Publications
The USGS fire science mission is to produce and deliver the best available scientific information, tools, and products to support land and emergency management by individuals and organizations at all levels. Below are USGS publications associated with our fire science portfolio.
Filter Total Items: 301
Developing a framework for evaluating tallgrass prairie reconstruction methods and management
The thousands of hectares of prairie reconstructed each year in the tallgrass prairie biome can provide a valuable resource for evaluation of seed mixes, planting methods, and post-planting management if methods used and resulting characteristics of the prairies are recorded and compiled in a publicly accessible database. The objective of this study was to evaluate the use of such data to understa
Authors
Diane L. Larson, Marissa Ahlering, Pauline Drobney, Rebecca Esser, Jennifer L. Larson, Karen Viste-Sparkman
Fire and grazing influence site resistance to Bromus tectorum through their effects on shrub, bunchgrass and biocrust communities in the Great Basin (USA)
Shrubs, bunchgrasses and biological soil crusts (biocrusts) are believed to contribute to site resistance to plant invasions in the presence of cattle grazing. Although fire is a concomitant disturbance with grazing, little is known regarding their combined impacts on invasion resistance. We are the first to date to test the idea that biotic communities mediate the effects of disturbance on site r
Authors
Lea A. Condon, David A. Pyke
Future southcentral US wildfire probability due to climate change
Globally, changing fire regimes due to climate is one of the greatest threats to ecosystems and society. In this paper, we present projections of future fire probability for the southcentral USA using downscaled climate projections and the Physical Chemistry Fire Frequency Model (PC2FM). Future fire probability is projected to both increase and decrease across the study region of Oklahoma, New Mex
Authors
Michael C. Stambaugh, Richard P. Guyette, Esther D. Stroh, Matthew A. Struckhoff, Joanna B. Whittier
The evolution of a colluvial hollow to a fluvial channel with periodic steps following two transformational disturbances: A wildfire and a historic flood
The transition of a colluvial hollow to a fluvial channel with discrete steps was observed after two landscape-scale disturbances. The first disturbance, a high-severity wildfire, changed the catchment hydrology to favor overland flow, which incised a colluvial hollow, creating a channel in the same location. This incised channel became armored with cobbles and boulders following repeated post-wil
Authors
Francis K. Rengers, Luke McGuire, Brian A. Ebel, G. E. Tucker
Prospects for reconstructing paleoenvironmental conditions from organic compounds in polar snow and ice
Polar ice cores provide information about past climate and environmental changes over periods ranging from a few years up to 800,000 years. The majority of chemical studies have focused on determining inorganic components, such as major ions and trace elements as well as on their isotopic fingerprint. In this paper, we review the different classes of organic compounds that might yield environmenta
Authors
Chiara Giorio, Natalie M. Kehrwald, Carlo Barbante, Markus Kalberer, Amy C.F. King, Elizabeth R. Thomas, Eric W. Wolff, Piero Zennaro
Greater sage-grouse science (2015–17)—Synthesis and potential management implications
Executive SummaryThe greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus; hereafter called “sage-grouse”), a species that requires sagebrush (Artemisia spp.), has experienced range-wide declines in its distribution and abundance. These declines have prompted substantial research and management investments to improve the understanding of sage-grouse and its habitats and reverse declines in distribution
Authors
Steven E. Hanser, Patricia A. Deibert, John C. Tull, Natasha B. Carr, Cameron L. Aldridge, Travis D. Bargsten, Thomas J. Christiansen, Peter S. Coates, Michele R. Crist, Kevin E. Doherty, Ethan A. Ellsworth, Lee J. Foster, Vicki A. Herren, Kevin H. Miller, Ann Moser, Robin M. Naeve, Karen L. Prentice, Thomas E. Remington, Mark A. Ricca, Douglas J. Shinneman, Richard L. Truex, Lief A. Wiechman, Dereck C. Wilson, Zachary H. Bowen
Vegetation responses to sagebrush-reduction treatments measured by satellites
Time series of vegetative indices derived from satellite imagery constitute tools to measure ecological effects of natural and management-induced disturbances to ecosystems. Over the past century, sagebrush-reduction treatments have been applied widely throughout western North America to increase herbaceous vegetation for livestock and wildlife. We used indices from satellite imagery to 1) quantif
Authors
Aaron N. Johnston, Erik A. Beever, Jerod Merkle, Geneva W. Chong
Semi-arid grassland bird responses to patch-burn grazing and drought
As grassland birds of central North America experience steep population declines with changes in land use, management of remaining tracts becomes increasingly important for population viability. The integrated use of fire and grazing may enhance vegetation heterogeneity and diversity in breeding birds, but the subsequent effects on reproduction are unknown. We examined the influence of patch-burn
Authors
Susan K. Skagen, David J. Augustine, Justin D. Derner
Improving ecological restoration to curb biotic invasion - A practical guide
Common practices for invasive species control and management include physical, chemical, and biological approaches. The first two approaches have clear limitations and may lead to unintended (negative) consequences, unless carefully planned and implemented. For example, physical removal rarely completely eradicates the targeted invasive species and can cause disturbances that facilitate new invasi
Authors
Qinfeng Guo, Dale G. Brockway, Diane L. Larson, Deli Wang, Hai Ren
Grasslands
Key findings:Total grassland carbon stocks in the conterminous United States, estimated to be about 7.4 petagrams of carbon (Pg C) in 2005, are projected to increase to about 8.2 Pg C by 2050. Although U.S. grasslands are expected to remain carbon sinks over this period, the uptake rate is projected to decline by about half. In the U.S. Great Plains, land-use and land-cover changes are expected to
Authors
Elise Pendall, Dominique Bachelet, Richard T. Conant, Bassil El Masri, Lawrence B. Flanagan, Alan K. Knapp, Jinxun Liu, Shuguang Liu, Sean M. Schaeffer
Southeast
The Southeast includes vast expanses of coastal and inland low-lying areas, the southern portion of the Appalachian Mountains, numerous high-growth metropolitan areas, and large rural expanses. These beaches and bayous, fields and forests, and cities and small towns are all at risk from a changing climate. While some climate change impacts, such as sea level rise and extreme downpours, are being a
Authors
Lynne Carter, Adam J. Terando, Kirstin Dow, Kevin Hiers, Kenneth E. Kunkel, Aranzazu R. Lascurain, Doug Marcy, Michael J. Osland, Paul Schramm
Quantifying postfire aeolian sediment transport using rare earth element tracers
Grasslands, which provide fundamental ecosystem services in many arid and semiarid regions of the world, are undergoing rapid increases in fire activity and are highly susceptible to postfire-accelerated soil erosion by wind. A quantitative assessment of physical processes that integrates fire-wind erosion feedbacks is therefore needed relative to vegetation change, soil biogeochemical cycling, ai
Authors
David Dukes, Howell B. Gonzales, Sujith Ravi, David E. Grandstaff, R. Scott Van Pelt, Junran Li, Guan Wang, Joel B. Sankey