Mojave
— Conserving climate change refugia for the mojave ecosystem —
Mojave remote workshop.
Photo Credit: Morelli
The Conserving Climate Change Refugia for the Mojave Ecosystem workshop was held virtually via Zoom on Wednesday, December 9, 2020, using funding from the Southwest Climate and the Northeast Climate Adaptation Science Centers (SW and NE CASCs).
The objectives of this workshop were to bring together natural resource managers and researchers to 1) learn about current work in the Mojave ecoregion related to climate adaptation, 2) prioritize focal species/ecosystems for climate change refugia conservation/funding, and 3) identify research gaps, all in service of operationalizing climate change adaptation strategies in the Mojave ecoregion.
The meeting began with presentations by researchers and resource managers who have been working on key resources in the Mojave ecoregion. The function of these presentations was to provide background on climate change refugia conservation and existing data and projects relevant to climate change adaptation in the Mojave ecoregion.
Word cloud based on Mojave workshop priorities
Workshop agenda
Conserving Climate Change Refugia for the Mojave Ecosystem
December 9, 2020
Workshop Objectives:
-Learn about current work in the Mojave ecoregion related to climate adaptation
-Prioritize focal species/ecosystems for climate change refugia conservation/funding
-Identify research gaps
9:00-10:00 PT Introductions
Background on climate change refugia conservation – Toni Lyn Morelli (USGS)
Background on Mojave Conservation – Julia Sittig (Southwest Decision Resources)
Choose a breakout group
10:00-11:00 PT Presentations by researchers and managers on Mojave refugia maps and data:
Springs/Seeps – Larry Stevens (Spring Stewardship Institute)
Case Study, Amargosa River – Michael Clifford (TNC)
11:20-12:00 PT (Virtual) Breakout groups – Focal Resource
Address the following questions:
What is your specific resource focus? How do you define refugia for it?
How to apply climate change refugia results to ongoing or future management actions?
What data and partnerships are a) available and b) needed?
12:00-12:45 PT Report out and Next Steps
Prior to the meeting, workshop participants were polled for their opinions about which Mojave ecoregion resources should be conserved using a climate change refugia strategy. Based on participant responses, workshop facilitators arranged several potential discussion groups around proposed priority resources. These results were shared with the workshop group during the meeting, and participants provided feedback to refine the priority resources. The group settled on the following 4 resources for further discussion (riparian systems, desert dry wash woodland, and birds were also proposed as categories but ultimately not pursued for focused discussion):
After defining the priority resources, workshop participants signed up for their first or second-choice resource and split into Zoom breakout groups (Appendix 3) to answer the following questions:
What is your specific resource focus? How do you define refugia for it?
How to apply climate change refugia results to ongoing or future management actions?
What data and partnerships are a) available and b) needed?
Breakout room groups then reunited to report their major discussion points. To wrap up the day, workshop participants discussed the needs and next steps for climate change refugia conservation.
Workshop participants refined several priority focal resources for which climate change refugia should be conserved, described projects and data that might be used to identify refugia, and brainstormed potential management actions to conserve refugia.
Follow-Up Survey
The meeting facilitators then sent a follow-up survey to assess whether meeting objectives were met and gauge interest in additional work toward operationalizing climate change refugia conservation in the Mojave, which might involve working groups, additional videoconference meetings, and the development of federal and state grant proposals.
Most participants felt the workshop was very useful, with building collaborations and discussions of current research highlighted as the most valuable aspects.
Identified Research Gaps/Management Opportunities
The following research gaps and management opportunities were identified either through discussions in the workshop or through the follow-up survey:
Overall
A centralized location of data on climate refugia for the Mojave
Map refugia for important species/ecosystems, strategies for managers to better conserve these areas
Validate models
Map water availability and trends
Baseline data (distribution and threats) on plant communities, springs/wetlands, rare species
Population surveys showing extant population and the edges that occur near areas with projected suitable future climates
High resolution future climate data, especially with soil moisture variables.
Better resolution to soil data, or a newer compilation of what is available.
