Landscape Restoration and Animal Biodiversity Bob Schooley, University of Illinois, Jornada LTER Brandon Bestelmeyer, USDA-ARS, Jornada LTER Stephanie Bestelmeyer, Asombro Institute, Jornada LTER Jeff Kelly, University of Oklahoma John Coffman, New Mexico State University Brad Cosentino, Hobart and William Smith Colleges Intensive Management Intervention Shrub Encroachment and Biodiversity Vertebrate richness (n = 41 studies): No change overall Ant richness (n = 14 studies): No change overall Regional trend in abundance of scaled quail based on Breeding Bird Survey routes ( ). Restore New Mexico and herbicide treatments Study region showing ecological sites with soils favoring creosotebush encroachment (green) and restoration areas treated to remove shrubs (red). Herbicide Treatment Untreated shrublandRemnant grasslandRestoration area Treated with herbicide 5 years prior to photograph General Approach 1.Historical Treatments Applied Mean treatment size = 946 ha (265-2,317 ha) 2. Spatially Matched Design 3. Replication (21+ site pairs) TreatmentReference Soils, Elevation, Slope, Aspect Landscape Restoration and Novel Ecosystems Shrub removal is creating novel savannah states over broad spatial extent. Treated areas differ in habitat structure and plant composition from shrub- dominated states and uninvaded reference grasslands. How does animal diversity respond? Breeding Bird Communities Old Treatment Young Treatment X Old Reference Young Reference Axis 1 Axis 2 Breeding Bird Communities Old Treatment Young Treatment X Old Reference Young Reference Remnant, Unencroached Grassland Coffman et al Restoration Ecology 22: Focal Species Responses Probability of occurrence Nonparametric multiplicative regression (NPMR) using HyperNiche Banner-tailed kangaroo rat: the keystone species Cosentino et al Landscape Ecology 29: Positive responses but dispersal constraints and long time lags Hierarchical Partitioning of Desert Grassland Whiptail Abundance Cosentino et al Biodiversity & Conservation 22: Time lags and keystone mediation Rough harvester ant (Pogonomyrmex rugosus) Positive response to treatments, but strong time lag. Potential keystone mediation by bannertails McAllister et al J. Arid. Environ. 111:79-83. Implications 1.Large-scale shrub removal under the Restore New Mexico program is creating novel savannah states with habitat structure intermediate between untreated shrublands and remnant grasslands. 2.Despite not recovering all attributes of remnant grasslands, these restoration efforts are benefitting grassland specialist species of conservation concern. 3.Restoration of animal biodiversity in arid lands can include long time lags and depend on spatial context and recolonization of sites by keystone species. Future analyses Schooley, RL, BT Bestelmeyer, BB Cutts, and BJ Cosentino. Spatial congruence between biodiversity and other ecosystem services across scales in a managed landscape mosaic. USDA NIFA, RENRE. $500,000. Pending.