JFSP Products and Deliverables
You may search JFSP Project Information by the following: Project Number, Title, Principal Investigator, Cooperators or key words contained in a brief description of the project.
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Fire Use Over a Southwestern Elevational Gradient: Effects of 2003 Fires |
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Project #04-1-2-04; Principal Investigator: Peter Fulé |
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In 2003, a series of 4 lightning-ignited wildland fires were managed to burn over 19,000 acres on the North Rim. These fires burned over approximately 82 permanent plots that had been established within the previous 2-6 years. The burned plots range in elevation from 7,500 to over 8,600 feet, representing all the high-elevation forest types in southwestern forests (ponderosa pine, mixed conifer, aspen, and spruce-fir). A wealth of data already exists about the plot network, including fire regimes, reconstructions of past forest structure, and modeling of changes in canopy fuels and fire hazard over time. Wildland fire behavior and weather were closely monitored. We propose to collect post-fire data and analyze the relationships between pre-fire conditions, observed fire behavior, and fire effects. Rapid response is essential because we have the unique opportunity for post-fire sampling from fires occurring in a single year over plots arrayed across such a large environmental gradient. Final Report |
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Effects if altering stand structure on wildfire severity and effects in the Blacks Mountain Experimental Forest, Cascade Range, California |
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Project #03-2-3-20; Principal Investigator: Martin Ritchie |
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This project will investigate 1) patterns of severity in a recent wildfire that burned into existing treatment areas of the Blacks Mountain Experimental Forest, 2) immediate post-salvage stand and fuel conditions for severely burned areas of the Cone Fire 3) immediate patterns of beetle and woodpecker use in areas of varying fire severity and in salvaged areas, 4) patterns of soil compaction associated with varying levels of salvage harvesting. Final Report |
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Initial Post-Fire Avian Response to High Fire Severity |
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Project #03-2-3-15; Principal Investigator: Marcia Narog |
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One of the goals of prescribed burning is to improve wildlife habitat. Habitat improvement usually requires vegetation to be burned in a mosaic of age classes. However, little research has been done on post-fire use by fauna of large tracts of burned habitat particularly in chaparral. Interestingly, research: radio-tracking large mammals; studying sensitive riparian species; and monitoring bird occurrence and behavior had been established within the perimeter of the Pines Fire located in San Diego , California prior to its ignition. A 5-year bird survey was conducted from 1997 to 2002 to develop a bird atlas of San Diego County . Large sections of these studies were burned in the 61,645 acre fire during July 2002. This project will document post-fire changes in bird density and diversity. Results will determine how the local avi-fauna respond to a large, high severity fire. It will complement the other aforementioned faunal research programs that also will continue to gather post-fire data. This information will be valuable for developing future perimeter size and intensity levels for fire prescriptions used to reduce fuel loading and support wildlife resources, particularly in chaparral. Results will be disseminated through electronic reports, journal articles, and public presentations. Final Report |
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The Effects of Soil Properties, Fuel Characteristics, and Vegetation Recovery on Post-Fire Watershed Hydrology and Sediment Yield in Chaparral Steeplands |
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Project #03-2-3-13; Principal Investigator: Peter Wohlgemuth |
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Accelerated post-fire erosion from southern California steeplands threatens life, property, and infrastructure at the wildland/urban interface. The Williams Fire of September 2002 provides a unique opportunity to describe and analyze the impacts of fire and historical vegetation management practices on post-fire hydrologic response and sediment yield in chaparral ecosystems. Objectives include 1) quantifying small watershed runoff and erosion response, 2) analyzing the differences in these response variables from watersheds with radically different management-induced pre-fire fuel characteristics, 3) quantifying the immediate post-fire vegetation response from these watersheds with differing pre-fire vegetation characteristics, 4) describing post-fire soil properties and soil properties and soil water repellency, and 5) describing post-fire soil and bedrock water storage capacities and antecedent moisture conditions. Stream discharge and sediment yield will be measured by refurbishing existing flumes and debris basins. Pre-fire vegetation will be characterized from historical survey and recent aerial photography. Post-fire vegetation will be measured using point transects and fixed area plots. Soil properties will be measured using standard techniques. Water content and depth of soil and bedrock will be determined using TDR, GPR, and GPS technologies. Information from this research will help land managers assess post-fire watershed response at the wildland/urban interface. Final Report |
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Pre-fire condition, fire severity, and post-fire effects in the Hayman burn, Colorado |
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Project #03-2-3-08; Principal Investigator: Merrill R. Kaufmann |
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Ongoing research within the 2002 Hayman burn provides an excellent framework for comparing effects of the Hayman burn to pre-fire forest conditions. Two pre-fire data sets support the proposed research. One characterizes historical landscape structure and key regulating processes and included plot-level measurements of forest overstory structure, understory species composition, fuels, and fire history. The second dataset is pre-treatment monitoring data collected as part of the Upper South Plate Restoration Project, which includes forest overstory and understory plant data, surface fuels, and habitat monitoring for several species of concern. All of these plots burned with varying intensity. Our primary objectives focus on re-sampling our pre-burn plots near Cheesman Lake and Saloon Gulch to (1) evaluate the effects of burn severity, pre-fire stand characteristics, and topography on tree survivorship; (2) determine the effects of burn severity and pre-fire composition of post –fire understory species composition: (3) examine the effects of pre-fire fuels and vegetation structure on patterns of burn severity, and (4) investigate the effects of burn-severity on habitat for species of concern. The proposed study augments collaborative projects, including validation of relationships in the FFE of the Central Rockies FVS variant, validation of pre-fire fuel reconstructions derived from post-fire surveys, and modeling fire behavior with mesoscale weather data for the study area. Final Report |
