USFS Joint Science Fire Project

Kemmerer rangeland drill seeding the 2006 Gopher Fire located in Northern Nevada.

Wildland restoration is a critical component in mitigating impacts from disturbances, invasive species and for promoting ecosystem resiliency. Scientists develop and modify tools, methods, and native plant materials used to restore damaged areas, study how restoration affects species and ecosystems,and develop novel approaches to monitor ecosystem changes in response to restoration. Research also includes developing technologies to ensure native seeds are available and appropriately adapted to the local environments.

Projects

• Classical Biological Control of Dalmatian (Linaria dalmatica), Yellow (L. vulgaris) and Hybrid (L. dalmatica x L. vulgaris) Toadflax
• Developing Herbaceous Plant Materials for the Great Basin
• Drought Adaptation of Three Purshia Species: Implications for Propagation, Atificial Regeneration, and Assisted Migration
• Ecological Genetics of Big Sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata): Genetic Structure and Climate Responsive Seed Zone Mapping
• Ecology, Management and Restoration of Great Basin Meadow Ecosystems
• Effect of Endophytic Fungi on Cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum L.) Growth and Fecundity
• Effects of Fuel Reductions in the Santa Fe River Watershed
• Effects of Fuel Reductions on Wildlife Populations and Vegetation in the Middle Rio Grande Valley, New Mexico
• Effects of Wildfire on Wildlife Populations and Vegetation in the Middle Rio Grande Valley, New Mexico
• Equipment and Strategies to Enhance the Post-wildfire Establishment and Persistence of Great Basin Native Plants
• Exploring the Potential for Cheatgrass Biocontrol with Naturally Occurring Fungal Pathogens
• Great Basin Native Plant Selection and Increase Project
• Historical and Modern Fire Regimes of the Great Basin and Colorado Plateau: Temporal and Spatial Drivers of Variation
• Long-term Effects of Season and Frequency of Fire in Shortgrass Steppe of the Southern Great Plains
• Management of Prairie Dog Colonies for Grassland Sustainability
• Monitoring and Evaluation for Conserving Biological Resources of the Spring Mountains National Recreation Area
• Mountain Big Sagebrush Post-Fire Recovery (Succession) in the Southern Half of its Distribution
• Potential Use of Biochar, a By-Product of Converting Biomass to Bioenergy, as an Amendment to Substrates Used to Grow Native Plants
• Predicting and Mitigating Potential Climate Change Effects on a Regionally Dominant Ecotonal Desert Shrub
• RMRS and RNGR: the Intersection of Science and Technology Transfer
• Salt-Desert Shrubland Stability as Affected by Livestock Grazing, Invasive Weeds and Climate Variability
• Shrub Encroachment, Wildland Fire, Climate Change, and Carbon Sequestration in Three Southwestern Grassland Ecosystems
• Understanding Ecological Resistance to Annual Grass Invasion and Resilience to Disturbance