SageSTEP: Sagebrush Steppe Treatment Evaluation Project
Long-term studies have been identified as a critical research need for determining how management actions influence the trajectories of plant communities and ecosystems. SageSTEP is a collaborative effort by investigators from USDA Agricultural Research Service, USDA Forest Service, US Geological Survey, and several universities (Oregon State, Utah State, Brigham Young, University of Oregon, and University of Nevada, Reno) to examine long-term effects of fuel treatments in vulnerable sagebrush steppe ecosystems. The network includes 19 sites in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Nevada, and Utah where big sagebrush communities have been threatened by invasive annual cheatgrass or by expanding pinyon/juniper woodlands.
Experiments were initiated in 2006 and include treatments with prescribed fire, herbicide, and mechanical removal of trees or shrubs. Data collection for this project covers a broad range of disciplines, including hydrology, soil, wildlife, vegetation, fuels, and social science. With several years of data now accumulated, we are leveraging the richness and depth of this dataset to identify long-term outcomes of common management practices on plants of the sagebrush steppe.
For more details about SageSTEP, see the project website.
Experiments were initiated in 2006 and include treatments with prescribed fire, herbicide, and mechanical removal of trees or shrubs. Data collection for this project covers a broad range of disciplines, including hydrology, soil, wildlife, vegetation, fuels, and social science. With several years of data now accumulated, we are leveraging the richness and depth of this dataset to identify long-term outcomes of common management practices on plants of the sagebrush steppe.
For more details about SageSTEP, see the project website.