Final Report: Fire-smart southwestern riparian landscape management and restoration of native biodiversity in view of species of conservation concern and the impacts of tamarisk beetles

Executive Summary: Portions of broad-scale ecoregions of the Great Plains, and Southern Semiarid Highlands were generally projected as mostly suitable for large fires of low severity within 31 years. Under a 2070 future climate scenario of high CO2 emission (HadGEM2-ES RCP8.5) a significant increase in suitability for large low severity wildfires was seen in Wyoming and Montana, which was accompanied by a decrease in suitability for the Madrean Archipelago and portions of central and west Texas. Broad scale niche model for the Southwestern Willow Flycatcher under current climate was centered within the known breeding range mostly along riparian areas. Under a 2070 future climate scenario of high CO2 emission (HadGEM2-ES...

Categories: Data; Types: Map Service, OGC WFS Layer, OGC WMS Layer, OGC WMS Service; Tags: 2014, AZ-01, AZ-02, AZ-03, AZ-04, All tags... AZ-05, AZ-06, AZ-07, AZ-08, AZ-09, Applications and Tools, Arizona, Big Bend ‐ Río Bravo & Lower Río Conchos Pilot Area, CA-08, CA-23, CA-25, CA-27, CA-36, CA-50, CA-51, California, Conservation NGOs, Data Acquisition and Development, Data.gov Desert LCC, Decision Support, EARTH SCIENCE > HUMAN DIMENSIONS > ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS > CONSERVATION, Federal resource managers, Fire, Fire regimes, Gila River, LCC Network Science Catalog, Map, Mojave Desert Pilot Area, NM-02, NV-01, NV-03, NV-04, Nevada, New Mexico, Population & Habitat Evaluation/Projection, Private land owners, Report, Report, Rio Grande, Riparian ecosystems, Southwestern United States, T&E species, TX-16, TX-23, Tamarisk, Tamarisk beetles, Texas, Tonto Creek, Transboundary Madrean Watersheds Pilot Area, UT-02, United States, Utah, biota, completed, Fewer tags

Fire-smart Southwestern Riparian Landscape Management and Restoration of Native Biodiversity in View of Species of Conservation Concern and the Impacts of Tamarisk Beetles

In regulated rivers of the southwest, reduced flooding and the invasion of tamarisk contributes to accumulation of greater fuel loads and increased riparian fire frequency. As a result, some desert riparian areas, historically considered barriers to wildfire, have been converted into pathways for wildfire spread. Fire-smart management strategies are needed to protect sensitive riparian species and reduce fire risk from increased fire frequency due to interactions of climate change, tamarisk invasion, and tamarisk beetle activity. Fire niche simulations will be used to project impacts of fire frequency and climate change, which can be used to highlight areas of the Desert LCC where Southwestern Willow Flycatcher,...

Categories: Data, Project; Types: Map Service, OGC WFS Layer, OGC WMS Layer, OGC WMS Service; Tags: 2014, AZ-01, AZ-02, AZ-03, AZ-04, All tags... AZ-05, AZ-06, AZ-07, AZ-08, AZ-09, Applications and Tools, Arizona, Big Bend ‐ Río Bravo & Lower Río Conchos Pilot Area, CA-08, CA-23, CA-25, CA-27, CA-36, CA-50, CA-51, California, Conservation NGOs, Data Acquisition and Development, Decision Support, Desert Landscape Conservation Cooperative, EARTH SCIENCE > HUMAN DIMENSIONS > ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS > CONSERVATION, Federal resource managers, Fire, Fire regimes, Gila River, LCC, LCC Network Science Catalog, Map, Mojave Desert Pilot Area, NM-02, NV-01, NV-03, NV-04, Nevada, New Mexico, Population & Habitat Evaluation/Projection, Private land owners, Project, Report, Rio Grande, Riparian ecosystems, Southwestern United States, T&E species, TX-16, TX-23, Tamarisk, Tamarisk beetles, Texas, Tonto Creek, Transboundary Madrean Watersheds Pilot Area, UT-02, United States, Utah, biota, completed, Fewer tags

Comparing historical and current wildfire regimes in the Northern Rocky Mountains using a landscape succession model

Wildland fire is a key ecosystem process that shapes the landscape of Western United States. Changes in fire regimes can therefore have profound impact on ecosystem functions and services, including carbon cycling, habitat conditions, and biodiversity. This study examined fire regime changes in the Northern Rocky Mountain region using a landscape succession model (LANDSUMv4). The objective is to report a new method to develop fire regime condition class (FRCC) maps by comparing historical reference conditions of fire regimes – simulated using historical fire record and the LANDSUMv4 model – with current fire regimes developed using 27 years remote sensing fire product and LANDSUMv4. Results of this study indicate...

Categories: Publication; Types: Journal Citation; Tags: FRCC, Fire Regimes, LANDFIRE, MTBS, Modeling, All tags... Northern Rocky Mountains, Fewer tags

Predictive Model of Burn Severity (dNBR) in the Mojave Desert

This raster dataset represents spatially explicit predictions of burn severity (dNBRPredict.tif) in the Mojave Desert based on models developed from data on the difference normalized burn ratio (dNBR) within perimeters of fires greater than 405 hectares that burned between 1984 to 2010. Raster resolution equals 30 meters, projection equals UTM Zone 11N.

