Reconsidering rest following fire: Northern mixed-grass prairie is resilient to grazing following spring wildfire

Gates, Emily A.; Vermeire, Lance T.; Marlow, Clayton B.; Waterman, R. C.

doi:10.1016/j.agee.2017.01.001

Cited by 19 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 35 publications

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“…Reseeding programs made up an average of 7% of USDA NRCS expenditures from 2005 to 2009 (Twidwell, Allred, & Fuhlendorf, 2013), and continue to be promoted in Great Plains rangelands to help stabilize regions perceived as vulnerable following wildfire (e.g., Fick, 2017; Fick et al, 2017). Our results support local, field‐based studies that question the necessity of such programs in the Great Plains (e.g., Arterburn et al, 2017; Gates et al, 2017). Great Plains grasslands have evolved with fire (Anderson, 1990, 2006; Wells, 1970), and grasses have substantial ability to survive and resprout through bud bank following fire (Dalgleish & Hartnett, 2009; Pausas & Paula, 2020).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 88%

“…However, relatively rapid vegetation recovery across broad scales brings to question postfire management tactics that assume high plant mortality and persistent bare ground caused by wildfire. For instance, erosion mitigation tactics like reseeding and grazing deferment are sometimes used following wildfire to assist with rehabilitating burned sites (Gates et al, 2017; Hardegree et al, 2011; Tanaka et al, 2011). Following the 2012 and 2017 wildfire years in Texas, millions of dollars in disaster assistance were offered to assist with vegetation recovery and erosion mitigation like reseeding, cross fencing, and grazing deferment (Natural Resources Conservation Service [NRCS] Texas, 2012, 2017).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Resilience to Large, “Catastrophic” Wildfires in North America's Grassland Biome

et al. 2020

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Wildfires are ecosystem‐level drivers of structure and function in many vegetated biomes. While numerous studies have emphasized the benefits of fire to ecosystems, large wildfires have also been associated with the loss of ecosystem services and shifts in vegetation abundance. The size and number of wildfires are increasing across a number of regions, and yet the outcomes of large wildfire on vegetation at large‐scales are still largely unknown. We introduce an exhaustive analysis of wildfire‐scale vegetation response to large wildfires across North America's grassland biome. We use 18 years of a newly released vegetation data set combined with 1,390 geospatial wildfire perimeters and drought data to detect large‐scale vegetation response among multiple vegetation functional groups. We found no evidence of persistent declines in vegetation driven by wildfire at the biome level. All vegetation functional groups exhibited relatively rapid recovery to pre wildfire ranges of variation across the Great Plains ecoregions, with the exception being a persistent decrease in the abundance of trees in the Northwestern Great Plains. Drought intensity magnified immediate vegetation response to wildfire. Persistent declines in vegetation cover were observed at the scale of single pixels (30 m), suggesting that these responses were localized and represent extreme cases within larger wildfires. Our findings echo over a century of research demonstrating a biome resilient to wildfire.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 88%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Resilience to Large, “Catastrophic” Wildfires in North America's Grassland Biome

et al. 2020

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“…Similarly, in a northern mixed-grass prairie in South Dakota, USA, it was found that moderate cattle grazing in the first and second growing seasons after a wildfire did not decrease forage productivity. Yet, in terms of plant community composition, post-fire grazing slightly decreased the abundance of C3 grasses, while increasing the abundance of C4 grasses, with the resultant lower nutritional quality of pasture [80]. Overall, it seems that post-fire impacts of livestock or wild ungulates on vegetation are case-specific, and particularly dependent on the plant community, as well as on the grazing pressure and seasonality [81].…”

Section: Post-fire Ungulate Grazingmentioning

confidence: 97%

Wildfires in Grasslands and Shrublands: A Review of Impacts on Vegetation, Soil, Hydrology, and Geomorphology

