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Short- and Longer-Term Effects of Fire and Herbivory on Sagebrush Communities in South-Central Montana

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Abstract

To better understand the role of herbivory and fire as potential disturbance processes in sagebrush communities, we examined responses of a grazing ungulate, elk (Cervus elaphus), following prescribed burning of sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata ssp. vaseyana) in south-central Montana (USA.) with concurrent monitoring of changes in plant production, nutritional quality, and community diversity from 1989–1999. Burning transformed low-diversity, sagebrush-dominated communities into high-diversity, graminoid-forb communities that persisted for 10 years without significant reestablishment of sagebrush. Elk increased use of burned sites one year after burning, but elk use returned to pre-burn levels over the next two to nine years. Forage biomass and nutritional quality declined after initial increases that coincided with increased elk use. Increases in elk use appeared to be influenced by increases in combined graminoid and forb production and changes in structural vegetation characteristics that permitted greater foraging efficiency. Declines in use were associated with loss of nutritional enhancement and declines in combined graminoid and forb production. Managers may observe only short-term responses from grazing ungulates to prescribed fire in sagebrush communities, but can expect longer-term increases in plant diversity and establishment of graminoid-forb communities.

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Acknowledgments

The Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Parks (MDFWP), USFS, and the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation provided funding for this research. We thank USFS personnel of the Custer National Forest, particularly C. Mark and the staff of the Beartooth Ranger District, for their skill in planning and executing the prescribed burn in Gold Creek, and in providing important background information on the history and past management of the site. W. Anderson, a local landowner, provided permission to use private roads leading to the study site. C. E. Eustace, MDFWP, provided logistic and administrative assistance. C. McCarthy and R. M. King, USFS, made helpful suggestions that improved preliminary drafts of this manuscript, and R. M. King provided expertise in statistical analysis. L. Torma and the staff of the Chemistry Station Analytical Laboratory, Montana State University (MSU), performed nutritional analyses of plant samples. R. C. Brownson, Montana Agricultural Extension Service, MSU, determined final values of TDN in vegetation samples. J. P. DiBenedetto, USFS, provided housing for the senior author and field assistants in 1993 and 1999. J. P. Skubinna, J. J. Rozema, B. L. Probert, G. M. Van Beek, M. K. DeBoer, M. Foss, K. Pendergrass, and R. Miller assisted with data collection in the field and preliminary organization and analysis of data. The senior author is especially grateful to H.B. Brown for her faithful and cheerful companionship in the field in all weathers.

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  1. Department of Biology, Wheaton College, 501 College Avenue, Wheaton, Illinois, 60187, USA

    Fred Van Dyke & Jeffrey A. Darragh

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  1. Fred Van Dyke
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Correspondence to Fred Van Dyke.

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Van Dyke, F., Darragh, J.A. Short- and Longer-Term Effects of Fire and Herbivory on Sagebrush Communities in South-Central Montana. Environmental Management 38, 365–376 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-005-0168-4

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