Other Forestry and Forest Sciences Commons^™

Behaveplus And Flammap Technology Transfer, Patricia Andrews, Mark Finney

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

This project was conducted in response to the need identified under Task 1 (RFP 2005-4)—extension of technology transfer activities beyond the conclusion of successfully completed JFSP funded projects or other applicable wildland fire research. Development of the BehavePlus fire modeling system and the FlamMap fire behavior analysis and mapping system and supporting technology transfer material was funded in part under JFSP project #98-1-8-02. After successful completion of that project, development of those systems and supporting material continued under other funding. FlamMap was used in JFSP project #01-1-3-21 “Cumulative effects of fuel management on landscape-scale fire behavior and effects.” A significant …

Bringing The Fire Effects Information System Up-To-Date And Improving Service To Land Managers, Jane Kapler Smith, Fire Modeling Institute Information Team

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

This project delivers up-to-date, science-based information about species nominated by wildland managers for revision in or addition to the Fire Effects Information System (FEIS). FEIS now provides 1,081 literature reviews covering 1,139 taxa. This JFSP task has supported the rewriting of 9% of FEIS reviews, addition of reviews that increase FEIS content by 9%, and small updates to 25% of the database. Each FEIS species review addresses the basic biology of the species, fire regimes, fire's role in the life history and persistence of the species, competition and successional patterns, and issues regarding fuel management, prescribed fire, and postfire rehabilitation. …

Burn Severity Mapping Using Simulation Modeling And Satellite Imagery, Robert E. Keane, Eva C. Karau, Elizabeth Reinhardt

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

As wildfires becomes an increasingly important issue affecting our nation’s landscapes, fire managers must quickly assess possible adverse fire effects to efficiently allocate resources for rehabilitation or remediation. While burn severity maps derived from satellite imagery can provide a landscape view of relative fire impacts, fire effects simulation models can also provide spatial fire severity estimates along with the biotic context in which to interpret severity. In this project, we evaluated two methods of mapping burn severity for four wildfires in western Montana using 64 plots as field reference: 1) an image-based burn severity mapping approach using the Differenced Normalized …

Carbon Cycling At The Landscape Scale: The Effect Of Changes In Climate And Fire Frequency On Age Distribution, Stand Structure, And Net Ecosystem Production., Michael G. Ryan, Daniel M. Kashian, Erica A.H. Smithwick, William H. Romme, Monica G. Turner, Daniel B. Tinker

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

Understanding the interactions between climate, fire and forest characteristics-- and how carbon dynamics are affected by these factors--remains an important challenge in ecology. As the size and severity of fires in the western US continues to increase (Westerling et al. 2006), it has become increasingly important to understand carbon dynamics in response to fire. In this study, we investigated these key interactions in the landscape of Yellowstone National Park (YNP). We asked how initial post-fire heterogeneity in forest structure (especially tree density and stand age) controls carbon dynamics over the full life cycle of individual forest stands, and how climate-mediated …

Delayed Tree Mortality Following Fire In Western Conifers, Sheri Smith, Danny Chuck, Elizabeht Reinhardt, Kevin Ryan, Charles Mchugh

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

We developed 3-year post-fire mortality models for 12 western conifer species by pooling data collected from multiple fire-injury studies. Models were developed for white fir, red fir, subalpine fir, incense cedar, western larch, lodgepole pine, whitebark pine, ponderosa pine, Jeffrey pine, sugar pine, Engelmann spruce, and Douglas-fir. Two sets of models were created, one for use in pre-fire planning where only crown injury and DBH were potential variables, and a second, optimal model for use in post-fire planning that used all significant variables. Predictive accuracy of all models was compared to the accuracy of the mortality model currently used in …

Effects Of Fuels Treatments And Wildfire On Understory Species And Fuels In The Ponderosa Pine Zone Of The Colorado Front Range, Paula Fornwalt, Merrill Kaufmann

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

The first clear indication that unnaturally dense forest conditions existed in ponderosa pine – Douglas-fir forests of the Colorado Front Range was the Buffalo Creek Fire, a large, catastrophic wildfire that burned in 1996. Ongoing research in the Front Range indicated that the Buffalo Creek Fire likely would have burned very differently under pre-settlement forest conditions; early photographs and written descriptions, as well as fire history and stand reconstruction data, all suggested that historically these forests were characterized by a matrix of low-density forests and shrubland or grassland openings that was created and maintained by a mixed-severity fire regime. As …

