[APWG] flammable biomass (stiltgrass)

[S. Luke Flory]

Mike, That is a great question and one that I have been curious about 
for a while. Fortunately, colleagues and I received a 3-yr grant this 
past year from the Joint Fire Science program to explore the interaction 
between fire and Microstegium invasions. The project focuses on both the 
effects of prescribed fires on Microstegium population dynamics and the 
impacts of invasions on fire behavior. There will be a link from my web 
site to details on the project once we get those pages built this winter.

Also, in case you are interested, we are hosting a session at the 
Midwest Invasive Plant Network (http://mipn.org/) meeting this December 
on the interaction between fire and invasive plants in the Midwest.

Luke


Michael Schenk wrote:
> There's been a lot of attention paid to invasive-fueled wildfires out West (and rightly so), but has there been documentation of the fire impact of stilt grass on Eastern forests? I recently threw a mass of dew-soaked green stilt grass on a small wood fire, and it burned like the 4th of July. I'm worried about how much more intense a ground fire will be with stilt grass present. 
> 
> On an associated note, is anyone harvesting stilt grass for fuel? 
> 
> Mike
> 
> 
***********************************************************************
S. Luke Flory, Ph.D.
Post-doctoral research associate
Department of Biology
Indiana University
1001 East 3rd Street
Bloomington, IN 47405
sflory at indiana.edu
812-855-1674
www.lukeflory.com