Cheatgrass Research Paper

The novel, The Road Back to Sweetgrass by Linda LeGarde Grover, shocked me by showing the complexity and depth of the tradition that runs in the culture of the American Indian's. The sense of family never went away in the novel.

no surprise that wildfires are a huge issue in the western states. Especially on Indian Reservations. Two articles that focus on this issue are called Secretary Zinke Directs Interior Bureaus to Take aggressive Action to Prevent Wildfires, US Department of Interior & Western US Faces Wildfires Explosion by Kieran Cooke, Climate News Network. Both of these articles argue that wildfires shouldn’t become normalized and that something should be done to prevent and/or be better prepared for when wildfires occur. In essence these articles focus primarily on the amount of land burning and the effect it has on vegetation.

Anstey Hill Recreation Park proves an interesting area to study the effects of bushfire on native ecosystems as a path winding up the hill provides a fire break. This break is what allows the two differing burn areas to be studied. The 2012 fire was a prescribed burn as the area had previously been unburnt since Ash Wednesday in 1983. Prescribed burns are conducted to reduce the fire danger associated with the fuel that builds up over time in the

The Appalachians span over a distance of 1,600 miles, ranging across 14 states, from Newfoundland in the North, to Alabama in the South. The Appalachians are the oldest chain of mountains on the North American continent. With forest, comes forest fires, some natural and some prescribed by humans. In order to reduce the calamitous damage caused by natural wildfires, the technique of prescribed fires is used. This is done by diminishing the amounts of trees, shrubs, and brush in the intended area. By doing this, new native plant growth is encouraged and it helps maintain some plant and animal species that depend on the periodic fires. With this man made force comes numerous effects on vegetation, wildlife, and the human impact.

The Rim Fire of 2013 ravaged the slopes of the Stanislaus National Forest leaving many areas severely burned and unable to recover. Restoration efforts have been made and 56,000 saplings were planted in 2016 in the most severely burned areas; but the forest still has a long way to recovery. Fires are a naturally occurring hazard in the Stanislaus National Forest, and have contributed to the replenishment, control, and sustainability of the forest; but fires of the Rim Fire's intensity are very rare. The Rim Fire destroyed over 277,314 acres of habitat, harmed many mature trees, and ruined the layers of topsoil, and increased erosion and runoff. The devastation of the Rim Fire would not be have been so intense if it weren’t for past fire

One of the best feelings that a person can get while sitting in class is that feeling of “when the light bulb goes on.” That moment happened last Tuesday in class, when Dr. Liu was giving us his overview of Turfgrass. When he explained about how the patterns in the turf are because of the direction that the grass is cut. All those years of playing baseball in middle school and high school came together and the light bulb went off. Learning that special patterns could be done with the help of a roller on the turf was very cool. It would have really awesome to have done a few unique patterns in the outfield in high school. My mind automatly went to the amazing baseball fields that are seen on TV or the Rose Bowl on New Year’s Day every year.

The fire began as the result of an out-of-control campfire, and because of high wind and drought conditions which resulted in low fuel-moisture spread relatively quickly for an upland fire in the southeastern United States, although not to the scale of western wildfires. Even though the 2000 Linville Gorge fire was mainly a surface fire, the fire burned 4,000 hectares of wilderness area, and forced local management agencies to start paying more attention to upland ecosystems that were not previously thought to be fire-dependent. Considering the magnitude of the fire, it was fortunate that no human lives or homes were lost in the inferno. Vegetative studies show that Mountain Laurel (Kalmia latifolia), an evergreen shrub, reproduced much faster than other understory species (Dumas, Neufeld, & Fisk, 2007). This is attributed to its ability to resprout following a fire. The Linville Gorge Fire has been significant in shaping Southeastern fire mitigation in that it gave foresters an opportunity to study oak-pine forests that had not seen fire for over 50

