Abstract
Wildland managers need detailed information about the responses of invasive species to fire and the conditions that increase site invasibility in order to effectively manage fire without introducing or increasing populations of invasive plants. Literature reviews and syntheses of original research are important sources of this information, but the usefulness of a review is limited by the quantity, quality, and geographic coverage of information available when it is written. This study analyzed the information available for 61 syntheses published in the Fire Effects Information System (www.fs.fed.us/database/feis) between 2008 and 2011, covering 74 species of invasive plants in the eastern United States. The study focused especially on the origin of information available in source documents, particularly whether or not it was based on actual observations. We found that observation-based information available on fire and eastern invasive species was sparse, typically came from a small portion of the species’ North American range, and had many other limitations. Nine of the 61 reviews contained no observation-based information on fire at all. Observations of postfire abundance of invasive species were constrained by inconsistent metrics and short postfire time frames, making it difficult for reviewers to assess patterns or evaluate the relevance of the research to long-term fire effects and land management strategies. More high-quality information is needed for fire managers to avoid exacerbating problems with invasive plant species. Long-term studies are needed that compare burned and unburned sites, evaluate postfire changes in plant communities, and report burning conditions and fire parameters. Reviews and syntheses of research can be improved by not only identifying patterns and knowledge gaps, but also by reporting the geographic areas represented by studies cited and hedging information so that readers can assess its quality and applicability to local management issues. Managers need to recognize the limitations of scientific information, monitor results of their management programs for consistency with reports in the literature, and adapt plans for future work based on an integration of science-based knowledge and experience.
Highlights
When a wildland area includes populations of invasive or potentially invasive plants, all aspects of fire management, from initial plans to burn objectives and follow-up, must be finetuned based on an understanding of how these plants are likely to respond to various kinds of fire, fire management activities, and the postfire environment
The species were selected for a project to increase information in the Fire Effects Information System (FEIS, at www.fs.fed.us/database/feis) on eastern invasive plant species, with a goal of helping land managers better anticipate interactions between fire and invasive plants and plan for desired outcomes
Because trends in postfire abundance are of particular interest to managers dealing with invasive species, we examined each report of postfire abundance for the species reviewed
Summary
C None None A None a This category was used for sources that reported presence or absence but included no measures of abundance, such as frequency, density, and cover; and no indication of whether individuals were seedlings or sprouts. If abundance measures were given, the source was tallied under Postfire abundance rather than Postfire occurrence. If seedlings or sprouts were identified as such, the source was tallied under Postfire seedling establishment or Postfire vegetative response, respectively, rather than under Postfire occurrence. B NA indicates reviews that covered annual species, which were not expected to regenerate vegetatively following fire. Species reviewed for this project, number of sources with observation-based information, number of sources with fire experiments, and highest quality of information available on each firerelated topic.
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