The influence of topography and fire in controlling landscape composition and structure in Sierra de Gredos (Central Spain)

Mediterranean landscapes are dynamic systems that undergo temporal changes in composition and structure in response to disturbances, such as fire. Neither landscape patterns nor driving factors that affect them are evenly distributed in space. Accordingly, disturbances and biophysical factors interact in space through time. The aim of this paper is to assess the relative influence of topography and fire on the landscape patterns of a large forested area located in Sierra de Gredos (Central Spain) through time. A series of Landsat MSS images from 1975 to 1990, and a digital elevation model (DEM) were used to map fires, assess topographical complexity and evaluate changes in landscape composition and structure. Functional regions across the entire landscape were identified using different classification criteria (i.e., percentage burned area and topographic properties) to model topographic and fire impacts at regional scales. A canonical variance partition method, with a time series split-plot design, quantified the relative influence and co-variation of topography and fire on land cover patterns through time. Main results indicated that analyzing portions of the landscape under similar environmental conditions and fire histories, the effects of different fire regimes on the spatio-temporal dynamics of main land covers can be highlighted. However, the impact of fire on landscape patterns was high variable among regions due to the different regeneration abilities of main land covers, the topographic constraints and the fire histories of each region. Hence, broad patterns of fire related variance and co-variation with topography emerged across the entire area due to the different conditions of each landscape portion in which this large Mediterranean landscape was divided. Electronic supplementary material  The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Influence of forest management alternatives and land type on susceptibility to fire in northern Wisconsin,USA

We used the LANDIS disturbance and succession model to study the effects of six alternative vegetation management scenarios on forest succession and the subsequent risk of canopy fire on a 2791 km² landscape in northern Wisconsin, USA. The study area is a mix of fire-prone and fire-resistant land types. The alternatives vary the spatial distribution of vegetation management activities to meet objectives primarily related to forest composition and recreation. The model simulates the spatial dynamics of differential reproduction, dispersal, and succession patterns using the vital attributes of species as they are influenced by the abiotic environment and disturbance. We simulated 50 replicates of each management alternative and recorded the presence of species age cohorts capable of sustaining canopy fire and the occurrence of fire over 250 years. We combined these maps of fuel and fire to map the probability of canopy fires across replicates for each alternative. Canopy fire probability varied considerably by land type. There was also a subtle, but significant effect of management alternative, and there was a significant interaction between land type and management alternative. The species associated with high-risk fuels (conifers) tend to be favored by management alternatives with more disturbances, whereas low disturbance levels favor low-risk northern hardwood systems dominated by sugar maple. The effect of management alternative on fire risk to individual human communities was not consistent across the landscape. Our results highlight the value of the LANDIS model for identifying specific locations where interacting factors of land type and management strategy increase fire risk.This revised version was published online in May 2005 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Drivers and trends in landscape patterns of stand-replacing fire in forests of the US Northern Rocky Mountains (1984–2010)

Context

Resilience in fire-prone forests is strongly affected by landscape burn-severity patterns, in part by governing propagule availability around stand-replacing patches in which all or most vegetation is killed. However, little is known about drivers of landscape patterns of stand-replacing fire, or whether such patterns are changing during an era of increased wildfire activity.

Objectives

(a) Identify key direct/indirect drivers of landscape patterns of stand-replacing fire (e.g., size, shape of patches), (b) test for temporal trends in these patterns, and (c) anticipate thresholds beyond which landscape patterns of burn severity may change fundamentally.

Methods

We applied structural equation modeling to satellite burn-severity maps of fires in the US Northern Rocky Mountains (1984–2010) to test for direct and indirect (via influence on fire size and proportion stand-replacing) effects of climate/weather, vegetation, and topography on landscape patterns of stand-replacing fire. We also tested for temporal trends in landscape patterns.

Results

Landscape patterns of stand-replacing fire were strongly controlled by fire size and proportion stand-replacing, which were, in turn, controlled by climate/weather and vegetation/topography, respectively. From 1984 to 2010, the proportion of stand-replacing fire within burn perimeters increased from 0.22 to 0.27. Trends for other landscape metrics were not significant, but may respond to further increases proportion stand-replacing fire.

Conclusions

Fires from 1984 to 2010 exhibited tremendous heterogeneity in landscape patterns of stand-replacing fire, likely promoting resilience in burned areas. If trends continue on the current trajectory, however, fires may produce larger and simpler shaped patches of stand-replacing fire with more burned area far from seed sources.

