Prescribed fire in upland harwood forests

Treesearch

T.L. Keyser; C.H. Greenberg; H. McNab

2014-01-01

In upland hardwood forests of the Southeastern U.S.,prescribed fire is increasingly used by land managers citing objectives that include hazardous fuels reduction, wildlife habitat improvement, promoting oak regeneration, or restoring forest composition or structure to an historic condition. Research suggests that prescribed fire effects on hardwood forests and...

Estimating Woody Biomass Supply From Thinning Treatments to Reduce Fire Hazard in the U.S. West

Treesearch

Kenneth E. Skog; R. James Barbour

2006-01-01

This paper identifies timberland areas in 12 western states where thinning treatments (1) are judged to be needed to reduce fire hazard and (2) may “pay for themselves” at a scale to make investment in forest product processing a realistic option. A web-based tool - Fuel Treatment Evaluator 3.0 - is used to select high-fire-hazard timberland plots from the Forest...

GIS-based probability assessment of natural hazards in forested landscapes of Central and South-Eastern Europe.

PubMed

Lorz, C; Fürst, C; Galic, Z; Matijasic, D; Podrazky, V; Potocic, N; Simoncic, P; Strauch, M; Vacik, H; Makeschin, F

2010-12-01

We assessed the probability of three major natural hazards--windthrow, drought, and forest fire--for Central and South-Eastern European forests which are major threats for the provision of forest goods and ecosystem services. In addition, we analyzed spatial distribution and implications for a future oriented management of forested landscapes. For estimating the probability of windthrow, we used rooting depth and average wind speed. Probabilities of drought and fire were calculated from climatic and total water balance during growing season. As an approximation to climate change scenarios, we used a simplified approach with a general increase of pET by 20%. Monitoring data from the pan-European forests crown condition program and observed burnt areas and hot spots from the European Forest Fire Information System were used to test the plausibility of probability maps. Regions with high probabilities of natural hazard are identified and management strategies to minimize probability of natural hazards are discussed. We suggest future research should focus on (i) estimating probabilities using process based models (including sensitivity analysis), (ii) defining probability in terms of economic loss, (iii) including biotic hazards, (iv) using more detailed data sets on natural hazards, forest inventories and climate change scenarios, and (v) developing a framework of adaptive risk management.

Forest structure and fire hazard in dry forests of the Western United States

Treesearch

David L. Peterson; Morris C. Johnson; James K. Agee; Theresa B. Jain; Donald McKenzie; Elizabeth D. Reinhardt

2005-01-01

Fire, in conjunction with landforms and climate, shapes the structure and function of forests throughout the Western United States, where millions of acres of forest lands contain accumulations of flammable fuel that are much higher than historical conditions owing to various forms of fire exclusion. The Healthy Forests Restoration Act mandates that public land...

Jointly optimizing selection of fuel treatments and siting of forest biomass-based energy production facilities for landscape-scale fire hazard reduction.

Treesearch

Peter J. Daugherty; Jeremy S. Fried

2007-01-01

Landscape-scale fuel treatments for forest fire hazard reduction potentially produce large quantities of material suitable for biomass energy production. The analytic framework FIA BioSum addresses this situation by developing detailed data on forest conditions and production under alternative fuel treatment prescriptions, and computes haul costs to alternative sites...

The potential for LiDAR technology to map fire fuel hazard over large areas of Australian forest.

PubMed

Price, Owen F; Gordon, Christopher E

2016-10-01

Fuel load is a primary determinant of fire spread in Australian forests. In east Australian forests, litter and canopy fuel loads and hence fire hazard are thought to be highest at and beyond steady-state fuel loads 15-20 years post-fire. Current methods used to predict fuel loads often rely on course-scale vegetation maps and simple time-since-fire relationships which mask fine-scale processes influencing fuel loads. Here we use Light Detecting and Remote Sensing technology (LiDAR) and field surveys to quantify post-fire mid-story and crown canopy fuel accumulation and fire hazard in Dry Sclerophyll Forests of the Sydney Basin (Australia) at fine spatial-scales (20 × 20 m cell resolution). Fuel cover was quantified in three strata important for crown fire propagation (0.5-4 m, 4-15 m, >15 m) over a 144 km(2) area subject to varying fire fuel ages. Our results show that 1) LiDAR provided a precise measurement of fuel cover in each strata and a less precise but still useful predictor of surface fuels, 2) cover varied greatly within a mapped vegetation class of the same fuel age, particularly for elevated fuel, 3) time-since-fire was a poor predictor of fuel cover and crown fire hazard because fuel loads important for crown fire propagation were variable over a range of fire fuel ages between 2 and 38 years post-fire, and 4) fuel loads and fire hazard can be high in the years immediately following fire. Our results show the benefits of spatially and temporally specific in situ fuel sampling methods such as LiDAR, and are widely applicable for fire management actions which aim to decrease human and environmental losses due to wildfire. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Fuels planning: science synthesis and integration; forest structure and fire hazard fact sheet 04: role of silviculture in fuel treatments

Treesearch

Rocky Mountain Research Station USDA Forest Service

2004-01-01

The principal goals of fuel treatments are to reduce fireline intensities, reduce the potential for crown fires, improve opportunities for successful fire suppression, and improve forest resilience to forest fires. This fact sheet discusses thinning, and surface fuel treatments, as well as challenges associated with those treatments.

Quantifying the effect of fuel reduction treatments on fire behavior in boreal forests

Treesearch

B.W. Butler; R.D. Ottmar; T.S. Rupp; R. Jandt; E. Miller; K. Howard; R. Schmoll; S. Theisen; R.E. Vihnanek; D. Jimenez

2013-01-01

Mechanical (e.g., shearblading) and manual (e.g., thinning) fuel treatments have become the preferred strategy of many fire managers and agencies for reducing fire hazard in boreal forests. This study attempts to characterize the effectiveness of four fuel treatments through direct measurement of fire intensity and forest floor consumption during a single prescribed...

Strata-based forest fuel classification for wild fire hazard assessment using terrestrial LiDAR

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Yang; Zhu, Xuan; Yebra, Marta; Harris, Sarah; Tapper, Nigel

2016-10-01

Fuel structural characteristics affect fire behavior including fire intensity, spread rate, flame structure, and duration, therefore, quantifying forest fuel structure has significance in understanding fire behavior as well as providing information for fire management activities (e.g., planned burns, suppression, fuel hazard assessment, and fuel treatment). This paper presents a method of forest fuel strata classification with an integration between terrestrial light detection and ranging (LiDAR) data and geographic information system for automatically assessing forest fuel structural characteristics (e.g., fuel horizontal continuity and vertical arrangement). The accuracy of fuel description derived from terrestrial LiDAR scanning (TLS) data was assessed by field measured surface fuel depth and fuel percentage covers at distinct vertical layers. The comparison of TLS-derived depth and percentage cover at surface fuel layer with the field measurements produced root mean square error values of 1.1 cm and 5.4%, respectively. TLS-derived percentage cover explained 92% of the variation in percentage cover at all fuel layers of the entire dataset. The outcome indicated TLS-derived fuel characteristics are strongly consistent with field measured values. TLS can be used to efficiently and consistently classify forest vertical layers to provide more precise information for forest fuel hazard assessment and surface fuel load estimation in order to assist forest fuels management and fire-related operational activities. It can also be beneficial for mapping forest habitat, wildlife conservation, and ecosystem management.

Forest vegetation simulation tools and forest health assessment

Treesearch

Richard M. Teck; Melody Steele

1995-01-01

A Stand Hazard Rating System for Central ldaho forests has been incorporated into the Central ldaho Prognosis variant of the Forest Vegetation Simulator to evaluate how insects, disease and fire hazards within the Deadwood River Drainage change over time. A custom interface, BOISE.COMPUTE.PR, has been developed so hazard ratings can be electronically downloaded...

Non-supervised method for early forest fire detection and rapid mapping

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Artés, Tomás; Boca, Roberto; Liberta, Giorgio; San-Miguel, Jesús

2017-09-01

Natural hazards are a challenge for the society. Scientific community efforts have been severely increased assessing tasks about prevention and damage mitigation. The most important points to minimize natural hazard damages are monitoring and prevention. This work focuses particularly on forest fires. This phenomenon depends on small-scale factors and fire behavior is strongly related to the local weather. Forest fire spread forecast is a complex task because of the scale of the phenomena, the input data uncertainty and time constraints in forest fire monitoring. Forest fire simulators have been improved, including some calibration techniques avoiding data uncertainty and taking into account complex factors as the atmosphere. Such techniques increase dramatically the computational cost in a context where the available time to provide a forecast is a hard constraint. Furthermore, an early mapping of the fire becomes crucial to assess it. In this work, a non-supervised method for forest fire early detection and mapping is proposed. As main sources, the method uses daily thermal anomalies from MODIS and VIIRS combined with land cover map to identify and monitor forest fires with very few resources. This method relies on a clustering technique (DBSCAN algorithm) and on filtering thermal anomalies to detect the forest fires. In addition, a concave hull (alpha shape algorithm) is applied to obtain rapid mapping of the fire area (very coarse accuracy mapping). Therefore, the method leads to a potential use for high-resolution forest fire rapid mapping based on satellite imagery using the extent of each early fire detection. It shows the way to an automatic rapid mapping of the fire at high resolution processing as few data as possible.

Assessing crown fire potential by linking models of surface and crown fire behavior

Treesearch

Joe H. Scott; Elizabeth D. Reinhardt

2001-01-01

Fire managers are increasingly concerned about the threat of crown fires, yet only now are quantitative methods for assessing crown fire hazard being developed. Links among existing mathematical models of fire behavior are used to develop two indices of crown fire hazard-the Torching Index and Crowning Index. These indices can be used to ordinate different forest...

Beyond reducing fire hazard: fuel treatment impacts on overstory tree survival

Treesearch

Brandon M. Collins; Adrian J. Das; John J. Battles; Danny L. Fry; Kevin D. Krasnow; Scott L. Stephens

2014-01-01

Fuel treatment implementation in dry forest types throughout the western United States is likely to increase in pace and scale in response to increasing incidence of large wildfires. While it is clear that properly implemented fuel treatments are effective at reducing hazardous fire potential, there are ancillary ecological effects that can impact forest...

No herbicide residues found in smoke from prescribed fires

Treesearch

Charles K. McMahon; Parshall B. Bush

1992-01-01

Some concerns have been expressed by workers conducting prescribed burns on forest lands treated with herbicides.The major concern has based on speculation that hazardous levels of airborne herbicide residues may be present in the smoke near breathing zones of forest workers. Much of this speculation is based on fire hazard caution statements found on product labels...

Broad-Scale Assessment of Fuel Treatment Opportunities

Treesearch

Patrick D. Miles; Kenneth E. Skog; Wayne D. Shepperd; Elizabeth D. Reinhardt; Roger D. Fight

2006-01-01

The Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) program has produced estimates of the extent and composition of the Nation?s forests for several decades. FIA data have been used with a flexible silvicultural thinning option, a fire hazard model for preharvest and postharvest fire hazard assessment, a harvest economics model, and geospatial data to produce a Web-based tool to...

Fuel reduction and coarse woody debris dynamics with early season and late season prescribed fires in a Sierra Nevada mixed conifer forest

Treesearch

Eric E. Knapp; Jon E. Keeley; Elizabeth A. Ballenger; Teresa J. Brennan

2005-01-01

Fire exclusion has led to an unnatural accumulation and greater spatial continuity of organic material on the ground in many forests. This material serves both as potential fuel for forest fires and habitat for a large array of forest species. Managers must balance fuel reduction to reduce wildfire hazard with fuel retention targets to maintain other forest functions....

Focus on...The right tools: Managing for fire using FIA inventory data.

Treesearch

USDA Forest Service

2003-01-01

The relative severity of recent fire seasons has led to numerous debates about the health, associated fire hazards, and effectiveness of fuel reduction treatments in forests across the United States. Scientific analyses of forest inventories offer policy makers and other interested parties objective information with which to make crucial forest management decisions....

Basic principles of forest fuel reduction treatments

Treesearch

James K. Agee; Carl N. Skinner

2005-01-01

Successful fire exclusion in the 20th century has created severe fire problems across the West. Not every forest is at risk of uncharacteristically severe wildfire, but drier forests are in need of active management to mitigate fire hazard. We summarize a set of simple principles important to address in fuel reduction treatments: reduction of surface fuels, increasing...

Vulnerability and Resilience of Temperate Forest Landscapes to Broad-Scale Deforestation in Response to Changing Fire Regimes and Altered Post-Fire Vegetation Dynamics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tepley, A. J.; Veblen, T. T.; Perry, G.; Anderson-Teixeira, K. J.

2015-12-01

In the face of on-going climatic warming and land-use change, there is growing concern that temperate forest landscapes could be near a tipping point where relatively small changes to the fire regime or altered post-fire vegetation dynamics could lead to extensive conversion to shrublands or savannas. To evaluate vulnerability and resilience to such conversion, we develop a simple model based on three factors we hypothesize to be key in predicting temperate forest responses to changing fire regimes: (1) the hazard rate (i.e., the probability of burning in the next year given the time since the last fire) in closed-canopy forests, (2) the hazard rate for recently-burned, open-canopy vegetation, and (3) the time to redevelop canopy closure following fire. We generate a response surface representing the proportions of the landscape potentially supporting closed-canopy forest and non-forest vegetation under nearly all combinations of these three factors. We then place real landscapes on this response surface to assess the type and magnitude of changes to the fire regime that would drive extensive forest loss. We show that the deforestation of much of New Zealand that followed initial human colonization and the introduction of a new ignition source ca. 750 years ago was essentially inevitable due to the slow rate of forest recovery after fire and the high flammability of post-fire vegetation. In North America's Pacific Northwest, by contrast, a predominantly forested landscape persisted despite two periods of widespread burning in the recent past due in large part to faster post-fire forest recovery and less pronounced differences in flammability between forests and the post-fire vegetation. We also assess the factors that could drive extensive deforestation in other regions to identify where management could reduce this potential and to guide field and modeling work to better understand the responses and ecological feedbacks to changing fire regimes.

WebGIS Platform Adressed to Forest Fire Management Methodologies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

André Ramos-Simões, Nuno; Neto Paixão, Helena Maria; Granja Martins, Fernando Miguel; Pedras, Celestina; Lança, Rui; Silva, Elisa; Jordán, António; Zavala, Lorena; Soares, Cristina

2015-04-01

Forest fires are one of the natural disasters that causes more damages in nature, as well as high material costs, and sometimes, a significant losses in human lives. In summer season, when high temperatures are attained, fire may rapidly progress and destroy vast areas of forest and also rural and urban areas. The forest fires have effect on forest species, forest composition and structure, soil properties and soil capacity for nutrient retention. In order to minimize the negative impact of the forest fires in the environment, many studies have been developed, e.g. Jordán et al (2009), Cerdà & Jordán (2010), and Gonçalves & Vieira (2013). Nowadays, Remote Sensing (RS) and Geographic Information System (GIS) technologies are used as support tools in fire management decisions, namely during the fire, but also before and after. This study presents the development of a user-friendly WebGIS dedicated to share data, maps and provide updated information on forest fire management for stakeholders in Iberia Peninsula. The WebGIS platform was developed with ArcGIS Online, ArcGIS for Desktop; HyperText Markup Language (HTML) and Javascript. This platform has a database that includes spatial and alphanumeric information, such as: origin, burned areas, vegetation change over time, terrain natural slope, land use, soil erosion and fire related hazards. The same database contains also the following relevant information: water sources, forest tracks and traffic ways, lookout posts and urban areas. The aim of this study is to provide the authorities with a tool to assess risk areas and manage more efficiently forest fire hazards, giving more support to their decisions and helping the populations when facing this kind of phenomena.

Late Holocene geomorphic record of fire in ponderosa pine and mixed-conifer forests, Kendrick Mountain, northern Arizona, USA

Treesearch

Sara E. Jenkins; Carolyn Hull Sieg; Diana E. Anderson; Darrell S. Kaufman; Philip A. Pearthree

2011-01-01

Long-term fire history reconstructions enhance our understanding of fire behaviour and associated geomorphic hazards in forested ecosystems. We used 14C ages on charcoal from fire-induced debris-flow deposits to date prehistoric fires on Kendrick Mountain, northern Arizona, USA. Fire-related debris-flow sedimentation dominates Holocene fan deposition in the study area...

Fuel accumulation and forest structure change following hazardous fuel reduction treatments throughout California

Treesearch

Nicole M. Vaillant; Erin K. Noonan-Wright; Alicia L. Reiner; Carol M. Ewell; Benjamin M. Rau; Josephine A. Fites-Kaufman; Scott N. Dailey

2015-01-01

Altered fuel conditions coupled with changing climate have disrupted fire regimes of forests historically characterised by high-frequency and low-to-moderate-severity fire. Managers use fuel treatments to abate undesirable fire behaviour and effects. Short-term effectiveness of fuel treatments to alter fire behaviour and effects is well documented; however, long-term...

Putting out fire with gasoline: pitfalls in the silvicultural treatment of canopy fuels

Treesearch

Christopher R. Keyes; J. Morgan Varner

2007-01-01

There is little question that forest stand structure is directly related to fire behavior, and that canopy fuel structure may be altered using silvicultural methods to successfully modify forest fire behavior and reduce susceptibility to crown fire initiation and spread. Silvicultural treatments can remediate hazardous stand structures that have developed as a result...

Potential fire behavior in pine flatwood forests following three different fuel reduction techniques

Treesearch

Patrick Brose; Dale Wade

2002-01-01

A computer modeling study to determine the potential fire behavior in pine flatwood forests following three fuel hazard reduction treatments: herbicide, prescribed fire and thinning was conducted in Florida following the 1998 wildfire season. Prescribed fire provided immediate protection but this protection quickly disappeared as the rough recovered. Thinning had a...

Simulating the effect of ignition source type on forest fire statistics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Krenn, Roland; Hergarten, Stefan

2010-05-01

Forest fires belong to the most frightening natural hazards, and have long-term ecological and economic effects on the regions involved. It was found that their frequency-area distributions show power-law behaviour under a wide variety of conditions, interpreting them as a self-organised critical phenomenon. Using computer simulations, self-organised critical behaviour manifests in simple cellular automaton models. With respect to ignition source, forest fires can be categorised as lightning-induced or as a result of human activity. Lightning fires are considered to be natural, whereas ``man made'' fires are frequently caused by some sort of technological disaster, such as sparks from wheels of trains, the rupture of overhead electrical lines, the misuse of electrical or mechanical devices and so on. Taking into account that such events rarely occur deep in the woods, man made fires should start preferably on the edge of a forest or where the forest is not very dense. We present a modification in the self-organised critical Drossel-Schwabl forest fire model that takes these two different triggering mechanisms into account and increases the scaling exponent of the frequency-area distribution by ca. 1/3. Combined simulations further predict a dependence of the overall event-size distribution on the ratio of lightning-induced and man made fires as well as a splitting of their partial distributions. Lightning is identified as the dominant mechanism in the regime of the largest fires. The results are confirmed by the analysis of the Canadian Large Fire Database and suggest that lightning-induced and man made forest fires cannot be treated separately in wildfire modelling, hazard assessment and forest management.

An evaluation of the Forest Service Hazardous Fuels Treatment Program—Are we treating enough to promote resiliency or reduce hazard?

Treesearch

Nicole M. Vaillant; Elizabeth D. Reinhardt

2017-01-01

The National Cohesive Wildland Fire Management Strategy recognizes that wildfire is a necessary natural process in many ecosystems and strives to reduce conflicts between fire-prone landscapes and people. In an effort to mitigate potential negative wildfire impacts proactively, the Forest Service fuels program reduces wildland fuels. As part of an internal program...

Understanding the effects of fire management practices on forest health: implications for weeds and vegetation structure

Treesearch

Anne E. Black; Peter Landres

2012-01-01

Current fire policy to restore ecosystem function and resiliency and reduce buildup of hazardous fuels implies a larger future role for fire (both natural and human ignitions) (USDA Forest Service and U.S. Department of the Interior 2000). Yet some fire management (such as building fire line, spike camps, or helispots) potentially causes both short- and longterm...

77 FR 33158 - Plumas National Forest, California, Sugarloaf Hazardous Fuels Reduction Project

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-06-05

... to the economic stability of rural communities through: fuels treatments; group selections (GS); area... (DFPZs), modify fire behavior, promote forest and watershed health, while contributing to the economic stability of rural communities in Plumas County, CA. Fire behavior needs to be modified in selected forest...

[Research progress in post-fire debris flow].

PubMed

Di, Xue-ying; Tao, Yu-zhu

2013-08-01

The occurrence of the secondary disasters of forest fire has significant impacts on the environment quality and human health and safety. Post-fire debris flow is one of the most hazardous secondary disasters of forest fire. To understand the occurrence conditions of post-fire debris flow and to master its occurrence situation are the critical elements in post-fire hazard assessment. From the viewpoints of vegetation, precipitation threshold and debris flow material sources, this paper elaborated the impacts of forest fire on the debris flow, analyzed the geologic and geomorphic conditions, precipitation and slope condition that caused the post-fire debris flow as well as the primary mechanisms of debris-flow initiation caused by shallow landslide or surface runoff, and reviewed the research progress in the prediction and forecast of post-fire debris flow and the related control measures. In the future research, four aspects to be focused on were proposed, i. e., the quantification of the relationships between the fire behaviors and environmental factors and the post-fire debris flow, the quantitative research on the post-fire debris flow initiation and movement processes, the mechanistic model of post-fire debris flow, and the rapid and efficient control countermeasures of post-fire debris flow.

Fuels planning: Managing forest structure to reduce fire hazard

Treesearch

David L. Peterson; Morris C. Johnson; James K. Agee; Theresa B. Jain; Donald McKenzie; Elizabeth D. Reinhardt

2003-01-01

Prior to the 20th century, low intensity fires burned regularly in most arid to semiarid forest ecosystems, with ignitions caused by lightning and humans (e.g., Baisan and Swetnam 1997, Allen et al. 2002, Hessl et al. 2004). Low intensity fires controlled regeneration of fire sensitive (e.g., grand fir [Abies grandis]) species (Arno and Allison-Bunnell 2002), promoted...

Soil nitrogen mineralization and enzymatic activities in fire and fire surrogate treatments in California

Treesearch

J. R. Miesel; R. E. J. Boerner; C. N. Skinner

2011-01-01

Forest thinning and prescribed fire are management strategies used to reduce hazardous fuel loads and catastrophic wildfires in western mixed-conifer forests. We evaluated effects of thinning (Thin) and prescribed fire (Burn), alone and in combination (Thin+Burn), on N transformations and microbial enzyme activities relative to an untreated control (Control) at 1 and 3...

Impacts of fire and fire surrogate treatments on ecosystem nitrogen storage patterns: similarities and differences between forests of eastern and western North America

Treesearch

R.E.J. Boerner; J. Huang; S.C. Hart

2009-01-01

The Fire and Fire Surrogates (FFS) network is composed of 12 forest sites that span the continental United States, all of which historically had frequent low-severity fire. The goal of the FFS study was to assess the efficacy of three management treatments (prescribed fire, mechanical thinning, and their combination) in reducing wildfire hazard and increasing ecosystem...

Forest fuels and landscape-level fire risk assessment of the ozark highlands, Missouri

Treesearch

Michael C. Stambaugh; Richard P. Guyette; Daniel C. Dey

2007-01-01

In this paper we describe a fire risk assessment of the Ozark Highlands. Fire risk is rated using information on ignition potential and fuel hazard. Fuel loading, a component of the fire hazard module, is weakly predicted (r2 = 0.19) by site- and landscape-level attributes. Fuel loading does not significantly differ between Ozark ecological...

Using simulated historical time series to prioritize fuel treatments on landscapes across the United States: The LANDFIRE prototype project

Treesearch

Robert E. Keane; Matthew Rollins; Zhi-Liang Zhu

2007-01-01

Canopy and surface fuels in many fire-prone forests of the United States have increased over the last 70 years as a result of modern fire exclusion policies, grazing, and other land management activities. The Healthy Forest Restoration Act and National Fire Plan establish a national commitment to reduce fire hazard and restore fire-adapted ecosystems across the USA....

REGIONAL ESTIMATION OF CURRENT AND FUTURE FOREST BIOMASS. (R828785)

EPA Science Inventory

The 90,674 wildland fires that burned 2.9 million ha at an estimated suppression cost of $1.6 billion in the United States during the 2000 fire season demonstrated that forest fuel loading has become a hazard to life, property, and ecosystem health as a result of past fire exc...

Coarse woody debris: Managing benefits and fire hazard in the recovering forest

Treesearch

James K. Brown; Elizabeth D. Reinhardt; Kylie A. Kramer

2003-01-01

Management of coarse woody debris following fire requires consideration of its positive and negative values. The ecological benefits of coarse woody debris and fire hazard considerations are summarized. This paper presents recommendations for desired ranges of coarse woody debris. Example simulations illustrate changes in debris over time and with varying management....

Striving for balance: maintaining marten habitat while reducing fuels

Treesearch

John Kirkland; Katie Moriarty

2016-01-01

Martens are small forest carnivores associated with dense, mature forests. These important indicators of a forest’s biodiversity are vulnerable to management activities that open the forest canopy or remove downed debris. Many fuel reduction treatment do just that: dense stands of trees are thinned to minimize fire hazard and future fire severity. Until recently, the...

