Firelight - Vol. 3 | Issue 1
Ecological benefits and risks of fuel breaks vary across the sagebrush biome
Fuel breaks – strips of land managed for reduced flammability – are designed to aid wildfire suppression and management. However, construction of fuel breaks may reduce wildlife habitat and introduce invasive species to ecosystems. In a new study published in Fire Ecology, USGS and Colorado State University researchers investigated these potential trade-offs of fuel breaks in sagebrush ecosystems.
Vegetation and Fuel Responses to Linear Fuel-Break Treatments in and around Burned Sagebrush Steppe
After the Soda Wildfire burned nearly 280,000 acres of public and private land in southwest Idaho, the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) Emergency and Rehabilitation and Stabilization program (ESR) applied herbicide and seeding treatments to prevent exotic annual grass invasion and restore native vegetation. To reduce the threat of future wildfire, the BLM also constructed a network of linear...
Edge effects along roadside fuel treatments in sagebrush steppe
Does the construction of fuel breaks in sagebrush steppe increase the risk of exotic grass invasion? Researchers surveyed for invaders along fuel break edges to find out.
The Good, the Bad, the Ugly: How Wildfires Reshape Landscapes
Exploring USGS's Role in Understanding Postfire Changes
Assessing the Proliferation, Connectivity, and Consequences of Invasive Fine Fuels on the Sagebrush Biome
Invasive annual grasses can replace native vegetation and alter fire behavior, impacting a range of habitats and species. A team of researchers from the U.S. Geological Survey, Colorado State University, the Bureau of Land Management, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service are working to identify factors that influence changes in the distribution and abundance of invasive annual grasses (IAGs)...
Patchy response of cheatgrass to pre-emergent herbicides applied after wildfire
Aerial broadcast of the pre-emergent and post-emergent herbicide imazapic has been used for decades over vast areas to control cheatgrass after fire, but recent studies have shown that the herbicide indaziflam may provide longer-lasting cheatgrass control. USGS scientists put both herbicides to the test in south-central Idaho.
Researchers map rates of change in invasive annual grass cover and corresponding management implications across the sagebrush biome
The continued proliferation of invasive annual grasses could re-shape ecosystems by diminishing native vegetation and increasing the spread and consequences of wildland fires. This manuscript describes rates of change in invasive annual grass cover from 1987–2021, and the ways in which rates of change in cover can be used to inform invasive annual grass management in sagebrush ecosystems.
Publications
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Wildfire probability estimated from recent climate and fine fuels across the big sagebrush region Wildfire probability estimated from recent climate and fine fuels across the big sagebrush region
BackgroundWildfire is a major proximate cause of historical and ongoing losses of intact big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata Nutt.) plant communities and declines in sagebrush obligate wildlife species. In recent decades, fire return intervals have shortened and area burned has increased in some areas, and habitat degradation is occurring where post-fire re-establishment of sagebrush is...
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Patchy response of cheatgrass and nontarget vegetation to indaziflam and imazapic applied after wildfire in sagebrush steppe Patchy response of cheatgrass and nontarget vegetation to indaziflam and imazapic applied after wildfire in sagebrush steppe
Control of nonnative grasses is needed where they are altering fire regimes and degrading rangelands, such as cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum) invasion of perennial sagebrush-steppe communities. Aerial broadcast of the pre-emergent and postemergent herbicide imazapic has been used for decades over vast areas to control cheatgrass after fire. Recent small-scale studies indicate that the pre...
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Variability in weather and site properties affect fuel and fire behavior following fuel treatments in semiarid sagebrush-steppe. Variability in weather and site properties affect fuel and fire behavior following fuel treatments in semiarid sagebrush-steppe.
Fuel-treatments targeting shrubs and fire-prone exotic annual grasses (EAGs) are increasingly used to mitigate increased wildfire risks in arid and semiarid environments, and understanding their response to natural factors is needed for effective landscape management. Using field-data collected over four years from fuel-break treatments in semiarid sagebrush-steppe, we asked 1) how the...
DATA SPOTLIGHT
Early Estimates of Exotic Annual Grass (EAG) in the Sagebrush Biome, USA, 2025
Data
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Observed wildfire frequency, modelled wildfire probability, climate, and fine fuels across the big sagebrush region in the western United States Observed wildfire frequency, modelled wildfire probability, climate, and fine fuels across the big sagebrush region in the western United States
These data were compiled so that annual wildfire could be modelled across the sagebrush region in the western United States. Our goal was to understand how wildfire probability relates to climate and fuel conditions across the entire sagebrush region. To do this we developed a statistical model that represents the relationship between annual wildfire probability and a small number of...
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Rates of change in invasive annual grass cover to inform potential management opportunities across the sagebrush biome of the western United States Rates of change in invasive annual grass cover to inform potential management opportunities across the sagebrush biome of the western United States
We used Rangeland Condition Monitoring Assessment and Projection (RCMAP) maps of annual herbaceous fractional components (mostly invasive annual grasses) to calculate mean rate of change in invasive annual grass cover over five-year time periods (ratesOfChange1987_2021.zip). We also created a map that identifies zones of the sagebrush biome that could be prioritized for different...
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Field-informed plant functional and species cover related to fuels treatment boundaries observed in 2021 in southwestern Idaho Field-informed plant functional and species cover related to fuels treatment boundaries observed in 2021 in southwestern Idaho
Data includes species cover of cheatgrass (BRTE) and Russian thistle (SATR), as well as functional group cover of Sandberg's bluegrass (POSE), bare ground, litter, and shrubs for the year of 2021.
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Vegetation and soil cover data in response to indaziflam and imazapic herbicide applications within Minidoka National Wildlife Refuge, Idaho, USA Vegetation and soil cover data in response to indaziflam and imazapic herbicide applications within Minidoka National Wildlife Refuge, Idaho, USA
Eighty-one monitoring plots within the Minidoka National Wildlife refuge on the Snake River Plain in south-central Idaho were surveyed in July-August from 2020 to 2023 to evaluate the effects of herbicides on the vegetation-community across areas that varied in both burn history and background cheatgrass abundance. Surveys consisted of line-point intercept measurements along two 6m or...