This amazing class at TAMU RWFM is focused on Communicating Natural Resources. It covers principles for effectively sharing natural resource science with diverse stakeholders, building essential skills for careers in rangeland, wildlife, and fisheries management. Topics include audience analysis, mixed-media presentations, and interpersonal communication tailored to natural resource contexts. Check out 2025 spring semester’s capstone project!
A new(er) peer-reviewed study published in the Journal of Environmental Management (Starns et al., 2022) provides some of the strongest experimental evidence to date that fire intensity—not just the presence of fire—is the critical factor in achieving meaningful mortality of honey mesquite (Prosopis glandulosa).
For decades, land managers in Texas, Oklahoma, and across the southern Great Plains have observed that typical “safe” prescribed fires top-kill mesquite but rarely kill it. The plant simply resprouts vigorously from protected buds beneath the bark (epicormic) and at the root crown (basal). This resilience has made prescribed fire alone an unreliable tool for restoring grass-dominated rangeland once mesquite has become dominant.
The 2022 study directly tested whether dramatically increasing fire energy could overcome those protective mechanisms—even without the added stress of severe drought.
In short, the study confirms what many experienced burn practitioners have long suspected: when the goal is mesquite control rather than simple top-kill, hotter is unequivocally better.
Citation: Starns, H.D., Wonkka, C.L., Dickinson, M.B., et al. 2022. Prosopis glandulosa persistence is facilitated by differential protection of buds during low- and high-energy fires. Journal of Environmental Management 303: 114141. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2021.114141. Feel free to download a pdf file here!
Safe, effective, and sufficiently intense prescribed fire can be a game-changing tool for restoring grass dominance in mesquite-invaded rangelands. This research gives us the science to justify turning up the heat!!
A recent study from Texas A&M researchers, published in Landscape Ecology, dives into how prescribed fires impact plant diversity in mesquite-oak savannas like those on the Edwards Plateau. By analyzing data from over 288 plots before and after a prescribed fire, the team found that these fires boost local plant diversity, encouraging more species richness and evenness in burned areas. This is especially true in soils with better water-holding capacity, where post-fire regrowth thrives amid the mosaic of burned and unburned patches. But there’s a flip side: fires can reduce beta-diversity, meaning less variation in plant communities across your land, as similar species start dominating post-burn.
The study highlights how soil types and rainfall play starring roles in these outcomes. In areas with deeper, moisture-retaining soils like Kavett silty clay, fires sparked significant gains in forb and grass diversity, helping control woody encroachment from mesquite and juniper while creating prime grazing spots. However, in shallower, drier soils like Tarrant, the effects were muted, underscoring the need to time burns with wetter periods to avoid stressing your vegetation. Precipitation patterns around the 2019 burns, drier than average, further mediated results, showing that fire heterogeneity (those patchy burns) shapes spatial diversity patterns, ultimately supporting a more resilient ecosystem for livestock and wildlife alike.
For ranchers looking to implement pyric-herbivory, combining fire with grazing, this research is a game-changer!! It suggests strategic burns can sustain biodiversity, improve forage quality, and maintain ecosystem services without homogenizing your landscape. Start by mapping your soil types and monitoring rainfall forecasts to maximize benefits. While the study focused on semi-arid savannas, its insights encourage adaptive management: test small-scale burns, observe plant responses, and adjust for your ranch’s unique conditions. In the end, embracing fire thoughtfully could ignite long-term health for your rangeland, turning potential threats into thriving, diverse, opportunities!
For more information on the study led by Jaime Xavier as part of The Prairie Project, please click here!
Across Texas, wildfire seasons are growing longer and less predictable, and for landowners, that means planning ahead is no longer optional. The U.S. Forest Service’s Fireshed Registry offers a powerful new way to do just that.
Wildfire is one of the most complex and pressing challenges facing rangelands across the West. It spreads across vast acres, can be unpredictable, and impacts livestock, wildlife, watersheds, and communities. AND, in fire-dependent ecosystems, one thing is for certain, wildfires will happen. But here’s something we often overlook in the science: the way we talk about wildfire—specifically, the words and metaphors we use—shapes how we think about it, and more importantly, how fire is perceived.
[Read more…] about Framing the Flames: How We Talk About Wildfires Shapes Overall Perception of Fire
For centuries, fire has been a natural and essential part of Texas ecosystems. Before modern fire suppression, grasslands and forests across the Southeast and into Texas grasslands burned routinely—some every 2 to 10 years. These natural fire regimes kept resprouting trees and understory brush in check, enhanced wildlife habitat, and sustained resilient, productive rangelands.
But decades of fire suppression have come at a cost. Without fire, woody plants like ashe juniper and eastern redcedar creep across pastures. Native grasses struggle to compete and are choked out. Wildlife habitat declines due to unbalanced monocultures and loss of species richness. And volatile fuel builds up, making wildfires hotter, longer,, and harder to control.
We are so grateful to showcase the amazing work of our department’s graduate students in RWFM 621! We worked with a devoted team of M.Sc. and Ph.D. students on developing a Communications Strategies and Extension Publication final project. This team took on an exciting task of making new science readily available to ranchers, landowners, and prescribed fire practitioners. Well done ya’ll and THANK YOU!!
For thousands of years, fire has played a vital role in shaping healthy grasslands across the Great Plains. From Indigenous communities using fire to manage hunting grounds to today’s producer striving for resiliency in rangeland pastures, prescribed fire continues to be a powerful process for rangeland stewardship. But as NEW research shows, it’s not just about the initial fire—it’s about timing, consistency, and PROCESS.
We’re excited to feature a guest blog this week, written by Samuel Campassi! Samuel brings a unique perspective and valuable insight to this topic—be sure to check out his full bio below.
Howdy! My name is Samuel Campassi. I am a senior Rangeland, Wildlife, and Fisheries Management (RWFM) major at Texas A&M University. As a generational hunter and outdoorsman, I am deeply passionate about all things conservation and priming the next generation of land stewards. This summer, I have the great honor of working under renowned range specialist and prescribe fire expert, Dr. Morgan Treadwell. I am so excited to be able to learn from Dr. Treadwell, and gain valuable range management skills that will benefit my career as a dedicated conservationist.
[Read more…] about Prescribed Fire – An Ecological Necessity Ensuring Habitat & Ecosystem Integrity
Prescribed fires are a necessary process for rangeland management, helping to reduce fuel loads, restore ecosystems, and mitigate the risk of catastrophic wildfires. More importantly, the estimated escape rate across the U.S. is quite low, at 0.16% (2022). A recent study by Li et al. (2025) sheds light on the spatial and temporal patterns of escape prescribed fires, offering crucial insights for rangeland managers and fire professionals.
Prescribed fire is a powerful tool for rangeland management, often used to control invasive species, promote native plant growth, and reduce wildfire risk. But what about the impact on the smaller inhabitants of our rangeland systems? A 2024 study sheds light on how prescribed fire, particularly long-term fire regimes and legacy fire effects, affect arthropod communities.
[Read more…] about Arthropod Response to Long-term Prescribed Fire