Post on 12-Jul-2015
Question?
• A Discussion with Mike Posthumus brought up the topic of the Ditch Creek Fire in 1974
• Has the sagebrush/bitterbrush community affected by the Ditch Creek Fire of ’74 fully recovered?
Introduction
• August 13th, 1974: Ditch Creek Fire occurs
• 1974-1979: Teton Science Schools performed a 5 year continued study of the burn; it was revisited in 1988
• 2009: 35 years later the Ditch Creek Fire study was reopened to record the long-term effects on its surroundings
Hypothesis
• A study, conducted in Clark Country, Idaho suggests a 30 year recovery rate for Sage brush (Harniss and Robert, 1973) - As a result, our hypothesis is the following:
• The sagebrush/bitterbrush affected by the Ditch Creek Fire of ‘74 has reached climax community.
Prepare data sheet
with placeholders for percentages of bare
ground, grasses, Forbes and Shrubs and the
height of the highest shrub
Prepare Daubenmire
FrameLength: 61 cm; Width:
37.8 cmDivide it into 30 ca.
equal quadratesNew Frame size allowed more area to be sampled
TOTAL AREA: 532m²
Taking Pictures
from Midpoint
Take pictures from average eye level in all points of the compass (real directions) with
the horizon in the upper third of the
picture
NorthWest
East South
Place Daubenmire frame on the sampling point so that the sampling
point Is in the middle of the daubenmire frame
1
Look from above straight down to the frame and estimate independently the percent covers of
forbes, shrubs, grasses and bare ground
3
If there was shrub (Sagebrush/bitterbrush), measure the height of
the highest shrub of connected brush
5
Weight Soil Samples in package. After drying them weight again. the
difference minus 2g (Zip-bag) is the Soil moisture content.
6
Soil moisture content
Take soil samples at marked spots by
drilling core sampler 9.6 cm in the earth and record samples in a bag
Don’t forget to journal
Record all other observations in journal
Such as Elevation, general vegetation cover and Signs of
animals
Vegetation cover: Comparison between the unburned and the burned area 2009
05
10152025
3035404550
BareGround
Grasses Forbes Shrubs
Type of vegetation
Cover in %
ControlledBurned
p= 0.840
p= 0.056 p= 0.025 p= 0.007
Vegetation cover: Comparison between the burned areas in 1979
and 2009
0
10
20
30
40
50
BareGround
Grasses Forbes Shrubs
Type of vegetation
Cover in %
Burn 1979Burn 2009
p= 0.357
p= 0.343 p= 0.320 p= 0.051
Soil moisture content in unburned and burned in 1979 and 2009
0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
3
3.5
4
1979 2009
Category of sample
Moisture content in g
unburnedburn
p= 0.041 p= 0.001
Comparison of height of Sagebrush and Bitterbrush in 1979 and 2009
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Sagebrush Bitterbrush
Type
Height in cm
BurnedControl
p= 0.025 p= 0.080
Common Name Scientific Name Notes
Sun spots Viguiera multiflora Very abundant
Big Sagebrush Artemisia tridentata very abundant
Arrowleafe Balsamroot Balsamorhiza sagittata very abundant
Buckweed family Erigonum sp. abundant
Silky lupine Lupinus sericeus abundant
Antelope brush Purshia tridentata abundant
Mountain Hollyhock Iliamna rivularis rare
Oregon grape Mahonia repens rare
Daisy Erigeron sp. rare
Common snowberry Symphoricarpos albus rare
Table 1: Species found in burned and unburned areas in the Ditch Creek burn, Grand Teton National Park 2009
Species Found
• Climate (Precipitation)
• Soil moisture holding
• Elevation
• Idaho lies at approximately 4000-5000 feet
• Study was conducted at 6757 feet
Reasons why the Sagebrush recovery may be inhibited
Why is it important?
• Land management
• Sage brush provides more than 70% of Sage grouse diet and the nesting
• Especially in the winter important for Elk, Mule deer and Jackrabbits
• We might destroy sage habitat if we manage it based on prior knowledge (Knight 1994)
Short-version
• Results prove a inhibited succession of Sage brush
• Recent Sage brush succession study not applicable in local land management in Wyoming
• Our Study is able to prevent severe mistakes in local land management
Uncertainties
• We were not able to use the results of the very early studies because of major inaccuracies and therefore used the 1979 study results
• Dobenmeir method is not recommended instead we would use a line intersect method in future studies
• Some forbes couldn’t be identified because they have their flower,in another season of the year
Further research
• What is the most important cause for the inhibited succession? Go to the idaho field and sample there in a 30 years study and see what is the most important part? Climate, elevation or moisture?
Bibliography
• Kershaw, L, MacKinnon, A, & Pojar, J (1998). Plants of the Rovky Mountains. Edmonton: Lone Pine Publishing.
• Wingate, J (1990). Rocky Mountain Flower Finder. Rochester: New York.
• Knight, D (1983). Mountains and Plains : The ecology of Wyoming. Yale: Louis Stern Memorial Fund.
• Harniss, R, & Murray, R (1973). 30 Years of Vegetal Change following Burning of Sagebrush-Grass Range. Journal of Range Management, 26, 322-325.
• USDA NRCS Plant Materials Program, (2002). Big Sagebrush. Retrieved July 23, 2009, from United States Department of Agriculture Natural Ressources Conservation Service Web site: plants.usda.gov/factsheet/pdf/fs_artr2.pdf