Fact Sheet / Brief
View research brief.
This research brief summarizes a series of interviews with land managers who make decisions about post-fire rehabilitation and restoration. These interviews explored barriers to improving post-fire recovery that included: policies and funding cycles that constrain managers’ ability to monitor and re-treat effectively, pressure and legal action from interest groups, pressure from concerned public/neighbors, climate change, and
ecological debates such as native vs. non-native species use. These identified barriers provide a social-political-ecological framework that may influence on-the-ground manager decisions after wildfires in the Great Basin.
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This fact sheet provides land managers with a brief summary of the effects of conifer expansion and infill in sagebrush ecosystems and of potential management strategies.
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This research brief summarizes research that found seed harvester ants, along with small mammals, could have a large impact on reseeding
efforts after a fire. But the populations over time are not well known. The number of ants in burned areas is significantly greater than unburned areas, but this may be an initial, short-lived response.
View the Order.
This Order sets forth enhanced policies and strategies for preventing and
suppressing rangeland fire and for restoring sagebrush landscapes impacted by fire across the West. These actions are essential for conserving habitat for the greater sage-grouse as well as other
wildlife species and economic activity, such as ranching and recreation, associated with the sagebrush-steppe ecosystem in the Great Basin region.
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This fact sheet from the Sage Grouse Initiative discusses a new soils product that provides the ability to depict potential ecosystem resilience and resistance across the range of sage-grouse using soil temperature and moisture regimes.
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This brief highlights a study that found rodents foraged differently in burned and unburned areas. They took seeds and ate seedlings from unburned areas. They were more likely to leave seeds and seedlings in the burned areas.
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This fact sheet summarizes findings from a study comparing insect populations in burned and unburned areas. The study showed greater reproductive success for isolated plant survivors of generalist species, and less success for specialist species. The more specialized your reproductive strategy, the harder fire is on your sex life.
View memorandum.
This presidential memorandum outlines federal efforts and steps to reverse pollinator losses and help restore populations to healthy levels. The steps include the development of new public-private partnerships and increased citizen engagement.
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This brief highlights a study following fire in Utah’s Rush Valley, where researchers found that fire killed biological soil crust pretty thoroughly, which wasn’t a surprise. However, following the fire cyanobacteria, the helpful and essential ingredient in biocrusts, did not return soon after fire, but Firmicutes, another tenacious and aggressive bacteria, did move in.
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This research brief highlights a study investigating whether on not deer mice could help combat the invasive weeds infiltrating desert landscapes after fire.