Forest Management Commons^™

Impacts Of Fire And Climate Change On Long-Term Nitrogen Availability And Forest Productivity In The New Jersey Pine Barrens, Melissa S. Lucash, Robert M. Scheller, Alec M. Kretchun, Kenneth L. Clark, John Hom

Environmental Science and Management Faculty Publications and Presentations

Increased wildfires and temperatures due to climate change are expected to have profound effects on forest productivity and nitrogen (N) cycling. Forecasts about how wildfire and climate change will affect forests seldom consider N availability, which may limit forest response to climate change, particularly in fire-prone landscapes. The overall objective of this study was to examine how wildfire and climate change affect long-term mineral N availability in a fire-prone landscape. We employed a commonly used landscape simulation model (LANDIS-II) in the New Jersey Pine Barrens, a landscape characterized by frequent small fires and fire-resilient vegetation. We found that fire had …

Monitoring The Influence Of Acid Deposition On Soil And Implications To Forest Health In The Daniel Boone National Forest, Tyler M. Sanderson

Theses and Dissertations--Forestry and Natural Resources

Combustion of fossil fuels has contributed to many environmental problems including acid deposition. The Clean Air Act (CAA) was created to reduce ecological problems by cutting emissions of sulfur and nitrogen. Reduced emissions and rainfall concentrations of acidic ions have been observed since the enactment of the CAA, but soils continue to receive some acid inputs. Soils sensitive to acid deposition have been found to have low pH, a loss of base cations and a shift in the mineral phase controlling the activity of Al³⁺ and/or SO₄^2-. If inputs continue, soil may be depleted of base …

Comeback Of Community-Based Forest Management: The Need To Revamp Strategies To Promote Decentralized Environmental Governance In India And Brazil, Naysa Ahuja

Florida A & M University Law Review

The governance of forests and their resources has always been a contentious issue. It has created a divide between developing and developed countries, as well as within them. With the increasing recognition of forests as valuable commodities in the global market, the management of forests in developing countries is becoming a matter of constant concern for ecologists, economists, and politicians.

Part I of this article provides an overview of the Participatory Forest Management (PFM) approach in the international context. Part II and III examine environmental governance in the forest sector of two rapidly emerging economies of the world, India and …

The Effects Of Large Wildfires On Employment And Wage Growth And Volatility In The Western United States, Max Nielsen-Pincus, Cassandra Moseley, Krista Gebert

Environmental Science and Management Faculty Publications and Presentations

We examined the effect of large wildfires on economic growth and volatility in the western United States. We matched wildfire data with quarterly employment and earnings growth data to assess the specific effect of wildfire on employment and wage growth in western US counties. Wildfires generally tended to exhibit positive effects on employment and wage growth in the quarter(s) during which suppression efforts were active. However, this effect transitioned to increased economic volatility following a wildfire. The effect of wildfire also varied by the type of county in which wildfire occurred. The amount of suppression costs invested locally had the …

Using Satellite Data With On Site Measurements To Create Estimates Of Biomass As A Baseline For Future Studies Of Caribbean Pine, Jeanné Le Roux, Kaitlyn Pate, Jonathan Chenault, Robert Rossell

Von Braun Symposium Student Posters

No abstract provided.

Las Raíces De La Deforestación En El Departamento Pando, Jeremy Levine-Drizin

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This research paper examines the phenomenon of the recent trend of deforestation in the Pando department in northwestern Bolivia. Historically, the economy of Pando has always been based primarily in agro-forestal extraction activities that provided income to communities without the need to destroy the surrounding forests. The most important of these agro-forestal products have been rubber (primarily during the beginning of the 20th century) and more recently Castaña (Brazilian Nut). Recently however, as the result of various forces, the inhabitants of Pando have begun to cut down there forests at an alarming rate. The most relevant causes of this phenomenon …

Job Growth And Loss Across Sectors And Time In The Western Us: The Impact Of Large Wildfires, Max Nielsen-Pincus, Cassandra Moseley, Krista Gebert

Environmental Science and Management Faculty Publications and Presentations

The link between economic growth and natural hazards has long been studied to better understand the effects of natural hazards on local, regional, and country level growth patterns. However, relatively little generalizable research has focused on wildfires, one of the most common forest disturbances in the western United States (US). We examined the effect of large wildfires on employment growth across sectors and time in the western US.We matched wildfire occurrences from 2004 to 2008 and their duration with monthly employment data to identify the effect of wildfire on employment growth. Wildfires generally tended to exhibit positive effects on employment …

