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Predicting Dry Lightning Risk Nationwide, Joy Drohan
Predicting Dry Lightning Risk Nationwide, Joy Drohan
Joint Fire Science Program Briefs (2007-2012)
Meteorologists developed two formulas to predict the probability of dry lightning throughout the continental United States and Alaska and parts of Canada. Predictions are made daily and are accessible through the web at http://www.airfire.org/tools/daily-fire-weather/dry-lightning-probability. The emphasis is on the western United States, where dry lightning is a more common occurrence. Predictions are based on identifying days on which lightning is expected and separately determining whether there is likely to be at least 1/10th inch of accompanying rain. The formulas are run with the latest North American or Alaskan weather forecasting model and forecast dry lightning probabilities for about three days …
Improved Understanding Of Climate-Fi Re Relationships Along North America’S Pacifi C Coast, Marjie Brown
Improved Understanding Of Climate-Fi Re Relationships Along North America’S Pacifi C Coast, Marjie Brown
Joint Fire Science Program Briefs (2007-2012)
This research expanded our understanding of the climate/wildfi re relationship by identifying major climate controls and translating them into a practical tool, still under development, that managers can use for planning. The focus was on fi reclimate interactions from southern Oregon to Baja California, with emphasis placed on the infl uence of the Pacifi c North American (PNA) climate pattern. Researchers identifi ed and delineated differences in the way fi re activity responded to climate variability on a regional scale with the intent to improve fi re season forecasts along the Pacifi c coast. Strong correlations were found between certain …
Rising Temperatures Trigger Ecological Changes In The Boreal Forest Of Alaska, Shari Anstedt
Rising Temperatures Trigger Ecological Changes In The Boreal Forest Of Alaska, Shari Anstedt
Joint Fire Science Program Briefs (2007-2012)
Fundamentally different from the rest of the forest types in the United States, Alaska’s boreal forest covers a signifi cant amount of acreage in an increasingly variable climate. With its high latitude location, predictions reveal that this region will be the first to experience the effects of global climate change. In fact, natives of this region are already dealing with warmer temperatures and a changing landscape. As a result, researchers conducted a study to help gather more information about this area and to better understand the effects of climate change and how those effects influence fire and fuels management. An …
Mastication On Red Mountain: Investigating Fuel Loads And Fire Effects, Shari Anstedt
Mastication On Red Mountain: Investigating Fuel Loads And Fire Effects, Shari Anstedt
Joint Fire Science Program Briefs (2007-2012)
Although complete fire exclusion is a thing of the past in the Sierra Nevada, fire and fuel managers must still contend with dense forests and higher fuel loads that have built up over time. Controlled fire is a helpful fuel reduction method, but it can be tricky to manage, especially in an area with excessive fuels, or in plantations with trees having smaller diameters and lower crowns, which are more susceptible to heat damage. Mastication can also be a useful fuel treatment and has become a popular alternative, but includes its own set of drawbacks and uncertainties. Since little research …
Assessing Post-Fire Treatment Effects And Burn Severity On The Sandy Loam Soils Of Oregon, Shari Anstedt
Assessing Post-Fire Treatment Effects And Burn Severity On The Sandy Loam Soils Of Oregon, Shari Anstedt
Joint Fire Science Program Briefs (2007-2012)
Fire helps reduce dead and accumulated vegetation and enriches the soil by releasing nutrients bound in litter. But when fuel loads are too high and wildfi res burn too hot, problems may arise. A perfect example of this is the 2003 Booth and Bear Butte (B&B) fire in central Oregon, which consumed more than 90,000 acres of mixed conifer forest. On the surface, the effects on trees and vegetation seemed obvious, but what about the wildfi re effects on what we don’t see? How do post-fi re management activities support or impede forest recovery? Furthermore, how were the soils, and …
Ok-Fire: Weather-Based Decision Support For Wildland Fire Management, Shari Anstedt
Ok-Fire: Weather-Based Decision Support For Wildland Fire Management, Shari Anstedt
Joint Fire Science Program Briefs (2007-2012)
There’s a lot of wildland in Oklahoma—and as a result, a lot of potential for fire. To help prepare for wildfire and perform fi re management activities, land managers previously used weather, fire danger, and smoke management products provided by the Oklahoma Mesonet, the state’s automated weather station network. But unfortunately, the products were not easily found or easy to use, and very little user training was provided. Fire managers also expressed the need for multi-day forecasting capabilities to help anticipate periods of high fire danger and severe wildfi re conditions and to improve pre-burn planning and management. These critical …
Fire History Study Reveals Surprises About Mixed-Pine Ecology In Eastern Upper Michigan, Joy Drohan
Fire History Study Reveals Surprises About Mixed-Pine Ecology In Eastern Upper Michigan, Joy Drohan
Joint Fire Science Program Briefs (2007-2012)
