Rangeland Ecology & Management

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SILVER SAGEBRUSH REGROWTH AND PLANT COMMUNITY RECOVERY FOLLOWING FIRE: IMPLICATIONS FOR GREATER SAGE-GROUSE IN CANADA.
Author
Broadbent, Tanner
DeMaere, Craig
Nicholson, Joel
Publisher
Society for Range Management
Publication Year
2016
Body

Greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus), a critically endangered bird in Canada, inhabit plant communities with abundant silver sagebrush (Artemisia cana) in Alberta's Dry Mixedgrass natural subregion. In contrast, the dominant shrub in the core of sage-grouse range is big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata). Wildfire may threaten sage-grouse due to habitat loss, slow recovery of sagebrush, and exotic species invasion after burning, which can alter fire regimes. However, silver sagebrush plant communities may respond differently than those of big sagebrush because the former shrub may better recover following fire and these communities are perhaps less prone to invasion of annual grasses. This study used an accidental wildfire in important sage-grouse habitat in Alberta, Canada to examine how silver sagebrush and sagebrush plant communities recover following a late-season fire. Measured variables included shrub density and height, as well as plant community composition and productivity. Within 4-5 weeks of burning and following favourable rainfall, silver sagebrush readily recovered to similar pre-burn densities, but remained reduced in stature. Sagebrush grew markedly two growing seasons post-burning, and plant community productivity also recovered. Perennial grasses readily re-established but fire markedly increased bare ground, reduced litter, and eliminated some groundcover species. Despite this there was no evidence of invasive annual grasses in burned communities. Results indicate that silver sagebrush readily re-establish following fire via suckering and these solonetzic plant communities are largely resilient to fire and annual grass invasion, suggesting that this area may return to functional sage-grouse habitat in a relatively short period. Questions remain regarding how frequent fire and post-fire grazing management and drought may further influence sagebrush recovery.

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