Year Published:
Cataloging Information
Topic(s):
Fire & Economics
Recovery after fire
Restoration
Recovery after fire
Restoration
NRFSN number: 21607
Record updated:
Restoration and rehabilitation treatments that manipulate vegetation can be expensive to implement but are infrequently evaluated to determine whether spending more improves intended outcomes. We assessed commonly implemented vegetation treatments and costs relative to their outcomes across sagebrush shrublands and pinyon‐juniper woodlands in the western United States. Our results suggest the differential benefits of treatments aimed at reducing wildfire risk, improving wildlife habitat and forage, and reducing erosion. Given the growing need and costs of land management actions, we raise the importance of specifying treatment budgets and objectives, coupled with effectiveness monitoring, to improve future efforts.
Citation
Munson SM, Yackulic EO, Bair LS, Copeland SM, Gunnell KL. 2020. The Biggest Bang for the Buck: Cost‐Effective Vegetation Treatment Outcomes Across Drylands of the Western USA. Bull Ecol Soc Am 101 (3): e01723. https://doi.org/10.1002/bes2.1723