     

Spatial patterns of fire occurrence in Catalonia,NE, Spain

In this paper, we analyse spatial patterns of fire occurrence in Catalonia (NE Spain) during 1975–98. Fire scar maps, discriminated by means of 30–60 m resolution remote sensing imagery, have been used as a source of fire occurrence. We employ several visual or analytical approaches to interpret fire occurrence in this region, such as those of Minnich and Chou (1997), Ricotta et al. (2001) or Krummel et al. (1987). Crucial spatial patterns such as fire size distribution, fire frequency distribution, spots and residual vegetation islands are documented. In addition, several geographical layers were overlaid with burned area maps in order to determine interactions between fire occurrence and environmental parameters such as altitude, slope, solar radiation, and burned land cover. Assuming that fire occurrence is well determined by such a posteriori empirical factors we detect areas most prone to fire in this region and aim to enhance the local forest management and conservation plans.     

Mapping the probability of large fire occurrence in northern Arizona, USA

In the southwestern U.S., wildland fire frequency and area burned have steadily increased in recent decades, a pattern attributable to multiple ignition sources. To examine contributing landscape factors and patterns related to the occurrence of large (⩾20 ha in extent) fires in the forested region of northern Arizona, we assembled a database of lightning- and human-caused fires for the period 1 April to 30 September, 1986–2000. At the landscape scale, we used a weights-of-evidence approach to model and map the probability of occurrence based on all fire types (n = 203), and lightning-caused fires alone (n = 136). In total, large fires burned 101,571 ha on our study area. Fires due to lightning were more frequent and extensive than those caused by humans, although human-caused fires burned large areas during the period of our analysis. For all fires, probability of occurrence was greatest in areas of high topographic roughness and lower road density. Ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa)-dominated forest vegetation and mean annual precipitation were less important predictors. Our modeling results indicate that seasonal large fire events are a consequence of non-random patterns of occurrence, and that patterns generated by these events may affect the regional fire regime more extensively than previously thought. Identifying the factors that influence large fires will improve our ability to target resource protection efforts and manage fire risk at the landscape scale.     

Spatial patterns of large natural fires in Sierra Nevada wilderness areas

The effects of fire on vegetation vary based on the properties and amount of existing biomass (or fuel) in a forest stand, weather conditions, and topography. Identifying controls over the spatial patterning of fire-induced vegetation change, or fire severity, is critical in understanding fire as a landscape scale process. We use gridded estimates of fire severity, derived from Landsat ETM+ imagery, to identify the biotic and abiotic factors contributing to the observed spatial patterns of fire severity in two large natural fires. Regression tree analysis indicates the importance of weather, topography, and vegetation variables in explaining fire severity patterns between the two fires. Relative humidity explained the highest proportion of total sum of squares throughout the Hoover fire (Yosemite National Park, 2001). The lowest fire severity corresponded with increased relative humidity. For the Williams fire (Sequoia/Kings Canyon National Parks, 2003) dominant vegetation type explains the highest proportion of sum of squares. Dominant vegetation was also important in determining fire severity throughout the Hoover fire. In both fires, forest stands that were dominated by lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta) burned at highest severity, while red fir (Abies magnifica) stands corresponded with the lowest fire severities. There was evidence in both fires that lower wind speed corresponded with higher fire severity, although the highest fire severity in the Williams fire occurred during increased wind speed. Additionally, in the vegetation types that were associated with lower severity, burn severity was lowest when the time since last fire was fewer than 11 and 17 years for the Williams and Hoover fires, respectively. Based on the factors and patterns identified, managers can anticipate the effects of management ignited and naturally ignited fires at the forest stand and the landscape levels.     

Landscape heterogeneity and fire behavior: scale-dependent feedback between fire and grazing processes

Fire and grazing are ecological processes that frequently interact to modify landscape patterns of vegetation. There is empirical and theoretical evidence that response of herbivores to heterogeneity is scale-dependent however the relationship between fire and scale of heterogeneity is not well defined. We examined the relationship between fire behavior and spatial scale (i.e., patch grain) of fuel heterogeneity. We created four heterogeneous landscapes modeled after those created by a fire–grazing interaction that differed in grain size of fuel patches. Fire spread was simulated through each model landscape from 80 independent, randomly located ignition points. Burn area, burn shape complexity and the proportion of area burnt by different fire types (headfire, backfire and flankfire) were all affected by the grain of fuel patch. The area fires burned in heterogeneous landscapes interacted with the fuel load present in the patch where ignition occurred. Burn complexity was greater in landscapes with small patch grain than in landscapes with large patch grain. The proportion of each fire type (backfire, flankfire and headfire) was similar among all landscapes regardless of patch grain but the variance of burned area within each of the three fire types differed among treatments of patch grain. Our landscape fire simulation supports the supposition that feedbacks between landscape patterns and ecological processes are scale-dependent, in this case spatial scale of fuel loading altering fire spread through the landscape.     