Assessing the impacts of federal forest planning on wildfire risk-mitigation in the Pacific Northwest, USA

Treesearch

Alan A. Ager; Michelle A. Day; Karen C. Short; Cody R. Evers

2016-01-01

We analyzed the impact of amenity and biodiversity protection as mandated in national forest plans on the implementation of hazardous fuel reduction treatments aimed at protecting the wildland urban interface (WUI) and restoring fire resilient forests. We used simulation modeling to delineate areas on national forests that can potentially transmit fires to...

Burnscar analysis using normalized burning ratio (NBR) index during 2015 forest fire at Merang-Kepahyang peat forest, South Sumatra, Indonesia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Saputra, Agus Dwi; Setiabudidaya, Dedi; Setyawan, Dwi; Khakim, M. Yusup Nur; Iskandar, Iskhaq

2017-07-01

Forest fire, classified as a natural hazard or human-induced hazard, has negative impacts on humans. These negative impacts are including economic loss, health problems, transportation disruption and land degradation or even biodiversity loss. During 2015, forest fire had occurred at the Merang-Kepahyang peat forest that has a total area of about 69.837,00 ha. In order to set a rehabilitation plan for recovering the impact of forest fire, information on the total burnscar area and severity level is required. In this study, the total burnscar area and severity level is evaluated using a calculation on the Normalized Burning Ratio (NBR) Index. The calculation is based on the Near Infra Red (NIR) and Short Wave Infra Red (SWIR) of the satellite imageries from LANDSAT. The images of pre-and post-fire are used to evaluate the severity level, which is defined as a difference in NBR Index of pre- and post-fire. It is found that about 42.906,00 ha of the total area of Merang-Kepahyang peat area have been fired in 2015. These burned area are classified into four categories, i.e., unburned, low, extreme and moderate extreme. By overlying the spatial map of burning level with other thematic maps, it is expected that strategy for rehabilitation plan can be well developed.

Regional estimation of current and future forest biomass

Treesearch

R.A. Mickler; T.S. Earnhardt; J.A. Moore

2002-01-01

The 90,674 wildland fires that burned 2.9 million ha at an estimated suppression cost of $1.6 billion in the United States during the 2000 fire season demonstrated that forest fuel loading has become a hazard to life, property, and ecosystem health as a result of past fire exclusion policies and practices. The fire regime at any given location in these regions is a...

Fuel Treatment Effects on Water Use Efficiency in Western Pine Forests Under Fire Suppression Evaluated Using Tree Ring Carbon Isotopes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Taylor, A. H.; Belmecheri, S.; Harris, L. B.

2016-12-01

We identified variation on water use efficiency interpreted from carbon 13 in tree ring cellulose in dense ponderosa pines forests in Washington and Arizona. Historically, these forests burned every decade until fires were suppressed beginning in the early twentieth century. The reduction in fire caused large increases in forest density and forest biomass and potential for intense fire. Forests with hazardous fuels are common in the western United States and these types of forests are treated with mechanical thinning and mechanical thinning and burning to reduce hazardous fuels and fire intensity. At each site we extracted tree ring samples from five trees in each treatment type and a control to identify the effects of fuel treatment of concentration of carbon 13 in tree ring cellulose. Water use efficiency as measured by carbon 13 increased after fuel treatments. Treatment effects were larger for the mechanical plus burn treatment than for the mechanical treatment in each study area compared to the control stands Our results suggest that fuel treatments reduce sensitivity of tree growth to climate and increase water use efficiency. Since tree ring carbon 13 is related to plant productivity, carbon 13 in tree rings can be used as a metric of change in ecosystem function for evaluating fuel treatments.

Understanding the effects of fire management practices on forest health: Implications for weeds and vegetation structure (Project INT-F-04-01) [Chapter 14

Treesearch

Anne E. Black; Peter Landres

2011-01-01

Current fire policy to restore ecosystem function and resiliency and reduce buildup of hazardous fuels implies a larger future role for fire (both natural and human ignitions) (USDA and USDOI 2000). Yet some fire management (such as building fire line, spike camps, or heli-spots) potentially causes both short- and long-term impacts to forest health. In the short run,...

Reducing hazardous fuels on nonindustrial private forests: factors influencing landowner decisions

Treesearch

A. Paige Fischer

2011-01-01

In mixed-ownership landscapes, fuels conditions on private lands have implications for fire risk on public lands and vice versa. The success of efforts to mitigate fire risk depends on the extent, efficacy, and coordination of treatments on nearby ownerships. Understanding factors in forest owners' decisions to address the risk of wildland fire is therefore...

Evaluating fuel complexes for fire hazard mitigation planning in the southeastern United States

Treesearch

Anne G. Andreu; Dan Shea; Bernard R. Parresol; Roger D. Ottmar

2012-01-01

Fire hazard mitigation planning requires an accurate accounting of fuel complexes to predict potential fire behavior and effects of treatment alternatives. In the southeastern United States, rapid vegetation growth coupled with complex land use history and forest management options requires a dynamic approach to fuel characterization. In this study we assessed...

Ponderosa pine forest restoration treatment longevity: Implications of regeneration on fire hazard

Treesearch

Wade T. Tinkham; Chad M. Hoffman; Seth A. Ex; Michael A. Battaglia; Jarred D. Saralecos

2016-01-01

Restoration of pine forests has become a priority for managers who are beginning to embrace ideas of highly heterogeneous forest structures that potentially encourages high levels of regeneration. This study utilizes stem-mapped stands to assess how simulated regeneration timing and magnitude influence longevity of reduced fire behavior by linking growth and...

Beyond reducing fire hazard: fuel treatment impacts on overstory tree survival

USGS Publications Warehouse

Collins, Brandon M.; Das, Adrian J.; Battles, John J.; Fry, Danny L.; Krasnow, Kevin D.; Stephens, Scott L.

2014-01-01

Fuel treatment implementation in dry forest types throughout the western United States is likely to increase in pace and scale in response to increasing incidence of large wildfires. While it is clear that properly implemented fuel treatments are effective at reducing hazardous fire potential, there are ancillary ecological effects that can impact forest resilience either positively or negatively depending on the specific elements examined, as well as treatment type, timing, and intensity. In this study, we use overstory tree growth responses, measured seven years after the most common fuel treatments, to estimate forest health. Across the five species analyzed, observed mortality and future vulnerability were consistently low in the mechanical-only treatment. Fire-only was similar to the control for all species except Douglas-fir, while mechanical-plus-fire had high observed mortality and future vulnerability for white fir and sugar pine. Given that overstory trees largely dictate the function of forests and services they provide (e.g., wildlife habitat, carbon sequestration, soil stability) these results have implications for understanding longer-term impacts of common fuel treatments on forest resilience.

Improving the Interoperability of Disaster Models: a Case Study of Proposing Fireml for Forest Fire Model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jiang, W.; Wang, F.; Meng, Q.; Li, Z.; Liu, B.; Zheng, X.

2018-04-01

This paper presents a new standardized data format named Fire Markup Language (FireML), extended by the Geography Markup Language (GML) of OGC, to elaborate upon the fire hazard model. The proposed FireML is able to standardize the input and output documents of a fire model for effectively communicating with different disaster management systems to ensure a good interoperability. To demonstrate the usage of FireML and testify its feasibility, an adopted forest fire spread model being compatible with FireML is described. And a 3DGIS disaster management system is developed to simulate the dynamic procedure of forest fire spread with the defined FireML documents. The proposed approach will enlighten ones who work on other disaster models' standardization work.

The role of nongovernmental organizations in fire education, fuels reduction, and forest restoration: a call for collaboration

Treesearch

Timothy Ingalsbee; Daniel Henry; Oshana Catranides; Todd Schulke

2008-01-01

Successfully educating homeowners and communities about wildland fire ecology and management, reducing hazardous fuels, and restoring fire-adapted forest ecosystems will place enormous demands on the budgets, resources, and staff of federal agencies for several decades to come. This work can be aided by collaboration with non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that are...

Managing forest structure and fire hazard--a tool for planners.

Treesearch

M.C. Johnson; D.L. Peterson; C.L. Raymond

2006-01-01

Fire planners and other resource managers need to examine a range of potential fuel and vegetation treatments to select options that will lead to desired outcomes for fire hazard and natural resource conditions. A new approach to this issue integrates concepts and tools from silviculture and fuel science to quantify outcomes for a large number of treatment options in...

Small-diameter timber alchemy: can utilization pay the way toward fire-resistant forests

Treesearch

Jeremy S. Fried; R. Jamie Barbour; Roger D. Fight; Glenn Christensen; Guy Pinjuv

2008-01-01

There is growing interest in using biomass removed from hazardous fuels reduction treatments in wood-fired electrical generation facilities. An application of FIA BioSum to southwest Oregon’s Klamath ecoregion assessed the financial feasibility of fuel treatment and biomass generation under a range of product prices and fire hazard-motivated silvicultural prescriptions...

A collaborative fire hazard reduction/ecosystem restoration stewardship project in a Montana mixed ponderosa pine/Douglas-fir/western larch wildland urban interface

Treesearch

Steve Slaughter; Laura Ward; Michael Hillis; Jim Chew; Rebecca McFarlan

2004-01-01

Forest Service managers and researchers designed and evaluated alternative disturbance-based fire hazard reduction/ecosystem restoration treatments in a greatly altered low-elevation ponderosa pine/Douglas-fir/western larch wildland urban interface. Collaboratively planned improvement cutting and prescribed fire treatment alternatives were evaluated in simulations of...

36 CFR 28.11 - Nonconforming uses.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 36 Parks, Forests, and Public Property 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Nonconforming uses. 28.11 Section 28.11 Parks, Forests, and Public Property NATIONAL PARK SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR FIRE... insurance practices), destroyed or rendered a hazard, whether by fire, natural disaster, abandonment or...

36 CFR 28.11 - Nonconforming uses.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... 36 Parks, Forests, and Public Property 1 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Nonconforming uses. 28.11 Section 28.11 Parks, Forests, and Public Property NATIONAL PARK SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR FIRE... insurance practices), destroyed or rendered a hazard, whether by fire, natural disaster, abandonment or...

The influence of market proximity on national forest hazardous fuels treatments

Treesearch

Max Nielsen-Pincus; Susan Charnley; Cassandra Moseley

2013-01-01

The US Department of Agriculture Forest Service’s focus on hazardous fuels reduction has increased since the adoption of the National Fire Plan in 2001. However, appropriations for hazardous fuels reduction still lag behind wildfire suppression spending. Offsetting fuels treatment costs through biomass utilization or by using innovative administrative mechanisms such...

Reducing fire hazard in ponderosa pine thinning slash by mechanical crushing

Treesearch

John R. Dell; Franklin R. Ward

1969-01-01

Precommercial thinning in ponderosa pine stands in the Western United States is a growing practice. Thinning slash can, however, be a serious fire hazard in dry areas. Crushing and compacting this slash may be one way of reducing the hazard. Three types of mechanical crushers were tested on the Deschutes National Forest, Oregon. Results indicate that at least one of...

Resource-dependent growth models for Sierran mixed-conifer saplings

Treesearch

S.W. Bigelow; M.P. North; W.R. Horwath

2009-01-01

Thinning to reduce wildfire hazard is a common management practice in frequent-fire forests of the American west, but it is uncertain whether projects will help regenerate fire-resistant, shade-intolerant pines. We studied naturally established saplings of six conifer species in mixed-conifer forest in northern California, USA to...

Emergency assessment of postwildfire debris-flow hazards for the 2011 Motor Fire, Sierra and Stanislaus National Forests, California

USGS Publications Warehouse

Cannon, Susan H.; Michael, John A.

2011-01-01

This report presents an emergency assessment of potential debris-flow hazards from basins burned by the 2011 Motor fire in the Sierra and Stanislaus National Forests, Calif. Statistical-empirical models are used to estimate the probability and volume of debris flows that may be produced from burned drainage basins as a function of different measures of basin burned extent, gradient, and soil physical properties, and in response to a 30-minute-duration, 10-year-recurrence rainstorm. Debris-flow probability and volume estimates are then combined to form a relative hazard ranking for each basin. This assessment provides critical information for issuing warnings, locating and designing mitigation measures, and planning evacuation timing and routes within the first two years following the fire.

Decision support tools to improve the effectiveness of hazardous fuel reduction treatments in the New Jersey Pine Barrens

Treesearch

Kenneth L. Clark; Nicholas Skowronski; John Hom; Matthew Duveneck; Yude Pan; Stephen Van Tuyl; Jason Cole; Matthew Patterson; Stephen Maurer

2009-01-01

Our goal is to assist the New Jersey Forest Fire Service and federal wildland fire managers in the New Jersey Pine Barrens evaluate where and when to conduct hazardous fuel reduction treatments. We used remotely sensed LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging System) data and field sampling to estimate fuel loads and consumption during prescribed fire treatments. This...

Fire behavior modeling to assess net benefits of forest treatments on fire hazard mitigation and bioenergy production in Northeastern California

Treesearch

David J. Ganz; David S. Saah; Klaus Barber; Mark Nechodom

2007-01-01

The fire behavior modeling described here, conducted as part of the Biomass to Energy (B2E) life cycle assessment, is funded by the California Energy Commission to evaluate the potential net benefits associated with treating and utilizing forest biomass. The B2E project facilitates economic, environmental, energy, and effectiveness assessments of the potential public...

Long-term dead wood changes in a Sierra Nevada mixed conifer forest: habitat and fire hazard implications

Treesearch

Eric E. Knapp

2015-01-01

Dead trees play an important role in forests, with snags and coarse woody debris (CWD) used by many bird and mammal species for nesting, resting, or foraging. However, too much dead wood can also contribute to extreme fire behavior. This tension between dead wood as habitat and dead wood as fuel has raised questions about appropriate quantities in fire-dependent...

Fuel mapping for the future

Treesearch

C.W. Woodall; G.R. Holden; J.S. Vissage

2004-01-01

The large wildland fires that raged during the 2000 and 2002 fire seasons highlighted the need for a nationwide strategic assessment of forest fuels. The lack of a nationally consistent and comprehensive inventory of forest fuels has hindered large-scale assessments- essential for effective fuel hazard management and monitoring reduction treatments. Data from the USDA...

Warm Dry Weather Conditions Cause of 2016 Fort McMurray Wild Forest Fire and Associated Air Quality

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

de Azevedo, S. C.; Singh, R. P.; da Silva, E. A., Sr.

2016-12-01

The climate change is evident from the increasing temperature around the world, day to day life and increasing frequency of natural hazards. The warm and dry conditions are the cause of frequent forest fires around the globe. Forest fires severely affect the air quality and human health. Multi sensor satellites and dense network of ground stations provide information about vegetation health, meteorological, air quality and atmospheric parameters. We have carried out detailed analysis of satellite and ground data of wild forest fire that occurred in May 2016 in Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada. This wild forest fire destroyed 10 per cent of Fort McMurray's housing and forced more than 90,000 people to evacuate the surrounding areas. Our results show that the warm and dry conditions with low rainfall were the cause of Fort McMurray wild fire. The air quality parameters (particulate matter, CO, ozone, NO2, methane) and greenhouse gases measured from Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) satellite show enhanced levels soon after the forest fire. The emissions from the forest fire affected health of population living in surrounding areas up to 300 km radius.

The effects of hazardous fuel reduction treatments in the wildland urban interface on the activity of bark beetles infesting ponderosa pine

Treesearch

Christopher J. Fettig; Joel D. McMillin; John. A. Anhold; Shakeeb M. Hamud; Steven J. Seybold; Robert R. Borys

2008-01-01

(Please note, this is an abstract only) Selective logging, fire suppression, forest succession, and climatic changes have resulted in high fire hazards over large areas of the western United States. Federal and state hazardous fuel reduction programs have increased accordingly to reduce the risk, extent and severity of these events, particularly in the wildland urban...

From leaves to landscape: A multiscale approach to assess fire hazard in wildland-urban interface areas.

PubMed

Ghermandi, Luciana; Beletzky, Natacha A; de Torres Curth, Mónica I; Oddi, Facundo J

2016-12-01

The overlapping zone between urbanization and wildland vegetation, known as the wildland urban interface (WUI), is often at high risk of wildfire. Human activities increase the likelihood of wildfires, which can have disastrous consequences for property and land use, and can pose a serious threat to lives. Fire hazard assessments depend strongly on the spatial scale of analysis. We assessed the fire hazard in a WUI area of a Patagonian city by working at three scales: landscape, community and species. Fire is a complex phenomenon, so we used a large number of variables that correlate a priori with the fire hazard. Consequently, we analyzed environmental variables together with fuel load and leaf flammability variables and integrated all the information in a fire hazard map with four fire hazard categories. The Nothofagus dombeyi forest had the highest fire hazard while grasslands had the lowest. Our work highlights the vulnerability of the wildland-urban interface to fire in this region and our suggested methodology could be applied in other wildland-urban interface areas. Particularly in high hazard areas, our work could help in spatial delimitation policies, urban planning and development of plans for the protection of human lives and assets. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

[Forest fire risk assessment for China under different climate scenarios.

PubMed

Tian, Xiao Rui; Dai, Xuan; Wang, Ming Yu; Zhao, Feng Jun; Shu, Li Fu

2016-03-01

Forest fire risk depends on the hazard factors, affected body, and hazard prevention and reduction ability. The integrated risk assessment is the foundation for developing scientific fire mana-gement policies and carrying out the forest fire prevention measures. A forest fire risk assessment model and index system were established based on the classic natural disaster risk model and available data, and the model was used to assess the forest fire risks in past and future. The future climate scenario data included outputs from five global climate models (GFDL-ESM2M, HadGEM2-ES, IPSL-CM5A-LR, MIROC-ESM-CHEM and NorESM1-M) for RCP 2.6, RCP 4.5, RCP 6.0 and RCP 8.5, respectively. Each component index of Fire Weather Index (FWI) system was calculated daily for each grid in 1987-2050 for the historical observations and future climate scenarios according to the maximum temperature, minimum relative humidity, wind speed and daily precipitation. The results showed that areas with high and very high fire danger ratings in 1987-2010 accounted for 21.2% and 6.2%, respectively, which were distributed in Greater Xing'an Mountains and the Changbai Mountain area, most parts of Yunnan, and many fragment areas in southern China. The areas with high and very high burn possibilities were mainly distributed in the northeast and southwest region, accounting for 13.1% and 4.0%, respectively. Compared with the observation period, the areas with high and very high fire danger ratings in 2021-2050 would increase by 0.6%, 5.5%, 2.3%, and 3.5% under RCP 2.6, RCP 4.5, RCP 6.0, and RCP 8.5 respectively, and North China would show significant increase. The regions with high-risk forest fires would also increase due to climate change, with the most significant increase under RCP 8.5 scenario (+1.6%).

Mapping Fuels on the Okanogan and Wenatchee National Forests

Treesearch

Crystal L. Raymond; Lara-Karena B. Kellogg; Donald McKenzie

2006-01-01

Resource managers need spatially explicit fuels data to manage fire hazard and evaluate the ecological effects of wildland fires and fuel treatments. For this study, fuels were mapped on the Okanogan and Wenatchee National Forests (OWNF) using a rule-based method and the Fuels Characteristic Classification System (FCCS). The FCCS classifies fuels based on their...

Fire management and carbon sequestration in Pine Barren Forests

Treesearch

Kenneth L. Clark; Nicholas Skowronski; Michael Gallagher

2015-01-01

Prescribed burning is the major viable option that land managers have for reducing hazardous fuels and ensuring the regeneration of fire-dependent species in a cost-effective manner in Pine Barren ecosystems. Fuels management activities are directly linked to carbon (C) storage and rates of C sequestration by forests. To evaluate the effects of prescribed burning on...

Fire danger index efficiency as a function of fuel moisture and fire behavior.

PubMed

Torres, Fillipe Tamiozzo Pereira; Romeiro, Joyce Machado Nunes; Santos, Ana Carolina de Albuquerque; de Oliveira Neto, Ricardo Rodrigues; Lima, Gumercindo Souza; Zanuncio, José Cola

2018-08-01

Assessment of the performance of forest fire hazard indices is important for prevention and management strategies, such as planning prescribed burnings, public notifications and firefighting resource allocation. The objective of this study was to evaluate the performance of fire hazard indices considering fire behavior variables and susceptibility expressed by the moisture of combustible material. Controlled burns were carried out at different times and information related to meteorological conditions, characteristics of combustible material and fire behavior variables were recorded. All variables analyzed (fire behavior and fuel moisture content) can be explained by the prediction indices. The Brazilian EVAP/P showed the best performance, both at predicting moisture content of the fuel material and fire behavior variables, and the Canadian system showed the best performance to predicting the rate of spread. The coherence of the correlations between the indices and the variables analyzed makes the methodology, which can be applied anywhere, important for decision-making in regions with no records or with only unreliable forest fire data. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Fire hazards at the urban-wildland interface: What the public expects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cortner, Hanna J.; Gardner, Philip D.; Taylor, Jonathan G.

1990-01-01

Urban-wildland issues have become among the most contentious and problematic issues for forest managers. Using data drawn from surveys conducted by the authors and others, this article discusses how public knowledge and perceptions of fire policies and fire hazards change over time, the kinds of policy responses homeowners prefer as a way of preventing fire hazards at the urban-wildland interface, and how citizens view their own obligations as participants in interface issues. These data show that public attitudes toward fire have changed significantly over the past two decades and that educating the public about fire and the managers' use of fire can have positive effects on behavior. Yet, modifying the individual's behavior in regard to interface fire risks must also deal with important issues of individual incentives, the distribution of costs, and unanticipated policy impacts.

Fire hazards at the urban-wildland interface: what the public expects

USGS Publications Warehouse

Cortner, Hanna J.; Gardner, Philip D.; Taylor, Jonathan G.

1990-01-01

Urban-wildland issues have become among the most contentious and problematic issues for forest managers. Using data drawn from surveys conducted by the authors and others, this article discusses how public knowledge and perceptions of fire policies and fire hazards change over time, the kinds of policy responses homeowners prefer as a way of preventing fire hazards at the urban-wildland interface, and how citizens view their own obligations as participants in interface issues. These data show that public attitudes toward fire have changed significantly over the past two decades and that educating the public about fire and the managers' use of fire can have positive effects on behavior. Yet, modifying the individual's behavior in regard to interface fire risks must also deal with important issues of individual incentives, the distribution of costs, and unanticipated policy impacts.

76 FR 62755 - Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-10-11

... wild land urban interface homeowners. The information collected will help wildland fire managers and... a currently valid OMB control number. Forest Service Title: Overcoming Barriers to Wildland Fire... information regarding barriers to participating in fire hazard reduction programs in the wildland urban...

Assessing high reliability practices in the wildland fire community

Treesearch

Anne E. Black; Kathleen Sutcliffe; Michelle Barton; Deirdre Dether

2008-01-01

The Office of Inspector General's 2006 audit of Forest Service fire management operations added yet another voice to the growing chorus calling on the Federal wildland fire community to get more fire on the ground (OIG 2006). The 1995 National Fire Plan and the 2001 Implementation Plan identify the critical role of wildland fire use in reducing hazardous fuels...

Use of prescribed fire to reduce wildfire potential

Treesearch

Robert E. Martin; J. Boone Kauffman

1989-01-01

Fires were a part of our wildlands prehistorically. Prescribed burning reduces fire hazard and potential fire behavior primarily by reducing fuel quantity and continuity. Fuel continuity should be considered on the micro scale within stands, the mid-scale among, and the macro-scale among watersheds or entire forests. Prescribed fire is only one of the tools which can...

A suite of fire, fuels, and smoke management tools

Treesearch

Roger D. Ottmar; Clint S. Wright; Susan J. Prichard

2009-01-01

The Fire and Environmental Research Applications Team (FERA) of the Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station, is an interdisciplinary team of scientists that conduct primary research on wildland fire and provide decision support for fire hazard and smoke management. The team is committed to providing easy-to-use tools that help managers in their fire and...

Understory vegetation response in longleaf pine forests to fire and fire surrogate treatments for wildfire hazard reduction and ecological restoration

Treesearch

Dale G. Brockway; Kenneth W Outcalt

2005-01-01

The principal objective is to quantify the responses of the understory plant community to fire and fire surrogate treatments, specifically plant species composition, foliar cover, species richness, diversity, and evenness changes resulting from (1) fire exclusion in the untreated control, (2) prescribed fire, (3) thinning, (4) thinning plus prescribed fire, and (5)...

Fire Impact on Surface Fuels and Carbon Emissions in Scots pine Logged Sites of Siberia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ivanova, G. A.; Kukavskaya, E. A.; Bogorodskaya, A. V.; Ivanov, V. A.; Zhila, S. V.; Conard, S. G.

2012-04-01

Forest fire and large-scale forest harvesting are the two major disturbances in the Russian boreal forests. Non-recovered logged sites total about a million hectares. Logged sites are characterized by higher fire hazard than forest sites due great amounts of logging slash, which dries out much more rapidly compared to understory fuels. Moreover, most logging sites can be easily accessed by local population. Both legal and illegal logging are also increasing rapidly in many forest areas of Siberia. Fire effects on forest overstory, subcanopy woody layer, and ground vegetation biomass were estimated on logged vs. unlogged sites in the Central Siberia region in 2009-2012 as a part of the project "The Influence of Changing Forestry Practices on the Effects of Wildfire and on Interactions Between Fire and Changing Climate in Central Siberia" supported by NASA (NEESPI). Dead down woody fuels are significantly less at unburned/logged area of dry southern regions compared to more humid northern regions. Fuel consumption was typically less in spring fires than during summer fires. Fire-caused carbon emissions on logged sites appeared to be twice that on unlogged sites. Soil respiration is less at logged areas compared to undisturbed forest. After fire soil respiration decreases both at logged and unlogged areas. arbon emissions from fire and post-fire ecosystem damage on logged sites are expected to increase under changing climate conditions and as a result of anticipated increases in future forest harvesting in Siberia.