Dendrochronological Reconstruction Of Fire, Bogus Basin Area Boise National Forest, Amy L. Cutter

Student Research Initiative

Since people have settled along the Boise Front, there have been very few documented fire disturbances. This is likely an outcome of fire suppression policies. There is evidence, visible as scars on living trees, that the old growth ponderosa pines located on the East Side Trail in the Boise National Forest have withstood multiple fires. Samples were collected by using a chainsaw to remove small, partial cross-sections from several trees. The Boise Front master chronology was used to accurately cross-date the fire-scarred samples using COFECHA. Analysis of the samples revealed ten fire events ranging from 1709 to 1889. The fire …

Capturing Fire: Rxcadre Takes Fire Measurements To Whole New Level, Gail Wells

Joint Fire Science Program Digests

Models of fire behavior and effects do not always make accurate predictions, and there is not enough systematically gathered data to validate them. To help advance fire behavior and fire effects model development, the Joint Fire Science Program is helping fund the RxCADRE, which is made up of scientists from the U.S. Forest Service and several universities who orchestrate and collect data on prescribed burns in the southeastern United States. The RxCADRE-prescribed burns are yielding a comprehensive dataset of fire behavior, fire effects, and smoke chemistry and dynamics, with measurements taken systematically at multiple, cascading scales. RxCADRE data will help …

Preserving Nature Through Film: Wilderness Alps Of Stehekin And The North Cascades, 1956-1968, Nicolas Timothy Bergmann

Dissertations and Theses

On March 22, 1958 David Brower's film Wilderness Alps of Stehekin premiered to an audience of conservationists in Seattle, Washington. Almost two years in the making, the thirty-one minute film advocated the preservation of nature in Washington's North Cascades through the creation of a national park. Over the next decade, Wilderness Alps of Stehekin became the most influential publicity tool in the struggle to preserve the North Cascades. Because of the region's geographic isolation, the film was the first time many people throughout the nation were exposed to the scenic grandeur of the area. Images of craggy peaks and colorful …

Climate Change Tipping Points: A Point Of No Return?, Elise Lequire

Joint Fire Science Program Digests

Summer 2012 saw records fall for intensity of drought and number, size, and cost of wildfires in the Central and Western United States, and the climate forecast calls for more of the same in the near and distant future. When wildfire breaks out, emergency responders decide their immediate strategy based on past experience and quick judgment calls. But in the long term, land managers need to plan for a warmer climate on a time scale of decades, or even a century or more, to better reflect the life span of trees and forests. Studies supported by the Joint Fire Science …

Perdido En La Cadena: Un Análisis Del Impacto Económico Y Ambiental De Cajas De Embalaje En Baños, Ecuador, Zhang Yuan

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

La cuestión del calentamiento de la atmósfera causa de la pérdida del carbono de la biomasa está una preocupación a nivel mundial. Con la emisión de CO2 por la combustión de los combustibles fósiles, la temperatura ha subido aproximadamente 0.16 °C desde 1990 hasta 2000. El bosque, por otra parte, sirve como un tranque y el regulador de carbono mediante el intercambio de carbono entre la atmósfera y biosfera. Sin embargo, varios usos antropogénicos del bosque ha causado la desaparición de árboles y la gran pérdida de carbono de la biomasa global. Para medir la pérdida de carbono causada por …

Nunca Han Visitado, No Han Vivido Ecoturismo Comunitario: Una Alternativa Sostenible Y Constitucional De Desarrollo En La Zona De Intag, Jenny Johnston

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Durante mi estudio en Ecuador y a través de todas mis clases, conversaciones, y experiencias, han habido muchos temas nuevos e interesantes. Aunque todas me han enseñado mucho, la experiencia que me impactó más fue mi semana en Intag. Durante toda mi vida siempre tuve una fascinación con el bosque nublado con la combinación de palabras más mística y romántica. La verdad es que antes de llegar en Intag la mi primera vez, no sabía nada sobre el poder de la belleza de los bosques, la naturaleza, y también sobre la lucha en contra de la minería. A través de …

