Fire Effects on Vegetation and Soils in the Great Basin Region - Response and Site Characteristics

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Our goal was to make this synthesis as comprehensive as possible by summarizing all the literature we could find related to fire effects on vegetation and soils within the boundaries of the Great Basin Region (central and northern Great Basin and Range, Columbia River Basin, and Snake River Plateau). The primary objectives were to; 1) serve as a reference for writing EAs and management plans, 2) identify the key ecological site components that influence plant-fire and soil-fire interactions, 3) provide criteria for selecting sites most appropriate for treatment, and 4) increase the ability of managers to predict outcomes following fire. Key components identified that influence plant and soil responses to fire included fire severity, pre- and post-weather, ecological site characteristics, current vegetation (vegetation present on the site prior to the disturbance event), and post-fire disturbance. Possibly the three most important site characteristics that influence a sites resilience (ability of the site to recover) and resistance to invasives are the soil temperature/moisture regimes and the composition and structure of vegetation on the site just prior to the disturbance event. However, other soil characteristics, severity of the disturbance(s), post-fire climate, and post-fire disturbance and management will modify the response. All of these key components need to be considered when predicting or evaluating fire effects in Great Basin communities. Possibly the largest gap we identified in this review is the lack of long-term fire studies (>10 years) and studies that evaluated the effects of repeated burns.

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Reference Code: U13USF01IDUS <br>

Full Citation: Richard F. Miller, Jeanne C. Chambers, David A. Pyke, Fred B. Pierson, C. Jason Williams. 2013. Fire Effects on Vegetation and Soils in the Great Basin Region - Response and Site Characteristics. Draft Research Paper. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. 125 pp. <br>

Location: ELECTRONIC FILE - BOTANY: OTHER