourencia cernua, and Prosopis glandulosa). There was no difference in lizard diversity between the plots. However, an increase of grass cover correlated with a reduction in the number of Cnemidophorus tigris and an increase in the number of Uta stansburiana. Other species of lizards apparently were not affected by the difference in habitats. Uta stansburiana was found to have no preference for specific vegetation on the plots when foraging, basking, or resting. Foraging Cnemidophorus tigris were found to utilize mesquite (Prosopis glandulosa), and to a lesser extent creosotebush (Larrea tridentata). Bush muhly (Muhlenbergia porteri) was utilized on the modified habitat when foraging. The results of my study are discussed with implications for the pre-European man lizard fauna of the Jornada del Muerto region of New Mexico.}, keywords = {behavior,lizards, Cnemidophorus, dissertation, dissertations, lizard,behavior, lizard,Cnemidophorus, lizard,habitat modification, lizard,Uta, theses, thesis, Uta}, author = {David K. Peterson} } @mastersthesis {52005, title = {Behavior, nutritional status and body weight changes of cattle grazing improved and unimproved semiarid range in southern New Mexico}, year = {1982}, note = {//USDA//NONE//}, month = {1982}, pages = {76}, school = {New Mexico State University}, type = {M.S. Thesispp}, address = {Las Cruces, New Mexico}, abstract = {Pastures 2N and 2S of the Jornada Experimental Range were used to investigate behavior (travel and time budgets), nutritional status and body weight change of cattle. Pasture 2N served as a control while pasture 2S was aerially sprayed with 2,4,5-Trichlorophenoxy acetic acid at the rate of 227 g/hectare. This treatment allowed stocking rate to be increased in pasture 2S from 1.8 to 3.4 times more than that in pasture 2N.}, keywords = {cattle grazing, behavior, cattle, food habits, cattle, nutrition, cattle, productivity, dissertation, dissertations, nutrition,cattle, theses, thesis}, author = {A. Guiao} } @article {52033, title = {The binary search for accuracy in plant symbols}, journal = {Journal of Range Management}, volume = {34}, number = {3}, year = {1981}, note = {Permission to post articles granted by the Society for Range Management; www.rangelands.org.}, month = {May 1, 1981}, pages = {239}, abstract = {

The transfer of data from field sheets to computer files always involves the risk of errors being made in plant symbols or other identifying codes. If a master list of symbols or codes is incorporated into the software programs used for data entry on CRT computer terminals the risk of making errors can be substantially reduced. This is done by utilizing the highly time efficient binary search to compare each entered symbol or code with the master list. Detection of errors before the data are transferred to computer files saves much time which would otherwise be spent in retrieving and correcting files.

}, url = {/files/bibliography/195.pdf}, author = {Gibbens, Robert P. and Bilan, T.N.} } @mastersthesis {52044, title = {Breeding and foraging ecology of the Cactus Wren in a variable environment}, year = {1981}, note = {//LOCAL//NONE//}, month = {1981}, pages = {79}, school = {New Mexico State University}, type = {Ph.D. Dissertationpp}, address = {Las Cruces, New Mexico}, abstract = {The breeding and foraging ecology of the Cactus Wren Campylorhychus brunneicapillus was studied during 1978, 1979, and 1980 on a site in the Chihuahuan Desert of southern New Mexico. Significant differences in clutch size, breeding success, and timing of clutch initiation were observed among years. Differences were related to annual differences in the emergence and abundance of the major food of nestlings (grasshoppers), which, in turn, were related to annual differences in precipitation and temperature patterns. Results show that the Cactus Wren is capable of evaluation existing food supplies and adjusting its clutch size accordingly; no evidence of brood reduction was found.}, keywords = {Aves, SEE , bird, also SEE common name, bird,breeding ecology, bird,Campylorhychus, bird,foraging ecology, Cactus wren, breeding ecology, Cactus wren, foraging ecology, Campylorhychus, dissertation, dissertations, theses, thesis}, author = {T. G. Marr} } @article {52054, title = {Behavioral responses of a predator, the round-tailed horned lizard, Phrynosoma modestum and its prey, honey pot ants, Myrmecocystus ssp.}, journal = {The American Midland Naturalist}, volume = {105}, number = {2}, year = {1981}, note = {//NMSU//US-IBP//}, month = {1981}, pages = {209-216}, abstract = {