Impact of prescribed fire and other factors on cheatgrass persistence in a Sierra Nevada ponderosa pine forest

USGS Publications Warehouse

Keeley, J.E.; McGinnis, T.W.

2007-01-01

Following the reintroduction of fire Bromus tectorum has invaded the low elevation ponderosa pine forests in parts of Kings Canyon National Park, California. We used prescribed burns, other field manipulations, germination studies, and structural equation modelling, to investigate how fire and other factors affect the persistence of cheatgrass in these forests. Our studies show that altering burning season to coincide with seed maturation is not likely to control cheatgrass because sparse fuel loads generate low fire intensity. Increasing time between prescribed fires may inhibit cheatgrass by increasing surface fuels (both herbaceous and litter), which directly inhibit cheatgrass establishment, and by creating higher intensity fires capable of killing a much greater fraction of the seed bank. Using structural equation modelling, postfire cheatgrass dominance was shown to be most strongly controlled by the prefire cheatgrass seedbank; other factors include soil moisture, fire intensity, soil N, and duration of direct sunlight. Current fire management goals in western conifer forests are focused on restoring historical fire regimes; however, these frequent fire regimes may enhance alien plant invasion in some forest types. Where feasible, fire managers should consider the option of an appropriate compromise between reducing serious fire hazards and exacerbating alien plant invasions. ?? IAWF 2007.

Ten years after wildfires: How does varying tree mortality impact fire hazard and forest resiliency?

Treesearch

Camille S. Stevens-Rumann; Carolyn H. Sieg; Molly E. Hunter

2012-01-01

Severe wildfires across the western US have lead to concerns about heavy surface fuel loading and the potential for high-intensity reburning. Ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) forests, often overly dense from a century of fire suppression, are increasingly susceptible to large and severe wildfires especially given warmer and drier climate projections for the future....

Wildfire mitigation strategies affect soil enzyme activity and soil organic carbon in loblolly pine (Pinus taeda) forests

Treesearch

R.E.J. Boerner; T.A. Waldrop; V.B. Shelburne

2006-01-01

We quantified the effects of three wildfire hazard reduction treatments (prescribed fire, thinning from below, and the combination of fire and thinning), and passive management (control) on mineral soil organic C, and enzyme activity in loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) forests on the Piedmont of South Carolina. Soil organic C was reduced by thinning,...

Fuel treatment guidebook: illustrating treatment effects on fire hazard

Treesearch

Morris Johnson; David L. Peterson; Crystal Raymond

2009-01-01

The Guide to Fuel Treatments (Johnson and others 2007) analyzes potential fuel treatments and the potential effects of those treatments for dry forest lands in the Western United States. The guide examines low- to mid-elevation dry forest stands with high stem densities and heavy ladder fuels, which are currently common due to fire exclusion and various land management...

Bioenergy from trees: using cost-effective thinning to reduce forest fire hazards

Treesearch

Marie Oliver; Jeremy Fried; Jamie Barbour

2009-01-01

Increasingly large and severe wildfires threaten millions of forested acres throughout the West. Under certain conditions, mechanical thinning can address these hazardous conditions while providing opportunitiesto create renewable energy and reduce our carbon footprint but how do land managers decide whether thinning is a good idea? How do they decide where to begin,...

Fuels planning: science synthesis and integration; forest structure and fire hazard fact sheet 05: fuel treatment principles for complex landscapes

Treesearch

Rocky Mountain Research Station USDA Forest Service

2004-01-01

Appropriate types of thinning and surface fuel treatments are clearly useful in reducing surface and crown fire hazards under a wide range of fuels and topographic situations. This paper provides well-established scientific principles and simulation tools that can be used to adjust fuel treatments to attain specific risk levels.

Financial analysis of fuel treatments on national forests in the Western United States.

Treesearch

Roger D. Fight; R. James Barbour

2006-01-01

The purpose of this note is to provide a starting point for discussion of fire hazard reduction treatments that meet the full range of management objectives, including budget priorities. Thoughtful design requires an understanding not only of the physical and biological outcomes, but also the costs and potential revenues of applying variations of fire hazard reduction...

Landscape-scale fuel treatment and wildfire impacts on carbon stocks and fire hazard in California spotted owl habitat

Treesearch

Lindsay A. Chiono; Danny L. Fry; Brandon M. Collins; Andrea H. Chatfield; Scott L. Stephens

2017-01-01

Forest managers are challenged with meeting numerous demands that often include wildlife habitat and carbon (C) sequestration. We used a probabilistic framework of wildfire occurrence to (1) estimate the potential for fuel treatments to reduce fire risk and hazard across the landscape and within protected California spotted owl (Strix occidentalis...

Estimating canopy bulk density and canopy base height for conifer stands in the interior Western United States using the Forest Vegetation Simulator Fire and Fuels Extension.

Treesearch

Seth Ex; Frederick Smith; Tara Keyser; Stephanie Rebain

2017-01-01

The Forest Vegetation Simulator Fire and Fuels Extension (FFE-FVS) is often used to estimate canopy bulk density (CBD) and canopy base height (CBH), which are key indicators of crown fire hazard for conifer stands in the Western United States. Estimated CBD from FFE-FVS is calculated as the maximum 4 m running mean bulk density of predefined 0.3 m thick canopy layers (...

Shrub seed banks in mixed conifer forests of northern California and the role of fire in regulating abundance

Treesearch

Eric E. Knapp; Phillip C. Weatherspoon; Carl N. Skinner

2012-01-01

Understory shrubs play important ecological roles in forests of the western US, but they can also impede early tree growth and lead to fire hazard concerns when very dense. Some of the more common genera (Ceanothus, Arctostaphylos, and Prunus) persist for long periods in the seed bank, even in areas where plants have been...

Changes in downed wood and forest structure after prescribed fire in ponderosa pine forests

Treesearch

Victoria Saab; Lisa Bate; John Lehmkuhl; Brett Dickson; Scott Story; Stephanie Jentsch; William Block

2006-01-01

Most prescribed fire plans focus on reducing wildfire hazards with little consideration given to effects on wildlife populations and their habitats. To evaluate effectiveness of prescribed burning in reducing fuels and to assess effects of fuels reduction on wildlife, we began a large-scale study known as the Birds and Burns Network in 2002. In this paper we analyze...

Historical dominance of low-severity fire in dry and wet mixed-conifer forest habitats of the endangered terrestrial Jemez Mountains salamander (Plethodon neomexicanus)

USGS Publications Warehouse

Margolis, Ellis; Malevich, Steven B.

2016-01-01

Anthropogenic alteration of ecosystem processes confounds forest management and conservation of rare, declining species. Restoration of forest structure and fire hazard reduction are central goals of forest management policy in the western United States, but restoration priorities and treatments have become increasingly contentious. Numerous studies have documented changes in fire regimes, forest stand structure and species composition following a century of fire exclusion in dry, frequent-fire forests of the western U.S. (e.g., ponderosa pine and dry mixed-conifer). In contrast, wet mixed-conifer forests are thought to have historically burned infrequently with mixed- or high-severity fire—resulting in reduced impacts from fire exclusion and low restoration need—but data are limited. In this study we quantified the current forest habitat of the federally endangered, terrestrial Jemez Mountains salamander (Plethodon neomexicanus) and compared it to dendroecological reconstructions of historical habitat (e.g., stand structure and composition), and fire regime parameters along a gradient from upper ponderosa pine to wet mixed-conifer forests. We found that current fire-free intervals in Jemez Mountains salamander habitat (116–165 years) are significantly longer than historical intervals, even in wet mixed-conifer forests. Historical mean fire intervals ranged from 10 to 42 years along the forest gradient. Low-severity fires were historically dominant across all forest types (92 of 102 fires). Although some mixed- or highseverity fire historically occurred at 67% of the plots over the last four centuries, complete mortality within 1.0 ha plots was rare, and asynchronous within and among sites. Climate was an important driver of temporal variability in fire severity, such that mixed- and high-severity fires were associated with more extreme drought than low-severity fires. Tree density in dry conifer forests historically ranged from open (90 trees/ha) to moderately dense (400 trees/ha), but has doubled on average since fire exclusion. Infill of fire-sensitive tree species has contributed to the conversion of historically dry mixedconifer to wet mixed-conifer forest. We conclude that low-severity fire, which has been absent for over a century, was a critical ecosystem process across the forest gradient in Jemez Mountains salamander habitat, and thus is an important element of ecosystem restoration, resilience, and rare species recovery.

Understory Herbicide as a Treatment For Reducing Hazardous Fuels and Extreme Fire Behavior in Slash Pine Plantations

Treesearch

Patrick H. Brose; Dale Wade

2002-01-01

The 1998 wildfires in Florida sparked a serious debate about the accumulation of hazardous forest fuels and the merits of prescribed fire and alternatives for mitigating that problem. One such alternative is application of understory herbicides and anecdotal evidence suggests they may either exacerbate or lessen the fuel accumulation problem. In 1998, a study was...

Factors in United States Forest Service district rangers' decision to manage a fire for resource benefit

Treesearch

Martha A. Williamson

2007-01-01

United States wildland fire policy and program reviews in 1995 and 2000 required both the reduction of hazardous fuel and recognition of fire as a natural process. Despite the fact that existing policy permits managing natural ignitions to meet resource benefits, or Wildland Fire Use (WFU), most fuel reduction projects rely on mechanical treatments and prescribed fire...

Remote sensing information for fire management and fire effects assessment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chuvieco, Emilio; Kasischke, Eric S.

2007-03-01

Over the past decade, much research has been carried out on the utilization of advanced geospatial technologies (remote sensing and geographic information systems) in the fire science and fire management disciplines. Recent advances in these technologies were the focus of a workshop sponsored by the EARSEL special interest group (SIG) on forest fires (FF-SIG) and the Global Observation of Forest and Land Cover Dynamics (GOFC-GOLD) fire implementation team. Here we summarize the framework and the key findings of papers submitted from this meeting and presented in this special section. These papers focus on the latest advances for near real-time monitoring of active fires, prediction of fire hazards and danger, monitoring of fuel moisture, mapping of fuel types, and postfire assessment of the impacts from fires.

The dynamics and drivers of fuel and fire in the Portuguese public forest.

PubMed

Fernandes, Paulo M; Loureiro, Carlos; Guiomar, Nuno; Pezzatti, Gianni B; Manso, Filipa T; Lopes, Luís

2014-12-15

The assumption that increased wildfire incidence in the Mediterranean Basin during the last decades is an outcome of changes in land use warrants an objective analysis. In this study we examine how annual area burned (BA) in the Portuguese public forest varied in relation to environmental and human-influenced drivers during the 1943-2011 period. Fire behaviour models were used to describe fuel hazard considering biomass removal, cover type changes, area burned, post-disturbance fuel accumulation, forest age-classes distribution and fuel connectivity. Biomass removal decreased rapidly beyond the 1940s, which, along with afforestation, increased fuel hazard until the 1980s; a subsequent decline was caused by increased fire activity. Change point analysis indicates upward shifts in BA in 1952 and in 1973, both corresponding to six-fold increases. Fire weather (expressed by the 90th percentile of the Canadian FWI during summer) increased over the study period, accounting for 18 and 36% of log(BA) variation before 1974 and after 1973, respectively. Regression modelling indicates that BA responds positively to fire weather, fuel hazard and number of fires in descending order of importance; pre-summer and 2-year lagged precipitation respectively decrease and increase BA, but the effects are minor and non-significant when both variables are included in the model. Land use conflicts (expressed through more fires) played a role, but it was afforestation and agricultural abandonment that supported the fire regime shifts, explaining weather-drought as the current major driver of BA as well. We conclude that bottom-up factors, i.e. human-induced changes in landscape flammability and ignition density, can enhance or override the influence of weather-drought on the fire regime in Mediterranean humid regions. A more relevant role of fuel control in fire management policies and practices is warranted by our findings. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Predicting mortality of ponderosa pine regeneration after prescribed fire in the Black Hills, South Dakota, USA

Treesearch

Mike Battaglia; Frederick W. Smith; Wayne D. Shepperd

2009-01-01

Reduction of crown fire hazard in Pinus ponderosa forests in the Black Hills, SD, often focuses on the removal of overstorey trees to reduce crown bulk density. Dense ponderosa pine regeneration establishes several years after treatment and eventually increases crown fire risk if allowed to grow. Using prescribed fire to control this regeneration is...

Reintroducing fire into the Blacks Mountain Research Natural Area: effects on fire hazard

Treesearch

Carl N. Skinner

2005-01-01

Frequent, low-intensity, surface fires were an integral ecological process in the Blacks Mountain Experimental Forest (BMEF) prior to the 20th Century. With rare exception, fires have been successfully excluded from BMEF since the early 1900s. The Blacks Mountain Research Natural Area (BMRNA) covers approximately 521 acres of BMEF in 5 compartments of approximately 100...

Measurement repeatability of a large-scale inventory of forest fuels

Treesearch

J.A. Westfall; C.W. Woodall

2007-01-01

An efficient and accurate inventory of forest fuels at large scales is critical for assessment of forest fire hazards across landscapes. The Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) program of the USDA Forest Service conducts a national inventory of fuels along with blind remeasurement of a portion of inventory plots to monitor and improve data quality. The goal of this...

Effects of fuel load and moisture content on fire behaviour and heating in masticated litter-dominated fuels

Treesearch

Jesse K. Kreye; Leda N. Kobziar; Wayne C. Zipperer

2013-01-01

Mechanical fuels treatments are being used in fire-prone ecosystems where fuel loading poses a hazard, yetlittle research elucidating subsequent fire behaviour exists, especially in litter-dominated fuelbeds. To address this deficiency, we burned constructed fuelbeds from masticated sites in pine flatwoods forests in northern Florida...

Spatial temporal clustering for hotspot using kulldorff scan statistic method (KSS): A case in Riau Province

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hudjimartsu, S. A.; Djatna, T.; Ambarwari, A.; Apriliantono

2017-01-01

The forest fires in Indonesia occurs frequently in the dry season. Almost all the causes of forest fires are caused by the human activity itself. The impact of forest fires is the loss of biodiversity, pollution hazard and harm the economy of surrounding communities. To prevent fires required the method, one of them with spatial temporal clustering. Spatial temporal clustering formed grouping data so that the results of these groupings can be used as initial information on fire prevention. To analyze the fires, used hotspot data as early indicator of fire spot. Hotspot data consists of spatial and temporal dimensions can be processed using the Spatial Temporal Clustering with Kulldorff Scan Statistic (KSS). The result of this research is to the effectiveness of KSS method to cluster spatial hotspot in a case within Riau Province and produces two types of clusters, most cluster and secondary cluster. This cluster can be used as an early fire warning information.

Integrating remote sensing and terrain data in forest fire modeling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Medler, Michael Johns

Forest fire policies are changing. Managers now face conflicting imperatives to re-establish pre-suppression fire regimes, while simultaneously preventing resource destruction. They must, therefore, understand the spatial patterns of fires. Geographers can facilitate this understanding by developing new techniques for mapping fire behavior. This dissertation develops such techniques for mapping recent fires and using these maps to calibrate models of potential fire hazards. In so doing, it features techniques that strive to address the inherent complexity of modeling the combinations of variables found in most ecological systems. Image processing techniques were used to stratify the elements of terrain, slope, elevation, and aspect. These stratification images were used to assure sample placement considered the role of terrain in fire behavior. Examination of multiple stratification images indicated samples were placed representatively across a controlled range of scales. The incorporation of terrain data also improved preliminary fire hazard classification accuracy by 40%, compared with remotely sensed data alone. A Kauth-Thomas transformation (KT) of pre-fire and post-fire Thematic Mapper (TM) remotely sensed data produced brightness, greenness, and wetness images. Image subtraction indicated fire induced change in brightness, greenness, and wetness. Field data guided a fuzzy classification of these change images. Because fuzzy classification can characterize a continuum of a phenomena where discrete classification may produce artificial borders, fuzzy classification was found to offer a range of fire severity information unavailable with discrete classification. These mapped fire patterns were used to calibrate a model of fire hazards for the entire mountain range. Pre-fire TM, and a digital elevation model produced a set of co-registered images. Training statistics were developed from 30 polygons associated with the previously mapped fire severity. Fuzzy classifications of potential burn patterns were produced from these images. Observed field data values were displayed over the hazard imagery to indicate the effectiveness of the model. Areas that burned without suppression during maximum fire severity are predicted best. Areas with widely spaced trees and grassy understory appear to be misrepresented, perhaps as a consequence of inaccuracies in the initial fire mapping.

A contingent valuation study of the value of reducing fire hazards to old-growth forests in the Pacific Northwest

Treesearch

John B. Loomis; Armando González-Cabán; Robin Gregory

1996-01-01

A contingent valuation methodology was applied to old-growth forests and critical habitat units for the Northern Spotted Owl in Oregon to estimate the economic value to the public in knowing that rare and unique ecosystems will be protected from fire for current and future generations. Generalizing to the whole state, the total annual willingness-to-pay of Oregon...

Carbon Emission from Forest Fires on Scots Pine Logging Sites in the Angara Region of Central Siberia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ivanova, G. A.; Conard, S. G.; McRae, D. J.; Kukavskaya, E. A.; Bogorodskaya, A. V.; Kovaleva, N. M.

2010-12-01

Wildfire and large-scale forest harvesting are the two major disturbances in the Russian boreal forests. Non-recovered logged sites total about a million hectares in Siberia. Logged sites are characterized by higher fire hazard than forest sites due to the presence of generally untreated logging slash (i.e., available fuel) which dries out much more rapidly compared to understory fuels. Moreover, most logging sites can be easily accessed by local population; this increases the risk for fire ignition. Fire impacts on the overstory trees, subcanopy woody layer, and ground vegetation biomass were estimated on 14 logged and unlogged comparison sites in the Lower Angara Region in 2009-2010 as part of the NASA-funded NEESPI project, The Influence of Changing Forestry Practices on the Effects of Wildfire and on Interactions Between Fire and Changing Climate in Central Siberia. Based on calculated fuel consumption, we estimated carbon emission from fires on both logged and unlogged burned sites. Carbon emission from fires on logged sites appeared to be twice that on unlogged sites. Soil respiration decreased on both site types after fires. This reduction may partially offset fire-produced carbon emissions. Carbon emissions from fire and post-fire ecosystem damage on logged sites are expected to increase under changing climate conditions and as a result of anticipated increases in future forest harvesting in Siberia.

Using computer visualizations to help understand how forests change and develop

Treesearch

Brian Orland; Cenk Ursavas

2006-01-01

Probably a first question people ask when they hear about proposed forest management actions to address fire hazard or forest health concerns is "what will the forest look like"? The recent advent of powerful computer visualization tools has provided one means of answering that question. The resultant images can be a powerful tool for communicating the...

The effect of mechanical fuel reduction treatments in the wildland-urban interface on the amount and distribution of bark beetle-caused tree mortality

Treesearch

Christopher J. Fettig; Joel D. McMillin; John A. Anhold; Shakeeb M. Hamud; Robert R. Borys; Steven J. Seybold

2007-01-01

Selective logging, fire suppression, forest succession, and climatic changes have resulted in high fire hazards over large areas of the western USA. Federal and state hazardous fuel reduction programs have increased accordingly to reduce the risk, extent and severity of these events, particularly in the wildland urban interface. In this study, we examined the effect of...

Using fine-scale fuel measurements to assess wildland fuels, potential fire behavior and hazard mitigation treatments in the southeastern USA

Treesearch

Roger D. Ottmar; John I. Blake; William T. Crolly

2012-01-01

The inherent spatial and temporal heterogeneity of fuel beds in forests of the southeastern United States may require fine scale fuel measurements for providing reliable fire hazard and fuel treatment effectiveness estimates. In a series of five papers, an intensive, fine scale fuel inventory from the Savanna River Site in the southeastern United States is used for...

Short-term impact of post-fire salvage logging on regeneration, hazardous fuel accumulation, and understorey development in ponderosa pine forest of the Black Hills, SD, USA

Treesearch

Tara L Keyser; Fredrick W Smith; Wayne D. Shepperd

2009-01-01

We examined the impacts of post-fire salvage logging on regeneration, fuel accumulation, and understorey vegetation and assessed whether the effects of salvage logging differed between stands burned under moderate and high fire severity following the 2000 Jasper Fire in the Black Hills. In unsalvaged sites, fire-related tree mortality...

Hydrological modelling for flood forecasting: Calibrating the post-fire initial conditions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Papathanasiou, C.; Makropoulos, C.; Mimikou, M.

2015-10-01

Floods and forest fires are two of the most devastating natural hazards with severe socioeconomic, environmental as well as aesthetic impacts on the affected areas. Traditionally, these hazards are examined from different perspectives and are thus investigated through different, independent systems, overlooking the fact that they are tightly interrelated phenomena. In fact, the same flood event is more severe, i.e. associated with increased runoff discharge and peak flow and decreased time to peak, if it occurs over a burnt area than that occurring over a land not affected by fire. Mediterranean periurban areas, where forests covered with flammable vegetation coexist with agricultural land and urban zones, are typical areas particularly prone to the combined impact of floods and forest fires. Hence, the accurate assessment and effective management of post-fire flood risk becomes an issue of priority. The research presented in this paper aims to develop a robust methodological framework, using state of art tools and modern technologies to support the estimation of the change in time of five representative hydrological parameters for post-fire conditions. The proposed methodology considers both longer- and short-term initial conditions in order to assess the dynamic evolution of the selected parameters. The research focuses on typical Mediterranean periurban areas that are subjected to both hazards and concludes with a set of equations that associate post-fire and pre-fire conditions for five Fire Severity (FS) classes and three soil moisture states. The methodology has been tested for several flood events on the Rafina catchment, a periurban catchment in Eastern Attica (Greece). In order to validate the methodology, simulated hydrographs were produced and compared against available observed data. Results indicate a close convergence of observed and simulated flows. The proposed methodology is particularly flexible and thus easily adaptable to catchments with similar hydrometeorological and geomorphological features.

Historical, observed, and modeled wildfire severity in montane forests of the Colorado Front Range.

PubMed

Sherriff, Rosemary L; Platt, Rutherford V; Veblen, Thomas T; Schoennagel, Tania L; Gartner, Meredith H

2014-01-01

Large recent fires in the western U.S. have contributed to a perception that fire exclusion has caused an unprecedented occurrence of uncharacteristically severe fires, particularly in lower elevation dry pine forests. In the absence of long-term fire severity records, it is unknown how short-term trends compare to fire severity prior to 20th century fire exclusion. This study compares historical (i.e. pre-1920) fire severity with observed modern fire severity and modeled potential fire behavior across 564,413 ha of montane forests of the Colorado Front Range. We used forest structure and tree-ring fire history to characterize fire severity at 232 sites and then modeled historical fire-severity across the entire study area using biophysical variables. Eighteen (7.8%) sites were characterized by low-severity fires and 214 (92.2%) by mixed-severity fires (i.e. including moderate- or high-severity fires). Difference in area of historical versus observed low-severity fire within nine recent (post-1999) large fire perimeters was greatest in lower montane forests. Only 16% of the study area recorded a shift from historical low severity to a higher potential for crown fire today. An historical fire regime of more frequent and low-severity fires at low elevations (<2260 m) supports a convergence of management goals of ecological restoration and fire hazard mitigation in those habitats. In contrast, at higher elevations mixed-severity fires were predominant historically and continue to be so today. Thinning treatments at higher elevations of the montane zone will not return the fire regime to an historic low-severity regime, and are of questionable effectiveness in preventing severe wildfires. Based on present-day fuels, predicted fire behavior under extreme fire weather continues to indicate a mixed-severity fire regime throughout most of the montane forest zone. Recent large wildfires in the Front Range are not fundamentally different from similar events that occurred historically under extreme weather conditions.

Historical, Observed, and Modeled Wildfire Severity in Montane Forests of the Colorado Front Range

PubMed Central

Sherriff, Rosemary L.; Platt, Rutherford V.; Veblen, Thomas T.; Schoennagel, Tania L.; Gartner, Meredith H.

2014-01-01

Large recent fires in the western U.S. have contributed to a perception that fire exclusion has caused an unprecedented occurrence of uncharacteristically severe fires, particularly in lower elevation dry pine forests. In the absence of long-term fire severity records, it is unknown how short-term trends compare to fire severity prior to 20th century fire exclusion. This study compares historical (i.e. pre-1920) fire severity with observed modern fire severity and modeled potential fire behavior across 564,413 ha of montane forests of the Colorado Front Range. We used forest structure and tree-ring fire history to characterize fire severity at 232 sites and then modeled historical fire-severity across the entire study area using biophysical variables. Eighteen (7.8%) sites were characterized by low-severity fires and 214 (92.2%) by mixed-severity fires (i.e. including moderate- or high-severity fires). Difference in area of historical versus observed low-severity fire within nine recent (post-1999) large fire perimeters was greatest in lower montane forests. Only 16% of the study area recorded a shift from historical low severity to a higher potential for crown fire today. An historical fire regime of more frequent and low-severity fires at low elevations (<2260 m) supports a convergence of management goals of ecological restoration and fire hazard mitigation in those habitats. In contrast, at higher elevations mixed-severity fires were predominant historically and continue to be so today. Thinning treatments at higher elevations of the montane zone will not return the fire regime to an historic low-severity regime, and are of questionable effectiveness in preventing severe wildfires. Based on present-day fuels, predicted fire behavior under extreme fire weather continues to indicate a mixed-severity fire regime throughout most of the montane forest zone. Recent large wildfires in the Front Range are not fundamentally different from similar events that occurred historically under extreme weather conditions. PMID:25251103

A review of fire effects on bats and bat habitat in the eastern oaks region

Treesearch

Roger W. Perry

2012-01-01

Fire is increasingly being used in oak forests to promote oak regeneration, improve wildlife habitat, and reduce hazardous fuel loads. Although recent research has begun to shed light on the relationships among fire, bats, and bat habitat, these interactions are not yet fully understood. Fire may affect bats directly through heat and smoke during the burning process or...

