Post-Fire Responses of Perennial Grass Populations at McKenzie Flats, Sevilleta National WIldlife Refuge, New Mexico, 1998 and 2001

We evaluated the effects of a lightning-initiated fire on resprouting responses of perennial grasses at the population level. Following a fire in July 1998, 25 experimental plots were established on the eastern edge of MacKenzie Flats at the Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge. Ten of these plots were located in a Bouteloua gracilis (blue grama)-dominated site, while 15 were established in an area dominated by Bouteloua eriopoda (black grama). We evaluated basal cover of perennial grasses in systematically positioned quadrats (subsamples) within plots immediately after the fire (last week of July 1998), and in September-October 2001. Note: 2001 data is unavailable.