Hacks for overcoming the cryptic obstacles to restoration success: Insights from sagebrush steppe

Breaking the annual grass-fire cycle and recovering foundational perennials in burned sagebrush steppe is among the most challenging restoration needs. High variability in precipitation, intraspecific genetics and adaptation in species such as sagebrush, soil characteristics, and pre-fire plant-community condition all exert strong effects on post-fire recovery, yet are cryptic because of limited ability to know them. We propose different ways that restoration investments could be adjusted or hedged to mitigate for uncertainty in these severe sources of temporal and spatial variability, including specific treatment techniques, approaches to restoration-treatment plans, and programmatic strategies for applying adaptive management.