Abstract Increasing wildfire severity is driving interest in new land management approaches that can reduce fuels while also remaining feasible within land governance systems. Targeted grazing, the practice of using livestock to manage vegetation, is one potential tool that can be integrated with other strategies to increase wildfire resilience. However, adoption of targeted grazing often requires action by public lands managers in complex institutional environments. We quantitatively tested a conceptual framework that integrates the theory of planned behavior and adaptive governance to evaluate factors influencing staff attitudes and actions related to targeted grazing. Through a survey of over 1000 United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service staff and a path analysis modeling approach, we identified the key determinants of attitudes and intended actions to implement targeted grazing as a wildfire risk management tool. Attitudes about rancher ability to implement targeted grazing and general beliefs about the impact of livestock grazing on native vegetation were the strongest predictors of staff attitudes about targeted grazing effectiveness. Staff members’ perception of their available time was among the most important predictors of their intention to adopt targeted grazing. Limited monitoring capacity emerged as the primary constraint on perceived time availability, in contrast to other factors like staff shortages, funding, or environmental regulation requirements. Our findings show how institutional constraints and individual psycho-social factors jointly shape willingness to pursue targeted grazing within public land wildfire management.

Winterfat ( Krascheninnikovia lanata ), a native perennial subshrub of western North American rangelands, provides high-quality forage for livestock and wildlife but has experienced widespread population declines. Despite its ecological and restoration value, winterfat is infrequently used in restoration seedings due to poor seed flowability caused by persistent fruit hairs, rapid loss of seed viability during storage, and high seedling mortality associated with fall germination. This study evaluated whether hydrophobic seed coatings and seed quality at planting could improve winterfat establishment by delaying germination until spring. Laboratory and field experiments were conducted using two winterfat seed collections differing in harvest year and quality. Four coating treatments were tested, including three hydrophobic formulations and a non-hydrophobic blank control. Field trials were established in Utah and Nevada using a randomized complete block design with four coating treatments, two seed collections, and five replicates. In Utah, hydrophobic coatings combined with higher-quality seed produced an additive effect on seedling emergence. An ethylcellulose-based hydrophobic coating applied to higher-quality seed resulted in a two-fold increase in emergence compared to the blank-coated control and a nineteen-fold increase relative to blank-coated, lower-quality seed. In contrast, at the Nevada site, emergence was highest for higher-quality seed with the blank coating, while hydrophobic coatings did not result in emergence, likely due to low soil moisture and colder soil temperatures. Across sites, seed collection quality was the dominant factor influencing emergence, with higher-quality seed consistently outperforming seed from a lower-quality lot. These results demonstrate that combining hydrophobic seed coatings with high-quality winterfat seed has the potential to improve establishment success in rangeland restoration, particularly under conditions that favor delayed germination and spring emergence. (c) 2026 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. on behalf of The Society for Range Management. This is an open access article under the CC BY license ( http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ )

Accurately estimating shrub biomass in sagebrush-dominated ecosystems is essential for understanding fire behavior, fire effects, and other ecological processes. Traditional destructive sampling methods, while highly accurate, are time-consuming and labor-intensive. Allometric equations employ a double sampling technique, which correlates destructively sampled biomass measurements with field-measured height and canopy size. However, allometric equations are limited by the species and location they represent. To create new allometric equations that encompass 8 shrubland species and span a range of site conditions, we sampled 631 shrubs of eight species at 13 sites in the Great Basin within the Sagebrush Steppe Treatment Evaluation Project (SageSTEP) monitoring network. This effort generated both generalized species-specific and site-specific biomass equations through linear regression models. This dual modeling approach offers users the flexibility to apply general species relationships or tailor biomass estimation based on geographical location or species distribution. Additionally, our research provides biomass estimates within fuel size classes, enhancing the utility of these equations for future research and management applications in the Great Basin. Our equations are shared as R code and an spreadsheet, allowing users to implement these equations. By advancing the availability and precision of allometric equations for upland shrub species, our study contributes valuable tools for understanding shrub biomass dynamics in sagebrush shrubland ecosystems. (c) 2026 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. on behalf of The Society for Range Management. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license ( http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ )

