The role of fire in managing for biological diversity on native rangelands of the Northern Great Plains

Abstract

A strategy for using fire to manage for biological diversity on native rangelands in the Northern Great Plains incorporates an understanding of its past frequency, timing and intensity. Historically, lightning and humans were the major fire setters, and the role of fire varied both in space and time. A burning regime that includes fires at various intervals, seasons and intensities, including midsummer burns, should be reinstated. However, burning to enhance rare systems and species and to discourage exotic species is also needed. The goal is to base plans on an understanding of historic processes and ecosystem interactions, and resist techniques that rely on unexamined conventions.

Parent Publication

• Conserving biodiversity on native rangelands: Symposium proceedings

Citation

Sieg, Carolyn Hull. 1997. The role of fire in managing for biological diversity on native rangelands of the Northern Great Plains. In: Uresk, Daniel W.; Schenbeck, Greg L.; O'Rourke, James T., tech coords. Conserving Biodiversity on Native Rangelands: symposium proceedings: August 17, 1995; Fort Robinson State Park, Nebraska. Gen. Tech. Rep. RM-GTR-298. Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Forest and Range Experiment Station. p. 31-38.