Information on vegetative productivity and nutritive responses to burning in mesic, high elevation big sagebrush (Artcmisia tri-denta& Nutt) communities is limited. We investigated the effects of 2 wildfires and 3 prescribed fires on current year's production of herbs and selected shrubs for 3 years post-burn, and forage quality for 2 years post-burn in high elevation big sagebrush habitats ln southcentral Wyoming. Production of perennial herbs on burned sites averaged twice that on controls, while production of annual herbs varied little 23 years post-burn. Burn-induced mortality of Saskatoon serviceberry (Amelanchier alnifolia (NW.) Nutt. ex Roem.) was ~15%~ but a 6-fold increase in twig production more than compensated for plant losses. Mortality of true mountain mahogany (Cercocaqw montanus Raf.) and antelope bitterbrush (Purshiu trzifknfala (Pursh) DC) averaged 25% and 55%, respectively, but these losses generally were compensated by increases in browse production. Crude protein content of herbs from late spring through early fall was significantly higher on bums for 2 years post-bum. These results suggest wellmanaged prescribed burning programs have potential to improve May through September diets of large herbivores in southcentral Wyoming mountain-shrub communities.and Halls 1978) can provide superior foraging conditions for wild ungulates after burning. But the results from studies of vegetative productivity and nutritive response to fire are highly variable
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.