Ecological dynamics

The reference plant community is dominated by low sagebrush and bluebunch wheatgrass. Sandberg bluegrass, prairie junegrass and a variety of forbs are present. The potential vegetative composition is approximately 75 percent grass, 10 percent forbs and 15 percent shrubs.

Ecological Dynamics and Disturbance Response :

Variability in plant composition and production is dependent on soil depth and texture. Sandberg bluegrass increases with thinner soil surface layers. Idaho fescue increases on deeper soils at higher precipitation ranges and on north aspects. Thurber needlegrass increases over coarser textured soil surfaces. Production increases with soil depth.

Ecological dynamics of this site are primarily driven by interactions between climatic patterns and disturbance regimes. Infrequent and typically small area fires were the historical disturbance that maintained the reference state and drove plant community shifts within the state. Intensity and frequency of these fires is strongly influence by drought cycles and/or insect or disease attacks on the plant community. Introduction of exotic annual grasses compromises the resistance and resiliency of the site, putting it at higher risk of crossing a threshold into another state.

Periodic drought regularly influences sagebrush ecosystems and drought duration and severity as increased throughout the 20th century in much of the Intermountain West. Major shifts away from historical precipitation patterns have the greatest potential to alter ecosystem function and productivity. Species composition and productivity can be altered by the timing of precipitation and water availability with the soil profile (Bates et al. 2006).

The Great Basin sagebrush communities have high spatial and temporal variability in precipitation both among years and within growing seasons. Nutrient availability is typically low but increases with elevation and closely follows moisture availability. The invasibility of plant communities is often linked to resource availability. Disturbance can decrease resource uptake due to damage or mortality of the native species and depressed competition or can increase resource pools by the decomposition of dead plant material following disturbance. The invasion of sagebrush communities by cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum) has been linked to disturbances (fire, abusive grazing) that have resulted in fluctuations in resources (Chambers et al. 2007).

The range and density of western juniper has increased since the middle of the nineteenth century (Tausch 1999, Miller and Tausch 2000). Causes for expansion of western juniper into sagebrush ecosystems include wildfire suppression, historic livestock grazing, and climate change (Bunting 1994). Mean fire return intervals prior to European settlement in low sagebrush ecosystems were greater than 100 years, however frequent enough to inhibit the encroachment of western juniper into these low productive sagebrush cover types (Miller and Tausch 2000). Thus, trees were isolated to fire-safe areas such as rocky outcroppings and areas with low-productivity. An increase in crown density causes a decrease in understory perennial vegetation and an increase in bare ground. This allows for the invasion of non-native annual species such as cheatgrass. With annual species in the understory wildfire can become more frequent and increase in intensity. With frequent wildfires these plant communities can convert to annual species with a sprouting shrub and juvenile tree overstory.

The species most likely to invade these sites are cheatgrass and medusahead. Medusahead is a cool-season annual grass that germinates in the fall, overwinters as a seedling, and initiates growth in the spring (Miller et al. 1999a). Expansion of Medusahead creates seed reserves that can infest adjoining areas and cause changes to the fire regime. Medusahead has a high silica content which may contribute to its resistance to decomposition (Bovey et al. 1961), and the accumulation of the thatch layer. Mature medusahead is very flammable. Fire can remove the thatch layer, consume standing vegetation, and even reduce seed levels. Furbush (1953) reported that timing a burn while the seeds were in the milk stage effectively reduced medusahead the following year. He further reported that adjacent unburned areas became a seed source for reinvasion the following year. Medusahead can be successfully controlled with a combination of prescribed burning and application of pre-emergent herbicide. Revegetation of medusahead invaded rangelands has a higher likelihood of success when using introduced perennial bunchgrasses such as crested wheatgrass (Davies et al. 2015).


Fire Ecology:

Fire will remove aboveground biomass from bluebunch wheatgrass but plant mortality is generally low (Robberecht and Defossé 1995) because the buds are underground (Conrad and Poulton 1966) or protected by foliage. Uresk et al. (1976) reported burning increased vegetative and reproductive vigor of bluebunch wheatgrass. Thus, bluebunch wheatgrass is considered to experience slight damage to fire but is more susceptible in drought years (Young 1983). Plant response will vary depending on season, fire severity, fire intensity and post-fire soil moisture availability. Sandberg bluegrass (Poa secunda), has been found to increase following fire likely due to its low stature and productivity (Daubenmire 1975). Sandberg bluegrass may retard reestablishment of deeper rooted bunchgrass.

Low sagebrush is killed by fire and does not sprout (Young 1983). Establishment after fire is from seed, generally blown in and not from the seed bank (Bradley et al. 1992). Fire risk is greatest following a wet, productive year when there is greater production of fine fuels (Beardall and Sylvester 1976). Fire return intervals have been estimated at 100-200 years in black sagebrush dominated sites (Kitchen and McArthur 2007) and likely is similar in the low sagebrush ecosystems; however, historically fires were probably patchy due to the low productivity of these sites. Fine fuel loads generally average 100 to 400 pounds per acre (110- 450 kg/ha) but are occasionally as high as 600 pounds per acre (680 kg/ha) in low sagebrush habitat types (Bradley et al. 1992). Recovery time of low sagebrush following fire is variable (Young 1983). After fire, if regeneration conditions are favorable, low sagebrush recovers in 2 to 5 years, however on harsh sites where cover is low to begin with and/or erosion occurs after fire, recovery may require more than 10 years (Young 1983). Slow regeneration may subsequently worsen erosion (Blaisdell et al. 1982).

Western juniper is intolerant of fire and historically was kept in restricted sites by natural fires. With the increased suppression of wildfire and livestock grazing which reduces ground fuels and understory competition, regeneration and establishment of western juniper have expanded into suitable sites previously dominated by sagebrush (Burns and Honkala 1990). Fire resistance depends on age of tree. Seedlings, saplings and poles are highly vulnerable to fire. Mature trees, because they have foliage further from the ground, less fine fuels near the trunk and thick bark have some fire resistance (Burns and Honkala 1990). With the low production of the understory vegetation, high severity fires within this plant community were not likely and rarely became crown fires (Bradley et al. 1992, Miller and Tausch 2000). With an increase of cheatgrass in the understory, fire severity is likely to increase. Western juniper reestablishes by seed from nearby seed source or surviving seeds.

Adapted from: Stringham, T.K., D. Snyder, and A. Wartgow 2016. State-and-Transition Models for USFS Crooked River National Grassland Major Land Resource Area B10 Oregon. DRAFT Report. University of Nevada Reno.