Mixed red and white pine forests in eastern Upper Michigan saw frequent fires, about every 50–60 years, before Euro-American settlement. Post-settlement, the fire cycle has lengthened and forest composition has shifted to include more jack pine and fi re-sensitive deciduous trees, increasing fuel loadings and changing wildlife habitat along the way. In cooperation with researchers and land managers at Seney National Wildlife Refuge, researchers at The Ohio State University are working out details of combining mechanical treatments with prescribed fire to restore mixed-pine forests dominated by red and white pine. In particular, their findings about red pine ecology could change …
Assessing Mechanical Mastication And Thinning-Piling-Burning Treatments On The Pinyon-Juniper Woodlands Of Southwestern Colorado, Shari Anstedt
Assessing Mechanical Mastication And Thinning-Piling-Burning Treatments On The Pinyon-Juniper Woodlands Of Southwestern Colorado, Shari Anstedt
Joint Fire Science Program Briefs (2007-2012)
New knowledge of fire regimes in the pinyon-juniper woodlands of the interior western United States has altered management views. Once known as being at low wildfire risk, these woodlands are now at a higher risk for severe wildfires because of high tree densities exacerbated by ongoing drought and region-wide bark beetle (Ips confusus) infestation. To help reduce fuels and fi re hazards and to create defensible space in the wildland urban interface, regional land managers have conducted thinning-piling-burning treatments. Recently, however, a different treatment has been used—mechanical mastication. Although mechanical mastication is typically more cost effective, there is concern about …
Following The Smoke Trail, Jake Delwiche
Following The Smoke Trail, Jake Delwiche
Joint Fire Science Program Briefs (2007-2012)
Public land administrators and air quality managers need better information on the potential contribution of wildland fires vs. anthropogenic sources on possible exceedances of air quality standards. To obtain more precise information in California, a composite network was established for monitoring ozone (O3), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), ammonia (NH3), gaseous nitric acid (HNO3) and particulate matter (PM). The network was located in the Sierra Nevada region of central California. The network provided data for estimates of distribution of air pollutants from urban and agricultural activities, and measured contributions of area wildland fi res on ground levels of pollutants. Information was also …
Fish And Forest Management: Not Necessarily At Odds, Joy Drohan
Fish And Forest Management: Not Necessarily At Odds, Joy Drohan
Joint Fire Science Program Briefs (2007-2012)
Resource managers of lands harboring sensitive aquatic species face tough choices. They could manage forests to reduce their wildfire potential, while possibly harming the sensitive species habitat, or they could leave forests untreated for wildfire, risking an uncharacteristic fire that may drastically alter critical aquatic species habitat. This study sought to develop a decision support framework to help managers understand the potential impacts of fire and resulting disturbances, such as debris flows, in this puzzle. The resulting fish population persistence model, Integrating Forests, Fish, and Fire (IF3), relies on existing geographic information system (GIS) data to discern where human impacts …
Can Archeology Survive A Fire?, Jake Delwiche
Can Archeology Survive A Fire?, Jake Delwiche
Joint Fire Science Program Briefs (2007-2012)
Most public lands include not only natural resource values, but also signifi cant cultural resources from both historic and prehistoric occupation. In some cases, the cultural resources are the reason for establishment of a park or monument. Responsibilities of the managers of these lands include protecting these cultural resources and balancing their protection with protection of the natural resources. This is essential to having a good understanding of the potential effect of fire— whether a prescribed fire or a wildfire—on the cultural resources. A recent scientifi c project funded by the Joint Fire Science Program studied the potential impact of …
Saving The Cypress: Restoring Fire To Rare, At-Risk Species, Christina Frame
Saving The Cypress: Restoring Fire To Rare, At-Risk Species, Christina Frame
Joint Fire Science Program Briefs (2007-2012)
Many populations of Baker and Macnab cypress are dying without signs of regeneration. The Forest Service is currently implementing controlled burning across a range of vegetation types in northern California, but because there is little information about how such treatments will affect rare, endemic plant communities, cypress stands have been excluded from such treatments. However, these fire-adapted species cannot survive extended periods of fire exclusion. To effectively manage the cypress and prevent further decline of the species, land managers need information on factors that promote cypress regeneration. The objectives of this study were to (1) determine if fire is indeed …
Evaluating Bark Beetle And Wildfi Re Dynamics In The Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, Shari Anstedt
Evaluating Bark Beetle And Wildfi Re Dynamics In The Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, Shari Anstedt
Joint Fire Science Program Briefs (2007-2012)
