U.S. flagAn official website of the United States government
                    Here's how you know **Official websites use .gov**
                            
                            A **.gov** website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
 **Secure .gov websites use HTTPS**
                            
                            A **lock** (                            
                              A locked padlock                                                      
                            
                            ) or **https://** means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.


Menu Agricultural Research Service
						
                    U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
 Range Sheep Production Efficiency Research: Dubois, ID
 close



    Research

                    Research Projects
                                    Publications
                                    Collaborations
                                    News
                People

                    Staff Listing
                                    CareersSearch small
                    Search
            
            ARS Home
                                About ARS
                                Contact Us




ARS Home Pacific West Area Dubois, Idaho Range Sheep Production Efficiency Research Research Publications at this Location





- ARS National Programs
- Search for a scientific manuscript
- Search for a research project
- ARS Software
- Programs and Projects
- Collaborations
- Subjects of Investigation
- Publications
- IACUC Summary

Title:   Author  item
                                            MOFFET, COREY - Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation, Incitem
                                            Taylor, Joshua

                                                         - *Bret*item
                                            Booth, D
  Submitted to: Journal of Arid Environments
                                    Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
                                    Publication Acceptance Date: 12/1/2014
                                    Publication  Date: 3/1/2015
                                    Citation: Moffet, C.A., Taylor, J.B., Booth, D.T. 2015. Postfire shrub cover dynamics: a 70-year fire history in mountain big sagebrush communities. Journal of Arid Environments. 114:116-123.Interpretive Summary: The effect of burning in sagebrush steppe has important implications for livestock production and wildlife habitat.  In order to design burn rotation plans to meet livestock production and wildlife habitat objectives, an understanding of the fire-effect duration and the postfire response of shrubs is needed.  We used aerial photography to sample sagebrush, bitterbrush, and horsebrush cover in mountain big sagebrush communities at the USDA, ARS, U.S. Sheep Experiment Station near Dubois, ID, with 70 years of fire history to determine when cover of the shrub species return to preburn cover.  The results from this study demonstrate that in mountain big sagebrush communities, sagebrush and horsebrush returned to preburn cover by 18 years and bitterbrush returned to preburn cover by 6 years after fire.  This information will allow land managers to design burn plans that will enhance livestock production and maintain preferred nesting habitat for sage grouse.
                                Technical Abstract: Fire is a natural process in sagebrush (Artemisia L.) communities. Land managers use fire to meet rangeland management objectives.  This study was conducted to quantify, from present conditions, the effect of time since last burn (TSLB) on shrub cover over 70 yr of fire history.  We sampled mountain big sagebrush communities at the USDA, ARS, U.S. Sheep Experiment Station with very-large-scale-aerial (VLSA) imagery and measured sagebrush, antelope bitterbrush (Purshia tridentata [Pursh] DC.), and spineless horsebrush (Tetradymia canescens DC.) cover.  Segmented regression was used to describe distinct cover phases, Phases 1 and 2, with respect to TSLB and to estimate within phase cover and time when phase transitions occurred.  Phase 1 represented when shrub cover responded to TSLB and Phase 2 represented when shrub cover did not respond to TSLB and, thus, had reached steady state. In the fire year, immediately after burn, sagebrush, bitterbrush, and horsebrush cover were < 0.5%, but shrub cover was 5%.  In Phase 1, total shrub, sagebrush, and bitterbrush cover increased with TSLB. Bitterbrush cover reached Phase 2 in approximately 1/3 the time (5.7 yr) that it took for sagebrush (18.3 yr), horsebrush (17.7 yr), and total shrub cover (17.6 yr).  Horsebrush had 2 responses with respect to TSLB in Phase 1. In the first 8.7 yr TSLB, cover increased from 0.4 to 2.9% and, in the next 9.0 yr TSLB, cover diminished to 0.2%. Steady-state cover for sagebrush, bitterbrush, horsebrush, and total shrub was 30, 3, 0.2, and 40%, respectively.  In the absence of fire (>70 yr TSLB), shrub cover exceeded an ideal value from a livestock production and wildlife habitat perspective.  These data described postfire recovery rates of shrubs in mountain big sagebrush communities that can be used to facilitate managers in designing rangeland management objectives to meet livestock and wildlife management goals.


Return to top


Connect with ARS Sign up


ARS Home
                            USDA.gov
                            Plain Writing
                            Policies & Links
                            Civil Rights Statements
                            FOIA
                            Accessibility Statement
                            Privacy Policy
                            Non-Discrimination Statement
                            Quality of Information
                            USA.gov
                            WhiteHouse.gov