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Woody plant expansion is a global phenomenon that alters the spatial distribution of nutrients, biomass, and fuels in affected ecosystems. Altered fuel patterns across the landscape influences ecological processes including fire behavior, fire…
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Wildfires shape the distribution and structure of vegetation across the inland northwestern United States. However, fire activity is expected to increase given the current rate of climate change, with uncertain outcomes. A fire impact that has not…
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Western juniper (Juniperus occidentalis Hook. var. occidentalis) has been expanding into sagebrush (Artemisia L. spp.) steppe over the past 130 years in Idaho, Oregon, and California. Fuel characteristics and expected fire behavior and effects…
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Sagebrush landscapes provide habitat for Sage-Grouse and other sagebrush obligates, yet historical fire regimes and the structure of historical sagebrush landscapes are poorly known, hampering ecological restoration and management. To remedy this,…
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Quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides) is declining across the western United States. Aspen habitats are diverse plant communities in this region and loss of these habitats can cause shifts in biodiversity, productivity, and hydrology across spatial…
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Time-resolved irradiance and convective heating and cooling of fast-response thermopile sensors were measured in 13 natural and prescribed wildland fires under a variety of fuel and ambient conditions. It was shown that a sensor exposed to the fire…
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The generalist fungal pathogen Pyrenophora semeniperda occurs primarily in cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum) seed banks, where it causes high mortality. We investigated the relationship between this pathogen and its cheatgrass host in the context of fire…
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Millions of dollars are spent each year in the United States to mitigate the effects of wildfires and reduce the risk of flash floods and debris flows. Research from forested, chaparral, and rangeland communities indicate that severe wildfires can…
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Over the past century, trees have encroached into grass- and shrublands across western North America. These include Douglas-fir trees (Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco var. glauca (Beissn.) Franco) encroaching into mountain big sagebrush Nutt.…
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Pinyon-juniper woodlands and Wyoming big sagebrush ecosystems have undergone major changes in vegetation structure and composition since settlement by European Americans. These changes are resulting in dramatic shifts in fire frequency, size and…
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Prior to Euro-American settlement, dry ponderosa pine and mixed conifer forests (hereafter, the 'dry forests') of the Inland Northwest were burned by frequent low- or mixed-severity fires. These mostly surface fires maintained low and…
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Mapping the cheatgrass-caused departure from historical natural fire regimes in the Great Basin, USA
Cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum) is an exotic grass that has increased fire hazard on millions of square kilometers of semi-arid rangelands in the western United States. Cheatgrass aggressively out competes native vegetation after fire and significantly…
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Fire management addressing postfire erosion and aquatic ecosystems tends to focus on short-term effects persisting up to about a decade after fire. A longer perspective is important in understanding natural variability in postfire erosion and…
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Wildfire is an important ecological process and management issue on western rangelands. Major unknowns associated with wildfire are its affects on vegetation and soil conditions that influence hydrologic processes including infiltration, surface…
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In late August 1996, a wildfire swept across the sagebrush-dominated foothills above Boise, Idaho. Fire impacts on infiltration and inter-rill erosion were examined 1 year following the fire with simulated rainfall. Densely vegetated north-facing…
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The Mortar Creek Fire burned 26 000 ha of mixed-conifer Rocky Mountain forest in July-August 1979. Changes in burn stream conditions were examined relative to reference streams for various ecological factors on two to six occasions, from October…
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This state-of-knowledge review about the effects of fire on flora and fuels can assist land managers with ecosystem and fire management planning and in their efforts to inform others about the ecological role of fire. Chapter topics include fire…
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We have developed a spatial database of historic natural fire regimes for the eleven western States to provide information in support of expected national increases in prescribed burning. Fire regimes are described in terms both of frequency and…
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Burned forested areas have patterns of varying burn severity as a consequence of various topographic, vegetation, and meteorological factors. These patterns are detected and mapped using satellite data. Other ecological information can be abstracted…
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Frequency of resprouting and number of newly established seedlings of antelope bitterbrush were sampled on sites burned by prescribed burns and wildfires 3 to 10 years previously to determine the effect of habitat type, growth form, and season of…
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