In the western United States, bark beetle outbreaks are at a record high—and of grave concern to forest managers and other stakeholders. There is a common belief that the high amounts of dead fuels produced by bark beetle infestations increase the chance of active crown fires. However, little is known about how bark beetle outbreaks and wildfire interact, and how that interaction influences the overall ecosystem structure and potential fi re behavior. To better understand bark beetle/wildfire dynamics, a study was conducted in beetle-infested areas of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE) in northwestern Wyoming and adjacent portions of Montana and …
A Project In Two Parts: Developing Fire Histories For The Eastern U.S. And Creating A Climate-Based Continental Fire Frequency Model To Fill Data Gaps, Christina Frame
A Project In Two Parts: Developing Fire Histories For The Eastern U.S. And Creating A Climate-Based Continental Fire Frequency Model To Fill Data Gaps, Christina Frame
Joint Fire Science Program Briefs (2007-2012)
Tree-ring dated fire scars provide long-term records of fire frequency, giving land managers valuable baseline information about the fire regimes that existed prior to Euro-American settlement. However, for the East, fire history data prove diffi cult to acquire because the generally moister climate of the region causes rapid decay of wood. In an endeavor to fill data gaps, the research team collected fire scar data in the states of Alabama, Louisiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, Iowa, Wisconsin, and Michigan. The second part of the project used this newly collected fi re history data combined with previously collected records to parameterize and calibrate …
Reducing Fuels Through Mulching Treatments: What Are The Ecological Effects?, Christina Frame
Reducing Fuels Through Mulching Treatments: What Are The Ecological Effects?, Christina Frame
Joint Fire Science Program Briefs (2007-2012)
Many areas in the western U.S. are being thinned to reduce fire hazard and spread. Often the most economical solution for the disposal of the thinned biomass is to grind and leave the material onsite. These treatments are assumed to reduce the ability of the forest to carry a crown fire, but the effects of the added material on forest ecosystems are poorly known because such treatments do not have a natural analogue. Managers and the public are interested in understanding the impacts of the addition of this woody material on forest ecosystems so they can evaluate the benefi ts …
Ponderosa Pine Biomass Relationships Vary With Site Treatment And Site Productivity, Joy Drohan
Ponderosa Pine Biomass Relationships Vary With Site Treatment And Site Productivity, Joy Drohan
Joint Fire Science Program Briefs (2007-2012)
Allometric equations, which express biomass as a function of tree size, are often used to estimate the amount of fuel in a site’s canopy. Most managers assume that one allometric equation per species is suffi cient, or that any error introduced by extrapolation is irrelevant. This work showed, however, that the allometric biomass relationship for ponderosa pine likely changes over space and time. The researchers concluded that for maximum accuracy, allometric equations for ponderosa pine should account for stand management history and site productivity. Thinned trees replaced their foliage within about 4 years, and 8–10 years post-thinning, growth had stabilized. …
Modifying The Model To Mitigate Crown Fire: Improving Estimates Of Canopy Fuels For The Black Hills (And Beyond), Christina Frame
Modifying The Model To Mitigate Crown Fire: Improving Estimates Of Canopy Fuels For The Black Hills (And Beyond), Christina Frame
Joint Fire Science Program Briefs (2007-2012)
Managers of most coniferous forests in the western United States aim to create and maintain forest structures that are less susceptible to the initiation and spread of crown fire. To achieve this end, they use models that predict potential fire behavior, and these models rely on accurate estimates of canopy structure, including canopy base height (CBH) and canopy bulk density (CBD). Managers predict CBD through use of the Fire and Fuels Extension to the Forest Vegetation Simulator (FFE-FVS). However, the equations used by FFE-FVS to predict crown mass are based on estimates solely from northern Montana and Idaho, and therefore …
Woodpecker Habitat After The Fire, Jake Delwiche
Woodpecker Habitat After The Fire, Jake Delwiche
Joint Fire Science Program Briefs (2007-2012)
Public land managers are asked to minimize fuel levels after fires, including using techniques such as salvage logging. They are also responsible for maintaining suitable wildlife habitat, especially for species of concern to state and federal agencies. An area where these responsibilities could conflict is in the use of salvage logging in burned-over areas that also represent good habitat for certain wildlife such as woodpeckers. Controversy over this conflict has led to litigation. Public land management agencies need consistent design criteria to maintain suitable habitats for these birds. Little information has existed on how to assess potential effects of postfire …
Post-Fi Re Logging: An Effective Tool For Managing Future Fuels In Coniferous Inland Northwest Forests, Joy Drohan
Post-Fi Re Logging: An Effective Tool For Managing Future Fuels In Coniferous Inland Northwest Forests, Joy Drohan
Joint Fire Science Program Briefs (2007-2012)
This study involved a chronosequence of 68 stand-replacing wildfires that happened between 1970 and 2007 in dry coniferous forests of eastern Washington and Oregon. The authors compared snag decay and surface fuel accumulation with and without post-fire logging. Without logging after a fire, woody fuels accumulate for 15–30 years because the rate of fuel deposition on the ground is greater than the rate of wood decay. Stands that were more dense prefire have greater accumulations of fuel. Predominant tree species and size influenced rates of fuel deposition and snag decay. Thin trees fell before larger trees and ponderosa pines typically …