Significance: The question of whether or not invasive species impact the environment is an important one. The answer affects everyone. In today’s world, we take the outdoors for granted. People don’t realize how much it does for us. It provides economical resources, areas to relax, and oxygen for us to breathe. Without these simple things our lives would change drastically. Life as we

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the events that led to the grass fight. What motivated the men to “jump” into the fight practically without any orders and the reason for their victory? As well, we will discuss what key intelligence gaps were over looked from the part of the Mexican Garrison, for example, allowing for a Texan observation post to be located in the area. Not being aware of the moral of the men, resulting in desertion and intelligence likes. Finally the lack of use of scouting units in order to better control the Garrison area. In addition, we will discuss some possible biases that Gen. Martin Perfecto de Cos could have had towards the All-Volunteer Texan Army. Furthermore, I will propose an alternate outcome to the battle

The term Bioinvasion entails of the introductive presence of an invasive species that aggregated in a non-native region. In firestorm, the flowers (the fictional Phragmipedium Panthera) are purportedly an invasive species that has congregated and eliminated other competition in the vicinity; it is thus being eradicated in order to curtail their advance. Contemporary examples of this would be the Kudzu or Japanese arrowroot, which has spread to Canada, the United States and has out-competed other species for resources. Another example would be the Sea Lamprey.

Bluegrass began originating its style and form during the 1930s and 1940s, although, the term itself was not strongly used until the late 1950s. Bluegrass is vastly popular throughout the southeastern United States. The music originates from a white, rural music tradition. The style is drawn from Appalachian-derived music that has integrated a mixture of African American and Anglo-Irish musical impacts. This genre is characterized by virtuosic performances with acoustic implements. The term bluegrass itself refers to an acoustic string-band melody. Its vocal style stresses a very high-pitched tone. Most commonly, the instruments involved with the sting-band can range between the mandolin, banjo, bass, guitar and fiddle. There is

Currently, the sagebrush ecosystem is rapidly declining across the Western United States, with over 350 associated plant and animal species at risk of being lost and imperiled. The main reason for the sagebrush decline is the steady encroachment of cheatgrass and pinyon-juniper. The invasion of these plants are fueling larger and more frequent fires that are out competing sagebrush as well as the associated grass species that are native components of the ecosystem, taking over much land that sagebrush once occupied. Cheatgrass was introduced to North America through contaminated grain seed, straw packing material, and soil used as ballast in ships sailing from Eurasia in the late 1890’s and is now the main culprit behind sagebrush decline.

Influence on ecosystems range from human causes like the bulldozing of a forest to natural causes like a fire or a flood.  In recent times, the introduction and spread of invasive species has transformed native communities rapidly and, in some cases, created irreversible damages.  In the Earth’s history, changes have often occurred in the ecosystems.  For example, glaciers and the retreat of glaciers cause wide-spread changes.  However, although change is a constant in ecosystems, animals and habitats often cannot adapt to the rapid alterations of non-natural stresses.  Harm to the environment from the introduction of invasive species occurs through changes in the habitat and declines in the native species.  Invasive species

Cheatgrass is the common name for the species Bromus tectorum L. and belongs to the grass family Poaceae (USDA 2015). This invasive plant was originally reported in eastern North America but now it is dominant in the Intermountain West (Huttanus 2009). The genetics of 192 North American populations of Bromus tectorum is studied so far (Huttanus 2009). Cheatgrass grows mostly in coarse texted soils whereas it cannot develop in saline or compacted soil (USDA 2014). In addition, it can invade rapidly in troubled areas such as burned areas, overgrazed rangelands, and cultivated fields. The spreading of the plant to shorter distance occurred as a result of transportation of hairy seeds by wind, birds, water, and to greater distance by vehicles carrying seeds in its undercarriage (USDA 2014).

Humans have been changing the Western forests' fire system since the settlement by the Europeans and now we are experiencing the consequences of those changes. During the summer of 2002, 6.9 million acres of forests was burnt up in the West (Wildland Fires, 1). This figure is two times the ten year annual average, and it does not look like next summer will be any better (Wildfire Season, 1).