USGS: Biology arrow iconStatus & Trends Home arrow iconIssues arrow iconFire
Have a suggestion for new material?


Fire Ecology Research

Fire Ecology Research is conducted in the Sierra Nevada forests, California shrublands, and the Mojave and Sonoran Deserts. Information obtained from these studies will lower the risk to human life and property, and help safeguard the stability and diversity of Pacific Southwest ecosystems. Wildland fires are an important ecosystem process More...

  • A high-intensity chaparral fire in California

Ecology and Management of Fire in Hawaii

The geographical isolation of the Hawaiian Islands has resulted in the evolution of a highly endemic biota. Of the nearly 1,300 endemic plant species described from Hawaii, 104 are considered extinct, and 267 of the remaining taxa either are listed or are proposed as endangered or threatened species. Objectives of this project are to conduct More...

  • blank image

Pre-Fire Fuel Manipulation Impacts on Alien Plant Invasion of Wildlands

This project investigates the role of pre-fire fuel reduction manipulation projects on the invasion of nonnative plants. This study is designed to answer the following questions: 1. Do nonnative plants become established within fuel breaks? 2. Are some types of fuel breaks less likely to support nonnative species? 3. Do fuel breaks promote the More...

  • Shaded fuel break in Plumas National Forest

Ecological Impacts of Invasive Exotic Species

This web resources discusses the awareness of modern ecologists of the problems caused by the invasion of exotic species into natural areas and the associated negative effects on global patterns of native biodiversity. Once established, some exotic species have the ability to displace or replace native plant and animal species, disrupt nutrient More...

  • Saltcedar flowers (Tamarix ramosissima)

Use of Fire as a Tool for Controlling Invasive Plants

"Prescribed fire" has been used to reduce hazardous fuel loads, restore historical disturbance regimes, improve forage and habitat for game and livestock species, and promote biodiversity. In some cases, fire has also been used to manage invasive plant species. The goal of this report is to capture the current state of knowledge on the use of More...

  • blank image

Effects of Fuel Management Treatments in Pinon Juniper Vegetation at a Site on the Colorado Plateau

Pinon-juniper woodlands have expanded beyond their historical range in the western United States, due partly to land management practices such as fire suppression that began with settlements of the region in the late 1880s. This woodland expansion has replaced sagebrush steppe vegetation, leading to decreased wildlife habitat, soil seedbanks, and More...

  • blank image

Nonnative Grass Invasions and Fire in the Mojave Desert

This issue overview focuses on nonnative grass invasions and fire in the Mojave Desert, which appear to have been infrequent historically. When fires occurred, gaps of plant-free space separating individual shrubs, bunchgrasses, cacti, and trees, stopped the spread of fires like networks of small firebreaks. The increasing dominance of nonnative More...

  • Night view of fire burning in the Mojave Desert

Wildland Fire in Ecosystems: Fire and Nonnative Invasive Plants

Where nonnative plant species have invaded wildlands or have potential to invade, fire may influence their abundance and the effects of the nonnative species on native plant communities. USGS scientists and colleagues have contributed chapters to a volume that synthesizes scientific information regarding wildland fire and nonnative invasive plant More...

  • blank image

Post-Fire Treatment Impacts on Fine Fuels in Westside Sierra Nevada Forests

This study, funded by the Joint Fire Science Program, investigates how postfire treatments affect fuel load, fuel structure, plant community composition, and potential fire behavior on the west side of the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range. The four major fire areas in this study encompass a diverse range of silvicultural and environmental conditions More...

  • Image of grass on a hillside

CerroGrande WildFire Invasive Species Mapping Project

The CerroGrande WildFire Invasive Species Mapping Project utilizes predictive spatial models to predict the total number of plant species richness likely to be found for any given location within the cerro grande wildfire (New Mexico). The number of invasive species was found to be correlated with areas of high native species richness.

  • Cerro Grande Wildfire Map Species Richness Model

Standardized Emergency Stabilization and Rehabilitation Monitoring Protocols

Fire rehabilitation programs have existed within federal agencies since the early 1960s. The data that exists are stored in field office files and are often not available for other managers to use when planning new emergency stabilization and rehabilitation treatments. The objectives of this project are to facilitate analysis of emergency More...

  • blank image

Nonnative Grass Invasions and Fire in the Sonoran Desert

This issues overview and its resources deal with the spread of nonnative grasses in the Sonoran desert of Arizona has increased the risk of devastating fires by ignited fuel. The saguaro cactuses and desert tortoises have suffered catastrophic population losses as a result of these fires fueled by nonnative grasses. Read more about nonnative More...

  • Burned saguaros and yuccas, 1995 Rio Fire in the Phoenix area