Telephone (530) 752-8529
e-mail kjrice[at]ucdavis.edu
FAX (530) 752-4361
Department of Plant Sciences
Mail Stop 1
One Shields Avenue
University of California Davis, CA 95616
Jennifer Williamson Burt
As of September, 2009, I am officially a “Big Science Lab” alumnus.
The best way to reach me is by email: jenniferwburt@gmail.com
I can receive mail (c/o Kevin Rice) at:
Department of Plant Sciences, Mail Stop 1
One Shields Avenue
University of California, Davis
Davis, CA 95616
Doctoral Dissertation Research Other Research Publications CV
Doctoral Dissertation Research
I completed my PhD in Restoration Ecology at UC Davis in September of 2009. My research interests are broad and mostly applied, they center on approaches to land management, restoration of degraded habitats, and control and policy relating to invasive species. My dissertation research, in particular, focused on the ecology and management of active and abandoned ski slopes in the Sierra Nevada.
In active ski areas, I quantified the effects of different methods of ski slope creation (machine grading vs. tree clearing) on aspects of ecosystem function, including plant community composition, diversity, and aspects of soil and hydrologic functioning. This research was published in the journal Ecological Applications in 2009.
Some ski runs are machine graded to remove rocks, stumps, and slope
irregularities, while others are only cleared of trees and other tall
vegetation. I have found these two basic types of ski runs to
differ greatly in terms of vegetation composition and diversity,
and soil depth and compaction, among other measures.
In abandoned ski areas of the Northern Sierra, I studied patterns of vegetation succession and recovery. During 2005 and 2006, I sampled vegetation and environmental characteristics in a large set of abandoned ski areas of differing ages. With this unique dataset, I pursued multiple questions, both conceptual and applied. Do abandoned ski areas recover spontaneously after abandonment? How is recovery affected by methods of creation, management, and abiotic factors? Are successional trajectories predictable based on age and abiotic environment, or contingent based on historical legacy? These abandoned ski areas present an ideal system both to improve understanding of fundamental processes of community assembly and to inform management of active ski areas.
Abandoned ski areas present a consummate “unnatural” experiment on
vegetation recovery following disturbance.
The third and final aspect of my dissertation research focused on
identifying native species for ski slope restoration. Although USDA
Forest Service policy mandates the use of native species where
possible in revegetation, ski slopes are more often seeded with
nonnative erosion control grasses. I developed native seeding
palettes for further testing in active ski slope restoration, based on
a reference community analysis of plants naturally occurring on active
and abandoned ski slopes across the northern Sierra Nevada. Towards
this end, I identified native, herbaceous or low-growing (i.e.
recreation compatible) plants that are likely to be successful in ski
slope restoration because they have successfully colonized ski slopes
of this region naturally, and were found with high frequency and
abundance across sites.
As part of this research, I worked collaboratively with the USDA
Forest Service to design and implement a ski slope seeding experiment
to test a subset of these native species for success in ski slope
revegetation. This experiment is being conducted on ski slopes at nine
ski areas, across six National Forests. The experiment has two
long-term goals: to inform and improve ski slope revegetation
practices, and to develop native seed bulking sites on ski slopes (to
provide locally-adapted seed for nearby revegetation projects).
Invasive species introductions via the horticulture and aquarium trades
As
a long-term fellow in the NSF
Biological Invasions IGERT
program at UC Davis, I was involved for several years in a collaborative research group. We conducted two
separate but related studies focused on invasive species introductions
through the horticultural and
aquarium trades. The first study, which I was most intimately
involved with as first author, examined the perceptions and behaviors of
horticulture professionals relating to invasive plants
introduced via the horticulture trade. We surveyed nursery professionals
to assess their awareness and attitudes towards invasive plants, the
role of the horticulture trade in invasive plant introductions, and
participation in preventative practices put forth by the St.
Louis
Voluntary Codes of Conduct. This paper
was published in the journal Biological Invasions in 2007.
Our second
study analyzed potential invasiveness of fish species for sale at
aquarium stores throughout the California Bay-Delta region, as well as
perceptions and attitudes of aquarium store managers on the topic of
invasive fish introductions. This study was published in Biological Invasions in 2009.
Patterns of invasion by nonnative erosion control species
My Master’s thesis research, with Dr. Susan
Harrison (also at UC Davis), analyzed patterns of invasion by exotic
plants used for erosion control. Pipelines and roadsides associated with
a gold mining operation (within what is now the
Donald and Sylvia
McLaughlin UC Natural Reserve) had been revegetated (ca. 16
years previously) with nonnative grass and legume species. I looked at
invasion of several of these species into various adjacent undisturbed
habitat types, and experimentally tested ecological factors promoting or
inhibiting further invasion of these habitats by Dactylis glomerata
(orchardgrass). This research was published in Ecological Applications in 2002.
Exotic revegetation species spread into adjacent serpentine meadow, serpentine seep, and oak woodland habitats, but did not invade serpentine chaparral.
Marsico, T.D., J.W. Burt, E.K. Espeland, G.W. Gilchrist, M.A. Jamieson, L. Lindstrom, G. Roderick, S. Swope, M. Szucs, and N.D. Tsutsui. In press. Underutilized resources for studying the evolution of invasive species during their introduction, establishment, and lag phases. Evolutionary Applications.
Burt, J.W. and K.J. Rice. 2009. Not all ski slopes are created equal: disturbance intensity affects ecosystem properties. Ecological Applications 19: 2242-2253.
Chang, A.L., J.D. Grossman, T.S. Spezio, H.W. Weiskel, J.C. Blum, J.W. Burt, A.A. Muir, J. Piovia-Scott, K.E. Veblen, and E.D. Grosholz. 2009. Tackling aquatic invasions: risks and opportunities for the aquarium fish industry. Biological Invasions 11: 773-785.
Burt, J.W., A.A. Muir, J.
Piovia-Scott, K.E. Veblen, A.L. Chang, J.D. Grossman, and H.W. Weiskel. 2007. Preventing horticultural introductions of invasive plants:
Potential efficacy of voluntary initiatives. Biological Invasions 9(8): 909-923.
Williamson, J, and S. Harrison. 2002. Biotic and abiotic limits
to the spread of exotic revegetation species. Ecological
Applications 12: 40-51.