Publications -- Click on titles of selected publications to open pdf file.

Allen EA, Nowak RS. (2008) Effect of pinyon-juniper tree cover on the soil seed bank. Rangeland Ecology & Management 61:63-73.

Nadeau JA, Quall RG, Nowak RS, Blank RR. (2007). The potential bioavailability of organic C, N, and P through enzyme hydrolysis in soils of the Mojave Desert. Biogeochemistry 52:305-320.

DeFalco LA, Fernandez GCJ, Nowak RS (2007) Variation in the establishment of a non-native annual grass influences competitive interactions with Mojave Desert perennials. Biological Invasions 9:293-307.

Allcock K, Nowak R, Blank B, Jones T, Monaco, T, Chambers J, Tausch R, Doescher P, Saytal V, Tanaka J, Ogle D, St. John L, Pellant M, Pyke D, Schupp E, Call C (2006) Note: Integrating Weed Management and Restoration on Western Rangelands. Ecological Restoration 24:199-200.

Housman DC, Naumburg E, Huxman TE, Charlet TN, Nowak RS, Smith SD (2006) Increases in desert shrub productivity under elevated CO₂ vary with seasonal water availability. Ecosystems 9:374-385.

Hartle RT, Fernandez GCJ, Nowak RS (2006) Horizontal and vertical zones of influence for root systems of four Mojave Desert shrubs. Journal of Arid Environments 64:586-603.

Phillips DL, Johnson MG, Tingey DT, Catricala CE, Hoyman TL, Nowak RS (2006) Effects of Elevated CO₂ on Fine Root Dynamics in a Mojave Desert Community: A FACE Study. Global Change Biology 12:61-73.

Apple ME, Thee CI, Smith-Longozo VL, Cogar CR, Wells CE, Nowak RS (2005) Arbuscular mycorrhizal colonization of Larrea tridentata and Ambrosia dumosa roots varies with precipitation and season in the Mojave Desert. Symbiosis 39:131-136.

Morgan J.A., D.E. Pataki, C. Körner, H. Clark, S.J. Del Grosso, J.M. Grünzweig, A.K. Knapp, A.R. Mosier, P.C.D. Newton, P.A. Niklaus, J. Nippert, R.S. Nowak, W.J. Parton, H.W. Polley, and M.R. Shaw. 2004. Water relations in grassland and desert ecosystems exposed to elevated atmospheric CO₂. Oecologia 140:11-25.

Nowak, R.S., D.S. Ellsworth, and S.D. Smith.  2004.  Tansley Review: Functional responses of plants to elevated atmospheric CO₂ – Do photosynthetic and productivity data from FACE experiments support early predictions?  New Phytologist 162:253-280.

Nowak, R.S., S.F. Zitzer, D. Babcock, V. Smith-Longozo, T.N. Charlet, J.S. Coleman, J.R. Seemann, and S.D. Smith.  2004.  Elevated CO₂ does not conserve soil water in the Mojave Desert.  Ecology 85:93-99.

Wilcox, C.S., J.W. Ferguson, G.C. J. Fernandez, and R.S. Nowak. 2004.  Fine root growth dynamics of four Mojave Desert shrubs as related to soil moisture and microsite.  Journal of Arid Environments 56:129-148.

DeFalco, L.A., D.M. Bryla, V. Smith-Longozo, and R.S. Nowak.  2003.  Are Mojave Desert annual species equal? Resource acquisition and allocation for the invasive grass Bromus madritensis ssp. rubens (Poaceae) and two native species.  American Journal of Botany 90:1045-1053.

Nowak, R.S., J.D. Hansen, and C.L. Nowak. 2003. Effects of grass bug feeding and drought stress on selected lines of crested wheatgrass. Western North American Naturalist  63:167-177.

Fenstermaker L.K., T.N. Charlet, T.E. Huxman, J.S. Coleman, R.S. Nowak, and S.D. Smith.  2002.  Global climate change research in the Nevada desert.  IN: D.A. Charlet (ed.). Nevada Environmental Issues.  Kendall-Hunt Publishing Co., Dubuque, Iowa.

Titus, J.H., R.S. Nowak, and S.D. Smith.  2002.  Soil resource heterogeneity in the Mojave Desert.  Journal of Arid Environments 52:269-292.

Titus, J.H., P.J. Titus, R.S. Nowak, and S.D. Smith.  2002.  Arbuscular mycorrhizae of Mojave Desert plants.  Western North American Naturalist 62:327-334.

