Fire and Changes in Creosote Bush Scrub of the Western Sonoran Desert, California

Brown, David E.; Minnich, Richard A.

doi:10.2307/2425750

Cited by 95 publications

(90 citation statements)

References 9 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Reduced shrub canopy cover by prescribed burning coincides with past research in the southwestern deserts of North America [24,25]. However, effects of fire, either prescribed or wild, on plant communities vary widely.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 71%

“…Density may be affected for a longer period of time because creosote bush seedling establishment is unpredictable, dependant on fall soil temperatures, and heavy fall precipitation [26]. Likewise, asexual reproduction following fires was not documented during our study or by Brown and Minnich [24]. The prescribed fire reduction in density of three prevalent cactus species may foretell of greater impacts over time.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 63%

“…However, effects of fire, either prescribed or wild, on plant communities vary widely. Season of burn may have the greatest impact on resprouting and mortality of shrubs, especially creosote bush [24], one of the dominant shrubs on our sites. Wright and Bailey [1] suggested that June fires may kill 100% of creosote bush.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 96%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Short-Term Fire Effects on Small Mammal Populations and Vegetation of the Northern Chihuahuan Desert

Monasmith¹,

Demarais

Root³

et al. 2010

International Journal of Ecology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Fire is an important ecological factor in semidesert grass-shrub community dynamics, but there is a lack of designed field experiments documenting effects on vegetation and small mammals. We document effects of June prescribed fire on vegetation and small mammals on 20, 25-ha study areas in the Northern Chihuahuan Desert of Southern New Mexico, USA one month and one year posttreatment. Canopy cover of shrubs and grasses recovered to 68 and 27% of the preburn canopy cover, respectively, after one year. Prescribed burns during June enhanced short-term forb production by reducing competition from grasses and shrubs. Thirty thousand trap-nights yielded 1744 captures of 766 individuals of 15 small mammal species. Burns did not affect small mammal species richness and species diversity. Relative abundance of Merriam's kangaroo rats (Dipodomys merriami) was 91% greater on burned sites than on control sites one year postburn. Silky pocket mouse (Perognathus flavus) relative abundance was 221% greater on burned sites one year postburn. Chihuahuan Desert pocket mice (Chaetodipus eremicus) responded negatively to the fire, with relative abundance 170% greater on control sites (P = .080). Burning produced short-term benefits for two heteromyids, Merriam's kangaroo rats and silky pocket mice.

show abstract

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 71%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 63%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Short-Term Fire Effects on Small Mammal Populations and Vegetation of the Northern Chihuahuan Desert

Monasmith¹,

Demarais

Root³

et al. 2010

International Journal of Ecology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…This biomass threshold is at the higher end of the range of fine fuel thresholds of 70-150 g m À2 reported as being able to carry fire in grass-dominated systems (Anderson 1982;Scifres and Hamilton 1993;Fenn et al 2003a). For reasons already discussed, no biomass threshold appeared to influence most of the fire size distribution, although the change in fire size at the 99th percentile of the fire size distribution when fine fuel loads exceeded 125 g m À2 does support the hypothesis that annual biomass production above a certain threshold creates a continuous fine fuel load that facilitates fire spread and is necessary for the occurrence of large fires in a low-elevation desert ecosystem that would otherwise be fuel limited (Brown and Minnich 1986;Brooks and Matchett 2006;Meyn et al 2007).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 82%

“…4). Several studies support the link between increased precipitation and fire size in low-elevation deserts (Brown and Minnich 1986;Rogers and Vint 1987;Crimmins and Comrie 2004;Brooks and Matchett 2006). Several other studies from the arid south-western US have shown a link between a period of drought and increased fire size, possibly with increased precipitation 2 years before the fire, but those patterns are driven by higher-elevation, fire-prone shrubland, woodland and forest landscapes (Swetnam and Betancourt 1998;Westerling et al 2003;Littell et al 2009).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 89%

Relationships between annual plant productivity, nitrogen deposition and fire size in low-elevation California desert scrub

Rao

Matchett

Brooks

et al. 2015

Int. J. Wildland Fire

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Abstract. Although precipitation is correlated with fire size in desert ecosystems and is typically used as an indirect surrogate for fine fuel load, a direct link between fine fuel biomass and fire size has not been established. In addition, nitrogen (N) deposition can affect fire risk through its fertilisation effect on fine fuel production. In this study, we examine the relationships between fire size and precipitation, N deposition and biomass with emphasis on identifying biomass and N deposition thresholds associated with fire spreading across the landscape. We used a 28-year fire record of 582 burns from low-elevation desert scrub to evaluate the relationship of precipitation, N deposition and biomass with the distribution of fire sizes using quantile regression. We found that models using annual biomass have similar predictive ability to those using precipitation and N deposition at the lower to intermediate portions of the fire size distribution. No distinct biomass threshold was found, although within the 99th percentile of the distribution fire size increased with greater than 125 g m À2 of winter fine fuel production. The study did not produce an N deposition threshold, but did validate the value of 125 g m À2 of fine fuel for spread of fires.

show abstract

Life‐history traits predict perennial species response to fire in a desert ecosystem

Shryock

DeFalco

Esque

2014

Ecology and Evolution

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The Mojave Desert of North America has become fire-prone in recent decades due to invasive annual grasses that fuel wildfires following years of high rainfall. Perennial species are poorly adapted to fire in this system, and post-fire shifts in species composition have been substantial but variable across community types. To generalize across a range of conditions, we investigated whether simple life-history traits could predict how species responded to fire. Further, we classified species into plant functional types (PFTs) based on combinations of life-history traits and evaluated whether these groups exhibited a consistent fire-response. Six life-history traits varied significantly between burned and unburned areas in short (up to 4 years) or long-term (up to 52 years) post-fire datasets, including growth form, lifespan, seed size, seed dispersal, height, and leaf longevity. Forbs and grasses consistently increased in abundance after fire, while cacti were reduced and woody species exhibited a variable response. Woody species were classified into three PFTs based on combinations of life-history traits. Species in Group 1 increased in abundance after fire and were characterized by short lifespans, small, wind-dispersed seeds, low height, and deciduous leaves. Species in Group 2 were reduced by fire and distinguished from Group 1 by longer lifespans and evergreen leaves. Group 3 species, which also decreased after fire, were characterized by long lifespans, large non-wind dispersed seeds, and taller heights. Our results show that PFTs based on life-history traits can reliably predict the responses of most species to fire in the Mojave Desert. Dominant, long-lived species of this region possess a combination of traits limiting their ability to recover, presenting a clear example of how a novel disturbance regime may shift selective environmental pressures to favor alternative life-history strategies.

show abstract

Fire and Changes in Creosote Bush Scrub of the Western Sonoran Desert, California

Cited by 95 publications

References 9 publications

Short-Term Fire Effects on Small Mammal Populations and Vegetation of the Northern Chihuahuan Desert

Short-Term Fire Effects on Small Mammal Populations and Vegetation of the Northern Chihuahuan Desert

Relationships between annual plant productivity, nitrogen deposition and fire size in low-elevation California desert scrub

Life‐history traits predict perennial species response to fire in a desert ecosystem

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About