A Disturbance Response Group (DRG) consolidates ecological sites that respond similarly to disturbance into a larger management unit. This research project aimed to provide ecologically based understanding of the effects of various grazing management strategies on post-fire vegetation in two different DRGs. Five exclosure plots were established in each DRG in areas of northern Nevada that burned in 2012. Treatments were applied in a randomized block design and included both simulated and natural grazing at different times of year and with different lengths of rest from grazing. Vegetation composition, basal gap, annual production, and density of shrub seedlings were measured to quantify response. Climate variables were observed over time to understand the effects precipitation and temperature on native and nonnative plants after wildfire. Project results will demonstrate how land managers may stratify post-fire management decisions across large landscapes based on pre-fire condition, measured plant community response, and quantified ecological thresholds. Results indicate utility of Disturbance Response groups in managing large landscapes.
Oral presentation and poster titles, abstracts, and authors from the Society for Range Management (SRM) Annual Meetings and Tradeshows, from 2013 forward.