Establishment of Aerially Seeded Big Sagebrush Following Southern Idaho Fires

In the western United States, big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata) steppe communities dominate approximately 60 million ha (148 million acres) and comprise the largest vegetation type (Wambolt and Hoffman 2001). However, due to the invasion of exotic plants, fire has become a driving force in the ecology and management of sagebrush steppe communities.

Very little empirical analysis has examined the efficacy of aerial broadcasting big sagebrush seed following fire. At the district and field office levels, monitoring is conducted on a project by project basis, and study results are often unknown or unavailable beyond the office that conducted the project (McArthur 2004). The objectives for this portion of the study were to investigate on seeded and unseeded post-fire communities (1) Wyoming big sagebrush (A. t. ssp. wyomingensis) establishment and persistence, and (2) the composition of big sagebrush subspecies.