Effects of Fire Seasonality on Chihuahuan Desert Grasslands at the Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge, New Mexico (2007-2020)

Desert grassland vegetation is a key resource upon which rangelands in the southwestern US are built, and managing these ecosystems remains a critical challenge today. This experimental fire seasonality research project, in collaboration with the USFWS, USFS Rocky Mountain Research Station, and the Sevilleta LTER, is intended to provide land management agencies with information about vegetation recovery following fire under different seasonal conditions and burning treatments. This experimental research will enable the FWS to more effectively set project objectives for prescribed burning on the Sevilleta NWR to benefit not only wildlife habitat, but to better align the timing and intensity of fire to benefit the reestablishment of the dominant native grama grasses Bouteloua eriopoda and B. gracilis. Since its creation in 1973, management has been devoted to restoring the Sevilleta NWR to the natural conditions that might have been seen around the turn of the century. The Sevilleta NWR is an ideal place for research because climatic conditions, plant species composition and net primary production following wildfire have been well documented by the Sevilleta LTER. Additional experimental research is needed, however, to better inform managers about the timing and use of fire as an ecosystem restoration and management tool. This is an on-going, long-term experiment under the auspices of the Sevilleta LTER program.荒漠草原植被是美国西南部牧地赖以存续的核心资源，时至今日，对这类生态系统的管护仍是一项关键挑战。本项火烧季相实验研究项目与美国鱼类及野生动物管理局（USFWS）、美国林务局落基山研究站（USFS Rocky Mountain Research Station）以及塞维利亚长期生态研究站点（Sevilleta LTER）合作开展，旨在为土地管理机构提供不同季节条件与火烧处理方案下的植被恢复相关信息。本实验将助力美国鱼类及野生动物管理局更合理地为塞维利亚国家野生动物保护区（Sevilleta NWR）的计划性火烧制定项目目标，不仅可改善野生动物栖息地质量，更能优化火烧的时机与强度，以促进优势原生格兰马草属植物——垂穗格兰马草（Bouteloua eriopoda）与格兰马草（Bouteloua gracilis）的重新定植。塞维利亚国家野生动物保护区自1973年设立以来，管护工作始终致力于将其恢复至世纪之交前后的自然状态。该保护区之所以是理想的研究场所，原因在于塞维利亚长期生态研究站点已对该区域的气候条件、植物物种组成以及野火后的净初级生产力进行了详实记录。不过目前仍需开展更多实验研究，以更好地指导管理人员掌握将火烧作为生态系统恢复与管护工具的适宜时机与使用方式。本项目是依托塞维利亚长期生态研究站点计划开展的一项长期持续实验。