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Articles 841 - 870 of 1224

Full-Text Articles in Other Forestry and Forest Sciences

Filling In The Blanks For Prescribed Fire In Shrublands: Developing Information To Support Improved Fire Planning, Jake Delwiche Jan 2009

Filling In The Blanks For Prescribed Fire In Shrublands: Developing Information To Support Improved Fire Planning, Jake Delwiche

Joint Fire Science Program Briefs (2007-2012)

By collecting information on fuel loading, fuel consumption, fuel moisture, site conditions and fire weather on fi res in a variety of shrubland types, researchers are developing a fuller knowledge of shrubland fire effects. Results are being integrated into the software package CONSUME, a user-friendly software tool for predicting fuel consumption and emissions for fire, fuel and smoke management planning. Shrubland types studied include chamise chaparral in California, big sagebrush in Montana, pine flatwoods in Florida and Georgia, and pitch pine scrub in the New Jersey Pinelands. Measurements were made of fuel characteristics before and after prescribed fi res in …

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Chasing Flame: Gauging Smoke Production And Forest Floor Consumption In Boreal Ecosystems, Marjie Brown Jan 2009

Chasing Flame: Gauging Smoke Production And Forest Floor Consumption In Boreal Ecosystems, Marjie Brown

Joint Fire Science Program Briefs (2007-2012)

Detailed information on fuel consumption and emissions from wildland fire in Alaska’s boreal forests has been in short supply. Research has been limited by reliance on prescribed burns for data collection in a region where weather, freezing and thawing permafrost and limited resources make controlled fire very challenging to accomplish. For this study, researchers tried a different approach: rapidly deploying and sampling on active wildfi res. They were richly rewarded when the study period coincided with the record-setting fi re season of 2004 when over six million acres burned in Alaska. With so many fires, many conveniently burning along the …

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That Liquefaction Of Her Clothes: Mitigating Debris Flows In The Post-Wildfi Re Landscape, Lisa-Natalie Anjozian Jan 2009

That Liquefaction Of Her Clothes: Mitigating Debris Flows In The Post-Wildfi Re Landscape, Lisa-Natalie Anjozian

Joint Fire Science Program Briefs (2007-2012)

Fire, burned landscapes, rain, debris flows—the sequence is familiar to most who live in or observe the western United States. Because even relatively small rainstorms can trigger debris flows on lands altered by fire, a variety of treatments such as mulching, seeding, and emplacing barriers and fences are used to reduce hazards. Based on measurements of debris flow volumes for 46 events, as well as field observations, surveys, and literature reviews, the scientists found hillslope treatments are most effective in reducing runoff and improving infi ltration. Conversely, channel treatments effectively capture debris, inhibiting these materials from joining and increasing the …

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Little Umpqua Gentian And The Big Biscuit Fire, Lisa-Natalie Anjozian Jan 2009

Little Umpqua Gentian And The Big Biscuit Fire, Lisa-Natalie Anjozian

Joint Fire Science Program Briefs (2007-2012)

Umpqua gentian is an imperiled plant of the gaps and forested places, growing from the central western Cascade Mountains of Oregon, south to the Klamath Mountains in northwestern California. Since 1993, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the Forest Service have worked together on a conservation strategy for this rare species, with the goal of maintaining viable, stable populations of genetic diversity. On the Medford District of the BLM, three sites had been monitored each year since 1995. When the 2002 Biscuit Fire burned the area, scientists had no information on how burning would affect this species. The Biscuit …

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Lessons Of The Hayman Fire: Weeds, Woodpeckers And Fire Severity, Marjie Brown Jan 2009

Lessons Of The Hayman Fire: Weeds, Woodpeckers And Fire Severity, Marjie Brown

Joint Fire Science Program Briefs (2007-2012)

This project took advantage of pre-fire data gathered within the perimeter of Colorado’s 2002 Hayman Fire. Researchers studied the unique fire regime of Front Range ponderosa pine forests, and fire effects on understory-plant communities and American Three-toed Woodpeckers. Results confi rmed that historically, the diverse structure of these forests was maintained by a mixed-severity fi re regime that included large areas of severe fire. In addition, researchers found that much of the burn meets habitat requirements for American Three-toed Woodpeckers, and that understory plant species that were present before the fire returned afterward, with only a slight increase in the …