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Effectiveness of Pre-Fire Fuel Treatments |
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Project #03-2-1-07; Principal Investigator: Philip N. Omi |
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This proposal responds to Task 1 of the second Announcement for Proposals (AFP) authorized by the Joint Fire Science Program Governing Board in 2003, which calls for projects that would obtain time-sensitive information following wildland fire incidents related to the effects of previous land management activities on fire behavior and severity. Proactive fire management increasingly relies on pre-fire fuel manipulations to reduce the potential for catastrophic wildfires. The proposed research would compare the severity of future wildflres in adjacent treated and untreated stands, as well as native and exotic plant species cover. The timedependency for collection of this ephemeral data has been proven through previous experience with the proposed methods. The results of this research would provide information on the effectiveness of pre-fire management activities for mitigating adverse wildfire effects across ecosystems, fire regimes, geographic locations, and management jurisdictions. Final Report |
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Climate drivers of fire & fuel in the Northern Rockies: Past, Present & Future |
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Project #03-1-1-07; Principal Investigator: Penelope Morgan |
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There is an urgent need to understand the relationships between climate and fire in the Northern Rockies. In order to understand these relationships, scientists will identify regional “fire years” from multi-century tree-ring reconstructions and multi-decadal fire atlases. They will also use simulation modeling to determine climatic factors that influence large fire years. The relationships between fire years and climate will then be examined and documented. This information will greatly aid fire- and land-managers involved with land use and fire management planning. Final Report |
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Changes in Fire Regimes and the Successional Status of Table Mountain Pine (Pinus pungens Lamb.) in the Southern Appalachians | |
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Project # 01-3-3-32; Principal Investigator: Michael R. Armbrister | |
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Table mountain pine is an ecologically valuable species found only in the Appalachian region of the United States and is heavily dependent on repeated surface fires for successful regeneration. Alterations to fire regimes in the southern Appalachians due to fire exclusion policies may be preventing the establishment of new pine seedlings, leading to concerns that the species may eventually be extirpated. Dendroecological techniques were used to investigate both the age structure and fire history of table mountain pine populations in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and surrounding national forests. Results will provide managers with information critical for reintroducing fire into forests where this pine species exists. |
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Photo Series for Major Natural Fuel Types of the United States – Phase III |
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Project #01-1-7-02; Principal Investigator: Roger Ottmar |
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The natural fuels stereo photo series is a collection of georeferenced data and photographs that display a range of natural conditions, fuel loadings, and other fuelbed characteristics in a wide variety of forest-, woodland-, shrub-, and grass-dominated ecosystem types. The photo series are useful tools for quickly and inexpensively evaluating vegetation and fuel conditions in the field. The objectives of this project were to: Continue the development of the Natural Fuels Photo Series to include a up to of six additional fuelbed types not covered by previous projects. Final Report |
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Fires, Management, and Land Mosaic Interactions: A Generic Spatial Model and Toolkit from Stand to Landscape Scales | |
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Project # 01-1-3-43; Principal Investigators: Jiquan Chen and Tom Crow | |
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A spatially explicit, PC Windows-based generic model accompanied by computer visualizations of forest stands and landscapes was developed from this project. These tools allow land managers to examine the interaction of fire and management practices on current and future conditions in real landscapes. The model can be used to assess fuel loading and fire risk, visualize stand dynamics, fuel accumulation and fire spread, and develop strategies for reducing the risk of fire under a variety of climates, fire disturbances, and management scenarios. Outputs from the FARSITE model are displayed in the form of images. |
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Landscape fragmentation and forest fuel accumulation: effects of fragment size, age, and climate | |
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Project # 01-1-3-37; Principal Investigators: William Gould | |
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Landscape fragmentation can affect fuel accumulation, increase the spatial variability of fuel loads, and affect the susceptibility of forests to fire. Developing a landscape-scale picture of spatial variability in fuel loads requires an understanding of fragmentation effects at a variety of scales. Researchers plan to examine the effect of forest fragmentation on fuel loads along gradients of climate, stand age, and fragment size. The work will be conducted in Puerto Rico, Idaho, and Alaska. The goal is to develop methods to better predict and map fuel loads in fragmented forests and aid in management decisions on public forested lands. Final Report |
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Developing statistical wildlife habitat relationships for assessing cumulative effects of fuels treatments | |
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Project # 01-1-3-27; Principal Investigators: Kevin McKelvey | |
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Determining the cumulative effects of human activities on landscapes and on native fauna inhabiting these landscapes has been a primary concern for land managers. NEPA requires managers to conduct Cumulative Effects Analysis (CEA) to assess potential impacts of their activities. However, CEA analyses for wildlife tend to be based on indirect inferences and ad-hoc methodologies. This research is directed at using the Forest Inventory and Analysis program’s National Vegetation Pilot as a structure for conducting wildlife sampling to achieve a more standardized and reliable method of assessing impacts on wildlife populations. Final Report |
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Prescribed fire strategies to restore wildlife habitat in ponderosa pine forests of the Intermountain West | |