Effects Of Mechanically Generated Slash Particle Size On Prescribed Fire Behavior And Subsequent Vegetation Effects, Richy J. Harrod, David W. Peterson, Roger Ottmar, Peter Ohlson, Brad Flatten, Arlo Vanderwoude

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

Forest managers have begun to restore ecosystem structure and function in fire-prone ecosystems that have experienced fire exclusion, commodity based resource extraction, and extensive grazing during much of the 20th century. Mechanical thinning and prescribed burning are the primary tools for thinning dense stands and restoring pre-settlement forest structure, reducing the likelihood of devastating crown fires. Mechanical thinning can be costly when trees are nonmerchantable and prescribed burning can be risky unless fuel loadings are first reduced. Furthermore, stands that remain dense after commercial thinning can produce undesirable wildland fire- or even prescribed fire- effects on vegetation and soils. Land …

Expansion Of The Southern Variant Of The Fire And Fuels Extension For The Forest Vegetation Simulator, S. M. Zedaker, S. A. Rebain, P. J. Radtke

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

This project specifically addressed AFP 2006-3, Task 3, by providing guidance for maintaining effective fire and non-fire fuels treatments, with the aim of supporting long-term fuels management. The overall goals of the project were to parameterize, expand, and improve the Southern Variant of the Fire and Fuels Extension (FFE) to the Forest Vegetation Simulator (FVS) with the best data currently available, to identify data weaknesses and gaps that may require additional research to reduce the uncertainty of Southern FFE model predictions, and to determine a validation framework for the Southern FFE. A wide variety of fire and fuels data and …

Evaluating The Efficacy And Ecological Impacts Of Baer Slope Stabilization Treatments On The Pot Peak/Deep Harbor Wildfire Complex, David W. Peterson, Richy J. Harrod, Terry Lillybridge, Mel Bennett

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

Post-fire slope stabilization treatments are often prescribed for severely burned areas of a wildfire, through burned area emergency response (BAER), to reduce erosion, maintain soil productivity, protect water quality, and reduce risks to human life and property. Prescribed slope stabilization treatments can include seeding of cereal grains or grasses, fertilization, mulching, and installation of physical barriers across slope contours (e.g., contour-felled logs and straw wattles). Seeding and fertilization treatments have been proposed following several high severity wildfires in the Pacific Northwest. These treatments are designed to reduce erosion by supplementing native vegetation recovery with additional populations of fast-growing species (seeding) …

Evaluation Of Science Delivery Of Joint Fire Science Program Research, David Seesholtz

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

Since its inception in 1998, the Joint Fire Science Program (JFSP) has funded over 400 projects. The Joint Fire Science Program has long recognized that the investments made in wildland fire science need to be accompanied by an emphasis on science interpretation and delivery. Program success is ultimately measured by how well information from research efforts is being conveyed to resource managers and end users, and whether this information is improving management decisions. This study reviewed a sample of environmental documents from three JFSP sponsoring agencies to determine to what extent JFSP research is being incorporated into local planning efforts …

Accelerating Adoption Of Fire Science And Related Research, Jamie Barbour

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

Since its inception in 1998, the Joint Fire Science Program (JFSP) has funded over 350 projects. The Joint Fire Science Program has long recognized that the investments made in wildland fire science need to be accompanied by an emphasis on science interpretation and delivery. Program success is ultimately measured by how well information from research efforts is being conveyed to resource managers and end users, and whether this information is improving management decisions. This project introduced a conceptual model for an adaptive process to improve the delivery of scientific information. We developed this process through these steps: 1. Creating a …

An Automated System For Evaluating Bluesky Predictions Of Smoke Impacts On Community Health And Ecosystems, Robert Solomon

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

Predictions of smoke impacts on communities and ecosystems are currently being made by the BlueSky smoke forecast system; providing real-time predictions of surface smoke concentrations from prescribed fire, wildfire, and agricultural burn activities. Currently operational in the Pacific Northwest, BlueSky has already a demonstrated success regarding what inter-agency collaboration can accomplish. A critical component of BlueSky that needed to be addressed was the development of an automated verification system to evaluate predicted impacts from smoke on communities and ecosystems. A verification system is necessary because land managers need to evaluate their burn decisions against potential National Ambient Air Quality Standard …

