9401 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

2 INFORMATION AND TECHNOLOGY REPORT 2 Service 1987, 1992b, 1993b; S. Popovich, U.S. Bureau of Land Management, Shoshone, Idaho, personal communica- tion). Ideally, natural processes and cycles do not have to be disrupted, However, land managers, particularly managers of small reserves, often face the challenge of mimicking natural fire regimes with prescribed bums. Burns in areas with endangered species must be carefully planned, and accurate information about plant-fire relations is essential for planning, restoration, or other management of endan- gered-plant habitat. Investigations of rare plant populations and effects of fire are hindered by the difficulties associated with such re- search. For example, infonnation on the taxonomy, habitat, and physiology of rare plants is often sparse (Owen and Rosentreter 1992). Experiments with rare plants that include prescribed burns are often limited in scope, cover a small geographic region, involve few plants, and are difficult to replicate. Time and funding for research are often unavail- able for long-term studies of threatened or endangered plants. Research into fire and rare plants is, however, vital to the recovery and management of some rare plant populations. Appropriate management requires scientific data on the role of fire in the biology and ecology of rare plants and their habitats. This bibliography presents basic information about the effects of fire on plant species listed as threatened, endangered, and category-one (C 1) on or before 30 Septem- ber 1993 (U.S, Fish and Wildlife Service 1993c, I 993d). These categories as defined in the Endangered Species Act of 1973 are: E Endangered: taxa formally listed as endangered. T Threatened: taxa formally listed as threatened. C 1 Category 1: taxa with substantial biological information on file to support listing as endangered or threatened, C2 Category 2: taxa for which current information indicates that listing as endangered or threatened is possible, but appropriate or substantial biological information for immediate rule making is not on file. 3C Category 3: taxa are more abundant or wide- spread than previously believed or are not subject to any identifiable threat. o species that are not listed. Other objectives of this project were to provide a synopsis of useful information for the management of rare plants with fire and to update and expand the Natural Heritage Program, The Nature Conservancy, and the National Biological Serv- ice databases with the addition of information on the effects of fire, The annotations present information that facilitates and encourages research in this important field of botanical conservation, We used the key words fire, bum, endangered, threat- ened, rare, plant, endemic, vegetation, and disturbaru:e to search the following databases: AGRICOLA 197o-present (USDA) Arizona Natural Heritage Program California Natural Heritage Program California Regional Office of The Nature Conservancy (TNC) Colorado Alliance for Research Libraries (CARL) Colorado Natural Heritage Program Colorado State University Library System Dissertation Abstracts Online 199o-present Fire Effects Information System (FEIS) Fish and Wildlife Reference Service Florida Natural Areas Program Georef™ 1989-present (Geological abstracts) International Association of Wildland Fire MEL VYL (University of California Library System) National Office of The Nature Conservancy (TNC) Northeastern Regional Office of The Nature Conservancy (TNC) Selected Water Resources Abstracts 199o-present Southeastern Regional Office of The Nature Conservancy (TNC) BIOSIS Previews 1989-present (Biological Abstracts) University of Colorado Government Documents Library U,S. Department of the Interior Reference Service Library Western Regional Office of The Nature Conservancy (TNC) Wildlife Review and Fisheries Review We searched for publications, unpublished reports, fi- nal rulings on threatened and endangered plants, endan- gered species recovery plans (all recovery plans printed by August 1994 were reviewed for information on the effects of fire), research in progress, and anecdotal information. Although threatened, endangered, and category-one spe- cies were the target of our research, we also selected other pertinent references to the effects of fire. We searched for references to the effect of fire on rare but not federally listed plant species, to plant communities with rare plant species, and to some plant genera with one or more feder- ally listed species. After the literature search, we contacted key re- searchers and agencies involved with fire ecology. We posted electronic bulletins on Internet and on the U.S. Forest Service computer network and contacted federal, state, and local agencies to obtain access to unpublished reports, field notes, anecdotal information, and informa- tion on research in progress (Appendixes A-B).