A review of fire effects on bats and bat habitat in the eastern oak region

Treesearch

Roger W. Perry

2012-01-01

Fire is increasingly being used in oak forests to promote oak regeneration, improve wildlife habitat, and reduce hazardous fuel loads. Although recent research has begun to shed light on the relationships among fire, bats, and bat habitat, these interactions are not yet fully understood. Fire may affect bats directly through heat and smoke during the burning process or...

Canadian Wildland Fire Strategy: A vision for an innovative and integrated approach to managing the risks

Treesearch

Canadian Wildland Fire Strategy Project Management Team

2006-01-01

The Canadian Wildland Fire Strategy (CWFS) provides a vision for a new, innovative, and integrated approach to wildland fire management in Canada. It was developed under the auspices of the Canadian Council of Forest Ministers and seeks to balance the social, ecological, and economic aspects of wildland fire through a risk management framework that emphasizes hazard...

Tailored stakeholder products help provide a vulnerability and adaptation assessment of Greek forests due to climate change

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Giannakopoulos, Christos; Karali, Anna; Roussos, Anargyros

2014-05-01

Greece, being part of the eastern Mediterranean basin, is an area particularly vulnerable to climate change and associated forest fire risk. The aim of this study is to assess the vulnerability of Greek forests to fire risk occurrence and identify potential adaptation options within the context of climate change through continuous interaction with local stakeholders. To address their needs, the following tools for the provision of climate information services were developed: 1. An application providing fire risk forecasts for the following 3 days (http://cirrus.meteo.noa.gr/forecast/bolam/index.htm) was developed from NOA to address the needs of short term fire planners. 2. A web-based application providing long term fire risk and other fire related indices changes due to climate change (time horizon up to 2050 and 2100) was developed in collaboration with the WWF Greece office to address the needs of long term fire policy makers (http://www.oikoskopio.gr/map/). 3. An educational tool was built in order to complement the two web-based tools and to further expand knowledge in fire risk modeling to address the needs for in-depth training. In particular, the second product provided the necessary information to assess the exposure to forest fires. To this aim, maps depicting the days with elevated fire risk (FWI>30) both for the control (1961-1990) and the near future period (2021-2050) were created by the web-application. FWI is a daily index that provides numerical ratings of relative fire potential based solely on weather observations. The meteorological inputs to the FWI System are daily noon values of temperature, air relative humidity, 10m wind speed and precipitation during the previous 24 hours. It was found that eastern lowlands are more exposed to fire risk followed by eastern high elevation areas, for both the control and near future period. The next step towards vulnerability assessment was to address sensitivity, ie the human-environmental conditions that can worsen or ameliorate the hazard. In our study static information concerning fire affecting factors, namely the topography and vegetation, was used to create a fire hazard map in order to assess the sensitivity factor. Land cover types for the year 2007 were combined with topographic information deriving from a digital elevation model order to produce these maps. High elevation continental areas were found to be the most sensitive areas followed by the lowland continental areas. Exposure and sensitivity were combined to produce the overall impact of climate change to forest fire risk. The adaptive capacity is defined by the ability of forests to adapt to changing environmental conditions. To assess the adaptive capacity of Greek forests, a Multi-Criteria Analysis (MCA) tool was implemented and used by the stakeholders. The major proposed adaptation measures for Greek forests included fire prevention measures and the inclusion of the private forest covered areas in the fire fighting. Finally, vulnerability of Greek forest to fire was estimated as the overall impact of climate change minus the forests' adaptive capacity and was found to be medium for most areas in the country. Acknowledgement: This work was supported by the EU project CLIM-RUN under contract FP7-ENV-2010-265192.

Environmental effects of forest residues management in the Pacific Northwest: a state-of-knowledge compendium.

Treesearch

Owen P. Cramer

1974-01-01

Forest land generally produces considerable woody material other than that which is harvested as timber, needed for recycling of nutrients to the soil, or for sheltering wildlife and young forest seedlings. Excess forest residues, both living and dead, are often subject to treatment to reduce fire hazard, to eliminate obstruction to use and protection of the forest,...

Modeling and risk assessment for soil temperatures beneath prescribed forest fires

Treesearch

Haiganoush K. Preisler; Sally M. Haase; Stephen S. Sackett

2000-01-01

Prescribed fire is a management tool used by wildland resource management organizations in many ecosystems to reduce hazardous fuels and to achieve a host of other objectives. To study the effects of fire in naturally accumulating fuel conditions, the ambient soil temperature is monitored beneath prescribed burns. In this study we developed a stochastic model for...

Using stand-level optimization to reduce crown fire hazard

Treesearch

David H. Graetz; John Sessions; Steven L. Garman

2007-01-01

This study evaluated the ability to generate prescriptions for a wide variety of stands when the goal is to reduce crown fire potential. Forest managers charged with reducing crown fire potential while providing for commodity and ecological production have been hampered by the complexity of possible management options. A program called Stand-Level Optimization with...

Developing a multiscale fire treatment strategy for species habitat management

Treesearch

Steven P. Norman; Danny C. Lee; David A. Tallmon

2008-01-01

Reintroducing fire to manage vegetation and fuel may have poorly understood consequences for wildlife. Prescribed burning can reduce down wood and snags that provide critical habitat and mechanical thinning designed to reduce fire hazards may alter forest structures that are preferred by some species. Moreover, fine scale fuel treatments may alter wildlife and habitat...

Guide to fuel treatments in dry forests of the Western United States: assessing forest structure and fire hazard.

Treesearch

Morris C. Johnson; David L. Peterson; Crystal L. Raymond

2007-01-01

Guide to Fuel Treatments analyzes a range of fuel treatments for representative dry forest stands in the Western United States with overstories dominated by ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa), Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii), and pinyon pine (Pinus edulis). Six silvicultural options (no thinning; thinning...

Forest fuel reduction and biomass supply: perspectives from southern private landowners

Treesearch

Jianbang Gan; Adam Jarrett; Cassandra Johnson Gaither

2013-01-01

Removing excess biomass from fire-hazardous forests can serve dual purposes: enhancing the health and sustainability of forest ecosystems and supplying feedstock for energy production. The physical availability of this biomass is fairly well-known, yet availability does not necessarily translate into actual supply. We assess the perception and behavior of private...

Estimating dead wood during national forest inventories: a review of inventory methodologies and suggestions for harmonization

Treesearch

Christopher W. Woodall; Jacques Rondeux; Pieter J. Verkerk; G& #246; ran St& #229; hl

2009-01-01

Efforts to assess forest ecosystem carbon stocks, biodiversity, and fire hazards have spurred the need for comprehensive assessments of forest ecosystem dead wood (DW) components around the world. Currently, information regarding the prevalence, status, and methods of DW inventories occurring in the world's forested landscapes is scattered. The goal of this study...

Estimating dead wood during national forest inventories: a review of inventory methodologies and suggestions for harmonization

Treesearch

Christopher W. Woodall; Jacques Rondeux; Pieter J. Verkerk; Goran Stahl

2009-01-01

Efforts to assess forest ecosystem carbon stocks, biodiversity, and fire hazards have spurred the need for comprehensive assessments of forest ecosystem dead wood (DW) attributes around the world. Currently, information regarding the prevalence, status, and methods of DW inventories occurring in the world?s forested landscapes is scattered. The goal of this study is to...

Assessment of timber availability from forest restoration within the Blue Mountains of Oregon.

Treesearch

Robert Rainville; Rachel White; Jamie Barbour

2008-01-01

Changes in forest management have detrimentally affected the economic health of small communities in the Blue Mountain region of Oregon over the past few decades. A build-up of small trees threatens the ecological health of these forests and increases wildland fire hazard. Hoping to boost their economies and also restore these forests, local leaders are interested in...

Managing organic debris for forest health: Reconciling fire hazard, bark beetles, wildlife, and forest nutrition needs

Treesearch

Chris Schnepf; Russell T. Graham; Sandy Kegley; Theresa B. Jain

2009-01-01

Forest organic debris includes tree limbs, boles (trunks), needles, leaves, snags, and other dead organic materials. It ranges in amount and composition depending on a forest's history, tree species, condition, and age. In the Inland Northwest (Idaho, western Montana, eastern Oregon, and eastern Washington) there is a lot of discussion and concern about removing...

Multi-objective optimization to evaluate tradeoffs among forest ecosystem services following fire hazard reduction in the Deschutes National Forest, USA

Treesearch

Svetlana A. (Kushch) Schroder; Sandor F. Toth; Robert L. Deal; Gregory J. Ettl

2016-01-01

Forest owners worldwide are increasingly interested in managing forests to provide a broad suite of Ecosystem services, balancing multiple objectives and evaluating management activities in terms of Potential tradeoffs. We describe a multi-objective mathematical programming model to quantify tradeoffs in expected sediment delivery and the preservation of Northern...

Fuels planning: science synthesis and integration; forest structure and fire hazard fact sheet 03: visualizing forest structure and fuels

Treesearch

Rocky Mountain Research Station USDA Forest Service

2004-01-01

The software described in this fact sheet provides managers with tools for visualizing forest and fuels information. Computer-based landscape simulations can help visualize stand and landscape conditions and the effects of different management treatments and fuel changes over time. These visualizations can assist forest planning by considering a range of management...

Biological research on fire in the West

USGS Publications Warehouse

,

2005-01-01

Wildland fires are a natural feature of many ecosystems, including grasslands, forests, and shrublands. How-ever, years of fire exclusion have led to accumulations of dead fuels and increases in the density of fire-intolerant species. In most western states, recent fires burning in these altered ecosystems have caused significant damage and huge economic losses to homes, busi-nesses, and communities. They also have dis-turbed forests and rangelands as well as their associated watersheds, plants, and animals. Every western state is concerned about dam-age from such catastrophic fires, and there is strong interest from all sectors in prevent-ing and reducing the resulting damage in the future. There is also interest in the use of fire as a management tool for reducing hazards and restoring damaged ecosystems and for returning fire to its natural role in wilderness ecosystems.

Risk analysis procedure for post-wildfire natural hazards in British Columbia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jordan, Peter

2010-05-01

Following a severe wildfire season in 2003, and several subsequent damaging debris flow and flood events, the British Columbia Forest Service developed a procedure for analysing risks to public safety and infrastructure from such events. At the same time, the Forest Service undertook a research program to determine the extent of post-wildfire hazards, and examine the hydrologic and geomorphic processes contributing to the hazards. The risk analysis procedure follows the Canadian Standards Association decision-making framework for risk management (which in turn is based on international standards). This has several steps: identification of risk, risk analysis and estimation, evaluation of risk tolerability, developing control or mitigation strategies, and acting on these strategies. The Forest Service procedure deals only with the first two steps. The results are passed on to authorities such as the Provincial Emergency Program and local government, who are responsible for evaluating risks, warning residents, and applying mitigation strategies if appropriate. The objective of the procedure is to identify and analyse risks to public safety and infrastructure. The procedure is loosely based on the BAER (burned area emergency response) program in the USA, with some important differences. Our procedure focuses on identifying risks and warning affected parties, not on mitigation activities such as broadcast erosion control measures. Partly this is due to limited staff and financial resources. Also, our procedure is not multi-agency, but is limited to wildfires on provincial forest land; in British Columbia about 95% of forest land is in the publicly-owned provincial forest. Each fire season, wildfires are screened by size and proximity to values at risk such as populated areas. For selected fires, when the fire is largely contained, the procedure begins with an aerial reconnaissance of the fire, and photography with a hand-held camera, which can be used to make a preliminary map of vegetation burn severity if desired. The next steps include mapping catchment boundaries, field traverses to collect data on soil burn severity and water repellency, identification of unstable hillslopes and channels, and inspection of values at risk from hazards such as debris flows or flooding. BARC (burned area reflectance classification) maps based on satellite imagery are prepared for some fires, although these are typically not available for several weeks. Our objective is to make a preliminary risk analysis report available about two weeks after the fire is contained. If high risks to public safety or infrastructure are identified, the risk analysis reports may make recommendations for mitigation measures to be considered; however, acting on these recommendations is the responsibility of local land managers, local government, or landowners. Mitigation measures for some fires have included engineering treatments to reduce the hydrologic impact of logging roads, protective structures such as dykes or berms, and straw mulching to reduce runoff and erosion on severely burned areas. The Terrace Mountain Fire, with burned 9000 hectares in the Okanagan Valley in 2009, is used as an example of the application of the procedure.

Evaluating the impacts of wildland fires on caribou in interior Alaska

USGS Publications Warehouse

Joly, Kyle; Adams, Layne G.; Dale, Bruce W.; Collins, William

2002-01-01

Caribou are found throughout the boreal forests of interior Alaska, a region subject to chronic and expansive wildland fires. Fruticose lichens, if available, constitute the majority of the winter diet of caribou throughout their range and are common in mature boreal forests but largely absent from early successional stages. Fire, the dominant ecological driving force, increases vegetative diversity and productivity across the landscape but may reduce the availability of caribou winter forage for decades.Increasingly, wildland fire regimes are influenced by humans seeking to reduce fire hazards or mitigate the effects of years of fire suppression. Consequently, biologists have debated the importance of forage lichens to the dynamics of caribou populations, and land managers have questioned the importance of fire regime to wintering caribou. To better understand the impacts of wildland fire on caribou, we are simultaneously investigating the relationships between fire history, caribou movements, forage lichen availability, and caribou nutritional performance on their winter range.

Prescribed burning in southwestern ponderosa pine

Treesearch

Stephen S Sackett; Sally M Haase; Michael G Harrington

1996-01-01

Prescribed burning is an effective way of restoring the fire process to ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa Dougl. ex Laws.) ecosystems of the Southwest. If used judiciously, fire can provide valuable effects for hazard reduction, natural regeneration, thinning, vegetation revitalization, and in general, better forest health. Relatively short burning...

Comparing the accuracy of terrestrial laser scanner in measuring forest inventory variables to enhance better decision making for potential fire hazards

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ghimire, Suman; Xystrakis, Fotios; Koutsias, Nikos

2017-04-01

Forest inventory variables are essential in accessing the potential of wildfire hazard, obtaining above ground biomass and carbon sequestration which helps developing strategies for sustainable management of forests. Effective management of forest resources relies on the accuracy of such inventory variables. This study aims to compare the accuracy in obtaining the forest inventory variables like diameter at breast height (DBH) and tree height from Terrestrial Laser Scanner (Faro Focus 3D X 330) with that from the traditional forest inventory techniques in the Mediterranean forests of Greece. The data acquisition was carried out on an area of 9,539.8 m2 with six plots each of radius 6 m. Computree algorithm was applied for automatic detection of DBH from terrestrial laser scanner data. Similarly, tree height was estimated manually using CloudCompare software for the terrestrial laser scanner data. The field estimates of DBH and tree height was carried out using calipers and Nikon Forestry 550 Laser Rangefinder. The comparison of DBH measured between field estimates and Terrestrial Laser Scanner (TLS), resulted in R squared values ranging from 0.75 to 0.96 at the plot level. An average R2 and RMSE value of 0.80 and 1.07 m respectively was obtained when comparing the tree height between TLS and field data. Our results confirm that terrestrial laser scanner can provide nondestructive, high-resolution, and precise determination of forest inventory for better decision making in sustainable forest management and assessing potential of forest fire hazards.

Prescribed fire applications in Forest and Woodlands: Integration of models and field studies to guide fire use

Treesearch

Kevin C. Ryan; Eric Rigolot; Francisco C. Rego; Herminio Botelho; Jose A. Vega; Paulo M. Fernandes; Tatiana M. Sofronova

2010-01-01

Globally prescribed burning is widely used for agro-forestry, restoration, and conservation to modify species composition and stand structure. Commonly stated goals of prescribed burns include to reduce hazardous fuels, improve species’ habitat, reduce the potential for severe fires in the wildland urban interface or protect municipal watersheds. Treatments may focus...

Woody biomass supply from thinnings to reduce fire hazard in the U.S. West and its potential impact on regional wood markets

Treesearch

Kenneth E. Skog; Peter J. Ince; Henry Spelter; Andi Kramp; R. James Barbour

2008-01-01

Part I of this paper identifies timberland areas in 12 western states where thinning treatments are judged to be needed to reduce fire hazard and may ?pay for themselves?? at a scale to make investment in forest product processing a realistic option. We also estimate amounts of biomass removed and costs of removal. Part II of this paper estimates the market impact if...

The effects of thinning and similar stand treatments on fire behavior in Western forests.

Treesearch

Russell T. Graham; Alan E. Harvey; Theresa B. Jain; Jonalea R. Tonn

1999-01-01

In the West, thinning and partial cuttings are being considered for treating millions of forested acres that are overstocked and prone to wildfire. The objectives of these treatments include tree growth redistribution, tree species regulation, timber harvest, wildlife habitat improvement, and wildfire-hazard reduction. Depending on the forest type and its structure,...

Remote Sensing Analysis of Forest Disturbances

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Asner, Gregory P. (Inventor)

2015-01-01

The present invention provides systems and methods to automatically analyze Landsat satellite data of forests. The present invention can easily be used to monitor any type of forest disturbance such as from selective logging, agriculture, cattle ranching, natural hazards (fire, wind events, storms), etc. The present invention provides a large-scale, high-resolution, automated remote sensing analysis of such disturbances.

Remote sensing analysis of forest disturbances

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Asner, Gregory P. (Inventor)

2012-01-01

The present invention provides systems and methods to automatically analyze Landsat satellite data of forests. The present invention can easily be used to monitor any type of forest disturbance such as from selective logging, agriculture, cattle ranching, natural hazards (fire, wind events, storms), etc. The present invention provides a large-scale, high-resolution, automated remote sensing analysis of such disturbances.

Influence of logging on the effects of wildfire in Siberia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kukavskaya, E. A.; Buryak, L. V.; Ivanova, G. A.; Conard, S. G.; Kalenskaya, O. P.; Zhila, S. V.; McRae, D. J.

2013-12-01

The Russian boreal zone supports a huge terrestrial carbon pool. Moreover, it is a tremendous reservoir of wood products concentrated mainly in Siberia. The main natural disturbance in these forests is wildfire, which modifies the carbon budget and has potentially important climate feedbacks. In addition, both legal and illegal logging increase landscape complexity and affect burning conditions and fuel consumption. We investigated 100 individual sites with different histories of logging and fire on a total of 23 study areas in three different regions of Siberia to evaluate the impacts of fire and logging on fuel loads, carbon emissions, and tree regeneration in pine and larch forests. We found large variations of fire and logging effects among regions depending on growing conditions and type of logging activity. Logged areas in the Angara region had the highest surface and ground fuel loads (up to 135 t ha-1), mainly due to logging debris. This resulted in high carbon emissions where fires occurred on logged sites (up to 41 tC ha-1). The Shushenskoe/Minusinsk and Zabaikal regions are characterized by better slash removal and a smaller amount of carbon emitted to the atmosphere during fires. Illegal logging, which is widespread in the Zabaikal region, resulted in an increase in fire hazard and higher carbon emissions than legal logging. The highest fuel loads (on average 108 t ha-1) and carbon emissions (18-28 tC ha-1) in the Zabaikal region are on repeatedly burned unlogged sites where trees fell on the ground following the first fire event. Partial logging in the Shushenskoe/Minusinsk region has insufficient impact on stand density, tree mortality, and other forest conditions to substantially increase fire hazard or affect carbon stocks. Repeated fires on logged sites resulted in insufficient tree regeneration and transformation of forest to grasslands. We conclude that negative impacts of fire and logging on air quality, the carbon cycle, and ecosystem sustainability could be decreased by better slash removal in the Angara region, removal of trees killed by fire in the Zabaikal region, and tree planting after fires in drier conditions where natural regeneration is hampered by soil overheating and grass proliferation.

Landfire: Landscape Fire and Resource Management Planning Tools Project

Treesearch

Kevin C. Ryan; Kristine M. Lee; Matthew G. Rollins; Zhiliang Zhu; James Smith; Darren Johnson

2006-01-01

Managers are faced with reducing hazardous fuel, restoring fire regimes, and decreasing the threat of catastrophic wildfire. Often, the comprehensive, scientifically-credible data and applications needed to test alternative fuel treatments across multi-ownership landscapes are lacking. Teams from the USDA Forest Service, Department of the Interior, and The Nature...

Restoration of southwestern ponderosa pine ecosystems with fire

Treesearch

Stephen S. Sackett; Sally M. Haase; Michael G. Harrington

1994-01-01

Heavy grazing and timbering during settlement by Europeans, and a policy of fire exclusion shortly after caused extensive structural and compositional changes to the southwestern ponderosa pine ecosystem. These changes have resulted in forest health problems, such as increased insect and disease epidemics, reduced wildlife habitat, and a serious wildfire hazard....

National Fire Plan Research and Development 2004-2005 accomplishment report

Treesearch

Michael W. Hilbruner; Paul Keller

2007-01-01

This report highlights accomplishments achieved by USDA Forest Service National Fire Plan Research and Development projects from 2004 through 2005 in four key areas: firefighting, rehabilitation and restoration, hazardous fuels reduction, and community assistance. These highlights illustrate the broad range of knowledge and tools introduced and generated by the...

Landscape fire in East Siberia: medical, ecological and economic aspects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Efimova, N. V.; Rukavishnikov, V. S.; Zabuga, G. A.; Elfimova, T. A.

2018-01-01

More than 40 % of the forests in Siberia region are known to have a fire danger of high classes and high burning degrees. This paper describes air pollutants emission (PM10, nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide and others) in East Siberian region during a 10-year period in the forests fires focus. A total of 500 to 2000 fires occurred in Irkutsk oblast during the last ten years. At an average annual forest fires cover an area of 1 109 hectares on the model territory (Bratsk city). The plane pollutant emission source with a high productivity is formed on the significant forest fire area occurred in a relatively short-term time periods. The increase in hazard ratios was registered for the ingredients of emission-specific industrial enterprises and capable of accumulating in vegetation: carbon disulphide 1.9 times, fluorine-containing substances 1.8 times during the fire. The economic loss of energy resources resulting from reduced production of firewood was estimated at 56.6 million in Irkutsk oblast. The potential risk of negative effects for the respiratory system and cardiovascular system stipulated for the acute inhalation exposure was found to increase on the days, of the fires, as evidenced by the growth of the daily mortality and morbidity rates among the population.

Weather Observation Systems and Efficiency of Fighting Forest Fires

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Khabarov, N.; Moltchanova, E.; Obersteiner, M.

2007-12-01

Weather observation is an essential component of modern forest fire management systems. Satellite and in-situ based weather observation systems might help to reduce forest loss, human casualties and destruction of economic capital. In this paper, we develop and apply a methodology to assess the benefits of various weather observation systems on reductions of burned area due to early fire detection. In particular, we consider a model where the air patrolling schedule is determined by a fire hazard index. The index is computed from gridded daily weather data for the area covering parts Spain and Portugal. We conduct a number of simulation experiments. First, the resolution of the original data set is artificially reduced. The reduction of the total forest burned area associated with air patrolling based on a finer weather grid indicates the benefit of using higher spatially resolved weather observations. Second, we consider a stochastic model to simulate forest fires and explore the sensitivity of the model with respect to the quality of input data. The analysis of combination of satellite and ground monitoring reveals potential cost saving due to a "system of systems effect" and substantial reduction in burned area. Finally, we estimate the marginal improvement schedule for loss of life and economic capital as a function of the improved fire observing system.

Mastication and prescribed fire impacts on fuels in a 25-year old ponderosa pine plantation, southern Sierra Nevada

Treesearch

Alicia L. Reiner; Nicole M. Vaillant; JoAnn Fites-Kaufman; Scott N. Dailey

2009-01-01

Due to increases in tree density and hazardous fuel loading in Sierra Nevadan forests, land management is focusing on fuel reduction treatments to moderate the risk of catastrophic fires. Fuel treatments involving mechanical and prescribed fire methods can reduce surface as well as canopy fuel loads. Mastication is a mechanical method which shreds smaller trees and...

Slash disposal in western white pine forests in Idaho

Treesearch

J. A. Larsen; W. C. Lowdermilk

1924-01-01

If all sizes of material produced by a forest are salable, very little logging debris of slash remains to hinder the reproduction or to increase the fire hazard. In the white-pine type of northern Idaho, however, only the larger and most valuable forest products can at present be taken out at a profit. The virgin forests of this region yield from 15,000 to 40,000, and...

Relationships between prescribed burning and wildfire occurrence and intensity in pine-hardwood forests in north Mississippi, USA

Treesearch

Stephen Brewer; Corey Rogers

2006-01-01

Using Geographic Information Systems and US Forest Service data, we examined relationships between prescribed burning (from 1979 to 2000) and the incidence, size, and intensity of wildfires (from 1995 to 2000) in a landscape containing formerly fire-suppressed, closed-canopy hardwood and pine-hardwood forests. Results of hazard (failure) analyses did not show an...