Atmospheric Fire Risk (Haines Index) In A Changed Climate, Julie Winkler, Brian Potter

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

Previous studies of wildland fire potential under a perturbed climate have focused on potential changes in near-surface atmospheric parameters (e.g., temperature, humidity, and precipitation) and vegetation changes. However, above-ground atmospheric conditions, such as atmospheric stability, also play a critical role in fire behavior, especially for larger fires. This study employed the widely-used Haines Index as a measure of above-ground conditions relevant to wildland fire and investigated the potential changes in the Haines Index over the next 100 years. The analysis is based on simulations from the most recent version of the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) Community Climate System …

Fire Managers Field Guide: Hazardous Fuels Management In Subtropical Pine Flatwoods And Tropical Pine Rocklands, Joseph J. O'Brien, Kathyryn A. Mordecai, Leslie Wolcott, James Snyder, Kenneth Outcalt

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

Preface This document, The Fire Managers Field Guide: Hazardous Fuels Management in Sub-tropical Pine Flatwoods and Tropical Pine Rocklands is intended to provide an overview of techniques and tactics under actual use for addressing hazardous fuels in tropical and subtropical pine forests found in Florida, the Bahamas and elsewhere in the Caribbean. The information presented here was distilled from peer reviewed literature, technical reports, and the experiences of on-theground fire managers. Managing fuels is complex and idiosyncratic. This guide is intended to provide only a broad introduction to currently available techniques; some well known and others newer and untested. The …

Cross-Training Professionals On Reducing Property Loss At The Wildland-Urban Interface, Anne S. Fege

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

Most wildfire education programs have relied primarily on homeowner information and education. This project focuses on the role of business professionals who are often hired to design, build, maintain or mitigate the home and surrounding landscape or who otherwise advise homeowners and affect their decisions. Such professionals include architects, builders, insurance agents, landscape architects and contractors, planners, media, real estate professionals and others. The findings of this project were three-fold. First, by participating in this program, businesses and professionals gain a marketable service in the form of a greater understanding in wildfire mitigation as well as better business practices with …

Developing An Analysis And Planning Framework For District-Level Fuels Treatment Projects (Final Project Report), Alan Ager

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

Widespread fuel reduction programs have been initiated in many parts of the USA in response to a growing threat of wildland fire. Urban encroachment, fuels buildup from fire suppression, and drought all have been linked to increasing wildfire frequency and severity. Developing effective mitigation strategies is a challenging problem, especially on vast tracts of federally-managed wildlands in the western U.S. Fuel reduction activities on Federal lands are generally difficult to plan and implement due to cost, public expectations, and land management regulations. State of the art wildfire modeling is frequently required to demonstrate the benefits of fuels reduction treatments and …

Developing A Science Integration Strategy For Jfsp, Jamie Barbour

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

The mission of the Joint Fire Science Program (JFSP) is to produce high quality research findings to inform wildland fire and fuel managers’ decisions. Since its inception in 1998, the program has funded nearly 400 studies and has generated a tremendous amount of information and analytical tools. As the JFSP moves into the future, a Science Delivery Strategy is needed to: 1) ensure that this base of information finds application, and 2) create a more systematic way to identify and organize new work that will encourage its rapid assimilation by the management community. The attached Science Delivery Strategy was developed …

Development And Demonstration Of Smoke Plume, Fire Emissions, And Preand Post-Prescribed Fire Fuel Models On North Carolina Coastal Plain Forest Ecosystems, Robert Meckler, Gary Achtemier, Chris Geron, Miriam Rorig, David Brownlie

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

The objectives are to (1) Inventory, map, and model live and down woody debris/fuels biomass utilizing USDA Forest Service Forest Inventory and Analysis P2 and P3 field plot protocols, develop fuel loading formulas for fire behavior models in the Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge and the Air Force Dare County Bombing Range in the North Carolina Coastal Plain, and incorporate data from Coastal Plain forest types into the fuel characteristic classification (FCC) system and the FARSITE fire behavior model; (2) Validate the USDA Forest Service PB-Coastal Plain smoke model, the BlueSky smoke prediction system, and the BlueSky Rapid Access Information …

