Research on the Effects of Wildland Fire and Fire Management on Federally Listed Species and Their Habitats on San Clemente Island, Southern California
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Research on the Effects of Wildland Fire and Fire Management on Federally Listed Species and Their Habitats on San Clemente Island, Southern California Open-File Report 2015–1194 U.S. Department of the Interior U.S. Geological Survey Research on the Effects of Wildland Fire and Fire Management on Federally Listed Species and Their Habitats on San Clemente Island, Southern California By Jon E. Keeley and Teresa J. Brennan Open-File Report 2015–1194 U.S. Department of the Interior U.S. Geological Survey U.S. Department of the Interior SALLY JEWELL, Secretary U.S. Geological Survey Suzette M. Kimball, Acting Director U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia: 2015 For more information on the USGS—the Federal source for science about the Earth, its natural and living resources, natural hazards, and the environment—visit http://www.usgs.gov/ or call 1–888–ASK–USGS (1–888–275–8747). For an overview of USGS information products, including maps, imagery, and publications, visit http://www.usgs.gov/pubprod/. Any use of trade, firm, or product names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government. Although this information product, for the most part, is in the public domain, it also may contain copyrighted materials as noted in the text. Permission to reproduce copyrighted items must be secured from the copyright owner. Suggested citation: Keeley, J.E., and Brennan, T.J., 2015, Research on the effects of wildland fire and fire management on federally listed species and their habitats on San Clemente Island, southern California: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2015–1194, 34 p., http://dx.doi.org/10.3133/ofr20151194. ISSN 2331-1258 (online) Contents Executive Summary .................................................................................................................................................... 1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................................................. 3 Goals and Objectives .................................................................................................................................................. 5 Study Area and Plant Communities ............................................................................................................................ 5 Project 1—Boxthorn Scrub Sensitivity to Fire .......................................................................................................... 7 Project 1—Methods ................................................................................................................................................. 9 Project 1—Results and Discussion ....................................................................................................................... 11 Community Response ....................................................................................................................................... 11 Project 2—Native Grassland Response to Fire and Impact on Non-Natives ......................................................... 17 Project 2—Methods ............................................................................................................................................... 17 Project 2—Results and Discussion ....................................................................................................................... 18 Project 3—Impact of Fire on Three Listed Plant Species ...................................................................................... 21 Life-History Generalizations .............................................................................................................................. 22 Annual Plants .................................................................................................................................................... 22 Herbaceous Perennials ..................................................................................................................................... 23 Suffrutescents ................................................................................................................................................... 23 Subshrubs ......................................................................................................................................................... 23 Shrubs ............................................................................................................................................................... 24 Life History Characteristics of the Three Listed Species ................................................................................... 24 Seed Germination .......................................................................................................................................... 24 Project 3—Methods ............................................................................................................................................... 24 Viability Tests .................................................................................................................................................... 24 Germination Experiments .................................................................................................................................. 25 Project 3—Results and Discussion ....................................................................................................................... 26 Seed Viability—Tetrazolium (TZ) Test ............................................................................................................... 26 Germination ....................................................................................................................................................... 27 Project 3—Conclusions ......................................................................................................................................... 29 Project 4—Impact of Phos-Chek® Fire Retardant ................................................................................................. 29 References Cited ...................................................................................................................................................... 31 Appendixes ............................................................................................................................................................... 33 Appendix I. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service San Clemente Island Military Operations and Fire Management Plan, 2008. ...................................................................................................................................... 33 Appendix II. After Action Report for the 2011–2012 Prescribed Fire Grass Plots Project. ................................... 33 Appendix III. Google EarthTM Image of Study Sites. ............................................................................................. 33 III-A. Project 1 Buds Road Prescribed Burned and Control Sites. .................................................................... 33 III-B. Project 1 Windmills Prescribed Burned and Control Sites. ....................................................................... 33 III-C. Project 2 Horton Road East Prescribed Burned and Control Sites. ......................................................... 33 III-D. Project 2 Horton Road West Prescribed Burned and Control Sites. ........................................................ 33 III-E. Project 2 Ranch Canyon Wildfire Burned and Control Sites. ................................................................... 33 Appendix IV. Video Clips of Prescribed Burns. .................................................................................................... 33 IV-A. Horton Road Prescribed Burns—June 6, 2012. ....................................................................................... 33 IV-B. Windmills Prescribed Burns—June 7, 2012. ............................................................................................ 33 IV-C. Buds Road Prescribed Burns—June 7, 2012. ......................................................................................... 33 iii Figures Figure 1. Study sites and climate stations (modified from the San Clemente Island Integrated Natural Resources Management Plan [U.S. Navy, 2002]) and relationship to the mainland (from www.alertdiver.com), San Clemente Island, southern California. ........................................................................................................................................ 6 Figure 2. Annual precipitation (October–September) at four climate stations, San Clemente Island, southern California. .................................................................................................................................................................. 7 Figure 3. Live woody fuel moisture, San Clemente Island, southern California ....................................................... 8 Figure 4. Burning in the degraded boxthorn (Lycium californicum) scrub showing uneven consumption of vegetation, San Clemente Island, southern California ............................................................................................. 10 Figure 5. Vegetation sampling layout for treatments and controls ......................................................................... 10 Figure 6. Percentage (%) of cover of native and non-native species in degraded California