Wildfire events are becoming more frequent and severe on a global scale. Rising temperatures, prolonged drought, and the presence of pyrophytic invasive grasses are contributing to the degradation of native vegetation communities. Within the Great Basin region of the Western United States, increasing wildfire frequency is transforming the ecosystem toward a higher degree of homogeneity, one dominated by invasive annual grasses and declining landscape productivity. Greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus; hereafter sage-grouse) are a species of conservation concern that rely on large tracts of structurally and functionally diverse sagebrush (Artemisia spp.) communities. Using a 12-year (2008-2019) telemetry dataset, we documented immediate impacts of wildfire on demographic rates of a population of sage-grouse that were exposed to two large wildfire events (Virginia Mountains Fire Complex - 2016; Long Valley Fire - 2017) near the border of California and Nevada. Spatiotemporal heterogeneity in demographic rates were accounted for using a Before-After Control-Impact Paired Series (BACIPS) study design.

We monitored Greater Sage-Grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus; hereafter, Sage-Grouse) nests and various habitat characteristics at the nest locations near Susanville in northeastern California, crossing over into northwestern Nevada. We employed a before-after-control-impact (BACI) experimental design to account for spatiotemporal heterogeneity in the system and to derive estimates of relative change in survival parameters. Sage-Grouse nest survival decreased after the Rush Fire but decreased more in the burned area relative to the unburned area. Although female Sage-Grouse continued to occupy burned areas, nest survival was reduced from 52 percent to 19 percent. Using a BACI ratio approach we found that nest survival decreased approximately 51 percent in the burned area, relative to the unburned area, following wildfire. Habitat analyses were restricted to the post-fire period and found that female Sage-Grouse that nested within unburned areas selected for wider nesting substrate, taller perennial grass height, and greater low sagebrush canopy cover. Conversely, female Sage-Grouse that nested in burned areas used shorter sagebrush canopy cover than what was available across the entire study area, but showed stronger selection for perennial grass height than their unburned counterparts. Strong nest-site fidelity in sage-grouse may explain the continued use of suboptimal habitat in wildfire-altered landscapes, resulting in a reproductive cost, and overall reproduction well below replacement rate. Results suggest that fire suppression or rapid post-fire habitat restoration, especially within nesting habitat, may be essential to conserving robust Sage-Grouse populations into the future.

We monitored Greater Sage-Grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus; hereafter, Sage-Grouse) nests and various habitat characteristics at the nest locations near Susanville in northeastern California, crossing over into northwestern Nevada. We employed a before-after-control-impact (BACI) experimental design to account for spatiotemporal heterogeneity in the system and to derive estimates of relative change in survival parameters. Sage-Grouse nest survival decreased after the Rush Fire but decreased more in the burned area relative to the unburned area. Although female Sage-Grouse continued to occupy burned areas, nest survival was reduced from 52 percent to 19 percent. Using a BACI ratio approach we found that nest survival decreased approximately 51 percent in the burned area, relative to the unburned area, following wildfire. Habitat analyses were restricted to the post-fire period and found that female Sage-Grouse that nested within unburned areas selected for wider nesting substrate, taller perennial grass height, and greater low sagebrush canopy cover. Conversely, female Sage-Grouse that nested in burned areas used shorter sagebrush canopy cover than what was available across the entire study area, but showed stronger selection for perennial grass height than their unburned counterparts. Strong nest-site fidelity in sage-grouse may explain the continued use of suboptimal habitat in wildfire-altered landscapes, resulting in a reproductive cost, and overall reproduction well below replacement rate. Results suggest that fire suppression or rapid post-fire habitat restoration, especially within nesting habitat, may be essential to conserving robust Sage-Grouse populations into the future.

These data are a habitat restoration index based on the intersection of loss of habitat selected by sage-grouse and loss of habitat contributions to nest survival following wildfire.

These data are a habitat restoration index based on the intersection of loss of habitat selected by sage-grouse and loss of habitat contributions to nest survival following wildfire.

We evaluated nest site selection and nest survival both before and after a fire disturbance occurred. We then combined those surfaces to determine the areas which were most heavily impacted by the fire.

We evaluated nest site selection and nest survival both before and after a fire disturbance occurred. We then combined those surfaces to determine the areas which were most heavily impacted by the fire.

This table summarizes areas of burn severity, sagebrush biophysical types, and soil temperature/moisture regimes within large wildfires from 1984 to 2013 occuring within greater sage-grouse population areas. Methods used to derive these data are detailed in the report [Brooks, M.L., Matchett, J.R., Shinneman, D.J., and Coates, P.S., 2015, Fire patterns in the range of greater sage-grouse, 1984-2013; Implications for conservation and management: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2015-1167, 66 p., http://dx.doi.org/10.3133/ofr20151167]

This table summarizes areas of burn severity, sagebrush biophysical types, and soil temperature/moisture regimes within large wildfires from 1984 to 2013 occuring within greater sage-grouse population areas. Methods used to derive these data are detailed in the report [Brooks, M.L., Matchett, J.R., Shinneman, D.J., and Coates, P.S., 2015, Fire patterns in the range of greater sage-grouse, 1984-2013; Implications for conservation and management: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2015-1167, 66 p., http://dx.doi.org/10.3133/ofr20151167]

Exotic annual grasses are one of the most damaging biological stressors in western North America and increase the susceptibility of landscapes to wildfire occurrence. Here we couple estimates of long-term rangeland component fractions (e.g. exotic annual grasses) with remote sensing, climate data, and machine learning techniques to estimate the long-term (1985 to 2019) probability of wildfire occurrence (30-m spatial resolution) in sagebrush-dominated landscapes of the western United States.