Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Life Sciences Commons

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Forest Sciences

Joint Fire Science Program Digests

2008

Articles 1 - 2 of 2

Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences

Big Changes In The Great Basin, Gail Wells Jan 2008

Big Changes In The Great Basin, Gail Wells

Joint Fire Science Program Digests

JFSP-funded researchers are exploring the ecological functioning of sagebrush-steppe communities in the Great Basin and other places in the dry Intermountain West. Their work is helping managers effectively use tools such as tree mastication and prescribed fire to help these communities become more resilient in the face of invasive weeds. Other research is finding ways to reestablish native vegetation on sites where weedy invaders have pushed the community past the point where it can recover on its own.


The Rothermel Fire-Spread Model: Still Running Like A Champ, Gail Wells Jan 2008

The Rothermel Fire-Spread Model: Still Running Like A Champ, Gail Wells

Joint Fire Science Program Digests

In 1972, aeronautical engineer Richard C. Rothermel, of the USDA Fire Sciences Lab at Missoula, Montana, developed a method for modeling the spread of wildfire. The model became widely used, and although the ensuing years have brought many technological innovations, it is still the engine of the predictive tools used by fire behavior officers today. The JFSP is pleased to offer Dick Rothermel’s story as a tribute to a significant accomplishment, and also to showcase some of the current work at the Fire Sciences Lab.