Fire Helps The Lonesome Pine, Jake Delwiche
Fire Helps The Lonesome Pine, Jake Delwiche
Joint Fire Science Program Briefs (2007-2012)
Regeneration of Table Mountain pines in the Southern Appalachian has been on the decline since the 1950s. From central Pennsylvania to northeast Georgia, stands of these pines are beginning to be dominated by oaks, particularly chestnut oak, and by hickories. It has been believed that this is because the shade-intolerant pines are being replaced by more shade tolerant hardwoods and shrubs, largely a result of fire exclusion in these areas. Few studies have evaluated fire as a tool for replacement of this species. Some prescriptions have called for intense crown fi res, but these narrow the burning window and cause …
Evaluating The Effects And Effectiveness Of Post-Fire Seeding Treatments In Western Forests, Shari Anstedt
Evaluating The Effects And Effectiveness Of Post-Fire Seeding Treatments In Western Forests, Shari Anstedt
Joint Fire Science Program Briefs (2007-2012)
High-severity wildfires can profoundly affect soils and plant communities, thus requiring emergency rehabilitation treatments such as post-fire seeding. Intended to stabilize soils, reduce erosion, and combat non-native species invasions, post-fire seeding is typically one of the first treatments used by most U.S. natural resource agencies. But despite its widespread use, there is still doubt about the treatment’s actual effectiveness and ecological impacts. Therefore, researchers conducted a study to gain more definitive insight on the ecological effects and usefulness of post-fire seeding. The first part of the study involved an evidence-based review of scientifi c articles, theses, and government publications to …
Optimizing The Location Of Fuel Treatments Over Time At Landscape Scales, Shari Anstedt
Optimizing The Location Of Fuel Treatments Over Time At Landscape Scales, Shari Anstedt
Joint Fire Science Program Briefs (2007-2012)
Fuel treatments are a vital part of forest management—but when faced with limited budgets, narrow burning windows, and air quality restrictions, it can be challenging to prioritize where, when, and how fuel treatments should be applied across the landscape to achieve the most benefit. To help ease this process, land managers can turn to various standalone models, capabilities, and decision support systems. While these tools address various aspects of fuel treatments, there is no one integrated solution that can provide the combined functionality needed to handle the strategic scheduling of fuel treatments, the spatial and temporal changes of fuel treatment …
Striving For Long-Term Forest Sustainability—Even As The Climate Changes, Shari Anstedt
Striving For Long-Term Forest Sustainability—Even As The Climate Changes, Shari Anstedt
Joint Fire Science Program Briefs (2007-2012)
Climate change, and its ecological impact, is right on the horizon. According to climate predictions over the next century, the southwestern United States will face higher temperatures and greater evaporative loss, which will heighten the possibility for severe drought. The stress of more frequent, intense droughts can increase tree mortality, hinder growth, and alter forest structure and composition. As a result, it’s now more important than ever for land managers to understand how today’s decisions and actions can impact future forest conditions. To develop answers, researchers conducted a study in the oldest ponderosa pine restoration project in the Southwest. Located …
Assessing Fuel Treatment Effectiveness After The Tripod Complex Fires, Shari Anstedt
Assessing Fuel Treatment Effectiveness After The Tripod Complex Fires, Shari Anstedt
Joint Fire Science Program Briefs (2007-2012)
Over the past 50 years, wildfire frequency and area burned have increased in the dry forests of western North America. To help reduce high surface fuel loads and potential wildfire severity, a variety of fuel treatments are applied. In spite of the common use of these management practices, there have been relatively few opportunities to quantitatively measure their efficacy in wildfires. That changed with the 2006 Tripod Complex fires in the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest in Washington—one of the largest fire events in Washington state over the past five decades. A serendipitous involvement of recent fuel treatments and the availability of …
Bending, Like The Reed In The Wind: A System To Restore Northwestern Forests, Lisa-Natalie Anjozian
Bending, Like The Reed In The Wind: A System To Restore Northwestern Forests, Lisa-Natalie Anjozian
Joint Fire Science Program Briefs (2007-2012)
Silviculture is the study, cultivation, and management of forest trees. It is rooted in science, but often is an art based on the experience of the forester. This story explores free-selection, a silvicultural system developed by scientists that allows managers and stakeholders greater fl exibility in growing new forests. By using this system for applying treatments, managers craft a vision of the desired short- and long-term conditions of the forest. The focus is placed on how the remaining forest components will function, rather than focusing on stand structure guidelines that dictate stand treatments and tree removal.
