Invasive Plants We Study: Cheatgrass
Cheatgrass and other invasive annual grasses continue to expand into the sagebrush ecosystem in the West and are fueling larger and more frequent wildfires. The life cycle of cheatgrass differs from most native grasses in that it dries out early in the season while native grasses are still green and producing seeds. This fuels fires earlier in the season and cheatgrass spreads quickly following fire. The positive feedback loop between cheatgrass and fire reduces or eliminates the opportunity for native sagebrush vegetation to recover following fire.
Cheatgrass Research
Recent data (2020-2022) related to USGS cheatgrass research are listed below. A complete listing of USGS cheatgrass data is available from the button below.
INHABIT species potential distribution across the contiguous United States
Cheatgrass probability of occurrence in the Wyoming Basins Ecoregional Assessment area
Pre- and Post-Treatment Fuels and Vegetation Data from the Great Basin, 2006-2018 (ver. 2.0, September 2020)
Near real time estimation of annual exotic herbaceous fractional cover in the sagebrush ecosystem 30m, USA, July 2020
Fractional estimates of exotic annual grass cover in dryland ecosystems of western United States (2016 - 2019)
Early estimates of Annual Exotic Herbaceous Fractional Cover in the Sagebrush Ecosystem, USA, May 2020
Annual Herbaceous Cover across Rangelands of the Sagebrush Biome
Fractional estimates of invasive annual grass cover in dryland ecosystems of western United States (2016 - 2018)
Recent publications (2020-2022) related to USGS cheatgrass research are listed below. A complete listing of USGS cheatgrass publications is available from the button below.
Post-fire vegetation response in a repeatedly burned low-elevation sagebrush steppe protected area provides insights about resilience and invasion resistance
Experimental warming changes phenology and shortens growing season of the dominant invasive plant Bromus tectorum (cheatgrass)
Post-fire management-scale trials of bacterial soil amendment MB906 show inconsistent control of invasive annual grasses
Understanding the effect of fire on vegetation composition and gross primary production in a semi-arid shrubland ecosystem using the Ecosystem Demography (EDv2.2) model
Cheatgrass and other invasive annual grasses continue to expand into the sagebrush ecosystem in the West and are fueling larger and more frequent wildfires. The life cycle of cheatgrass differs from most native grasses in that it dries out early in the season while native grasses are still green and producing seeds. This fuels fires earlier in the season and cheatgrass spreads quickly following fire. The positive feedback loop between cheatgrass and fire reduces or eliminates the opportunity for native sagebrush vegetation to recover following fire.
Cheatgrass Research
Recent data (2020-2022) related to USGS cheatgrass research are listed below. A complete listing of USGS cheatgrass data is available from the button below.
INHABIT species potential distribution across the contiguous United States
Cheatgrass probability of occurrence in the Wyoming Basins Ecoregional Assessment area
Pre- and Post-Treatment Fuels and Vegetation Data from the Great Basin, 2006-2018 (ver. 2.0, September 2020)
Near real time estimation of annual exotic herbaceous fractional cover in the sagebrush ecosystem 30m, USA, July 2020
Fractional estimates of exotic annual grass cover in dryland ecosystems of western United States (2016 - 2019)
Early estimates of Annual Exotic Herbaceous Fractional Cover in the Sagebrush Ecosystem, USA, May 2020
Annual Herbaceous Cover across Rangelands of the Sagebrush Biome
Fractional estimates of invasive annual grass cover in dryland ecosystems of western United States (2016 - 2018)
Recent publications (2020-2022) related to USGS cheatgrass research are listed below. A complete listing of USGS cheatgrass publications is available from the button below.