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Reconstructing Late Holocene Fire, Agriculture, And Climate From Sediment Records In Costa Rica And The Dominican Republic, Erik Nicholas Johanson

Doctoral Dissertations

We use multiple proxies from sediment cores to identify periods of climate stress during the late Holocene across the circum-Caribbean region and to determine how fire activity and signals of Pre-Columbian agriculture coincide with these arid periods. We examine evidence of aridity from stable carbon isotope ratios and shifts in elemental composition, along with pollen and microscopic charcoal, at Bao Bog in the highlands of Hispaniola. We infer two major periods of aridity (3600–2300 and 1040–850 cal yr BP), with the later period associated with the late phase of the Terminal Classic Drought. A third, less marked interval of aridity …

Incendios En Los Pinares De Las Zonas Montañosas De La República Dominicana: La Visión De Fondo, Sally P Horn

Geography Publications and Other Works

Fire in Highland Pine Forests of the Dominican Republic―The Long View

Large forest fires in Valle Nuevo National Park in 2014 and 2015 have increased interest in fire as an ecological force in montane pine forests of the Dominican Republic. Geographer Dr. José Ramón Martínez Batlle estimated using Landsat imagery and GIS that some 4700 ha burned in July 2014 (http://www.geografiafisica.org/2014/07/29/superficie-quemada-incendio-valle-nuevo/), and an additional 1600 ha burned in late April 2015 (http://www.geografiafisica.org/2015/09/25/superficie-quemada-en-valle-nuevo-finales-de-abril-principios-de-mayo-2015/).

Since 1995, when I first visited what is today Valle Nuevo National Park (then, Valle Nuevo Scientific Reserve), as a guest of the Moscoso …

Using Spatial Analysis To Evaluate Fire Activity In A Pine Rockland Ecosystem, Big Pine Key, Florida, Usa, Lauren Ashley Stachowiak

Doctoral Dissertations

Pine rocklands are fire-prone ecosystems with limited spatial extent, and have experienced reduced area in the previous decades through habitat conversion and urbanization. The purpose of this dissertation research was to evaluate the historical range of variability of fire activity and spatial patterns of fires in a pine rockland ecosystem in the National Key Deer Refuge (NKDR) on Big Pine Key in the Lower Florida Keys. To investigate the temporal and spatial patterns in fire activity, I (1) evaluated the temporal patterns for fires in my study area in the NKDR, (2) analyzed differences in standard fire history metrics since …

Climate Drivers Of Wildfire Activity In The Magdalena Mountains Of New Mexico, U.S.A., Elizabeth Anne Schneider

Masters Theses

In recent years, crown fires have raged through mixed-conifer forests in the American Southwest that historically experienced frequent, low-severity wildfires. Land management agencies now wish to restore wildfires to their historical range of variability, but this requires information on fire regimes before Euro-American disturbance took place. We characterized the historical fire regime of a high elevation, mixed-conifer forest in the Magdalena Mountains, New Mexico. This research evaluated the different climate drivers, represented by the Palmer Drought Severity Index (PDSI), the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO), the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO), and the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO), that influence the occurrence of …

Methods For The Study Of Soil Charcoal As An Indicator Of Fire And Forest History In The Appalachian Region, U.S.A., Sally P Horn, Christopher A. Underwood

Geography Publications and Other Works

Charcoal particles in soils and sediments of the Appalachian region provide evidence of long-term fire history relevant to resource management and to studies of paleoclimate, vegetation history, and the effects of prehistoric and historic humans on the environment. Charcoal records of fire history are of low resolution in comparison to dendrochronological records, but reach well beyond the oldest trees in most areas, providing evidence of fires thousands or tens of thousands of years ago. We focus here on fire history reconstruction from soil charcoal, which provides site-specific evidence of past fires and potentially forest composition. Charcoal > 2 mm may be …

Technical Bulletins: Use Of Acquired Structures For Training (2013), Dennis Wolf

MTAS Publications: Technical Bulletins

Live fire training in an acquired structure is very valuable as it provides firefighters with some of the real life experience they need to be effective firefighters. Many communities do not have access to a training facility with a dedicated live fire building or smoke house, so using an acquired structure can provide a local opportunity to train under realistic conditions.