Digital Photo Series (Natural Fuels Photo Series), Clinton S. Wright, Robert E. Vilnakek, Roger D. Ottmar, Paige C. Eagle

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

The Digital Photo Series (DPS) is a web-based application that provides access to the Natural Fuels Photo Series database and photographs. The DPS works through a user’s internet browser, but has also been designed to work as a stand-alone application when the computer is disconnected from the internet. A user-friendly interface allows users to browse, query, and download photo series data and high-quality photographs. The Digital Photo Series is intended to complement, not replace, the printed photo series volumes.

A Comprehensive Guide To Fuels Treatment Fractices For Ponderosa Pine In The Black Hills, Colorado Front Range, And Southwest, M. E. Hunter, W. D. Shepperd, L. B. Lentile, J. E. Lundquist, M. G. Andreu, J. L. Butler, F. W. Smith

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

The objective of this paper is to present recommendations for fuels treatments in ponderosa pine forests in the Southwest, Colorado Front Range, and Black Hills of South Dakota. We have synthesized existing knowledge from the peer-reviewed literature and administrative studies and acquired local knowledge through a series of discussions with fuels treatment practitioners. We describe specific treatments, the circumstances under which they can be applied, and treatment effects. We provide recommendations related to where, how, and how often fuels treatments may be prescribed to achieve desired outcomes. Desired outcomes address social, political, economic, and ecological factors.

Soil Response To Season And Interval Of Prescribed Fire In A Ponderosa Pine Forest Of The Blue Mountains, Oregon, D. Zabowski, W. G. Thies, J. Hatten, A. Ogden

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

Soil properties were examined at a season of burn and burn interval study located in the Malheur National for responses to prescribed burns used to reduce fuel loads and wildfire hazard. Prescribed burn comparisons included spring vs. fall burning, with either one 15-year interval burn or two 5-year interval burns of each season. Results showed that major change to soil organic matter was a reduction in the amount of O horizon. The percent bare ground increased with both spring and fall burning and was highest with multiple burns, indicating a loss of O horizon cover. There was also a decrease …

Effects Of Fuel Treatments And Wildfire On The Avifauna Of The Pine Rockland Ecosystem In Southern Florida., John D. Lloyd, Gary L. Slater, Skip Snow, James R. Snyder

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

The response of plants and animals in the pine forests of southern Florida to variation in fire and hydrological regimes remains inadequately described, hindering the ability of resource managers to manipulate fire and water to achieve desired ecological outcomes. In this study, we took advantage of natural variation in two measures of fire history (the number of days since last fire and the number of times an area had been burned during the previous ten years) and one measure of hydrology (water table elevation) to explore how plants, breeding birds, and wintering birds in slash-pine (Pinus elliottii var. densa) forests …

Effects Of Fire Severity And Distance From Unburned Edge On Mammalian Community Post-Fire Recovery, Jay Diffendorfer, Wayne Spencer, Scott Tremor, Jan Beyers

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

This final report summarizes key findings relative to the five major objectives listed in our proposal, along with the crosswalk of accomplished and future deliverables. Additional details concerning objectives, methods, results, and recommendations are presented in Attachment A. Each of our major objectives is listed below with a brief summary of findings to date. Because we only recently finished the final session of data collection, all findings are preliminary and may change as more comprehensive statistical analyses are completed. 1. Evaluate the effects of fire on southern California rodent, large mammal, and bat diversity and study patterns of post fire …

Effects Of Fire On Kuenzler’S Hedgehog Cactus (Echinocereus Fendleri Var. Kuenzleri), David B. Wester, Colton M. Britton

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

Kuenzler’s cactus (Echinocereus fendleri var. kuenzleri [Castetter, Pierce and Schwerin] L. Benson]) is a federally- and state-listed endangered species that is known to occur in pinyon-juniper habitat in the mountains of south central New Mexico in Lincoln, Otero, Chaves and Eddy counties. Presence of this species affects the management of its habitat with prescribed burning. However, there has been no research that has documented the response of Kuenzler’s cactus to fire. This project was initiated in 2002 to provide information on habitat characteristics of Kuenzler’s cacti and to investigate its response to fire. Because of the protected status of the …

