Posts Tagged ‘Fuels’
Effectiveness of prescribed fire to re-establish sagebrush steppe vegetation and ecohydrologic function on woodland-encroached sagebrush rangelands, Great Basin, USA: Part I: Vegetation, hydrology, and erosion responses
View article. The experimental results demonstrate pinyon and juniper removal by prescribed fire can effectively re-establish a successional trajectory towards sagebrush steppe vegetation structure and thereby improve ecohydrologic function. Responses to burning at the more degraded site suggest results should be interpreted with caution however. Although burning substantially increased perennial grass cover and reduced fine-scale…
Read MoreLong-term effects of tree expansion and reduction on soil climate in a semiarid ecosystem
View article. We sought to determine the effects of tree expansion, tree reduction treatments, and expansion phase at time of treatment over 12–13 yr post-treatment. Because the effects of tree reduction on vegetation can vary with the soil temperature/moisture regime, we also analyzed differences in soil climate variables between the mesic/aridic-xeric and frigid/xeric regime classifications…
Read MoreEva Strand on treatment longevity and changes in surface fuel loads after pinyon–juniper mastication
View video (7:16). Eva Strand gives a short synopsis of her new paper in the SageSTEP special issue in Ecosphere: Treatment longevity and changes in surface fuel loads after pinyon–juniper mastication
Read MoreBruce Roundy on the long‐term effects of tree expansion and reduction on soil climate in a semiarid ecosystem
Watch video (12:49). Bruce Roundy gives background on his new paper in the SageSTEP special issue in Ecosphere: Long‐term effects of tree expansion and reduction on soil climate in a semiarid ecosystem
Read MoreWhat has SageSTEP learned about sagebrush ecosystems after 10+ yrs of post-treatment monitoring?
View recorded presentations. The SRM Symposium (February 2021) shared some of what’s been learned after at least 10 years post-treatment. Researchers present findings from conifer-encroached and cheatgrass-invaded sites, focusing on: effects of treatments on herbaceous plants, ground surface properties, and hydrologic and erosion processes in woodlands; and on fire behavior and Wyoming big sagebrush in…
Read MoreFuels guide for sagebrush and pinyon juniper reduction treatments: 10 years post-treatment
View the guide. This guide is intended to help land managers better understand the variability in long-term responses of fuel loads and vegetation to woody-plant reduction treatments in the Intermountain West. It pairs photographs of sagebrush and pinyon-juniper treatments with fuel loading and plant height, cover, and density data (fig. 1). The guide is split…
Read MoreDo fuel treatments modify fire behavior in the sagebrush steppe?
Invasive species, land cover change, altered fire regimes, and a changing climate interact to imperil sagebrush steppe ecosystems that are critically important for local economies, as well as for species of conservation concern (e.g. greater sage-grouse). One of the major challenges in sagebrush steppe conservation is altered fire regimes and the resultant uncharacteristic fire behavior…
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