The round-tailed horned lizard Phrynosoma modestum was active and feeding throughout the day from 2 hr after sunrise until sunset. Phrynosoma modestum remained in the shade of large mesquite during midday where they preyed on honey pot ants (Myrmecocystus depilis/mimicus) which were foraging in the canopy and moving across the shaded substrate. Phrynosoma modestum fed at an average of 3.9 +- 2.2 ants bout-1 and average of 7.0 +- 1.7 bouts hr-1. The species diversity of the diet of P. modestum doubled (H\&$\#$39; = 0.78 to H\&$\#$39; = 1.41) following rainfall when many species of small ants extended their activity to overlap with the activity of P. modestum. Honey pot ants Myrmecocystus mimicus/depilis were, however, the only dependable prey. Simulated predation of 20 ants day-1 and 40 ants day-1 affected activity of M. mimicus/depilis , while simulated predation of 10 ants day-1 had no effect. We estimate that P. modestum removes approximately one-half of the early summer standing crop of M. mimicus/depilis during the summer.

}, keywords = {ant, Myrmecocystus, article, articles, honey-pot ant,SEE }, doi = {10.2307/2424738}, url = {files/bibliography/81-The American Midland Naturalist-Whitford.pdf}, author = {David T. Shaffer and Walter G. Whitford} } @article {52077, title = {Body size as a determinant of small-scale distributions of ants in evergreen woodland southeastern Arizona}, journal = {Insectes Sociaux}, volume = {27}, number = {3}, year = {1980}, note = {//OTHER//NONE//}, month = {1980}, pages = {189-202}, abstract = {Distributions and abundances of ants were determined on the N, E, W and S upper slopes of a conical hill that had a gradient of conditons from moist-cool oak-juniper-pine woodland to warm-dry open shrub woodland. Species distributions varied remakably with slope, even in terms of subfamilies and unique common species. A formicine was the most abundant species on the north slope. A different species of dolichoderine was most abundant on the other slopes. The assemblages of ant species were much more distinct for these small sites on each slope than are the known groups of species associated with vegetation types on a broad geographical basis. Interpretation of the causes of such specific assemblages awaits detailed information on species ecologies. However, there is considerable circumstantial evidence that body size of pairs of species in the same site was least for common species of the same feeding quild; similarity was greater when one or both members of a pair were uncommon; similarites were highesst for species on different guilds. Combinations of species that would have had very high size overlaps did not occur together. Some combinations that occurred were those that had the least overlap possible for the species known to occur on the entire hill.}, keywords = {ant, distribution, article, articles, community, ant distribution, journal, journals}, author = {Chew, Alice Eastlake and Chew, Robert M.} } @mastersthesis {52080, title = {Botanical composition of black-tailed jackrabbit diets on semidesert rangeland}, year = {1980}, note = {//NMSU//NONE//}, month = {1980}, pages = {85}, school = {New Mexico State University}, type = {M.S. Thesispp}, address = {Las Cruces, New Mexico}, abstract = {The purpose of this study was to determine the botanical composition of black-tailed jackrabbit (Lepus californica) diets on six vegetation types: black grama type, dropseed type, creosote-mesquite-grass type, creosote-mesquite-broom snakeweed type, open mesquite type, and mesquite dunes type. The study was conducted from June 1979 to October 1979. Diets were quantified using microhistological examination of fecal samples....Seasonal trends in dietary composition were: dropseed species, early summer; whitestem stickleaf, croton, faint crown, during mid-summer; dropseed species, whitestem stickleaf in late summer; and mesquite during fall.