The following review is intended to summarize available literature in order to provide a state-of-the-art understanding of the effects of fire in the Northern Great Plains of North America.
In the semiarid shortgrass steppe region of the Great Plains, interest in prescribed fire as a management tool is rising. A growing body of literature from this region highlights the utility of fire in controlling undesirable species, managing habitat structure, and improving forage, but few seek to directly examine the mechanisms by which burning alters the ecosystem.
The Great Plains of North America has experienced exponential increases in wildfires since 1985, with a 400% increase in area burned and more than 300% increase in number of wildfires.
Fire is common in the western Great Plains, but much less well studied than in eastern prairies. Wildfires most commonly occur in July and August in these semi-arid rangelands covered with cool-season grasses, but the impact of summer fires has not been well researched.
Grazing immediately following a wildfire has been thought to be damaging to northern Great Plains grasslands, and delaying grazing is often recommended. This recommendation may be needlessly causing livestock producers extra work and loss of income, as these grasslands have been shown to be resilient to summer fire, grazing and drought.
Prickly pears are native plants that provide food and habitat for wildlife. However, they can reduce forage and increase livestock injury when there are too many of them. Plains prickly pear is adapted to fire, re-growing from seeds, roots, and pads, but fire can also kill plants.
Patch burn grazing management is prescribed burning and grazing practice that allows livestock and wildlife to select a diet from both burned and unburned vegetation. Differences in forage quality between the burned and unburned areas can affect where animals graze.
Grasshoppers in the northern Great Plains periodically experience population outbreaks. While insecticides are available to help control these outbreaks, prescribed burning and livestock grazing, alone or in combination, may offer range managers another method of control.
The invasive species cheatgrass, Bromus tectorum, has been linked to increased fire frequency, reduced livestock weight gains and plant diversity, and degraded wildlife habitat in the Intermountain region of the western United States.