Human-induced changes in forest disturbance patterns have altered the successional patterns of aspen-conifer forests. These changes can lead to failure in aspen forest recruitment due to altered disturbance and ungulate herbivory regimes. Our objective was to characterize the temporal trends of aspen regeneration, recruitment, and ungulate browsing in stable aspen stands and to evaluate the impact of ungulate browsing on aspen, within the context of a large-scale aspen restoration program. From 2015-2022, mountain-wide restoration through prescribed burns and mechanical thinning of late-successional aspen-conifer stands treated 14,400 ha of the 28,700 ha of forest. During these broader restoration efforts, we monitored aspen stands and herbivory pressure at 60 nearby untreated sites. During the initial five-year survey period, chronically high levels of ungulate herbivory resulted in aspen recruitment failure. However, by 2023, native ungulate fecal counts had decreased by 66 % for elk and 50 % for deer, and ungulate meristem removal had dropped by more than 50 %. Aspen regeneration height and recruitment density increased by 20 cm and 88 %, reaching restoration targets. Secondly, we showed that topographic features and weather patterns mediated restoration success. Aspen increased at sites with greater snowpack and summer precipitation. Recruitment was more prevalent in southern locations, where elk fecal counts were lowest. Our findings suggest that ungulate herbivory can suppress aspen recruitment success and that weather, topography, and disturbance can mediate regeneration success. However, landscapescale restoration through prescribed disturbance likely promoted aspen regeneration indirectly by reducing ungulate herbivory in untreated stands.

Nutrient deficiencies may be common due to over irrigation, especially with sand‐based sports fields and golf greens. Recent innovations in sensor technology enable precise, simultaneous measurements of soluble salts via electrical conductivity (EC), which may be related to short‐term availability of soluble nutrients. The objectives of this study are to correlate pore water EC with soil and grass nutrient concentrations, comparing distinct types of fertilizer application rates. Preliminary results suggest a correlation between in situ and laboratory EC. Ongoing work with the nutrients will be reported.

Direct seeding of native plant species is a widespread technique in rangeland restoration; however, its efficacy can be limited by numerous factors. Restoration of winterfat ( Krascheninnikovia lanata ) may be constrained by poor seed flowability and premature seed germination that can cause overwinter mortality of fall-sown seeds. Hydrophobic seed coatings may be effective in addressing these barriers. We compared seedling emergence from seeds that were left uncoated, coated with calcium carbonate (blank coated), and coated with calcium carbonate plus an exterior hydrophobic coating. Total seedlings were counted and assigned as dead or alive. This total seedling count was used to estimate mortality for each treatment. Seeds were planted in the fall of 2021 at two sites within the Great Basin Region of the United States. The number of seedlings that emerged from hydrophobic-coated seeds was three-fold greater than that of noncoated seeds and five-fold greater than that of blank-coated seeds. The percentage of seedlings that died after emerging was highest for noncoated seeds and lowest for those with hydrophobic coatings. These results suggest that coating alone may not improve seeding success, but coating seeds with a hydrophobic polymer to delay germination can improve seedling emergence of winterfat. Thus, seed coatings could play a crucial role in restoring winterfat to degraded rangelands. (c) 2025 The Society for Range Management. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights are reserved, including

The invasive annual grass medusahead ( Taeniatherum caput-medusae [L.] Nevski) degrades the ecosystem function throughout the sagebrush biome of the western United States. Currently, there are knowledge gaps regarding the fecundity of medusahead and the ability of defoliation treatments (grazing and mowing) to reduce annual seed production. Our research aimed to 1) determine if the timing of defoliation impacts the quantity of seeds produced, and 2) evaluate the impacts of defoliation on the viability of medusahead seeds produced. We used a randomized complete block design (n = 20) in a nearmonoculture of medusahead located in southeast Oregon to assess the effectiveness of defoliation three times (November, March, and May) against a nondefoliated control from 2019 to 2022. Outcomes included gross seed production, germination statistics, and a linear regression to rapidly estimate seed production dependent on inflorescence length. We found no evidence that defoliation in November or March reduced seed production relative to the control in all years ( P > 0.05). However, the May defoliation produced fewer seeds than the control in all 3 yr ( P < 0.05). Defoliation of medusahead had no impact on the viability of seeds produced, with mean germination rates > 80% in all treatment-year combinations. Findings did indicate that the number of seeds produced per tiller is strongly correlated with the length of inflorescence ( R2 = 0.856), indicating that a generalized equation could be used to rapidly assess seed production in future works. The results of this study demonstrate that the effectiveness of defoliation is temporally limited and that the most effective treatments may still fail to reduce seed production by a meaningful degree. These findings indicate that defoliation treatments may be most effective included as a part of multifaceted, ecologically based treatments to effectively manage medusahead in the sagebrush biome. (c) 2025 The Society for Range Management. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights are reserved, including

•Cattle increased grazing on south-facing slopes during a better forage-quality year and grazed more on north-facing slopes during a poor-quality forage year.•During a poor-quality forage year, cattle increased daily grazing times except when winter storms prevailed.•Targeted grazing in a year with substantial rainfall before the end of the grazing season resulted in weight gain for cattle with no added protein supplements.•Increased grazing time in a year with poor forage quality resulted in increased weight loss, suggesting that the energy contained in forage did not compensate for the extra energy required to acquire it.•Satellite Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) imagery can assist in predicting when protein supplements should be used in a targeted grazing project.