“Hariyo Ban Nepalko Dhan” (“Nepal’S Wealth Is The Green Forest”): The People’S Participation In Structuring Sustainable Development Through Community Forestry, Natasha Eulberg

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Community forestry has a long history in Nepal, and despite the nationalization of the country’s forests in the mid-twentieth century, current legislation determines that rights and execution of community forest management lies largely with community forest user groups (CFUGs). This research questions to what extent CFUGs truly represent autonomous bodies with the full power and ability to manage and utilize community forests and forest resources. This research also seeks to determine the impact and distribution of CFUG operations and benefits on CFUG members, and the ways in which CFUG management practices have impacted how group members perceive and interact with …

Deforestación En El Corredor De Sangay- Llanaganates, Ecuador: Un Análisis Con Gps Y Satélite, Joel Mandella

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Esta investigación usa puntos de GPS e imágenes de satélite para marcar los sitios de deforestación en el programa Google Earth de una región de Ecuador—una región nunca estudiada en este caso. La región estudiada se extiende desde 1º 20.200’S al norte hasta 1º 30.200’S al sur, y 78º 30.128’W al oeste hasta 78º 0.128’W al este. Esta región está ubicada en la provincia de Tungurahua, Ecuador, con la ciudad de Baños de Agua Santa al extremo oeste, y la ciudad de Puyo al extremo este. La economía de la región es basada en la agricultura y la crianza de …

Wood Microsites At Timberline-Alpine Meadow Borders: Implications For Conifer Seedling Regeneration And Alpine Meadow Conifer Invasion, Adelaide C. Johnson, J. Alan Yeakley

Environmental Science and Management Faculty Publications and Presentations

The importance of climate warming on forests is recognized worldwide and has increased attention on the significance of both timberline advance and alpine meadow invasion by forests. Successful seedling regeneration in alpine meadows depends on availability of suitable substrates, or microsites, for seedling establishment. We sought to determine whether wood microsites (i.e., nurse logs), which are regeneration sites in Pacific Northwest subalpine forests, promoted regeneration at timberline-alpine meadow borders. To determine the ecological role of wood microsites, we examined mechanisms forming wood microsites; compared density, survival, and percent nitrogen content of seedlings growing on wood microsites to adjacent soil substrates; …

Public Procurement And Private Certification: The Case Of The Uk Tpp, Alex Latu

Transnational Business Governance Interactions Working Papers

Forestry certification schemes have been considered the paradigmatic instance of a new form of private governance that may challenge state-centered authority and public policy-making. Although governments and intergovernmental organizations are certainly not the schemes' "main architects", they are more involved in the overall effects of forestry certification than is often emphasized, notably through procurement policies. This paper examines a particularly interaction of private and public governance organizations, in the realm of forestry certification, among the UK government's Timber Procurement Policy (TPP), a governmental demand-side policy tool, and two major certification schemes — the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and the Program …

Uncertainty Associated With Estimating A Short-Term (1–3 Hr) Particulate Matter Concentration From A Human-Sighted Visual Range, William C. Malm, Bret A. Schichtel

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

Several state air quality agencies have developed policies to issue air quality health index (AQI) warnings based on low values of visual range (V_r). Vr has been defined in the context of how far away a black object has to be such that it is just noticeable or visible. This distance at which a landscape feature can just be detected is referred to as the V_r. AQI warnings are based on the levels of particulates (PM_2.5) resulting from fire smoke, often with less than 24-hr average concentrations. Because monitoring data are not available in …

A Fire Severity Mapping System For Real-Time Fire Management Applications And Long-Term Planning: The Firesev Project, Robert E. Keane, Penny M. Morgan, Gregory K. Dillon, Pamela G. Sikkink, Eva C. Karau, Zack A. Holden, Stacy A. Drury

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

Accurate, consistent, and timely fire severity maps are needed in all phases of fire management including planning, managing, and rehabilitating wildfires. The problem is that fire severity maps are commonly developed from satellite imagery that is difficult to use for planning wildfire responses before a fire has actually happened and can’t be used for real-time wildfire management because of the timing of the imagery delivery. Moreover, imagery is difficult to use for controlled fires such as prescribed burning. This study, called FIRESEV (FIRE SEVerity Mapping Tools) created a comprehensive set of tools and protocols to deliver, create, and evaluate fire …

