The goal of the Fire-Weed Project is to study the impact of wildfire, prescribed fire, and post-fire management activities on understory vegetation. Specific goals include determining the effect of fires of varying severities on:
- Invasive Plants
- Rare Plant Species
- Plant Communities
- Plant Succession
Ongoing Studies:
Cheatgrass - We are trying to determine if the post-fire increase in cheatgrass is a threat to the ponderosa pine/bunchgrass communities.
Fire Suppression and BAER Treatments - We are examining the impacts of dozer lines, fire camps, contour felling, application of straw mulch, and herbicide treatments on weeds and the native plant community.
Red Bench - Fire In 2002, we resampled 27 macroplots in Glacier National Park to determine the long-term (14 years post-fire) effects of the Red Bench fire on sedge meadow and ponderosa pine communities.
Spotted Knapweed - In 2001, we initiated a five-year study to determine the impact of the fires of varying severity on weed survivorship, weed reproduction, and weed invasion in eight plant communities in the northern Rockies.
Sulfur Cinquefoil - In 2002, we entered into a collaboration with the Pacific Northwest Research Station and Oregon State University to determine the effects of prescribed fire, herbicides, and seeding of native grass species on Potentilla recta in a degraded rangeland in the interior Pacific Northwest.
Weed Monitoring - Because of the stocastic nature of weed invasion, colonization, and expansion; successful weed monitoring requires monitoring at multiple scales using a variety of techniques.
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