Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Life Sciences

2005

PDF

University of Nebraska - Lincoln

JFSP Research Project Reports

Articles 1 - 2 of 2

Full-Text Articles in Physical Sciences and Mathematics

Characterizing Moisture Regimes For Assessing Fuel Availability In North Carolina Vegetation Communities, Roberta A. Bartlette, James Reardon, Gary M. Curcio Jan 2005

Characterizing Moisture Regimes For Assessing Fuel Availability In North Carolina Vegetation Communities, Roberta A. Bartlette, James Reardon, Gary M. Curcio

JFSP Research Project Reports

In the southeastern United States prescription burning, fire danger rating and wildfire suppression strategies are constrained by limited knowledge of the influence of moisture content in live vegetation, organic soils, water table and weather. The interactive influence of these factors on fire behavior is not well studied. The 3+ year long study reported here was conducted to gain direct empirical understanding of seasonal fuel and soil moisture dynamics in shrub-dominated pocosin communities, in coastal Virginia and North Carolina, mixed hardwoods communities containing significant laurel and rhododendron understory fuels in western North Carolina and eastern Tennessee, and longleaf pine communities in …


Fuel Reduction And Restoration Of Pine/Hardwood Ecosystems Severely Impacted By The Recent Southern Pine Beetle (Dendroctonus Frontalis) Epidemic In The Southern Appalachians, James M. Vose, Katherine J. Elliott Jan 2005

Fuel Reduction And Restoration Of Pine/Hardwood Ecosystems Severely Impacted By The Recent Southern Pine Beetle (Dendroctonus Frontalis) Epidemic In The Southern Appalachians, James M. Vose, Katherine J. Elliott

JFSP Research Project Reports

As a result of this most recent SPB epidemic (1999-2003), thousands of hectares of dead pine trees have created wildfire-hazard conditions in the southern Appalachians. One of the challenges for land managers is how to return fire to these ecosystems after (1) nearly a decade of exclusion, and (2) the more recent SPB mortality enhanced fuel loads. Higher fuel loads have the potential to increase fire intensity and severity. At the extremes, fires of high intensity and severity can have a large effect on ecosystem structure and function. The objectives of our research were: (1) to quantify fuel load reduction …