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Burning Issues
Cheatgrass, an import from Eurasia, is a tough, unwanted competitor in
Great Basin ecosystems. Nevada researchers are developing a
statistical method to help federal land managers keep  score in their
contest to defeat cheatgrass. At stake are millions of acres of native
sagebrush grasslands in Nevada, Utah, Oregon and Idaho. Montana
State researchers developed an “Out of Whack Index” to help
explain why wildfires seem to be burning bigger and hotter. The index
tracks an area’s natural fire cycle and compares it with present
conditions. Los Alamos hadn’t burned for 70 years, 10 times the
normal seven-year fire cycle. Low-elevation, dry forests in the
Northern Rockies were about five cycles out of whack. In Alaska,
the Frostfire prescribed burn and studies of soil fungi may help speed
future fire recovery. Researchers there used moisture probes to study
wildfire behavior that may track future fire danger.
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