Grassification and Fast-Evolving Fire Connectivity and Risk in the Sonoran Desert, United States
In the southwestern United States, non-native grass invasions have increased wildfire occurrence in deserts and the likelihood of fire spread to and from other biomes with disparate fire regimes. The elevational transition between desertscrub and montane grasslands, woodlands, and forests generally...
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2021
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oai:doaj.org-article:afb2ad5d6be346fd99516f6f649e56132021-11-09T17:50:36ZGrassification and Fast-Evolving Fire Connectivity and Risk in the Sonoran Desert, United States2296-701X10.3389/fevo.2021.655561https://doaj.org/article/afb2ad5d6be346fd99516f6f649e56132021-10-01T00:00:00Zhttps://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fevo.2021.655561/fullhttps://doaj.org/toc/2296-701XIn the southwestern United States, non-native grass invasions have increased wildfire occurrence in deserts and the likelihood of fire spread to and from other biomes with disparate fire regimes. The elevational transition between desertscrub and montane grasslands, woodlands, and forests generally occurs at ∼1,200 masl and has experienced fast suburbanization and an expanding wildland-urban interface (WUI). In summer 2020, the Bighorn Fire in the Santa Catalina Mountains burned 486 km2 and prompted alerts and evacuations along a 40-km stretch of WUI below 1,200 masl on the outskirts of Tucson, Arizona, a metropolitan area of >1M people. To better understand the changing nature of the WUI here and elsewhere in the region, we took a multidimensional and timely approach to assess fire dynamics along the Desertscrub-Semi-desert Grassland ecotone in the Catalina foothills, which is in various stages of non-native grass invasion. The Bighorn Fire was principally a forest fire driven by a long-history of fire suppression, accumulation of fine fuels following a wet winter and spring, and two decades of hotter droughts, culminating in the hottest and second driest summer in the 125-yr Tucson weather record. Saguaro (Carnegia gigantea), a giant columnar cactus, experienced high mortality. Resprouting by several desert shrub species may confer some post-fire resiliency in desertscrub. Buffelgrass and other non-native species played a minor role in carrying the fire due to the patchiness of infestation at the upper edge of the Desertscrub biome. Coupled state-and-transition fire-spread simulation models suggest a marked increase in both burned area and fire frequency if buffelgrass patches continue to expand and coalesce at the Desertscrub/Semi-desert Grassland interface. A survey of area residents six months after the fire showed awareness of buffelgrass was significantly higher among residents that were evacuated or lost recreation access, with higher awareness of fire risk, saguaro loss and declining property values, in that order. Sustained and timely efforts to document and assess fast-evolving fire connectivity due to grass invasions, and social awareness and perceptions, are needed to understand and motivate mitigation of an increasingly fire-prone future in the region.Benjamin T. WilderCatherine S. JarnevichElizabeth BaldwinJoseph S. BlackKim A. FranklinPerry GrissomKatherine A. HovanesAaryn OlssonAaryn OlssonJim MalusaAbu S.M.G. KibriaYue M. LiYue M. LiAaron M. LienAlejandro PonceJulia A. RoweJosé R. SotoMaya R. StahlNicholas E. YoungJulio L. BetancourtJulio L. BetancourtFrontiers Media S.A.articlegrass-fire cyclewildland-urban interfaceinvasive speciesEl Niño southern oscillation (enso)invasive species managementSonoran DesertEvolutionQH359-425EcologyQH540-549.5ENFrontiers in Ecology and Evolution, Vol 9 (2021) |
| institution |
DOAJ |
| collection |
DOAJ |
| language |
EN |
| topic |
grass-fire cycle wildland-urban interface invasive species El Niño southern oscillation (enso) invasive species management Sonoran Desert Evolution QH359-425 Ecology QH540-549.5 |
| spellingShingle |
