Mountain Big Sagebrush Restoration in Former Dryland Pasture

Our study supports using older naturally grown sagebrush plants (wildlings) for restoration efforts. Wildlings had already faced various environmental stresses before transplantation and then had a survival advantage when transplanted. Our study also demonstrates how successfully established transplants planted in “islands” aid in the future recruitment of sagebrush. Overall, because of their higher survival, we found that wildlings led to higher sagebrush densities and were a more cost-effective approach.