Diversity in forest management to reduce wildfire losses: implications for resilience

Treesearch

Susan Charnley; Thomas A. Spies; Ana M. G. Barros; Eric M. White; Keith A. Olsen

2017-01-01

This study investigates how federal, state, and private corporate forest owners in a fire-prone landscape of southcentral Oregon manage their forests to reduce wildfire hazard and loss to high-severity wildfire. We evaluate the implications of our findings for concepts of social–ecological resilience. Using interview data, we found a high degree of "response...

Evaluating and monitoring forest fuel treatments using remote sensing applications in Arizona, U.S.A.

USGS Publications Warehouse

Petrakis, Roy; Villarreal, Miguel; Wu, Zhuoting; Hetzler, Robert; Middleton, Barry R.; Norman, Laura M.

2018-01-01

The practice of fire suppression across the western United States over the past century has led to dense forests, and when coupled with drought has contributed to an increase in large and destructive wildfires. Forest management efforts aimed at reducing flammable fuels through various fuel treatments can help to restore frequent fire regimes and increase forest resilience. Our research examines how different fuel treatments influenced burn severity and post-fire vegetative stand dynamics on the San Carlos Apache Reservation, in east-central Arizona, U.S.A. Our methods included the use of multitemporal remote sensing data and cloud computing to evaluate burn severity and post-fire vegetation conditions as well as statistical analyses. We investigated how forest thinning, commercial harvesting, prescribed burning, and resource benefit burning (managed wildfire) related to satellite measured burn severity (the difference Normalized Burn Ratio – dNBR) following the 2013 Creek Fire and used spectral measures of post-fire stand dynamics to track changes in land surface characteristics (i.e., brightness, greenness and wetness). We found strong negative relationships between dNBR and post-fire greenness and wetness, and a positive non-linear relationship between dNBR and brightness, with greater variability at higher severities. Fire severity and post-fire surface changes also differed by treatment type. Our results showed harvested and thinned sites that were not treated with prescribed fire had the highest severity fire. When harvesting was followed by a prescribed burn, the sites experienced lower burn severity and reduced post-fire changes in vegetation greenness and wetness. Areas that had previously experienced resource benefit burns had the lowest burn severities and the highest post-fire greenness measurements compared to all other treatments, except for where the prescribed burn had occurred. These results suggest that fire treatments may be most effective at reducing the probability of hazardous fire and increasing post-fire recovery. This research demonstrates the utility of remote sensing and spatial data to inform forest management, and how various fuel treatments can influence burn severity and post-fire vegetation response within ponderosa pine forests across the southwestern U.S.

Simulating statistics of lightning-induced and man made fires

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Krenn, R.; Hergarten, S.

2009-04-01

The frequency-area distributions of forest fires show power-law behavior with scaling exponents α in a quite narrow range, relating wildfire research to the theoretical framework of self-organized criticality. Examples of self-organized critical behavior can be found in computer simulations of simple cellular automata. The established self-organized critical Drossel-Schwabl forest fire model (DS-FFM) is one of the most widespread models in this context. Despite its qualitative agreement with event-size statistics from nature, its applicability is still questioned. Apart from general concerns that the DS-FFM apparently oversimplifies the complex nature of forest dynamics, it significantly overestimates the frequency of large fires. We present a straightforward modification of the model rules that increases the scaling exponent α by approximately 1•3 and brings the simulated event-size statistics close to those observed in nature. In addition, combined simulations of both the original and the modified model predict a dependence of the overall distribution on the ratio of lightning induced and man made fires as well as a difference between their respective event-size statistics. The increase of the scaling exponent with decreasing lightning probability as well as the splitting of the partial distributions are confirmed by the analysis of the Canadian Large Fire Database. As a consequence, lightning induced and man made forest fires cannot be treated separately in wildfire modeling, hazard assessment and forest management.

Late Holocene geomorphic record of fire in ponderosa pine and mixed-conifer forests, Kendrick Mountain, northern Arizona, USA

USGS Publications Warehouse

Jenkins, S.E.; Hull, Sieg C.; Anderson, D.E.; Kaufman, D.S.; Pearthree, P.A.

2011-01-01

Long-term fire history reconstructions enhance our understanding of fire behaviour and associated geomorphic hazards in forested ecosystems. We used 14C ages on charcoal from fire-induced debris-flow deposits to date prehistoric fires on Kendrick Mountain, northern Arizona, USA. Fire-related debris-flow sedimentation dominates Holocene fan deposition in the study area. Radiocarbon ages indicate that stand-replacing fire has been an important phenomenon in late Holocene ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) and ponderosa pine-mixed conifer forests on steep slopes. Fires have occurred on centennial scales during this period, although temporal hiatuses between recorded fires vary widely and appear to have decreased during the past 2000 years. Steep slopes and complex terrain may be responsible for localised crown fire behaviour through preheating by vertical fuel arrangement and accumulation of excessive fuels. Holocene wildfire-induced debris flow events occurred without a clear relationship to regional climatic shifts (decadal to millennial), suggesting that interannual moisture variability may determine fire year. Fire-debris flow sequences are recorded when (1) sufficient time has passed (centuries) to accumulate fuels; and (2) stored sediment is available to support debris flows. The frequency of reconstructed debris flows should be considered a minimum for severe events in the study area, as fuel production may outpace sediment storage. ?? IAWF 2011.

75 FR 13073 - Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-03-18

... programs acceptable to the communities. In addition it will allow for the testing of whether a self... than a paper-based survey. The Healthy Forests Restoration Act (Pub.L. 108-148) gives the Forest... evaluate the responses of California and Montana residents to different scenarios related to fire hazard...

Forest biomass sustainability and availability

Treesearch

K.E. Skog; John Stanturf

2011-01-01

This chapter provides a synthesis of information on potential supply of forest biomass given needs for sustainable development of forestry. Sustainability includes maintenance of water supply, biodiversity, and carbon storage as well as timber products, community development, and recreation. Biomass removals can reduce fire hazard and insect and disease attack, restore...

Fire management of California shrubland landscapes

USGS Publications Warehouse

Keeley, Jon E.

2002-01-01

Fire management of California shrublands has been heavily influenced by policies designed for coniferous forests, however, fire suppression has not effectively excluded fire from chaparral and coastal sage scrub landscapes and catastrophic wildfires are not the result of unnatural fuel accumulation. There is no evidence that prescribed burning in these shrublands provides any resource benefit and in some areas may negatively impact shrublands by increasing fire frequency. Therefore, fire hazard reduction is the primary justification for prescription burning, but it is doubtful that rotational burning to create landscape age mosaics is a cost effective method of controlling catastrophic wildfires. There are problems with prescription burning in this crown-fire ecosystem that are not shared by forests with a natural surface-fire regime. Prescription weather conditions preclude burning at rotation intervals sufficient to effect the control of fires ignited under severe weather conditions. Fire management should focus on strategic placement of prescription burns to both insure the most efficient fire hazard reduction and to minimize the amount of landscape exposed to unnaturally high fire frequency. A major contributor to increased fire suppression costs and increased loss of property and lives is the continued urban sprawl into wildlands naturally subjected to high intensity crown fires. Differences in shrubland fire history suggest there may be a need for different fire management tactics between central coastal and southern California. Much less is known about shrubland fire history in the Sierra Nevada foothills and interior North Coast Ranges, and thus it would be prudent to not transfer these ideas too broadly across the range of chaparral until we have a clearer understanding of the extent of regional variation in shrubland fire regimes.

Fire management of California shrubland landscapes.

PubMed

Keeley, Jon E

2002-03-01

Fire management of California shrublands has been heavily influenced by policies designed for coniferous forests, however, fire suppression has not effectively excluded fire from chaparral and coastal sage scrub landscapes and catastrophic wildfires are not the result of unnatural fuel accumulation. There is no evidence that prescribed burning in these shrublands provides any resource benefit and in some areas may negatively impact shrublands by increasing fire frequency. Therefore, fire hazard reduction is the primary justification for prescription burning, but it is doubtful that rotational burning to create landscape age mosaics is a cost effective method of controlling catastrophic wildfires. There are problems with prescription burning in this crown-fire ecosystem that are not shared by forests with a natural surface-fire regime. Prescription weather conditions preclude burning at rotation intervals sufficient to effect the control of fires ignited under severe weather conditions. Fire management should focus on strategic placement of prescription burns to both insure the most efficient fire hazard reduction and to minimize the amount of landscape exposed to unnaturally high fire frequency. A major contributor to increased fire suppression costs and increased loss of property and lives is the continued urban sprawl into wildlands naturally subjected to high intensity crown fires. Differences in shrubland fire history suggest there may be a need for different fire management tactics between central coastal and southern California. Much less is known about shrubland fire history in the Sierra Nevada foothills and interior North Coast Ranges, and thus it would be prudent to not transfer these ideas too broadly across the range of chaparral until we have a clearer understanding of the extent of regional variation in shrubland fire regimes.

Linking vegetation patterns to potential smoke production and fire hazard

Treesearch

Roger D. Ottmar; Ernesto Alvarado

2004-01-01

During the past 80 years, various disturbances (such as wildfire and wind events) and management actions (including fire exclusion, logging, and domestic livestock grazing) have significantly modified the composition and structure of forests and ranges across the western United States. The resulting fuel loadings directly influence potential smoke production from...

Remote sensing techniques in monitoring areas affected by forest fire

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Karagianni, Aikaterini Ch.; Lazaridou, Maria A.

2017-09-01

Forest fire is a part of nature playing a key role in shaping ecosystems. However, fire's environmental impacts can be significant, affecting wildlife habitat and timber, human settlements, man-made technical constructions and various networks (road, power networks) and polluting the air with emissions harmful to human health. Furthermore, fire's effect on the landscape may be long-lasting. Monitoring the development of a fire occurs as an important aspect at the management of natural hazards in general. Among the used methods for monitoring, satellite data and remote sensing techniques can be proven of particular importance. Satellite remote sensing offers a useful tool for forest fire detection, monitoring, management and damage assessment. Especially for fire scars detection and monitoring, satellite data derived from Landsat 8 can be a useful research tool. This paper includes critical considerations of the above and concerns in particular an example of the Greek area (Thasos Island). This specific area was hit by fires several times in the past and recently as well (September 2016). Landsat 8 satellite data are being used (pre and post fire imagery) and digital image processing techniques are applied (enhancement techniques, calculation of various indices) for fire scars detection. Visual interpretation of the example area affected by the fires is also being done, contributing to the overall study.

Roads impact the distribution of noxious weeds more than restoration treatments in a lodgepole pine forest in Montana, U.S.A

Treesearch

Jennifer L. Birdsall; Ward McCaughey; Justin B. Runyon

2012-01-01

A century of fire suppression has created unnaturally dense stands in many western North American forests, and silviculture treatments are being increasingly used to reduce fuels to mitigate wildfire hazards and manage insect infestations. Thinning prescriptions have the potential to restore forests to a more historically sustainable state, but land managers need to be...

Variation in Surface and Crown Fire Hazard With Stand Age in Managed Coastal Western Hemlock Zone Forests in Southwestern British Columbia

Treesearch

Michael C. Feller; Stefanie L. Pollock

2006-01-01

Surface and crown fuels were measured in 186 stands ranging in age from 0 years after clearcutting to old-growth forests > 300 years old in Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) – western hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla) – western redcedar (Thuja plicata) – dominated forests in southwestern British Columbia. Indexes...

An assessment of coarse woody debris dynamics in an urban forest

Treesearch

Michael K. Crosby; Helen Petre; Justin Sims; Rachel Butler

2016-01-01

Determining the amount of coarse woody debris (CWD) in an urban forest is essential to developing management strategies to maintain ecosystem function while minimizing hazards to local residents. It is also an essential variable used for the assessment and monitoring of carbon dynamics and fire fuel loads in forests. Plots were established and CWD measured in Marshall...

Production rates for United States Forest Service brush disposal planning in the northern Rocky Mountains

Treesearch

Dan Loeffler; Stu Hoyt; Nathaniel Anderson

2017-01-01

Timber harvesting operations generate brush and other vegetative debris, which often has no marketable value. In many western U.S. forests, these materials represent a fire hazard and a potential threat to forest health and must be removed or burned for disposal. Currently, there is no established, consistent method to estimate brush disposal production rates in the U....

Wildfire exposure and fuel management on western US national forests.

PubMed

Ager, Alan A; Day, Michelle A; McHugh, Charles W; Short, Karen; Gilbertson-Day, Julie; Finney, Mark A; Calkin, David E

2014-12-01

Substantial investments in fuel management activities on national forests in the western US are part of a national strategy to reduce human and ecological losses from catastrophic wildfire and create fire resilient landscapes. Prioritizing these investments within and among national forests remains a challenge, partly because a comprehensive assessment that establishes the current wildfire risk and exposure does not exist, making it difficult to identify national priorities and target specific areas for fuel management. To gain a broader understanding of wildfire exposure in the national forest system, we analyzed an array of simulated and empirical data on wildfire activity and fuel treatment investments on the 82 western US national forests. We first summarized recent fire data to examine variation among the Forests in ignition frequency and burned area in relation to investments in fuel reduction treatments. We then used simulation modeling to analyze fine-scale spatial variation in burn probability and intensity. We also estimated the probability of a mega-fire event on each of the Forests, and the transmission of fires ignited on national forests to the surrounding urban interface. The analysis showed a good correspondence between recent area burned and predictions from the simulation models. The modeling also illustrated the magnitude of the variation in both burn probability and intensity among and within Forests. Simulated burn probabilities in most instances were lower than historical, reflecting fire exclusion on many national forests. Simulated wildfire transmission from national forests to the urban interface was highly variable among the Forests. We discuss how the results of the study can be used to prioritize investments in hazardous fuel reduction within a comprehensive multi-scale risk management framework. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Estimating forest fuels in the Southwest using forest inventory data

Treesearch

Krista M. Gebert; Ervin G. Schuster; Sharon Woudenberg; Renee O' Brien

2008-01-01

Catastrophic wildfires occurring over the last several years have led land management agencies to focus on reducing hazardous fuels. These wildland fuel reduction projects will likely be concentrated in shorter interval, fire-adapted ecosystems that have been moderately or significantly altered from their historical range. But where are these situations located? What...

Ecosystem processes at the watershed scale: mapping and modeling ecohydrological controls

Treesearch

Lawrence E. Band; T. Hwang; T.C. Hales; James Vose; Chelcy Ford

2012-01-01

Mountain watersheds are sources of a set of valuable ecosystem services as well as potential hazards. The former include high quality freshwater, carbon sequestration, nutrient retention, and biodiversity, whereas the latter include flash floods, landslides and forest fires. Each of these ecosystem services and hazards represents different elements of the integrated...

Examining fire-prone forest landscapes as coupled human and natural systems

Treesearch

Thomas A. Spies; Eric M. White; Jeffrey D. Kline; A. Paige Fisher; Alan Ager; John Bailey; John Bolte; Jennifer Koch; Emily Platt; Christine S. Olsen; Derric Jacobs; Bruce Shindler; Michelle M. Steen-Adams; Roger Hammer

2014-01-01

Fire-prone landscapes are not well studied as coupled human and natural systems (CHANS) and present many challenges for understanding and promoting adaptive behaviors and institutions. Here, we explore how heterogeneity, feedbacks, and external drivers in this type of natural hazard system can lead to complexity and can limit the development of more adaptive approaches...

Objectives and considerations for wildland fuel treatment in forested ecosystems of the interior western United States

Treesearch

Elizabeth D. Reinhardt; Robert E. Keane; David E. Calkin; Jack D. Cohen

2008-01-01

Many natural resource agencies and organizations recognize the importance of fuel treatments as tools for reducing fire hazards and restoring ecosystems. However, there continues to be confusion and misconception about fuel treatments and their implementation and effects in fire-prone landscapes across the United States. This paper (1) summarizes objectives, methods,...

Slash disposal in oak-pine stands of southern New Jersey

Treesearch

S. Little; H. A. Somes

1949-01-01

Slash left from cutting operations in forest stands may have several important economic effects. It may kill established reproduction or provide unfavorable conditions for the establishment of new seedlings, thus preventing the restocking of the area with a desirable crop of timber. Slash may also create a serious fire hazard, providing fuel for intense fires that are...

Using a rainforest-flame forest mosaic to test the hypothesis that leaf and litter fuel flammability is under natural selection.

PubMed

Clarke, Peter J; Prior, Lynda D; French, Ben J; Vincent, Ben; Knox, Kirsten J E; Bowman, David M J S

2014-12-01

We used a mosaic of infrequently burnt temperate rainforest and adjacent, frequently burnt eucalypt forests in temperate eastern Australia to test whether: (1) there were differences in flammability of fresh and dried foliage amongst congeners from contrasting habitats, (2) habitat flammability was related to regeneration strategy, (3) litter fuels were more flammable in frequently burnt forests, (4) the severity of a recent fire influenced the flammability of litter (as this would suggest fire feedbacks), and (5) microclimate contributed to differences in fire hazard amongst habitats. Leaf-level comparisons were made among 11 congeneric pairs from rainforest and eucalypt forests. Leaf-level ignitability, combustibility and sustainability were not consistently higher for taxa from frequently burnt eucalypt forests, nor were they higher for species with fire-driven recruitment. The bulk density of litter-bed fuels strongly influenced flammability, but eucalypt forest litter was not less dense than rainforest litter. Ignitability, combustibility and flame sustainability of community surface fuels (litter) were compared using fuel arrays with standardized fuel mass and moisture content. Forests previously burned at high fire severity did not have consistently higher litter flammability than those burned at lower severity or long unburned. Thus, contrary to the Mutch hypothesis, there was no evidence of higher flammability of litter fuels or leaves from frequently burnt eucalypt forests compared with infrequently burnt rainforests. We suggest the manifest pyrogenicity of eucalypt forests is not due to natural selection for more flammable foliage, but better explained by differences in crown openness and associated microclimatic differences.

A high-resolution modelling approach on spatial wildfire distribution in the Tyrolean Alps

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Malowerschnig, Bodo; Sass, Oliver

2013-04-01

Global warming will cause increasing danger of wildfires in Austria, which can have long-lasting consequences on woodland ecosystems. The protective effect of forest can be severely diminished, leading to natural hazards like avalanches and rockfall. However, data on wildfire frequency and distribution have been sparse and incomplete for Austria. Long-lasting postfire degradation under adverse preconditions (steep slopes, limestone) was a common phenomenon in parts of the Tyrolean Alps several decades ago and should become relevant again under a changing fire frequency. The FIRIA project compiles historical wildfire data, information on fuel loads, fire weather indices (FWI) and vegetation recovery patterns. The governing climatic, topographic and socio-economic factors of forest fire distribution were assessed to trigger a distribution model of currently fire-prone areas in Tyrol. By collecting data from different sources like old newspapers archives and fire-fighter databases, we were able to build up a fire database of wildfire occurrences containing more than 1400 forest fires since the 15th century in Tyrol. For the period from 1993 to 2011, the database is widely complete and covers 482 fires. Using a non-parametrical statistical method it was possible to select the best suited fire weather index (FWI) for the prediction. The testing of 19 FWI's shows that it is necessary to use two discriminative indices to differentiate between summer and winter season. Together with compiled topographic, socio-economic, infrastructure and forest maps, the dataset was the base for a multifactorial analysis, performed by comparing the maximum entropy approach (Maxent) with an ensemble classifier (Random Forests). Both approaches have their background in the spatial habitat distribution and are easy to adapt to the requirements of a wildfire ignition model. The aim of this modelling approach was to determine areas which are particularly prone to wildfire. Due to the pronounced relief curvature we based our model on 100 x 100 m cells to identify individual slopes and their topography. The first provisional result is a map of fire probability under current climate conditions (fire hot-spots). Our modelling approach indicates the fire weather index as the main driver, which is followed closely by socioeconomic (population density) and infrastructure factors (roads density, aerial railways, building density). The leverage of the forest community or its management is rather low; the same applies to topographic influences like aspect or sea level. The derived fire hot-spots are either placed close to the valley ground or around touristic infrastructure, with an overall preference for inner alpine areas and south-facing slopes. In the next step, the impact of climate change on the distribution and frequency of fires will be assessed by calculating a climate change model adapted to the 1x1km INCA dataset and based on different regional climate change models. Finally, a selection of fire-hot-spots from the previous modelling steps will be used for enhanced 3D-modelling approaches of natural hazards after wildfire-driven deforestation.

USGS Wildland Fire Workshop, EROS Data Center, Sioux Falls, SD, July 9-10, 1997.

DTIC Science & Technology

1998-04-01

Montana , began by providing a brief over- view of research done at the U.S. Forest Service laborato- ries in East Lansing, Michigan and Seattle...Ecology and Fire Effects Panel; the Modeling: Fire Spread, Smoke Plume Panel; and the Postfire Rehabilitation, Hazards Assessment, and Habitat ...endangered species and criti- cal biological habitats . Ongoing research also is evaluat- ing the influences of seasonal burns, frequency of burns

Incorporating Resource Protection Constraints in an Analysis of Landscape Fuel-Treatment Effectiveness in the Northern Sierra Nevada, CA, USA.

PubMed

Dow, Christopher B; Collins, Brandon M; Stephens, Scott L

2016-03-01

Finding novel ways to plan and implement landscape-level forest treatments that protect sensitive wildlife and other key ecosystem components, while also reducing the risk of large-scale, high-severity fires, can prove to be difficult. We examined alternative approaches to landscape-scale fuel-treatment design for the same landscape. These approaches included two different treatment scenarios generated from an optimization algorithm that reduces modeled fire spread across the landscape, one with resource-protection constrains and one without the same. We also included a treatment scenario that was the actual fuel-treatment network implemented, as well as a no-treatment scenario. For all the four scenarios, we modeled hazardous fire potential based on conditional burn probabilities, and projected fire emissions. Results demonstrate that in all the three active treatment scenarios, hazardous fire potential, fire area, and emissions were reduced by approximately 50 % relative to the untreated condition. Results depict that incorporation of constraints is more effective at reducing modeled fire outputs, possibly due to the greater aggregation of treatments, creating greater continuity of fuel-treatment blocks across the landscape. The implementation of fuel-treatment networks using different planning techniques that incorporate real-world constraints can reduce the risk of large problematic fires, allow for landscape-level heterogeneity that can provide necessary ecosystem services, create mixed forest stand structures on a landscape, and promote resilience in the uncertain future of climate change.

Wildlife and invertebrate response to fuel reduction treatments in dry coniferous forests of the Western United States: a synthesis

Treesearch

David S. Pilliod; Evelyn L. Bull; Jane L. Hayes; Barbara C. Wales

2006-01-01

This paper synthesizes available information on the effects of hazardous fuel reduction treatments on terrestrial wildlife and invertebrates in dry coniferous forest types in the West. We focused on thinning and/or prescribed fire studies in ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) and dry-type Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii),...

Evolving forest fire burn severity classification algorithms for multispectral imagery

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brumby, Steven P.; Harvey, Neal R.; Bloch, Jeffrey J.; Theiler, James P.; Perkins, Simon J.; Young, Aaron C.; Szymanski, John J.

2001-08-01

Between May 6 and May 18, 2000, the Cerro Grande/Los Alamos wildfire burned approximately 43,000 acres (17,500 ha) and 235 residences in the town of Los Alamos, NM. Initial estimates of forest damage included 17,000 acres (6,900 ha) of 70-100% tree mortality. Restoration efforts following the fire were complicated by the large scale of the fire, and by the presence of extensive natural and man-made hazards. These conditions forced a reliance on remote sensing techniques for mapping and classifying the burn region. During and after the fire, remote-sensing data was acquired from a variety of aircraft-based and satellite-based sensors, including Landsat 7. We now report on the application of a machine learning technique, implemented in a software package called GENIE, to the classification of forest fire burn severity using Landsat 7 ETM+ multispectral imagery. The details of this automatic classification are compared to the manually produced burn classification, which was derived from field observations and manual interpretation of high-resolution aerial color/infrared photography.

Mechanical restoration of California mixed-conifer forests: does it matter which trees are cut?

Treesearch

Jessica Miesel; Ralph Boerner; Carl Skinner

2009-01-01

The montane ecosystems of northern California have been subjected to repeated manipulation and active fire suppression for over a century, resulting in changes in community structure that contribute to increased wildfire hazard. Ecosystem restoration via reduction of stand density for wildfire hazard mitigation has received substantial attention in recent years;...

A burning problem: social dynamics of disaster risk reduction through wildfire mitigation

Treesearch

Susan Charnley; Melissa R. Poe; Alan A. Ager; Thomas A. Spies; Emily K. Platt; Keith A. Olsen

2015-01-01

Disasters result from hazards affecting vulnerable people. Most disasters research by anthropologists focuses on vulnerability; this article focuses on natural hazards. We use the case of wildfire mitigation on United States Forest Service lands in the northwestern United States to examine social, political, and economic variables at multiple scales that influence fire...

A test of the Forest Inventory and Analysis Program’s down woody material indicator for regional fuel estimation in the Southern Appalachian Mountains (PROJECT SO-F-06-01)

Treesearch

G. Geof Wang; Zhi-Ping Wang; Aaron D. Stottlemyer; Thomas A. Waldrop

2013-01-01

Both the National Fire Plan (http://199.134.225.50/nwcc/t2_wa4/ pdf/RuralAssistance.pdf) and the Healthy Forest Initiative (http://www.fs.fed.us/projects/ hfi/2003/august/documents/hfi-fact-sheet. pdf) call for reduction of hazardous fuels. Consequently, estimations of forest fuel loading at various scales become necessary. The Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA)...

Use of financial and economic analyses by federal forest managers for woody biomass removal

Treesearch

Todd A. Morgan; Jason P. Brandt; John D. Baldridge; Dan R. Loeffler

2011-01-01

This study was sponsored by the Joint Fire Science Program to understand and enhance the ability of federal land managers to address financial and economic (F&E) aspects of woody biomass removal as a component of fire hazard reduction. Focus groups were conducted with nearly 100 federal land managers throughout the western United States. Several issues and...

