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Project ID: 03-3-3-36

Year: 2003

Date Started: 06/01/2003

Date Completed: 01/03/2008

Title: Fuels Reduction in Oak Woodlands, Shrub Lands and Grasslands of SW Oregon: Consequences for Native Plants and Invasion by Non-Native Species

Project Proposal Abstract: Decades of fire suppression have led to an unnatural accumulation of fuels and changes in many ecosystems, including those of the oak woodlands, shrub lands, and grasslands of Southwestern Oregon. Land managers on the Medford District of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in this region, much of which is in urban/wildland interface, are attempting to decrease fuel-loads and restore ecosystems that have been altered by fire suppression using several methods, including mechanized "slash busting," hand cutting of brush and small trees followed by piling and burning, and prescribed fire. In addition, much of the treated area is being seeded with native grasses to minimize the threat of invasion by nonnative plants and stabilize soils. These treatments have been applied to over 5,000 acres since 1995 in the Ashland Resource Area (ARA) of the BLM alone. However, little is known about the consequences of these treatments for native plant communities (which include several sensitive species and which, in many cases, have been substantially altered from their natural condition by fire suppression-induced changes in vegetation), invasion by exotic plant species, or subsequent fire behavior and effects. We propose to study these consequences in oak woodlands, shrub lands and grasslands, working largely in the Applegate Valley Adaptive Management Area of the ARA using a combination of retrospective and prospective approaches. The work is directed towards Tasks 2 and 3 from AFP 2003-3 and Task 4 from AFP 2003-1. Results are expected to yield effective stand-level treatments that reduce fire hazard while simultaneously fostering the restoration of native plant communities, minimizing invasion by exotic species, and allowing for safe reintroduction of fire to the landscape. The work will benefit land managers by providing information on outcomes of the various fuels treatments that will enable them to make informed decisions for future management. Results will also be used to inform the public about the utility of recommended approaches and will contribute to our basic scientific understanding of processes that affect plant and animal communities in these and similar areas.

Principal Investigator: Paul Hosten

Agency/Organization: NPS-National Park Service

Branch or Dept: Kalaupapa National Historical Park

Other Project Collaborators

Type	Name	Agency/Organization	Branch or Dept
Co-Principal Investigator	Patricia S. Muir	Oregon State University	Department of Botany & Plant Pathology
Federal Cooperator	Paul Hosten	NPS-National Park Service	Kalaupapa National Historical Park

Project Locations

Consortium

California

Northwest

There are no project locations identified for this project.

Project Deliverables

Final Report ("Results presented in JFSP Final Reports may not have been peer-reviewed and should be interpreted as tentative until published in a peer-reviewed source.")

	ID	Type	Title
	7352	Refereed Publication	Responses of Chaparral and Oak Woodland Communities to Fuel-Reduction Thinning in Southwestern Oregon
	2886	Invited Paper/Presentation	Fuels Reduction in Oak Woodlands and Shrub Lands of SW Oregon: Consequences for Native Plants and Invasion by Non-Native Species
	7369	MS Thesis	Landscape-Scale Patterns of Grassland, Shrubland, and Woodland Vegetation in Relation to Environment and Disturbance (E. Pfaff)
	4649	MS Thesis	Impacts of Fuel Reduction Thinning Treatments on Oak and Chaparral Communities of Southwestern Oregon (K. Perchemlides)
	2883	Conference/Symposia/Workshop	Impacts of Fuel Reduction Thinning on Oak and Chaparral Vegetation Communities of Southwestern Oregon
	7366	Poster	Grassland, Shrubland, and Woodland Plant Assemblages in Relation to Landscape-Scale Environmental and Disturbance Variables, Applegate Watershed, Southern Oregon
	7368	Poster	Grassland, Shrubland, and Woodland Plant Assemblages of the Applegate Valley, Southwest Oregon
	7367	Poster	Interaction of the Squires Fire with the Buncom Bowl Fuel-Reduction Project of the Applegate Valley, Southwest Oregon
	7365	Poster	Effect of Grass Seeding on Native and Exotic Vegetation Following Fuel-Reduction Treatments by Mastication and Burning
	7364	Poster	Vegetation Response to Wildfire Across and Elevation Gradient in Southwest Oregon
	7363	Poster	Lessons Learned After 10 Years of Fuel-Reduction and Monitoring in Woodlands/Chaparral of the Lower Thompson Creek, Applegate Valley, Southwest Oregon
	7362	Poster	Fuel Reduction Treatments: Treatment Types and a Landscape Strategy to Achieve Restoration and a Fire-Safe Landscape in the Applegate Valley of Southwest Oregon
	2885	Poster	Impacts of Fuel Reduction and Restoration Thinning on Oak and Chaparral Communities of Southwestern Oregon

Supporting Documents

The following supporting documents are available for this project.

Brief

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