Cheatgrass invasion of sagebrush habitats after a fire in northwestern Nevada, U.S.A

Exotic plant invasions and increasing wildfire have greatly impacted rangelands in the American West, particularly areas that normally support perennial shrub-steppe vegetation. The FIREss team produces science to inform proactive and reactive management of sagebrush steppe with the goal of increasing resistance to invasion and resilience to wildfire. Many on the team participate in fire...

The Sagebrush Steppe Treatment Evaluation Project--or SageSTEP-- is a regional experiment taking place across six states in the Great Basin. A multidisciplinary team of scientists are evaluating methods of sagebrush steppe restoration to inform land managers working to protect one of the most threatened land types in North America. SageSTEP is the longest running and largest replicated ecological...

We are studying how herbicides sprayed onto soil to prevent the establishment of exotic annual grasses such as cheatgrass may impact the health, growth resources and microbiota of soils in sagebrush-steppe, where herbicide use is an important and common tool. Our findings will help make herbicide applications more successful.

Seeding and herbicide treatments are a key aspect of the strategy used to break the annual grass-fire cycle in sagebrush steppe. However, past studies report considerable variability in the effectiveness of seeding and herbicide treatments. To generate a more consistent interpretation of post-fire herbicide and seeding effects, we are compiling, reviewing, and synthesizing findings from past...