}, keywords = {diet,Lepus, dissertation, dissertations, lagomorph,diet, Lepus,diet, mammal, Lepus, theses, thesis}, author = {Dabo, Sira-Mady} } @proceedings {52084, title = {Behavioral and population ecology of a major Yucca herbivore}, year = {1980}, note = {//NMSU//NONE//ProCite field[6]: In}, month = {1980}, pages = {91-113}, publisher = {Centro de Investigacion en Quimica Aplicada}, abstract = {The mirid Halticoma valida Reuter was found to be the dominant herbivore of Yucca in southern New Mexico. Although populations were very high on Y. baccata, developmental rates were faster on Y. elata. Populations on both species of Yucca declined sharply after flowering and fruiting, and subsequent visitations by ants. Laboratory experiments confirmed the preference for the lower density Y. baccata. Feeding bouts were longer on y. baccata and Y. torreyi than on Y. elata, as well as interference competition between the developing instars for feeding sites, due to high populations supported on these species. Extract of Y baccata and Y. torreyi produced significantly greater aggregations than extracts of Y. elata. The effects of leaf surface area, water balance, and chemical and physical characteristics of Yucca on the feeding and aggregating of H. valida is discussed.}, keywords = {abstract, abstracts, conference, conference proceedings, conferences, Halticoma,behavior, Halticoma,population ecology, insect herbivory,Yucca, insect,behavior, insect,Halticoma, insect,population ecology, invertebrate, also SEE , population ecology, Yucca herbivory, proceeding, proceedings, Yucca, herbivory}, author = {Harold G. Fowler} } @mastersthesis {52131, title = {Behavioral responses of a predator, the round-tailed lizard (Phrynosoma modestum) and its prey, honey-pit ants (Myrmecocystus ssp)}, year = {1979}, note = {//NMSU//US-IBP//}, month = {1979}, pages = {27}, school = {New Mexico State University}, type = {M.S. Thesispp}, address = {Las Cruces, New Mexico}, abstract = {Round-tailed horned lizards (Phrynosoma modestum) were observed during times of activity to record the different kinds of behaviors displayed, the time spent at each behavior and the kind and number of prey items taken. Ant species of the genus Myrmecocystus were the most important prey. The behavioral responses of the prey were studied by subjecting them to varying levels of simulated predation. Phrynosoma modestum fed most often on foraging ants that were coming down out of foliage, mostly mesquite (Prosopis glandulosa), where the ants had been feeding during the day. The lizards rarely fed at nest openings, preferring to wait under the brush for the ants returning to the nests. The results of the simulated predation study indicate that the lizards can take up to 10 ants per day from a Myrmecocystus spp. colony without affecting the activity of that colony. Myrmecocystus spp. occur on the study site at an average density of 21 +- 7 nests per hectare (range 10-27 nests/ha). Phrynosoma modestum fed at an average rate of 3.9 +- 2.2 ants/bout (range 1-8) with 7.0 +- 1.7 bouts/hour (range 6-9).}, keywords = {ant, Myrmecocystus, dissertation, dissertations, honey-pot ant,SEE , theses, thesis}, author = {David T. Shaffer} } @article {52139, title = {Behavior of a predator and its prey: the horned lizard (Phrynosoma cornutum) and harvest ants (Pogonomyrmex spp)}, journal = {Ecology}, volume = {60}, number = {4}, year = {1979}, note = {//NMSU//US-IBP//}, month = {1979}, pages = {686-694}, abstract = {

Horned lizards, Phrynosoma cornutum, were observed between sunrise and sunset in order to record the time spent at different behaviors and the prey taken. Two ant species, Pogonomyrmex desertorum and Pogonomyrmex rugosus, were the most important prey. The behavioral responses of these prey species were studied by subjecting them to varying levels of simulated predation.... The horned lizards have evolved a foraging strategy that allows maximization of prey availability over weeks or a month rather than per hour or day. Estimates of horned lizard densities, ingestion rates, and numbers of potential prey suggest that horned lizard numbers are regulated by the availability and productivity of Pogonomyrmex spp. These estimates also suggest Pogonomyrmex spp. colonies are extremely productive, essentially replacing the entire worker population each year.

