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Impacts of Wildfire, Fire Suppression, and Post-burn Restoration on Exotic Weed Invasion
Adaptive Management and Monitoring
Regions 1 and 4 – Rocky Mountain Research Station (RMRS)
FY 01 Progress Report and FY 02 Plans
Project Category: Invasive Weeds
Project Title: Monitoring the Impact of Wildfire, Fire Suppression, and Post-burn Restoration on Exotic Weed Invasion
Project Leader: Steve Sutherland, RMRS (Lou Kuennen, Kootenai NF)
Participating Research Contacts: Steve Sutherland
Participating Forests/Grassland Contacts: Jim Olivarez (R1), Jay Winfield (Helena NF), Frank Guzman (Bitterroot NF), Leonard Lake (Nez Perce NF)
Funds: Total Project Cost and Timeframe (1-5 years):
2001: $167,000 Carryover: $103,000
2002: $120,000
2003: $115,000
2004: $110,000
2005: $110,000
Progress in 2001: Monitoring the impact of wildfire, fire suppression, and post-burn restoration on exotic weed invasion:
- 210 30mX30m macro-plots were established and monitored in western Montana and northern Idaho
- 110 of these macro-plots were in the western portion of the Bitterroot NF; 32 on Blodgett Fire, 47 on Little Blue Fire, 32 on the Wilderness Complex fires (Selway-Bitterroot and Frank Church Wilderness Areas)
- at each fire, these macro-plots were established in 4-9 vegetation types and four fire intensities
- each of these macro-plots contained four transects with five 1mX1m permanent quadrats per transect (a total of 2200 quadrats in the Bitterroot fires)
- for each macro-plot data were taken for location, elevation, slope, aspect, topographic position, existing vegetation, living basal area, dead basal area, soil type, surface fire intensity, crown fire intensity, disturbance, percentage cover for trees, shrubs, forbs, grasses, litter, rock, wood, mineral soil, and presence and identity of weed species
- for each 1mX1m permanent quadrat, data were taken for surface fire intensity, percentage cover for trees, shrubs, forbs, grasses, litter, rock, wood, mineral soil, and percentage cover for each plant species present
- hemispherical photos were taken at each macro-plot to determine available light
- 20 1mX1m permanent quadrats were established along dozer lines
- 117 1mX1m permanent quadrats were established in areas of contour felling
- 20 1mX1m permanent quadrats were established in areas where straw mulch was used to control erosion
- Nine macro-plots were established in commercial mushroom picker camp sites on the Bitterroot NF to examine the potential for weed dispersal by commercial harvesters
- the Blodgett fire camp (county fairgrounds) was surveyed to look at the distribution and density of existing weed species and for the presence of new weed species
- two workshops were conducted on the use of palm pilots and GPS units to collect weed occurrence data. These were attended by employees from the Fire Lab, the Forestry Sciences Lab in Bozeman, the Helena NF, the Nez Perce NF, the Kootenai NF, and the Bitterroot NF
In addition, I worked with Helena NF to implement a comprehensive, post-fire, weed monitoring program using the same techniques as I used for the Bitterroot fires. Their progress in 2001:
- 36 macro-plots were established in four vegetation types and four fire intensities on the Cave Gulch Fire
- each of these macro-plots contained four transects with five 1mX1m permanent quadrats per transect (a total of 720 quadrats in the Helena fires)
- for each macro-plot data were taken for location, elevation, slope, aspect, topographic position, existing vegetation, living basal area, dead basal area, soil type, surface fire intensity, crown fire intensity, disturbance, percentage cover for trees, shrubs, forbs, grasses, litter, rock, wood, mineral soil, and presence and identity of weed species
- for each 1mX1m permanent quadrat, data were taken for surface fire intensity, percentage cover for trees, shrubs, forbs, grasses, litter, rock, wood, mineral soil, and percentage cover for each weed species present
- 20 macro-plots were established to examine the impact of fire and herbicide on weeds
- Eight macro-plots were established to determine the best method for monitoring herbicide effectiveness in controlling weeds at high and low densities in burned areas (four macro-plots for leafy spurge and four for Dalmatian toadflax)
In general, the monitoring has worked well. The only potential problem is that some macro-plots were established in areas that may be salvage logged. If that is the case, then those plots will be used to examine the impact of fire and salvage logging on weed invasion and then compared with unlogged plots.
Plans for 2002:
- analyze the data collected in the 2001 field season for the Bitterroot NF and Helena NF fires
- compile macro-plot data from the Fire Lab, the Helena NF, the Nez Perce NF, the Kootenai NF, and the Bitterroot NF
- create weed GIS layers from these data and examine for spatial patterns
- examine these results and modify 2002 sampling protocol as needed
Next field season:
- monitor the 1mX1m permanent quadrats in the Bitterroot macro-plots that had weeds in 2001
- if weed numbers or densities have significantly increased on these plots, monitor the 1mX1m permanent quadrats in all Bitterroot macro-plots
- establish new macro-plots in eastern portion of the Bitterroot NF (East Fork, Skalkaho, Sleeping Child, and Rye Creek fires)
- at these fires, macro-plots will be established in various vegetation types and various fire intensities
- establish 1mX1m permanent quadrats in areas where straw wattles were used to control erosion
- re-visit the macro-plots established in commercial mushroom picker camp sites on the Bitterroot NF to look at the distribution and density of existing weed species and look for the presence of new weed species
- re-visit the Blodgett fire camp to look at the distribution and density of existing weed species and look for the presence of new weed species
- survey additional fire camps, staging areas, and helispots to look at the distribution and density of existing weed species and look for the presence of new weed species
- establish four macro-plots with permanent 1mX1m quadrats to determine the best method for monitoring herbicide effectiveness in controlling knapweed at high and low densities in burned areas on the Bitterroot NF
- conduct workshops on the use of palm pilots and GPS units to collect weed occurrence data as requested
Products and/or tech transfer expected in 2002:
- conduct workshops on the use of palm pilots and GPS units to collect weed occurrence data as requested
- lead tours of weed monitoring macro-plots in Bitterroot NF
- publish article on the use of palm pilots and GPS units to collect weed occurrence data
- present poster on one-year post-fire invasion of exotic weeds at Ecological Society of America meeting
- organize presentation and/or workshop on best method for monitoring herbicide effectiveness in controlling weeds at high and low densities in burned areas
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