Fall fires bring many microbes and surprise guests: Fall prescribed burns can build healthy ecosystems on sagebrush rangeland

Jane Andrews; Deborah S. Page-Dumroese

Treesearch

Fall fires bring many microbes and surprise guests: Fall prescribed burns can build healthy ecosystems on sagebrush rangeland

Informally Refereed

Authors:

Jane Andrews, Deborah S. Page-Dumroese

Year:

2024

Type:

Science Bulletins and Newsletters

Station:

Rocky Mountain Research Station

Source:

Science You Can Use (in 5 Minutes), August 2024. Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. 2 p.

Download (PDF 1.49 MB)

Download (PDF 1.49 MB): https://research.fs.usda.gov/download/treesearch/67744.pdf

Abstract

Rangelands worldwide are essential for carbon sequestration, water retention, and habitat to name a few critical benefits. Prescribed fire is used to benefit vegetation and soil and reduce fuels on rangeland sites. What hasn’t been clear is how burning on rangelands may affect microbes in the soil, which are responsible for breaking down woody material. Also missing was an understanding of how the insects that typically call rangelands home respond to these burns.

Keywords

prescribed burns, microbial communities, termites

Citation

Andrews, Jane; Page-Dumroese, Deborah S. 2024. Fall fires bring many microbes and surprise guests: Fall prescribed burns can build healthy ecosystems on sagebrush rangeland. Science You Can Use (in 5 Minutes), August 2024. Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. 2 p.