Here's a great article in Science Magazine about IDE (the International Drought Experiment), which is a network of drought experiments using the same protocol that the Byrne lab participates in (we have the only two sites in Oregon!)

It's been a busy few weeks since the semester ended, but lots of good stuff happening.
Here is a brief update:

• MS students Francisco and Sean helped Kerry set up a new study in southern Oregon, to understand the efficacy of targeted grazing and herbicide to restore an annual grass invaded grazing allotment.
• Francisco's seed bank germination study is well underway in the Cal Poly Humboldt experimental greenhouses!
• lab undergrad Cristina finished up her root work in the lab, and accepted an REU position at Harvard Forest for the summer studying.... you guessed it, forest roots!
• MS student Julia finished processing her duff samples from last summer and has returned to Teakettle Experimental Forest in the southern sierra for the summer to collect more data on old growth pines
• Sean has completed a full draft of his thesis, but is currently leading a field crew in Klamath Falls to collect more demographic data on Applegate's milkvetch (the data won't be part of his thesis). Welcome to the lab, summer field assistants AJ (ESM major) and Owen (RRS major)!
• Kerry was recently awarded tenure and promoted to Associate Professor!

Congratulations to Francisco, who has been awarded research grants from both the Native Plant Society of Oregon and The Great Basin Chpt. of the Society for Ecological Restoration to support his unfunded side project, non-destructive age estimation for Artemisia cana and Artemisia arbuscula. The funding will offset the cost of travel, tools, and provide a stipend for an undergraduate to accompany him in the field for data collection.

The lab recently purchased a hydropneumatic elutriation system ("root washer") so we can more quickly quantify root production in grasslands and shrublands, and fine root production in forests. Lab research assistants Shannon (l) and Jade (r) are ready to process fine root samples from old growth Jeffrey and sugar pines with MS student Julia!

Wow, it's not often we have two publications out in one week!

• Our new publication on the effects of drought and microsite on the seed bank of two sagebrush communities is out in Journal of Arid Environments! Congratulations to MS student Allison!
• Our Restoration Note on the efficacy of a photography app to enumerate native seeds (in this case, two sagebrush species) is out in Ecological Restoration. Congratulations to undergrads Sam Kelly and Cessair McKinney who led this research project, which was an outgrowth of their senior capstone project. What a fantastic accomplishment!

Field position in the Byrne lab at Teakettle Experimental Forest, near Shaver Lake, CA. Applications due no later than March 6. See attached PDF for more details!

Allison (MS Summer, 2021) has accepted a position with Jodi McGraw Consulting in Santa Cruz Co., CA. Congrats, Allison! 

A HUGE congratulations to Sam Kelly and Cessair McKinney, who completed their senior capstone in the Byrne lab during the 2020-21 Academic Year. These two senior ESM students were such a pleasure to work with - their capstone expanded into a presentation, then a manuscript, which was just accepted to the journal Ecological Restoration. We'll post an update once the article is in press. Congratulations, Cessair and Sam!

We haven't updated the lab website in awhile. Here's what we have been up to:

• Graduations: Allison Nunes successfully defended her thesis and her thesis has been approved by the graduate school. Way to go, Allison! She is currently working on getting her thesis ready for publication.
• New grad students: Francisco Chavez and Julia Bartley both started their graduate programs this summer. Welcome!
• New undergraduates: Cristina Winters and Emily Parsons are both working with graduate students in the lab this summer. Welcome!
• Field work:
  • Sean, Ethan, and Francisco went to Klamath Falls, OR to collect some continued monitoring data for our Applegate's milkvetch project.  There are very few new seedlings this summer. Jonas (Cuellar-Gempeler lab) joined in for a few days and collected soil/root samples for his thesis research.
  • Kerry, Sean, Ethan, Allison, Francisco, and Emily went to Gerber Reservoir, OR to collect data on the ORIDE project. We removed the drought shelters last fall and are now looking at community recovery from drought. The Bootleg fire started while we were doing field work!
  • Julia and Cristina are spending the summer at Teakettle Experimental Forest collecting a huge number of litter/duff and soil cores for Julia's thesis!
• Lab work:
  • ​Jonas (Cuellar-Gempeler lab) is doing a lot of lab work investigating the microbial partners of Applegate's milkvetch.   
  • Sean will quantify germination viability for Applegate's milkvetch seeds in August.
  • Francisco has quickly become a soil/root superstar: he's almost done processing numerous root ingrowth core samples

Allison will have a public talk for her thesis research this Friday at 10 am PST. Send an email to Kerry Byrne (kb33@humboldt.edu) if you'd like the link to attend. All are welcome!