March 2009 | Publisher: USGS | Science Center: Western Ecological Research Center (WERC, Sacramento) | Format: .PDF
www.werc.usgs.gov — Fire occurs in many North American ecosystems, and most of these systems are resilient to fires that occur within a broad range of variability in frequency and intensity. In a recent USFS publication (General Technical Report PNW-GTR-779, ), USGS scientist Jon Keeley led a team of scientists from various agencies and academic institutions in More...
July 2007 | Publisher: Other (Ecological Society of America (ESA) Journal) | Format: URL
www.esajournals.org — Periodic wildfire maintains the integrity and species composition of many ecosystems, including the Mediterranean-climate shrublands of California. However, human activities alter natural fire regimes, which can lead to cascading ecological effects. Increased human ignitions at the wildland-urban interface (WUI) have recently gained attention, but More...
Publisher: USGS | Science Center: Western Ecological Research Center (WERC, Sacramento) | Format: URL
www.werc.usgs.gov — 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...
Publisher: NBII | Format: URL
www.nbii.gov — Natural resource managers face complex decisions that require a clear understanding of the status of wildlife populations and their habitats. Monitoring is key to making effective management decisions and evaluating the outcomes of those decisions. The goal of NRMP is to improve the accessibility of monitoring efforts to resource managers to aid More...
Publisher: USGS | Science Center: Fort Collins Science Center (FORT, Ft. Collins) | Format: URL
www.fort.usgs.gov — Natural Resource Monitoring Partnership (NRMP) is a collaborative effort by the natural resource management community to improve monitoring efforts in order to support effective evaluation and decision-making by sharing information on monitoring projects and protocols. The Natural Resource Monitoring Partnership was built for easy access to More...
Publisher: USGS | Science Center: Western Ecological Research Center (WERC, Sacramento) | Format: URL
www.werc.usgs.gov — 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...
Publisher: USGS | Science Center: Pacific Island Ecosystems Research Center (PIERC, Honolulu) | Format: URL
biology.usgs.gov — 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...
Publisher: USGS | Science Center: Western Ecological Research Center (WERC, Sacramento) | Format: URL
www.werc.usgs.gov — 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...
Publisher: USGS | Science Center: Western Ecological Research Center (WERC, Sacramento) | Format: URL
www.werc.usgs.gov — 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...
Publisher: Other (Joint Fire Science Program) | Format: .PDF
jfsp.nifc.gov — "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...
Publisher: USGS | Science Center: Western Ecological Research Center (WERC, Sacramento) | Format: URL
www.werc.usgs.gov — 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...
Publisher: USGS | Science Center: Western Ecological Research Center (WERC, Sacramento) | Format: URL
www.werc.usgs.gov — 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...