Study objectives were to evaluate yearly fluctuations in herbage canopy cover and production to aid in defining characteristics of range condition guides. Sites are located in the forested Blue Mountains of central Oregon. They were selected from those used to develop range condition guides where soil, topographic, and vegetation parameters were measured as a characterization of best range condition. Plant community dominants were ponderosa pine/pinegrass, ponderosa pine/bitterbrush/Idaho fescue savanna, low sagebrush/bluebunch wheatgrass, and rigid sagebrush scabland. None of the sites were grazed during the previous 30 years or during the 27-year study. Each location was permanently marked by fence posts, and a meter board was placed 10 m down an established transect line. Photographs (color slides) were taken down the transect with closeups left and right of the meter board. Sampling was limited to August 14 each year when canopy cover and herbage production were determined. Both total canopy cover and herbage production varied by about a 2.4-fold difference on each site over the 27 years. Apparently S2good range conditionS3 may be something of a S2running targetS3 and lacks a well-defined set of parameters. Canopy cover is a poor parameter for characterizing range condition. Three of the four plant communities were dominated by bunchgrasses. Abundance of seedheads is commonly used to indicate good range health. But on these sites, seedheads were not produced about half the time. Because these sites were in S2good range condition, S3 lack of seedhead production may indicate maximum competition in the community. Maximum competition and maximum vigor do not seem to be synonymous. These bunchgrass communities varied in their greenness on the first of August each year from cured brown to rather vibrant green suggesting important annual differences in phenology. The pinegrass community, being dominated by rhizomatous species, showed surprising variance in seedhead production. Pinegrass did not flower, but Wheelers bluegrass, lupine, and Scoulers woolyweed were quite variable, averaging inflorescences only 75 percent of the time.

Emigrant Creek cattle allotment is located 48 km northwest of Burns, Oregon. It was photo sampled at nine original sites, starting in 1975. Photos were taken three times per year: June 15 prior to cattle grazing, August 1 at pasture rotation, and October 1 at the end of grazing. An additional four photopoints were established following disturbance from flooding and beavers. Results reported here cover 30 years, 1975 to 2005. Cattle did not significantly impact the riparian area. Beavers (Castor canadensis) arrived in 1984 and departed in 1994. They seriously reduced aboveground willow biomass by harvesting stems for food and dam construction. Dams raised the water table causing a dry meadow to become moist, and increased water in a wet meadow that inhibited willow growth. Beaver departure in 1994 left dams unmaintained. A 50-year flood event in February 1996 eroded dams and created a new channel. The water table was reduced below that of the 1984 levels, causing a dry meadow to revert to pre-1984 conditions and permitting willows to vigorously expand in a wet meadow. Dynamic riverine riparian environmental conditions seriously challenge the typical range management concepts of S2condition and trend. S3 There is no S2climax good condition. S3 Instead a S2state-and-transitionS3 concept seems a more apt range management concept to describe range conditions resulting from beaver dams and flooding over a 30-year period on Emigrant Creek cattle allotment.

Compiles papers presented by extensionists, natural resource specialists, tech. transfer specialists, and others at a conf. that examined tech. transfer theories, methods, and case studies. Topics included: adult educ., extension, diffusion of innovations, social marketing, tech. transfer, etc. Descriptions of methods and case studies included combined digital media, engagement of users and commun. specialists in research, integrated forestry applications, Internet-based systems, science writing, training, video conf., Web-based ency., etc. Innovations transferred were best mgmt. practices for water quality, reforestation practices, land mgmt. system, portable timber bridges, reduced impact logging, silvicultural practices, urban forestry, etc. Illustrations.

Describes quick, effective methods for documenting change in vegetation & soil through repeat photography. Part A contains field procedures & part B contains concepts & office analysis. Topics may be effects of logging, change in wildlife habitat, livestock grazing impacts, or stream channel reaction to land mgmt. Part A discusses: maps to find the sampling location & maps of the photo monitoring layout; docum'n. of the monitoring system to include purpose, camera & film, weather, season, sampling system, & equip.; & precise replication in the repeat photography. Part B includes: concepts & procedures required to use photos for analyzing change in photos, monitoring equip. spec's., & forms for recording info. & mounting photos.

Woody wetlands constitute a relatively small but extremely important part of the landscape in the southwestern United States. These riparian habitats support more than one-third of the regionÕs vascular plant species, are home to a variety of wildlife, and provide essential havens for dozens of migratory animals. Because of their limited size and disproportionately high biological value, the goal of protecting wetland environments frequently takes priority over nearly all other habitat types. In The Ribbon of Green, hydrologists Robert H. Webb, and Stanley A. Leake and botanist Raymond M. Turner examine the factors that affect the stability of woody riparian vegetation, one of the largest components of riparian areas. Such factors include the diversion of surface water, flood control, and the excessive use of groundwater. Combining repeat photography with historical context and information on species composition, they document more than 140 years of change. Contrary to the common assumption of widespread losses of this type of ecosystem, the authors show that vegetation has increased on many river reaches as a result of flood control, favorable climatic conditions, and large winter floods that encourage ecosystem disturbance, germination, and the establishment of species in newly generated openings. Bringing well-documented and accessible insights to the ecological study of wetlands, this book will influence our perception of change in riparian ecosystems and how riparian restoration is practiced in the Southwest, and it will serve as an important reference in courses on plant ecology, riparian ecology, and ecosystem management.