Theses and Dissertations Collection

Precipitation patterns can provide missing details and information related to historical and present-day vegetation variation within the sagebrush steppe. There is a critical gap in the body of literature involving long-term shifts in plant communities, including the effects precipitation has on secondary plant succession. The environment is competitive between invasive annual grasses and native perennial grasses in sagebrush steppe ecosystems; especially after a fire or other disturbance occurs. This study was conducted on two 16-ha study sites located in southern Idaho that was previously tilled for farming but abandoned in the early 1930s. Species densities data collected in 1933-1947, 1954, 1961, 1992 and 2015 was categorized into plant functional groups for statistical data analysis. Long-term datasets evaluating plant community composition relative to precipitation patterns can increase understanding in how plant communities respond to precipitation influence on the Snake River plain of the sagebrush steppe.