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Project ID:

08-S-9

Year:

2008

Date Started:

08/01/2008

Date Completed:

02/25/2011

Title:

Fire Ecology and Management of Grassland, Shrubland, and Woodland Ecosystems of Western North America

Project Proposal Abstract:

It has been over 20 years since the last major book on the ecology and management of
fire was published that contained extensive information from non-forested ecosystems
across western North America (Wright and Bailey 1982). During subsequent years there
have been notable books that have focused largely on forested ecosystems (e.g. Agee
1993), and there was one very recent book that addressed many important grassland,
shrubland, woodland, and forest areas, but its geographic extent was confmed to
California (Sugihara et al. 2006). No single book has since matched the geographic scope
associated with non-forested ecosystems in western North America as that previously
addressed by Wright and Bailey (1982).
Much has changed during the past few decades that warrant an updated synthesis of frre
science in non-forested ecosystems. Exploding human populations and dramatic increases
in the dominance ofnon-native invasive plants have led to increased fire occurrences and
altered fire regimes that have catapulted fire management to the forefront ofmany lists of
major threats to ecological and economic resources in non-forested ecosystems of
western North America. As a result of this heightened concern, there has been a flush of
new fire ecology studies, including many supported by the Joint Fire Science Program
(JFSP) that have in many ways altered previous thoughts about the inter-relationships
between fire and vegetation in non-forested ecosystems.
In addition, most fire science books have focused on the physical aspects of frre and their effects on soils, hydrology, and vegetation, but have not significantly addressed effects
on wildlife. The role of fire management in the broader context of land management has
also been underrepresented in most fire science books, even though fire management is
probably more affected by various land use and agency policies than anything else.
Recently there has also developed a greater appreciation for a long-term perspective of
fire management, and the potential effects of future changes in climate and other
atmospheric conditions that may confound fire management planning efforts.
Land managers and others have been calling for more synthesis products that summarize
the current state-of-the-science for major thematic and biogeographic areas, making the
information more accessible and relevant to land managers. Recent years of record
acreages burned, new incursions of invasive plants species, declines in many wildlife
species, increasing human populations, and new challenges related to land uses in nonforested
ecosystems of western North America have led many to call for an updated
synthesis related to fire management in this region. This need is most apparent when land
managers sit down to write comprehensive fire management plans, or are tasked to
develop post-fire management plans in very short periods of time.

Principal Investigator:

Matthew L. Brooks

Agency/Organization:

USGS-Geological Survey

Branch or Dept:

WERC-Yosemite Field Station

Other Project Collaborators

Type	Name	Agency/Organization	Branch or Dept
Administration	Michael J. Thompson	BLM-Bureau of Land Management	JFSP-NIFC
Co-Principal Investigator	Richard R. Miller	Oregon State University	Eastern Oregon Agricultural Research Center
Co-Principal Investigator	Samuel D. Fuhlendorf	Oklahoma State University	Department of Natural Resource Ecology & Management
Co-Principal Investigator	Stephen C. Bunting	University of Idaho	Rangeland Ecology & Management
Federal Cooperator	Matthew L. Brooks	USGS-Geological Survey	WERC-Yosemite Field Station