Surface fuel changes after severe disturbances in northern Rocky Mountain ecosystems

Treesearch

Chris Stalling; Robert E. Keane; Molly Retzlaff

2017-01-01

It is generally assumed that severe disturbances predispose damaged forests to high fire hazard by creating heavy fuel loading conditions. Of special concern is the perception that surface fuel loadings become high as recently killed trees deposit foliage and woody material on the ground and that these high fuel loadings may cause abnormally severe fires. This study...

Influence of bark beetle-caused mortality on fuel loadings and crown fire hazard in southwestern ponderosa pine stands

Treesearch

Chad M. Hoffman; Joel D. McMillin; Carolyn Hull Sieg; Peter Z. Fule

2012-01-01

Bark beetles (Coleoptera: Scolytinae) are important biotic agents of conifer mortality in forests of western North America (Furniss and Carolin 1977) and play an important role in the disturbance ecology of these ecosystems (Fettig and others 2007). Bark beetle outbreaks affect subsequent fire behavior in part by influencing the spatial...

Outreach programs, peer pressure, and common sense: What motivates homeowners to mitigate wildfire risk?

Treesearch

Sarah M. McCaffrey; Melanie Stidham; Eric Toman; Bruce Shindler

2011-01-01

In recent years, altered forest conditions, climate change, and the increasing numbers of homes built in fire prone areas has meant that wildfires are affecting more people. An important part of minimizing the potential negative impacts of wildfire is engaging homeowners in mitigating the fire hazard on their land. It is therefore important to understand what makes...

Does prescribed fire promote resistance to drought in low elevation forests of the Sierra Nevada, California, USA?

USGS Publications Warehouse

van Mantgem, Phillip J.; Caprio, Anthony C.; Stephenson, Nathan L.; Das, Adrian J.

2016-01-01

Prescribed fire is a primary tool used to restore western forests following more than a century of fire exclusion, reducing fire hazard by removing dead and live fuels (small trees and shrubs).  It is commonly assumed that the reduced forest density following prescribed fire also reduces competition for resources among the remaining trees, so that the remaining trees are more resistant (more likely to survive) in the face of additional stressors, such as drought.  Yet this proposition remains largely untested, so that managers do not have the basic information to evaluate whether prescribed fire may help forests adapt to a future of more frequent and severe drought.During the third year of drought, in 2014, we surveyed 9950 trees in 38 burned and 18 unburned mixed conifer forest plots at low elevation (<2100 m a.s.l.) in Kings Canyon, Sequoia, and Yosemite national parks in California, USA.  Fire had occurred in the burned plots from 6 yr to 28 yr before our survey.  After accounting for differences in individual tree diameter, common conifer species found in the burned plots had significantly reduced probability of mortality compared to unburned plots during the drought.  Stand density (stems ha-1) was significantly lower in burned versus unburned sites, supporting the idea that reduced competition may be responsible for the differential drought mortality response.  At the time of writing, we are not sure if burned stands will maintain lower tree mortality probabilities in the face of the continued, severe drought of 2015.  Future work should aim to better identify drought response mechanisms and how these may vary across other forest types and regions, particularly in other areas experiencing severe drought in the Sierra Nevada and on the Colorado Plateau.

Local Action Plans for Forest Fire Prevention in Greece: Existing situation and a Proposed Template based on the Collaboration of Academics and Public Policy Makers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Papanikolaou, Dimitrios; Arvanitakis, Spyridon; Papanikolaou, , Ioannis; Lozios, Stylianos; Diakakis, Michalis; Deligiannakis, Georgios; Dimitropoulou, Margarita; Georgiou, Konstantinos

2013-04-01

Wildfires are a major hazard in Greece suffering on average 1,509 wildfires and 36,151 burned hectares of forestlands every year. Since 1998 the Greek Fire Service is responsible for wildfires suppression and response, while prevention and mitigation yearly directives are also being released by the General Secretariat of Civil Protection. The 3013/2002 Act introduced a major transfer of responsibilities from the national to local municipal and regional authorities, which are accompanied by supplementary financial support. Significant new features were established such as the operation of local coordination councils, the foundation of municipality civil protection offices, the establishment of the annually prevention planning for forest fires and the development of local action plans. The University of Athens has developed a Local Action Plan template for municipality administrative levels, integrating scientific techniques and technologies to public government management. The Local Action Plan for Forest Fire Prevention is the main handbook and primary tool of every municipality for reducing the risk of wildfires. Fire prevention and risk analysis are the principal aims of this Plan, which also emphasizes on the important role of the volunteer organizations on forest fire prevention. The 7 chapters of the Action Plan include the legal framework, the risk analysis parameters, the risk analysis using GIS, the prevention planning, the manpower and available equipment of services involved, along with operational planning and evaluation of the previous year's forest fire prevention actions. Multiple information layers, such as vegetation types, road network, power lines and landfills are combined in GIS environment and transformed into qualitative multiparameter as well as quantitative combinational fire hazard maps. These maps are essential in wildfire risk analysis as they display the areas that need the highest attention during the fire season. Moreover, the separate steps of operational planning and the reviewing of precaution, addressing and rehabilitation measures are analyzed. This action plan, risk analysis and maps are of decisive importance not only for prevention and operational planning purposes, but can also prove useful during the crisis and the rehabilitation processes as well. Additionally, we conducted a large questionnaire survey among the municipalities of Greece to assess the existing situation regarding forest fire prevention. Therefore, a network connecting civil protection departments of municipalities was developed, based on an Internet platform, which acted also as a communication tool. Overall, we had feedback either online or offline from 125 municipalities across the country (representing more than one/third of the total municipalities of Greece). 23% of the municipalities have not compiled an action plan yet despite the fact that the 3013/2002 Act of the Greek National Law requires one. Moreover, existing action plans are predominantly catalogues and tables of information regarding authorised personnel and equipment. They lack important information, present no spatial data and display no prevention measures. Indeed, 85% of the municipalities that have action plans do not use risk maps and spatial data, which are of decisive importance for compiling the plans. 74% of the municipalities do not keep a record of forest fires. The jurisdiction area has been modified after the new administrative plan of Kallikratis in 2010 in 74% of the municipalities, however, local action plans were not adapted accordingly in 61% of these. The daily Fire Risk Map of the General Secretariat of Civil Protection has a key role, since 77% of the municipalities take additional measures in case of increased fire risk. According to the civil protection officials, existing action plans suffer from several major problems which emerge due to the fact: that there is no assessment on the fire hazard 67%, there is lack of personnel training 65%, new technologies are not incorporated or used 57% and there is a lack of a template for compiling an action plan 53%. The partnership between the University of Athens with the support of the private sector and the Union of Municipalities of Attica was held under the LIFE+ project "Local Authorities Alliance for Forest Fire Prevention - LIFE08/ENV/GR/000553 " which is implemented with the contribution of the LIFE financial instrument of the European Community.

Management Impacts on Carbon Dynamics in a Sierra Nevada Mixed Conifer Forest

PubMed Central

Dore, Sabina; Fry, Danny L.; Collins, Brandon M.; Vargas, Rodrigo; York, Robert A.; Stephens, Scott L.

2016-01-01

Forest ecosystems can act as sinks of carbon and thus mitigate anthropogenic carbon emissions. When forests are actively managed, treatments can alter forests carbon dynamics, reducing their sink strength and switching them from sinks to sources of carbon. These effects are generally characterized by fast temporal dynamics. Hence this study monitored for over a decade the impacts of management practices commonly used to reduce fire hazards on the carbon dynamics of mixed-conifer forests in the Sierra Nevada, California, USA. Soil CO2 efflux, carbon pools (i.e. soil carbon, litter, fine roots, tree biomass), and radial tree growth were compared among un-manipulated controls, prescribed fire, thinning, thinning followed by fire, and two clear-cut harvested sites. Soil CO2 efflux was reduced by both fire and harvesting (ca. 15%). Soil carbon content (upper 15 cm) was not significantly changed by harvest or fire treatments. Fine root biomass was reduced by clear-cut harvest (60–70%) but not by fire, and the litter layer was reduced 80% by clear-cut harvest and 40% by fire. Thinning effects on tree growth and biomass were concentrated in the first year after treatments, whereas fire effects persisted over the seven-year post-treatment period. Over this period, tree radial growth was increased (25%) by thinning and reduced (12%) by fire. After seven years, tree biomass returned to pre-treatment levels in both fire and thinning treatments; however, biomass and productivity decreased 30%-40% compared to controls when thinning was combined with fire. The clear-cut treatment had the strongest impact, reducing ecosystem carbon stocks and delaying the capacity for carbon uptake. We conclude that post-treatment carbon dynamics and ecosystem recovery time varied with intensity and type of treatments. Consequently, management practices can be selected to minimize ecosystem carbon losses while increasing future carbon uptake, resilience to high severity fire, and climate related stresses. PMID:26918460

Recent land-use and land-cover changes and its driving factors in a fire-prone area of southwestern Turkey.

PubMed

Viedma, Olga; Moreno, José M; Güngöroglu, Cumhur; Cosgun, Ufuk; Kavgacı, Ali

2017-07-15

During the last decades, contrasted trends in forest fires among countries around the Mediterranean basin have been observed. In the northern/western countries, Land Use-Land Cover (LULC) changes led to more hazardous landscapes, with consequent increases in fires. This contrasted with fire trends in southern/eastern countries. The recent incidence of large fires in some of the latter prompted the question of whether they are now following the path of their neighbors decades earlier. In this study, we investigated recent LULC changes in southwestern Turkey, focusing on those that could affect fire, and the factors driving them. To this end, LULC maps at different time steps (1975, 1990, 2000 and 2010) were obtained from Landsat images, together with relevant socioeconomic data. Generalized linear mixed models (GLMMs) were applied to assess the effects of socioeconomic and geophysical factors on the dominant LULC changes over time. Over the whole period studied, the most important LULC changes were deforestation followed by afforestation. Deforestation was positively related to high livestock density and proximity to villages and increased forest interfaces with other LULC types. We found no evidence that LULC changes were making the landscape more hazardous as there was a net decrease in fuels biomass and the landscape became more fragmented over time. However, despite the area being heavily used and relatively fragmented, large fires can occur driven by severe weather. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Spatio-temporal evolution of forest fires in Portugal

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tonini, Marj; Pereira, Mário G.; Parente, Joana

2017-04-01

A key issue in fire management is the ability to explore and try to predict where and when fires are more likely to occur. This information can be useful to understand the triggering factors of ignitions and for planning strategies to reduce forest fires, to manage the sources of ignition and to identify areas and frame period at risk. Therefore, producing maps displaying forest fires location and their occurrence in time can be of great help for accurately forecasting these hazardous events. In a fire prone country as Portugal, where thousands of events occurs each year, it is involved to drive information about fires over densities and recurrences just by looking at the original arrangement of the mapped ignition points or burnt areas. In this respect, statistical methods originally developed for spatio-temporal stochastic point processes can be employed to find a structure within these large datasets. In the present study, the authors propose an approach to analyze and visualize the evolution in space and in time of forest fires occurred in Portugal during a long frame period (1990 - 2013). Data came from the Portuguese mapped burnt areas official geodatabase (by the Institute for the Conservation of Nature and Forests), which is the result of interpreted satellite measurements. The following statistical analyses were performed: the geographically-weighted summary statistics, to analyze the local variability of the average burned area; the space-time Kernel density, to elaborate smoothed density surfaces representing over densities of fires classed by size and on North vs South region. Finally, we emploied the volume rendering thecnique to visualize the spatio-temporal evolution of these events into a unique map: this representation allows visually inspecting areas and time-step more affected from a high aggregation of forest fires. It results that during the whole investigated period over densities are mainly located in the northern regions, while in the southern areas spread hot-spot are spatially randomly distributed and temporally more concentrated in the frame 2000 - 2004. To conclude, this study let us to identify a multitude of clustering space-time features of forest fires in Portugal, which can be useful for a better planning of educational activities and prevention campaigns as well as for a better allocation of monitoring systems and firefighting. References: Tonini M., Pereira M. G., Parente J. (2016) - Evolution of forest fires in Portugal: from spatio-temporal point events to smoothed density maps. Natural Hazard, doi:10.1007/s11069-016-2637-x Lu B., Harris P., Charlton M., Brunsdon C. (2014) - The GWmodel R package: further topics for exploring spatial heterogeneity using geographically weighted models. Geo-spatial Information Science, Vol. 17: 85-101 Rowlingson B., Diggle P., Bivand M.R. (2012) - Splancs: spatial point pattern analysis code in S-Plus. Computers and Geosciences, Vol. 19: 627-655 Acknowledgements: This work was supported by: (i) the FIREXTR project, PTDC/ATP¬GEO/0462/2014; (ii) the project Interact - Integrative Research in Environment,Agro-Chain and Technology, NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000017, research line BEST, cofinanced by FEDER/NORTE 2020; and, (iii) European Investment Funds by FEDER/COMPETE/POCI-Operacional Competitiveness and Internacionalization Programme, under Project POCI-01-0145-FEDER-006958 and National Funds by FCT - Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology, under the project UID/AGR/04033. We are especially grateful to ICNF for providing the fire.

Forestry timber typing. Tanana demonstration project, Alaska ASVT. [Alaska

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Morrissey, L. A.; Ambrosia, V. G.

1982-01-01

The feasibility of using LANDSAT digital data in conjunction with topographic data to delineate commercial forests by stand size and crown closure in the Tanana River basin of Alaska was tested. A modified clustering approach using two LANDSAT dates to generate an initial forest type classification was then refined with topographic data. To further demonstrate the ability of remotely sensed data in a fire protection planning framework, the timber type data were subsequently integrated with terrain information to generate a fire hazard map of the study area. This map provides valuable assistance in initial attack planning, determining equipment accessibility, and fire growth modeling. The resulting data sets were incorporated into the Alaska Department of Natural Resources geographic information system for subsequent utilization.

The effect of salvage logging on surface fuel loads and fuel moisture in beetle-infested lodgepole pine forests

Treesearch

Paul R. Hood; Kellen N. Nelson; Charles C. Rhoades; Daniel B. Tinker

2017-01-01

Widespread tree mortality from mountain pine beetle (MPB; Dendroctonus ponderosae Hopkins) outbreaks has prompted forest management activities to reduce crown fire hazard in the Rocky Mountain region. However, little is known about how beetle-related salvage logging and biomass utilization options affect woody surface fuel loads and fuel moisture dynamics. We compared...

Fuel reduction in residential and scenic forests: A comparison of three treatments in a western Montana ponderosa pine stand

Treesearch

Joe H. Scott

1998-01-01

Three contrasting thinning treatments to reduce fire hazard were implemented in a 100-year-old ponderosa pine/Douglas-fir (Pinus ponderosa/Pseudotsuga menzesii) stand on the Lolo National Forest, MT. All treatments included a commercial thinning designed to reduce crown fuels and provide revenue to offset costs. The treatments are...

Mulching fuels treatments promote understory plant communities in three Colorado, USA, coniferous forest types

Treesearch

Paula J. Fornwalt; Monique E. Rocca; Michael Battaglia; Charles C. Rhoades; Michael G. Ryan

2017-01-01

Mulching fuels treatments have been increasingly implemented by forest managers in the western USA to reduce crown fire hazard. These treatments use heavy machinery to masticate or chip unwanted shrubs and small-diameter trees and broadcast the mulched material on the ground. Because mulching treatments are relatively novel and have no natural analog, their ecological...

Fuel treatments reduce the severity of wildfire effects in dry mixed conifer forest, Washington, USA

Treesearch

Susan J. Prichard; David L. Peterson; Kyle Jacobson

2010-01-01

To address hazardous fuel accumulations, many fuel treatments are being implemented in dry forests, but there have been few opportunities to evaluate treatment efficacy in wildfires. We documented the effectiveness of thinning and prescribed burning in the 2006 Tripod Complex fires. Recent fuel treatments burned in the wildfires and offered an opportunity to evaluate...

Beetle-killed stands in the South Carolina piedmont: from fuel hazards to regenerating oak forests

Treesearch

Aaron D. Stottlemyer; G. Geoff Wang; Thomas A. Waldrop

2012-01-01

Impacts of spring prescribed fire, mechanical mastication, and no-treatment (control) on fuels and natural hardwood tree regeneration were examined in beetle-killed stands in the South Carolina Piedmont. Mechanical mastication ground the down and standing dead trees and live vegetation into mulch and deposited it onto the forest floor. The masticated debris layer had...

Developing Custom Fire Behavior Fuel Models for Mediterranean Wildland-Urban Interfaces in Southern Italy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Elia, Mario; Lafortezza, Raffaele; Lovreglio, Raffaella; Sanesi, Giovanni

2015-09-01

The dramatic increase of fire hazard in wildland-urban interfaces (WUIs) has required more detailed fuel management programs to preserve ecosystem functions and human settlements. Designing effective fuel treatment strategies allows to achieve goals such as resilient landscapes, fire-adapted communities, and ecosystem response. Therefore, obtaining background information on forest fuel parameters and fuel accumulation patterns has become an important first step in planning fuel management interventions. Site-specific fuel inventory data enhance the accuracy of fuel management planning and help forest managers in fuel management decision-making. We have customized four fuel models for WUIs in southern Italy, starting from forest classes of land-cover use and adopting a hierarchical clustering approach. Furthermore, we provide a prediction of the potential fire behavior of our customized fuel models using FlamMap 5 under different weather conditions. The results suggest that fuel model IIIP (Mediterranean maquis) has the most severe fire potential for the 95th percentile weather conditions and the least severe potential fire behavior for the 85th percentile weather conditions. This study shows that it is possible to create customized fuel models directly from fuel inventory data. This achievement has broad implications for land managers, particularly forest managers of the Mediterranean landscape, an ecosystem that is susceptible not only to wildfires but also to the increasing human population and man-made infrastructures.

Developing Custom Fire Behavior Fuel Models for Mediterranean Wildland-Urban Interfaces in Southern Italy.

PubMed

Elia, Mario; Lafortezza, Raffaele; Lovreglio, Raffaella; Sanesi, Giovanni

2015-09-01

The dramatic increase of fire hazard in wildland-urban interfaces (WUIs) has required more detailed fuel management programs to preserve ecosystem functions and human settlements. Designing effective fuel treatment strategies allows to achieve goals such as resilient landscapes, fire-adapted communities, and ecosystem response. Therefore, obtaining background information on forest fuel parameters and fuel accumulation patterns has become an important first step in planning fuel management interventions. Site-specific fuel inventory data enhance the accuracy of fuel management planning and help forest managers in fuel management decision-making. We have customized four fuel models for WUIs in southern Italy, starting from forest classes of land-cover use and adopting a hierarchical clustering approach. Furthermore, we provide a prediction of the potential fire behavior of our customized fuel models using FlamMap 5 under different weather conditions. The results suggest that fuel model IIIP (Mediterranean maquis) has the most severe fire potential for the 95th percentile weather conditions and the least severe potential fire behavior for the 85th percentile weather conditions. This study shows that it is possible to create customized fuel models directly from fuel inventory data. This achievement has broad implications for land managers, particularly forest managers of the Mediterranean landscape, an ecosystem that is susceptible not only to wildfires but also to the increasing human population and man-made infrastructures.

The Impact of Increasing Fire Frequency on Forest Transformations in the Zabaikal Region, Southern Siberia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Conard, S. G.; Kukavskaya, E. A.; Buryak, L. V.; Shvetsov, E.; Kalenskaya, O. P.; Zhila, S.

2017-12-01

The Zabaikal region of southern Siberia is characterized by some of the highest fire activity in Russia. There has been a significant increase of fire frequency and burned area in the region over the last two decades due to a combination of high anthropogenic pressure, decreased funding to the forestry sector, and increased fire danger, which was associated with higher frequency and intensity of extreme weather events. Central and southern parts of the Zabaikal region where population density is higher and road network is relatively more developed are the most disturbed by fires. Larch stands cover the largest proportion of fire-disturbed lands in the region, while the less common pine and birch stands are characterized by higher fire frequency. About 13% (3.9 M ha) of the total forest area in the Zabaikal region was burned more than once in the 20 years from 1996 to 2015, with many sites burned multiple times. Repeat disturbances led to inadequate tree regeneration on all but the moistest sites. Pine stands on dry soils, which are common in the forest-steppe zone, were the most vulnerable. After repeat burns and over large burned sites we observed transformation of the forests to steppe ecosystems. The most likely causes of insufficient forest regeneration are soil overheating, dominance of tall grasses, and lack of nearby seed sources. Extensive tree plantations have potential to mitigate negative fire impacts; however, due to high fire hazard in the recent decade about half of the plantation area has been burned. Changes in the SWVI index were used to assess postfire reforestation based on a combination of satellite and field data. In the southwestern part of the Zabaikal region, we estimated that reforestation had been hampered over 11% of the forest land area. Regional climate models project increasing temperatures and decreasing precipitation across Siberia by the end of the 21st century, with changes in the Zabaikal region projected to be more than twice the average rate in Siberia. This would likely lead to higher fire activity in the region. Implementation of sustainable forest management strategies has the potential to mitigate effects of changing climate and fire regimes on forest ecosystems in the Zabaikal region. This research was supported by the RFBR grant (# 15-04-06567) and the NASA LCLUC Program.

Analysis of the prescribed burning practice in the pine forest of northwestern Portugal.

PubMed

Fernandes, P; Botelho, H

2004-01-01

The ignition of low-intensity fires in the dormant season in the pine stands of north-western Portugal seeks to reduce the existing fuel hazard without compromising site quality. The purpose of this study is to characterise this practice and assess its effectiveness, based on information resulting from the normal monitoring process at the management level, and using operational guidelines, fire behaviour models and a newly developed method to classify prescribed fire severity. Although the region's humid climate strongly constrains the activity of prescribed fire, 87% of the fires analysed were undertaken under acceptable meteorological and fuel moisture conditions. In fact, most operations achieved satisfactory results. On average, prescribed fire reduces by 96% the potential intensity of a wildfire occurring under extreme weather conditions, but 36% of the treated sites would still require heavy fire fighting resources to suppress such fire, and 17% would still carry it in the tree canopy. Only 10% of the prescribed burns have an excessive impact on trees or the forest floor, while 89% (normal fire weather) or 59% (extreme fire weather) comply with both ecological integrity maintenance and wildfire protection needs. Improved planning and monitoring procedures are recommended in order to overcome the current deficiencies.

Risk and Cooperation: Managing Hazardous Fuel in Mixed Ownership Landscapes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fischer, A. Paige; Charnley, Susan

2012-06-01

Managing natural processes at the landscape scale to promote forest health is important, especially in the case of wildfire, where the ability of a landowner to protect his or her individual parcel is constrained by conditions on neighboring ownerships. However, management at a landscape scale is also challenging because it requires cooperation on plans and actions that cross ownership boundaries. Cooperation depends on people's beliefs and norms about reciprocity and perceptions of the risks and benefits of interacting with others. Using logistic regression tests on mail survey data and qualitative analysis of interviews with landowners, we examined the relationship between perceived wildfire risk and cooperation in the management of hazardous fuel by nonindustrial private forest (NIPF) owners in fire-prone landscapes of eastern Oregon. We found that NIPF owners who perceived a risk of wildfire to their properties, and perceived that conditions on nearby public forestlands contributed to this risk, were more likely to have cooperated with public agencies in the past to reduce fire risk than owners who did not perceive a risk of wildfire to their properties. Wildfire risk perception was not associated with past cooperation among NIPF owners. The greater social barriers to private-private cooperation than to private-public cooperation, and perceptions of more hazardous conditions on public compared with private forestlands may explain this difference. Owners expressed a strong willingness to cooperate with others in future cross-boundary efforts to reduce fire risk, however. We explore barriers to cooperative forest management across ownerships, and identify models of cooperation that hold potential for future collective action to reduce wildfire risk.

Risk and cooperation: managing hazardous fuel in mixed ownership landscapes.

PubMed

Fischer, A Paige; Charnley, Susan

2012-06-01

Managing natural processes at the landscape scale to promote forest health is important, especially in the case of wildfire, where the ability of a landowner to protect his or her individual parcel is constrained by conditions on neighboring ownerships. However, management at a landscape scale is also challenging because it requires cooperation on plans and actions that cross ownership boundaries. Cooperation depends on people's beliefs and norms about reciprocity and perceptions of the risks and benefits of interacting with others. Using logistic regression tests on mail survey data and qualitative analysis of interviews with landowners, we examined the relationship between perceived wildfire risk and cooperation in the management of hazardous fuel by nonindustrial private forest (NIPF) owners in fire-prone landscapes of eastern Oregon. We found that NIPF owners who perceived a risk of wildfire to their properties, and perceived that conditions on nearby public forestlands contributed to this risk, were more likely to have cooperated with public agencies in the past to reduce fire risk than owners who did not perceive a risk of wildfire to their properties. Wildfire risk perception was not associated with past cooperation among NIPF owners. The greater social barriers to private-private cooperation than to private-public cooperation, and perceptions of more hazardous conditions on public compared with private forestlands may explain this difference. Owners expressed a strong willingness to cooperate with others in future cross-boundary efforts to reduce fire risk, however. We explore barriers to cooperative forest management across ownerships, and identify models of cooperation that hold potential for future collective action to reduce wildfire risk.

Metastability for discontinuous dynamical systems under Lévy noise: Case study on Amazonian Vegetation.

