Grazing After the Burn

The rangelands and dry forests of Eastern Washington are considered “disturbance-driven” ecosystems. Disturbances are simply events that disturb normal ecosystem processes: nutrient and water cycling, plant growth and reproduction, animal interactions, etc. While all ecosystems experience some forms of disturbance, areas (like Eastern Washington) with extreme temperature variation, rough topography, scarcity of water, high soils variability, and high fire frequency experience more frequent and more severe disturbance than a Florida swamp forest, for an obvious example. Fire and grazing are both a disturbance by nearly any definition of “disturbance.” Short- and long-term effects of fire and grazing are dependent on a multitude of factors, including the frequency, season, duration, pre-existing vegetation conditions, and intensity of the disturbance event.