In this study, alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) is evaluated for suitability of variable rate irrigation (VRI) by analyzing within-field variation in crop water productivity (CWP) under uniform irrigation. The objectives were to (1) measure within-field variation in crop evapotranspiration (ET), (2) quantify spatial variability of alfalfa biomass yield, and (3) assess whether a bivariate analysis of CWP and yield could inform VRI management zones. Research was conducted on a 22.6 ha center-pivot irrigated alfalfa field near Rexburg, Idaho, USA, over three harvest intervals (HIs) in 2021 and 2022. Using a water balance method at 66 field points, ET exhibited significant spatial clustering for each HI (p < 0.001 for all HIs), though spatial patterns varied among HIs. Biomass yield, measured via the quadrat method, ranged from 2.1 to 9.7 Mg ha−1, with significant spatial clustering (p < 0.001 for all HIs). The CWP ranged from 0.07 to 0.54 Mg ha−1 cm−1, also showing significant spatial clustering (p < 0.001 for all HIs). Bivariate cluster analysis indicated 12–18% more area of the field was over-watered than under-watered, suggesting potential for optimizing irrigation with VRI. Reducing irrigation in these over-watered zones could improve CWP, supporting alfalfa as a viable candidate for VRI.

ABSTRACTIn much of the northern Great Basin of the western United States, rangelands, and semi‐arid ecosystems invaded by exotic annual grasses such as cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum) and medusahead (Taeniatherum caput‐medusae) are experiencing an increasingly short fire cycle, which is compounding and persistent. Improving and expanding ground‐based field methods for measuring the above‐ground biomass (AGB) may enable more sample collections across a landscape and over succession regimes and better harmonize with other remote sensing techniques. Developments and increased adoption of unoccupied aerial systems (UAS) and instrumentation for vegetation monitoring enable greater understanding of vegetation in many ecosystems. Research to understand the relationship of traditional field measurements with remotely sensed data in rangeland environments is growing rapidly, and there is increasing interest in the use of aerial platforms to quantify AGB and fine‐fuel load at pasture and landscape scales. Our study uses relatively inexpensive handheld photography with custom quadrat sampling frames to collect and automatically reconstruct 3D models of the vegetation within 0.2 m2 quadrats (n = 288). Next, we examine the relationship between volumetric estimates of vegetation with biomass. We found that volumes calculated with 0.5 cm voxel sizes (0.125 cm3) most closely represented the range of biomass weights. We further develop methods to classify ground points, finding a 2% reduction in predictive ability compared with validation ground surface reconstructions. This finding is significant given that our study site is characterized by a dense litter layer covering the ground surface, making reconstruction challenging. Overall, our best reconstruction workflow had an R2 of 0.42, further emphasizing the importance of high‐resolution imagery and reconstruction techniques. Ultimately, we conclude that more work is needed of increasing extents (such as from UAS) to better understand and constrain uncertainties in volumetric estimations of biomass in ecosystems with high amounts of invasive annual grasses and fine‐fuel litter.

Pathogenesis from soil- and seed-borne fungi can limit the survival and growth of native seeds and seedlings. Fungicides can combat fungal pathogens, but in some studies, fungicide treatments were ineffective at improving seedling emergence over untreated seed. Such studies suggest that low fungal presence due to dry conditions may be the cause of fungicide ineffectiveness in some years and sites. This study tested whether a fungicide treatment’s effectiveness is indeed related to the amount of fungi in the soil. We compared the emergence and biomass produced from Pseudoroegneria spicata seed that was uncoated, coated with no active ingredient, and fungicide-coated, across five soil treatments promoting different levels of fungal biomass. For uncoated seed, both percent emergence and total biomass of seedlings were highest in autoclaved soil and declined when fungi were present, but the level of fungus did not impact emergence or biomass for fungicide-coated seed. When grown in autoclaved, untreated, or low-fungus soils, percent emergence and total biomass from fungicide-coated seeds were not significantly different from uncoated seeds. However, in medium- and high-fungus soils, the percent emergence and total biomass from fungicide-coated seeds were more than two times greater than uncoated seed (p < 0.05). These results indicate that fungicide treatments can be effective at increasing restoration success for P. spicata, but the effectiveness of the fungicide treatment depends on the microbial environment of the planting site.

