Postfire shrub cover dynamics: A 70-year fire chronosequence in mountain big sagebrush communities

Fire is natural in sagebrush (Artemisia L.) communities. In this study, we quantify effects of time since last burn (TSLB) on shrub cover over a 70-year (yr) fire chronosequence. We sampled mountain big sagebrush communities with very large-scale aerial (VLSA) imagery and measured sagebrush, antelop...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of arid environments 2015-03, Vol.114, p.116-123
Main Authors: Moffet, Corey A., Taylor, J. Bret, Booth, D. Terrance
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aridity
Artemisia
Bitterbrush
Communities
Direct current
Fires
Horsebrush
Mountains
Phases
Postfire shrub cover change
Purshia tridentata
Regression
Sagebrush
Shrub canopy cover
Steady state
Tetradymia canescens
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Summary:Fire is natural in sagebrush (Artemisia L.) communities. In this study, we quantify effects of time since last burn (TSLB) on shrub cover over a 70-year (yr) fire chronosequence. We sampled mountain big sagebrush communities with very large-scale aerial (VLSA) imagery and measured sagebrush, antelope bitterbrush (Purshia tridentata [Pursh] DC.), and spineless horsebrush (Tetradymia canescens DC.) cover. We used segmented regression to describe two cover phases with respect to TSLB. Phase 1 was when cover responded to TSLB and Phase 2 was when cover had reached a steady state with respect to TSLB meaning that expected shrub cover did not change with increasing TSLB. In the first year after burning, total shrub cover was 5%. In Phase 1, total shrub, sagebrush, and bitterbrush cover increased with TSLB. Bitterbrush transitioned to Phase 2 in 6 yr, but 19 and 18 yr, respectively, were needed for sagebrush and total shrub to transition. Horsebrush cover decreased with TSLB from 2.1% to 0.2% over 27 yr. Steady-state cover for sagebrush, bitterbrush, and total shrub were 30.6, 2.8, and 39.8%, respectively. These data describe postfire shrub cover change in mountain big sagebrush communities that can be used in management plans that meet shrub cover objectives. •We characterize cover response of 3 shrubs from a 70-year burn chronosequence.•Sagebrush, bitterbrush, and horsebrush were best defined by a linear plateau model.•Steady-state shrub cover was achieved within 18 ± 4.1 years after fire.
ISSN:0140-1963
1095-922X
DOI:10.1016/j.jaridenv.2014.12.005