[PCA] ARTICLE: Do perennial bunchgrasses competitively exclude cheatgrass in post-fire rehabilitation across spatial scales?

[Leah Prescott]

From: Joint Fire Science Program

Principal Investigator: Eva Strand, College of Natural Resources,
University of Idaho
Student Investigator: Chris Bowman-Prideaux, College of Natural Resources,
University of Idaho
Co- Principal Investigator: Beth A. Newingham, Great Basin Rangeland
Research Unit, USDA-Agricultural Research Service

"Annual grasses have led to considerable changes in fire regimes throughout
the western United States. In the Great Basin, cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum)
has contributed to increases in fire size and frequency that lead to the
decline of native plant communities across large areas, including the
sagebrush steppe. A key goal of post-fire rehabilitation is to reduce the
fine, continuous fuelbeds caused by cheatgrass and other annual grasses,
but little is known about the effectiveness of rehabilitation treatments on
cheatgrass reduction across landscapes. Our work analyzed the effect of
environment, rehabilitation type, and plant species on cheatgrass cover and
density on Wyoming big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata ssp. wyomingensis)
ecological sites in southern Idaho.

These results suggest greater diversity of perennial bunchgrasses should be
used in post-fire rehabilitation, especially at lower elevations. Crested
wheatgrass is useful as one component of a holistic seeding strategy, but
caution is warranted if reduction of cheatgrass cover is a management goal.
If native bunchgrasses do not survive fires at low elevations, repeated
drill seeding would likely decrease cheatgrass cover."

Read more:
https://www.firescience.gov/projects/15-2-01-22/project/15-2-01-22_final_report.pdf

-- 
Leah Prescott
Bureau of Land Management
Plant Conservation & Restoration Program
Data Coordinator
202-912-7232

National Seed Strategy for Rehabilitation and Restoration
<https://www.blm.gov/programs/natural-resources/native-plant-communities/national-seed-strategy>
Plant Conservation Alliance <http://www.plantconservationalliance.org/>
Seeds of Success
<https://www.blm.gov/programs/natural-resources/native-plant-communities/native-plant-and-seed-material-development/collection>
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