Managing rangelands to meet social-ecological goals requires monitoring ecological indicators to inform management responses. These goals and monitoring objectives are grounded in land managers' understandings, or mental models, of the rangeland system. Rangeland managers' mental models are often highly place-specific, which can enable management actions to be matched to local conditions. In the western United States, ranchers and federal agency personnel, like those in the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), are two of the primary social groups involved in rangeland management. We compared ranchers' and BLM personnel's rangeland mental models across two regions. We conducted semi-structured interviews about their management goals and objectives, as well as their perspectives on important rangeland system dynamics and the constraints inhibiting them from reaching their goals. We used a mixed-methods approach, including network analysis metrics, to elucidate similarities and differences in their mental models and in the ecological indicators they use to assess rangeland health and to trigger management actions. We found that their goals differed more between social groups, whereas specific management objectives differed more between geographic regions and reflected local priorities, such as invasive species and wildfire risk. Ranchers' and agency personnel's mental models indicated divergent perspectives on the seasonal impacts of livestock on soils and vegetation and about grazing as either a disturbance to be mitigated or as a tool to maintain critical ecosystem processes. These findings indicate that ranchers and agency personnel have place-specific knowledge, but that their mental models are more similar to others in their social group than to those outside their social group in the same region. Differences in their conceptions of rangeland management suggest areas for increased communication between ranchers and agency personnel, which could in turn promote mutual understanding and collaboration toward shared objectives, thereby helping both groups overcome constraints to reach their management goals. (c) 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. on behalf of The Society for Range Management. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)

Managing semi-arid rangelands to meet social-ecological goals requires monitoring of key ecological indicators that will inform management responses. These goals and monitoring objectives are in turn grounded in land managers’ understandings, or “mental models,” of how the rangeland system operates. Rangeland managers’ mental models are often highly place-specific, which can enable management actions to be matched to local conditions. In the western United States, ranchers and federal agency resource specialists, like those in the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), are two of the primary groups involved in rangeland management. We compared ranchers’ and BLM agency specialists’ rangeland mental models in two regions of southern Idaho, along a climatic and elevational gradient. We conducted semi-structured interviews about their land management goals and objectives, as well as important rangeland system dynamics, from their perspectives. We used a mixed-methods approach, including network analysis metrics, to elucidate similarities and differences in their mental models, and in the ecological indicators that they use to assess rangeland health and to trigger management actions in service of their goals and objectives. We also investigated self-assessed constraints on ranchers’ and agency specialists’ ability to take the actions necessary to make progress towards their goals. We found that their overarching goals differed more between social groups than by geographic regions, whereas specific management objectives differed more by region. Ranchers’ and agency specialists’ mental models indicated divergent perspectives on the seasonal impacts of livestock on soils and vegetation and about the use of grazing to maintain processes in the ecosystem. There were also geographic differences in the mental models related to the reliability of plant growth and the prioritization of managing for invasive annual grasses and fire. Similarities between ranchers’ and agency specialists’ mental models included ways in which they viewed plant species diversity and abundance as indicators of rangeland health and the use of plant height as an indicator for management actions, such as moving livestock. These findings indicate that ranchers and agency specialists have place-specific knowledge, but that their mental models are often more similar to others in their social group than to those outside their social group in the same region. Differences in their conceptions of rangeland management suggest areas for increased communication between ranchers and agency specialists, as well as potential opportunities for collaboration where complementary perspectives could better enable both groups to reach their management goals.

