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1. Setting ecological expectations for adaptive management of marine protected areas

   https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2664.13463  

   Nickols, Kerry J.; White, J. Wilson; Malone, Dan; Carr, Mark H.; Starr, Richard M.; Baskett, Marissa L.; Hastings, Alan; Botsford, Louis W. (July 2019, Journal of Applied Ecology)

   Abstract Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are being implemented worldwide, yet there are few cases where managers make specific predictions of the response of previously harvested populations to MPA implementation.Such predictions are needed to evaluate whether MPAs are working as expected, and if not, why. This evaluation is necessary to perform adaptive management, identifying whether and when adjustments to management might be necessary to achieve MPA goals.Using monitoring data and population models, we quantified expected responses of targeted species to MPA implementation and compared them to monitoring data.The model required two factors to explain observed responses in MPAs: (a) pre‐MPA harvest rates, which can vary at local spatial scales, and (b) recruitment variability before and after MPA establishment. Low recruitment years before MPA establishment in our study system drove deviations from expected equilibrium population size distributions and introduced an additional time lag to response detectability.Synthesis and applications. We combined monitoring data and population models to show how (a) harvest rates prior to Marine Protected Area (MPA) implementation, (b) variability in recruitment, and (c) initial population size structure determine whether a response to MPA establishment is detectable. Pre‐MPA harvest rates across MPAs plays a large role in MPA response detectability, demonstrating the importance of measuring this poorly known parameter. While an intuitive expectation is for response detectability to depend on recruitment variability and stochasticity in population trajectories after MPA establishment, we address the overlooked role of recruitment variability before MPA establishment, which alters the size structure at the time of MPA establishment. These factors provide MPA practitioners with reasons whether or not MPAs may lead to responses of targeted species. Our overall approach provides a framework for a critical step of adaptive management. 

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2. Systematic review and best practices for drone remote sensing of invasive plants

   https://doi.org/10.1111/2041-210X.14330  

   Singh, Kunwar_K; Surasinghe, Thilina_D; Frazier, Amy_E (May 2024, Methods in Ecology and Evolution)

   Abstract Drones have emerged as a cost‐effective solution to detect and map plant invasions, offering researchers and land managers flexibility in flight design, sensors and data collection schedules. A systematic review of trends in drone‐based image collection, data processing and analytical approaches is needed to advance the science of invasive species monitoring and management and improve scalability and replicability.We systematically reviewed studies using drones for plant invasion research to identify knowledge gaps, best practices and a path toward advancing the science of invasive plant monitoring and management. We devised a database of 33 standardized reporting parameters, coded each study to those parameters, calculated descriptive statistics and synthesized how these technologies are being implemented and used.Trends show a general increase in studies since 2009 with a bias toward temperate regions in North America and Europe. Most studies have focused on testing the validity of a machine learning or deep learning image classification technique with fewer studies focused on monitoring or modelling spread. Very few studies used drones for assessing ecosystem dynamics and impacts such as determining environmental drivers or tracking re‐emergence after disturbance. Overall, we noted a lack of standardized reporting on field survey design, flight design, drone systems, image processing and analyses, which hinders replicability and scalability of approaches. Based on these findings, we develop a standard framework for drone applications in invasive species monitoring to foster cross‐study comparability and reproducibility.We suggest several areas for advancing the use of drones in invasive plant studies including (1) utilizing standardized reporting frameworks to facilitate scientific research practices, (2) integrating drone data with satellite imagery to scale up relationships over larger areas, (3) using drones as an alternative to in‐person ground surveys and (4) leveraging drones to assess community trait shifts tied to plant fitness and reproduction. 

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3. Elevation, canopy cover and grass cover structure patterns of seedling establishment in a subtropical post‐fire restoration

   https://doi.org/10.1002/2688-8319.12280  

   Warneke, Christopher; Brudvig, Lars_A; Gregg, Makani; McDaniel, Sierra; Yelenik, Stephanie (October 2023, Ecological Solutions and Evidence)