Categories: Data; Types: Downloadable, GeoTIFF, Map Service, Raster; Tags: Grass-fire cycle, Mojave Desert, Mojave Desert, Predictive models, Random forests, All tags... biota, burn severity, dNBR, desert ecosystems, disturbance, ecosystems, field methods, fire, fire frequency, fire regimes, fires, geographic information systems, heterogeneity, imageryBaseMapsEarthCover, invasive species, plants (organisms), remote sensing, spatial models, vegetation, Fewer tags

Predictive Model of Probability of Ignition in the Mojave Desert

This raster dataset represents spatially explicit predictions of probability of ignition in the Mojave Desert based on models developed from data on perimeters of fires greater than 405 hectares that burned between 1972 to 2010. Raster resolution equals 30 meters, projection equals UTM Zone 11N.

Categories: Data; Types: Downloadable, GeoTIFF, Map Service, Raster; Tags: Grass-fire cycle, Maxent, Mojave Desert, Mojave Desert, Predictive models, All tags... biota, burn severity, desert ecosystems, disturbance, ecosystems, field methods, fire, fire frequency, fire regimes, fires, geographic information systems, heterogeneity, igntion probability, imageryBaseMapsEarthCover, invasive species, plants (organisms), remote sensing, spatial models, vegetation, Fewer tags

Quantifying successional rates in western aspen woodlands: Current conditions, future predictions

Stands of quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides) rank among the most biologically diverse plant communities across the intermountain region of western North America. Marked declines of aspen have occurred in recent decades, likely due to a combination of effects from changes in fire regimes, herbivory, climate (e.g. drought), and interspecific competition with conifer species. However, it is poorly understood how the effects of these factors are manifested at a landscape scale over decadal time periods. Analysis of field data combined with topographic information collected across the 500,000 ha Owyhee Plateau in southwestern Idaho revealed that aspen in the area occur in three different biophysical settings; First,...

Categories: Publication; Types: Citation, Journal Citation; Tags: Forest Ecology and Management, VDDT, aspen, disturbance dynamics, encroachment, All tags... fire regimes, succession, threshold, vegetation dynamics simulation, Fewer tags

Cover of Woody and Herbaceous Functional Groups in Burned and Unburned Plots, Mojave Desert, 2009-2013

Arid ecosystems are often vulnerable to transformation to invasive-dominated states following fire, but data on persistence of these states are sparse. The grass/fire cycle is a feedback process between invasive annual grasses and fire frequency that often leads to the formation of alternative vegetation states dominated by the invasive grasses. However, other components of fire regimes, such as burn severity, also have the potential to produce long-term vegetation transformations. Our goal was to evaluate the influence of both fire frequency and burn severity on the transformation of woody-dominated communities to communities dominated by invasive grasses in major elevation zones of the Mojave Desert of western...

Categories: Data; Types: Citation, Map Service, OGC WFS Layer, OGC WMS Layer, OGC WMS Service; Tags: Mojave desert, USGS Science Data Catalog (SDC), biological invasions, chronosequence, community structure, All tags... deserts, disturbance, ecological processes, ecosystems, fire regimes, fires, habitat alteration, invasive species, plants, resilience, resistance, secondary succession, Fewer tags

Projected carbon stocks in the conterminous USA with land use and variable fire regimes

The dynamic global vegetation model (DGVM) MC2 was run over the conterminous USA at 30 arc sec (~800 m) to simulate the impacts of nine climate futures generated by 3GCMs (CSIRO, MIROC and CGCM3) using 3 emission scenarios (A2, A1B and B1) in the context of the LandCarbon national carbon sequestration assessment. It first simulated potential vegetation dynamics from coast to coast assuming no human impacts and naturally occurring wildfires. A moderate effect of increased atmospheric CO2 on water use efficiency and growth enhanced carbon sequestration but did not greatly influence woody encroachment. The wildfires maintained prairie-forest ecotones in the Great Plains. With simulated fire suppression, the number...

Categories: Publication; Types: Journal Citation; Tags: Carbon stock, Conterminous United States, Fire, Fire regimes, Land use and Land cover

Predictive Model of Fire Frequency in the Mojave Desert

This raster dataset represents spatially explicit predictions of fire frequency in the Mojave Desert based on models developed from data on perimeters of fires greater than 405 hectares that burned between 1972 through 2010. Raster resolution equals 30 meters, projection equals UTM Zone 11N.

Categories: Data; Types: Downloadable, GeoTIFF, Map Service, Raster; Tags: Grass-fire cycle, Mojave Desert, Mojave Desert, Predictive models, Random forests, All tags... biota, burn severity, desert ecosystems, disturbance, ecosystems, field methods, fire, fire frequency, fire regimes, fire return interval, fires, geographic information systems, heterogeneity, imageryBaseMapsEarthCover, invasive species, plants (organisms), remote sensing, spatial models, vegetation, Fewer tags