}, keywords = {ant,harvester, article, articles, behavior, also SEE , behavior,ants, foraging,ants, journal, journals, lizard, foraging behavior, lizard,horned lizard,Phrynosoma, Phrynosoma,foraging behavior, Pogonomyrmex,predation, predation, lizards-ants, reptile, also SEE }, doi = {10.2307/1936605}, url = {files/bibliography/79-Ecology-Whitford.pdf}, author = {Walter G. Whitford and Bryant, Martha} } @mastersthesis {52146, title = {The breeding ecology of the Black-throated Sparrow in southern New Mexico}, year = {1978}, note = {//NMSU//NONE//}, month = {1978}, pages = {43}, school = {New Mexico State University}, type = {M.S. Thesispp}, address = {Las Cruces, New Mexico}, abstract = {

The winter flocking behavior and breeding ecology of the Black-throated Sparrow (Amphispiza bilineata) were studied on 80 ha of creosotebush (Larrea divaricata) desertscrub, 40 km north of Las Cruces, Dona Ana County, New Mexico, from November 1976 through September 1977. The objective of the study was to examine the ecology of this abundant, but little studied, species and relate these data to its succes in its harsh desert habitats....Physiological and behavioral responses to deserts are discussed. It is suggested that four aspects of the ecology of Black-throated Sparrows are primarily responsible for its success in arid habitats: a) efficient physiological adaptations to desert environments, b) opportunism in foraging, c) fine-grained use of its habitat, and d) large territory to reduce predation through dispersion of nests.

}, keywords = {Aves, Amphispiza, bird, Black-throated Sparrow, Black-throated Sparrow, behavior, Black-throated Sparrow, breeding ecology, dissertation, dissertations, Larrea community, Black-throated Sparrow, theses, thesis}, url = {files/bibliography/DelesantroThesis_78.pdf}, author = {Michael C. Delesantro} } @article {52157, title = {Burrow environment of the banner-tailed kangaroo rat, Dipodomys spectabilis, in south-central New Mexico}, journal = {The American Midland Naturalist}, volume = {99}, number = {2}, year = {1978}, note = {//NMSU//US-IBP//}, month = {1978}, pages = {270-279}, abstract = {

The thermal environment of both natural and artificial burrows of Dipodomys spectabilis was moderate as compared to surface ambient conditions but was related to them. Burrow air temperatures were similar to, but not identical with, soil temperatures. Burrow humidity was generally near saturation and was related to both burrow temperature and surface ambient humidity. CO2 concentration in kangaroo rat burrows was variable but was always higher than ambient. Burrow CO2 concentration resulted from a complex of factors that included soil moisture and temperature and proximity of an animal. Surface wind velocity probably plays an important role in burrow ventilation. Burrow structure and soil characteristics influence environmental conditions of burrows.

}, keywords = {article, articles, Dipodomys, burrow environment, journal, journals, rodent, Dipodomys}, url = {files/bibliography/99-The AmMidNat-Whitford.pdf}, author = {F. R. Kay and Walter G. Whitford} } @article {52153, title = {Botanical composition of cattle diets on desert grassland range}, year = {1978}, note = {//NMSU//NONE//}, month = {1978}, institution = {New Mexico Agricultural Experiment Station}, address = {Las Cruces, New Mexico}, abstract = {The objective of this study was to determine seasonal changes in dietary composition and selectivity of cattle grazing on desert grassland range.... Generally, cattle diets followed the same pattern as the available forage for the major dietary constituents. Therefore, herbage availability was an important factor influencing selectivity, although maturation and availability of "greener" plants were more important than total herbage available for any species.