Does time since burning affect carbon storage and water loss on sagebrush steppe?

A collaboration between Dr. Elise Pendall and Dr. Brent Ewers investigating ecosystem consequences of prescribed fire on sagebrush steppe ecosystems in Wyoming.

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Sagebrush Project Page Content :

Map | Conceptual Overview | Objectives & Hypotheses

Research Sites

The State of Wyoming, U.S.A

The Glades (GL), Ed Young (ED), and Sierra Madre (SM) sites are the three replicated chronosequences used for this project. The ED and GL sites are monitored periodically and the SM site is intensively monitored.Within in the SM site there are four age class sites. The three youngest were burned in 1985, 1999, and 2003. The oldest site was treated by 2-4-D in 1967, the last time any chemical treatment was used in the area. The sites are all at ~2200m elevation and support Artemesia tridentata var. vaseyana, graminoids, and forbs.

Click on the sites to see details about each site (Ewers and Pendall, 2007).

Conceptual Overview

A) Conceptual diagram of hypothetical patterns of progressive and retrogressive succession in sagebrush steppe adapted from West and Young (2000). Without burning, sagebrush range becomes decadent and less productive than optimal conditions. Under heavy grazing, loss of productivity occurs due to invasion of cheatgrass and leafy spurge. With optimal range management (moderate grazing and appropriate burn intervals), range productivity, diversity, and sustainability can be enhanced.

B) Hypothetical dynamics of leaf area, water loss, and carbon uptake corresponding to optimal range management in the first conceptual figure.
Site last updated 10 Nov. 2007| Web site Questions/Concerns contact pendall@uwyo.edu