Prescribed burning on B.C. rangelands: the state of the art as a management tool in British Columbia, Canada
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Published source details
Wikeem B.M. & Strang R.M. (1983) Prescribed burning on B.C. rangelands: the state of the art as a management tool in British Columbia, Canada. Journal of Range Management, 36, 3-8.
Published source details Wikeem B.M. & Strang R.M. (1983) Prescribed burning on B.C. rangelands: the state of the art as a management tool in British Columbia, Canada. Journal of Range Management, 36, 3-8.
Summary
The British Columbia Fish and Wildlife Branch initiated a cool spring burning program in the mid 1970’s on several grassland ranges. Objectives were usually to improve forage (and reduce ‘undesirable plants’, notably big sagebrush) for bighorn sheep Ovis canadensis, elk Cervus canadensis, mule deer Odocoileus hemionus, and white-tailed deer O.virginianus. Few quantitative data were collected from this burning program but some general observations were recorded. A favourable change in spring distribution of bighorn resulted from spring burns, i.e. they spent more grazing time on the burned patches on lower slopes and less on heavily grazed ridges. Improvements in forage quality and production are claimed at one site, but no details are presented. The effect of burning on forage quality post-burn is reportedly short-lived. The British Columbia Forest Service also initiated a burning program but likewise, no detailed monitoring was undertaken to assess effects.
Output references
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