   Abstract Ecological restoration is beneficial to ecological communities in this era of large‐scale landscape change and ecological disruption. However, restoration outcomes are notoriously variable, which makes fine‐scale decision‐making challenging. This is true for restoration efforts that follow large fires, which are increasingly common as the climate changes.Post‐fire restoration efforts, like tree planting and seeding have shown mixed success, though the causes of the variation in restoration outcomes remain unclear. Abiotic factors such as elevation and fire severity, as well as biotic factors, such as residual canopy cover and abundance of competitive understorey grasses, can vary across a burned area and may all influence the success of restoration efforts to re‐establish trees following forest fires.We examined the effect of these factors on the early seedling establishment of a tree species—māmane (Sophora chrysophylla)—in a subtropical montane woodland in Hawaiʻi. Following a human‐caused wildfire, we sowed seeds of māmane as part of a restoration effort. We co‐designed a project to examine māmane seedling establishment.We found that elevation was of overriding importance, structuring total levels of plant establishment, with fewer seedlings establishing at higher elevations. Residual canopy cover was positively correlated with seedling establishment, while cover by invasive, competitive understorey grasses very weakly positively correlated with increased seedling establishment.Our results point to specific factors structuring plant establishment following a large fire and suggest additional targeted restoration actions within this subtropical system. For example, if greater native woody recruitment is a management goal, then actions could include targeted seed placement at lower elevations where establishment is more likely, increased seeding densities at high elevation where recruitment rates are lower, and/or invasive grass removal prior to seeding. Such actions may result in faster native ecosystem recovery, which is a goal of local land managers. 

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4. Mapping the Citizen Science Experience: Experiential Pedagogies and Learning Outcomes in a Place-based Volunteer Program

   Olson, C.; Colston, N. (November 2020, Proceedings for the Symposium on Experiential Education Research)

   Zwart, R.; Davidson, C. (Ed.)

   Citizen science projects have gained momentum in recent years and involved members of the public in ongoing scientific research. Nationally, there are an estimated 8,500 volunteers monitoring U.S. water bodies and 26 states sponsoring volunteer monitoring programs (Overdevest, Orr & Stepenuck, 2004). In Oklahoma, water quality data is collected by volunteers of Blue Thumb (BT), a state-wide program emphasizing stream protection through education and involvement of the community in monitoring local water-bodies. As the first phase of a multi-phase evaluation design, the goal of this research is to map the experiential education processes and learning outcomes of the BT program. A mixed methods research design guides this programmatic review of BT and the guiding questions for the study: (1) What attributes and processes of experiential learning are found in the Blue Thumb programs?, (2) What are the measured and intended participant learning outcomes?, and (3) How do Blue Thumb educators employ experiential pedagogies to achieve these learning outcomes? The study employed an explanatory sequential mixed methods design, with qualitative data being used to add contextual understanding to the quantitative data. 

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5. Utilizing mycorrhizal responses to guide selective breeding for agricultural sustainability

   https://doi.org/10.1002/ppp3.10200  

   Cobb, Adam B.; Duell, Eric B.; Haase, Kaitlin B.; Miller, R. Michael; Wu, Yanqi Q.; Wilson, Gail W. T. (May 2021, PLANTS, PEOPLE, PLANET)

   Societal Impact Statement Agriculture touches all aspects of society and global environmental health. Dwindling phosphorous reserves are a looming crisis for civilization, and soil erosion typically far outpaces pedogenesis. Improving plant–mycorrhizal symbioses can enhance sustainable agriculture because mycorrhizas typically improve host‐plant nutrition and stabilize soils. Selective breeding of plants that gain greater benefits from mycorrhizas can provide considerable economic and environmental benefits. Our assessments demonstrate switchgrass genetic improvement increased or maintained production of two populations, and low‐input breeding increased mycorrhizal responsiveness, compared to parent lines. Selecting for increased mycorrhizal reliance may be an effective strategy for more sustainable and economical agricultural production. SummaryPlant–mycorrhizal interactions are not typically assessed in crop breeding programs. Our experiment addresses this by determining host‐plant outcomes of newly developed synthetic (agronomic) populations compared with parent lines, following low‐input selective breeding. Assessing the potential of low‐input breeding to enhance crop mycorrhizal benefits is a critical step toward more sustainable agricultural production.We compared four synthetic populations ofPanicum virgatum, from a low‐input biofuel breeding program at Oklahoma State University, to corresponding parent lines. Plants were grown in a greenhouse in native prairie soils that were either steam‐pasteurized (nonmycorrhizal) or non‐steamed (mycorrhizal).We assessed shoot and root biomass, shoot P concentration and P content, mycorrhizal growth response (MGR), and mycorrhizal phosphorous response (MPR). Importantly, we provide novel evidence that low‐input selective breeding increased mycorrhizal reliance of switchgrass synthetics compared to parent lines, with implications for global agricultural systems.There are substantial opportunities for plant traits associated with increased MGR and MPR to be transferred to a wide array of crops. Our findings indicate low‐input selective breeding can improve MGR and MPR. We propose these traits serve as a useful proxy for host‐plant mycorrhizal reliance, facilitating successful hologenome breeding to reduce fertilizer requirements. 

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