An Investigation Of The Differences Between Real Time Mesoscale Analysis And Observed Meteorological Conditions At Raws Stations In The Northeast United States, Joseph J. Charney, Shiyuan Zhong, Michael T. Kiefer, Xiaoqing Zhu, Greg Soter, Adam Cinderich

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

This project investigates the differences between the gridded meteorological fields produced by the Real Time Mesoscale Analysis (RTMA) and observed meteorological conditions at Remote Automated Weather Stations (RAWS) for two years in the northeastern United States. National Weather Service (NWS) fire weather forecasts are produced using the National Digital Forecast Database (NDFD), which is a gridded analysis of meteorological fields generated by forecasters at NWS forecast offices nationwide. The NDFD is verified by comparing its gridded meteorological fields against the RTMA, which is an advanced modeling and data assimilation system that provides the best-available hourly gridded estimate of surface and …

Archival Of Eastern U.S. Fire Scar History Data, Michael C. Stambaugh, Joseph M. Marschall, Richard P. Guyette

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

Fire scar histories are a critical fire data source because they form a foundation for defining fire regimes. The objective of this project was to properly archive the data (fire scar event chronologies, tree-ring chronologies) and metadata of eastern U.S. fire scar study sites developed under project #06-3-1-16, “Developing and Using Fire Scar Histories in the Southern and Eastern United States”, PI: Richard Guyette. Datasets to be archived included tree-ring chronologies (annual resolution), fire event chronologies (annual to seasonal resolution), and wood samples. Crossdated tree-ring measurements used to date fire scars have been submitted to the International Tree-Ring Databank. All …

Archiving Data For The National Fire And Fire Surrogate Study (Ffs), James Mclver

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

This final report describes the results of the project ‘Archiving Data for the National Fire and Fire Surrogate study (FFS)’, which was funded by the Joint Fire Science Program ($9,982; Project 12-­‐04-­‐ 01-­‐7) under Task Statement RFA 2012-­‐4 (Dataset Archival Task). To complete this project, we gathered, documented, and archived the complete dataset for the National Fire and Fire Surrogate study, including pre-­‐treatment data, and post-­‐treatment data collected through four years after treatment. The FFS was originally funded by the JFSP in spring 2000 and was completed in spring 2006, at which time a final report was submitted. The study …

Archiving Of Data On Occurrence Of Breeding Birds Associated With Fire Treatments And Controls, Erica Fleishman, Jeanne C. Chambers, David S. Dobkin

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

Since 2001, we have collected data on occupancy and relative abundance of Greater Sage- Grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) and other species of breeding birds in the central Great Basin, and characterized the vegetation structure and composition of breeding birds’ habitats, through four projects supported by the Joint Fire Science Program (00-2-15, 01B-3-3-01, 05-2-1- 94, and 09-1-08-4). These projects collectively have generated dozens of refereed publications, dozens of invited papers or presentations, multiple M.S. theses and Ph.D. dissertations, and many workshops and field tours. Bird data included in refereed publications to date were based on point counts with a fixed radius of …

Bark Beetles, Fuels And Future Fire Hazard In Contrasting Conifer Forests Of Greater Yellowstone, Monica G. Turner, William H. Romme, Philip A. Townsend, Roy A. Renkin, Daniel C. Donato, Martin Simard, Brian J. Harvey, Jacob M. Griffin

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

The extent and severity of bark beetle (Curculionidae: Scolytinae) epidemics and the frequency of large, severe fires have reached unprecedented levels in recent decades, and these trends are expected to continue with ongoing climate change. Insects and fire have tremendous ecological and economic effects in western forests, yet their interactions are poorly understood. We combined field studies and simulation modeling to understand how bark beetle infestation and post-outbreak management affect fire hazard in two widespread but contrasting forest types, lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta) and Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE) in northwestern Wyoming. We directly addressed key …

Assessing The Compatibility Of Fuel Treatments, Wildfire Risk, And Conservation Of Northern Spotted Owl Habitats And Populations In The Eastern Cascades: A Multi-Scale Analysis., Martin G. Raphael, Paul Hessburg, Rebecca Kennedy, John Lehmkuhl, Bruce G. Marcot, Robert Scheller, Peter Singleton, Thomas Spies

