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Accepted manuscript

Invasive grass influences on the fire-cycle and treatment effectiveness to control their abundance in the Intermountain West, USA

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 February 2026

Sarah A. Costanzo
Affiliation:
Biologist, U.S. Geological Survey, Southwest Biological Science Center, Flagstaff, AZ, USA
Seth M. Munson*
Affiliation:
Research Ecologist, U.S. Geological Survey, Southwest Biological Science Center, Flagstaff, AZ, USA
*
Author for correspondence: Seth M. Munson; Email: smunson@usgs.gov
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Abstract

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Many non-native invasive grass species increase wildfire activity and regenerate more quickly than native species. This invasive grass-fire cycle has severe negative consequences for ecosystems, creating a need to understand how different invasive grass species alter fuel characteristics and fire behavior, as well as effective treatments to control their abundance. To address these needs and increase fire and natural resource management preparedness, we performed a review and meta-analysis of recent (1985 – 2023) scientific literature. We focused on the Intermountain West, USA, where six dominant invasive grass species have already transformed ecosystems, including winter annuals – cheatgrass [Bromus tectorum (L.)], medusahead [Taeniatherum caput-medusae (L.) Nevski], red brome [Bromus rubens (L.)], and Mediterranean grass [Schismus arabicus Nees & Schismus barbatus (Loefl. ex L.) Thell]; and summer perennials – buffelgrass [Pennisetum ciliare (L.) Link] and Lehmann’s lovegrass (Eragrostis lehmanniana Nees). Of the 204 selected articles, B. tectorum was the most well-studied species, treatment effectiveness was the most common study type, and more studies addressed fuel accumulation than fire characteristics. While initial reductions in B. tectorum following wildfire were followed by large increases, P. ciliare initially increased and then steadily declined, and other invasive grass species had no significant post-fire changes over time. Chemical treatments were more effective than other treatments for B. tectorum, P. ciliare, and Schismus spp., though T. caput-medusae had a larger reduction with chemical treatments compared to the other species. In many cases, treatment effectiveness was enhanced when treatment types were combined or repeat treatments were conducted. Both B. tectorum and T. caput-medusae increased to pre-treatment conditions within 3 and 5 years, respectively, though there were no detectable trends for other species. Our results provide comprehensive comparisons of the effect of invasive grass species on fuel and fire characteristics, and much needed insight on effective strategies for reducing their impact to ecosystems.

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Type
Review
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BYCreative Common License - NCCreative Common License - ND
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is unaltered and is properly cited. The written permission of Cambridge University Press must be obtained for commercial re-use or in order to create a derivative work.
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2026. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Weed Science Society of America