Stand-replacing patches within a ‘mixed severity’ fire regime: quantitative characterization using recent fires in a long-established natural fire area

The complexity inherent in variable, or mixed-severity fire regimes makes quantitative characterization of important fire regime attributes (e.g., proportion of landscape burned at different severities, size and distribution of stand-replacing patches) difficult. As a result, there is ambiguity associated with the term ‘mixed-severity’. We address this ambiguity through spatial analysis of two recent wildland fires in upper elevation mixed-conifer forests that occurred in an area with over 30 years of relatively freely-burning natural fires. We take advantage of robust estimates of fire severity and detailed spatial datasets to investigate patterns and controls on stand-replacing patches within these fires. Stand-replacing patches made up 15% of the total burned area between the two fires, which consisted of many small patches (<4 ha) and few large patches (>60 ha). Smaller stand-replacing patches were generally associated with shrub-dominated (Arctostaphylos spp. and Ceanothus spp.) and pine-dominated vegetation types, while larger stand-replacing patches tended to occur in more shade-tolerant, fir-dominated types. Additionally, in shrub-dominated types stand-replacing patches were often constrained to the underlying patch of vegetation, which for the shrub type were smaller across the two fire areas than vegetation patches for all other dominant vegetation types. For white and red fir forest types we found little evidence of vegetation patch constraint on the extent of stand-replacing patches. The patch dynamics we identified can be used to inform management strategies for landscapes in similar forest types.     

Long-term,landscape patterns of past fire events in a montane ponderosa pine forest of central Colorado

Parameters of fire regimes, including fire frequency, spatial extent of burned areas, fire severity, and season of fire occurrence, influence vegetation patterns over multiple scales. In this study, centuries-long patterns of fire events in a montane ponderosa pine – Douglas-fir forest landscape surrounding Cheesman Lake in central Colorado were reconstructed from fire-scarred trees and inferences from forest stand ages. We crossdated 153 fire-scarred trees from an approximately 4000 ha study area that recorded 77 total fire years from 1197 to the present. Spatial extent of burned areas during fire years varied from the scale of single trees or small clusters of trees to fires that burned across the entire landscape. Intervals between fire years varied from 1 to 29 years across the entire landscape to 3 to 58 years in one stand, to over 100 years in other stands. Large portions of the landscape did not record any fire for a 128 year-long period from 1723 to 1851. Fire severity varied from low-intensity surface fires to large-scale, stand-destroying fires, especially during the 1851 fire year but also possibly during other years. Fires occurred throughout tree growing seasons and both before and after growing seasons. These results suggest that the fire regime has varied considerably across the study area during the past several centuries. Since fires influence plant establishment and mortality on the landscape, these results further suggest that vegetation patterns changed at multiple scales during this period. The fire history from Cheesman Lake documents a greater range in fire behavior in ponderosa pine forests than generally has been found in previous studies.     

Do land cover changes shape sensitivity to forest fires in peri-urban areas?

The present study assesses the spatial distribution of selected land cover classes at two years (1975 and 2000) in a Mediterranean urban area (Athens, Greece) to test the hypothesis that land cover changes determine an increase in the sensitivity of landscape to forest fires on a regional scale. While urban and agricultural areas increased, although with different rates of growth, forests and semi-natural areas decreased in the study area. These changes are reflected in a significant increase of vegetation sensitivity to forest fires measured by the forest fire risk (FR) index developed in the framework of MEDALUS project. The cover classes which contributed the most to the increase of the FR index were crop mosaic, mixed agricultural-natural areas and discontinuous, low-density settlements. Results of the present study indicate that the transformation of the fringe landscape towards low-quality agricultural and pasture areas and fragmented forest patches is potentially detrimental for environmental quality and the ecological fragility of land.     

