Synthesis / Tech Report
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This report is a synthesis of current knowledge on the effects of wildfire and fuels treatments in riparian areas of the interior western United States, and includes the following: (1) a literature review of fire effects on riparian and aquatic characteristics and functions, provided as background for considering the need and potential impacts of fuel treatments; (2) a review of the potential effects of prescribed fire and mechanical treatments on riparian and aquatic resources and biota; (3) results of an online survey of resource managers, summarizing information about proposed and completed fuel reduction projects in riparian areas and wetlands in the interior west; (4) suggestions for pre- and post project-level monitoring for riparian fuels projects; and (5) a presentation of case studies, describing riparian fuel treatments with different objectives and methods.
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This technical manual provides regional accounts of historical and current uses of fire, and then discusses fire effects on wildlife and the challenges of using prescribed fire in each system.
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The Integrated Rangeland Fire Management Strategy outlined the need for coordinated, science-based adaptive management to achieve long-term protection, conservation, and restoration of the sagebrush (Artemisia spp.) ecosystem. A key component of this management approach is the identification of knowledge gaps that limit implementation of effective strategies to meet current management challenges. The tasks and actions identified in the Strategy address several broad topics related to management of the sagebrush ecosystem. This science plan is organized around these topics and specifically focuses on fire, invasive plant species and their effects on altering fire regimes, restoration, sagebrush and greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus), and climate and weather.
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The information and map products described in this report can help land managers prioritize conservation efforts at the species’ range scale.
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This synthesis presents an ecohydrologic perspective on the effects of fire on rangeland runoff and erosion through a review of scientific literature spanning many decades. Objectives are: (1) to introduce rangeland hydrology and erosion concepts necessary for understanding hydrologic impacts of fire; (2) to describe how climate, vegetation, and soils affect rangeland hydrology and erosion; and (3) to use examples from literature to illustrate how fire interacts with key ecohydrologic relationships. The synthesis is intended to provide a useful reference and conceptual framework for understanding and evaluating impacts of fire on rangeland runoff and erosion.
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The Fire Effects Information System (FEIS) just completed and published online a synthesis of the biology, ecology, and fire relationships for the greater sage-grouse and Gunnison sage-grouse.
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This report examined multiple climate change effects on cattle production for U.S. rangelands to estimate relative change and identify sources of vulnerability among seven regions. Climate change effects to 2100 projected (1) an increase in forage quantity in northerly regions, (2) a move toward grassier vegetation types overall but with considerable spatial heterogeneity, (3) a rapid increase in the number of heat-stress days across all regions, and (4) higher forage variability for most regions.
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This report provides an updated process for mapping relative habitat suitability and management categories for sage-grouse in Nevada and northeastern California.
Updates include:
- adding radio and GPS telemetry locations from sage-grouse monitored at multiple sites during 2014 to the original location dataset beginning in 1998
- integrating output from high resolution maps (1–2 m2) of sagebrush and pinyon-juniper cover as covariates in resource selection models
- modifying the spatial extent of the analyses to match newly available vegetation layers
- explicit modeling of relative habitat suitability during three seasons (spring, summer, winter) that corresponded to critical life history periods for sage-grouse (breeding, brood-rearing, over-wintering)
- accounting for differences in habitat availability between more mesic sagebrush steppe communities in the northern part of the study area and drier Great Basin sagebrush in more southerly regions by categorizing continuous region-wide surfaces of habitat suitability index (HSI) with independent locations falling within two hydrological zones
- integrating the three seasonal maps into a composite map of annual relative habitat suitability
- deriving updated land management categories based on previously determined cut-points for intersections of habitat suitability and an updated index of sage-grouse abundance and space-use (AUI)
- masking urban footprints and major roadways out of the final map products.
Effects of drought on forests and rangelands in the United States: A comprehensive science synthesis
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This assessment establishes the scientific foundation needed to manage for drought resilience and adaptation. Focal areas include drought characterization; drought impacts on forest processes and disturbances such as insect outbreaks and wildfire; and consequences for forest and rangeland values. Large, stand-level impacts of drought are already underway in the West, but all U.S. forests are vulnerable to drought. Drought-associated forest disturbances are expected to increase with climatic change. Management actions can either mitigate or exacerbate the effects of drought. A first principal for increasing resilience and adaptation is to avoid management actions that exacerbate the effects of current or future drought. Options to mitigate drought include altering structural or functional components of vegetation, minimizing drought-mediated disturbance such as wildfire or insect outbreaks, and managing for reliable flow of water.
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This report synthesizes existing extreme fire behavior knowledge in a way that connects the weather, fuel, and topographic factors that contribute to development of extreme fire behavior. It focuses on the state of the science but also considers how that science is currently presented to the fire management community, including incident commanders, fire behavior analysts, incident meteorologists, National Weather Service office forecasters, and firefighters.