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Inspire Session

Session: : 21st-century Trajectories of Big Sagebrush Plant Communities

INS 12-2 - Implications of climate-driven shifts of C3 and C4 perennial grass abundance in big sagebrush ecosystems

Wednesday, August 9, 2023
1:30 PM – 3:00 PM PDT
Location: 253

    Presenting Author(s)

  • KP

    Kyle A. Palmquist

    Assistant Professor
    Marshall University
    Huntington, West Virginia, United States

    • Co-author(s)

  • RR

    Rachel R. Renne

    PhD Student
    Yale School of the Environment, United States

  • DS

    Daniel R. Schlaepfer

    USGS Southwest Biological Science Center / Northern Arizona University
    Flagstaff, Arizona, United States

  • MH

    Martin Holdrege

    Postdoctoral Researcher
    USGS Southwest Biological Science Center, United States

  • JB

    John B. Bradford

    Research Ecologist
    USGS Southwest Biological Science Center, Arizona, United States

  • WL

    William K. Lauenroth, PhD

    Professor
    Yale School of the Environment, Connecticut, United States

Climate change is altering plant functional type abundance worldwide. Recent empirical and modeling studies in big sagebrush ecosystems suggest declines in C3 and increases in C4 perennial grasses due to warming. We explored the implications of those potential shifts for wildlife species and livestock grazing with respect to the timing of green-up, and forage quantity and quality. Declines in C3 grasses may decrease forage quantity in spring when migrating ungulates and cattle ranchers depend on it. Implications for forage quality are uncertain, as it is highly dependent on the focal grass species and environmental conditions.