Rangelands and semi-arid ecosystems are subject to increasing changes in ecologic makeup from a collection of factors. In much of the northern Great Basin, rangelands invaded by exotic annual grasses such as cheatgrass (Broumus tectorum) and medusahead (Taeniatherum caput-medusae) are experiencing an increasingly short fire cycle which is compounding and persistent. Improving and expanding ground-based field methods for measuring above-ground biomass (AGB) may enable more sample collections across a landscape and over succession regimes, and better harmonize with other remote sensing techniques. Developments and increased adoption of uncrewed aerial vehicles and instrumentation for vegetation monitoring are enabling greater understanding of vegetation in many ecosystems. Research towards understanding the relationship of traditional field measurements with newer aerial platforms in rangeland environments is growing rapidly, and there is increasing interest in exploring the potential use both to quantify AGB and fine fuel load at pasture scales. Our study here uses relatively inexpensive handheld photography with custom sampling frames to collect and automatically reconstruct 3D-models of the vegetation within 0.2 m2 quatrats (n = 288). Next, we examine the relationship between volumetric estimates of vegetation to compare with biomass. We found that volumes calculated with 0.5 cm voxel sizes (0.125 cm3) most closely represented the range of biomass weights. We further develop methods to classify ground points, finding a 2% reduction in predictive ability compared to using the true ground surface. Overall, our reconstruction workflow had an R2 of 0.42, further emphasizing the importance of high-resolution imagery and reconstruction techniques. Ultimately, we conclude that more work is needed of increasing extents (such as from UAS) to better understand and constrain uncertainties in volumetric estimations of biomass in ecosystems with high amounts of invasive annual grasses and fine fuel litter.

The invasive annual grass, medusahead, infests rangelands throughout the West, from the Columbia Plateau to the California Annual Grasslands and the Great Basin. Dominating secondary succession in the sagebrush steppe, medusahead can degrade the habitat of threatened species such as the greater sage-grouse. This research explores the potential of dormant season grazing as an applied management strategy to reduce the negative impacts of medusahead while promoting recovery of perennial vegetation at the landscape scale. In particular, it assessed grazing with four treatments from 2018 to 2020: traditional grazing (May-October), dormant season grazing (October-February), traditional + dormant season grazing (May-February), and no grazing. After 2 yr of grazing treatments, biomass, density, cover, and fuel continuity did not differ between treatments (P > 0.05). However, biomass measurements were significantly different between years, which is likely due to greater than normal precipitation in 2019 and 2020. Between 2018 and 2019, annual grass biomass increased by 81% (666-1 212 kg ha(-1)) and perennial grass biomass increased by 165% (118-313 kg ha(-1)). Litter biomass decreased by approximately 15% in every year since 2018 (2 374, 2 012, and 1 678 kg ha(-1) in 2018-2020). There were not significant differences in cover or density of annual and perennial grasses between treatments and years. Our results indicate that 2 yr may not be adequate time for dormant season grazing treatments to be effective in reducing the abundance of medusahead and that after 2 yr of treatments, dormant season grazing does not have a detrimental effect on perennial vegetation. (c) 2023 Published by Elsevier Inc. on behalf of The Society for Range Management.

This study examines the use of leaf area index (LAI) to inform variable-rate irrigation (VRI) for irrigated alfalfa (Medicago sativa). LAI is useful for predicting zone-specific evapotranspiration (ETc). One approach toward estimating LAI is to utilize the relationship between LAI and visible vegetation indices (VVIs) using unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) imagery. This research has three objectives: (1) to measure and describe the within-field variation in LAI and canopy height for an irrigated alfalfa field, (2) to evaluate the relationships between the alfalfa LAI and various VVIs with and without field average canopy height, and (3) to use UAV images and field average canopy height to describe the within-field variation in LAI and the potential application to VRI. The study was conducted in 2021–2022 in Rexburg, Idaho. Over the course of the study, the measured LAI varied from 0.23 m2 m−2 to 11.28 m2 m−2 and canopy height varied from 6 cm to 65 cm. There was strong spatial clustering in the measured LAI but the spatial patterns were dynamic between dates. Among eleven VVIs evaluated, the four that combined green and red wavelengths but excluded blue wavelengths showed the most promise. For all VVIs, adding average canopy height to multiple linear regression improved LAI prediction. The regression model using the modified green–red vegetation index (MGRVI) and canopy height (R2 = 0.93) was applied to describe the spatial variation in the LAI among VRI zones. There were significant (p < 0.05) but not practical differences (<15%) between pre-defined zones. UAV imagery coupled with field average canopy height can be a useful tool for predicting LAI in alfalfa.

Many plant species exhibit strong seed dormancy. This attribute benefits the species’ long-term survival but can impede restoration when rapid establishment is required. Soaking seeds in gibberellic acid (GA3) can overcome dormancy and increase germination but this treatment may not be effective outside the laboratory. An easier and potentially more effective method to apply this hormone is to coat seeds with a GA3-impregnated polymer. Seed dormancy can also be mitigated by creating a favorable microsite with increased soil moisture. We compared the emergence and establishment of penstemon seeds coated with GA3 to those of uncoated seeds planted in shallow drill rows versus deep, U-shaped furrows. Overall, 6 times more Palmer’s penstemon (Penstemon palmeri; p < 0.01) and 21 times more thickleaf penstemon (P. pachyphyllus; p < 0.001) established when coated with GA3, but GA3 coating did not affect the establishment of firecracker penstemon (P. eatonii; p = 1). Establishment was higher from deep furrows than shallow rows (p < 0.001). These results indicate that GA3 seed coating and deep, U-shaped furrows may improve the restoration success of some native forbs by breaking dormancy and providing a favorable microsite. Land managers could use these techniques to restore native forbs in dry, disturbed areas.

