Ecological Benefits of Fire Management

Managing for Success - Unit 5

• Unit 5 covers managing for success in establishing native plant communities.
• Required background reading includes chapters on ensuring establishment success (pages 55-58) and managing established plant communities (pages 61-64) within the "Establishing Native Plant Communities" text.

Management Methodologies

• Weed control is a key management technique.

• Thorough weed management is needed ongoing; it doesn't stop after site preparation.

• Spraying before seeding is recommended, or if not possible, tilling the soil.

• Time checks at threshold levels (categorized steps) are part of a long-term management strategy.

• Use selective spray methods (spot spraying or chemical types).

• Be mindful of water sources and residual chemical activity lingering in the soil.

• Burning is a crucial practice.

• Historically, grasslands have experienced fires every 3-5 years in dry areas. This is also true for fire for approximately 10,000 years since the last glaciation and 8,000 years in regions with First Nations presence.

• Long-term plant health depends on burning events, mimicking natural disturbance.

• Burning is effective because it reduces litter, manages insects and disease, and reduces tree/shrub cover.

• Prescribed burns encourage vegetative growth, enhance wild seed harvest, and adjust the distribution of grazers.

• Burning has concerns such as public fear of fire, risk of fire escaping control, and smoke/visibility issues.

• Burning is best practiced in early to mid-spring, and mixed grass/fescue prairies ideally need burning every 3-5 years.

• Forested areas (like the Boreal) should follow ecological system based models due to more variable frequencies over time.

• Grazing is a natural aspect of grassland ecosystems.

• Native grasslands have evolved under grazing pressure.

• Light to moderate grazing is needed for healthy production.

• Grazing removes excess litter and can increase plant vigor and health, but moderate levels are important.

• Grazing can help set succession back to maximize diversity in middle-successional communities.

• Plant diversity correlates with grazing intensity.

• Bison reintroduction has ecological benefits and helps increase plant structural diversity and bird diversity in native plant communities, as well as habitat for keystone species such as Richardson's ground squirrels.

• Site Protection (grazing) is often needed during establishment.

• In the initial 1-3 years, no grazing is recommended.

• Exclude grazing animals (cattle, browsers, herbivores) with temporary electric fencing or other materials.

• Once the area is established, grazing season and intensity remain important factors.

• Strategic salt and water placements can minimize impacts to sensitive areas.

• Site Protection (elements), in addition to livestock, involves various factors.

• Drought control includes strategies like hauling water by truck, using pipelines and hoses, and incorporating solar-powered irrigation systems.

• Erosion control aims to reduce sediment build-up and protect seedbeds by preventing loss and preventing accumulation in waterbodies.

• Snow fencing is important in controlling erosion, trapping moisture in winter, and breaking drying winds during summer.

• Site Protection (wildlife) involves addressing potential browsing by animals like deer, moose, and rabbits.

• Some species (like rose and wolf willow) respond positively to grazing, but others must be protected.

• Methods such as plant quantities, wire cages, or fences, and repellents protect vegetation from wildlife.

• Site Protection (humans) includes strategies to prevent human impacts, such as placing signs, fences, or using other deterrent methods, as well as strategically planting seeds within the site.

Monitoring, Assessment, and Evaluation (Unit 6)

• Unit 6 focuses on monitoring, assessment, and evaluation.
• Background reading in this area is for "Monitoring & Assessment" topics (pages 65-71).

Monitoring and Assessment Questions

• Why are monitoring and assessment of restoration projects essential?
• Legally, restoration projects must have assessments to track development for legal purposes.
• Key components required for monitoring and assessment include factors related to project objectives.
• In grassland restorations, focus is on soil, vegetation, and landscape factors, plus the emergence of wildlife.
• Timelines should clearly be outlined for monitoring and assessment purposes.
• Monitoring should include a determination of what might go wrong or right during the project.

Record Keeping

• Careful record-keeping is important in managing projects, planning others, and providing certification documentation.
• Records should detail objectives, activities, equipment, techniques used (ripping, broadcast seeding, mulching, grazing, burning, mowing, etc.), dates, and maps.
• Important factors to include for record-keeping of topsoil include type, source, storage times, and handling methods.
• When documenting plants and seeds, include the type, supplier information (certification), genetic resources (seed zones), seed analysis certificates, seeding rates, and planting densities to determine species composition and density.
• Seedling identification during the first growing season is important for evaluating the project success.
• Important aspects for monitoring and sampling considerations include sampling systems, sample size, and data/attributes being measured.
• Grassland assessment parameters should be carefully documented. Assess parameters include, but are not limited to: disturbance, soil, vegetation, or other relevant factors.

Record Keeping - Rare Plants

• Follow-up monitoring to track the success or failure of rare plant mitigation is essential.
• Record Information about plant presence/absence, number, and size.
• Assess whether or not plants are propagating.

Evaluation and Success

• Evaluation of success should link back to original project goals.
• The restoration area's land-use must be sustainable considering evaluation timing, based on factors such as disturbance type, salvage procedures, and precipitation.
• Evaluation timelines should take into account the type of area. Forest restorations may require 7-14 years to assess success, while grasslands can be evaluated within 2-3 years.
• Success for rare plants depends on appropriate monitoring periods (1-10 years) and success in preventing failure or successful propagation.
• Rare plants might require longer evaluation times to determine re-establishment or avoidance success.

Re-vegetation Success

• Re-vegetation success has indicators like healthy plant growth, roots, resistance, species persistence, and nutrient cycling.
• Assess the landscape's stability (look for erosion, bare ground instability) as part of re-vegetation success.

Evaluation Strategies

• Evaluation strategies include a mixture of attribute analysis and trajectory analysis.
• Attribute analysis compares the restored site's qualities to a list of desired attributes (growth, nutrient cycling, and absence of invasive species).
• Qualitative and quantitative data collected are analyzed to determine when restoration goals have been successfully met.
• Nine factors are determined for restoration success: Structure, resilience, species composition, functions, groups, physical environment, function stage, relationship to surrounding environment, threats minimized and self-sustaining potential.
• Attribute characteristics focus on desired attributes like reference structure, stress resilience of an ecosystem, native species composition, functional presence of organisms, sustaining environment for desired species, and ecosystem function, landscape integrations, and minimizing threats.
• Trajectory analysis tracks changes over time to establish trends in restoration efforts comparing how results correlate with reference conditions.
• This analysis involves studying historical data and analyzing trends to confirm if the restoration is on the correct trajectory.

Assessing Revegetation Success

• The final test of success for industrial sites that have been restored is the reclamation certificate (wellsite or pipeline).
• Specific reclamation criteria are used to assess whether larger scale or wellsite-specific criteria are met when conducting the restoration.

This quiz explores the role of fire in grassland ecosystems, focusing on prescribed burning practices and their ecological benefits. It covers monitoring, assessment, and long-term management strategies in restoration projects. Test your knowledge on the best practices for maintaining grassland health through fire management.