Hannah Weinberger
California State University, Chico
Fire Ecology in the Southern Cascade Foothills
My Master's research project focused partly on the regeneration of herbaceous plants post-fire and the growth of native vs. non-native species. Plant trajectory surveying was used to assess vegetative response to fire. Surveys were conducted in the following areas:
1. Burned
2. Disturbed Dozer Line (Fire Line)
3. Unburned (Reference)
The second portion of my research project focused on the assesment of the effects of fire retardant on soil nutrient concentrations, such as nitrate and ammonium, and what effects nutrients had on non-native plant growth. This was done to address prolific non-native growth on the outer ring of the burn scar and fire line, where fire retardant drops occurred.
The third portion of my research project focused on the implementation and monitoring of a dozer line restoration pilot study. Streamlined restoration procedures for fire lines is not prevalent in the literature, so I looked at different restoration techniques to assess best practices.