Category: Botany

Why it’s Cardinal to Observe the Relationship Among Mountain Wildlife, Spatial Scales, and Ecosystem Dynamics—Joshua Kesling

Posted on by Madeline Gupta

Many wildlife species receive support from mountain natural areas interspersed throughout the Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest. Upper elevation field sites, ranging from 6,500-8,500 ft above sea level, cover several ecoregions or ecosystems and landscapes determined by biological, geological, chemical, and physical factors.   For instance, in the uplands beyond the freshwater shorelines, dense conifer forest stands (i.e., Read more about Why it’s Cardinal to Observe the Relationship Among Mountain Wildlife, Spatial Scales, and Ecosystem Dynamics—Joshua Kesling[…]

Why Listening to River and Riparian Distress Calls Matter—Joshua Kesling

Posted on by Madeline Gupta

Before taking measurements during bustling recreation events—assessing plant height, counting species diversity, recording sound levels, reading water qualities, and comparing soil compaction images—it is crucial to read ecosystem distress calls through careful observation. I call this ‘read’ a qualitative query, which involves discernment and meaningful observation of natural surroundings. Ecosystem or ‘ecological distress signals’ occur Read more about Why Listening to River and Riparian Distress Calls Matter—Joshua Kesling[…]

Tanged Up in Seasons—Alex Wells

Posted on by Madeline Gupta

This past May, I traveled back in time.   From the top of East Rock Park, the stately houses and university buildings of New Haven barely poked out from beneath an overflow of green leaves. It was early May, but it already felt like summer in Connecticut. Seven days later, I’d returned to early April, the Read more about Tanged Up in Seasons—Alex Wells[…]

Toward an Understanding of Mountain Recreation Ecosystems and Key Services—Joshua Kesling

Posted on by Madeline Gupta

It is just before 6:00 am, and the sun has not yet greeted subalpine fir and quaking aspen tops, although they eagerly await the warm embrace. Freezing water races through riffle-pool sequences, flossing interstices full of non-vascular specialists. Lichen and moss thrive just above the water line. Despite the golden sun’s absence, moose traipse across Read more about Toward an Understanding of Mountain Recreation Ecosystems and Key Services—Joshua Kesling[…]

Striking a Balance Between Restoration Costs and Benefits—Alaina Geibig

Posted on by Madeline Gupta

The Yampa River Valley, located in the Northwest corner of Colorado, hosts critical sagebrush habitat that supports wildlife and livestock. In this arid region, water resources hold disproportionate importance, with low-lying wet meadows providing essential sources of diverse forage (Rondeau et al., 2023). As such, wet meadows often fall under private ownership for agricultural purposes, Read more about Striking a Balance Between Restoration Costs and Benefits—Alaina Geibig[…]

A How-To Guide for Beaver Monitoring—Alex Wells

Posted on by Madeline Gupta

May is here, bringing with it the end of a semester and the end of my time working as a UHPSI Research Assistant in collaboration with The Nature Conservancy Wyoming’s Tensleep Preserve. Even as Wyoming has been re-blanketed in snow, every maple and oak tree in New Haven has spun out fresh fractals of green Read more about A How-To Guide for Beaver Monitoring—Alex Wells[…]

Who Cares?—Sam Wilson

Posted on by Madeline Gupta

I was explaining my research to someone recently and the proceeding conversation got me thinking. When I described my project and where it was going to be conducted (see project description here) I got a response that I had yet to encounter. The woman I was speaking with asked me ‘who cares about sagebrush?’. At Read more about Who Cares?—Sam Wilson[…]

Exotic annual forbs present restoration challenges on natural gas well pads—Damaris Chenoweth

Posted on by Madeline Gupta

Restoration of natural gas well pads is plagued by invasion from annual forbs and grasses. Exotic annual forbs particularly are well suited to the sandy, salty, disturbed soils found on natural gas well pads in the Upper Green River Basin of southwestern Wyoming. While conducting research this summer on well pads in the Upper Green Read more about Exotic annual forbs present restoration challenges on natural gas well pads—Damaris Chenoweth[…]

Sampling soils in an ancient lake—Damaris Chenoweth

Posted on by Madeline Gupta

Some days our soil auger hits a layer of shale and instead of retrieving messy handfuls of sandy soil, we hear the dreaded grinding of steel on rock. We accept the disappointment of a missing data point because the alternative is to litter the ground with small holes to find a penetrable spot. Around 50 Read more about Sampling soils in an ancient lake—Damaris Chenoweth[…]

What is the Difference Between a Crop and a Plant?—Julia Jacobson

Posted on by Madeline Gupta

A few months ago, during one of my first interviews of the summer, I was trying to discern how farmers’ experience of farming varied from crop to crop. For example, what is different about farming tomatoes versus, say, potatoes? I wondered if farmers favored certain crops — or certain methods — and if that might Read more about What is the Difference Between a Crop and a Plant?—Julia Jacobson[…]

Dis-Assembling Agriculture— Julia Jacobson

Posted on by Madeline Gupta

Clouds of dust plume behind my car as I venture down the long driveway to my first farm interview of the summer. Despite the high water year and lush greenery, the ground here is distinctively dry. A curious butterfly flutters through one open window and out the other. Toward the end of the driveway, an Read more about Dis-Assembling Agriculture— Julia Jacobson[…]

Global change effects on soil greenhouse gas exchange and carbon storage along a temperature gradient in the North American Central Grasslands

Posted on by Madeline Gupta

Most ecosystem and earth-system models predict soil organic carbon losses from temperate grasslands as temperatures increase. However, the magnitude of that loss is uncertain and the influence of other global change factors on the temperature sensitivity of decomposition remains poorly understood. Uthara’s research explores how historical temperature regimes interact with global change factors (i.e., warming, Read more about Global change effects on soil greenhouse gas exchange and carbon storage along a temperature gradient in the North American Central Grasslands[…]

Modeling Radiation Use Efficiency in Big Sagebrush Understory

Posted on by Madeline Gupta

Sam’s research focuses on gathering field data to pair with remotely sensed imagery to then model a physiological plant trait called radiation use efficiency. Radiation use efficiency is the proportion of incoming solar radiation that is converted to biomass. Decreases in efficiency of plants has been shown to correlate with stress and decreased production and Read more about Modeling Radiation Use Efficiency in Big Sagebrush Understory[…]

Landscape Vegetation Analysis (LaVA) in Southern Wyoming—Jake Barker

Posted on by Madeline Gupta

One project in particular in Wyoming has emerged in the national conversation concerning public forest management. The Medicine-Bow Routt and Thunder Basin Grassland National Forest (MBRTB) manages forest and grassland in Wyoming and Colorado, and is several years into the implementation of a landscape-scale forest resilience project. Supported by the 2003 Healthy Forests Restoration Act, Read more about Landscape Vegetation Analysis (LaVA) in Southern Wyoming—Jake Barker[…]