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Full-Text Articles in Physical Sciences and Mathematics

Fire-Bgc -- A Mechanistic Ecological Process Model For Simulating Fire Succession On Coniferous Forest Landscapes Of The Northern Rocky Mountains, United States Department Of Agriculture, Forest Service Jan 1996

Fire-Bgc -- A Mechanistic Ecological Process Model For Simulating Fire Succession On Coniferous Forest Landscapes Of The Northern Rocky Mountains, United States Department Of Agriculture, Forest Service

Forestry

An ecological process model of vegetation dynamics mechanistically simulates long-term stand dynamics on coniferous landscapes of the Northern Rocky Mountains. This model is used to investigate and evaluate cumulative effects of various fire regimes, including prescribed burning and fire exclusion, on the vegetation and fuel complex of a simulation landscape composed of many stands. Detailed documentation of the model FIRE-BGC (a FIRE BioGeoChemical succession model) with complete discussion of all model parameters is followed with results of an application of the FIRE-BGC to a whitebark pine landscape in the Bob Marshall Wilderness complex. Simulation results of several management scenarios are …


Predicting Equilibrium Moisture Content Of Some Foliar Forest Litter In The Northern Rocky Mountains, United States Department Of Agriculture, Forest Service Jan 1990

Predicting Equilibrium Moisture Content Of Some Foliar Forest Litter In The Northern Rocky Mountains, United States Department Of Agriculture, Forest Service

Forestry

Forest foliage that comprises much of the forest floor litter has higher equilibrium moisture content, EMC, than woody components. The EMC's at 300 degrees K were found to increase as follows: grasses < fir-spruce needles < pine-cedar needles < aspen leaves-larch needles. Equations that express Gibbs free energy associated with moisture content were used to develop regression equations that predict the EMC's from temperature and relative humidity, RH, for temperatures between 278 degrees K (40 degrees F) and 322 degrees K (120 degrees F) and RH's between 10 and 90 percent.


Native Species Establishment On An Oil Drill Pad Site In The Uintah Mountains, Utah: Effects Of Introduced Grass Density And Fertilizer, United States Department Of Agriculture, Forest Service Jan 1989

Native Species Establishment On An Oil Drill Pad Site In The Uintah Mountains, Utah: Effects Of Introduced Grass Density And Fertilizer, United States Department Of Agriculture, Forest Service

Habitat Ecology

This study examined the effects of introduced grass seeding density and fertilizer on native species establishment on an oil drill pad site in the Uintah Mountains, UT. Differences in first-year seedling density and 3-year standing crop biomass among treatments were evaluated for seeded introduced grasses and native species and for unseeded colonizers. Aerial cover was measured all 3 years and the effects of fertilization on soil NO3-N, available P, and exchangeable K were examined 2 years after application. Recommendations for reclamation of similar sites are given.


Predicting Duff And Woody Fuel Consumed By Prescribed Fire In The Northern Rocky Mountains, United States Department Of Agriculture, Forest Service Jan 1985

Predicting Duff And Woody Fuel Consumed By Prescribed Fire In The Northern Rocky Mountains, United States Department Of Agriculture, Forest Service

Forestry

This paper presents numerical relationships of known precision for predicting duff consumption. They were established by assembling and analyzing data from three previous prescribed fire investigations and then testing them against other published data. Fuel loadings by diameter classes that differed among the studies were converted to a common set of diameter classes. The purpose of assimilating data from several studies was to develop predictive models that could be easily used by practitioners and that would apply over a wide range of conditions.


Fire - Decay: Interactive Roles Regulating Wood Accumulation And Soil Development In The Northern Rocky Mountains, United States Department Of Agriculture, Forest Service Jan 1979

Fire - Decay: Interactive Roles Regulating Wood Accumulation And Soil Development In The Northern Rocky Mountains, United States Department Of Agriculture, Forest Service

Wildfires

Decay and fire play interactive roles in recycling wood and other organic materials in forest ecosystems, and contribute to the development of high quality soils in the Northern Rocky Mountains. Decayed wood, charcoal, and other decomposed organic matter are the principal media for ectomycorrhizal and nonsymbiotic nitrogen fixing microbes. The activities of these microbes are critical to the growth of forest trees. The balance between decay and fire, as it affects the amount, distribution, and type of organic matter, controls the ability of forest soils to support the growth of trees.