Nowak, R.S., D.N. Jordan, L.A. DeFalco, C.S. Wilcox, J.S. Coleman, J.R. Seemann, S.D. Smith.  2001.  Leaf conductance decreased under free-air CO₂ enrichment (FACE) for three perennials in the Nevada desert. New Phytologist 150:449-458.

Smith, S.D., T.E. Huxman, S.F. Zitzer, T.N. Charlet, D.C. Housman, J.S. Coleman, L.K. Fenstermaker, J.R. Seemann, and R.S. Nowak.  2000.  Elevated CO₂ increases productivity and invasive species success in an arid ecosystem.  Nature 408:79-82.

Yoder, C.K., and R.S. Nowak.  2000.  Phosphorus acquisition by Bromus madritensis ssp. rubens from soil interspaces shared with Mojave Desert shrubs.  Functional Ecology 14:685-692.

Nowak, R.S., C.L. Nowak, and R.J. Tausch. 2000.  The probability that a fossil absent from a sample implies absent from the paleolandscape.  Quaternary Research 54:144-154.

Pataki, D.E., T.E. Huxman, D.N. Jordan, S.F. Zitzer, J.S. Coleman, S.D. Smith, R.S. Nowak, and J.R. Seemann.  2000.  Water use of Mojave Desert shrubs under elevated CO₂. Global Change Biology 6:889-897.

Phillips, D.L., M.G. Johnson, D.T. Tingey, C. Biggart, R.S. Nowak, and J. Newsom. 2000.  Minirhizotron installation in rocky, sandy soils minimizing soil disturbance. Soil Science Society of America Journal 64:761-764.

Hamerlynck, E.P., T.E. Huxman, R.S. Nowak, S. Redar, M.E. Loik, D.N. Jordan, S.F. Zitzer, J.S. Coleman, J.R. Seemann, and S.D. Smith.  2000.  Photosynthetic responses of Larrea tridentata to a step-increase in atmospheric CO₂ at the Nevada Desert FACE Facility. Journal of Arid Environments 44:425-436.

Terry, R.G., R.S. Nowak, and R.J. Tausch. 2000.  Genetic variation in chloroplast and nuclear ribosomal DNA in Utah juniper (Juniperus osteosperma, Cupressaceae): Evidence for interspecific gene flow.  American Journal of Botany 87:250-258.

Leavitt, K.J., G.C.J. Fernandez, and R.S. Nowak.  2000.  Plant establishment on steep, angle of repose slopes in mine waste dumps. Journal of Range Management 53:442-452.

Yoder, C.K., P. Vivin, L. DeFalco, J.R. Seemann, and R.S. Nowak. 2000.  Root growth and function in three Mojave Desert grasses in response to atmospheric CO₂ enrichment and soil water stress.  New Phytologist 145:245-256.

Yoder, C.K., and R.S. Nowak. 1999. Soil moisture extraction by evergreen and drought-deciduous shrubs in the Mojave Desert during wet and dry years. Journal of Arid Environments 42:81-96.

Tausch, R.J., and R.S. Nowak. 1999. Fifty years of ecotone change between shrub and tree dominance in the Jack Springs Pinyon Natural Research Area. Pages 71-77 IN: E.D. McArthur, W.K. Ostler, C.L. Wamboldt, comps. Proceedings: Shrubland Ecotones. Proc. RMRS-P-11. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station.

Yoder, C.K., and R.S. Nowak. 1999. Hydraulic lift among native plant species in the Mojave Desert. Plant Soil 215:93-102 (plus cover photograph).

Jordan, D.E., S.F. Zitzer, G.R. Hendrey, K.F. Lewin, J. Nagy, R.S. Nowak, S.D. Smith, J.S. Coleman and J.R. Seemann.  1999. Biotic, abiotic and performance aspects of the Nevada Desert free-air CO₂ enrichment (FACE) facility. Global Change Biology 5:659-668.

Moore, D.J., R.S. Nowak, and R.J. Tausch.  1999. Gas exchange of Juniperus osteosperma and Juniperus occidentalis across local and regional environmental gradients in the Great Basin of western North America. Tree Physiology 19:421-433.

Nowak, R.S., D.J. Moore, and R.J. Tausch.  1999.  Ecophysiological patterns of pinyon and juniper.  Pages 35-46 IN: S.B. Monsen, R. Stevens, R.J. Tausch, R. Miller, and S. Goodrich (eds.).  Proceedings: Ecology and Management of Pinyon-Juniper Communities within the Interior West. RMRS-P-9. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station.