Restoration of interior department documents and datasets taken offline during the last four years
Better information on invasive species presence and density, particularly of annual grass species including red brome and Schismus sp. as an indicator of fire risk and native plant community degradation.
Data is needed to determine what is happening on the ground
Engage/connect with leaders of state climate initiatives
Continue to bring climate change researchers together with those who have data on species at risk.
Creation of a springs working group for the Mojave.
Springs (including pupfish, spring snails)
Working group on springs of the Mojave
Landscape-scale data combined with ground truthing of springs
Baseline data in Mojave
Distribution of invasives and native species
Link spring data with other data, such as upland associations or topography
Incorporate legacy data into modern databases
Desert scrub (including Joshua Tree, Black Brush)
Need more information about how land use historically impacted
Research needs to be conducted on how to reestablish black brush after fire
Need to develop restoration prescriptions for blackbrush (why do they naturally recover in flat bottom borrow pits created in 1957 along US89A north of Page, AZ?)
Desert tortoise
Genetics vs. behavioral plasticity in reproductive timing
Would tortoises in refugia also be the ones who are successful in reproduction/survival?
More important is ratio of native vs. non-native annual forage -- where are species locations currently vs where they might be in the future
Tortoises need species diversity for nutritional needs
Seedbanks in soils -- what is the quality?
Overall forage quantity/primary productivity (winter rainfall a big factor)
Some available modeling for this but maybe hasn’t been leveraged yet in tortoise science
Invasive Bromus distribution and projection in the future -- maybe places where tortoise & Bromus projections overlap under climate change could be a good indicator
Current known tortoise distribution vs. capacity based on rangewide sampling (areas they could occupy but don’t yet)
Habitat adjacency (i.e., connectivity) (so that tortoises have capacity to move into nearby quality habitat)
Potential study:
Black brush not typically associated with desert tortoise, but on their site (DOE Nevada National Security Site) desert tortoise use black brush quite a bit
Southern portion of their site is in DT habitat, north is not; if can get permission from FWS to get transmitters on the tortoise, could be uniquely situated to understand range shifts/climate change impacts on DT
Bighorn sheep
Understanding of how each metapopulation will be affected
Some populations have some protections, but others are facing anthropogenic disturbances. Climate change exacerbates these existing stressors. One effective strategy would be to eliminate other threats.
Some populations are more vulnerable than others in national parks based on higher elevation and vegetation (Clint Epps work)
Need NDVI data to look at biomass during spring time for lamb survival/recruitment
How green up is being impacted among populations across the region, especially in the Southern Sierra Nevada
Currently have an index of vulnerability, but there is need for better data on thresholds
What is the threshold for temperature and precipitation for low elevation populations?
What levels of climate change will affect populations?
Disease dynamics and climate change
How climate change affects outbreaks of pneumonia
Identifying areas of concern, maintaining connectivity where roads are in place.
Maximize what sheep need to allow for adaptation.
Summary and next steps
From the working groups, 4 research priorities arose:
Develop a working group on springs of the Mojave
Need to develop prescriptions for reestablishing blackbrush after fire
DT:
Analysis on how each metapopulation of Bighorn sheep will be affected
Most survey participants prioritized the following next steps for climate change refugia conservation in the Mojave Ecoregion:
Use the information currently available to collaboratively identify short-term/immediate management actions for preserving or enhancing climate refugia in the Mojave Desert
Compile information on climate change refugia in the Mojave Desert and summarize/report the state of this information
Create a Springs Working Group for collecting information on and coordinating management of springs in the Mojave Desert
Gather more information on the movement and future viability of plant species such as joshua tree, blackbrush, and/or vegetation that supports wildlife
Final Report
You can download the post-workshop report here:
RELEVANT RRC PUBLICATIONS
Parker, S.S., Zdon, A., Christian, W.T. et al. Conservation of Mojave Desert springs and associated biota: status, threats, and policy opportunities. Biodivers Conserv (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-020-02090-7
Palacios, M.M., Curd, E., Edalati, K. et al. The utility of environmental DNA from sediment and water samples for recovery of observed plant and animal species from four Mojave Desert springs. Environmental DNA. 2020;00:1-17. https://doi.org/10.1002/edn3.161