Using the Past and the Present To Understand Fire Ecology in the Range of the Gunnison Sage-Grouse Active
Little is known about the role of fire in the sagebrush ecosystem within the range of the Gunnison sage-grouse (Centrocercus minimus), and fire has been mostly absent from these systems in the 20th century, partially owing to active fire suppression.
Tree-ring fire scars can provide unique insight into fire regimes prior to fire exclusion and have proven invaluable for managing forests and rangelands. Although fire scars are rare in sagebrush systems in the southwestern United States, USGS and university scientists have identified several sites with fire-scarred ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) and Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) trees at sagebrush-forest ecotones in the upper Gunnison Basin. The researchers are using tree-ring fire-scars from these sites to reconstruct historical fire regime components, including fire frequency, extent, and seasonality and relationships to climate, over multiple centuries. They are also sampling and characterizing vegetation composition and structure from nearby sagebrush areas that have and have not experienced recent wildfire or prescribed burning. Findings of this study can inform fire and vegetation management on Bureau of Land Management and other lands.
Historical fire regimes and contemporary fire effects within sagebrush habitats of Gunnison Sage-grouse
Little is known about the role of fire in the sagebrush ecosystem within the range of the Gunnison sage-grouse (Centrocercus minimus), and fire has been mostly absent from these systems in the 20th century, partially owing to active fire suppression.
Tree-ring fire scars can provide unique insight into fire regimes prior to fire exclusion and have proven invaluable for managing forests and rangelands. Although fire scars are rare in sagebrush systems in the southwestern United States, USGS and university scientists have identified several sites with fire-scarred ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) and Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) trees at sagebrush-forest ecotones in the upper Gunnison Basin. The researchers are using tree-ring fire-scars from these sites to reconstruct historical fire regime components, including fire frequency, extent, and seasonality and relationships to climate, over multiple centuries. They are also sampling and characterizing vegetation composition and structure from nearby sagebrush areas that have and have not experienced recent wildfire or prescribed burning. Findings of this study can inform fire and vegetation management on Bureau of Land Management and other lands.