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Long Term Resource Monitoring Program

This web resource provides decision makers with the information needed to maintain the Upper Mississippi River System as a viable multiple-use large river ecosystem. This resource also includes Data and sampling information, publication links, reports, other related documents and statistics, as well as links to field stations and other projects More...

  • hoop net

Wyoming Sagebrush Fire

Periodic fire is a natural part of sagebrush steppe ecosystems in the Great Basin. However, a suite of human-caused factors has dramatically changed fire regimes in many of these systems. Decades of fire suppression and livestock grazing have produced dense, single-aged sagebrush stands and invasion by cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum) has increased More...

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Coastal Prairie: Cogongrass alert

Cogongrass (Imperata cylindrica) is an agressive, perennial grass from Southeast Asia. Introduced into the United States on at least two separate occasions, this weed is currently invading Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana and has recently been discovered in East Texas. Cogongrass is considered one of the 10 worst weeds worldwide and is More...

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Perennial Pepperweed: A Growing Threat to Wildlife Refuges

This issue overview describes Perennial pepperweed (Lepidium latifolium L.), also known as tall whitetop, as an invasive weed that is found throughout California and in all of the western United States and its effects on wildlife refuges. Native to portions of Europe and southwestern Asia, pepperweed was accidentally introduced into the United More...

  • Pepperweed infloresence in flower

Colorado Invasive Species Mapping Project

This research project website stresses the importance of developing early detection methods to prevent the spread of non-native species. Land managers currently control the spread of invasive non-native plant species after they have already become established instead of trying to prevent the establishment of the species. Lists of probable invasive More...

  • Geodatabase Schema (Colorado icon)

Spread, Impact, and Control of Purple Loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria) in North American Wetlands: Field Identification, Classification, and Distribution

This resource is a species profile of the purple loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria), which is considered an invasive plant species. Its displacement of native species in wetlands has led to the loss of suitable habitat for wildlife. L. salicaria is the only reddish-purple flowered plant to develop massive monospecific blocks of showy floral displays More...

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Fire and Fire Surrogate Study Sequoia National Park Site

The Fire and Fire Surrogate study is a network of 13 long-term sites established nationwide to evaluate the ecosystem impacts of different fire hazard reduction treatment in forests that historically experienced short-interval, low- to moderate-severity fire regimes. The fuel reduction treatments being investigated by USGS researchers at Sequoia More...

  • Forest Fire

Effectiveness of Postfire Seeding to Reduce Cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum) Growth and Reproduction in Recently Burned Sagebrush Steppe

This web resource addresses the positive relationship between cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum) and fire frequency as a major concern for land managers in semi-arid shrublands throughout western North America, particularly in Great Basin sagebrush steppe. Management tools are needed to break this cycle, and in this project we will evaluate the use of More...

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Impact of invasive species on reptiles and amphibians

Native amphibian and reptile populations worldwide are under threat from exotic invasive species of plants and animals, including other reptiles and amphibians. As habitats are changed and plant community organization is modified by exotic species, delicate relationships between plants and animals are altered or eliminated, creating a negative More...

  • Green turtle (Chelonia mydas L.)

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...

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