Rangeland wildfire is a wicked problem that cuts across a mosaic of public and private rangelands in the western United States and countless countries worldwide. Fine fuel accumulation in these ecosystems contributes to large-scale wildfires and undermines plant communities’ resistance to invasive annual grasses and resilience to disturbances such as fire. Yet it can be difficult to implement fuels management practices, such as grazing, in socially and politically complex contexts such as federally managed rangelands in the United States. In this Research-Partnership Highlight, we argue that private-public partners in such settings must be strategic in their selection of tasks to generate “small wins” in order to build the trust, competency, and legitimacy needed to advance an approach for landscape-scale fine fuels management. We highlight a fine fuels reduction partnership consisting of public and private entities in southeastern Oregon that established a research and education project and applied dormant season grazing on three pastures within the Vale District Bureau of Land Management. We describe the impetus for the partnership, antecedents, strategic tactics, and ongoing learning and reflection used to revise processes. In this example, implementing dormant season grazing as a research and education project allowed the partners to assess the efficaciousness of the treatment, as well as the operational logistics and administrative competencies necessary to apply the treatment to manage fine fuels at broader scales. Because dormant season grazing may, in some instances, conflict with established practices and norms, small-scale projects such as this allow partners to refine understandings of the social and administrative conditions that make implementation possible. Generating small wins through projects such as this is a critical precursor for partnerships seeking to take on larger, more complex endeavors that involve increasing ecological, economic, and social uncertainty.

•Restoration practices employed in semiarid sagebrush steppe of the North American Intermountain West are typically based on objectives to restore habitat to mid- to late-seral plant communities.•Incorporating succession management techniques including representation from early seral community species in restoration plans and seed mixtures could bridge the temporal gap between disturbance and stable climax conditions.•Early seral species evolved to establish quickly and occupy disturbed soils, reduce erosion, and provide a food source for wildlife. Additionally, they alter soil chemistry and biology dynamics that favor transition to later seral phases. Many early seral natives reduce exotic weed growth and seed production.•Despite their benefits, early seral species have poor representation in restoration practices largely due to cultural biases.•Continued investigation of early seral natives in restoration practices will better elucidate the benefits of this underused group. Developers of plant materials should focus on developing a broader suite of early seral germplasm sources for Intermountain restoration activities.

Exotic annual grasses invasion across northern Great Basin rangelands has promoted a grass-fire cycle that threatens the sagebrush (Artemisia spp.) steppe ecosystem. In this sense, high accumulation rates and persistence of litter from annual species largely increase the amount and continuity of fine fuels. Here, we highlight the potential use and transferability of remote sensing-derived products to estimate litter biomass on sagebrush rangelands in southeastern Oregon, and link fire regime attributes (fire-free period) with litter biomass spatial patterns at the landscape scale. Every June, from 2018 to 2021, we measured litter biomass in 24 field plots (60 m × 60 m). Two remote sensing-derived datasets were used to predict litter biomass measured in the field plots. The first dataset used was the 30-m annual net primary production (NPP) product partitioned into plant functional traits (annual grass, perennial grass, shrub, and tree) from the Rangeland Analysis Platform (RAP). The second dataset included topographic variables (heat load index -HLI- and site exposure index -SEI-) computed from the USGS 30-m National Elevation Dataset. Through a frequentist model averaging approach (FMA), we determined that the NPP of annual and perennial grasses, as well as HLI and SEI, were important predictors of field-measured litter biomass in 2018, with the model featuring a high overall fit (R2 = 0.61). Model transferability based on extrapolating the FMA predictive relationships from 2018 to the following years provided similar overall fits (R2 ≈ 0.5). The fire-free period had a significant effect on the litter biomass accumulation on rangelands within the study site, with greater litter biomass in areas where the fire-free period was <10 years. Our findings suggest that the proposed remote sensing-derived products could be a key instrument to equip rangeland managers with additional information towards fuel management, fire management, and restoration efforts.