}, keywords = {book, books, cattle grazing, diet, cattle, diet, chapter, chapters, food habits, cattle, grassland, cattle diet, report, reports}, isbn = {Research Report 363}, author = {Gonzalez Rodriquez, Jorge and Pieper, Rex D. and Geoffrey Smith} } @proceedings {52184, title = {Brush control and seeding rangeland}, year = {1977}, note = {Paper also presented at Alamogordo and Capitan, NM}, month = {1977}, pages = {43-52}, abstract = {For many people, the romance of the Southwest is the favorable climate--winters are warm and dry and summers are relatively dry so the heat is rarely oppressive. For the range manager, the key word in these descriptions is "dry." Over the arid Southwest, the average annual precipitation is 8 to 12 inches. Averages, however, mean very little. Precipitation varies widely from one time to another and from one place to another, only a few miles away. Rainfall from April through September governs the growing season for range forage. West of the Sacramento Mountains about 55 percent of the average annual precipitation falls from July through September; springs are usually dry and windy. East of the Sacramento Mountains growing-season precipitation is more evenly distributed between spring and summer. The average annual evaporation from Weather Bureau pans is about 90 inches--about 10 times as much as the precipitation. The range plants, therefore, grow in brief bursts when soil moisture is available immediately after rainfall. Droughts are frequent and expected. Infrequent wet spells may bring a false sense of security, but chances are that drought, hopefully short but possibly of several years{\textquoteright} duration, will follow. Stands of perennial grasses are often severely reduced by drought. On the Jornada Experimental Range near Las Cruces, the basal cover of black grama was reduced to 42 percent of its predrought cover during the 1916-18 drought, 11 percent during the 1921-26 drought, and 23 percent in 1934. During the Great Drought from 1951 to 1956, black grama cover was reduced to 1 to 50 percent of its predrought average, depending on soil type. The drought loss was much more severe on deep sandy sites than on sites with shallower sands. Where 99 percent of the black grama was lost there has been no recovery. Droughts are a fact of life in this region and must be anticipated in the management of any southwestern range. There is no evidence that the climate is getting drier.}, keywords = {average annual evaporation, average annual precipitation, brush control, drought, research notes, seeding, Southwest}, url = {/files/bibliography/159.pdf}, author = {C.H. Herbel} } @article {52205, title = {Black-Tailed Jackrabbits in Southeastern New Mexico: Population Structure, Reproduction, Feeding, and Use of Forms}, number = {Research Report 318}, year = {1976}, month = {1976}, pages = {4}, institution = {New Mexico Agricultural Experiment Station}, address = {Las Cruces}, abstract = {The black-tailed jackrabbit is a common herbivore of shurb-grasslands in southeastern New Mexico and in, terms of standin biomass, may be the geratest wild consuemr of green vegetation. The only large, wild herbivore in this area is the pronghorn antelope (Antilocapra americanaI)}, keywords = {black-tailed, feeding, jackrabbits, population}, url = {/files/bibliography/106.pdf}, author = {Griffing, J.P. and C.A. Davis} } @article {52290, title = {Brush eradicating, basin pitting, and seeding machine for arid to semiarid rangeland}, journal = {Journal of Range Management}, volume = {26}, number = {3}, year = {1973}, note = {Permission to post articles granted by the Society for Range Management; www.rangelands.org.}, month = {May 1, 1973}, pages = {189-192}, abstract = {A range seeding machine that increased the chances of successful seedling establishment on arid to semiarid rangeland has been designed and tested on 23 plots in southern New Mexico. Working behind a standard rootplow, the machine picks up brush, forms basin pits, firms the soil, plants seed and replaces the brush over the planted area as a mulch. Laboratory and field research was used to demonstrate improved soil conditions for seedling emergence under such a brush mulch. Water retention by basin pits was found to be necessary to decrease runoff of the high intensity, short duration storms typical to this area. About 50\% of the plots planted with this equipment were successfully seeded.}, keywords = {arid, basin pitting, brush eradication, rangeland, seeding machine, semiarid}, url = {/files/bibliography/138.pdf}, author = {Abernathy, G.H. and C.H. Herbel} } @article {52331, title = {Burning and nitrogen fertilization of tobosa grass}, year = {1972}, note = {//NMSU//NONE//}, month = {1972}, institution = {New Mexico Agricultural Experimental Station}, address = {Las Cruces, New Mexico}, abstract = {Tobosa grass (Hilaria mutica Buckl. Benth.) is a characteristic species dominating the flood plains of southern New Mexico. During rainstorms these flood plains often receive additional water from surrounding slopes and produce considerably more herbage than nearby sites. The