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Project # 01-1-3-25; Principal Investigators: Victoria Saab | |
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Over 40 million acres of ponderosa pine forests in the Intermountain West are considered susceptible to severe wildfires as a result of fire suppression, high stand densities, and insect and disease damage. Many birds, especially cavity nesting birds, are often closely tied to fire-prone forests and are responsive to fire and timber management activities. Prescribed burning is one tool used to reduce fuel hazards, but scientific information on the impact of fire management on birds and their habitats is lacking. Researchers will quantify and compare the ecological consequences of three fire conditions (unburned forests, prescribed understory fire, and wildland fire) on birds and their habitats in ponderosa pine forests. Results from this work will help managers to evaluate the trade-offs for wildlife inherent in selecting fuel treatment alternatives. Final Report |
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Optimizing landscape treatments for reducing wildfire risk and improving ecological sustainability of ponderosa pine forests with mixed severity fire regimes | |
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Project # 01-1-3-22; Principal Investigators: Merril Kaufmann | |
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Much thinking about ponderosa pine forest management in the West has been guided by historical information about the occurrence of frequent, low intensity surface fires. However, a growing body of evidence indicates mixed-severity fires with a longer mean fire interval were perhaps more common in the Southwest than was once thought. Consequently a fundamentally different approach may be required for managing ponderosa pine forests in the region to restore ecologically sustainable conditions and mitigate current wildfire problems. Scientists will evaluate and integrate spatially explicit modeling approaches to identify forest treatments, treatment location in the landscape, and the effectiveness of treatments in protecting the landscape from large-scale crown fires. Final Report |
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Effects of fuels reduction and exotic plant removal on vertebrates, vegetation, and water resources in Southwestern ecosystems | |
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Project # 01-1-3-19; Principal Investigators: Deborah Finch | |
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In southwestern riparian ecosystems, replacement of native vegetation by exotic plant species, particularly those that are highly flammable such as Tamarisk, has increased fire frequency. Native tree species inhabiting these riparian areas of the middle Rio Grande are not fire-adapted and thus cannot resist fire damage or respond by regenerating after fire. Research is targeted at identifying fuels-reduction practices that will simultaneously preserve cottonwoods and other native plants, reduce wild fire risk via fuels removal, control spread of exotic woody shrubs, and have positive or neutral impacts on wildlife species including birds, bats, reptiles and amphibians. The research area where three different fuel treatments are applied is designated as a demonstration site for those seeking fuel reduction solutions. Final Report - Cover Pages |
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Duff Consumption and Southern Pine Mortality | |
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Project # 01-1-3-11; Principal Investigators: Kevin Hiers | |
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Decades of fire exclusion in many forests throughout the southeast have led to significant accumulation of organic matter (duff). Reintroduction of fire into these forests has proven problematic for two basic reasons. First, extensive delayed mortality can occur in stands where duff is dry and is consumed during prescribed burns. Burning of deep layers of duff leads to consumption of fine roots or potentially severe cambium damage. Second, burning in these stands can lead to smoldering combustion within the duff layer that increases hazards and nuisance from residual smoke. Research is targeted at identifying both threshold conditions under which duff smolders and the consequences of duff consumption to tree mortality. This information will help southeastern fire managers in conducting successful restoration of long-unburned southern pine stands throughout the South. Final Report All datasets and other information regarding this project can be found at the FRAMES website. |
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Can Wildland Fire Use Restore Natural Fire Regimes in Wilderness and Other Unroaded Lands? | |
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Project # 01-1-1-05; Principal Investigator: Carol Miller | |
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The goal of this project was to help evaluate the feasibility and effectiveness of wildland fire use (WFU) as a strategy for restoring historical fire regimes in wilderness and on other unroaded lands. Five wilderness areas and national parks were used as study areas to develop the analysis approach, which were then used to evaluate the existing fire management plans at each of these study areas. The information produced resulted in improved understanding of the options for restoring and managing fire in unroaded, wilderness, and similar areas and provides a tool for evaluating and understanding management and restoration goals in unroaded, wilderness, and other areas with restricted access. Final Report |
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Development of a Computer Model for Management of Fuels, Human-Fire Interactions, and Wildland Fires in the Boreal Forests of Alaska | |
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Project # 01-1-1-02; Principal Investigator: Scott Rupp | |
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Interior Alaska contains 140 million burnable acres and includes the largest National Parks and National Wildlife Refuges in the country. Wildland fires threaten human values and are also crucial for the maintenance of forest ecosystems in Alaska. The goal of this project is to develop a computer-based, fire management and planning model called Boreal ALFRESCO. The model utilizes physical, biological, and human thematic layers to simulate ecosystem dynamics. Output maps depict the responses of vegetation cover and fuel accumulation under different scenarios of fire management and climate change over a range of time scales from decades to centuries and will assist land managers in designing and implementing fire management plans. PowerPoint presentation of the Boreal ALFRESCO |
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Impacts of Prescribed Burning on the Survival of Douglas-fir and Ponderosa Pine in the Boise National Forest | |
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Project # 01B-3-2-01; Principal Investigator: Robert Progar | |