Huxman, T.E., E.P. Hamerlynck, Bd Moore, S.D. Smith, D.N. Jordan, S.F. Zitzer, R.S. Nowak, J.S. Coleman, and J.R. Seemann. 1998. Photosynthetic down-regulation in Larrea tridentata exposed to elevated atmospheric CO₂: Interactions with drought under glasshouse and field (FACE) exposure. Plant Cell and Environment 21:1153‑1161.

Moore, D.J., R.S. Nowak, and C.L. Nowak.  1998.  Photosynthetic acclimation to temperature and drought in the endemic Chelan rockmat, Petrophytum cinerascens (Rosaceae). American Midland Naturalist 139:374-382.

Sala, A., and R.S. Nowak.  1997.  Ecophysiological responses of three riparian graminoids to changes in soil water table. International Journal of Plant Science 158:835-843.

Kristin F. Kuyper, Ulla Yandell, and R.S. Nowak. 1997.  On the taxonomic status of Eriogonum robustum (Polygonaceae), a rare endemic in western Nevada. Great Basin Naturalist 57:1-10.

Halford, A.H., and R.S. Nowak.  1996.  Distribution and ecological characteristics of Lewisia longipetala (Piper) Clay, a high altitude endemic plant. Great Basin Naturalist 56:225-236.

Callaway, R.M., E.H. DeLucia, D.J. Moore, R.S. Nowak, and W.H. Schlesinger.  1996.  Competition and facilitation: contrasting effects of Artemisia tridentata on Pinus ponderosa versus P. monophylla. Ecology 77:2130-2141.

Tausch, R.J., C.L. Nowak, and R.S. Nowak.  1995.  Climate change and plant species response over the Quaternary: Implications for ecosystem management.  pp 14-19 IN: R.W. Tinus (ed).  Interior West Global Change Workshop.  U.S. Forest Service Rocky Mountain Forest and Range Experiment Station Gen. Tech Report RM-GTR-262.

Anderson, J.E., R.S. Nowak, N.L. Toft, and K. Rasmuson.  1995.  Gas exchange and resource-use efficiency of Leymus cinereus (Poaceae): Diurnal and seasonal responses to naturally declining soil moisture.  American Journal of Botany 82:699-708.

Zhao, Y.G., G.C.J. Fernandez, D.C. Bowman, and R.S. Nowak.  1994.  Selection criteria for drought-resistance breeding in turfgrass.  Journal American Society Horticultural Science 119:1317-1324.

Tausch, R.J., J.C. Chambers, R.R. Blank, and R.S. Nowak.  1994.  Differential establishment of perennial grass and cheatgrass following fire on an ungrazed sagebrush-juniper site.  pp 252-257 IN: B.A. Roundy, E.D. McArthur, J.S. Haley, and D.K. Mann (compilers).  Proceedings, Wildland Shrub and Arid Land Restoration Symposium, October 1993.  U.S. Forest Service Intermountain Research Station Gen. Tech. Report INT-GTR-315.

Nowak, C.L., R.S. Nowak, R.J. Tausch, and P.E. Wigand.  1994.  A 30,000 year record of vegetation dynamics at a semi-arid locale in the Great Basin.  Journal of Vegetation Science 5:579-590.

Kolseth, T.L., J.C. Guitjens, R.S. Nowak, and G.F. Gifford.  1994.  Evaporation and yield of three riparian graminoids.  IN: R.A. Marston and V.R. Hasfurther (eds).  Proceedings, Annual Symposium of the American Water Resources Association: Effects of Human-Induced Changes on Hydrologic Systems, June 1994.  pp 485-491.

Nowak, C.L., R.S. Nowak, R.J. Tausch, and P.E. Wigand.  1994.  Tree and shrub dynamics in northwestern Great Basin woodland and shrub steppe during the Late-Pleistocene and Holocene.  American Journal of Botany 81:265-277.

Tausch, R.J., R.S. Nowak, A.D. Bruner, and J. Smithson.  1994.  Effects of simulated fall and early spring grazing on cheatgrass and perennial grass in western Nevada.  pp 113-119 IN: S.B. Monsen and S.G. Kitchen (eds).  Proceedings - Ecology and Management of Annual Rangelands.  USDA Forest Service General Technical Report INT-GTR-313.

Murray, K.J., J.D. Tenhunen, and R.S. Nowak.  1993.  Photoinhibition as a control on photosynthesis and production of Sphagnum mosses.  Oecologia 96:200-207.

