Skip to Main Content
U.S. Forest Service
Caring for the land and serving people

United States Department of Agriculture

Home > Search > Publication Information

  1. Removal of perennial herbaceous species affects response of cold desert scrublands to fire

    Share via EmailShare on FacebookShare on LinkedInShare on Twitter
    Dislike this pubLike this pub
    Author(s): Jeanne C. Chambers; David I. Board; Bruce A. Roundy; Peter J. Weisberg
    Date: 2017
    Source: Journal of Vegetation Science. 28: 975-984.
    Publication Series: Scientific Journal (JRNL)
    Station: Rocky Mountain Research Station
    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/jvs.12548
    PDF: Download Publication  (293.0 KB)

    Description

    Our results show that loss of perennial herbaceous species, which can result from inappropriate livestock grazing, and loss of shrubs, which often results from fire, interact to affect key functional groups. The implications are that ecosystem resilience to disturbance in Cold Desert shrublands decreases when competition from perennial native grasses and forbs for available resources no longer prevents dominance by A. tridentata and other shrubs and/ or annual invasive grasses. Managing livestock grazing to maintain or increase perennial herbaceous species, especially deep-rooted grasses, which contribute to resilience along elevation gradients, can help prevent threshold crossings to undesirable states and retain critical ecosystem services following disturbances such as wildfire.

    Publication Notes

    • You may send email to rmrspubrequest@fs.fed.us to request a hard copy of this publication.
    • (Please specify exactly which publication you are requesting and your mailing address.)
    • We recommend that you also print this page and attach it to the printout of the article, to retain the full citation information.
    • This article was written and prepared by U.S. Government employees on official time, and is therefore in the public domain.

    Citation

    Chambers, Jeanne C.; Board, David I.; Roundy, Bruce A.; Weisberg, Peter J. 2017. Removal of perennial herbaceous species affects response of cold desert shrublands to fire. Journal of Vegetation Science. 28: 975-984.

    Cited

    Google Scholar

    Keywords

    annual invasive grasses, Artemisia tridentata, Bromus tectorum, burning, perennial native grasses, plant functional groups, resilience to disturbance, shrubs, species removals

    Related Search

    XML: View XML
Show More
Show Fewer
Jump to Top of Page
https://www.fs.usda.gov/treesearch/pubs/54500