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The exclusion of fire from forests that historically burned on a periodic basis has affected stand structure and forest health conditions on a landscape scale. Currently, stand replacing wildfires occur on our forests because of the build-up of large fuel loads. The National Fire Plan denotes the use of prescribed fire as a primary tool to reduce fuel loads in our National Forests. Many land managers are uncertain of the effects of prescribed fire on the overall health of the forests because of primary mortality directly attributed to fire and particularly to secondary mortality caused by bark beetles and other attacking insects. Our proposal addresses Task 2 by examining the impact of prescribed fire on tree mortality over a four-year period. We are establishing 1000 individual tree plots, of which 800 will be prescribed burned and 200 untreated as a control for comparison. Coarse woody debris, vegetation, litter, and duff are measured on each plot. Fire intensity and severity will be measured during prescribed burning with thermocouples and related to root mortality, bole char and crown scorch. ANOVA, regression and discriminant analysis will be used to correlate fuel consumed with fire intensity and subsequent tree mortality over a three-year post-burn period. The results will provide needed information to land managers who are asking similar questions throughout the Intermountain Region. Final Report MS Thesis by Gabriel Dumm |
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Real-Time Evaluation of Fuel Treatments and Other Previous Land Management Activities on Fire Behavior during Wildfires | |
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Project #01C-2-1-08; Principal Investigator: JoAnn Fites | |
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This project utilized a rapid response team to measure pre- and post-fire fuel conditions and fire behavior on nine wildland fires during the summer and fall of 2003 in areas with various fuel treatments and other past land-use management activities. The types of directly measured relationships summarized will improve predictions of fire behavior during wildfire events, help ensure firefighter safety, and increase the scientific basis for planning and implementing fuel reduction programs. Final Report |
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Testing an approach to improve fire fuel mapping by modeling fuel structure and types based on combined satellite imagery and field data | |
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Project #00-1-3-05; Principal Investigator: Zhiliang Zhu | |
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Key to successful fire prevention, management, and fire behavior prediction is large area, high quality, spatially explicit datasets that depict fuel characteristics. Characterizing fuel types require specialized field data, such effort is very difficult to sustain over large geographic areas. Current fuel maps are usually based on conversion of vegetation maps developed for other purposes, which often result in low spatial accuracy. This research is to develop and test a methodology to map the spatial distribution of several key fire fuel attributes over large geographic areas taking advantages of remote sensing data and ground measurements (such as that collected by the Forest Service Forest Inventory and Analysis program). Final Report |
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Fire and Invasive Annual Grasses in Western Ecosystems | |
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Project #00-1-2-04; Principal Investigator: Matt Brooks | |
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Annual grasses have invaded a number of shrub and forest ecosystems in western North America and are linked to changes in both ecosystem structure and function. In addition to impacts on native plant diversity, these grasses have the potential to alter fuel structure and fire behavior. Scientific efforts are focused on examining interactions between fire, soil nutrients, and invasive grass productivity over a range of low-nutrient ecosystems (i.e. the Great Basin shrub steppe, Mojave Desert scrub, and Sierra Nevada yellow pine forest) currently dominated or threatened by invasive annual grasses. Information from this study will be combined with NRCS soil survey data to create landscape level maps of post-fire susceptibility of western ecosystems to invasion by exotic species.
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Spatial interactions among fuels, wildfire, and invasive plants | |
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Project #00-1-2-01; Principal Investigator: Philip N. Omi | |
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Synergistic interactions among fuels, extreme wildfire behavior, and exotic species invasions are increasingly recognized as major threats to the structure and function of natural ecosystems. No standardized investigation of these interactions has been conducted to date. Researchers will study fuels, burn severity, and invasive species in areas recently affected by large wildfires to determine the factors that contribute to post-fire invasion and persistence of exotic plants and to identify effective mitigation options for land managers Final Report: 00-1-2-01 final report |
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Changing Fire Regimes, Increased Fuel Loads, and Invasive Species: Effects on Sagebrush Steppe and Pinyon Juniper Ecosystems | |
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Project #00-1-1-03; Principal Investigator: Jeanne Chambers | |
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Since settlement of the Intermountain Region of the U.S. by Europeans 130 years ago, major changes in vegetation have occurred including increases in woody species, exotic annuals, and perennial weeds. Together these changes have resulted in dramatic shifts in fire frequency, severity, and size. Increased risk to human life and property, high fire management costs, and conversions of woodlands and shrublands to exotic weeds have resulted. Research will focus on gathering information on historic fire regimes, fuel load characteristics of major vegetation states, and susceptibility to exotic species invasion. Information resulting from this work will facilitate management of the shrublands and woodlands of the Intermountain region. |
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Cerro Grande post-fire Inventory and analysis | |
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Project #00-U-01; Principal Investigator: Carl Edminster | |
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This project capitalizes on the opportunity to conduct immediate post-fire and after the first growing season inventories using a network of previously established permanent ground plots during the 3 years pre-fire and remote imagery to study fine scale effects of wildfire in an area with known pre-fire characteristics. The study area is the 54,000-acre area of the Cerro Grande Fire near and in Los Alamos, New Mexico. The project is composed of 3 interrelated components: 1) developing models based on classification of forest structures and fire hazards from previous local fires and then testing the models against patterns of burn severity in the Cerro Grande Fire; 2) assessment of fire-scar mapping and erosion modeling; 3) surveys of fire effects on vegetation and success of rehabilitation treatments. Information from these efforts will provide managers tools for assessing potential effects of future fires in similar conditions, refining burn scar mapping, estimating potential elevated soil erosion, and assessing the effectiveness of intensive rehabilitation practices. |