accumulation of past growth which frequently occurs on the flood plains provides excellent fuel for fires. In the Southwest, lightning from summer electrical storms frequently ignites the dry tobosa which has accumulated. Also, ranchers occasionally burn tobosa flood plains to remove the unwanted accumulation of old growth. Little is known of the effects of fire on subsequent tobosa grass production. In general, tobosa grass is considered to be low in palatability for livestock. The accumulation of old growth tends to repel the grazing animal, and burning the old growth increases livestock preference for tobosa. This study was designed to determine the effect that burning tobosa at different times of the year has on subsequent production, with nitrogen fertilization and without.}, keywords = {book, books, chapter, chapters, fire,Hilaria, grass, Hilaria, Hilaria, fertilization, Hilaria,fire, Hilaria,management, management, Hilaria, report, reports}, isbn = {Bulletin 595}, author = {D.D. Dwyer} } @article {52344, title = {Bird Investigations}, year = {1972}, note = {//??//US-IBP//ProCite field[6]: In}, month = {1972}, pages = {26-41}, institution = {Colorado State University}, address = {Fort Collins, Colorado}, keywords = {bird, book, books, chapter, chapters, report, reports}, isbn = {Technical Report No. 200}, author = {Ralph J. Raitt}, editor = {Pieper, Rex D. and M. A. Ellstrom and E.E. Staffeldt and Ralph J. Raitt} } @mastersthesis {52408, title = {The behavior of pronghorn-antelope in southcentral New Mexico}, year = {1969}, note = {//USDA, NMSU//NONE//}, month = {1969}, pages = {67}, school = {New Mexico State University}, type = {M.S. Thesispp}, address = {Las Cruces, New Mexico}, abstract = {This study was conducted to determine some behavior patterns of pronghorn-antelope (Antilocapra americana) and to determine what factors were responsible for the static condition of these herds. The herds under study are located on the Jornada Del Muerto Plains, 23 miles north of Las Cruces, New Mexico, and on Fort Stanton, approximately five miles east of Capitan, New Mexico. Behavior studies included sexual, ingestive, eliminative, bedding, and individual and social behavior patterns. Interspecies relationships of pronghorns and how fences influenced distribution and movement was also studied. As a result of these behavior studies, several management practices have been recommended for pronghorn antelope. It was concluded that both herds were gradually increasing. The slow growth-rate of the Jornada pronghorn population was attributed to inferior forage as a result of low precipitation levels. A combination of poaching and forage availability was thought to be the cause for the slow growth-rate of the Fort Stanton population.}, keywords = {Antilocarpa,behavior, dissertation, dissertations, mammal, Antilocarpa, mammal, pronghorn antelope, Antilocarpa, management, Antilocarpa, pronghorn antelope, SEE , theses, thesis}, author = {C.T. Engelking} } @inbook {52433, title = {Brush and weed control on ranges and pastures}, booktitle = {Principles of Plant and Animal Pest Control, v. 2. Weed Control}, year = {1968}, month = {1968}, publisher = {National Academy of Sciences, Publication No. 1957}, organization = {National Academy of Sciences, Publication No. 1957}, chapter = {16}, abstract = {Approximately half of the total land area of the United States is used for pasture and grazing purposes, and weeds and brush are a problem on nearly all these forage lands. Economic losses from weeds on forage lands are virtually incalculable and include low yield of forage and animal products per unit area, reduced livestock gains and livestock poisoning. Tremendous weed problems have been created on grazing lands by the introduction of exotic plant species or the shift of nonforage native species to positions of major importance. Changes in the vegetation communities of vast areas of range and noncropland are constantly occurring through the influences of grazing practices, cultural manipulations, plant introductions, diseases, insects, various other fauna and many other environmental factors. In areas where vegetation is disturbed or removed, the species remaining or introduced tend to increase and become dominant. Trends toward dominance by weeds can be halted or changed by judicious use of mechanical and chemical control methods, introduction of new forage plant species, fertilization and control of the kinds and numbers of grazing animals and their seasons of use. Because of factors such as climate, native animal life, plant species and soil depletion or erosion, some ranges do not respond readily to improvement measures. Nevertheless, many forage lands can be made more productive by present techniques which almost always will include some form of weed control.