JFSP Projects in Progress

You may search JFSP Project Information by the following: Project Number, Title, Principal Investigator, Cooperators or key words contained in a brief description of the project.

Fire and Invasive Plant Species

FY 2006 Projects
06-S-01: The Use of Fire as a Tool for Managing Invasive Weeds
Doug Johnson California Invasive Plant Council 1442-A Walnut Street, #462 Berkeley, CA 94709 Phone: (510) 843-3902 E-mail: dwjohnson@cal-ipc.org	Other Collaborators: Matthew Brooks, USGS
Cal-IPC organized a 2-day workshop attended by twenty western states land managers and researchers who are experts on the use of fire to control invasive weeds. The proceedings have been compiled into a report that captures the current state of knowledge on this topic. This material will be valuable to other land managers and researchers working to control invasive weeds. The current funding proposal will enable us to publish and distribute a professionally-designed report.
06-1-2-03: Invasive Species Response to Fire and Post-Fire Rehabilitation Following the 2005 School Fire, Umatilla National Forest
Peter R. Robichaud Rocky Mountain Research Station 1221 South Main St Moscow, ID 83843 Phone: (208) 882-3557 E-mail: probichaud@fs.fed.us	Other Collaborators: Andrew Hudak, RMRS Leigh B. Lentile, University of Idaho Sarah Lewis, WSU Penelope Morgan, University of Idaho James Saveland, RMRS, Forestry Sciences Lab Caty F. Clifton, Umatilla NF
Invasive species are spreading rapidly on rangelands and in dry forests and pose serious ecological and economic threats to our environment. Managers are very concerned about weed spread following the 2005 School Fire that burned 21,000 ha of state, private and Umatilla National Forest lands, in WA. Severely burned areas within the fire were treated with various mulching and seed treatments to control erosion and improve native re-vegetation. Weeds follow disturbances such as fire and harvesting because of the removal of existing vegetation, increase in exposed soil, and increased forest floor light levels. The effects of mulching and seeding treatments on soil and native vegetation recovery and the spread of invasive species are not well documented or understood.
FY 2004 Projects
04-4-1-08: Publication of literature synthesis entitled “Effects of Fire on Nonnative Invasive Plants” as 6th volume in the General Technical Report “Wildland Fire in Ecosystems” (“Rainbow” series)
Jane Kapler Smith USFS, RMRS Fire Sciences Lab P.O. Box 5775 Missoula, MT 59807 Phone: 406-329-4805 E-mail: jsmith09@fs.fed.us	Other Collaborators: Steve Sutherlan, USFS Matthew Brooks, USGS Alison Dibble, USFS
This project will (1) produce a General Technical Report in the Wildland Fire in Ecosystems (“Rainbow”) Series that synthesizes science-based information on relationships between fire and nonnative invasive plant species, and (2) distribute the report systematically to wildland managers and people who offer training to managers.
FY 2001 Projects
01-S-05: Publish the "Fire and Invasives" concurrent session from Fire Conference 2000: The First National Congress on Fire Ecology, Prevention, and Management
Tyrone Wilson USGS - BRD 12201 Sunrise Valley Drive Reston, VA 20192 Phone: 703-648-4083	Other Cooperators: Stan Coloff, USGS
This special publication included 12 invited papers on the relationships between fire and invasive plants in various ecoregions of the United States.
FY 2000 Projects
00-1-2-01: Spatial interactions among fuels, wildfire, and invasive plants
Phil Omi Dept. of Forest Sciences 131 Forestry Colorado State Univ. Fort Collins, CO 80523 Phone: 970-491-2626 E-mail: westfire@lamar.colostate.edu	Other Cooperators: Erik Martinson, Colorado State Univ. Mohammed Kalkhan, Colorado State Univ. Geneva Chong, Colorado State Univ.
Synergistic interactions among fuels, extreme wildfire behavior, and exotic species invasions are increasingly recognized as major threats to the structure and function of natural ecosystems. No standardized investigation of these interactions has been conducted to date. Researchers will study fuels, burn severity, and invasive species in areas recently affected by large wildfires to determine the factors that contribute to post-fire invasion and persistence of exotic plants and to identify effective mitigation options for land managers.
00-1-2-04: Fire and invasive annual grasses in western ecosystems
Matt Brooks USGS 41734 South Fork Dr. Three Rivers, CA 93271 Phone: 559-561-6511 E-mail: matt_brooks@usgs.gov	Other Cooperators: Jayne Belnap, USGS Jon E. Keeley, USGS Robert Sanford, Univ. of Denver
Annual grasses have invaded a number of shrub and forest ecosystems in western North America and are linked to changes in both ecosystem structure and function. In addition to impacts on native plant diversity, these grasses have the potential to alter fuel structure and fire behavior. Scientific efforts are focused on examining interactions between fire, soil nutrients, and invasive grass productivity over a range of low-nutrient ecosystems (i.e. the Great Basin shrub steppe, Mojave Desert scrub, and Sierra Nevada yellow pine forest) currently dominated or threatened by invasive annual grasses. Information from this study will be combined with NRCS soil survey data to create landscape level maps of post-fire susceptibility of western ecosystems to invasion by exotic species.
00-1-2-06: Fire management options to control woody invasive plants in the northeastern and the mid-Atlantic U.S.
Alison C. Dibble USFS, NERS Station RWU NE-4155 RR 1 Box 589 Bradley, ME 04411 Phone: 207 866-7258 E-mail: adibble@earthlink.net	Other Cooperators: William Patterson, Univ. of MA
Expanding populations of invasive plants and their potential for altering natural fire behavior and occurrence are of increasing concern in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic Regions of the U.S. Managers are charged with controlling invasive plants in the course of implementing their management plans but lack information on effective control. Researchers are developing and testing a method of controlling woody clonal plants using mechanical treatments and growing season fire. They are also evaluating the fuel loads, distribution, and abundance of invasive plants, especially in forested areas. They will make management recommendations based on the new data.
00-1-2-09: Invasive Plant and Fire Interactions: Use of the Fire Effects Information System to provide information for Managers
Kevin C. Ryan Fire Sciences Laboratory USFS, RMRS P.O. Box 8089 Missoula, MT 59807 Phone: 406-329-4807 E-mail: kryan@fs.fed.us	Other Cooperators: Jane Kapler Smith, USFS Steve Sutherland, USFS John Randall, The Nature Conservancy Helen Smith, USFS
The Fire Effects Information System (FEIS) was developed at the Fire Sciences Laboratory in Missoula, Montana and includes information on over 900 plant species with emphasis on how fire affects each species. Managers routinely use this database in their land management planning. Research here is targeted at conducting literature reviews on 60 non-native invasive plant species. This new or revised information is being incorporated into the FEIS database (www.fs.fed.us/database/feis) to improve managers’ ability to address problems associated with invasive species.