Eradicating the invasive species cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum) presents a significant challenge to land managers across the western United States and can require integrated and adaptive management, including biological, chemical, and prescribed fire control strategies. Resource managers in the Larimer County Open Space Program in Northern Colorado began a cheatgrass reduction program at the Devil's Backbone Open Space preserve that consisted of prescribed burns in fall 2007 and spring 2008, followed by post-emergent imazapic treatments at 0.44 L/ha. The fire was characterized as a slow-moving, highly consumptive burn, and managers monitored results intermittently following the integrated treatments. Post treatment, average cheatgrass cover was reduced from 82% to 9% from 2007 to 2009 based on six permanent monitoring transects. While quantitative data was not taken for the emergence of native grasses and forbs, incidence of bare ground did not increase significantly following treatment. This case study suggests a highly consumptive burn can decrease cheatgrass from the seed bank and create favorable conditions for vegetation other than cheatgrass to return. More research and long-term monitoring building upon this pilot study could help to understand if this combined treatment is a viable long-term reduction strategy.
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1 July 2012
Integrated Treatment with a Prescribed Burn and Postemergent Herbicide Demonstrates Initial Success in Managing Cheatgrass in a Northern Colorado Natural Area
Adam Calo,
Shayna Brause,
Scott Jones
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Natural Areas Journal
Vol. 32 • No. 3
July 2012
Vol. 32 • No. 3
July 2012
Bromus tectorum
Colorado Front Range
imazapic
integrated management
prescribed burns