New
research indicates that a species of invasive grass is making wildfires in the
western US larger, hotter and more frequent.
Scientists
say that a variety called cheatgrass dries out and burns more rapidly than
other vegetation.
They
believe it has fuelled almost 80% of the largest fires in the west over the
last 10 years.
Researchers
are looking at a range of solutions including using a fungus to attack the
grass seed.
Originally
transported to the US in soils on board ocean going ships, the noxious, weedy
grass continued its journey west in the 1800s with settlers and cattle
ranchers.
Smoking
grass
The
species gets its name because it grows very early and very quickly and then
dies, cheating other varieties out of valuable nutrients.
It
is widely dispersed throughout the Great Basin of the American west, an area of
600,000 sq km that covers parts of Nevada and Utah, Colorado, Idaho, California
and Oregon.
Satellite
imagery shows that cheatgrass dominated areas burned more rapidly and more
frequently
Scientists
have long suspected that it played a key role in wildfires but this report is
the most definitive evidence yet. Researchers used satellite imagery from Nasa
to compare burnt areas with regions where cheatgrass dominates.
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