Stavi

2019

Water

100

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Wildfires are prevalent in grasslands and shrublands. The objective of this study is to provide land managers with a general overview, by assessing the main impacts of wildfire, including those on plant communities (e.g., secondary succession and species invasion), soil characteristics (e.g., water repellency (hydrophobicity), aggregation and structure stability, and contents of organic carbon and nutrients), and surface processes (e.g., ash deposition, ground surface clogging, water runoff, soil erosion, hillslope debris flow, and dry ravel). Additionally, the study discusses the effects of livestock grazing on the functioning of post-fire grasslands and shrublands. Although mesic regions are mentioned, this review focuses on drylands. The comparatively low-to-moderate fuel loads that characterize grasslands and shrublands generate wildfires of relatively moderate intensity, resulting in moderate burn severity. Yet, it seems that because of decreased soil aggregate stability following burning, the hoof action of livestock that access burnt lands shortly after the fire increases the shearing and detachment of mineral material from the ground surface; this increases soil erodibility, with the possible risk of accelerated land degradation. The review ends with an assessment of general implications for environmental sustainability and health, and provides recommendations on wildfire control in rangelands, and on restoration of burnt lands.

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“…, Gates et al. , Clark et al. ) and is clearly a departure from how fire and grazing historically interacted (Fuhlendorf et al.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…After burning, it is often the policy of federal and state agency managers to remove grazing animals for two years to allow recovery of the vegetative community (USDI-BLM 2014). However, recent research has demonstrated that an extended recovery period is not necessary (Augustine et al 2010, Gates et al 2017, Clark et al 2018) and is clearly a departure from how fire and grazing historically interacted . This significant departure from disturbance patterns under which Great Plains flora and fauna developed is a concern for biodiversity, perhaps most notably that of grassland birds (Holcomb et al 2014.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Recoupling fire and grazing reduces wildland fuel loads on rangelands

et al. 2019

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Fire suppression and exclusion, the historically dominant paradigm of fire management, has resulted in major modifications of fire-dependent ecosystems worldwide. These changes are partially credited with a recent increase in wildfire number and extent, as well as more extreme fire behavior. Fire and herbivory historically interacted, and research has shown that the interaction creates a unique mosaic of vegetation heterogeneity that each disturbance alone does not create. Because fire and grazing have largely been decoupled in modern times, the degree to which the interaction affects fuels and fire regimes has not yet been quantified. We evaluated effects of fire-only and pyric herbivory on rangeland fuels and fire behavior simulated using BehavePlus at four sites across the southern Great Plains. We predicted patches managed via pyric herbivory would maintain lower fuel loads, and less intense simulated fire behavior than fire alone. We found that time since fire was a significant predictor of fuel loads and simulated fire behavior characteristics at all sites. Fuel loads and simulated fire behavior characteristics (flame length and rate of spread) increased with increasing time since fire in all simulated weather scenarios. Pyric herbivory mediated fuel accumulation at all sites. Mean fuel loads in fire-only treatments exceeded 5000 kg/ha within 24 months, but pyric herbivory treatments remained below 5000 kg/ha for approximately 36 months. Simulated flame lengths in fire-only treatments were consistently higher (up to 3 9 ) than in pyric herbivory treatments. Similarly, fire spread rates were higher in fire-only than in pyric herbivory treatments in all simulated weather conditions. Although all sites had potential to burn in the most extreme weather conditions, pyric herbivory reduced fuel accumulations, flame lengths, and rates of spread across all weather patterns simulated. These reductions extended the amount of time standard wildland firefighting techniques remain effective. Therefore, incorporating pyric herbivory into fuel management practices, in areas of high herbaceous productivity, increases the effectiveness of fuel treatments.

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Reconsidering rest following fire: Northern mixed-grass prairie is resilient to grazing following spring wildfire

Cited by 19 publications

References 35 publications

Resilience to Large, “Catastrophic” Wildfires in North America's Grassland Biome

Resilience to Large, “Catastrophic” Wildfires in North America's Grassland Biome

Wildfires in Grasslands and Shrublands: A Review of Impacts on Vegetation, Soil, Hydrology, and Geomorphology

Recoupling fire and grazing reduces wildland fuel loads on rangelands

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