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City-funded research finds some Boulder grasslands pose higher fire risk than models assume; managers testing prescribed burns and other tools
Summary
Boulder’s funded research program reported that on-the-ground fuel monitoring shows variability in grassland fuels and that some exotic grasslands (e.g., smooth brome) can carry higher fire intensity; managers and researchers are piloting prescribed burns, mowing and grazing trials to test effectiveness and trade-offs.
Boulder Open Space and Mountain Parks and university partners presented research this week showing that standard fire models may underestimate fuels and flame potential in some grassland types, prompting pilots of prescribed burning and other fuel-management techniques.
Anne Lesberg, senior ecologist, reviewed the city’s Funded Research Program (FRP), which issues small competitive grants and partners with neighboring agencies to broaden project scope. Lesberg told trustees the FRP supports applied projects that inform management and cited examples such as reed-canary-grass control, firefly monitoring, and grassland fuel mapping.
Professor Katie Suding of the University of Colorado discussed the grassland fire project: researchers sampled more than 120 plots across grassland types and found variability in biomass and fuel structure. She said some exotic, former-agricultural grasslands—particularly smooth brome—displayed higher fuel loads and flammability than the single grassland fuel class commonly used in regional fire-risk models.
Suding described work that translates plot data into remote-sensing layers and updated fire-model inputs; scenario runs show varying flame-length outcomes across years depending on spring precipitation and summer conditions. She said that in practice, certain grassland patches near neighborhoods could present higher fire risk than previously recognized.
Researchers and OSMP staff are experimenting with management treatments—prescribed burns, mowing and managed grazing—to reduce fuels and test ecological trade-offs (invasive-species response, soil loss, biodiversity impacts). Suding said prescribed burns and combinations (burn plus grazing) often produced the largest short-term fuel reductions, though each tool has trade-offs and site-specific constraints.
Trustees asked detailed questions about invasive-species risks after burning, long-term effectiveness of mowing or grazing, and how ditches and riparian corridors should be managed. Staff said burn plans and conservative pilot burns are being developed, with updates expected in future wildfire-resilience briefings.
The research team said their work has secured additional funding (including an NSF grant) to scale up regional analysis and that Boulder is playing a central role in studying grassland fire risk and management options for the Front Range.
