Invasives
As exotic annual grasses become more common, join the FIREss team in combatting them
As exotic annual grasses and the wildfires they promote become more common, the FIREss team in combats them with science-based solutions.
In post-fire sagebrush steppe landscapes, invasive annual grasses grow fast and quickly fill in many of the spaces left open by perennial vegetation lost to the fire. Cheatgrass, a common invasive annual grass, is particularly problematic because it colonizes burned areas, dries early in the summer, and creates a carpet of dead plant matter that burns easily. The conditions created by cheatgrass and other invasive annual grasses leads to more fires, often in the same location, and results in an annual grass fire cycle that managers fight to break.
Biology of Invasive Plant Species
The FIREss team studies how different biological and biophysical aspects contribute to the invasiveness of a species. Our studies include research into soils, climate, genetics, and human factors like site management. Knowing what makes a site vulnerable to invasion and what promotes a species invasiveness helps land managers to create effective control-treatment plans.
Emerging Methods for Controlling Invasives
The FIREss team investigates effectiveness and duration of herbicides applied to soil to control exotic grasses such as cheatgrass. We also look at non-target effects of herbicides on native plants and soil health. Land managers need to know what to expect from the herbicides over time, and best-management practices for their application.
Fuel Treatments and Fuel Breaks
Field-based monitoring and fire-risk modeling by FIREss helps optimize placement of fuel-reduction treatments such as mowings and herbicides. The resulting moderation of wildfire risks improves prospects for wildfire containment, like improving safety for fire fighters along fuel breaks. Reduced wildfire is also key to minimizing further spread and dominance of cheatgrass.
Look at the images below to see the FIREss team at work!
Scientist taking a soil core sample.
Experimenting with planting cheatgrass.
Planting cheatgrass in a black gravel plot.
As exotic annual grasses and the wildfires they promote become more common, the FIREss team in combats them with science-based solutions.
In post-fire sagebrush steppe landscapes, invasive annual grasses grow fast and quickly fill in many of the spaces left open by perennial vegetation lost to the fire. Cheatgrass, a common invasive annual grass, is particularly problematic because it colonizes burned areas, dries early in the summer, and creates a carpet of dead plant matter that burns easily. The conditions created by cheatgrass and other invasive annual grasses leads to more fires, often in the same location, and results in an annual grass fire cycle that managers fight to break.
Biology of Invasive Plant Species
The FIREss team studies how different biological and biophysical aspects contribute to the invasiveness of a species. Our studies include research into soils, climate, genetics, and human factors like site management. Knowing what makes a site vulnerable to invasion and what promotes a species invasiveness helps land managers to create effective control-treatment plans.
Emerging Methods for Controlling Invasives
The FIREss team investigates effectiveness and duration of herbicides applied to soil to control exotic grasses such as cheatgrass. We also look at non-target effects of herbicides on native plants and soil health. Land managers need to know what to expect from the herbicides over time, and best-management practices for their application.
Fuel Treatments and Fuel Breaks
Field-based monitoring and fire-risk modeling by FIREss helps optimize placement of fuel-reduction treatments such as mowings and herbicides. The resulting moderation of wildfire risks improves prospects for wildfire containment, like improving safety for fire fighters along fuel breaks. Reduced wildfire is also key to minimizing further spread and dominance of cheatgrass.
Look at the images below to see the FIREss team at work!
Scientist taking a soil core sample.
Experimenting with planting cheatgrass.
Planting cheatgrass in a black gravel plot.