1. FIRES IN RIPARIAN AREAS AND WETLANDS
Improving Our Understanding of Fire in Riparian Areas and Wetlands
Through the Work of the Desert Landscape Conservation Cooperative
FIRES IN RIPARIAN AREAS AND WETLANDS
In the arid and semi-arid regions of the southwestern United States and northern Mexico, changing fire regimes are adding new challenges for people working to conserve and protect riparian and wetland ecosystems.
There is little information available on fire in riparian areas and wetlands, yet human and ecological communities rely heavily on these ecosystems for critical resources.
The Desert LCC works with partners throughout the region to fund and deliver needed science to resource managers, and help them identify strategies for minimizing undesirable effects of wildfires.
Rio Grande in Big Bend National Park. Amanda D Webb
CHALLENGES
Change that humans have made to land, rivers, and wetlands, in combination with recent drought, have changed how water and fire move through these ecosystems. Water control structures now prevent most flooding at the levels that it used to occur, which has led to an increase in fuels. Restricting natural flooding shrinks the coverage of native riparian plants, allowing non-native plants to spread. Multiple non-native plants are known to increase fire frequency, severity, size, or a combination of these, resulting in significant changes to the environment when fires occur.
KEY FINDINGS FROM FUNDED PROJECTS
Declining and shifting habitat is expected for many native riparian wildlife species due to future changes in fire regimes, climate, and hydrology
Cottonwoods, which support unique wildlife assemblages, are highly threatened by the combined effects of changing hydrology, climate, and fire regimes
Planting willows may help mitigate loss of habitat for southwestern willow flycatchers in tamarisk stands where defoliation from tamarisk leaf beetles and subsequent short- term increase in fire risk result in significant changes to vegetation
At springs in Arizona montane systems that have recently burned (≤ 15 years), spring condition was poorer where burn severity was higher; spring condition was better at springs within or adjacent to fuel treatment areas

2. DESERT LCC FIRE PROJECTS
A researcher at the University of Arizona concluded that fire effects and fire regimes along rivers are influenced primarily by streamflow and groundwater regimes.
RESULTS
NEXT STEPS
Desert LCC partners continue to make riparian areas and springs a priority. This collaboration paves the way for innovative and effective landscape-scale conservation by:
Identifying critical stressors threatening riparian areas and wetlands
Developing a toolkit of management strategies that can be used to adapt to changing conditions
Selecting indicators that allow stakeholders to monitor riparian areas and wetlands across large landscapes
Creating opportunities to share information about riparian and wetland ecosystem management
Informing Landscape Conservation Designs, which are efforts to identify opportunities to protect species, habitats, and environmental processes across an entire landscape
A fire in standing dead tamarisk, Bosque del Apache NWR. US Fish and Wildlife Service Service
ADDRESSING INFORMATION GAPS
People managing riparian areas and wetlands need information on the effects of fire on the physical environment and plant communities. The University of Arizona gathered and analyzed information on wildfire and prescribed fire in lower elevation riparian areas in the Desert LCC region. This literature review provides easy access to information.
Adapting to climate change and wildfire requires continuous planning and management. Sky Island Alliance has developed the Arizona Springs Restoration Handbook through the Fire and Water project to help natural resource managers address wildfires around springs.
DESERT LCC FIRE PROJECTS
Fire-smart Southwestern Riparian Landscape Management and Restoration of Native Biodiversity in View of Species of Conservation Concern and the Impacts of Tamarisk Beetles
Fire and Water: Assessing Springs Ecosystems and Adapting Management to Respond to Climate Change
Fire Effects and Management in Riparian Ecosystems of the Southwestern United States and Northern Mexico
Vulnerability of Riparian Obligate Species in the Rio Grande to the Interactive Effects of Fire, Hydrological Variation and Climate Change
Modeling Woody Plant Regeneration and Debris Accumulation under Future Streamflow and Wildfire Scenarios in the DLCC
ANTICIPATING FUTURE CONDITIONS
Rocky Mountain Research Station (US Forest Service) has evaluated how changes in streamflows, fire, and climate interact to impact wildlife species that depend on riparian areas along the Rio Grande. They created informative maps that depict possible future scenarios that can help managers anticipate risks and prioritize current management actions.
In another project, Rocky Mountain Research Station created models of woody plant regeneration and debris accumulation based on possible future wildfire and streamflow scenarios in the Desert LCC region. Although they focused on the Rio Grande in New Mexico, their models can be used in other river systems to help managers understand how future conditions could affect the regeneration of riparian trees, and the creation of debris (branches, limbs, dead tree trunks) that can fuel fires.
Texas A&M University created models to understand how vulnerable southwestern willow flycatchers, and endangered species, is to climate change, fire, and non- native plant species in the southwestern United States. cuckoo, and the northern Mexican gartersnake. Texas A&M also modeled the spread of tamarisk beetles in riparian areas of the Desert LCC region. Tamarisk beetles are non- native insects that feed on tamarisk only, and were released intentionally in an effort to reduce tamarisk. This information is useful to people who manage want to anticipate and mitigate habitat loss.
GET INVOLVED
Learn more about the Desert LCC’s fire-related projects online and help spread the word on how this information can be used to better understand fire. Join our mailing list to receive invitations to upcoming events. Visit our website at:
Arrowweed and coyote willow resprouting at Cibola National Wildlife Refuge. Matthew Grabau