INTRODUCTION 



Pinyon pine {Pinus monophylla) and juniper (Juniperus osteosperma) occupy approxi- 

 mately 14 percent o£ Nevada (Blackburn and Tueller 1970). Invasion of pinyon -juniper 

 possibly due to past overgrazing and fire suppression often results in the elimination of 

 understory vegetation. This in turn decreases forage for livestock and wildlife. Pre- 

 scribed burning is an inexpensive method of converting small portions of pinyon- juniper 

 vegetation to brush-grassland communities that benefit both wildlife and livestock graz- 

 ing (Aro 1971) . 



Most of the woodlands in Nevada have a large degree of nonuniformity due to the 

 abruptly changing topography, soil depth, aspect, and elevation. This nonuniformity 

 provides many natural firebreaks in most pinyon- juniper stands and makes it easy to 

 delineate areas for prescribed burning. 



This report provides burning guidelines for using prescribed fire as a management 

 tool in pinyon- juniper communities. The various pinyon- juniper communities have been 

 segregated and recommendations are made as to which communities are most responsive to 

 fire. From 1974 to 1976, 30 attempts were made to burn pinyon- juniper vegetation in 

 the spring and fall. Twelve of these attempts were successful in that the fire carried 

 beyond the ignition area through the vegetation leaving few if any unburned areas or 

 islands. The best ignition methods were determined, and a simple method for determining 

 burning success prior to ignition was developed from analyses of these burns. 



METHODS 



Burning attempts were made out of fire season at three locations: White River in 

 the White Pine District and Cherry Springs in the Lamoille District of the Humboldt 

 National Forest; and Blackwell Canyon in the Bridgeport District of the Toiyabe National 

 Forest (fig. 1) . The majority of attempts and all the successful burns were in the 

 White River area. 



1 



