Research and Publications
View article.
This study reviewed and synthesized the published literature on modifications to fuels and fire characteristics following beetle-caused tree mortality. The literature agreed about responses in many conditions, including fuels measurements and changes in stands with longer times since outbreak. Disagreement or gaps in knowledge existed in several conditions, particularly in early post outbreak phases and crown fire behavior responses.
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This study discusses the potential of a fungus naturally associated with these Bromus species, which is lethal to the plants’ soil-banked dormant seeds. Study findings open the way to a commercial biocontrol product that may be capable of safely eliminating the seed bank of persistent invasive grasses. Biocontrol could be used in conjunction with other weed control measures and conservation strategies to make sagebrush-steppe lands less susceptible to reinvasion.
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This paper reports the effects of the most common forest fuel reduction treatments on carbon pools composed of live and dead biomass as well as potential wildfire emissions from six different sites in four western U.S. states. Research suggests most of the benefits of increased fire resistance can be achieved with relatively small reductions in current carbon stocks. Retaining or growing larger trees also reduced the vulnerability of carbon loss from wildfire. In addition, modeled vulnerabilities to carbon losses and median forest product life spans varied considerably across our study sites, which could be used to help prioritize treatment implementation.
Visit SageSTEP website.
SageSTEP is a long-term multidisciplinary experiment evaluating methods of sagebrush steppe restoration in the Great Basin.
You can find and access information on this project’s:
- Land management treatments
- Treatment effects on vegetation and fuels; soils and biogeochemistry; water runoff and erosion; wildlife and insects
- The economics and human perspectives of management treatments
- Association with climate change
- Research findings thus far and project future
View guide.
This guidebook focuses on the use of weather and climate information in the Ecologically-Based Invasive Plant Management Framework in planning and post-management treatment evaluation. It provides land managers with resources for finding weather and climate data, and tools for incorporating this data into adaptive management planning for rangeland restoration.
View chapter.
This review discusses how climate change may modify invasive species and the tools used to manage them. The understanding of how and in what direction climate change will drive such changes is insufficient to adequately predict and respond. However, climate-induced changes are likely to be complex and will need to be examined on a case by case basis until more generalized frameworks can be developed. This review will help guide development of important research questions, the answers to which will better position us to devise and apply meaningful management options to address invasive species in both present and future climates.
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This study compared unburned and burned sites to determine how cheatgrass and native wheatgrass abundance and distribution varied. Wheatgrass density increased in high-nutrient areas. Soil cores from burned microsites were also transplanted to a controlled area and seeded with either wheatgrass or cheatgrass to determine microsite effects on plant establishment and growth. There were differences in microsite soil properties, which were not affected by plant growth, and differences in growth but not establishment of grass seeds. Microsites are likely important for post-fire resistance of rangeland to cheatgrass establishment.
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This Joint Fire Science Program brief addresses whether or not beetles are setting the stage for larger, more severe wildfires and fires are bringing on beetle epidemics.
View synthesis.
This synthesis reviewed existing scientific knowledge on the following questions:
- What is the public’s understanding of fire’s role in the ecosystem?
- Who are trusted sources of information about fire?
- What are the public’s views of fuels reduction methods, and how do those views vary depending on citizens’ location in the wildland-urban interface or elsewhere?
- What is the public’s understanding of smoke effects on human health, and what shapes the public’s tolerance for smoke?
- What are homeowners’ views of their responsibilities for home and property protection and mitigation, e.g., defensible space measures?
- What role does human health and safety play in the public’s perceptions of fire and fire management?
- What are the public’s views on the role and importance of costs in wildfire incident response decisions?
- To the extent that information is available, how do findings differ among ethnic and cultural groups, and across regions of the country?
View report.
This report is intended to introduce policy makers and citizens to issues related to wildfire management and fuel treatments on Idaho’s rangelands. It summarizes the findings of fuel treatment studies on rangelands in Idaho and comparable areas of the western U.S., examines the risks associated with fuel treatment alternatives, summarizes the policies that currently affect fuel treatment implementation, and suggests research and policy alternatives that may increase fuel treatment effectiveness.