Buffelgrass (Pennisetum ciliare) poses a problem in the deserts of the United States, growing in dense strands and introducing a wildfire risk in an ecosystem not adapted to fire. Given the urgency of the buffelgrass invasion and the limited resources available, land managers need tools to evaluate the potential efficacy of alternative mitigation strategies. The USGS worked in cooperation with ESSA Technologies and SABCC to focus on the development of a spatially explicit model as a decision support system to evaluate potential strategies using buffelgrass infestations on the south slope of the Santa Catalina Mountains.
For more information see http://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2011/3022/.