Nowak, R.S., C.L. Nowak, and J.E. Anderson.  1993.  Differential response to nitrogen form and concentration for Oryzopsis hymenoides and Elymus lanceolatus.  Great Basin Naturalist 53:222-236.

Nowak, R.S.  1993.  Assessing physiological requirements of plant species as a prerequisite for their use in mine reclamation.  Proceedings Vol. I, 10th National Meeting, American Society for Surface Mining and Reclamation, Princeton, WV.  pp 23-29.

Anderson, J.E., R.S. Nowak, T.D. Ratzlaff, and O.D. Markham.  1993.  Managing soil moisture on waste burial sites in arid regions.  Journal of Environmental Quality 22:62-69.

Cramer, G.R., and R.S. Nowak.  1992.  Supplemental manganese improves the relative growth, net assimilation and photosynthetic rates of salt-stressed barley.  Physiologia Plantarum 84:600-605.

Melgoza, G., and R.S. Nowak.  1991.  Competition between cheatgrass and 2 native species after fire: Implications from observations and measurements of root distribution.  J. Range Manage. 44:27-33.

Melgoza, G., R.S. Nowak, and R.J. Tausch.  1990.  Soil water exploitation after fire: Competition between Bromus tectorum (cheatgrass) and two native species.  Oecologia 83:7-13.

Nowak, R.S., C.L. Nowak, T. DeRocher, M.A. Jones, and N. Cole.  1990.  Prevalence of Oryzopsis hymenoides near harvester ant mounds: Indirect facilitation by ants.  Oikos 58:190-198.

Smith, S.D., and R.S. Nowak.  1990.  Ecophysiology of Plants in the Intermountain Lowlands.  IN: Osmond, C.B., L.F. Pitelka, and G.M. Hidy (eds.).  Ecological Studies, Vol. 80.  Plant Biology of the Basin and Range.  Springer-Verlag, Heidelberg.  pp 179-241.

Toft, N.L., J.E. Anderson, and R.S. Nowak.  1989.  Water use efficiency and carbon isotope composition of plants in a cold desert environment.  Oecologia 80:11-18.

Nowak, R.S., J.E. Anderson, and N.L. Toft.  1988.  Gas exchange of Agropyron desertorum: Diurnal patterns and responses to water vapor gradient and temperature.  Oecologia 77:289-295.

Hansen, J.D., and R.S. Nowak.  1988.  Feeding damage by Irbisia pacifica (Hemiptera: Miridae) on host plant growth: Effects of feeding and drought.  Ann. Entomol. Soc. Am. 81:599-604.

Anderson, J.E., M.L. Shumar, N.L. Toft, and R.S. Nowak.  1987.  Control of the soil water balance by sagebrush and three perennial grasses in a cold-desert environment.  Arid Soil Res. Rehabilitation 1:229-244.

Nowak, R.S., and M.M. Caldwell.  1986.  Photosynthetic characteristics of crested wheatgrass and bluebunch wheatgrass.  J. Range Manage. 39:443-450.

Hansen, J.D., and R.S. Nowak.  1985.  Evaluating damage by grass bug feeding on crested wheatgrass.  Southwestern Entomol. 10:89‑94.

Nowak, R.S., and M.M. Caldwell.  1984.  A test of compensatory photosynthesis in the field: Implications for herbivory tolerance.  Oecologia 61:311‑318.

Nowak, R.S., and M.M. Caldwell.  1984.  Photosynthetic activity and survival of foliage during winter for two bunchgrass species in a cold‑winter steppe environment.  Photosynthetica 18:192‑200.

Caldwell, M.M., T.J. Dean, R.S. Nowak, R.S. Dzurec, and J.H. Richards.  1983.  Bunchgrass architecture, light intensity, and water‑use efficiency: assessment by fiber optic point quadrats and gas exchange.  Oecologia 59:178‑184.

Caldwell, M.M., R. Robberecht, R.S. Nowak, and W.D. Billings.  1982.  Differential photosynthetic inhibition by ultraviolet radiation in species from the arctic‑alpine life zone.  Arct. Alp. Res. 14:195‑202.

Caldwell, M.M., J.H. Richards, D.A. Johnson, R.S. Nowak, and R.S. Dzurec.  1981.  Coping with herbivory: Photosynthetic capacity and resource allocation in two semiarid Agropyron bunchgrasses.  Oecologia 50:14‑24.