Presettlement landscape heterogeneity: Evaluating grain of resolution using General Land Office Survey data

General Land Office Survey (GLOS) records from the A.D. 1840s provide data for quantitative characterization of presettlement vegetation across western Mackinac County, Michigan, located within the mixed conifer-northern hardwoods forest region. We analyzed data from land survey plat maps and 1958 bearing, witness, and line trees from 162 surveyed section and quarter-section corners in order to map vegatation cover types at a level of spatial resolution appropriate for characterizing landscape heterogeneity using standard landscape ecological metrics. As also demonstrated by a number of both classic and contemporary plant-ecological studies, the distribution of landforms, soils properties, hydrology, and location of fire breaks all contribute to the heterogeneity in vegetation observed at a landscape scale in the region. Through a series of spatial landscape analyses with differing grain of resolution, in this study we determine that a grid cell size of 65 ha (0.5 mi×0.5 mi or 0.25 mi²) to 259 ha (1 mi²) gives a conservative characterization of landscape heterogeneity using standard metrics and is therefore appropriate for use of GLOS data to study historical landscape changes.     

Characterizing combined fire and insect outbreak disturbance regimes in British Columbia,Canada

Context

Fires and insect outbreaks are important agents of forest landscape change, but the classification and distribution of these combined processes remain unstudied aspects of forest disturbance regimes.

Objectives

We sought to map areas of land characterized by homogenous fire regime (HFR) attributes and by distinctive combinations of fire, bark beetles and defoliating insect outbreaks, and how their distribution might change should current climatic trends continue.

Methods

We used a 41-year history of mapped fires and forest insect outbreaks to classify HFRs and combined fire and insect disturbance regimes (HDRs). Spatially constrained cluster analysis of 2524 20-km grid cells used mean annual area burned, ignition Julian date, fire size and fire frequency to delineate HFR zones. Mean annual areas burned, affected by bark beetles, and affected by defoliators were used to delineate HDR zones. Random forests classification used climate associations of HDRs to project likely changes in their distribution.

Results

Eighteen HFR zones accounted for 30% of variance, compared to 27 HDR zones accounting for 59% of variance. Fire regime designation had low predictive power in explaining 23 homogenous insect outbreak regimes or the 27 HDRs. Climate change projections indicate a northward migration of current HDR zones. Conditions suitable for defoliator outbreaks are projected to increase, resulting in a projected increase in the total rate of forest disturbance.

Conclusions

When describing forest disturbance regimes, it is important to consider the combined and possibly interacting agents of tree mortality, which can result in emergent properties not predictable from any single agent.

     

Analysis of fine-scale spatial pattern of a grassland from remotely-sensed imagery and field collected data

An important practical problem in the analysis of spatial pattern in ecological systems is that requires spatially-intensive data, with both fine resolution and large extent. Such information is often difficult to obtain from field-measured variables. Digital imagery can offer a valuable, alternative source of information in the analysis of ecological pattern. In the present paper, we use remotely-sensed imagery to provide a link between field-based information and spatially-explicit modeling of ecological processes. We analyzed one digitized color infrared aerial photograph of a serpentine grassland to develop a detailed digital map of land cover categories (31.24 m × 50.04 m of extent and 135 mm of resolution), and an image of vegetation index (proportional to the amount of green biomass cover in the field). We conducted a variogram analysis of the spatial pattern of both field-measured (microtopography, soil depth) and image-derived (land cover map, vegetation index, gopher disturbance) landscape variables, and used a statistical simulation method to produce random realizations of the image of vegetation index based upon our characterization of its spatial structure. The analysis revealed strong relationships in the spatial distribution of the ecological variables (e.g., gopher mounds and perennial grasses are found primarily on deeper soils) and a non-fractal nested spatial pattern in the distribution of green biomass as measured by the vegetation index. The spatial pattern of the vegetation index was composed of three basic components: an exponential trend from 0 m to 4 m, which is related to local ecological processes, a linear trend at broader scales, which is related to a general change in topography across the study site, and a superimposed periodic structure, which is related to the regular spacing of deeper soils within the study site. Simulations of the image of vegetation index confirmed our interpretation of the variograms. The simulations also illustrated the limits of statistical analysis and interpolations based solely on the semivariogram, because they cannot adequately characterize spatial discontinuities.     

Neutral models for the analysis of broad-scale landscape pattern

The relationship between a landscape process and observed patterns can be rigorously tested only if the expected pattern in the absence of the process is known. We used methods derived from percolation theory to construct neutral landscape models,i.e., models lacking effects due to topography, contagion, disturbance history, and related ecological processes. This paper analyzes the patterns generated by these models, and compares the results with observed landscape patterns. The analysis shows that number, size, and shape of patches changes as a function of p, the fraction of the landscape occupied by the habitat type of interest, and m, the linear dimension of the map. The adaptation of percolation theory to finite scales provides a baseline for statistical comparison with landscape data. When USGS land use data (LUDA) maps are compared to random maps produced by percolation models, significant differences in the number, size distribution, and the area/perimeter (fractal dimension) indices of patches were found. These results make it possible to define the appropriate scales at which disturbance and landscape processes interact to affect landscape patterns.     