Interactions Among Prescribed Fire, Soil Attributes, Fungal Mats, And Mycorrhizal Fungus Fruiting Patterns In An Old-Growth Pinus Ponderosa / Abies ConcolorStand In Crater Lake National Park, Oregon, Usa, Kermit Cromack, Randy Molina, Jane E. Smith, James M. Trappe, Efren Cazares-Gonzales, Mary Rasmussen, Matt Trappe

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

The first of its kind, Soil characteristics tend to occur as a suite, Pre-treatment patterns: a silver lining, Prescribed burn treatment effects on soil attributes, Fruiting patterns primarily influenced by soil C:N ratios, Fungal indicator guilds, Prescribed burn treatment effects on fungal fruiting patterns, Prescribed burn treatment effects on fungal mats, Summary and take-home message.

Soil Response To Season And Interval Of Prescribed Fire In A Ponderosa Pine Forest Of The Blue Mountains, Oregon, D. Zabowski, W. G. Thies, J. Hatten, A. Ogden

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

Soil properties were examined at a season of burn and burn interval study located in the Malheur National for responses to prescribed burns used to reduce fuel loads and wildfire hazard. Prescribed burn comparisons included spring vs. fall burning, with either one 15-year interval burn or two 5-year interval burns of each season. Results showed that major change to soil organic matter was a reduction in the amount of O horizon. The percent bare ground increased with both spring and fall burning and was highest with multiple burns, indicating a loss of O horizon cover. There was also a decrease …

Fuels Reduction In A Western Coniferous Forest: Effects On Two Sympatric Ungulates And Their Habitat, Ryan A. Long, Janet Rachlow, Marty Vavra, John G. Kie

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

We evaluated effects of an experimental fuels reduction program on elk, mule deer, and their habitat at the Starkey Experimental Forest and Range (Starkey) in northeastern Oregon. From 2001 to 2003, 26 stands of true fir and Douglas-fir that suffered high rates of mortality from an outbreak of spruce budworm were selectively thinned (spring or summer) and burned (fall) while 27 similar stands were left untreated to serve as experimental controls. We used location data for elk and mule deer collected during spring (1 April–14 June) and summer (15 June–31 August) of 1999–2006 to compare use of treated and untreated …

A Comparison Of Presettlement Vegetation And Fire Regimes With Current Patterns In Oak Woodlands And Shrublands Of Sw Oregon, Patricia S. Muir Dr., Paul Hosten Dr.

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

Fuel reduction efforts on BLM lands in southwestern Oregon are motivated by the need to reduce fire hazard and restore and rehabilitate ecosystems. Successful ecosystem restoration depends, in part, on understanding the target: what ecosystem model is considered natural and healthy for a given area? Oak (Quercus garryana) woodlands and shrublands are two of the most characteristic ecosystems in interior valleys of southwest Oregon, and extensive acreages within these systems are treated annually for fuel reduction. However, these are also two of the least understood ecosystems in the region. We know little about their presettlement attributes, responses to disturbance, or …

An Internet Based Portal For Fire Science And Management In The Southern Region

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

Task 1 – Organize a technical advisory team and host an initial workshop to explore methods for integrating FRAMES, TTRS, and ESFS websites.

Task 2 – Identify and acquire data, tools, and publications from funded JFSP and NFP projects working with the JFSP and NFP project databases and principal investigators. Also, when possible identify and acquire data and tools used and created by others in the wildland fire community including state agencies, educational institutions, and non-governmental organizations.

Task 3 – Develop and post online FGDC metadata records for all datasets from funded JFSP and NFP projects as well as key …

Street Trees In The Urban Forest Canopy: Portland, Oregon, Joseph Poracsky, David Banis

Geography Faculty Publications and Presentations

Attempts to identify the contribution of street trees to the overall urban forest of a city have been rare and lack consensus on how to measure that contribution – percentage of trees, percentage of canopy cover, or percentage of leaf area. The actual numeric values presented in the literature also vary over a broad range and often are based on estimates, extrapolations from aggregated data, or simply stated with no empirical data referenced. This study was undertaken to evaluate the contribution of street trees to canopy in Portland, Oregon. The study involved both visual and digital analysis of multi-band aerial …