Invasive and native plant responses to shrubland fuel reduction: comparing prescribed fire, mastication, and treatment season

Potts, Jennifer B.; Stephens, Scott L.

doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2009.03.001

Cited by 48 publications

(33 citation statements)

References 38 publications

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“…Spring mastication treatments were conducted slightly later than spring fire treatments because roads were not dry enough for the masticator to access. We did not expect this discrepancy in spring treatment timing to significantly affect our findings, since previous analysis showed that treatment type (prescribed fire or mastication) overshadowed the effect of treatment season (Potts and Stephens 2009). …”

Section: Experimental Designmentioning

confidence: 64%

“…Masticated sites, in contrast, have a slow nutrient release as the shredded biomass decays and this may contribute to the slower regrowth. Even though regeneration mechanisms of chaparral species are considered adapted to fire, the results of our and other studies in Mediterranean shrublands suggest that these communities have a high resilience to disturbance, either caused by fire or by mechanical treatments (Calvo et al 1998;Del Barrio et al 1999;Bond and Midgley 2001;Potts and Stephens 2009). Furthermore, nonfire disturbances are demonstrated to play an important role in the evolution of some chaparral communities (Ackerly 2004).…”

Section: Treatment Typementioning

confidence: 76%

“…Furthermore, nonfire disturbances are demonstrated to play an important role in the evolution of some chaparral communities (Ackerly 2004). The presence of fire-following species in masticated areas (Potts and Stephens 2009) may be attributed to polymorphic seed banks (Keeley 1991;Sweeney 1956;Zammit and Zedler 1994) and/ or sufficiently high solar heating that overcomes physical seed dormancy (Baskin and Baskin 1998;Christensen and Muller 1975). Calvo et al (2002) observed that differences in shrub cover after different fuel treatments (including burning and cutting) during the first year of succession in a Mediterranean heathland tended to be eliminated after 12 years, and most of the species tended to recover to their initial cover values.…”

Section: Treatment Typementioning

confidence: 99%

“…A seed that breaks dormancy after a fall treatment will have several months to establish a root system before the summer drought, whereas a spring germinant may not have adequate time to develop roots, and is more susceptible to drought-related mortality (Florence and Florence 1988). Prescribed fires and mastication can also influence non-native plant establishment and the associated resource competition (Potts and Stephens 2009).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Chaparral shrub recovery after fuel reduction: a comparison of prescribed fire and mastication techniques

2010

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Fuel management techniques are commonly used in shrublands to reduce wildfire risk. However, more information about the ecological effects of these treatments is needed by managers and ecologists. In an effort to address this need, we performed a replicated (4 replicates per treatment) 48-ha experiment in northern California chaparral dominated by Adenostoma fasciculatum to determine the effects of two fuel reduction types (prescribed fire and mastication) and three different seasons of treatment (fall, winter, and spring) on shrub cover, height, and seedling density. Exclosures (2.5 m 2 each) were also used to assess herbivory effects. By the third posttreatment year, prescribed fire treatments had higher shrub cover (71 ± 2%) than mastication (43 ± 4%). There was no treatment effect on shrub height, species richness, or composition. Seedling density was initially higher in prescribed fire treatments (31 ± 4 seedlings m -2 ) than mastication (3 ± 0 seedlings m -2 ); however, prescribed fire treatments experienced substantial mortality, especially spring burning, resulting in lower densities 3 years after treatments (18 ± 0 seedlings m -2 after fall and winter fire compared to 2 ± 0 seedlings m -2 after spring fire). A. fasciculatum remained the dominant shrub species after the treatments, and Ceanothus cuneatus recruitment was higher in fall burning. Deer herbivory only affected shrub height, especially in masticated units, resulting in heights of 55 ± 2 cm in unexclosed areas compared to 66 ± 4 cm inside exclosures by the third post-treatment year. Overall, our findings suggest that fuel treatments play an important role in shrubland community dynamics, at least in the short-term, with implications for re-treatment frequency, community structure, and wildlife habitat.

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Section: Experimental Designmentioning

confidence: 64%

Section: Treatment Typementioning

confidence: 76%

Section: Treatment Typementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Chaparral shrub recovery after fuel reduction: a comparison of prescribed fire and mastication techniques

2010

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“…For instance, management of vegetation in chaparral-dominated systems is typically performed by masticating or burning shrubs. Non-native grasses can quickly invade the treated area and become the dominant vegetation type-indicating a type conversion from shrubs to grass [39,40]. This land cover change can then result in a land use change if livestock are brought in to graze the newly established grasses, which has historically constituted "range improvement" in much of the American West.…”

Section: Fire Risk and The Management Of Fire Risk As Drivers Of Landmentioning

confidence: 99%

Land Use and Wildfire: A Review of Local Interactions and Teleconnections

Butsic

Kelly

Moritz

2015

Land

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Abstract:Fire is a naturally occurring process of most terrestrial ecosystems as well as a tool for changing land use. Since the beginning of history humans have used fire as a mechanism for creating areas suitable for agriculture and settlement. As fires threaten human dominated landscapes, fire risk itself has become a driver of landscape change, impacting landscapes through land use regulations and fire management. Land use changes also influence fire ignition frequency and fuel loads and hence alters fire regimes. The impact of these changes is often exacerbated as new land users demand alternative fire management strategies, which can impact land cover and management far from where land use change has actually occurred. This creates nuanced land use teleconnections between source areas for fires and economic cores, which demand and fund fire protection. Here we will review the role of fire and fire risk as a driver of land use change, the ways land use changes impact drivers of fire, and suggest that the integration of land use teleconnections into the fire/land use discussion can help us better understand and manage the complex interactions between fire and land use.

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The ecological uncertainty of wildfire fuel breaks: examples from the sagebrush steppe

Shinneman

Germino

Pilliod

et al. 2019

Frontiers in Ecol & Environ

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Fuel breaks are increasingly being implemented at broad scales (100s to 10,000s of square kilometers) in fire‐prone landscapes globally, yet there is little scientific information available regarding their ecological effects (eg habitat fragmentation). Fuel breaks are designed to reduce flammable vegetation (ie fuels), increase the safety and effectiveness of fire‐suppression operations, and ultimately decrease the extent of wildfire spread. In sagebrush (Artemisia spp) ecosystems of the western US, installation of extensive linear fuel breaks is also intended to protect habitat, especially for the greater sage‐grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus), a species that is sensitive to habitat fragmentation. We examine this apparent contradiction in the Great Basin region, where invasive annual grasses have increased wildfire activity and threaten sagebrush ecosystems. Given uncertain outcomes, we examine how implementation of fuel breaks might (1) directly alter ecosystems, (2) create edges and edge effects, (3) serve as vectors for wildlife movement and plant invasions, (4) fragment otherwise contiguous sagebrush landscapes, and (5) benefit from scientific investigation intended to disentangle their ecological costs and benefits.

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Invasive and native plant responses to shrubland fuel reduction: comparing prescribed fire, mastication, and treatment season

Cited by 48 publications

References 38 publications

Chaparral shrub recovery after fuel reduction: a comparison of prescribed fire and mastication techniques

Chaparral shrub recovery after fuel reduction: a comparison of prescribed fire and mastication techniques

Land Use and Wildfire: A Review of Local Interactions and Teleconnections

The ecological uncertainty of wildfire fuel breaks: examples from the sagebrush steppe

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