PubMed · 2026-06-02
Whether fire helps or harms sagebrush landscapes depends heavily on local climate and existing plant health. Cooler, wetter sagebrush areas benefit from periodic fire, while hotter, drier areas are increasingly damaged by it due to invasive grasses that thrive after burns.
The 71 million hectare sagebrush ecosystem shows strongly split outcomes: cooler, wetter communities are resilient to periodic fire and need it to prevent conifer encroachment, while hotter, drier communities face greater risk of invasive annual grass takeover after burns.
Pre-fire community condition is the strongest predictor of post-fire recovery — landscapes in good condition before a fire are likely to recover well, while degraded landscapes tend to fare worse.
Post-fire restoration with native vegetation can offset negative outcomes, but success rates are significantly lower in hot, dry sagebrush communities, making pre-fire prioritization and wildfire suppression decisions critical.
