Cheat Grass and Fire

Cheat Grass and Fire

David Sparks Ph.D.
David Sparks Ph.D.
Dr. Ann Kennedy is a Soil Scientist/Soil Microbiologist working for the

USDA Agricultural Research Service in Pullman, Washington at Washington State University. "Cheat grass grows in a mat in a total coverage where every space is taken up by cheat grass. Cheat grass is an annual and when it dies, it leaves a mat of residue. That mat of residue is a huge wildfire problem because if you put a little bit of fire on one side of the cheat grass, it will go for miles and miles because there is not that interval of space in between each of those bunch grasses that used to be there. Now we have this huge mat of residue or dead plant material that can carry the fire a long long ways. Is the cheat grass seed impervious to fire? It depends on the temperature of the fire. If the residue is heavy enough, some of the cheat grass can be killed. But in general, a wildfire goes through so quickly that the heat is not high enough to kill a lot of those seeds so you are right, there are an awful lot of seeds left after a fire." Dr. Kennedy lost a friend in a forest fire that started with cheat grass and one of her research efforts is designed to find a bacteria that will eliminate this deadly weed.

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