Forest Service

Awards Issued Prior to January 20, 2025, Were Funded Under Previous Administrations and May Not Reflect the Priorities and Policies of the Current Administration. the Increasingly Common Occurrence of Flash Droughts in Grasslands of the Northern Great Plains (northern Grasslands) Challenges Ranchers and Other Land Managers Who Constantly Decide When and Where Their Livestock Will Graze. to Sustain Long-term Forage Production, Rangeland Managers Are Cautioned Not to Resume Grazing on Drought-stressed Areas Too Quickly After the End of a Drought. Translating This General Guidance Into Concrete Decision Points for a Specific Grassland Requires (1) Understanding the Processes Behind Dominant Plant SPECIES' and Plant COMMUNITIES' Recovery From Drought, (2) Information on How Grazing After a Drought Impacts These Processes, and (3) a Practical, Robust Indicator of Grassland Recovery Following Drought. We Will Address These Needs for Northern Grasslands Through a Combination of Field and Greenhouse Experiments That Measure Plant Sensitivity to, and Recovery From, Drought Occurring in Different Parts of the Growing Season and Under Different Grazing Conditions. We Aim to Provide Land Managers Information That Will Help Them Make Decisions That Result in Long-term Sustainability of Their Operations and the Natural Resources on Which They Rely. Such Decisions Are Made More Challenging by Growing Climate Variability and the Flash Droughts This Produces. Our Research Will Provide Mechanistic, Species-specific Information Needed to Predict How Northern Mixed-grass Prairie Will Respond to New Climate Circumstances, and Therefore, How Rangeland Management Practices May Shift to Adapt to These Circumstances to Maintain Ecosystem Health and Productivity.