Naked Eyes And Hyperspectral Images Build Fuel Maps In The Southern Appalachian Mountains, Lisa-Natalie Anjozian
Naked Eyes And Hyperspectral Images Build Fuel Maps In The Southern Appalachian Mountains, Lisa-Natalie Anjozian
Joint Fire Science Program Briefs (2007-2012)
With the limited knowledge previously available about the types of fuels, and how they are distributed in the southern Appalachian Mountains, managers have faced diffi culties in developing fi re plans for the region, including whether or where to apply prescribed fi re. For this study, the scientists took a two phase approach to determine fuel loads on the land—by ground surveys, and by remote sensing technology using hyperspectral images. Examining over 1,000 study plots in diverse topographic locations affected by various disturbances (or no disturbance) across four states, the researchers found few differences in undisturbed plots regardless of topographic …
Nature In A Name: Paulownia Tomentosa—Exotic Tree, Native Problem, Lisa-Natalie Anjozian
Nature In A Name: Paulownia Tomentosa—Exotic Tree, Native Problem, Lisa-Natalie Anjozian
Joint Fire Science Program Briefs (2007-2012)
While awareness of fire’s importance in dry Appalachian forests, and the application of fire as a restoration tool have increased over the last two decades, so too has the post-fire invasion of Paulownia tomentosa (Princess tree). For the last ten years, managers have witnessed Paulownia invasion grow following fi re events. To understand this better, the team studied five life history transitions for the species: seed dispersal, seed germination, seed survival over time through incorporation in the seed bank, initial habitat requirements, and seedling persistence to maturity. Paulownia seeds were found to disperse over two miles from their source tree. …
The Northeast Washington Forestry Coalition: A Citizen-Agency Partnership That Works, Bruce Shindler
The Northeast Washington Forestry Coalition: A Citizen-Agency Partnership That Works, Bruce Shindler
Joint Fire Science Program Briefs (2007-2012)
With the urgency of wildfi re near every community’s door, federal agencies have sought a middle ground between the extremes of timber-industry and environmental positions, one that would enable active management to reduce fuels and create safer communities. At the same time, citizen groups have organized themselves to protect important community values connected with their neighboring forests. These developments have set the stage for increasingly successful multi-stakeholder partnerships. The collaborative processes facilitated by these partnerships require considerable patience and perseverance at the outset, but the result can be a healthier forest, reduced fi re risk, more stable planning processes, and …
Filling In Knowledge Gaps In North Carolina, Elise Lequire
Filling In Knowledge Gaps In North Carolina, Elise Lequire
Joint Fire Science Program Briefs (2007-2012)
North Carolina is divided into three broad physiographic regions, from the low-lying Atlantic Coastal Plain, to the midelevation foothills—the Piedmont Plateau—to the higher elevation Blue Ridge and Appalachian zone. Understanding the behavior of fire in these widely different regions, as in much of the southeastern United States, presents challenges that differ sharply from those common in the West, where the emphasis on fire science research has been greater. An ambitious project has helped fill in local and regional knowledge gaps, as researchers gathered data and assessed the relevance and limitations of existing tools, including remote satellite sensing, weather station information, …
Sink Or Source? Fire And The Forest Carbon Cycle, Christina Frame
Sink Or Source? Fire And The Forest Carbon Cycle, Christina Frame
Joint Fire Science Program Briefs (2007-2012)
As the size and severity of fires in the western U.S. continue to increase, it has become ever more important to understand carbon dynamics in response to fire. Many subalpine forests experience stand-replacing wildfires, and these fires and subsequent recovery can change the amount of carbon released to the atmosphere because subalpine forests store large amounts of carbon. Stand-replacing fires initially convert ecosystems into a net source of carbon as the forest decomposes—a short-term effect (decades) that will likely be important over the next century if fire frequency increases as a result of climate change. Over the long term (centuries), …