}, keywords = {brush, control methods, grazing lands, weeds}, url = {/files/bibliography/107.pdf}, author = {C.H. Herbel} } @proceedings {52450, title = {Blood composition of range beef cows}, volume = {18}, year = {1967}, month = {1967}, pages = {177-182}, abstract = {Normal levels of certain bovine blood constituents have been listed by many, including Dukes (1955), Gardner (1947) and Long et al. (1952). Several researchers have related blood composition to feed nutrients. Robinson (1966) relates a fall in hemoglobin, plasma protein and hematocrit levels to the dry-season weight losses. Howes et al. (1957) have compared blood composition of Brahman and British breeds of cattle. Seasonal variation in some blood constituents of Hereford cows has been reported by Stufflebeam et al. (1964). Blincoe and Brody (1951) reported slightly higher hematocrit and hemoglobin values for Brahman cows than for Jersey and Holstein cows. The purpose of this study was to determine the breed and seasonal differences in the level of certain blood constituents in Hereford and Santa Gertrudis cows in southern New Mexico.}, keywords = {blood composition, breed differences, herefore, Santa Gertrudis, seasonal differences}, url = {/files/bibliography/105.pdf}, author = {Nelson, A.B. and C.H. Herbel} } @mastersthesis {52485, title = {Bird populations of a desert scrub area in southern New Mexico}, year = {1965}, note = {//LOCAL//NONE//}, month = {1965}, school = {New Mexico State University}, type = {M.S. Thesis}, address = {Las Cruces, New Mexico}, abstract = {Composition, habitat preference, and population densities of the avifauna in a desert scrub area in southern New Mexico were studied. Censusing was done by cruising and mapping on a grid covering one square mile. Nine different species nested on the area during the study. Composition of the avifauna appears to be mainly dependent on the diversity of vegetation. Absence of trees and lack of dense vegetation have influenced the composition such that other species which nest in southern New Mexico do not nest on the uplands. Black-throated Sparrows maintained the highest densities, followed by Mourning Doves, Verdins, and Black-tailed Gnatcatchers. Major factors influencing densities appear to be availability of plants suitable for nesting, primary productivity of the general area, and size and efficiency of territories. Most birds nested in the more mesic arroyos. Sparse vegetation on upland areas apparently discouraged utilization by species other than Mourning Doves. Distribution of species appears responsive to distribution of nest-site plants and to abundance and profile of vegetation in the vicinity of nest sites. In species composition the avifauna is similar to those of other areas, arid and non-arid. Differences are correlated with vegetation differences. Desert regions support lower densities than more mesic environments.}, keywords = {bird population,scrub area, bird, habitat preference, bird, population densities, bird, species composition, desert scrub area, dissertation, dissertations, technique, bird censusing, theses, thesis}, author = {Maze, Richard L.} } @mastersthesis {52486, title = {Breeding biology and nest usage of the verdin in southern New Mexico}, year = {1965}, note = {//LOCAL//NONE//}, month = {1965}, school = {New Mexico State University}, type = {M.S. Thesis}, address = {Las Cruces, New Mexico}, abstract = {A population of verdins on a square-mile of desert were studied between April, 1964, and August, 1965. Details of the reproductive cycle and reproductive success are give. An average of 13 breeding pairs occurred on the area over two seasons. Approximately 41 young fledged in 1965. Single males build display nests that are a part of the courtship pattern. Territories are advertised by a call note and singing starts with encountering prospective mates. Audiospectrographs for two calls and song are shown. Three types of nests and their usage are discussed. Verdins save time and energy in nest construction by choosing familiar nest sites, rebuilding old nests, and reusing nest material. Nests play an important role in the life of verdins, protecting them from harsh weather and predators.