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Fire and Fire Surrogate Study | |
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Project # 99-S-01; Principal Investigator: Jim McIver | |
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Many U.S. forests, especially those with short-interval, low- to moderate severity fire regimes are more dense and have greater quantities of fuels compared to pre-settlement times. Widespread treatments are planned to restore ecological integrity and to reduce the risk of unusually severe fires in these forests. Among possible treatments, however, the appropriate balance among cuttings, mechanical fuel treatments, and prescribed fire is often unclear. For improved decision-making resource managers need better information about the consequences and tradeoffs of alternative management practices involving prescribed fire and mechanical “fire surrogate” treatments. A team of scientists and land managers has designed an integrated national network of 13 long-term study sites in which economics and a wide range of ecological consequences are being measured before and after treatment application. The study is using a common experimental design among sites to facilitate broad applicability of results. Fire and Fire Surrogate Treatments for Ecosystem Restoration website |
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The Value of Fuel Management in Reducing Wildfire Damage to Overstory Trees | |
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Project # 99-1-4-02; Principal Investigator: Kenneth W. Outcalt | |
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Use of prescribed burning, long practiced in the southern U.S. to reduce risks of damaging wildfire, has been declining due to factors such as adoption of more intensive forestry systems by large landowners, concerns about litigation related to smoke production, and lack of knowledge by small landowners. However, values at risk from fire are increasing as demonstrated by the impacts of Florida’s severe fire season of 1998. This research is targeted at determining the effects of a variety of fuel management treatments, including prescribed fire and herbicide treatment, on reducing damage and mortality of overstory trees from wildfire. Information shared with managers, landowners and the forest industry will help in selection of fuel management treatments. Fuels Management Reduces Tree Mortality from
Wildfires In Southeastern United States |
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Effect of Fuels Treatment on Wildfire Severity | |
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Project # 99-1-4-01; Principal Investigator: Philip N. Omi | |
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This project investigated the severity of four recent wildfires that burned into existing fuel treatment areas. Treatments included repeated prescribed fires, single prescribed fires, debris removal, and mechanical thinning both with and without slash removal. The historic fire regime of all sampled ecosystems was of the short fire return interval type and included Mississippi slash pine, California Douglas-fir, and ponderosa pine in Colorado and New Mexico. Crown fire hazard, fire resistance, and fire severity were compared between treated and untreated areas. Results unanimously indicate that treated stands experience lower fire severity than untreated stands that burn under similar weather and topographic conditions. Further
information at: |
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Southern Utah Fuels Management Demonstration Project | |
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Project # 99-1-3-29; Principal Investigator: Kevin C. Ryan | |
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The Southern Utah Fuel Management Demonstration Project project creatively linked current technology in a consistent and comprehensive manner to allow comparisons of alternatives for fuels management for roughly 15 million acres of Southern Utah. The databases and models developed were used to support the planning and implementation of an integrated landscape level fuels management program for Southern Utah. The project explicitly modeled temporal changes in the form of varying fire weather/danger and succession to evaluate prescribed treatment alternatives for the major vegetation types in Southern Utah. The goal was to improve the fuels management program in Southern Utah by establishing an interagency demonstration area and develop a process, models, data, and protocols suitable for conducting analysis on other ecosystems. For
further information visit the project website at: http://www.firelab.org/fep/research/sufm/home.htm |
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Quantification of Canopy Fuels in Conifer Forests | |
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Project # 99-1-3-12; Principal Investigator: Elizabeth D. Reinhardt | |
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Crown fires in low elevation conifer forests have become common due to management practices including fire suppression and selective timber harvest. These fires present particular problems for fire managers because they are more difficult to suppress than surface fires. Two characteristics that significantly affect the incidence of crown fires are canopy base height and canopy bulk density. Inability to consistently measure canopy fuels in stands of different species composition and structure limits our ability to predict crown fire hazard and behavior. This research was focused on comparing methods for estimating canopy characteristics and developing a consistent method for inventorying canopy fuels that can be used across agency boundaries. Results will aid in mapping fuel, assessing risk, designing fuel treatments, and simulating fire behavior. Stereo Photo Guide for Estimating Canopy Fuels Further information at: http://www.fs.fed.us/rm/pubs/rmrs_rp29.pdf |
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Mixed-severity fire regime in a high-elevation forest of Grand Canyon, Arizona, USA | |
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Project # 99-1-3-11; Principal Investigator: Peter Z. Fule | |
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Fire regime characteristics of high-elevation forests on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, Arizona, were reconstructed from fire scar analysis, remote sensing, tree age, and forest structure measurements, a first attempt at detailed reconstruction of the transition from surface to stand-replacing fire patterns in the Southwest. Currently the forest is predominantly spruce-fir, mixed conifer, and aspen. In contrast, dendroecological reconstruction of past forest structure showed that the forest in 1880 was very open, corresponding closely with historical (1910) accounts of severe fires leaving partially denuded landscapes. Information about historical fire regime and forest structure is valuable for managers but the information is probably less specific and stable for high-elevation forests than for low elevation ponderosa pine forests. Further
info at: |
