Invasive Species
What is a prominant invasive species of grass?
Cheatgrass
What is the WUI?
Wildland Urban Interface
What happens to the dominant species during overgrazing?
Change or reduction in dominant species.
What was the historic fire return interval?
2-25 Years
What is the current fire return interval?
15-30 Years
What does invasives do to forage quality?
Lowers Quality
Fragmentation causes what to prescribed fire planning?
Limits / Decreases
What happens to the root biomass in a overgrazed system?
Decreases
When was the historic fire season?
Late-July to Mid-August
When is the current fire season?
July to Mid-August
How do invasives effect the sesonality of a fire regime in montana?
Earlier Establishment = Earlier Fire Season
Name the #1 reason for fragmentation?
Roads / Highways
Grazing was a major contributor to what fire attribute of Southeastern Montana?
Type / Spatial Complexity
How is the historic seasonality primarily discovered in a grassland?
Charcoal Deposits in the Soil
Is the projected current fire return interval projected to increase, decrease, or stay the same
Decrease
What happens to pollinators in grasslands full of invasives?
Pollinators are Displaced
What type of landowners are increasing?
Non-resident Landowners
How would overgrazing impact the fire regime?
Changes in Dominant Species, Cause Changes in Fire Regime
Historically what may have caused the peaks in charcoal deposits created in April and October?
Tribal Burning
Is the current intensity different from historic intensity?
Intensity Has Not Changed.
Due to the loss in forage quality caused by invasive species, would grazing increase or decrease and what would this do to the fire regime?
Grazing Would Increase, Leading to Increased Woody Fuels Increasing Intensity.
What is the primary benefit of fragmentation?
Large Amount of Fire Breaks
Would overgrazing cause lead to higher intensity fires?
Overgrazing Leads to Increased Woody Plants, Which Will Increase Intensity
Historically would the size/extent of the fires be larger or smaller than current and if so by how much?
Larger Much Larger
What is most likely to cause a change in surface fire intensity?
Woody Encroachment