Threat integration model for sagebrush (TIMS): A framework for using spatial decision support tools for strategic management of invasive annual grasses and conifers in sagebrush ecosystems

Many spatial decision support tools (DSTs) are available to inform management of sagebrush rangelands in the United States. We integrated a selection of DSTs to provide actionable insights on how to defend and grow core sagebrush areas from the primary threats of invasive annual grass and expanding conifers, and to improve ecological interpretation of a biome-wide spatial strategy, the Sagebrush Conservation Design (SCD). Our resulting model, the Threat Integration Model for Sagebrush (TIMS), has many of the key features of other threat-based DSTs, including identifying strategic priority areas, and adds additional benefits of differentiating between threats, as well as characterizing ecological conditions outside of priority areas to improve interpretation. This work offers novel ecological insights using the SCD strategic framework and demonstrates a replicable process for integrating DSTs and dynamically calibrating inputs to user-specified thresholds. The TIMS methods can be adapted for other objectives, ecological systems, and geographies.