What's New

2nd Fire Behavior and Fuels Conference will be held in Destin, Florida March 26-30, 2007.

The Teakettle Ecosystem Experiment and Fire and Forest Health DVD Site!

SageSTEP Land Management Treatments

The 2007 EastFIRE Conference will be held in Fairfax, Virginia June 5-8, 2007.

National Interagency Fire Center
For the most current fire information available...

Principal Investigator's Corner

Final Report Guidelines
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JFSP Completed Projects

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

The Use of Fire as a Tool for Managing Invasive Weeds

Project # 06-S-01; Principal Investigator: Doug Johnson

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.

Final Report pdf document

The Use of Fire as a Tool for Managing Invasive Plants publication pdf document

FY 2002

Effects of Invasive Alien Plants on Fire Regimes

Project # 02-S-03; Principal Investigator: Matthew L. Brooks

This article was the result of a symposium titled “Fire and Invasive Plant Ecology and Management: The Need for Integration to Effectively Restore Ecosystems”, held at the 2002 Ecological Society of America annual meeting. It presents a multiphase model describing the interrelationships between plant invaders and fire regimes, provides a system for evaluating the relative effects of invaders, prioritizing them for control, and recommends ways to restore pre-invasion fire regime properties.

Effects of Invasive Alien Plants on Fire Regimes pdf document

FY 2001

Proceedings of the Invasive Species Workshop: The Role of Fire in the Control and Spread of Invasive Species

Project # 01-S-05; Technical Coordinators: Matthew L. Brooks and Stanley G. Coloff

The purpose of the Fire and Invasive Species workshop was to assess the state of knowledge of the interactions of fire and invasive plants, including fire management practices related to control and susceptibility, influence of invasive species on fire regimes, influence of fire on invasive species, and influence of land use and land management practices on invasive species and fire. A further purpose was to identify management information needs and related research needs and priorities, and to raise national awareness of fire invasive species issues.

The workshop proceedings are organized according to major eco-regions represented in the U.S.: Desert and Semi-Desert, Temperate Grasslands, Mediterranean Climates, Temperate and Boreal Coniferous Forests, Temperate Deciduous Forests, and Tropical and Subtropical Environments.

FY 2000

Invasive Plant and Fire Interactions: Use of the Fire Effects Information System to provide information for Managers

Project # 00-1-2-09; Principal Investigator: Kevin C. Ryan

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.

Final Report pdf document

Fire Effects Information System (FEIS) Home Page

Fire Management Options for Controlling Woody Invasive Plants in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic U.S.

Project # 00-1-2-06; Principal Investigator: Alison Dibble

Alteration of natural habitats by woody invasive plants is a concern for land managers throughout the northeastern United States. This project evaluated the effectiveness of applying various fuel treatments at different times during the growing cycle for seven woody invasive species: Gray Dogwood, Common Buckthorn, Multiflora Rose, Japanese Barberry, Morrow’s Honeysuckle, Scotch Broom, and Catbrier. Specific recommendations for each species studied are included in the final report.

Proceedings from a workshop that was held on January 24, 2003 at the Urban Forestry Center, Portsmouth, NH are also available. Topics including treatment options for controlling invasive plants, lessons learned, regional climate and fire danger modeling, policy changes and funding options treatment options, fuel bed characteristics of invaded forest stands, how invasive species are altering fire behavior, and future research needs for managing invasive species. These papers were not peer-reviewed or edited.

Final Report pdf document (1,025 kb)
Workshop Proceedings pdf document

Characteristics of Fuel Beds Invaded by Smilax Rotundifolia Thesis by Michael Ohman pdf document

Journal of Forestry article Does the Lack of Reference Ecosystems Limit Our Science? A Case Study in Nonnative Invasive Plants as Forest Fuels. pdf document

FIRE AND INVASIVE PLANTS in the Northeastern United States

TIMING TREATMENTS TO THE PHENOLOGY OF ROOT CARBOHYDRATE
RESERVES TO CONTROL WOODY INVASIVE PLANTS Dissertation by Julie A. Richburg
pdf document (842 kb)

Fire and invasive annual grasses in western ecosystems

Project # 00-1-2-04; Principal Investigator: Matt Brooks

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.

Final Report pdf document

Spatial interactions among fuels, wildfire, and invasive plants

Project # 00-1-2-01; Principal Investigator: Phil Omi

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.

Final Report Microsoft Word document