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Inspire Session

Session: : Rangelands in the Age of Megadroughts: Ecology, Livestock, and Landscapes

INS 2-3 - When the control becomes the treatment: Experimental droughts in the age of megadroughts

Monday, August 7, 2023

1:30 PM – 3:00 PM PDT

Location: 253

Presenting Author(s)

DH

David L. Hoover

Research Ecologist
Agricultural Research Service
Fort Collins, Colorado, United States

Co-author(s)

AK

Anna C. Knight

Ecologist
US Geological Survey, United States
TB

Tara B.B. Bishop

Ecologist
US Geological Survey Southwest Biological Science Center
Moab, Utah, United States
RF

Rebecca Finger-Higgens

Ecologist
USGS-Southwest Biological Research Station
MOAB, Utah, United States
MD

Mike C. Duniway

Research Ecologist
US Geological Survey
Moab, Utah, United States

Rangelands of the southwestern US are projected to have increased water limitations due to warming temperatures and altered precipitation regimes, with potential impacts on ecosystems. Over the past two decades, this region has experienced an ongoing megadrought, shifting ecological threats from theory to reality. Drought experiments are a common approach to understand how ecosystems respond to water limitations. However, megadrought conditions have occurred during drought experiments, creating both research challenges and opportunities. Here we examine the results from these studies and explore approaches for drought experiments to keep pace with climate change.