Late Pleistocene Climate, Vegetation, And Fire History From A Southern Appalachian Bog, Whiteoak Bottoms, Nantahala National Forest, North Carolina, U.S.A., Mathew Stephen Boehm

Masters Theses

I examined loss-on-ignition, pollen, and charcoal evidence of climate, vegetation, and fire history at Whiteoak Bottoms (35º04’44”N, 83º31’50”W; 1032 m elevation), a peat-forming wetland located along the Nantahala River in western North Carolina. Previous research by J. McDonald and D. Leigh revealed that this wetland formed in a paleochannel of the Nantahala River between 15,000 and 14,000 cal yr BP. I obtained additional AMS radiocarbon dates, carried out high-resolution loss-on-ignition analysis, and examined pollen and microscopic charcoal assemblages in a 157-cm sediment core from the previous study. Radiocarbon dates and stratigraphic analyses indicate that much of the Holocene is missing …

The Iso Building Code Effectiveness Grading Schedule, Jody Dwyer

MTAS Publications: Full Publications

ISO works with municipal building-code authorities to assess and enforce building codes through its Building Code Effectiveness Grading Schedule (BCEGS) program. The BCEGS program assesses the building codes in effect in a community and how that community enforces them, with special emphasis on mitigating losses from natural hazards.

Technical Bulletins: Use Of Acquired Structures For Training, Dennis Wolf

MTAS Publications: Technical Bulletins

Live fire training in an acquired structure is very valuable as it provides firefighters with some of the real life experience they need to be effective firefighters. Many communities do not have access to a training facility with a dedicated live fire building or smoke house, so using an acquired structure can provide a local opportunity to train under realistic conditions.

Technical Bulletins: Let Me Tell You A Story: How An Annual Report Will Benefit Your Fire Department, Dennis Wolf

MTAS Publications: Technical Bulletins

A fire department annual report is an excellent tool for a fire department to use to tell its story to the community and to build community support for its efforts and needs.

Fire Department Accreditation: A New Way Of Evaluating Efficiency And Effectiveness Of Fire Departments (2012), Dennis Wolf

MTAS Publications: Full Publications

Accreditation is a way to measure the effectiveness and efficiency of a fire department by determining community risks and fire safety needs, accurately evaluating the organization’s performance, and providing a method for continuous improvement.

Hot Topic: Flsa Firefighter Definition Revised, Dennis Wolf, Richard Stokes

MTAS Publications: Hot Topics

Clarification of an amendment to the Fair Labor Standards Act regarding the definition of "an employee in fire protection activities."

Compensation And Employee Status Of Volunteer Firefighters, Dennis Wolf

MTAS Publications: Full Publications

This publication addresses the complex issues surrounding the rules and opinions on whether a volunteer firefighter is a volunteer or an employee and whether any compensation or remuneration the volunteer firefighter receives for services provided is subject to withholding for income tax, social security, or Medicare.

The Water Needs Of Small Tennessee Fire Departments (2011), Ron Darden, Gary West

MTAS Publications: Full Publications

This report discusses the fire department’s need for water, fire insurance ratings, hydrant marking regulations, problems confronting local government’s ability to provide water for fire service, the value of residential sprinkler systems, and potential savings from improved fire service.

Hot Topic: Firefighter Minimum Training Law: Public Chapter 512 - 2009, Ray Crouch

MTAS Publications: Hot Topics

The law does three things: (1) establishes a 16-hour class that must be taken by anyone who enters the fire service before they can respond to any emergency, (2) requires that every firefighter complete a basic firefighter class, as defined by the Tennessee Fire and Codes Academy, within three years of joining a fire department, and (3) provides exceptions for firefighters who already have five years of experience.

Hot Topic: Federal Grants Available To Fire Departments: Successful Funding For Tennessee Fire Departments (2007), Gary West

MTAS Publications: Hot Topics

The federal government will provide several opportunities for grant funding to fire departments again this year.

Integrating Emergency Medical Services In The Fire Department, Gary West

MTAS Publications: Full Publications

The first responder concept is proven to save lives, and many fire departments are seeing the benefits of providing this valuable service.

Fire Department Accreditation: A New Way Of Evaluating Efficiency And Effectiveness Of Fire Departments, Gary West, Dennis Wolf

MTAS Publications: Full Publications

Accreditation is a way to measure the effectiveness and efficiency of a fire department by determining community risks and fire safety needs, accurately evaluating the organization’s performance, and providing a method for continuous improvement.

Tennessee Municipal Benchmarking Project Fy2005, Al Major

Tennessee Municipal Benchmarking Project

FY2005 annual report to compare the relative cost, efficiency and effectiveness of a set of municipal services by using a collaborative approach with the participating cities, and to set standards and identify "best practices" in municipal government for use and comparison by all Tennessee cities.

Technical Bulletins: Ten Simple Questions On Code Adoption For Towns And Cities In Tennessee (2006), Ray Crouch

MTAS Publications: Technical Bulletins

Short answers to questions on the adoption of building and fire codes.

Hot Topic: Assistance To Firefighters Grant Program (2006), Gary West

MTAS Publications: Hot Topics

Grants are awarded each year on a competitive basis to applicants that address AFG program priorities, demonstrate financial need, and demonstrate the community benefit to be derived from their projects. Persistence is the key to successful funding.

