James Bartolome

Professor of the Graduate School

Education

• Ph.D. Wildland Resource Science UCB, 1976
• BA Biology UCSB, 1968

 

Research Interests

Rangeland ecology and management

Research Description

Rangeland ecosystems form extensive wildland landscapes visually dominated by grassland, shrubland, and savanna vegetation. Two important natural processes that control the structure and function of these ecosystems are herbivory and fire. Successful restoration, conservation, and use of rangelands usually requires the use of fire and herbivory and an understanding of vegetation response.

Mediterranean-type savanna ecosystems are found as five small pockets in California, Chile, South Africa, Australia, and the shores of the Mediterranean Sea. Each area has a distinctive biota, which humans have systematically homogenized over the past few thousand years. The Mediterranean-type savanna is an ideal laboratory for examining the relationships among long-lived woody plants, usually native; short-lived herbs, usually non-native; and grazing animals, at different ecological scales. Because people have had highly variable effects on the different systems, usually by changing grazing and burning regimes, comparative study of different regions can yield important insights into how native species may be enhanced and protected in restoration or conservation programs.

Current Projects

Currently I am investigating how environmental factors and management interact to affect the biomass productivity, vegetation spatial structure, and water quality in grasslands and savannas. This project is designed to test several theories about how grazing and burning may have changed the original California savanna and point the way to successful methods for ecosystem restoration. Our group is developing and testing improved methodologies for accurately monitoring grassland community response to environment and management. Results from these studies have shown that livestock grazing and prescribed fire, when properly applied, can enhance native plant recovery, may be useful for modifying vegetation structure, and do not degrade water quality.

Selected Publications

Bartolome, J.W., W.J. Barry, T. Griggs, and P. Hopkinson. 2007. Valley Grassland. Pp. 367–393 In: Barbour, M.G, T. Keeler-Wolf, and A.A. Schoenherr. (eds) Terrestrial Vegetation of California, 3d Ed. Univ. Calif. Press.

Gea-Izquierdo, G., S. Gennet, and J.W. Bartolome. 2007. Assessing plant-nutrient relationships in highly invaded Californian grasslands using non-normal probability distributions. Applied Vegetation Science 10:343-350.

Evett, R.R., R.A. Woodward, W. Harrison, J. Suero, P. Raggio, and J.W. Bartolome. 2006. Phytolith evidence for the lack of a grass understory in a giant sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum) stand in the central Sierra Nevada, California. Madrono 53:351-363.

Kenneth W. Tate, Edward R. Atwill, James W. Bartolome, and Glenn Nader. 2006. Significant E. coli Attenuation by Vegetative Buffers on Annual Grasslands. J. Environmental Quality. 35:785-805.

Wenk, R.C., J.J. Battles, R.D. Jackson, J.W. Bartolome, and B. Allen-Diaz. 2006. An accurate and efficient method for sorting biomass extracted from soil cores using point-intercept sampling. Soil Science Society America Journal. 70:851-855.

Bartolome, J.W., W.E. Frost, N.K. McDougald, and J.M. Connor. 2006. California guidelines for Residual Dry Matter (RDM) management on coastal and foothill annual rangelands. Univ. Calif. Div. Agric. Nat. Res. Rangeland Management Series Pub. 8092 (revised). 8p.

Fehmi, J.S., S.E. Russo, and J.W. Bartolome. 2005. The effects of livestock on California ground squirrels (Spermophilis beechyii). Rangeland Ecology and Management. 58(4):352-359.

Bartolome, J.W., J.S. Fehmi, R.D. Jackson, and B. Allen-Diaz. 2004. Response of a native perennial grass stand to disturbance in California’s Coast Range Grassland. Restoration Ecology. 12:279-289.

Fehmi, J.S. and J.W. Bartolome. 2003. Impacts of livestock and burning on the spatial patterns of the grass Nassella pulchra (Poaceae). Madrono 50(1):8-14.

Jackson, R.D. and J.W. Bartolome. 2002. A state-transition approach to understanding nonequilibrium plant community dynamics of California grasslands. Plant Ecology. 162:49-65.

Fehmi, J.S., and J.W. Bartolome. 2002. Species richness, cattle grazing, and the effect of Microtus californicus in coastal California grasslands. West. N. Am. Nat. 62:73-81.

Recent Teaching

• 24 - FRESHMAN SEMINAR
• C107 - Biology and Geomorphology of Tropical Islands  Course site
• 116B - RANGE ECOLOGY
• 186 - Management and Conservation of Rangeland Ecosystems  Course site
• H196 - HONORS RESEARCH
• 199 - SUPERV INDEP STUDY
• 268 - Seminar in Range Ecology
• 278 - Range Assessment
• 280 - Seminar in Range Ecosystem Planning and Policy
• 296 - Individual Study
• 299 - INDIVIDUAL RESEARCH