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Post-Fire Soil Erosion And How To Manage It, Jake Delwiche Jan 2009

Post-Fire Soil Erosion And How To Manage It, Jake Delwiche

Joint Fire Science Program Briefs (2007-2012)

A pair of major wildfi res in the Front Range of Colorado in 2002 created an ideal opportunity to measure post-fire soil erosion characteristics and to assess the effectiveness of various site rehabilitation treatments to reduce erosion. The studies continued over a four-year period, allowing collection of data on longer-term erosion and sedimentation trends. Most erosion in this region is caused by localized convective thunderstorms rather than snowmelt runoff. Sedimentation measurements documented that straw mulch and to a limited extent hydromulch were effective in reducing post-fire erosion by increasing the amount of ground cover. Seeding following scarifi cation and application …

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Prescribed Burning And Big Trees: Can We Do It Without Killing The Trees?, Rachel Clark Jan 2009

Prescribed Burning And Big Trees: Can We Do It Without Killing The Trees?, Rachel Clark

Joint Fire Science Program Briefs (2007-2012)

At fi rst glance, it may seem that large diameter ponderosa and Jeffrey pine trees would be well-equipped to handle prescribed fire, especially low-intensity burns. They have thick bark and sturdy root systems, and have been around a long time. However, managers have found these high-value trees often die several years after prescribed burning, and researchers want to know how managers and planners can more readily protect these trees. With years of little to no fire, duff accumulation around many of these trees is unprecedented, and some researchers have proposed that burning this deep duff can increase the risk of …

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The Forest, The Fire And The Fungi: Studying The Effects Of Prescribed Burning On Mycorrhizal Fungi In Crater Lake National Park, Carol Anna Jan 2009

The Forest, The Fire And The Fungi: Studying The Effects Of Prescribed Burning On Mycorrhizal Fungi In Crater Lake National Park, Carol Anna

Joint Fire Science Program Briefs (2007-2012)

A first-of-its-kind study, conducted in a forest of old-growth ponderosa pine and white fi r in Oregon’s Crater Lake National Park, explored the relationships among seasonal prescribed burning, an array of soil attributes, and mycorrhizal fungal fruiting patterns. This three-fold approach not only made the study unique, but also enabled researchers to separate the effects of fi re treatment from the effects of soil attributes on fungal fruiting patterns. The study’s site encompassed three different prescribed burn treatments—applied in the early spring, late spring, and fall of 2002—as well as non-burned control plots. Analyzing statistics with multiple variables, the researchers …

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Fire And Rain: Stemming The Tide Of Invasive Plants In Hawaiian Ecosystems, Elise Lequire Jan 2009

Fire And Rain: Stemming The Tide Of Invasive Plants In Hawaiian Ecosystems, Elise Lequire

Joint Fire Science Program Briefs (2007-2012)

In the rainforests of Hawai’i, wildfi re is an uncommon occurrence, and repeated wildfires in the same area rare indeed. In 2002 and 2003, successive lava-ignited wildfi res in Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park burned from seasonally dry to mesic low elevation plant communities to higher elevation rainforests, causing 95-percent mortality of the canopy. The lower elevation communities consisted of native shrubs in the overstory and invasive, non-native grasses and ferns in the understory. In the mid-elevation forested communities, non-native sword fern dominated the understory, while the higher elevation communities consisted of native trees in the canopy and native ferns and …

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Arcfuels: Integrating Wildfi Re Models And Risk Analysis Into Landscape Fuels Management, Lisa-Natalie Anjozian Jan 2009

Arcfuels: Integrating Wildfi Re Models And Risk Analysis Into Landscape Fuels Management, Lisa-Natalie Anjozian

Joint Fire Science Program Briefs (2007-2012)

