2003 Prescribed Burn Effect on Chihuahuan Desert Grasses and Shrubs at the Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge, New Mexico: Species Composition Study (2004-2018)

Disturbance from fire can affect the abundance and distribution of
shrubs and grasses in arid ecosystems. In particular, fire may
increase grass and forb production while hindering shrub
encroachment. Therefore, prescribed fires are a common management
tool for maintaining grassland habitats in the southwest. However,
Bouteloua eriopoda (black grama), a dominant species in Chihuahuan
Desert grassland, is highly susceptible to fire resulting in death
followed by slow recovery rates. A prescribed fire on the Sevilleta
National Wildlife refuge in central New Mexico in 2003 provided the
opportunity to study the effects of infrequent fires on vegetation
in this region. This study was conducted along a transition zone
where creosote bushes (Larrea tridentata) are encroaching on a black
grama grassland. Before and after the fire, above ground plant
productivity and composition were monitored from 2003 to present.
Following the prescribed fire, there were fewer individual grass
clumps and less above ground grass cover in burned areas compared to
unburned areas. This decrease in productivity was primarily from a
loss of B. eriopoda. Specifically, B. eriopoda density and cover
were significantly lower following the fire with a slow recovery
rate in the five years following the fire. Other grasses showed no
such adverse response to burning. Data were collected from 2004-2013
and 2018. Data were not collected for 2014-2017.