}, keywords = {bird,breeding biology, bird,nest usage, dissertation, dissertations, reproduction,bird, theses, thesis, verdin, breeding biology, verdin, nest usage}, author = {Moore, David Rubal} } @article {52494, title = {Brush control}, volume = {51(2)}, year = {1964}, month = {1964}, pages = {160}, abstract = {Four methods are being used in controlling mesquite at the Jornada Experimental Range: handgrubbing, using fenuron pelleta, ground spraying and aerial spraying. Handgrubbing sparse stands of small mesquite is the most economical method of control, but the root must be completely severed below the budding zone (about 4 to 6 inches below the surface of the ground) and close supervision of labor must be maintained.}, keywords = {brush control, handgrubbing, mesquite}, url = {/files/bibliography/089.pdf}, author = {C.H. Herbel} } @article {52533, title = {Better cattle distribution through the use of meal-salt mix}, journal = {Journal of Range Management}, volume = {6}, number = {5}, year = {1953}, note = {Permission to post articles granted by the Society for Range Management; www.rangelands.org.}, month = {September 1, 195}, pages = {341-346}, abstract = {A basic principle of good range management is distributing livestock so that utilization of forage will be as uniform as possible on all parts of the range. Cattle naturally tend to congregate near watering places and on level or other favored areas with the result that, unless provisions are made for distribution, parts of the range are too heavily grazed, parts grazed to the proper degree, and parts receive little or no grazing use. Many methods are used to encourage more uniform cattle grazing. Fencing into small range units and developing watering facilities are effective but limited by economic considerations. Placing salt in little used areas, periodic closing of watering places, and herding and riding are helpful practices. Yet, because of the natural grazing habits of cattle and the rough character of most rangelands, the pattern of grazing use is seldom fully satisfactory. A possible new tool for controlling cattle distribution is provided by the cottonseed meal-salt mixture which is becoming a popular and widely used supplemental range feed, especially in the Southwest.}, keywords = {cattle distribution, cottonseed meal-salt mixture, range management, uniform utilization}, url = {/files/bibliography/076.pdf}, author = {F.N. Ares} } @article {52599, title = {Bryophytes of the Jornada Experimental Range, New Mexico}, journal = {The Bryologist}, volume = {40}, year = {1937}, month = {September-Octobe}, pages = {81-83}, abstract = {The writer, as a spare-time study, made a small collection of bryophytes on the Jornada Experimental Range in southern New Mexico in 1934 and 1935. The number of species represented, about 25, is considerably less than that of Brother Ars{\`e}ne{\textquoteright}s collections in the higher mountain zones of northern New Mexico. Brother Ars{\`e}ne{\textquoteright}s did not cite twelve of these species, indicated by an asterisk in the list below. Inasmuch as differences in bryophyte flora are largely the result of differences in environmental conditions, the physiography and climate of the Jornada Experimental Range will be reviewed briefly. This range, with an area of 302 square miles, is north of Las Cruces, Dona Ana County, and is located in one of the sections of least rainfall of the state. For the most part, it is a plain that varies in elevation from 4,000 to 4,600 feet. It is part of the Lower Sonoran Life Zone with unconsolidated sands, adobe and gravel and without springs and streams. On the east border, the San Andres Mountains and foothills, composed chiefly of upper Paleozoic limestone with some sandstone and shale, rise to a maximum elevation of 8,000 feet in the Upper Sonoran Life Zone. The average rainfall is 8.97inches on the plain at the range headquarters, elevation 4,150 feet, and 12.61inches in the foothills at Ropes Spring, elevation 5,600 feet. Collections were also made in Dona Ana Mountains of igneous rock at the southwestern edge of the area. The vegetation of this section, mainly semidesert-shrub and grassland types, has been described by Campbell and others.}, keywords = {bryophytes, climate, Jornada Experimental Range, physiography, southern New Mexico}, url = {/files/bibliography/037.pdf}, author = {E. L. Little Jr.} }