That risk from wildfi re continues to grow across the United States is not a new problem. Managing forest fuels in the real world—such as thinning and burning prescriptively—to reduce fuel loads have been used effectively to reduce the risk of severe wildfi re. These actions have been helped by a variety of software tools that assist managers in planning and evaluating fuel treatments to ensure they are cost effective in terms of impeding the growth of future large, severe wildfires. While many landscape planning tools do a fine job within the scope of their capabilities, the process of fi …

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Where There’S Fire, There’S Smoke Smoldering Combustion From Wildfire Poses Serious Threats To Public Health In The Coastal Plains, Elise Lequire Jan 2009

Where There’S Fire, There’S Smoke Smoldering Combustion From Wildfire Poses Serious Threats To Public Health In The Coastal Plains, Elise Lequire

Joint Fire Science Program Briefs (2007-2012)

The Coastal Plain of North Carolina contains some of the last remaining vestiges of a wetland forest ecosystem characterized by organic soils ranging from a few inches to eight or more feet deep. When fi re occurs in this system, it can result in smoldering combustion far down into the peat-like soil, which may burn for weeks or even months. Carefully planned and implemented prescribed fire can reduce the fuel load and risk of wildfire, but it also creates emissions of pollutants, including particulate matter and trace gases. Computer models that predict smoke behavior were developed in western lands with …

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Reality Show: Splats Take A Trip From Theory To The Tahoe National Forest, Marjie Brown Jan 2009

Reality Show: Splats Take A Trip From Theory To The Tahoe National Forest, Marjie Brown

Joint Fire Science Program Briefs (2007-2012)

Strategically Placed Landscape Treatments (SPLATS) developed by Mark Finney have successfully demonstrated their capacity to slow fire spread in computer simulations. This collaborative project combined new applications of high-tech science with local knowledge in an attempt to implement SPLATS in a real world landscape—with real world constraints. Although the SPLATS designs created for the Sagehen Creek Basin by researchers met these constraints, unforeseen complications prevented their implementation. In addition, researchers found that their technologically intensive approach is not likely to be operationally feasible for several reasons, including the limited financial and technological resources of the ranger district. Lessons learned, however, …

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Post-Fi Re Salvage Logging In Central Oregon: Short-Term Response In Bats, Birds And Small Mammals, Marjie Brown Jan 2009

Post-Fi Re Salvage Logging In Central Oregon: Short-Term Response In Bats, Birds And Small Mammals, Marjie Brown

Joint Fire Science Program Briefs (2007-2012)

Some studies of wildlife response after fire have shown that habitat condition during the years immediately following fire are very important for many species. Because of this, it’s important for managers to have full knowledge of the shortterm effects of salvage logging on wildlife. This short-term study looked at the effects of different intensities of post-fire salvage logging on bat activity, population densities of breeding songbirds and small mammal abundance. The project took place on the 2003 Davis Lake Fire in central Oregon during the second and third years following fire. Although there were some exceptions, results generally showed that …

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Listening To The Message Of The Black-Backed Woodpecker, A Hot Fire Specialist, Elise Lequire Jan 2009

Listening To The Message Of The Black-Backed Woodpecker, A Hot Fire Specialist, Elise Lequire

Joint Fire Science Program Briefs (2007-2012)

The Black-backed Woodpecker is an uncommon bird of the northern coniferous forests of North America. It is one of several species of fauna that are considered fire specialists. This woodpecker nests in cavities it creates in dead standing trees and feeds on wood-boring beetles and their larvae, which are also attracted to stressed or burned trees. Because the bird can be seen and heard from a distance, its population dynamics can be used to estimate the suitability of habitat to support both fl ora and fauna that have evolved in a natural regime of severe fire. In the effort to …

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Breakthrough At The Missouri River Breaks: A Quick Tool For Comparing Burned And Unburned Sites, Rachel Clark Jan 2009

Breakthrough At The Missouri River Breaks: A Quick Tool For Comparing Burned And Unburned Sites, Rachel Clark

Joint Fire Science Program Briefs (2007-2012)

A quantitative understanding of how forests work, both before and after (prescribed and wild) fire, is essential to management. Yet acquiring the kind of broad yet detailed information needed for many management decisions can be costly, tedious, and time-consuming. After two sweeping wildfi res in the Missouri River Breaks area of eastern Montana—the Indian and Germaine wildfi res—some researchers wanted to see whether it was possible to characterize both pre-fi re and post-fi re characteristics in a relatively inexpensive and effi cient way. Specifi cally, they wanted to know whether prescribed fire that is then followed by wildfire, is more …

