Rangeland Ecology & Management

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RESTORING SAGEBRUSH AFTER MEGA-FIRES: SUCCESS OF DIFFERENT RESTORATION METHODS ACROSS AN ELEVATION GRADIENT.
Author
Hulet, April
Davies, Kirk W.
Madsen, Matthew D.
Boyd, Chad S.
Gregg, Mike
Publisher
Society for Range Management
Publication Year
2016
Body

Sagebrush restoration after wildfires has had limited success, and success likely varies considerably by method, site characteristics and interactions between them. Our objective was to compare different sagebrush restoration methods (broadcast seeding, broadcast seeding and packing, planting sagebrush seedlings, seed pillows, and natural recovery) across elevation gradients ranging from 1219 to > 2134 m (4000 to 7000 ft.). We used 350 plots spread across approximately a million acres of sagebrush rangelands in Oregon that burned in two mega-fires in 2012. All sagebrush restoration methods were seeded in the fall of 2013, and then repeated on adjacent plots in 2014 with the exception of sagebrush seedlings; sagebrush seedlings were planted in the spring of 2014 and 2015. For Wyoming big sagebrush plots (elevation 4000 to 5000 ft.), precipitation was on average 4% less than the 30 year average between September 2013 and August 2014. Between September 2014 and May 2015 precipitation was on average 36% greater than the 30 year average. Plots seeded in the fall of 2013 had on average < 0.01 sagebrush plants/m2 for all restoration methods. Plots seeded in the fall of 2014 had an average of 12.0 sagebrush plants/m2 (natural recovery plots had 0.2 sagebrush plants/m2). For the mountain big sagebrush plots (elevation 5500 to 7000 ft.), precipitation was on average 28% and 18% less than the 30 year average between September 2013-August 2014 and Sept 2014-May 2015 respectively. Seeded plots were on average 4-fold greater than natural recovery plots (5.3 vs 1.2 plants/m2) the first year. Seed pillows had the greatest average sagebrush seedling density at 9.9 plants/m2. Data is being further analyzed based on a suite of environmental characteristics with the expectation that this information will help land managers successfully restore sage-grouse habitat after wildfires by pairing restoration methods with site characteristics.

Language
English
Resource Type
Text
Document Type
Conference Proceedings
Conference Name
SRM Corpus Christi, TX