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Publication Details

Title:
Ecological effects of prescribed fire on a sagebrush-steppe rangeland
Author(s):
Elliot, William J.; Page-Dumroese, Deborah S.; Cook, Stephen P.; Jurgensen, Martin F.; Miller, Chris A.; Miller, Ina S.; Kard, Bradford M.
Publication Year:
2020
How to Cite:
These data were collected using funding from the U.S. Government and can be used without additional permissions or fees. If you use these data in a publication, presentation, or other research product please use the following citation:
Elliot, William J.; Page-Dumroese, Deborah S.; Cook, Stephen P.; Jurgensen, Martin F.; Miller, Chris A.; Miller, Ina S.; Kard, Bradford M. 2020. Ecological effects of prescribed fire on a sagebrush-steppe rangeland. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2020-0005
Abstract:
Rangelands encompass approximately 26% of land in the United States with the federal government managing 62 million hectares (Lubowski et al. 2006). A key component of rangeland sites for feeding wildlife is the insect community. Land management, particularly prescribed fire, may reduce plant species diversity, thus reducing both pollinator habitat and the quantity of other invertebrates used as food resources (Beck et al. 2008). Fire can also change the amount of surface wood, thereby altering soil properties and ground-dwelling insects. Prescribed fire creates temporal changes to rangeland hydrology, commonly increasing runoff and erosion (Meeuwig 1971; DeBano 1981; Pierson et al. 2001, 2002, 2008; Williams et al. 2016). Post-fire erosion and runoff increases can be attributed to changes in soil cover (Pierson et al. 2001, 2008; Williams et al. 2016), altered organic matter content (DeBano et al. 1998), vegetation (Williams et al. 2016) and increased runoff leading to increased sediment transport capacity (Pierson et al. 2009; Williams et al. 2016). This data publication contains data from a study trying to quantify prescribed fire impacts on surface and belowground changes at a sagebrush site near Red Mountain, which is on the Caribou-Targhee National Forest, approximately 43 kilometers (17 miles) northeast of Montpelier, Idaho. This site received a prescribed burn in 2003. Shortly after the burn, four treated plots were installed. Snow prevented the installation of three control plots until the following year, 2004. A weather station was installed on the study site near the south side of a ridgeline. Precipitation, temperature, humidity, solar radiation, as well as wind speed and direction were recorded continuously from October 16, 2003, through August 27, 2010. After the spring of 2007, the precipitation gauge stopped functioning. Data collected between 2003 and 2010 include bulk density, ground cover, soil loss, weather, and hillslope runoff plot measurements. Particle size analysis was performed on all bulk density samples and 2003-2005 soil samples.

Keywords:
biota; environment; geoscientificInformation; Fire; Prescribed fire; Forest & Plant Health; Insects; Air, soil, water pollution (environmental injury); Rangeland plants; Ecology, Ecosystems, & Environment; Hydrology, watersheds, sedimentation; Wildlife (or Fauna); Invertebrates; biomass reduction; sedimentation; southeast Idaho
Related publications:
  • Lubowski, Ruben N.; Vesterby, Marlow; Bucholtz, Shawn; Baez, Alba.; Roberts, Michael J. 2006. Major uses of land in the United States, 2002. Economic Information Bulletin. EIB14. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
  • Beck, Jeffrey L.; Connelly, John W.; Reese, Kerry P. 2008. Recovery of Greater Sage-Grouse habitat features in Wyoming Big Sagebrush following prescribed fire. Restoration Ecology. 17(3): 393-403. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1526-100x.2008.00380.x
  • Meeuwig, Richard O. 1971. Soil stability on high-elevation rangeland in the Intermountain area. Research Paper. INT-94. Ogden, UT: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Intermountain Forest and Range Experimental Station. 10 p.
  • More (10 total)
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