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Webofire: Easy Fuels Treatment Planning For The Model-Averse, Marjie Brown Jan 2009

Webofire: Easy Fuels Treatment Planning For The Model-Averse, Marjie Brown

Joint Fire Science Program Briefs (2007-2012)

Webofi re is a model for people who tend to break out in hives at the mention of the words “modeling” or “algorithm.” It provides a simple method for objectively evaluating existing wildfire hazard, prioritizing treatment needs, and estimating the potential effectiveness and costs of proposed treatments before they are carried out. Webofire is designed for people who plan, conduct, or oversee hazardous fuels reduction activities but who may lack training in model use or be model averse. Webofire allows users to take advantage of the sophisticated modeling tools that serve as workhorses for fuels reduction specialists—without the complexity. Webofi …

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Chewing The Landscape: Masticated Fuelbeds Pose Novel Challenges, Elise Lequire Jan 2009

Chewing The Landscape: Masticated Fuelbeds Pose Novel Challenges, Elise Lequire

Joint Fire Science Program Briefs (2007-2012)

Mastication, the mechanical shredding and chipping of small trees and shrubs, has been rapidly embraced by land managers as a treatment to reduce the risk of wildfire in the wildland/urban interface and to provide fire breaks in more remote areas. In the western United States, the use of mastication has more than doubled in the past 5 to 10 years, but until recently little was known about the novel characteristics of this artificial fuelbed or how it might behave when confronted with fi re. Mastication does not reduce the total amount of fuel; it essentially takes ladder fuels—live and dead …

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After The Fall: A Destructive Bark Beetle In The Southern Appalachians Paves The Way For Restoration Of A Vanishing Shortleaf Pine Ecosystem, Elise Lequire Jan 2009

After The Fall: A Destructive Bark Beetle In The Southern Appalachians Paves The Way For Restoration Of A Vanishing Shortleaf Pine Ecosystem, Elise Lequire

Joint Fire Science Program Briefs (2007-2012)

Between 1999 and 2003, an epidemic of southern pine beetles ravaged the southeastern United States from Virginia south to Florida and west to Texas. In five southern Appalachian states alone this destructive insect killed more than a million acres of pine and caused $1.5 billion in economic losses on state, federal, and private lands. In the aftermath, the massive amount of dead and downed trees has multiplied the risk of wildfire. The Forest Service regularly uses controlled burning with the primary goal of fuels reduction. After the latest outbreak of the pine beetle, the Forest Service is also using fi …

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Recovery After Severe Fire In The Klamath-Siskiyou: What Happens Without Planting?, Rachel Clark Jan 2009

Recovery After Severe Fire In The Klamath-Siskiyou: What Happens Without Planting?, Rachel Clark

Joint Fire Science Program Briefs (2007-2012)

The Klamath-Siskiyou forest of southern Oregon and northern California is home to a fire-adapted conifer ecosystem that historically experienced frequent, low-intensity fire. Often the management response to severe fire in the Klamath- Siskiyou includes planting—there is genuine and historical concern that without planting, the conifers will diminish. But David Hibbs and his colleagues at Oregon State University realized that there were very little data on whether these forests require management-based planting to recover. They wondered if natural recovery was possible, even after severe wildfire. The team found a series of severely burned, unmanaged plots, and measured conifer abundance, age, and …

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Masticating Fuels: Effects On Prescribed Fire Behavior And Subsequent Vegetation Effects, Rachel Clark Jan 2009

Masticating Fuels: Effects On Prescribed Fire Behavior And Subsequent Vegetation Effects, Rachel Clark

Joint Fire Science Program Briefs (2007-2012)

