A review of fire effects on vegetation and soils in the Great Basin Region
Subtitle: response and ecological site characteristics
By: Richard F. Miller ... [et al.].
Contributors: Rocky Mountain Research Station (Fort Collins, Colo.)
Series: General technical report RMRS -- GTR-308; General technical report RMRS -- GTR-308.
Publisher: U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station
Published: 2013
Place of publication: Fort Collins, CO
Language: eng
Number of pages: 126
Subjects: Fire ecology; Plants; Effect of fires on; Soils; Invasive plants; Plant succession
Description: This review synthesizes the state of knowledge on fire effects on vegetation and soils in semi-arid ecosystems in the Great Basin Region, including the central and northern Great Basin and Range, Columbia River Basin, and the Snake River Plain. We summarize available literature related to: (1) the effects of environmental gradients, ecological site, and vegetation characteristics on resilience to disturbance and resistance to invasive species; (2) the effects of fire on individual plant species and communities, biological soil crusts, seed banks, soil nutrients, and hydrology; and (3) the role of fire severity, fire versus fire surrogate treatments, and post-fire grazing in determining ecosystem response. From this, we identify knowledge gaps and present a framework for predicting plant successional trajectories following wild and prescribed fires and fire surrogate treatments. Possibly the three most important ecological site characteristics that influence a site's resilience (ability of the ecological site to recover from disturbance) and resistance to invasive species are soil temperature/moisture regimes and the composition and structure of vegetation on the ecological site just prior to the disturbance event.
Notes: "November, 2013."

Includes bibliographical references (p. 89-115).