Trajectories and tipping points of piñon-juniper woodlands after fire and thinning.

Piñon-juniper (PJ) woodlands are a dominant community type across the Intermountain West, comprising over a million acres and experiencing critical effects from increasing wildfire. Large PJ mortality and regeneration failure after catastrophic wildfire have elevated concerns about the long-term viability of PJ woodlands. Thinning is increasingly used to safeguard forests from fire and in an attempt to increase climate resilience.

Experimental Warming Changes Phenology and Shortens Growing Season of the Dominant Invasive Plant (Cheatgrass).

(cheatgrass) has successfully invaded and established throughout the western United States. grows early in the season and this early growth allows to outcompete native species, which has led to dramatic shifts in ecosystem function and plant community composition after invades. If the phenology of native species is unable to track changing climate as effectively as 's phenology then climate change may facilitate further invasion.

Manufacturing Simple and Inexpensive Soil Surface Temperature and Gravimetric Water Content Sensors.

Quantifying temperature and moisture at the soil surface is essential for understanding how soil surface biota respond to changes in the environment. However, at the soil surface these variables are highly dynamic and standard sensors do not explicitly measure temperature or moisture in the upper few millimeters of the soil profile. This paper describes methods for manufacturing simple, inexpensive sensors that simultaneously measure the temperature and moisture of the upper 5 mm of the soil surface.