In fire management, there is an ongoing quest to find cost-effective, ecologically sound, and risk-reducing approaches to restoring dry conifer forests. So far little is known about the effectiveness of using mastication equipment in conjunction with prescribed burning to help meet management and restoration goals. Richy Harrod is the Deputy Fire Management Offi cer at the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest in Wenatchee, Washington. He and his colleagues began to address this knowledge gap and found that mastication may be a cost-effective and important tool for managers looking for additional support for prescribed burns. Mastication in this study appears to help meet …

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Burning And Beetles: Why Does Fire Spark Bark Beetle Attack?, Rachel Clark Jan 2009

Burning And Beetles: Why Does Fire Spark Bark Beetle Attack?, Rachel Clark

Joint Fire Science Program Briefs (2007-2012)

Prescribed burning is now a routine technique used in forests. In some cases, these forests have not experienced fi re for decades. Sometimes, prescribed fire can lead to unexpected consequences. In Crater Lake National Park, prescribed burning to restore the mixed conifer forest there began in the late 1970s with unexpected consequences. Eventually researchers, including Jim Agee, determined that bark beetles were inflicting tree damage, and death. Agee’s doctoral student, Dan Perrakis, focused his entire dissertation on trying to understand much more about the connections between fi re, trees, and bark beetles. With Agee, he did a host of interdisciplinary …

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Improving A Widely-Used Tree Mortality Model: Better Predictions Change The Landscape, Rachel Clark Jan 2009

Improving A Widely-Used Tree Mortality Model: Better Predictions Change The Landscape, Rachel Clark

Joint Fire Science Program Briefs (2007-2012)

After wildfire and when planning prescribed burns, those who tend the land must try to predict tree death. Managers and planners need to know the level of fire intensity required to meet tree mortality objectives, decide if and which trees to salvage, and predict future post-fire stand conditions. Models play a vital role in helping take the guesswork out of predicting post-fire tree mortality. One such model—the Ryan and Amman model—is perhaps the most widely used tree mortality model in the United States. It is used in the First Order Fire Effects Model (FOFEM), BehavePlus, and other similar software programs. …

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From Green To Mean: Live Fuels Like To Misbehave, Elise Lequire Jan 2009

From Green To Mean: Live Fuels Like To Misbehave, Elise Lequire

Joint Fire Science Program Briefs (2007-2012)

In July 1994, a low-intensity surface fire that had been burning on Storm King Mountain in Colorado suddenly intensifi ed, shifting to the shrub canopy and rapidly advancing upslope. Caught off guard, 14 firefi ghters were trapped and lost their lives in the South Canyon Fire. A major contributing factor to this tragedy was lack of awareness of the behavior of fire in live fuels, in this case Gambel oak. Researchers have for decades sought to understand live fuel moisture variability and how it affects the behavior of fi re in carefully controlled laboratory conditions, in prescribed fires, and in …

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Using Fire To Manage Invasive Vegetation: The State Of The Art, Elise Lequire Jan 2009

Using Fire To Manage Invasive Vegetation: The State Of The Art, Elise Lequire

Joint Fire Science Program Briefs (2007-2012)

People have used fire to manipulate the landscape since prehistoric times. The science of using prescribed fire to manage unwanted vegetation is a fairly new phenomenon, and it recently took an important stride forward. Researchers and land managers have compiled a synthesis of the most current knowledge of fire as a tool to manage non-native, invasive plants. The effort began in 2004 with a workshop where about 30 participants were invited to brainstorm the issues, assess the current state of knowledge, and establish the basic principles of the use of fire in the control of weeds. The findings were published …

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The Great Lakes Landscape: Understanding Historic And Modern Fire, Rachel Clark Jan 2009

The Great Lakes Landscape: Understanding Historic And Modern Fire, Rachel Clark

Joint Fire Science Program Briefs (2007-2012)

The Great Lakes region is characterized by diverse ecosystems born of significant glacial activity, a substantial and growing population density characteristic of the east, and until recently, some confusion about how historic and modern fire regimes of the area fit together. Dave Cleland and colleagues used extensive data sources including General Land Offi ce (GLO) Survey data and modern literature to create models and maps that explain how the fire regimes associated with landscape ecosystems have changed from a pre-European era to modern times. They found that historic rotations of forest fires ranged from only a few decades to more …