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Temporal and Spatial Variation in the Fire Regimes of an Old-Growth New Mexico Pine Forest: Baseline Data for Ecosystem Process Restoration | |
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Project # 99-1-3-08; Principal Investigator(s) : Donald A. Falk & Thomas W. Swetnam | |
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Monument Canyon Research Natural Area (MCRNA) in the Jemez Mountains of the Santa Fe National Forest in New Mexico includes some of the oldest remaining ponderosa pine stands in the southwestern United States. Fire history data was collected and analyzed on a systematic sampling grid across the study area. This approach permitted an evaluation of the extent to which descriptions of the surface fire regime are scale dependent. A variety of tools adapted from biogeography were applied to build an analytical framework for understanding scaling properties in the area’s patchy surface fire history. Site level data were combined with a larger fire history data set for the Jemez Mountains. Variation in the fire regime at different scales can help managers and restoration ecologists determine historic reference conditions for key disturbance processes. Further information at: http://www.fs.fed.us/rm/pubs/rmrs_p029/rmrs_p029_301_318.pdf |
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Mechanical midstory reduction treatment: an alternative to prescribed fire | |
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Project # 99-1-3-06; Principal Investigator: Robert Rummer | |
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In vast acreages of forest lands across the United States where natural fire cycles have been disrupted, a shade tolerant midstory vegetation component has developed resulting in increased fuel loading, disrupted wildlife habitat, and altered nutrient cycling. In the south, forest types that have been affected in this way include loblolly pine, longleaf pine, and pond pine. Mechanical reduction of midstory vegetation (midstory reduction or MSR) is generally prescribed as an initial step in management plans to reintroduce fire and restore ecological health to these forests. However, managers have limited information on the effectiveness, cost and limitations of widespread mechanical reduction treatments. This project is a multi-disciplinary evaluation of various mechanical mid-story reduction treatments. Different types of equipment are being tested which represent a range of size, implement, and prime mover configurations. Production, cost and site impacts of these treatments are being quantified. In addition, a wildlife component is examining herptofaunal populations in treated stands. Vegetation surveys are included to examine treatment effects on species richness, diversity and biomass measures. The mechanical treatments are combined with subsequent prescribed fire in one study installation with re-introduction of fire at intervals ranging from 4 to 16 months. Resulting information will support development of landscape-scale land use and planning processes. |
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Develop a Landscape-Scale Framework for Interagency Wildland Fuels Management Planning | |
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Project # 99-1-3-04; Principal Investigator: Patrick K. Lineback | |
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Starting in 1999, southern Sierra Nevada fir and technical staffs from federal and local agencies began systematically designing and developing an interagency collaborative framework for identifying and treating fuels across the landscape. The project included six major watersheds and an astonishing diversity of vegetation and fuel types covering approximately 4.8 million acres. Results include geospatial datasets, collaborative risk and hazard values, and a GIS tool called Asset Analyzer. Further information at: http://ssgic.cr.usgs.gov/ |
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Using Goats to Prevent or Reduce Wildland Fire Danger in Shrub Dominated Wildland-Urban Interface Areas | |
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Project # 99-1-3-02; Principal Investigator: Kathy Voth | |
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This project was aimed at providing fire managers with the data they need to determine if using goats as a fuel reduction tool is appropriate for their management purposes, and to give them the information necessary for successful implementation. Further information at: http://www.livestockforlandscapes.com |
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Development and Delivery of the Fire and Fuels Extension to the Forest Vegetation Simulator for use by Stakeholders of the Joint Fire Science Program | |
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Project # 99-1-1-04; Principal Investigator: Nicholas Crookston | |
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The Forest Vegetation Simulator (FVS) is a computer program designed to predict how forest stands change over time. Work on the Fire and Fuels Extension (FFE) of FVS beginning in 1993 was directed at representing fuels, fire and fire effects. Project efforts here will continue development of FFE-FVS to cover the spectrum of woodlands and forest lands in the western United States, to provide information on interactions between fire, fuels, insects and disease, to improve user friendliness of the software, and ensure FFE-FVS is compatible with other fire and fuel management tools. |
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Assessing the Need, Costs, and Potential Benefits of Prescribed Fire and Mechanical Treatments to Reduce Fire Hazard | |
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Project # 99-1-1-01; Principal Investigator: Jamie Barbour | |
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This research is focused on determining the needs, costs, and benefits of hazard reduction treatments in Montana and New Mexico. Outputs from this project will provide managers from different agencies, ownerships, and regions with methods to synthesize and share information to facilitate planning and scheduling fuel treatments. Results from the study suggest that by considering a variety of silvicultural prescriptions, managers can find ways to treat many stands to reduce fire hazard and improve ecological conditions without the need for financial subsidies. Primary tools include the forest vegetation simulator (FVS) growth and yield model with the Fire and Fuels Extension (FFE) and the Financial Evaluation of Ecosystem Management Activities (FEEMA) model. This analytical protocol is portable to anywhere in the western United States where an FVS variant with an FFE extension and a FEEMA variant are available. Further
information at: http://www.fs.fed.us/pnw/woodquality/ |
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Development of Coarse-Scale Spatial Data for Wildland Fire and Fuel Management | |
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Project # 98-S-02; Principal Investigator: Colin C. Hardy | |
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This
project involved mapping and characterization of historic natural
fire regimes and current vegetation conditions, and development
of an index of departure for use in national-level fire management
