The American Indian: A Fire Ecologist

Mitchell, Joseph D.

doi:10.17953/aicr.02.2.v736211336358254

“…In the Southwestern United States, widespread fires at 5 to 10year intervals probably maintained the semiarid grasslands (Collins and Wallace 1990, Cook 1995, Gottfried et al 1995, Mitchell 1978, Wright 1980, Wright and Bailey 1982. Past research has demonstrated that woody perennials invaded grasslands in the absence of fire (Briggs andGibson 1992, Wright 1980).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Response of 2 Semiarid Grasslands to Cool-Season Prescribed Fire

White¹,

Loftin²

2000

Journal of Range Management

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Woody perennials have invaded semiarid grasslands throughout the Southwestern United States. This invasion was coupled with decreased grass cover and increased runoff and soil erosion. Fire, which was a natural force that shaped and maintained the grasslands, is a management tool that may aid in restoring and maintaining grass cover. However, fire also poses the risk of increasing erosion and further soil degradation because protection afforded by vegetation is reduced immediately after the fire. Using a randomized block study design, this study measured vegetation cover, soil potentially mineralizable N, and erosion associated with the first application of prescribed fire on 2 semiarid grasslands. The potential for adverse effects from these fires was great because the fires occurred at the beginning of a drought period. However, the effects of the burn were minor relative to the effects of the drought, which caused the greatest change. Grass cover on the burn plots was nearly equal to grass cover on the controls 1 year after the fire. After 2 growing seasons, grass cover was equal on the control and burn plots. Potentially mineralizable soil N and sediment transport were similar on the control and burned plots during the 2 years following the fire. Thus, prescribed fire for reducing the cover of woody perennials may not increase the risk of site degradation over that caused by drought and weather fluctuations.

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“…In the Southwestern United States, widespread fires at 5 to 10-year intervals probably maintained the semiarid grasslands (Collins and Wallace 1990, Cook 1995, Gottfried et al 1995, Mitchell 1978, Wright 1980, Wright and Bailey 1982. Past research has demonstrated that woody perennials invaded grasslands in the absence of fire (Briggs andGibson 1992, Wright 1980).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Response of 2 semiarid grasslands to cool-season prescribed fire

White¹,

Loftin²

2000

REM

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Woody perennials have invaded semiarid grasslands throughout the Southwestern United States. This invasion was coupled with decreased grass cover and increased runoff and soil erosion. Fire, which was a natural force that shaped and maintained the grasslands, is a management tool that may aid in restoring and maintaining grass cover. However, fire also poses the risk of increasing erosion and further soil degradation because protection afforded by vegetation is reduced immediately after the fire. Using a randomized block study design, this study measured vegetation cover, soil potentially mineralizable N, and erosion associated with the first application of prescribed fire on 2 semiarid grasslands. The potential for adverse effects from these fires was great because the fires occurred at the beginning of a drought period. However, the effects of the burn were minor relative to the effects of the drought, which caused the greatest change. Grass cover on the burn plots was nearly equal to grass cover on the controls 1 year after the fire. After 2 growing seasons, grass cover was equal on the control and burn plots. Potentially mineralizable soil N and sediment transport were similar on the control and burned plots during the 2 years following the fire. Thus, prescribed fire for reducing the cover of woody perennials may not increase the risk of site degradation over that caused by drought and weather fluctuations.

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“…Widespread fires at 5-to 10-year intervals probably maintained the semiarid grasslands of the pre-1900s Southwest (Mitchell 1978;Wright 1980;Cook 1995;Gottfried et al 1995). However, intense grazing that interrupted fuel continuity and direct fire suppression resulted in the near absence of fire and created optimal conditions for woody perennials to invade grasslands (Wright 1980;Briggs and Gibson 1992).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Applying Improved Estimates of MODIS Productivity to Characterize Grassland Vegetation Dynamics

Reeves¹,

Zhao²,

Running³

2006

REM

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Prescribed fire was used in two semiarid grasslands to reduce shrub cover, promote grass production, and reduce erosional loss that represents a potential non-point-source of sediment to degrade water quality. This study measured transported soil sediment, dynamics in soil surface microtopography, cover of the woody shrub, grass, and bare ground cover classes, and soil fertility measured by nitrogen-mineralization potentials for the respective cover classes over a 9-year period during which 2 fires occurred. In general, the effects of two drought periods were equal to or greater than the effects of fire on the measured parameters. Following the second fire at the grama grass-dominated site, the number of live junipers was significantly lowered (P , 0.001). Fire consumed grass and shrub cover, which created the potential for greater transport of sediment and loss in soil surface elevation. Soil fertility under shrubs was significantly higher than soil fertility under grasses in both grassland sites before and after the first fire; however, that highly significant pattern was not present after the second fire for about 2 years at both sites. This suggests that the reestablishment of a natural fire frequency would likely dampen the well-documented pattern of greater soil fertility under shrub islands relative to grass islands. Repeat use of prescribed fire may keep shrub cover in check and promote fundamental changes in soil processes within semiarid grasslands, but its value must be weighed against the increased potential for erosion following fire. ResumenEl fuego prescrito se uso en dos pastizales semiá ridos para reducir la cobertura de arbustos, promover la producció n de zacates y reducir las perdidas de suelo por erosió n, la cual representa una fuente potencial no puntual de sedimentos para degradar la calidad del agua. Este estudio midió el sedimento de suelo transportado, las diná micas en la microtopografía de la superficie del suelo, las clases de cobertura de arbustos leñ osos, zacates y suelo desnudo y la fertilidad del suelo, medida por los potenciales de mineralizació n del nitró geno para las respectivas clases de cobertura. Las mediciones se realizaron por un periodo de nueve añ os, durante el cual ocurrieron dos fuegos. En general, los efectos de dos periodos de sequía fueron iguales o mayores que los efectos del fuego en los parámetros medidos. Después del segundo fuego, en el sitio dominado por ''Grama grass'', el nú mero de ''Junipers'' vivos fue reducido significativamente (P , 0.001). El fuego consumió la cobertura de zacates y arbustos, creando un mayor potencial de transporte de sedimentos y perdidas en la elevació n de la superficie del suelo. La fertilidad bajo los arbustos fue significativamente mayor que la fertilidad del suelo bajo los zacates, esto se detectó en ambos sitios de pastizal, antes y después del primer fuego. Sin embargo, ese patró n tan significativo no se presentó después del segundo fuego en ninguno de los dos sitios por aproximadamente dos añ os. Esto sugiere ...

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The American Indian: A Fire Ecologist

Cited by 5 publications

References 5 publications

Response of 2 Semiarid Grasslands to Cool-Season Prescribed Fire

Response of 2 Semiarid Grasslands to Cool-Season Prescribed Fire

Response of 2 semiarid grasslands to cool-season prescribed fire

Applying Improved Estimates of MODIS Productivity to Characterize Grassland Vegetation Dynamics

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