PubMed

Serdukova, Larissa; Zheng, Yayun; Duan, Jinqiao; Kurths, Jürgen

2017-08-24

For the tipping elements in the Earth's climate system, the most important issue to address is how stable is the desirable state against random perturbations. Extreme biotic and climatic events pose severe hazards to tropical rainforests. Their local effects are extremely stochastic and difficult to measure. Moreover, the direction and intensity of the response of forest trees to such perturbations are unknown, especially given the lack of efficient dynamical vegetation models to evaluate forest tree cover changes over time. In this study, we consider randomness in the mathematical modelling of forest trees by incorporating uncertainty through a stochastic differential equation. According to field-based evidence, the interactions between fires and droughts are a more direct mechanism that may describe sudden forest degradation in the south-eastern Amazon. In modeling the Amazonian vegetation system, we include symmetric α-stable Lévy perturbations. We report results of stability analysis of the metastable fertile forest state. We conclude that even a very slight threat to the forest state stability represents L´evy noise with large jumps of low intensity, that can be interpreted as a fire occurring in a non-drought year. During years of severe drought, high-intensity fires significantly accelerate the transition between a forest and savanna state.

Preliminary results of the PREFER FP7 Project

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fusilli, Lorenzo; Laneve, Giovanni; De Bonis, Roberto; Sebastian, Ana; Ferrucci, Fabrizio; Oliveira, Sandra

2014-05-01

The need to improve the information and intelligence support for forest fire prevention is widely recognized. Fire prevention is still the most cost-effective strategy when compared to firefighting and extinguishing that are costly, local, and triggered only in response to already ongoing crises. PREFER project, funded under the EU FP7 (G.A. 312931), intends to contribute at responding to such a pragmatic need of southern Europe's forests by: providing timely information products based on the exploitation of all available spacecraft sensors, offering a portfolio of products focused on pre- and post-crisis forest fire emergency, suitable for the users in the different countries of the European Mediterranean area. The PREFER Service portfolio consists of two main services: 1. Information Support to Fire Preparedness/Prevention Phase" (ISP) Service 2. Information Support to Fire Recovery/Reconstruction Phase" (ISR) Service This service is already at an advanced stage having completed the first year of activity. During this time several products have been consolidated: seasonal fuel maps; daily and seasonal fire hazard maps; seasonal risk maps; prescribed fire maps. This paper aims at presenting the preliminary results of the research activity carried out in the framework of the PREFER project, focusing, in particular, on these recalled above. As for Fire Risk and Hazard assessment, many indexes have been developed in the last years. Hardly any of them uses data derived from satellite images. The FPI index is an exception to this rule which, in addition, makes use of meteorological data. In spite of being a very complete index, the FPI still allows room for improvement which justify the interest of PREFER in it. PREFER's innovative approach to FPI will allow taking into account the effect of solar illumination conditions in determining the humidity present in the dead vegetation, and therefore its proneness to burn. PREFER innovation also focus in allowing the index to take into account the influence of water present in the alive vegetation (relevant in determining the fire regime) through the Equivalent Water Thickness. PREFER will use daily FPI forecasts to produce a seasonal fire hazard index by introducing in the model the human factor as captured by the fire occurrence statistics. PREFER will produce also seasonal fire risk maps by combining the seasonal hazard data with vulnerability and exposure maps. Finally, Prescribed Burning (PB) represents the controlled application of fire to vegetation under specific environmental conditions to attain planned resource management objectives. The main objective of the PREFER service for PB is to support the user in the identification of the areas and the time, that is where and when, the PB practice is applicable in a secure way. The main innovation, taking into account the results previously obtained in the frame work of other European projects (FIREPARADOX), will be the integration of the advanced remote sensing techniques that have not yet been developed for the problem under study, aiming at developing an index capable to provide the right time to intervene with the PB in the area of interest.

Fuel Type Classification and Fuel Loading in Central Interior, Korea: Uiseong-Gun

Treesearch

Myoung Soo Won; Kyo Sang Koo; Myung Bo Lee; Si Young Lee

2006-01-01

The objective of this study is classification of fuel type and calculation of fuel loading to assess forest fire hazard by fuel characteristics at Uiseong-gun, Gyeongbuk located in the central interior of Korea. A database was constructed of eight factors such as forest type and topography using ArcGIS 9.1 GIS programs. An on-site survey was conducted for investigating...

Response of soricid populations to repeated fire and fuel reduction treatments in the southern Appalachain Mountains

Treesearch

Charlotte E Matthews; Christopher E Moorman; Cathryn H Greenberg

2009-01-01

Fuel hazards have increased in forests across the United States because offire exclusion during the 20th century. Treatments used to reduce fuel buildup Illay affect wildlife. such as shrews. living 011 the forest floor. especially when treatments are applied repeatedly. From mid-May to mid-August 2006 and 2007.  we used drift fences...

The effect of asphalt and wax emulsions on moisture changes in slash.

Treesearch

James L. Murphy; Charles W. Philpot; Morris J. Garber

1969-01-01

Disposal of logging slash is one of the forest manager's biggest problems. If slash is not disposed of, a serious fire hazard may result, and regeneration may be prevented because of an inadequate seedbed or resistance to planting. Foresters can dispose of slash by burning or by generally more expensive mechanical methods such as chipping. Over much of the West,...

Mechanical thinning impacts on runoff, infiltration, and sediment yield following fuel reduction treatments in southwestern dry mixed conifer forest

Treesearch

D.S. Cram; T.T. Baker; A.G. Fernald; A. Madrid; B. Rummer

2007-01-01

Increasing densities of small diameter trees have changed ecological processes and negatively impacted conservation of soil and water resources in western forests. Thinning treatments are commonplace to reduce stem density and potential fire hazard. We evaluated the impacts of using a specialized heavy piece of equipment to reduce he1 loads on intermediate and steep...

Influence of slash burning on regeneration, other plant cover, and fire hazard in the Douglas-fir region (a progress report).

Treesearch

William G. Morris

1958-01-01

In the Douglas-fir region, is slash burning ultimately good or bad practice? During the early 1940's whenever a group of foresters, met to discuss management or silviculture of that region, they usually debated this question. Until then they had burned slash in most clear cuttings east of the narrow coastal fog belt as accepted practice. Fire...

Finding balance between fire hazard reduction and erosion control in the Lake Tahoe Basin, California–Nevada

Treesearch

Nicolas M. Harrison; Andrew P. Stubblefield; J. Morgan Varner; Eric E. Knapp

2016-01-01

The 2007 Angora Fire served as a stark reminder of the need for fuel reduction treatments in the Lake Tahoe Basin, California–Nevada, USA. Concerns exist, however, that the corresponding removal of forest floor fuels could increase erosion rates, negatively affecting the clarity of Lake Tahoe. To quantify trade-offs between fuel reduction and erosion, we conducted...

Numerical simulation of crown fire hazard following bark beetle-caused mortality in lodgepole pine forests

Treesearch

Chad Hoffman; Russell Parsons; Penny Morgan; Ruddy Mell

2010-01-01

The purpose of this study is to investigate how varying amounts of MPB-induced tree mortality affects the amount of crown fuels consumed and the fire intensity across a range of lodgepole pine stands of different tree density and spatial arrangements during the early stages of a bark beetle outbreak. Unlike past studies which have relied on semi-empirical or empirical...

Hazard Science in Support of Community Resiliency: The Response of the Multi Hazards Demonstration Project to the 2009 Station Fire in Los Angeles County

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jones, L. M.; Bawden, G. W.; Bowers, J.; Cannon, S.; Cox, D. A.; Fisher, R.; Keeley, J.; Perry, S. C.; Plumlee, G. S.; Wood, N. J.

2009-12-01

The “Station” fire, the largest fire in the history of Los Angeles County in southern California, began on August 26, 2009 and as of the abstract deadline had burned over 150,000 acres of the Angeles National Forest. This fire creates both a demand and an opportunity for hazards science to be used by the communities directly hit by the fire, as well as those downstream of possible postfire impacts. The Multi Hazards Demonstration Project of the USGS is deploying several types of scientific response, including 1) evaluation of potential debris-flow hazards and associated risk, 2) monitoring physical conditions in burned areas and the hydrologic response to rainstorms, 3) increased streamflow monitoring, 4) ash analysis and ground water contamination, 5) ecosystem response and endangered species rescue, 6) lidar data acquisition for evaluations of biomass loss, detailed mapping of the physical processes that lead to debris-flow generation, and other geologic investigations. The Multi Hazards Demonstration Project is working with the southern California community to use the resulting information to better manage the social consequences of the fire and its secondary hazards. In particular, we are working with Los Angeles County to determine what information they need to prioritize recovery efforts. For instance, maps of hazards specific to debris flow potential can help identify the highest priority areas for debris flow mitigation efforts. These same maps together with ecosystem studies will help land managers determine whether individuals from endangered species should be removed to zoos or other refuges during the rainy months. The ash analysis will help water managers prevent contamination to water supplies. Plans are just beginning for a public information campaign with Los Angeles County about the risk posed by potential debris flows that should be underway in December. Activities from the fire response will support the development of the Wildfire Scenario in 2011, which will examine implications of land-use decisions in the frequency of fires in southern California.

Observational evidence on the effects of mega-fires on the frequency of hydrogeomorphic hazards. The case of the Peloponnese fires of 2007 in Greece.

PubMed

Diakakis, M; Nikolopoulos, E I; Mavroulis, S; Vassilakis, E; Korakaki, E

2017-08-15

Even though rare, mega-fires raging during very dry and windy conditions, record catastrophic impacts on infrastructure, the environment and human life, as well as extremely high suppression and rehabilitation costs. Apart from the direct consequences, mega-fires induce long-term effects in the geomorphological and hydrological processes, influencing environmental factors that in turn can affect the occurrence of other natural hazards, such as floods and mass movement phenomena. This work focuses on the forest fire of 2007 in Peloponnese, Greece that to date corresponds to the largest fire in the country's record that burnt 1773km 2 , causing 78 fatalities and very significant damages in property and infrastructure. Specifically, this work examines the occurrence of flood and mass movement phenomena, before and after this mega-fire and analyses different influencing factors to investigate the degree to which the 2007 fire and/or other parameters have affected their frequency. Observational evidence based on several data sources collected during the period 1989-2016 show that the 2007 fire has contributed to an increase of average flood and mass movement events frequency by approximately 3.3 and 5.6 times respectively. Fire affected areas record a substantial increase in the occurrence of both phenomena, presenting a noticeably stronger increase compared to neighbouring areas that have not been affected. Examination of the monthly occurrence of events showed an increase even in months of the year were rainfall intensity presented decreasing trends. Although no major land use changes has been identified and chlorophyll is shown to recover 2years after the fire incident, differences on the type of vegetation as tall forest has been substituted with lower vegetation are considered significant drivers for the observed increase in flood and mass movement frequency in the fire affected areas. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Emergency assessment of post-fire debris-flow hazards for the 2013 Rim Fire, Stanislaus National Forest and Yosemite National Park, California

USGS Publications Warehouse

Staley, Dennis M.

2013-01-01

Wildfire can significantly alter the hydrologic response of a watershed to the extent that even modest rainstorms can produce dangerous flash floods and debris flows. In this report, empirical models are used to predict the probability and magnitude of debris-flow occurrence in response to a 10-year rainstorm for the 2013 Rim fire in Yosemite National Park and the Stanislaus National Forest, California. Overall, the models predict a relatively high probability (60–80 percent) of debris flow for 28 of the 1,238 drainage basins in the burn area in response to a 10-year recurrence interval design storm. Predictions of debris-flow volume suggest that debris flows may entrain a significant volume of material, with 901 of the 1,238 basins identified as having potential debris-flow volumes greater than 10,000 cubic meters. These results of the relative combined hazard analysis suggest there is a moderate likelihood of significant debris-flow hazard within and downstream of the burn area for nearby populations, infrastructure, wildlife, and water resources. Given these findings, we recommend that residents, emergency managers, and public works departments pay close attention to weather forecasts and National-Weather-Service-issued Debris Flow and Flash Flood Outlooks, Watches and Warnings and that residents adhere to any evacuation orders.

Spatial and temporal changes in land cover and its relation to the wildfire risk in Montes de Zuera (NE-Spain)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Iñiguez-Remón, E.; Badía-Villas, D.; Ibarra-Benlloch, P.

2012-04-01

Land cover changes in a territory can be as result of the diverse human activities, and also, by the dynamic natural ecosystem. The analysis of these changes constitutes a fundamental indicator in improving the knowledge towards a potential sustainable development (OSE, 2006). This paper analyzes the evolution of the land cover at detailed scale 1:5000, along the years 1957, 1984, and 2005, in the Montes de Zuera (UTM: 665000-680000 East /4640000-4650000 North), nearby Zaragoza city (NE-Spain). Despite they are located in the midst of the semiarid Central Ebro Basin, the area have an uncommon, extensive and dense forest cover. For these reasons, Montes de Zuera form part of the "Natura 2000 Network" of Aragon. Because this region has a high incidence of wildfires and, as a measure to prevent them, land cover changes have been analyzed in this study. To get this objective, a methodology is developed based on GIS and Remote Sensing tools, and this makes it possible to establish the relationship between the dynamic land cover and "fire hazard". According to FAO (1986), fire hazard is the measure of risk of wildfire, which is explained by the presence of combustible materials available to burn (Chuvieco et al, 2004). It is understood that the areas with major fire hazard present a high vulnerability to suffer vast wildfires. To develop this work, the type of vegetation, its distribution and the state of maturity of the forest masses are analyzed. Moreover, the wildfires that occurred during the last five decades have been located, and the forest masses and the processes (anthropic and natural) associated to them have been characterized in the regions affected by vast wildfires. Moreover, the cartography of fire hazard is obtained, and this is useful tool to fre prevention and to promote the sustainable management of the forest masses. Two regions with high rate of fire hazards are differentiated (region 1 and region 2). The Aleppo pine cover occupies the majority of the surface percentage (55 % in region 1; 58 % in region 2), have being stable for the past fifty years about 1/3 of these surfaces (38 % in region 1, and 32 % in region 2). Different wildfire preventive measures are proposed at spatial scale. Chuvieco, E., Salas J., de la Riva, J., Pérez, F. y Lana-Renault, N. (2004). Métodos para la integración de variables de riesgo: el papel de los sistemas de Información Geográfica, pp.144-158. In: Chuvieco, E., Martín, M.P. (Ed.): Nuevas tecnologías para la estimación del riesgo de incendios forestales. CSIC, Instituto de Economía y Geografía. Madrid. FAO (1986). Wildfire management terminology. Eds. FAO, Forest Resources Development Branch. Rome. OSE, Observatorio para la Sostenibilidad en España (2006). Cambios de ocupación del suelo en España. Implicaciones para la sostenibilidad. Madrid.

Post-Wildfire Hydrologic Hazards in the Wildland Urban Interface of Colorado and the Western United States

USGS Publications Warehouse

Stevens, M.R.; Bossong, C.R.; Rupert, M.G.; Ranalli, A.J.; Cassidy, E.W.; Druliner, A.D.

2008-01-01

Following a wildfire, such as the 2002 Missionary Ridge fire, a number of hydrologic hazards may develop that can have an important impact on water resources, businesses, homes, reservoirs, roads, and utilities in the wildland urban interface (areas where homes and commercial developments are interspersed with wildlands) in mountainous areas of the Western United States. This fact sheet describes these hazards and identifies approaches to quantify them, thus enabling land and resource managers to plan for and mitigate the effects of these hazards. The fact sheet has been produced in association with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Fire Science Thrust program and the Colorado Front Range Demonstration Project (CFRDP). The current (2007) focus of the CFRDP is on the Three Lakes watershed in Grand County, Colorado, which has applicability to many similar forested, mountain areas in the Western United States.

Influence of Crown Biomass Estimators and Distribution on Canopy Fuel Characteristics in Ponderosa Pine Stands of the Black Hills

Treesearch

Tara Keyser; Frederick Smith

2009-01-01

Two determinants of crown fire hazard are canopy bulk density (CBD) and canopy base height (CBH). The Fire and Fuels Extension to the Forest Vegetation Simulator (FFE-FVS) is a model that predicts CBD and CBH. Currently, FFE-FVS accounts for neither geographic variation in tree allometries nor the nonuniform distribution of crown mass when one is estimating CBH and CBD...

One year monitoring of fire-induced effects on dissolved organic matter and nutrient dynamics under different land-use

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Potthast, Karin; Meyer, Stefanie; Crecelius, Anna; Schubert, Ulrich; Michalzik, Beate

2016-04-01

It is supposed that the changing climate will promote extreme weather events that in turn will increase drought periods and the abundance of fire events in temperate climate regions such as Central Europe. The impact of fires on the nutrient budgets of ecosystems is highly diverse and seems to depend on the ecosystem type. For example, little is known about fire effects on water-bound organic matter (OM) and nutrient fluxes in temperate managed forest ecosystems. Fires can strongly alter the distribution (forest floor vs. mineral soil), binding forms (organic vs. inorganic) and availability (solubility by water) of OM and associated nutrients. To elucidate the effects and seasonality of low intensity fires on the mobilization of dissolved organic carbon and nutrients, an experimental ground fire was conducted in November 2014 in the Hainich region, Central Germany. In addition, differences in response patterns between two land-use types (pasture and beech forest) were investigated. Lysimeters (n=5 controls/ 5 fire-manipulated) with topsoil monoliths (0-4 cm), rainfall/throughfall samplers, littertraps as well as temperature and moisture sensors were installed on three sites of each land-use type. During the one year of monitoring (Sep14-Dec15) soil solution, rainfall, and throughfall samples were taken biweekly and analyzed for pH, dissolved and particulate organic carbon (DOC, POC) and nitrogen (DN, PN) as well as for nutrients (e.g. K, Ca, Mg, P, S). Compared to the control sites, the ground fire immediately induced a short-run release peak of DOC in both land-use types. Within two weeks these differences were muted in the post-fire period. The effect of fire was land-use specific with annual DOC fluxes of 82 and 45 kg/(ha*a) for forest and pasture sites, respectively. In contrast, nitrogen fluxes responded differently to the fire event. In the forest, a significant increase in DN concentrations was notable five months after the fire, at the beginning of the vegetation period and lasted until November with DN concentrations in June being 4 times higher compared to the control (82 vs. 18 mg DN/L) and being negatively correlated with pH-values (r=-0.51 p<0.001). Annual DN fluxes from fire manipulated forest plots were two times higher compared to control ones (62 vs. 29 kg DN/(ha*a)) whereas only low impact was found at the pasture with 45 and 38 kg DN/(ha*a) for fire-manipulated plots and control, respectively. In general, the results exhibit highly differing response patterns of elements to fire between the two land-use types and with season. Starting in spring higher DN fluxes following fire event at the forest site could be associated with accelerated activity of soil microbes mineralizing released organic substances from burned forest floor and/or from dead roots. This mineralization process resulted in a significant increase in acidity of the soil solution that may affect important ecosystem functions like nutrient cycling and primary production. Hence, high resolution monitoring following a low intensive fire indicated nutrient losses from the forest ecosystem that could be a hazard for managed forests on nutrient poor soils if fire frequency increases with climate change.

Landscape Scale Influences of Forest Area and Housing Density on House Loss in the 2009 Victorian Bushfires

PubMed Central

Price, Owen; Bradstock, Ross

2013-01-01

Previous investigations into the factors associated with house loss in wildfires have focused on the house construction and its immediate environment (e.g. gardens). Here, we examine how nearby native forest and other houses can influence house loss. Specifically, we used a sample of 3500 houses affected by the Victorian bushfires of February 7th 2009 to explore how the amount of forest, proportion of forest burned by crown fire and the number of nearby houses affected house loss and how far from the house this influence was exerted. These fires were the most destructive in Australian history and so represent the extreme of fire risk. Using generalized linear modeling we found that the probability of house loss increased with forest extent and the proportion burnt by crown fire and this relationship was strongest for forest measured 1 km from the houses. Houses were more likely to be destroyed if there were other houses within 50 m and if they were on a slope. A model containing these variables predicted house loss with 72% accuracy. Our findings have three important implications: i) management to change the occurrence of crown fire will be effective in reducing house loss; ii) this management may be required up to 1 km away from houses in some situations (a much larger zone than is currently used); iii) high density of houses may increase risk of loss. Given the potentially large width of this management zone and the hazard from nearby houses, it may be more sensible to concentrate on modification of buildings to reduce their vulnerability. PMID:24009753

Effects of wildland fire on regional and global carbon stocks in a changing environment

Treesearch

Allen M. Solomon

2009-01-01

Every year tens of millions of hectares of forests, woodlands, and grasslands burn globally. Some are burned intentionally for land conversion, pasture renewal or hazard reduction, or wildlife habitat improvement, but most are burned by uncontrolled wildfire. Estimates of...

Greenhouse Gas and Criteria Air Pollutant Emission Reductions from Forest Fuel Treatment Projects in Placer County, California

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Saah, D. S.; Moritz, M.; Ganz, D. J.; Stine, P. A.; Moody, T.

2010-12-01

Years of successful fire suppression activities have left forests unnaturally dense, overstocked, and with high hazardous fuel loads. Wildfires, particularly those of high severity, may dramatically reduce carbon stocks and convert forested lands from carbon sinks to decades-long carbon sources . Forest resource managers are currently pursuing fuels reduction and mitigation strategies to reduce wildfire risk and maintain carbon stocks. These projects include selective thinning and removal of trees and brush to return forest ecosystems to more natural stocking levels, resulting in a more fire-resilient forest that in theory would retain higher carry capacity for standing above ground carbon. Resource managers are exploring the possibility of supporting these local forest management projects by offering greenhouse gas (GHG) offsets to project developers that require GHG emissions mitigation. Using robust field data, this research project modeled three types of carbon benefits that could be realized from forest management: 1. Fuels treatments in the study area were shown to reduce the GHG and Criteria Air Pollutant emissions from wildfires by decreasing the probability, extent, and severity of fires and the corresponding loss in forest carbon stocks; 2. Biomass utilization from fuel treatment was shown to reduce GHG and Criteria Air Pollutant emissions over the duration of the fuels treatment project compared to fossil fuel energy. 3. Management and thinning of forests in order to stimulate growth, resulting in more rapid uptake of atmospheric carbon and approaching a carbon carrying capacity stored in a forest ecosystem under prevailing environmental conditions and natural disturbance regimes.

PREFER: a European service providing forest fire management support products

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Eftychidis, George; Laneve, Giovanni; Ferrucci, Fabrizio; Sebastian Lopez, Ana; Lourenco, Louciano; Clandillon, Stephen; Tampellini, Lucia; Hirn, Barbara; Diagourtas, Dimitris; Leventakis, George

2015-06-01

PREFER is a Copernicus project of the EC-FP7 program which aims developing spatial information products that may support fire prevention and burned areas restoration decisions and establish a relevant web-based regional service for making these products available to fire management stakeholders. The service focuses to the Mediterranean region, where fire risk is high and damages from wildfires are quite important, and develop its products for pilot areas located in Spain, Portugal, Italy, France and Greece. PREFER aims to allow fire managers to have access to online resources, which shall facilitate fire prevention measures, fire hazard and risk assessment, estimation of fire impact and damages caused by wildfire as well as support monitoring of post-fire regeneration and vegetation recovery. It makes use of a variety of products delivered by space borne sensors and develop seasonal and daily products using multi-payload, multi-scale and multi-temporal analysis of EO data. The PREFER Service portfolio consists of two main suite of products. The first refers to mapping products for supporting decisions concerning the Preparedness/Prevention Phase (ISP Service). The service delivers Fuel, Hazard and Fire risk maps for this purpose. Furthermore the PREFER portfolio includes Post-fire vegetation recovery, burn scar maps, damage severity and 3D fire damage assessment products in order to support relative assessments required in context of the Recovery/Reconstruction Phase (ISR Service) of fire management.

Fuel reduction and coarse woody debris dynamics with early season and late season prescribed fire in a Sierra Nevada mixed conifer forest

USGS Publications Warehouse

Knapp, E.E.; Keeley, J.E.; Ballenger, E.A.; Brennan, T.J.

