Skip to main content
Author(s):
Matthew R. Ross, S. C. Castle, Nichole N. Barger
Year Published:

Cataloging Information

Topic(s):
Ecological - Second Order
Soils
Vegetation
Fuels
Fuel Treatments & Effects
Mechanical treatments
Ecosystem(s):
Juniper woodland

NRFSN number: 8326
FRAMES RCS number: 12421
Record updated:

Over the past decade, a variety of fuels reduction strategies have been implemented across western US forests to lower the risk of high severity fires. In two separate studies, we evaluated the short-term effects of hand thinning and mechanical mastication on understory plant communities and soil resources in an upland Piñon-juniperwoodland. All treated sites were compared to a nearby untreated control site. After one growing season, understory plant cover was 4-5.5 times greater in hand-thinned treatments, while understory cover in mastication treatments was 15 times greater following two growing seasons, compared to untreated controls. Bromus tectorum, an invasive annual grass, was present in all treated sites and absent from controls. Soil aggregate stability, an indicator of overall soil quality, was lower in the pile burn and mastication sites. Nitrogen fixation potential was low across all sites, but lowest in two treated sites (lop & scatter and mastication). This study suggests that different fuelsreduction techniques generally have positive effects on total understory plant cover, but treatments that involve burning of slash materials may have more negative effects on site stability than alternative treatment options.

Citation

Ross, M. R.; Castle, S. C.; Barger, N. N. 2012. Effects of fuels reductions on plant communities and soils in a Piñon-juniper woodland. Journal of Arid Environments. 79: 84-92.

Access this Document

Treesearch

publication access with no paywall

Check to see if this document is available for free in the USDA Forest Service Treesearch collection of publications. The collection includes peer reviewed publications in scientific journals, books, conference proceedings, and reports produced by Forest Service employees, as well as science synthesis publications and other products from Forest Service Research Stations.