Forward-looking approaches to rangeland restoration in a variable world
| dc.contributor.advisor | Hallett, Lauren | |
| dc.contributor.author | Batas, Lina | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2024-08-07T21:24:06Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2024-08-07T21:24:06Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2024-08-07 | |
| dc.description.abstract | Ecological restoration is a powerful tool for repairing degraded ecosystems and promoting biodiversity and ecosystem functions. As global change drivers shift baseline conditions, forward-looking restoration approaches aim to establish resilient communities that can buffer and adapt to existing and future conditions. Genetic diversity and functional trait diversity of seeds are important considerations when restoring ecosystems that are resilient to multiple stressors. Restoration outcomes vary depending on the environmental conditions and interactions with neighboring species, both of which can change over time. Incorporating the role of variability in restoration frameworks is important to guide and assess efforts in a variable and changing world.Here, I examine forward-looking approaches to restoration on semi-arid rangelands of the western United States. Specifically, I focused on rangelands in the Great Basin and California. Biodiversity and ecosystem functions of these rangelands are threatened by the interacting effects of wildfires, invasive annual grasses, and drought. Each of the chapters presented in my dissertation ask a question that seeks to improve rangeland restoration in an era of climate change. In Chapter II, I conduct a field survey after a mega-fire and examine how the current practice of post-seeding with native seeds affects the genetic diversity of wildland populations. In Chapter III, I test how an emerging seed sourcing strategy called climate-adjusted provenancing – supplementing local provenance with nonlocal provenances biased towards future climatic conditions – improves seedling establishment under drought. In Chapter IV, I consider how intraspecific variability in trait plasticity influence predictability of seedling performance under water stress and cheatgrass competition. In Chapter V, I explore the above- and belowground relationships between community-level functional diversity and biomass production across variable rainfall conditions. In Chapter VI, I apply the concepts from modern coexistence theory to assess restoration trajectories and guide restoration actions. Throughout, I collaborate with scientists from multiple disciplines and use wide ranging methods and concepts to provide practical solutions to contemporary restoration challenges. This dissertation includes previously published co-authored material. | en_US |
| dc.identifier.uri | https://hdl.handle.net/1794/29728 | |
| dc.language.iso | en_US | |
| dc.publisher | University of Oregon | |
| dc.rights | All Rights Reserved. | |
| dc.subject | cheatgrass | en_US |
| dc.subject | coexistence | en_US |
| dc.subject | drought | en_US |
| dc.subject | fire | en_US |
| dc.subject | restoration | en_US |
| dc.subject | seed sourcing | en_US |
| dc.title | Forward-looking approaches to rangeland restoration in a variable world | |
| dc.type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation | |
| thesis.degree.discipline | Environmental Studies Program | |
| thesis.degree.grantor | University of Oregon | |
| thesis.degree.level | doctoral | |
| thesis.degree.name | Ph.D. |
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