Post-fire rehabilitation seeding in the U.S. Intermountain West, primarily conducted by the Bureau of Land Management, is designed to reduce the risk of erosion and weed invasion while increasing desirable plant cover. Seeding effectiveness is typically monitored for three years following treatment, after which a closeout report is prepared. We evaluated 220 third-year closeout reports describing 214 aerial and 113 drill seedings implemented after wildfires from 2001 through 2006. Each treatment was assigned a qualitative success rating of good, fair, poor, or failure based on information in the reports. Seeding success varied by both treatment (aerial or drill) and year. Aerial seedings were rated 13.6% good, 18.3% fair, 29.6% poor, and 38.5% failure. Drill seedings were rated as 30.1% good, 24.8% fair, 23.0% poor, and 22.1% failure. Logistic regression analysis found that aerial seedings were more successful with increasing elevation, long-term average precipitation, and precipitation received in the first and third years following treatment. Drill seeding success was best explained by elevation only, suggesting that these treatments are less sensitive to long-term average and precipitation received after treatment than aerial seedings. We found monitoring reports did not report seeding success consistently using quantiative objectives, control areas to proived adequate comparisons, and did not provide maps, making them difficult to assess spatially. Providing additional information in monitoring reports about important factors that can influence seeding success such as pre-fire vegetation would be useful for the creation of a decision analysis tool to aid land managers who are confronted with whether or not to perform post-fire rehabilitation treatments given limited resources and budgets.

Post-fire rehabilitation seeding in the U.S. Intermountain West, primarily conducted by the Bureau of Land Management, is designed to reduce the risk of erosion and weed invasion while increasing desirable plant cover. Seeding effectiveness is typically monitored for three years following treatment, after which a closeout report is prepared. We evaluated 220 third-year closeout reports describing 214 aerial and 113 drill seedings implemented after wildfires from 2001 through 2006. Each treatment was assigned a qualitative success rating of good, fair, poor, or failure based on information in the reports. Seeding success varied by both treatment (aerial or drill) and year. Aerial seedings were rated 13.6% good, 18.3% fair, 29.6% poor, and 38.5% failure. Drill seedings were rated as 30.1% good, 24.8% fair, 23.0% poor, and 22.1% failure. Logistic regression analysis found that aerial seedings were more successful with increasing elevation, long-term average precipitation, and precipitation received in the first and third years following treatment. Drill seeding success was best explained by elevation only, suggesting that these treatments are less sensitive to long-term average and precipitation received after treatment than aerial seedings. We found monitoring reports did not report seeding success consistently using quantiative objectives, control areas to proived adequate comparisons, and did not provide maps, making them difficult to assess spatially. Providing additional information in monitoring reports about important factors that can influence seeding success such as pre-fire vegetation would be useful for the creation of a decision analysis tool to aid land managers who are confronted with whether or not to perform post-fire rehabilitation treatments given limited resources and budgets.

This dataset contains observations used to better understand the initial establishment of sagebrush (Artemisia sp.), in the first 1-2 years post-wildfire. Field data come from 460 sagebrush populations sampled across the Great Basin and many GIS-derived co-variates are included as well.

This dataset contains observations used to better understand the initial establishment of sagebrush (Artemisia sp.), in the first 1-2 years post-wildfire. Field data come from 460 sagebrush populations sampled across the Great Basin and many GIS-derived co-variates are included as well.

Many non-native invasive grass species increase wildfire activity and recover more quickly than native species. This invasive grass-fire cycle has severe negative consequences for ecosystems, creating a need to understand how different invasive grass species alter fuel characteristics and fire behavior, as well as effective treatments to reduce their spread. We reviewed and compiled recent (1985-2023) scientific literature on six focal grass species common to the Intermountain West, USA: red brome [Bromus rubens (L.)], cheatgrass [Bromus tectorum (L.)], Lehmann's lovegrass (Eragrostis lehmanniana Nees), buffelgrass [Pennisetum ciliare (L.) Link], Mediterranean grass [Schismus arabicus Nees and Schismus barbatus (Loefl. ex L.) Thell.], and medusahead [Taeniatherum caput-medusae (L.) Nevski]. These data include information from studies that were conducted in the Intermountain West in natural systems, or in controlled lab, greenhouse, or field environments meant to simulate natural systems (cropped/urban systems were excluded). To be included, the studies must have quantified the impacts of one or more of the focal invasive grasses on fuel characteristics, wildfire behavior, or treatments to reduce their spread. These data can be used to identify and assess common treatment methods and their effectiveness, inform needs for future research, and apply knowledge learned from these invasive grasses to others with similar invasion potential and life histories.

A raster identifying previously burned areas as being 1) recovered (to sagebrush-dominant ecosystem), 2) recovering, or 3) transitioned to annual grass-dominated.

A raster identifying previously burned areas as being 1) recovered (to sagebrush-dominant ecosystem), 2) recovering, or 3) transitioned to annual grass-dominated.

Land management treatments in sagebrush steppe are an important opportunity to break the annual-grass fire cycle, provided they offer long-lasting resistance to annual-grass invasion and do not burn. However, for BLM areas seeded as part of the Emergency Stabilization and Rehabilitation (ESR) program, one of the largest programs for land management treatments, about 1/4 have at least partially reburned over the last 30 years, according to a recent study. Reburning of treatments can cause a loss of investment if fire-intolerant perennials do not recover and/or significant invasions occur, in which case the risks of wildfire are compounded by increased potential for ecological degradation. Alternatively, recovery of fire-tolerant perennials occurs naturally or due to treatments would represent a significant return on prior investment and the occurrence of fire would thus pose reduced ecological hazard risks. Fire risks are highly variable across sagebrush landscapes, owing to variability in fuel loading, ignition potential, and fire transmission. Information is needed on predicting future risks related to reburning - including post-fire hazards related to ecological degradation - for past land management investments to a) identify protection measures that could be applied now, and b) help design and positioning of future treatment investments to minimize their risk of reburning in ways that cause ecological degradation. This dataset was compiled in order to predict reburn risk to areas that had previously burned and were retreated.

These data consist of plot-level plant species cover measurements from numerous targeted post-fire vegetation studies across the western United States. This data release includes two data tables. The first data table: 'postfire_vegplot_dataset.csv', consists of absolute percent live foliar cover measurements of all plant species within plots from targeted post-fire vegetation studies, or 'datasets', across the western United States. The second data table: 'dataset_information_table.csv', lists any citations, links to related publications, or other notes about data collection for specific datasets.

These data consist of plot-level plant species cover measurements from numerous targeted post-fire vegetation studies across the western United States. This data release includes two data tables. The first data table: 'postfire_vegplot_dataset.csv', consists of absolute percent live foliar cover measurements of all plant species within plots from targeted post-fire vegetation studies, or 'datasets', across the western United States. The second data table: 'dataset_information_table.csv', lists any citations, links to related publications, or other notes about data collection for specific datasets.