FIRE EFFECTS AND USE
WILDLIFE SPECIES: Alectoris chukar | Chukar 



DIRECT FIRE EFFECTS ON ANIMALS : 
Cheatgrass is usually dry and potentially flammable by June; it is
conceivable that nest loss and loss of young chicks could result from a
fire.  Cheatgrass fires are usually fast, with a low flame.  The area of
intense heat is restricted to the fire front. The ground cools rapidly
after the front passes [24].  Range fires occurring in the spring-summer
nesting season reportedly destroyed nests, young, and adults in
Washington [3].  Christensen [24], however, stated that he had yet to
hear of an authenticated case where chukars capable of flight suffered a
loss due to a cheatgrass fire.  It is unlikely that there would be
significant direct mortality from fire.  In Nevada, a range fire that
occurred on August 28th, 1951 burned over approximately 35,000 acres of
chukar habitat.  A survey made 8 days after the fire failed to find any
dead birds, although over 2,000 chukars were observed in the burned area
[24].  Other gallinaceous birds are attracted to fire and fresh burns
due to the abundance of seeds and dead insects, and chukars probably
behave in a similar manner [23].


HABITAT RELATED FIRE EFFECTS : 
Chukars inhabit deteriorated sagebrush-grasslands, saltbush-grasslands,
or deserts, mainly where cheatgrass is the dominant herb.  Any habitat
modification that favors cheatgrass probably favors chukar populations,
given adequate water source and brushy and rocky cover.  Cheatgrass
increases with fire, drought, overgrazing, and other disturbances [23].
Cheatgrass creates a fine, continuous fuel load which increases a
region's susceptibility to fire.  Fires occur earlier in the growing
season and with greater frequency than in noncheatgrass areas, thus
accelerating range degradation and maintaining cheatgrass [21].


FIRE USE : 
Prescribed fires could be used to favor cheatgrass in chukar habitat;
however, it is not recommended practice since fires and the resulting
cheatgrass dominance are accompanied by site degradation [23].


REFERENCES : 
NO-ENTRY

Related categories for Wildlife Species: Alectoris chukar | Chukar