planning. Development of the initial map of Historical Natural
Fire Regimes for the conterminous United States was completed. Further information and data at: http://www.fs.fed.us/fire/fuelman/ |
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Rainbow Series - Effects of Fire on Fauna; RMRS-GTR-42- Volume 1 | |
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Project # 98-S-01; Principal Investigator: Kevin Ryan | |
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This state-of-knowledge review about the effects of fire on fauna can assist land managers with ecosystem and fire management planning and in their efforts to inform others about the ecological role of fire. Chapter topics include Regional Variation in Fire Regimes, Direct Effects of Fire and Animal Responses, Effects on Animal Populations, Fire Effects on Animal Communities, Fire Effects on Fauna at Landscape Scales, Fire Effects on Wildlife Foods, and Management and Research Implications. Further information on this Volume of the Rainbow Series can be obtained at: http://www.fs.fed.us/rm/pubs/rmrs_gtr42_1.html or by contacting Jane Kapler-Smith |
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Rainbow Series - Effects of Fire on Flora; RMRS-GTR-42- Volume 2 | |
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Project # 98-S-01; Principal Investigator: Kevin Ryan | |
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This state-of-knowledge review about the effects of fire on flora and fuels can assist land managers with ecosystem and fire management planning and in their efforts to inform others about the ecological role of fire. Chapter topics include fire regime classification, autecological effects of fire, fire regime characteristics and postfire plant community developments in ecosystems throughout the United States and Canada, global climate change, ecological principles of fire regimes, and practical considerations for managing fire in an ecosytem context. Further information on this Volume of the Rainbow Series can be obtained at:http://www.fs.fed.us/rm/pubs/rmrs_gtr42_2.html or by contacting James K. Brown or Jane Kapler-Smith |
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Rainbow Series - Effects of Fire on Air; RMRS-GTR-42- Volume 5 | |
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Project # 98-S-01; Principal Investigator: Kevin Ryan | |
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This state-of-knowledge review about the effects of fire on air quality can assist land, fire, and air resource managers with fire and smoke planning, and their efforts to explain to others the science behind fire-related program policies and practices to improve air quality. Chapter topics include air quality regulations and fire; characterization of emissions from fire; the transport, dispersion, and modeling of fire emissions; atmospheric and plume chemistry; air quality impacts of fire; social consequences of air quality impacts; and recommendations for future research. Further information on this Volume of the Rainbow Series can be obtained at: http://www.fs.fed.us/rm/pubs/rmrs_gtr42_5.html or by contacting David V. Sandberg |
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A risk-based comparison of potential fuel treatment trade-off models | |
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Project # 98-1-8-06; Principal Investigator: David Weise | |
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Increasing the frequency and size of prescribed fires is potentially an important tool for reducing the hazard of large stand replacing wildland fires. A number of models are in various stages of development and application for understanding and predicting the effects of fuels management strategies on forest health, smoke emissions, and commercial harvest. Scientists have identified three models to be evaluated that have the potential to be applied across a variety of ecosystems and are relatively easy to use thus making them viable candidates for adoption at a national level: SIMPPLE/MAGIS, VDDT/TELSA, and TOM/FETM. Results of model comparisons will be shared through publications, presentations and through the World Wide Web. Final Report |
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First Order Fire Effects Model | |
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Project # 98-1-8-03; Principal Investigator: Elizabeth Reinhardt | |
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First order fire effects are those that concern the direct or immediate consequences of fire. The First Order Fire Effects Model (FOFEM) is a computer program that was developed to meet needs of resource managers, planners, and analysts in predicting and planning for fire effects. FOFEM predicts a number of fire effects including: tree mortality from surface fire, based on flame length or scorch height, and tree species and size; consumption of down woody fuels by size class; resultant fire intensity over time using the BURNUP model; emissions (and emission rate) of PM10, PM2.5, CO, CO2, CH4, NOX and SO2 by flaming and smoldering combustion; and soil heating at a range of soil depths over time since ignition. Further
information at: http://fire.org/index.php?option=content&task=category§ionid=2&id=12&Itemid=31 |
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BehavePlus Fire Modeling System Version 1.0.0 | |
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Project # 98-1-8-02; Principal Investigator: Patricia L. Andrews | |
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BehavePlus is a Windows ® application to predict wildland fire behavior for fire management purposes. It is designed for use by fire and land managers who are familiar with fuels, weather, topography, wildfire situations, and associated terminology. The BehavePlus fire modeling system replaces the 1984 DOS version of the BEHAVE fire behavior prediction and fuel modeling system. Further
information at: |
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Fuels and Fire Extension to the Forest Vegetation Simulator | |
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Project # 98-1-7-02; Principal Investigator: Nick Crookston | |
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The Fire and Fuels Extension to FVS (FFE-FVS) is a tool to evaluate the effectiveness of proposed fire and fuel management treatments in the context of potential fire effects on short- and long-term stand dynamics, important to silviculture, wildlife habitat, and fuel hazard. Adding fire to FVS was accomplished by programming an extension to FVS largely based on existing models of fire behavior (including crowning) and fire effects. Models that represent snag dynamics and down wood decomposition were constructed to complete the system. FFE-FVS has proven useful in evaluating trade-off analyses, scheduling fuel treatments, providing links to economic assessments, evaluating emissions, preparing forest plans and justifying fuel treatment schedules of forested lands in the Forest Service, Bureau of Indian Affairs, and Bureau of Land Management Further information can be obtained at: http://www.fs.fed.us/fmsc/fvs/ or by downloading the General Technical Report at: http://www.fs.fed.us/rm/pubs/rmrs_gtr116.pdf |
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Historic Fire Regimes and Change Since European Settlement on the Northern Mixed Prairie: Effect on Ecosystem Function and Fire Behavior | |
