A Regional Experiment to Evaluate Effects of Fire and Fire Surrogate Treatments in the Sagebrush Biome

GBEM-Team Leader

   -Jeanne Chambers

EPR-Project Leader

   -Robin Tausch

Fire and Fire Surragates

Joint Fire Science

Program

This new regional project will implement a comprehensive experiment to evaluate the effects of fire and fire surrogate treatments that are designed to restore sagebrush communities of the Great Basin.  The experiment will:

1. Provide managers with information to restore ecological communities that is relevant across the 100+ million acres of the sagebrush biome

2. Be matched to the temporal and spatial scales at which managers operate

3. Reduce management risk and uncertainty of catastrophic wildfire to the greatest degree possible.

The need for such an experiment is evidenced by the profound changes in fire regime experienced in the Great Basin in the past 150 years, coupled with the lack of information available to managers on the consequences of methods they might use to reduce fire risk or to restore more desirable plant communities and fire regimes.  The objectives reflect a research program that is aimed at defining critical ecological thresholds, through the application of alternative treatments over a wide array of conditions:

1. Identify the abiotic and biotic thresholds that determine sustainability of big sagebrush plant communities in sagebrush-steppe and sagebrush semi-desert environments, specifically related to threats posed by cheatgrass and pinyon-juniper invasion.

2. Assess the ecological effects of fire and fire surrogates on big sagebrush communities at risk of crossing a threshold of conversion to cheatgrass or pinyon-juniper, beyond which restoration may be difficult or logistically infeasible.

3. Evaluate the effectiveness of supplemental restoration treatments (revegetation) needed to prevent big sagebrush communities from crossing the threshold, and to ultimately restore these communities to sustainable states.

4. Document how fuel loads change across vegetation treatments and ecological sites in relation to the objectives above.

5. Portray the ecological, social, and economic trade-offs and treatment effects of no action, applying only fire and fire surrogate treatments, and restoration treatments in these sagebrush communities.

6. Provide insight and guidance regarding use of our results for effective multi-species and multi-scale planning as part of ecosystem management of sagebrush communities in the Great Basin.

This new 5-year project was funded in spring 2005 by the JFSP.

Slideshow highlighting the project. PDF Powerpoint Web

Researchers:

J.D. McIver-USDA, PNW

H. Barrett,  S. Bunting,

Jeanne C. Chambers, Robin J. Tausch, and Dave Turner-USDA Forest Service, RMRS

Carla D'Antonio-University Califonia, Santa Barbara

Paul Doescher-Oregon State University

S. Karl, S. Knick, R. Miller

Mike Pellant-USDI Bureau of Land Management

F. Pierson

Dave Pyke-USGS Forest and Range Ecosystem Science Center

K. Rollins

Bruce Roundy-Bringham Young University

Gene Schupp, Mark Brunson-Utah State University

M. Wisdom

Jim McIver

jmciver@fs.fed.us

541.962.6528

Robin J. Tausch rtausch@fs.fed.us

775.784.5329

Jeanne C. Chambers

jchambers@fs.fed.us

775-784-5329