Fire season and drought influence fire effects on invasive grasses: A meta-analysis

Fire can shape plant communities when species respond differently to fire characteristics like season and intensity. If invasive plants are more vulnerable than native species to specific aspects of fire, managers could use prescribed fires to control non-native species. We conducted a meta-analysis of fire effects on six closely related Afro-Eurasian and Australian grasses (Bothriochloa bladhii, B. ischaemum, B. pertusa, Dichanthium annulatum, D. aristatum, and D. sericeum, collectively “invasive bluestems”) that have invaded grasslands worldwide. Using data from 31 studies (only 3 from their native range), we evaluated whether these grasses (275 effect sizes) responded differently than native grasses (184 effect sizes) to fire season, fuel load, and drought. Original data included 15 different response variables (e.g., biomass, survival) that were converted to standardized mean difference for analysis. Fires in summer, fall, and early winter had negative effects on invasive ..., We searched Web of Science, Agricola, Proquest, and GoogleScholar on July 15, 2023 (Table S1). A separate search was conducted in each database for each of the six focal species (Bothriochloa bladhii, Bothriochloa ischaemum, Bothriochloa pertusa, Dichanthium annulatum, Dichanthium aristatum, and Dichanthium sericeum). The search term included scientific and common names as well as “fire OR burn*” (Table S2); search terms were the same for each database. After de-duplication, these initial searches identified 272 unique documents (including theses, dissertations, and unpublished reports).
Table S1: Details of databases searched

Database

Details

Web of Science

Searched ‘topic’. Web of Science Core Collection included Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED—1900-present); Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI)—1900-present; Arts & Humanities Citation Index (AHCI)—1975-present; Conference Proceedings Citation Index—Science (CPCI-S)—1900-present; Conference Proceedings C..., , # Data from: Fire season and drought influence fire effects on invasive grasses: A meta-analysis

[https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.xpnvx0ks4](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.xpnvx0ks4)

## Description of the data and file structure

### Files and variables

#### File: InvasiveBluestemMetaAnalysisData.csv

**Description:** File “InvasiveBluestemMetaAnalysisData.csv” contains the processed data used in the invasive bluestem meta-analyses, along with a few extra columns that are useful for describing the studies (noted as “not used in the meta-analysis”) or where used to create graphs. Missing values are indicated as NA. KBDI = Keetch-Byram Drought Index, which represents the amount of rainfall needed to return the soil to saturation and changes daily based on temperature and rainfall. Values range from 0 (no moisture deficit) to 800.

##### Variables

* PubID: Numerical identifier for the publication.
* Site.Name: General location of the study. Not used in the meta-analysis.
* Site.SubsiteNam...,