Postfire Plant Community at Low Elevation, Death Valley NP

Photo of a low elevation community that burned four years prior in the Calico fire, Death Valley National Park. Notice the large amount of plant cover, a large proportion of which is dominated by invasive species like red brome (Bromus rubens) and red-stemmed filaree (Erodium cicutarium). The unburned island of native shrubs is typical of burns in the low elevation zone of the Mojave. These islands don’t burn for several reasons (sparse fuels, wind or terrain moves the fire around them, etc.).