Coastal Prairies

Today due to controlling forest fires in the past overgrown shrubs now affect trees. Prescribed burnings are conducted to replenish nutrients into the soil while protecting the trees themselves. Prescribed burning is less hot and less intense so that it can be controlled.

Little Bluestem is one of the most abundant grasses in Kansas, and its roots which grow 5-8 feet long, enable it to resist moderate drought conditions (SITE). Plots 5 and 6 contain co-dominant species; Yellow Indian Grass (20%), Big Bluestem (30%), and Prairie Dropseed (35%) are all dominant. In Plot 7, the dominant species is Prairie Dropseed (40%). The dominant species in Plot 8 is Big Bluestem (25%). In Plot 9 and 10, Little Bluestem becomes dominant again, and Switchgrass is observed to be the co-dominant. Species richness is shown in the Figure 5; there is a higher species richness in Plot 1 through

Currently, the sagebrush ecosystem is rapidly declining across the Western United States, with over 350 associated plant and animal species at risk of being lost and imperiled. The main reason for the sagebrush decline is the steady encroachment of cheatgrass and pinyon-juniper. The invasion of these plants are fueling larger and more frequent fires that are out competing sagebrush as well as the associated grass species that are native components of the ecosystem, taking over much land that sagebrush once occupied. Cheatgrass was introduced to North America through contaminated grain seed, straw packing material, and soil used as ballast in ships sailing from Eurasia in the late 1890’s and is now the main culprit behind sagebrush decline.

Looking further into the impacts of the Rodeo-Chediski fire the trees saw the greatest impact of the fire. Almost 90% of the trees suffered complete crown kill (Ffolliott, 2008). Either some trees had survived with low severity, were harmed, or dead because of the drought and the fire combined. Even though some of the trees that had faced high severity apparently after having seen what trees had survived the fire yet by 2004 two years after the fire they had died (Ffolliott, 2008). The wildfire also impacted the standardization structure, post-fire mortality of trees, and stocking of tree reproduction on the Steamer Ridge Watershed (Ffolliott, 2008). After the fire had finally been contained the density of the forest had been forever changed.

The reduction of vegetative cover during and after fire can have a severe negative impact on several different factors including: water quality, soil erosion, wildlife and threatened or endangered species, introduction or spread of invasive and exotic species, and economic or social impacts to the surrounding communities. We will implement a vegetation monitoring protocol that will help guide us in restoration and recovery efforts of the High Park fire scar and the surrounding areas and watershed. A collaboration with the US Forest Service will be aggressively pursued in the hopes that a combined use of the Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) program and our separate vegetation monitoring protocol can be utilized. We will use the burn severity field data collection points and cross-reference them with the FIA data points to see if there is any overlap between them. If there is then the FIA data points will be given preference as those points can possibly provide more information than solely High Park Fire data collection points. If there is not the ability to utilize the FIA data collection points, due to privacy, cost, or unforeseen reasons, then the High Park Fire data collection points will be

The Maryland ecosystem is being ravaged by several invasive species. These species are introduced into the ecosystem in several ways, with several discoveries of invasive species every year. Whether it be Wavyleaf basketgrass or Purple loosestrife, these plants are capable of outcompeting with native plants and causing devastation to the native ecosystem. These invasive species are damaging to the environment and we should work as a community to halt the spread and limit its impact on the ecosystem of Maryland.

First, the reading states that Yellowstone fires caused tremendous damage to the park's trees and other vegetation. The professor opposes this point by saying that scorch, that is produced from fires, is a good place for colonizing new plants. That can create plants diversity, especially for plants that need a high amount of heat.The professor adds that smaller plants that need open and unshaded areas can grow after the fire.

This region is “heavily influenced by natural disturbances”. Species here have adapted to large wildfires; some, including the jack pine and black spruce, require these fires to reproduce. Heat is needed to release their seeds, and seed germination only occurs in favourable conditions produced by the fires.

The Appalachians span over a distance of 1,600 miles, ranging across 14 states, from Newfoundland in the North, to Alabama in the South. The Appalachians are the oldest chain of mountains on the North American continent. With forest, comes forest fires, some natural and some prescribed by humans. In order to reduce the calamitous damage caused by natural wildfires, the technique of prescribed fires is used. This is done by diminishing the amounts of trees, shrubs, and brush in the intended area. By doing this, new native plant growth is encouraged and it helps maintain some plant and animal species that depend on the periodic fires. With this man made force comes numerous effects on vegetation, wildlife, and the human impact.

The Rim Fire of 2013 ravaged the slopes of the Stanislaus National Forest leaving many areas severely burned and unable to recover. Restoration efforts have been made and 56,000 saplings were planted in 2016 in the most severely burned areas; but the forest still has a long way to recovery. Fires are a naturally occurring hazard in the Stanislaus National Forest, and have contributed to the replenishment, control, and sustainability of the forest; but fires of the Rim Fire's intensity are very rare. The Rim Fire destroyed over 277,314 acres of habitat, harmed many mature trees, and ruined the layers of topsoil, and increased erosion and runoff. The devastation of the Rim Fire would not be have been so intense if it weren’t for past fire

The tallgrass prairie has been reduced to less than one-tenth of one percent (0.1%) of the original area that it used to cover. Because of the small percentage of remaining area of the tallgrass prairie, ecologists might feel that the tallgrass parries is the most endangered ecosystem. It is believed to have covered around 25 million acres in Minnesota and Iowa at one point, but now there is less than 300,000 acres scattered around Minnesota and Iowa. The remaining acres of tallgrass prairie is scattered in small areas that do not have much wildlife value. Since the area is so scattered, many animals that live in these tallgrass prairies are having troubles finding places to live because they don’t want to make their nest on the edge for fear

The Puget Sound Prairies, are an important example of a rare and unique ecosystem, that are quickly disappearing. Their disappearance is mainly due to human development and invasive plants, specifically nonnative perennial grasses, which pose another serious threat to these prairies (Stanley, Kaye, & Dunwitti, 2008).

This pristine environment also provided habitat for great diversity of plants and wildlife. Hundreds of species of native plants thrived in forest, marsh, and meadow. But now, in scarcely a

Cheatgrass is the common name for the species Bromus tectorum L. and belongs to the grass family Poaceae (USDA 2015). This invasive plant was originally reported in eastern North America but now it is dominant in the Intermountain West (Huttanus 2009). The genetics of 192 North American populations of Bromus tectorum is studied so far (Huttanus 2009). Cheatgrass grows mostly in coarse texted soils whereas it cannot develop in saline or compacted soil (USDA 2014). In addition, it can invade rapidly in troubled areas such as burned areas, overgrazed rangelands, and cultivated fields. The spreading of the plant to shorter distance occurred as a result of transportation of hairy seeds by wind, birds, water, and to greater distance by vehicles carrying seeds in its undercarriage (USDA 2014).

Currently, this biome is experiencing a lot of human impact that affects the environment greatly. The increased agricultural use of soil has created erosion, and its quality is going down. This is causing the Bison and Pronghorn that live on the prairie to become almost extinct. The American Prairie grassland is disappearing due to dividing up the land for farming and urban development. Dividing up the land for farming is bad because the animals of the grasslands don't have any way to move around. Prairie animals are also being endangered. When the prairie grassland is converted into cropland, it reduces the food source for many wild animals. This can lead to migration or possibly the starvation of the animals. Hundreds of animals have been hunted for valuable body parts. Also, bison have been hunted for their meat. This caused animals to near extinction. Humans have also done much more damage to this biome,