Technical Bulletins: Drinking From A Fire Hydrant: The Fire Department's Role In Protecting The Public Water System, Gary West

MTAS Publications: Technical Bulletins

A revised state regulation concerning fire hydrants is causing concern for fire department leaders, providers of public water supplies, and public health officials across the state of Tennessee. The new regulation is the final result of the 1996 Amendments to the Safe Drinking Water Act with the emphasis on contamination prevention.

Hot Topic: Nims (National Incident Management System), Ray Crouch

MTAS Publications: Hot Topics

An explanation of five steps that local governments must complete before October 1, 2005. Includes a resolution to adopt the NIMS.

Dinámica De La Vegetación Después De Fuegos Recientes En Los Páramos De Buenavista Y Chirripó, Costa Rica (Vegetation Dynamics Following Recent Fires In The Buenavista And Chirripó Páramos Of Costa Rica), Sally P Horn

Geography Publications and Other Works

Field studies following fires in the Buenavista (La Muerte Massif) and Chirripó páramos demonstrate that woody species show varying responses to fire. The bamboo Chusquea subtessellata and the ericaceous shrubs Vaccinium consanguineum and Pernettya prostrata typically resprout vigorously after fire, but rarely if ever recolonize burn sites by seeding. The shrub Hypericum irazuense, in contrast, generally suffers high mortality in páramo fires, but successfully reestablishes by seed following all but the largest fires. Preexisting vegetation, fire characteristics, and site differences both before and after burning likely affect rates of shrub and herb survival, colonization, and growth in páramo burn …

Registros De Sedimentos Lacustres De La Vegetación Del Holoceno Y Historia Del Fuego En El Páramo De Costa Rica. (Lake-Sediment Records Of Holocene Vegetation And Fire History In The Costa Rican Páramos), Sally P Horn, Brandon L. League

Geography Publications and Other Works

We examined pollen, pteridophyte (ferns and fern-allies) spores, and charcoal in a 5.6 m long sediment core from Lago de las Morrenas 1, and charcoal in a 1.1 m long sediment core from Lago Chirripó, to reconstruct postglacial vegetation and fire history in the Chirripó páramo. Lago de las Morrenas 1, the largest lake in the Valle de las Morrenas of Chirripó National Park, is presently surrounded by treeless páramo vegetation and has apparently been so since deglaciation approximately 10,000 radiocarbon years ago. Pollen spectra suggest no pronounced changes in vegetation since ice retreat. Pollen percentages for Gramineae and other …

Technical Bulletins: Fire (And Police) Departments Liable For Negligent Response, Sid Hemsley

MTAS Publications: Technical Bulletins

Under the Tennessee Governmental Tort Liability Act municipalities are liable for the negligence of their employees, with some exceptions. One of those exceptions is “discretionary functions” (Tennessee Code Annotated (T.C.A.) 29-20-205). However, the act does not define that term. The Tennessee Supreme Court has grappled with both a definition and application of the term in Gordon, et al. vs. City of Henderson, 766 S.W.2d 784 (1988). Although that case involved the delivery of municipal fire services, it contains some language that should cause Tennessee municipalities to look closely at the manner in which they deliver all public safety services.

Hot Topic: Usfa Fire Grants: A New Source Of Funding For Fire Departments, Ray Crouch

MTAS Publications: Hot Topics

A first-ever appropriation by Congress will provide $100 million in grants to directly assist local fire departments across the country.

Hot Topic: Flsa Firefighter Definition Revised (2001), Dennis Wolf, Richard Stokes

MTAS Publications: Hot Topics

Clarification of an amendment to the Fair Labor Standards Act regarding the definition of "an employee in fire protection activities."

Technical Bulletins: Fire (And Police) Departments Liable For Negligent Response, Sid Hemsley

MTAS Publications: Technical Bulletins

Under the Tennessee Tort Liability Act municipalities are liable for the negligence of their employees, with some exceptions. One of those exceptions is "discretionary functions" (Tennessee Code Annotated (TCA) 29-20-205). However, the act does not define that term. The Tennessee Supreme Court recently grappled with both a definition and application of the term in Gordon, et al. v. City of Henderson, 766 S.W.2d 784 (1988). Although that case involved the delivery of municipal fire services, it contains some language that should cause Tennessee municipalities to look closely at the way they deliver all public safety services.

Technical Bulletins: Summary Of 1986 Public Acts: Supplemental, Dennis Huffer

MTAS Publications: Technical Bulletins

The 94th General Assembly adopted a total of 942 new public acts, 482 in the 1985 session and another 460 in the recently completed 1986 session. This bulletin contains summaries of public acts which, for one reason or another, were not summarized in the Summary of 1986 Publications of Interest to Tennessee Municipal Officials.