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

National Forests in the dry forest provinces on the east-side of the Oregon and Washington Cascades have been managed under the guidelines of local Forest Plans and the Northwest Forest Plan (NWFP), both of which specify large areas of late-successional reserves (LSRs). In contrast, the recently-released USDI Fish and Wildlife Service Revised Recovery Plan (RRP) for the Northern Spotted Owl (NSO) calls for development of dynamic and shifting mosaics in the dry forests, and retention of LSRs in moist forests of eastern Cascades of Oregon and Washington, to address NSO habitat and wildfire concerns. Our objectives in this study were …

Characterization Of Masticated Fuelbeds And Fuel Treatment Effectiveness In Southeastern Us Pine Ecosystems., L N. Kobziar, Alan J. Long, Wayne C. Zipperer, Jesse K. Kreye

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

Mechanical fuels treatments are being widely used in fire prone ecosystems where fuel loading poses a hazard, yet little research examining fuel dynamics, fire behavior, and ecological effects exists, especially in the southeastern US. In order to broaden our understanding of these treatments, effects of mechanical mastication ("mowing") were examined in a common pine ecosystem of the southeastern US Coastal Plain, where the post-mastication fuel environment is unique among ecosystems where mastication is being employed. Foliar litter dominates surface fuels after understory mastication in palmetto/gallberry pine flatwoods, however rapid recovery of shrubs quickly regains control over fire behavior. Treatments were …

Characterizing Crown Biomass And Crown Profiles In Conifer Forests Of The Interior Northwest, David Affleck, Carl Seielstad, John Goodburn, Lloyd Queen, Robert Keane

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

Detailed and accurate models of conifer crown biomass and its distribution are needed for a range of forest management and planning applications, ranging from fuels treatment designs to forest carbon inventory and monitoring. This project focused on the development and integration of novel data collection strategies and analytical methods to better inform crown biomass and fuels estimation for coniferous forests in the interior northwest. Crown biomass data were collected for 7 important conifer species across the interior northwest using randomized branch sampling strategies, and terrestrial laser scanning was used to characterize crown profiles and internal heterogeneity. Results highlight (1) the …

Consequences Of Alternative Response Strategies To Wildland Fires In The Northern Rockies And Southwest In 2007 And 2008., Carol Miller, Aldo Leopold

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

This project addressed JFSP project announcement FA-FRA09-001, and the task statement “Trade-off assessments of AMR decisions”. The project evaluated the consequences of alternative responses to 2007 and 2008 wildland fires in three wilderness areas. Specifically, it examined alternative initial response strategies and what could have happened if ignitions had been allowed to burn. Consequences were quantified in terms of area and type of area burned, days of fire activity, and impact on landscape scale fire risk. Situational factors were also examined for their influence on the response strategy and outcome. Simulations of three case study extended duration fires were also …

Crown Fire Behavior Characteristics And Prediction In Conifer Forests: A State-Of-Knowledge Synthesis, Martin E. Alexander Dr., Miguel G. Cruz Dr., Nicole M. Vaillant, David L. Peterson

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

Joint Fire Science Program (JFSP) project 09-S-03-1 was undertaken in response to JFSP Project Announcement No. FA-RFA09-0002 with respect to a synthesis on extreme fire behavior or more specifically a review and analysis of the literature dealing with certain features of crown fire behavior in conifer forests in the United States and adjacent regions of Canada. The key findings presented are organized along nine topical areas: types of crown fires; crown fire initiation; crown fire propagation; crown fire rate of spread; crown fire intensity and flame zone characteristics; crown fire area and perimeter growth; crown fire spotting activity; models, systems, …

Data Archival For Fire Studies In The Coastal Plain, Piedmont, And Southern Appalachian Mountains, Ross J. Phillips, Thomas A. Waldrop, Mac A. Callaham

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

Datasets from on-going and previous fire studies in the Coastal Plain, Piedmont, and Southern Appalachian regions in the southeastern U.S. dating back over the past 50 years were compiled and publically made available to other interested persons. The projects included for this data archival have helped to advanced fire science and provided much needed information about fire effects on ecosystem components. The research from these projects has demonstrated how returning fire to once fire-adapted communities is an on-going process that needs to be repeated frequently. They also have given some insight into alternative treatments that may be used for fuel …