A review of fire effects on vegetation and soils in the Great Basin Region : response and ecological site characteristics / Richard F. Miller [and four others]

Format:

Book

Government document

Author/Creator:

Miller, Richard, 1949- author.

Contributor:

Rocky Mountain Research Station (Fort Collins, Colo.), issuing body.

Series:

General technical report RMRS ; 308.

General technical report RMRS ; 308

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Fire ecology--Great Basin.

Fire ecology.

Plants--Effect of fires on--Great Basin.

Plants.

Soils--Effect of fires on--Great Basin.

Soils.

Invasive plants--Effect of fires on--Great Basin.

Invasive plants.

Plant succession--Great Basin.

Plant succession.

Plants--Effect of fires on.

Soils--Effect of fires on.

United States--Great Basin.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (126 pages) : illustrations (some color), color maps.

Place of Publication:

Fort Collins, CO : United States Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, [2013]

Summary:

This review synthesizes the state of knowledge on fire effects on vegetation and soils in semi-arid ecosystems in the Great Basin Region, including the central and northern Great Basin and Range, Columbia River Basin, and the Snake River Plain. We summarize available literature related to: (1) the effects of environmental gradients, ecological site, and vegetation characteristics on resilience to disturbance and resistance to invasive species; (2) the effects of fire on individual plant species and communities, biological soil crusts, seed banks, soil nutrients, and hydrology; and (3) the role of fire severity, fire versus fire surrogate treatments, and post-fire grazing in determining ecosystem response. From this, we identify knowledge gaps and present a framework for predicting plant successional trajectories following wild and prescribed fires and fire surrogate treatments. Possibly the three most important ecological site characteristics that influence a site's resilience (ability of the ecological site to recover from disturbance) and resistance to invasive species are soil temperature/moisture regimes and the composition and structure of vegetation on the ecological site just prior to the disturbance event.

Notes:

Title from Web page (viewed on Feb. 11, 2014).

"November, 2013."

Includes bibliographical references (pages 89-115).

Other Format:

Print version: Review of fire effects on vegetation and soils in the Great Basin Region

OCLC:

870340355