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Project # 98-1-5-04; Principal Investigators: Ronald H. Wakimoto and E. Earl Willard | |
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Wildfires are common on the Northern Mixed Prairie. Fuels (both live and dead), plant species, soil surface protection and biodiversity have changed over the past half century. This research project was designed to determine changes in fire regimes which have occurred since European settlement, describe the effects of these changes on the ecosystem and describe and compare historic and post-European settlement fire behavior. The study showed that various plant species respond differently in response to fire. Final Report: 98-1-5-04final_report.pdf |
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Fire ecology information for California | |
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Project # 98-1-5-02; Principal Investigators: Neil Sugihara | |
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Fire plays a major role in California ecosystems, but currently no comprehensive synthesis of fire ecology information for these ecosystems exists. For managers and landowners to make more informed choices about fire and fuel management, a readily available and detailed source of information on California fire ecology is needed. This project is addressing the task of compiling and synthesizing published and unpublished information on fire ecology of all major ecosystems in California and the implications for management. Researchers plan to make this information widely available through four venues, including the Internet, a book and a revision of the Manual of California Vegetation. |
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Fire Regimes and Fuel Treatments | |
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Project # 98-1-5-01; Principal Investigator: Phil Omi | |
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The size and severity of recent fire episodes are widely attributed to altered fuel profiles as a result of fire exclusion and fire regime disruption. Recent fires also have increased public awareness about the risks and hazards of wildland fires. Current national fuels management initiatives propose widespread application of prescribed fire and other treatments both to reduce the potential of catastrophic wildfire and to restore the structure and function of altered ecosystems. However, the chain of hypotheses that link historic fire regimes to appropriate fuel treatment application has not received a systematic assessment. This project sought to provide such an assessment with a series of quantitative literature syntheses that focused on the following questions: 1) Are the effects of 20th Century fire exclusion on fire frequency related to historic fire regimes? 2) Are 20th century changes in fuel conditions and fire hazard most apparent in ecosystems where fire was historically most frequent? 3) Is there a relationship between historic fire regimes and fuel treatment efficacy? 4) Can geographic variables be used as predictors of historic fire regimes to facilitate their incorporation into fuel management planning? The
Final Report is available at: 98-1-5-01_final
report.pdf |
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Risk assessment of fuel management practices on hillslope erosion processes | |
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Project # 98-1-4-12; Principal Investigator: Peter Robichaud | |
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Over the past century, fire suppression has led to larger and more intense fires that are accompanied by erosion and runoff rates far above natural levels. These escalated erosion and runoff rates pose serious risks to human life and property. Managers are increasingly using prescribed burns and mechanical treatments to reduce fuel loads, but would benefit from easily accessible information to predict the risks of sedimentation and runoff from fuel treatments. Researchers are developing a user-friendly computer program to evaluate erosion hazards following wildfires, prescribed fires and other fuel treatments to address this need. |
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Management and Wildlife Habitat: Quantity and Quality Relationships | |
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Project # 98-1-4-10; Principal Investigator: Bruce Bury | |
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This project constitutes the most comprehensive study of forest-floor fuels and associated wildlife responses in Pacific Northwest forests to date. The objectives of this project were to determine the responses of forest-floor material (course woody debris, duff/leaf litter) and associated herpetofauna to fire in forest stands. Most of the study areas were located on wildfires that occurred in northern California and southern Oregon, however some prescribed fires in North Carolina and northern California were also examined. Research results suggest several new and important findings about fuel reduction and wildlife response 1-5 years post-fire. Final reports can be obtained upon request from the JFSP Office. |
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Stand Replacement Prescribed Burning for Fuel Reduction and Regeneration of Table Mountain Communities in the Southern Applacahian Mountains | |
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Project # 98-1-4-09; Principal Investigator: Thomas Waldrop | |
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Previous research suggests that high-intensity stand-replacement fires are needed to restore these communities because they will open the forest canopy and expose mineral soil. Six studies conducted prescribed burns to better understand the conditions necessary for pine regeneration. Together, these studies examine community response to varying degrees of fire intensity, as well as seedling establishment in varying types of microhabitat. Further
information at: http://www.srs.fs.usda.gov/ffs_gr/ |
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Photo Series for Major Natural Fuel Types of the United States, Phase II | |
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Project # 98-1-1-05; Principal Investigator: Roger Ottmar | |
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The natural fuels stereo photo series is a collection of georeferenced data and photographs that display a range of natural conditions, fuel loadings, and other fuelbed characteristics in a wide variety of forest-, woodland-, shrub-, and grass-dominated ecosystem types. The photo series are useful tools for quickly and inexpensively evaluating vegetation and fuel conditions in the field. The objectives of this project were to: (1) complete an assessment of the literature and the needs of land managers to define a maximum of 10 fuelbed types and their associated fuel elements for further development of the Natural Fuels Photo Series; (2) locate, photograph, and inventory a maximum of 20 sites within a fuelbed type that cover a range of fuel and vegetation conditions and (3) produce a printer-ready manuscript, and assist with the printing process. Further
information can be found at: |
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