Invasive Plants We Study: Cheatgrass
Cheatgrass and other invasive annual grasses continue to expand into the sagebrush ecosystem in the West and are fueling larger and more frequent wildfires. The life cycle of cheatgrass differs from most native grasses in that it dries out early in the season while native grasses are still green and producing seeds. This fuels fires earlier in the season and cheatgrass spreads quickly following fire. The positive feedback loop between cheatgrass and fire reduces or eliminates the opportunity for native sagebrush vegetation to recover following fire.
Cheatgrass Research
The Impact of Climate-Driven Phenological Shifts on Cheatgrass in Western North America
Remote Sensing of Invasive Annual Grasses -- Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem
Predicting the phenology of invasive grasses under a changing climate to inform mapping and management
Assessing the Proliferation, Connectivity, and Consequences of Invasive Fine Fuels on the Sagebrush Biome
Invasive Annual Grass (IAG) Spatial Dataset Compilation and Synthesis
Weed-Suppressive Bacteria – Testing a Control Measure for Invasive Grasses in the West
Cheatgrass and Medusahead
An adaptive management framework to control invasive annual brome grasses in Northern Great Plains parks (ABAM)
Stressors to Greater Sage-Grouse
Human Influence on Desert Tortoise Habitats
Species Distribution Modeling
Recent data (2020-2022) related to USGS cheatgrass research are listed below. A complete listing of USGS cheatgrass data is available from the button below.
Great Basin predicted potential cheatgrass abundance, with model estimation and validation data from 2011-2019
Spatially-Explicit Predictive Maps of Greater Sage-Grouse Brood Selection Integrated with Brood Survival in Nevada and Northeastern California, USA
Early Estimates of Exotic Annual Grass (EAG) in the Sagebrush Biome, USA, 2022 (ver 6.0, July 2022)
High-resolution maps of projected big sagebrush plant community biomass for 52 future climate scenarios using multivariate matching algorithms
Database of invasive annual grass spatial products for the western United States January 2010 to February 2021
Pre and post treatment (2016-2021) vegetation cover for three southwest Idaho sites treated with pre-emergent herbicides after fire
Fractional Estimates of Multiple Exotic Annual Grass (EAG) Species in the Sagebrush Biome, USA, 2016 - 2023 (ver. 4.0, July 2024)
Invasive Grasses Cheatgrass and Medusahead Yield Responses to Sucrose in Experimental Plots in the Northern Great Basin, USA Dataset, 2005-2006
High-resolution maps of big sagebrush plant community biomass using multivariate matching algorithms
Early Estimates of Exotic Annual Grass (EAG) in the Sagebrush Biome, USA, May 2021, v1
Invasive Plant Cover in the Mojave Desert, 2009 - 2013 (ver. 2.0, April 2021)
Head smut infections on cheatgrass cover in the first four years after the 2015 Soda Wildfire
Recent publications (2020-2022) related to USGS cheatgrass research are listed below. A complete listing of USGS cheatgrass publications is available from the button below.
Ten-year ecological responses to fuel treatments within semiarid Wyoming big sagebrush ecosystems
Adaptive management framework and decision support tool for invasive annual bromes in seven Northern Great Plains National Park Service units
Plant community context controls short- vs. medium-term effects of pre-emergent herbicides on target and non-target species after fire
Bridging the gap between spatial modeling and management of invasive annual grasses in the imperiled sagebrush biome
A user guide to selecting invasive annual grass spatial products for the western United States
Compendium to invasive annual grass spatial products for the western United States, January 2010-February 2021
Patterns of post-fire invasion of semiarid shrub-steppe reveals a diversity of invasion niches within an exotic annual grass community
Protecting restoration investments from the cheatgrass-fire cycle in sagebrush steppe
Tools and technologies for quantifying spread and impacts of invasive species
Resilience to fire and resistance to annual grass invasion in sagebrush ecosystems of US National Parks
Weather and distance to fire refugia limit landscape‐level occurrence of fungal disease in an exotic annual grass
Fire controls annual bromes in northern great plains grasslands—Up to a point
Cheatgrass and other invasive annual grasses continue to expand into the sagebrush ecosystem in the West and are fueling larger and more frequent wildfires. The life cycle of cheatgrass differs from most native grasses in that it dries out early in the season while native grasses are still green and producing seeds. This fuels fires earlier in the season and cheatgrass spreads quickly following fire. The positive feedback loop between cheatgrass and fire reduces or eliminates the opportunity for native sagebrush vegetation to recover following fire.
Cheatgrass Research
The Impact of Climate-Driven Phenological Shifts on Cheatgrass in Western North America
Remote Sensing of Invasive Annual Grasses -- Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem
Predicting the phenology of invasive grasses under a changing climate to inform mapping and management
Assessing the Proliferation, Connectivity, and Consequences of Invasive Fine Fuels on the Sagebrush Biome
Invasive Annual Grass (IAG) Spatial Dataset Compilation and Synthesis
Weed-Suppressive Bacteria – Testing a Control Measure for Invasive Grasses in the West
Cheatgrass and Medusahead
An adaptive management framework to control invasive annual brome grasses in Northern Great Plains parks (ABAM)
Stressors to Greater Sage-Grouse
Human Influence on Desert Tortoise Habitats
Species Distribution Modeling
Recent data (2020-2022) related to USGS cheatgrass research are listed below. A complete listing of USGS cheatgrass data is available from the button below.
Great Basin predicted potential cheatgrass abundance, with model estimation and validation data from 2011-2019
Spatially-Explicit Predictive Maps of Greater Sage-Grouse Brood Selection Integrated with Brood Survival in Nevada and Northeastern California, USA
Early Estimates of Exotic Annual Grass (EAG) in the Sagebrush Biome, USA, 2022 (ver 6.0, July 2022)
High-resolution maps of projected big sagebrush plant community biomass for 52 future climate scenarios using multivariate matching algorithms
Database of invasive annual grass spatial products for the western United States January 2010 to February 2021
Pre and post treatment (2016-2021) vegetation cover for three southwest Idaho sites treated with pre-emergent herbicides after fire
Fractional Estimates of Multiple Exotic Annual Grass (EAG) Species in the Sagebrush Biome, USA, 2016 - 2023 (ver. 4.0, July 2024)
Invasive Grasses Cheatgrass and Medusahead Yield Responses to Sucrose in Experimental Plots in the Northern Great Basin, USA Dataset, 2005-2006
High-resolution maps of big sagebrush plant community biomass using multivariate matching algorithms
Early Estimates of Exotic Annual Grass (EAG) in the Sagebrush Biome, USA, May 2021, v1
Invasive Plant Cover in the Mojave Desert, 2009 - 2013 (ver. 2.0, April 2021)
Head smut infections on cheatgrass cover in the first four years after the 2015 Soda Wildfire
Recent publications (2020-2022) related to USGS cheatgrass research are listed below. A complete listing of USGS cheatgrass publications is available from the button below.