grass-fire cycle wildland-urban interface invasive species El Niño southern oscillation (enso) invasive species management Sonoran Desert Evolution QH359-425 Ecology QH540-549.5 Benjamin T. Wilder Catherine S. Jarnevich Elizabeth Baldwin Joseph S. Black Kim A. Franklin Perry Grissom Katherine A. Hovanes Aaryn Olsson Aaryn Olsson Jim Malusa Abu S.M.G. Kibria Yue M. Li Yue M. Li Aaron M. Lien Alejandro Ponce Julia A. Rowe José R. Soto Maya R. Stahl Nicholas E. Young Julio L. Betancourt Julio L. Betancourt Grassification and Fast-Evolving Fire Connectivity and Risk in the Sonoran Desert, United States |
| description |
In the southwestern United States, non-native grass invasions have increased wildfire occurrence in deserts and the likelihood of fire spread to and from other biomes with disparate fire regimes. The elevational transition between desertscrub and montane grasslands, woodlands, and forests generally occurs at ∼1,200 masl and has experienced fast suburbanization and an expanding wildland-urban interface (WUI). In summer 2020, the Bighorn Fire in the Santa Catalina Mountains burned 486 km2 and prompted alerts and evacuations along a 40-km stretch of WUI below 1,200 masl on the outskirts of Tucson, Arizona, a metropolitan area of >1M people. To better understand the changing nature of the WUI here and elsewhere in the region, we took a multidimensional and timely approach to assess fire dynamics along the Desertscrub-Semi-desert Grassland ecotone in the Catalina foothills, which is in various stages of non-native grass invasion. The Bighorn Fire was principally a forest fire driven by a long-history of fire suppression, accumulation of fine fuels following a wet winter and spring, and two decades of hotter droughts, culminating in the hottest and second driest summer in the 125-yr Tucson weather record. Saguaro (Carnegia gigantea), a giant columnar cactus, experienced high mortality. Resprouting by several desert shrub species may confer some post-fire resiliency in desertscrub. Buffelgrass and other non-native species played a minor role in carrying the fire due to the patchiness of infestation at the upper edge of the Desertscrub biome. Coupled state-and-transition fire-spread simulation models suggest a marked increase in both burned area and fire frequency if buffelgrass patches continue to expand and coalesce at the Desertscrub/Semi-desert Grassland interface. A survey of area residents six months after the fire showed awareness of buffelgrass was significantly higher among residents that were evacuated or lost recreation access, with higher awareness of fire risk, saguaro loss and declining property values, in that order. Sustained and timely efforts to document and assess fast-evolving fire connectivity due to grass invasions, and social awareness and perceptions, are needed to understand and motivate mitigation of an increasingly fire-prone future in the region. |
| format |
article |
| author |
Benjamin T. Wilder Catherine S. Jarnevich Elizabeth Baldwin Joseph S. Black Kim A. Franklin Perry Grissom Katherine A. Hovanes Aaryn Olsson Aaryn Olsson Jim Malusa Abu S.M.G. Kibria Yue M. Li Yue M. Li Aaron M. Lien Alejandro Ponce Julia A. Rowe José R. Soto Maya R. Stahl Nicholas E. Young Julio L. Betancourt Julio L. Betancourt |
| author_facet |
Benjamin T. Wilder Catherine S. Jarnevich Elizabeth Baldwin Joseph S. Black Kim A. Franklin Perry Grissom Katherine A. Hovanes Aaryn Olsson Aaryn Olsson Jim Malusa Abu S.M.G. Kibria Yue M. Li Yue M. Li Aaron M. Lien Alejandro Ponce Julia A. Rowe José R. Soto Maya R. Stahl Nicholas E. Young Julio L. Betancourt Julio L. Betancourt |
| author_sort |
Benjamin T. Wilder |
| title |
Grassification and Fast-Evolving Fire Connectivity and Risk in the Sonoran Desert, United States |
| title_short |
Grassification and Fast-Evolving Fire Connectivity and Risk in the Sonoran Desert, United States |
| title_full |
Grassification and Fast-Evolving Fire Connectivity and Risk in the Sonoran Desert, United States |
| title_fullStr |
Grassification and Fast-Evolving Fire Connectivity and Risk in the Sonoran Desert, United States |
| title_full_unstemmed |
Grassification and Fast-Evolving Fire Connectivity and Risk in the Sonoran Desert, United States |
| title_sort |
grassification and fast-evolving fire connectivity and risk in the sonoran desert, united states |
| publisher |
Frontiers Media S.A. |
| publishDate |
2021 |
| url |
https://doaj.org/article/afb2ad5d6be346fd99516f6f649e5613 |
| work_keys_str_mv |
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