Characterizing historical and modern fire regimes in Michigan (USA): A landscape ecosystem approach

We studied the relationships of landscape ecosystems to historical and contemporary fire regimes across 4.3 million hectares in northern lower Michigan (USA). Changes in fire regimes were documented by comparing historical fire rotations in different landscape ecosystems to those occurring between 1985 and 2000. Previously published data and a synthesis of the literature were used to identify six forest-replacement fire regime categories with fire rotations ranging from very short (<100 years) to very long (>1,000 years). We derived spatially-explicit estimates of the susceptibility of landscape ecosystems to fire disturbance using Landtype Association maps as initial units of investigation. Each Landtype Association polygon was assigned to a fire regime category based on associations of ecological factors known to influence fire regimes. Spatial statistics were used to interpolate fire points recorded by the General Land Office. Historical fire rotations were determined by calculating the area burned for each category of fire regime and dividing this area by fifteen (years) to estimate area burned per annum. Modern fire rotations were estimated using data on fire location and size obtained from federal and state agencies. Landtype Associations networked into fire regime categories exhibited differences in both historical and modern fire rotations. Historical rotations varied by 23-fold across all fire rotation categories, and modern forest fire rotations by 13-fold. Modern fire rotations were an order of magnitude longer than historical rotations. The magnitude of these changes has important implications for forest health and understanding of ecological processes in most of the fire rotation categories that we identified.This revised version was published online in May 2005 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Landscape structure and the disturbance regime at three rural regions in Hiroshima Prefecture,Japan

Using the vegetation maps of island, inland and mountainous rural regions in Hiroshima Prefecture in western Japan, landscape structures in terms of the size and number of patches are compared, and the characteristics of the disturbance regimes creating each landscape are discussed. Landscape structure in the island rural region is the most heterogeneous, because factors which alter the landscape structure are the most complex. This heterogeneity is established and kept by the agricultural land uses and natural disturbances such as forest fire and pine-disease. At the mountainous rural region, the landscape mosaic is characterized by the relatively large patches composed of conifer plantations and secondary deciduous oak forests. This is the result of the forestry. The inland region landscape is the most homogeneous, because factors which alter landscape structure are now absent. The complex of the physical, biological and anthropogenic forces makes the landscape unique to each region.     

Landscape-scale controls over 20th century fire occurrence in two large Rocky Mountain (USA) wilderness areas

Topography, vegetation, and climate act together to determine thespatial patterns of fires at landscape scales. Knowledge oflandscape-fire-climate relations at these broad scales (1,000s hato 100,000s ha) is limited and is largely based on inferences andextrapolations from fire histories reconstructed from finer scales. In thisstudy, we used long time series of fire perimeter data (fire atlases) and datafor topography, vegetation, and climate to evaluate relationships between large20^thcentury fires and landscape characteristics in two contrastingareas: the 486,673-ha Gila/Aldo Leopold Wilderness Complex (GALWC)in New Mexico, USA, and the 785,090-ha Selway-BitterrootWilderness Complex (SBWC) in Idaho and Montana, USA. There were importantsimilarities and differences in gradients of topography, vegetation, andclimatefor areas with different fire frequencies, both within and between study areas.These unique and general relationships, when compared between study areas,highlight important characteristics of fire regimes in the Northern andSouthernRocky Mountains of the Western United States.Results suggest that amount and horizontal continuity of herbaceous fuels limitthe frequency and spread of surface fires in the GALWC, while the moisturestatus of large fuels and crown fuels limits the frequency of moderate-to-highseverity fires in the SBWC. These empirically described spatial and temporalrelationships between fire, landscape attributes, and climate increaseunderstanding of interactions among broad-scale ecosystem processes. Resultsalso provide a historical baseline for fire management planning over broadspatial and temporal scales in each wilderness complex.This revised version was published online in May 2005 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Wildfires and landscape patterns in the Eastern Iberian Peninsula