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Fofem: The First-Order Fire Effects Model Adapts To The 21st Century, Marjie Brown Jan 2009

Fofem: The First-Order Fire Effects Model Adapts To The 21st Century, Marjie Brown

Joint Fire Science Program Briefs (2007-2012)

Technology is playing an increasingly pivotal role in the efficiency and effectiveness of fire management. The First Order Fire Effects Model (FOFEM) is a widely used computer application that predicts the immediate or ‘first-order’ effects of fire: fuel consumption, tree mortality, emissions, and soil heating. FOFEM’s simple operation and comprehensive features have made it a workhorse for fire and resource professionals who need to be able to predict, assess and plan for fire’s effects. Over the last decade FOFEM has undergone several upgrades as developers continue to improve function and expand applicability to meet the growing needs of managers, planners …

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Consume 3.0—A Software Tool For Computing Fuel Consumption, Lisa-Natalie Anjozian Jan 2009

Consume 3.0—A Software Tool For Computing Fuel Consumption, Lisa-Natalie Anjozian

Joint Fire Science Program Briefs (2007-2012)

Knowing when, where and how fire should be applied is critical for land managers planning to use fi re prescriptively for land management goals, or allowing fires ignited naturally to burn. Myriad variables need to be taken into consideration to determine how fire will consume different fuels. Consume, version 3.0 is a user-friendly software that incorporates the Fuel Characteristic Classifi cation System (FCCS) to predict fuel consumption, pollutant emissions, and heat release. A fl exible tool, Consume 3.0 makes these calculations based on fuel loadings, fuel moisture and other environmental factors.

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Prevent Or Reduce Fire With Goats: No Kidding!, Rachel Clark Jan 2009

Prevent Or Reduce Fire With Goats: No Kidding!, Rachel Clark

Joint Fire Science Program Briefs (2007-2012)

In the Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) methods for reducing fire hazards such as prescribed burns and mechanical thinning, may be less than ideal in terms of effectiveness, let alone in acceptance by community residents. Kathy Voth may be a harbinger of change. Her work with goat herds to reduce and prevent wildfire provides another option for fuel managers. Goats vigorously eat fire prone vegetation like oakbrush, while trampling parts of the area to bare dirt—such areas treated by goats can stop a fire cold. Voth’s results show the promise of using domesticated animals as part of our fire prevention workforce. …

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Ecological Effects Of Prescribed Fire Season: A Literature Review And Synthesis For Managers, Eric E. Knapp, Becky L. Estes, Carl N. Skinner Jan 2009

Ecological Effects Of Prescribed Fire Season: A Literature Review And Synthesis For Managers, Eric E. Knapp, Becky L. Estes, Carl N. Skinner

Joint Fire Science Program Synthesis Reports

Prescribed burning may be conducted at times of the year when fires were infrequent historically, leading to concerns about potential adverse effects on vegetation and wildlife. Historical and prescribed fire regimes for different regions in the continental United States were compared and literature on season of prescribed burning synthesized. In regions and vegetation types where considerable differences in fuel consumption exist among burning seasons, the effects of prescribed fire season appears, for many ecological variables, to be driven more by fire-intensity differences among seasons than by phenology or growth stage of organisms at the time of fire. Where fuel consumption …

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Synthesis Of Knowledge On The Effects Of Fire And Thinning Treatments On Understory Vegetation In U.S. Dry Forests, Anne M. Bartuszevige, Patricia L. Kennedy Jan 2009

Synthesis Of Knowledge On The Effects Of Fire And Thinning Treatments On Understory Vegetation In U.S. Dry Forests, Anne M. Bartuszevige, Patricia L. Kennedy

Joint Fire Science Program Synthesis Reports

A century of fire exclusion in dry forests across the United States has resulted in high fuel loads and increasing dominance by fire-intolerant vegetation. Federal, state, and private agencies have adopted a goal of managing forests to reduce the risk of high-severity wildfire. Forest managers use a variety of tools to create desired conditions within forests; the most common are prescribed fire and mechanical thinning. These two treatments may be used separately or in combination, depending on restoration goals for the forest stand. Before these treatments can be applied, managers must justify their choice by documenting the effects of the …

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