Stepping Out of the Steppe—Rachel Renne

As temperatures climbed this summer, so did the elevations of the plots that I visited. My gradual ascent was an attempt to capture the plant community of each site at a time when I would be able to detect and identify most of the plant species. Higher elevations mean lower temperatures, and while many grasses Read more about Stepping Out of the Steppe—Rachel Renne[…]

A Note from the Steppe—Rachel Renne

As a kid growing up in Florida, we were warned that the hottest part of the day was between noon and 2 pm. My mother insisted that we come inside during these hours to avoid the heat and what she considered to be the riskiest time for sunburns. Yet, at 4:30 pm today in this Read more about A Note from the Steppe—Rachel Renne[…]

Investigating Shrub-Grass Interactions in Big Sagebrush Ecosystems Across the West

In temperate drylands, the amount and timing of precipitation interacts with soil texture to determine patterns of seasonal soil water availability at different soil depths. The coexistence of grasses and woody plants in these ecosystems has been attributed to partitioning of soil water resources, with grasses relying on resources in shallow soils, while woody plants Read more about Investigating Shrub-Grass Interactions in Big Sagebrush Ecosystems Across the West[…]

Infiltration: Summer in Sage Country – Rachel Renne

Summer has arrived on the sagebrush steppe of southwest Wyoming! Frosty mornings and spring snows feel far away in the baking, dry heat of long summer days. Soils are drying out and the spring annuals I so enjoyed only a month ago have dried up and blown away. The yellow highlights of mock goldenweed (Stenotus Read more about Infiltration: Summer in Sage Country – Rachel Renne[…]

The Early Botanist gets the Snow – Rachel Renne

What a thrill it is to be back in Wyoming! I arrived in Laramie two weeks ago, shyly crept my Connecticut license plates onto a side street, and dashed off into the field—that is, the sagebrush steppe of southwest Wyoming. Three hours west of Laramie, we turned off the interstate onto highway 191 north. When Read more about The Early Botanist gets the Snow – Rachel Renne[…]