The relations between disturbance regime and landscape patterns have been developed from a theoretical perspective, but few studies have tested these relations when forces promoting opposing heterogeneity patterns are simultaneously operating on a landscape. This work provides quantitative evidence of these relations in areas dominated by human activity, showing that landscape heterogeneity decreases disturbance spread. In turn, disturbance introduces a source of landscape heterogeneity, but it is not enough to counterbalance the homogeneity trend due to agricultural abandonment. Land cover changes and wildfire occurrence (fires larger than 0.3 km²) have been monitored in the Tivissa municipality (208.4 km²) (Catalonia, NE Spain) from 1956 to 1993. Land cover maps were obtained from 1956, 1978 and 1993 and they were overlaid with fire occurrence maps obtained for the 1975–1995 period from 60 m resolution remote sensing images, which allow the identification of burned areas by sudden drops in Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI). Changes in landscape patterns in relation to fire regime have been analyzed considering several parameters: patch density, mean patch size, mean distance to the nearest neighbour of the same category, edge density, and the Shannon diversity index. In the 1956–1993 period there is a trend to increasing landscape homogenization due to the expansion of shrub­lands linked to a decrease in forest surface, and to the abandonment of agricultural lands. This trend, however, is not constant along all the period. Fires are more likely to occur in woody, homogenous areas, increasing landscape heterogeneity, as observed in the 1978–1993 period. This increase in heterogeneity does not counterbalance the general trend to landscape homogenization as a consequence of agricultural abandonment and the coalescence of natural vegetation patches.This revised version was published online in May 2005 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Holding the line: three decades of prescribed fires halt but do not reverse woody encroachment in grasslands

Context

Encroachment of woody vegetation represents a significant global threat to biodiversity in grasslands, but practices used to reverse encroachment are rarely evaluated comprehensively. Several factors may drive encroachment, such as land use history, alteration of disturbance regimes, and local environment, but their relative importance is poorly understood. Another complicating factor is that encroachment may proceed via positive feedbacks that result in thresholds, beyond which its reversal is difficult.

Objectives

We ask what impact reintroducing frequent fire has on encroachment relative to the influences of landscape context and historical vegetation. We investigate whether woody cover frequency distributions suggest that feedbacks reinforce encroachment after a threshold of woody cover is surpassed.

Methods

We analyze aerial photos in glade grasslands in Missouri, USA, to assess encroachment patterns over a 75-year period. Fire was excluded from this landscape for the first 45 years, and then reintroduced at varying frequencies in the last 30 years.

Results

Woody vegetation cover increased sevenfold from 1939 to 2014 overall. After the reintroduction of prescribed fire, woody cover stayed approximately constant in burned glades, but continued increasing in unburned glades. Woody cover followed bimodal frequency distributions in burned areas. Fire-tolerant vegetation tended to encroach near historically wooded areas, while fire-sensitive vegetation responded more to fire history.

Conclusions

Altered disturbance regimes, in addition to numerous recognized drivers, can cause ecosystem state changes associated with losses to biodiversity. Conducting management early in the encroachment process and restoring grasslands at broad landscape scales may help counteract local feedbacks that promote encroachment.

     

Landscape context matters: local habitat and landscape effects on the abundance and patch occupancy of collared lizards in managed grasslands

The distribution and abundance of a species may be simultaneously influenced by both local-scale habitat features and the broader patch and landscape contexts in which these populations occur. Different factors may influence patch occupancy (presence–absence) versus local abundance (number of individuals within patches), and at different scales, and thus ideally both occupancy and abundance should be investigated, especially in studies that seek to understand the consequences of land management on species persistence. Our study evaluated the relative influences of variables associated with the local habitat patch, hillside (patch context), and landscape context on patch occupancy and abundance of the collared lizard (Crotaphytus collaris) within tallgrass prairie managed under different fire and grazing regimes in the northern Flint Hills of Kansas, USA. Using a multi-model information-theoretic approach that accounted for detection bias, we found that collared lizard abundance and occupancy was influenced by factors measured at both the local habitat and landscape scales. At a local scale, collared lizard abundance was greatest on large rock ledges that had lots of crevices, high vegetation complexity, and were located higher up on the hillslope. At the landscape scale, collared lizard abundance and occupancy were both higher in watersheds that were burned frequently (1–2 year intervals). Interestingly, grazing only had a significant effect on occupancy and abundance within less frequently burned (4-year burn interval) watersheds. Our results suggest that, in addition to the obvious habitat needs of this species (availability of suitable rock habitat), land-management practices have the potential to influence collared lizard presence and abundance in the grasslands of the Flint Hills. Thus, mapping the availability of suitable habitat is unlikely to be sufficient for evaluating species distributions and persistence in such cases without consideration of landscape management and disturbance history.