2005-01-01

Fire exclusion has led to an unnatural accumulation and greater spatial continuity of organic material on the ground in many forests. This material serves both as potential fuel for forest fires and habitat for a large array of forest species. Managers must balance fuel reduction to reduce wildfire hazard with fuel retention targets to maintain other forest functions. This study reports fuel consumption and changes to coarse woody debris attributes with prescribed burns ignited under different fuel moisture conditions. Replicated early season burn, late season burn, and unburned control plots were established in old-growth mixed conifer forest in Sequoia National Park that had not experienced fire for more than 120 years. Early season burns were ignited during June 2002 when fuels were relatively moist, and late season burns were ignited during September/October 2001 when fuels were dry. Fuel loading and coarse woody debris abundance, cover, volume, and mass were evaluated prior to and after the burns. While both types of burns reduced fuel loading, early season burns consumed significantly less of the total dead and down organic matter than late season burns (67% versus 88%). This difference in fuel consumption between burning treatments was significant for most all woody fuel components evaluated, plus the litter and duff layers. Many logs were not entirely consumed - therefore the number of logs was not significantly changed by fire - but burning did reduce log length, cover, volume, and mass. Log cover, volume, and mass were reduced to a lesser extent by early season burns than late season burns, as a result of higher wood moisture levels. Early season burns also spread over less of the ground surface within the burn perimeter (73%) than late season burns (88%), and were significantly patchier. Organic material remaining after a fire can dam sediments and reduce erosion, while unburned patches may help mitigate the impact of fire on fire-sensitive species by creating refugia from which these species can recolonize burned areas. Early season burns may be an effective means of moderating potential ecosystem damage when treating heavy and/or continuous fuels resulting from long periods of fire exclusion, if burning during this season is not detrimental to other forest functions. ?? 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Advanced analysis of forest fire clustering

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kanevski, Mikhail; Pereira, Mario; Golay, Jean

2017-04-01

Analysis of point pattern clustering is an important topic in spatial statistics and for many applications: biodiversity, epidemiology, natural hazards, geomarketing, etc. There are several fundamental approaches used to quantify spatial data clustering using topological, statistical and fractal measures. In the present research, the recently introduced multi-point Morisita index (mMI) is applied to study the spatial clustering of forest fires in Portugal. The data set consists of more than 30000 fire events covering the time period from 1975 to 2013. The distribution of forest fires is very complex and highly variable in space. mMI is a multi-point extension of the classical two-point Morisita index. In essence, mMI is estimated by covering the region under study by a grid and by computing how many times more likely it is that m points selected at random will be from the same grid cell than it would be in the case of a complete random Poisson process. By changing the number of grid cells (size of the grid cells), mMI characterizes the scaling properties of spatial clustering. From mMI, the data intrinsic dimension (fractal dimension) of the point distribution can be estimated as well. In this study, the mMI of forest fires is compared with the mMI of random patterns (RPs) generated within the validity domain defined as the forest area of Portugal. It turns out that the forest fires are highly clustered inside the validity domain in comparison with the RPs. Moreover, they demonstrate different scaling properties at different spatial scales. The results obtained from the mMI analysis are also compared with those of fractal measures of clustering - box counting and sand box counting approaches. REFERENCES Golay J., Kanevski M., Vega Orozco C., Leuenberger M., 2014: The multipoint Morisita index for the analysis of spatial patterns. Physica A, 406, 191-202. Golay J., Kanevski M. 2015: A new estimator of intrinsic dimension based on the multipoint Morisita index. Pattern Recognition, 48, 4070-4081.

High-severity fire: evaluating its key drivers and mapping its probability across western US forests

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Parks, Sean A.; Holsinger, Lisa M.; Panunto, Matthew H.; Jolly, W. Matt; Dobrowski, Solomon Z.; Dillon, Gregory K.

2018-04-01

Wildland fire is a critical process in forests of the western United States (US). Variation in fire behavior, which is heavily influenced by fuel loading, terrain, weather, and vegetation type, leads to heterogeneity in fire severity across landscapes. The relative influence of these factors in driving fire severity, however, is poorly understood. Here, we explore the drivers of high-severity fire for forested ecoregions in the western US over the period 2002–2015. Fire severity was quantified using a satellite-inferred index of severity, the relativized burn ratio. For each ecoregion, we used boosted regression trees to model high-severity fire as a function of live fuel, topography, climate, and fire weather. We found that live fuel, on average, was the most important factor driving high-severity fire among ecoregions (average relative influence = 53.1%) and was the most important factor in 14 of 19 ecoregions. Fire weather was the second most important factor among ecoregions (average relative influence = 22.9%) and was the most important factor in five ecoregions. Climate (13.7%) and topography (10.3%) were less influential. We also predicted the probability of high-severity fire, were a fire to occur, using recent (2016) satellite imagery to characterize live fuel for a subset of ecoregions in which the model skill was deemed acceptable (n = 13). These ‘wall-to-wall’ gridded ecoregional maps provide relevant and up-to-date information for scientists and managers who are tasked with managing fuel and wildland fire. Lastly, we provide an example of the predicted likelihood of high-severity fire under moderate and extreme fire weather before and after fuel reduction treatments, thereby demonstrating how our framework and model predictions can potentially serve as a performance metric for land management agencies tasked with reducing hazardous fuel across large landscapes.

Mercury emission estimates from fires: an initial inventory for the United States.

PubMed

Wiedinmyer, Christine; Friedli, Hans

2007-12-01

Recent studies have shown that emissions of mercury (Hg), a hazardous air pollutant, from fires can be significant. However, to date, these emissions have not been well-quantified for the entire United States. Daily emissions of Hg from fires in the lower 48 states of the United States (LOWER48) and in Alaska were estimated for 2002-2006 using a simple fire emissions model. Emission factors of Hg from fires in different ecosystems were compiled from published plume studies and from soil-based assessments. Annual averaged emissions of Hg from fires in the LOWER48 and Alaska were 44 (20-65) metric tons yr(-1), equivalent to approximately 30% of the U.S. EPA 2002 National Emissions Inventory for Hg. Alaska had the highest averaged monthly emissions of all states; however, the emissions have a high temporal variability. Emissions from forests dominate the inventory, suggesting that Hg emissions from agricultural fires are not significant on an annual basis. The uncertainty in the Hg emission factors due to limited data leads to an uncertainty in the emission estimates on the order of +/-50%. Research is still needed to better constrain Hg emission factors from fires, particularly in the eastern U.S. and for ecosystems other than forests.

Predicting large wildfires across western North America by modeling seasonal variation in soil water balance.

PubMed

Waring, Richard H; Coops, Nicholas C

A lengthening of the fire season, coupled with higher temperatures, increases the probability of fires throughout much of western North America. Although regional variation in the frequency of fires is well established, attempts to predict the occurrence of fire at a spatial resolution <10 km 2 have generally been unsuccessful. We hypothesized that predictions of fires might be improved if depletion of soil water reserves were coupled more directly to maximum leaf area index (LAI max ) and stomatal behavior. In an earlier publication, we used LAI max and a process-based forest growth model to derive and map the maximum available soil water storage capacity (ASW max ) of forested lands in western North America at l km resolution. To map large fires, we used data products acquired from NASA's Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometers (MODIS) over the period 2000-2009. To establish general relationships that incorporate the major biophysical processes that control evaporation and transpiration as well as the flammability of live and dead trees, we constructed a decision tree model (DT). We analyzed seasonal variation in the relative availability of soil water ( fASW ) for the years 2001, 2004, and 2007, representing respectively, low, moderate, and high rankings of areas burned. For these selected years, the DT predicted where forest fires >1 km occurred and did not occur at ~100,000 randomly located pixels with an average accuracy of 69 %. Extended over the decade, the area predicted burnt varied by as much as 50 %. The DT identified four seasonal combinations, most of which included exhaustion of ASW during the summer as critical; two combinations involving antecedent conditions the previous spring or fall accounted for 86 % of the predicted fires. The approach introduced in this paper can help identify forested areas where management efforts to reduce fire hazards might prove most beneficial.

Characterizing hand-piled fuels

Treesearch

Clinton S. Wright; Paige C. Eagle; Cameron S. Balog

2010-01-01

Land managers throughout the West pile and burn surface fuels to mitigate fire hazard in dry forests. Whereas piling was historically conducted with heavy machinery following commercial harvesting operations, land managers are increasingly prescribing the use of hand piling and burning to treat surface fuels created by thinning and brush cutting. An estimate of the...

Managing smoke from wildfires and prescribed burning in southern Australia

Treesearch

Alan Wain; Graham Mills; Lachlan McCaw; Timothy Brown

2009-01-01

In Australia the responsibility for management of forests and other public lands rests largely with state governments, and multiple government agencies may be involved in fire management. Whether resulting from wildfire, fuel reduction, or silvicultural operations, biomass burning often stimulates community concerns about hazards from fine particulates and chemical...

Estimating Value Contribution of Tree and Stand Condition

Treesearch

R. Joss Hanna; Richard P. Thompson; Douglas D. Piirto; Jay E. Noel

1997-01-01

Key issues in encouraging forest management at the interface level in the oak woodlands are fire abatement, stand improvement, infection reduction, and hazard tree removal. The development of effective management prescriptions for stand improvement and economic returns provide guidance for homeowners, appraisers, and realtors. The purpose of this research project was...

Structural fire risk of Portugal

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Parente, Joana; Pereira, Mário

2017-04-01

Portugal is on the top of the European countries most affected by vegetation fires which underlines the importance of the existence of an updated and coherent fire risk map. This map represent a valuable supporting tool for forest and fire management decisions, focus prevention activities, improve the efficiency of fire detection systems, manage resources and actions of fire fighting with greater effectiveness. Therefore this study proposed a structural fire risk map of the vegetated area of Portugal using a deterministic approach based on the concept of fire risk currently accepted by the scientific community which consists in the combination of the fire hazard and the potential economic damage. The existing fire susceptibility map for Portugal based on the slope, land cover and fire probability, was adopted and updated by the use of a higher resolution digital terrain model, longer burnt area perimeter dataset (1975 - 2013) and the entire set of Corine land cover inventories. Five susceptibility classes were mapped to be in accordance with the Portuguese law and the results confirms the good performance of this model not only in terms of the favourability scores but also in the predictive values. Considering three different scenarios of (maximum, mean, and minimum annual) burnt area, fire hazard were estimate. The vulnerability scores and monetary values of species defined in the literature and by law were used to calculate the potential economic damage. The result was a fire risk map that identifies the areas more prone to be affected by fires in the future and provides an estimate of the economic damage of the fire which will be a valuable tool for forest and fire managers and to minimize the economic and environmental consequences of vegetation fires in Portugal. Acknowledgements: This work was supported by: (i) the project Interact - Integrative Research in Environment,Agro-Chain and Technology, NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000017, research line BEST, cofinanced by FEDER/NORTE 2020; (ii) the FIREXTR project, PTDC/ATP¬GEO/0462/2014; and, (iii) European Investment Funds by FEDER/COMPETE/POCI-Operacional Competitiveness and Internacionalization Programme, under Project POCI-01-0145-FEDER-006958 and National Funds by FCT - Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology, under the project UID/AGR/04033. We are especially grateful to ICNF and ISA for providing the fire data.

Spatio-temporal clustering of wildfires in Portugal

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Costa, R.; Pereira, M. G.; Caramelo, L.; Vega Orozco, C.; Kanevski, M.

2012-04-01

Several studies have shown that wildfires in Portugal presenthigh temporal as well as high spatial variability (Pereira et al., 2005, 2011). The identification and characterization of spatio-temporal clusters contributes to a comprehensivecharacterization of the fire regime and to improve the efficiency of fire prevention and combat activities. The main goalsin this studyare: (i) to detect the spatio-temporal clusters of burned area; and, (ii) to characterize these clusters along with the role of human and environmental factors. The data were supplied by the National Forest Authority(AFN, 2011) and comprises: (a)the Portuguese Rural Fire Database, PRFD, (Pereira et al., 2011) for the 1980-2007period; and, (b) the national mapping burned areas between 1990 and 2009. In this work, in order to complement the more common cluster analysis algorithms, an alternative approach based onscan statistics and on the permutation modelwas used. This statistical methodallows the detection of local excess events and to test if such an excess can reasonably have occurred by chance.Results obtained for different simulations performed for different spatial and temporal windows are presented, compared and interpreted.The influence of several fire factors such as (climate, vegetation type, etc.) is also assessed. Pereira, M.G., Trigo, R.M., DaCamara, C.C., Pereira, J.M.C., Leite, S.M., 2005:"Synoptic patterns associated with large summer forest fires in Portugal".Agricultural and Forest Meteorology. 129, 11-25. Pereira, M. G., Malamud, B. D., Trigo, R. M., and Alves, P. I.: The history and characteristics of the 1980-2005 Portuguese rural fire database, Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 11, 3343-3358, doi:10.5194/nhess-11-3343-2011, 2011 AFN, 2011: AutoridadeFlorestalNacional (National Forest Authority). Available at http://www.afn.min-agricultura.pt/portal.

Multivariate statistical analysis of wildfires in Portugal

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Costa, Ricardo; Caramelo, Liliana; Pereira, Mário

2013-04-01

Several studies demonstrate that wildfires in Portugal present high temporal and spatial variability as well as cluster behavior (Pereira et al., 2005, 2011). This study aims to contribute to the characterization of the fire regime in Portugal with the multivariate statistical analysis of the time series of number of fires and area burned in Portugal during the 1980 - 2009 period. The data used in the analysis is an extended version of the Rural Fire Portuguese Database (PRFD) (Pereira et al, 2011), provided by the National Forest Authority (Autoridade Florestal Nacional, AFN), the Portuguese Forest Service, which includes information for more than 500,000 fire records. There are many multiple advanced techniques for examining the relationships among multiple time series at the same time (e.g., canonical correlation analysis, principal components analysis, factor analysis, path analysis, multiple analyses of variance, clustering systems). This study compares and discusses the results obtained with these different techniques. Pereira, M.G., Trigo, R.M., DaCamara, C.C., Pereira, J.M.C., Leite, S.M., 2005: "Synoptic patterns associated with large summer forest fires in Portugal". Agricultural and Forest Meteorology. 129, 11-25. Pereira, M. G., Malamud, B. D., Trigo, R. M., and Alves, P. I.: The history and characteristics of the 1980-2005 Portuguese rural fire database, Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 11, 3343-3358, doi:10.5194/nhess-11-3343-2011, 2011 This work is supported by European Union Funds (FEDER/COMPETE - Operational Competitiveness Programme) and by national funds (FCT - Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology) under the project FCOMP-01-0124-FEDER-022692, the project FLAIR (PTDC/AAC-AMB/104702/2008) and the EU 7th Framework Program through FUME (contract number 243888).

Effects of Mountain Pine Beetle on Fuels and Expected Fire Behavior in Lodgepole Pine Forests, Colorado, USA

PubMed Central

Schoennagel, Tania; Veblen, Thomas T.; Negron, José F.; Smith, Jeremy M.

2012-01-01

In Colorado and southern Wyoming, mountain pine beetle (MPB) has affected over 1.6 million ha of predominantly lodgepole pine forests, raising concerns about effects of MPB-caused mortality on subsequent wildfire risk and behavior. Using empirical data we modeled potential fire behavior across a gradient of wind speeds and moisture scenarios in Green stands compared three stages since MPB attack (Red [1–3 yrs], Grey [4–10 yrs], and Old-MPB [∼30 yrs]). MPB killed 50% of the trees and 70% of the basal area in Red and Grey stages. Across moisture scenarios, canopy fuel moisture was one-third lower in Red and Grey stages compared to the Green stage, making active crown fire possible at lower wind speeds and less extreme moisture conditions. More-open canopies and high loads of large surface fuels due to treefall in Grey and Old-MPB stages significantly increased surface fireline intensities, facilitating active crown fire at lower wind speeds (>30–55 km/hr) across all moisture scenarios. Not accounting for low foliar moistures in Red and Grey stages, and large surface fuels in Grey and Old-MPB stages, underestimates the occurrence of active crown fire. Under extreme burning conditions, minimum wind speeds for active crown fire were 25–35 km/hr lower for Red, Grey and Old-MPB stands compared to Green. However, if transition to crown fire occurs (outside the stand, or within the stand via ladder fuels or wind gusts >65 km/hr), active crown fire would be sustained at similar wind speeds, suggesting observed fire behavior may not be qualitatively different among MPB stages under extreme burning conditions. Overall, the risk (probability) of active crown fire appears elevated in MPB-affected stands, but the predominant fire hazard (crown fire) is similar across MPB stages and is characteristic of lodgepole pine forests where extremely dry, gusty weather conditions are key factors in determining fire behavior. PMID:22272268

Thinning, tree-growth, and resistance to multi-year drought in a mixed-conifer forest of northern California

USGS Publications Warehouse

Vernon, Michael J.; Sherriff, Rosemary L.; van Mantgem, Phillip; Kane, Jeffrey M.

2018-01-01

Drought is an important stressor in forest ecosystems that can influence tree vigor and survival. In the U.S., forest managers use two primary management techniques to promote resistance and resilience to drought: prescribed fire and mechanical thinning. Generally applied to reduce fuels and fire hazard, treatments may also reduce competition for resources that may improve tree-growth and reduce mortality during drought. A recent severe and prolonged drought in California provided a natural experiment to investigate tree-growth responses to fuel treatments and climatic stress. We assessed tree-growth from 299 ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) and Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) in treated and untreated stands during severe drought from 2012 to 2015 in the mixed-conifer forests of Whiskeytown National Recreation Area (WNRA) in northern California. The treatment implemented at WNRA removed 34% of live basal area through mechanical thinning with a subsequent pile burning of residual fuels. Tree-growth was positively associated with crown ratio and negatively associated with competition and a 1-year lag of climate water deficit, an index of drought. Douglas-fir generally had higher annual growth than ponderosa pine, although factors affecting growth were the same for both species. Drought resistance, expressed as the ratio between mean growth during drought and mean growth pre-drought, was higher in treated stands compared to untreated stands during both years of severe drought (2014 and 2015) for ponderosa pine but only one year (2014) for Douglas-fir. Thinning improved drought resistance, but tree size, competition and species influenced this response. On-going thinning treatments focused on fuels and fire hazard reduction are likely to be effective at promoting growth and greater drought resistance in dry mixed-conifer forests. Given the likelihood of future droughts, land managers may choose to implement similar treatments to reduce potential impacts.

Protection forest resilience after a fire event: a case study in Vallis, Switzerland

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vergani, Chiara; Werlen, Mario; Schwarz, Massimiliano

2016-04-01

Forests are well known to protect against natural hazards such as landslides, rockfall and floods. Nevertheless, they are dynamic ecosystems which are exposed to a variety of disturbances such as windstorms, fires, bark beetle and pathogen outbreaks. Catastrophic disturbances like windstorms and fires usually remove large portions of the canopy, starting a succession process which lead to a complete stand regeneration. Disturbances belong to the natural dynamic of forests, however they are highly undesirable in the case where forest protect infrastructure or settlements. Quantifying the decay and recovery of the protection effect of forests after disturbances is therefore important to evaluate risks and implement appropriate management techniques, when needed. This work analyzes the dynamic of a Scots Pine (Pinus silvestris) protection forests near Visp (Vallis) after a fire event, focusing on root reinforcement, which is the key factor in preventing shallow landslides. Forest cover, root distribution and root mechanical properties were analyzed 4 years after the fire event, and the root reinforcement has been quantified. Furthermore, the contribution of natural regeneration has been evaluated. Results show that the root reinforcement of Scots pine has declined massively in the forest fire area. At a distance of 1.5 m from the tree stem there is a reduction of 60% compared with the live stand. With increasing distance from the stem, the reduction in the reinforcement is even bigger. At a distance of 2.5 meters it is 12% and at 3.5 meters, only 5% of the original root reinforcement. This decrease is due to the decomposition of roots and associated change in the mechanical properties of the wood. The reinforcement of the dead roots in the forest area is estimated between 0.36 kPa and 2.64 kPa. The contribution of the emerging regeneration is estimated on average 0.01 kPa. Overall the stand provides a reinforcement between 0.37 kPa and 2.65 kPa. From the results it can be concluded that the dying roots can still provide a certain root reinforcement; however, the contribution of rejuvenation is too little to compensate the continuously decreasing protective effect in the future time. The time in which a forest can return in the initial state plays therefore a decisive role for contrasting the formation of landslides, which after a forest fire can be triggered at lower precipitation events. The results obtained need now to be implemented in slope stability analysis to compare the protection effect of vegetation before and after the disturbance. This work contributes to provide a first framework to evaluate the efficiency of protection forests before and after a catastrophic event, in order to support risk evaluation and plan possible management actions.

Evaluating warp of 2 by 4s sawn from panels produced through green gluing dimension lumber from small ponderosa pine logs

Treesearch

Richard Bergman; William T. Simpson; Chris Turk

2010-01-01

Overstocked small-diameter softwood timber in western US forests has created a serious forest health and fire hazard, and the costs of removing this material are high. One way to lower costs is to reduce loss because of warp on lumber sawn from these small logs. Using a green-gluing process, standard 38 by 89-mm (nominal 2 by 4-in.) pieces (2 by 4s) ripped from pressed...

Timing of susceptibility to post-fire debris flows in the western USA

USGS Publications Warehouse

DeGraff, Jerome V.; Cannon, Susan H.; Gartner, Joseph E.

2015-01-01

Watersheds recently burned by wildfires can have an increased susceptibility to debris flow, although little is known about how long this susceptibility persists, and how it changes over time. We here use a compilation of 75 debris-flow response and fire-ignition dates, vegetation and bedrock class, rainfall regime, and initiation process from throughout the western U.S. to address these issues. The great majority (85 percent) of debris flows occurred within the first 12 months following wildfire, with 71 percent within the first six months. Seven percent of the debris flows occurred between 1 and 1.5 years after a fire, or during the second rainy season to impact an area. Within the first 1.5 years following fires, all but one of the debris flows initiated through runoff-dominated processes, and debris flows occurred in similar proportions in forested and non-forested landscapes. Geologic materials affected how long debris-flow activity persisted, and the timing of debris flows varied within different rainfall regimes. A second, later period of increased debris flow susceptibility between 2.2 and 10 years after fires is indicated by the remaining 8 percent of events, which occurred primarily in forested terrains and initiated largely through landslide processes. The short time period between fire and debris-flow response within the first 1.5 years after ignition, and the longer-term response between 2.2 and 10 years after fire, demonstrate the necessity of both rapid and long-term reactions by land managers and emergency-response agencies to mitigate hazards from debris flows from recently burned areas in the western U.S.

Integrating stand density management with fuel reduction

Treesearch

Joseph W. Sherlock

2007-01-01

The widespread effort to reduce fuel hazards in western forested ecosystems places significant emphasis on surface and small ladder fuels. Changes in canopy density, for purposes of either reducing potential crown fire impacts or insect/pathogen-related mortality, are less frequently considered. Providing a sound basis for treating more than surface and small ladder...

Volume IV: restoration of stressed sites and processes.

Treesearch

Richard L. Everett

1994-01-01

Portions of forest ecosystems in eastern Oregon and Washington are in poor health, are not meeting societies expectations, and have elevated hazard for fire, insects, and disease. Diversity in stream habitats and associated fisheries has declined over the last several decades in several drainage basins, requiring conservation and restoration efforts in key watersheds....

[Relationships of forest fire with lightning in Daxing' anling Mountains, Northeast China].

PubMed

Lei, Xiao-Li; Zhou, Guang-Sheng; Jia, Bing-Rui; Li, Shuai

2012-07-01

Forest fire is an important factor affecting forest ecosystem succession. Recently, forest fire, especially forest lightning fire, shows an increasing trend under global warming. To study the relationships of forest fire with lightning is essential to accurately predict the forest fire in time. Daxing' anling Mountains is a region with high frequency of forest lightning fire in China, and an important experiment site to study the relationships of forest fire with lightning. Based on the forest fire records and the corresponding lightning and meteorological observation data in the Mountains from 1966 to 2007, this paper analyzed the relationships of forest fire with lightning in this region. In the period of 1966-2007, both the lightning fire number and the fired forest area in this region increased significantly. The meteorological factors affecting the forest lighting fire were related to temporal scales. At yearly scale, the forest lightning fire was significantly correlated with precipitation, with a correlation coefficient of -0.489; at monthly scale, it had a significant correlation with air temperature, the correlation coefficient being 0.18. The relationship of the forest lightning fire with lightning was also related to temporal scales. At yearly scale, there was no significant correlation between them; at monthly scale, the forest lightning fire was strongly correlated with lightning and affected by precipitation; at daily scale, a positive correlation was observed between forest lightning fire and lightning when the precipitation was less than 5 mm. According to these findings, a fire danger index based on ADTD lightning detection data was established, and a forest lightning fire forecast model was developed. The prediction accuracy of this model for the forest lightning fire in Daxing' anling Mountains in 2005-2007 was > 80%.

Beyond reducing fire hazard: fuel treatment impacts on overstory tree survival.

PubMed

Collins, Brandon M; Das, Adrian J; Battles, John J; Fry, Danny L; Krasnow, Kevin D; Stephens, Scott L

Fuel treatment implementation in dry forest types throughout the western United States is likely to increase in pace and scale in response to increasing incidence of large wildfires. While it is clear that properly implemented fuel treatments are effective at reducing hazardous fire potential, there are ancillary ecological effects that can impact forest resilience either positively or negatively depending on the specific elements examined, as well as treatment type, timing, and intensity. In this study, we use overstory tree growth responses, measured seven years after the most common fuel treatments, to estimate forest health. Across the five species analyzed, observed mortality and future vulnerability were consistently low in the mechanical- only treatment. Fire-only was similar to the control for all species except Douglas-fir, while mechanical-plus-fire had high observed mortality and future vulnerability for white fir and sugar pine. Given that overstory trees largely dictate the function of forests and services they provide (e.g., wildlife habitat, carbon sequestration, soil stability) these results have implications for understanding longer-term impacts of common fuel treatments on forest resilience.

Postwildfire debris-flow hazard assessment of the area burned by the 2012 Little Bear Fire, south-central New Mexico

USGS Publications Warehouse

Tillery, Anne C.; Matherne, Anne Marie

2013-01-01

A preliminary hazard assessment was developed of the debris-flow potential from 56 drainage basins burned by the Little Bear Fire in south-central New Mexico in June 2012. The Little Bear Fire burned approximately 179 square kilometers (km2) (44,330 acres), including about 143 km2 (35,300 acres) of National Forest System lands of the Lincoln National Forest. Within the Lincoln National Forest, about 72 km2 (17,664 acres) of the White Mountain Wilderness were burned. The burn area also included about 34 km2 (8,500 acres) of private lands. Burn severity was high or moderate on 53 percent of the burn area. The area burned is at risk of substantial postwildfire erosion, such as that caused by debris flows and flash floods. A postwildfire debris-flow hazard assessment of the area burned by the Little Bear Fire was performed by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service, Lincoln National Forest. A set of two empirical hazard-assessment models developed by using data from recently burned drainage basins throughout the intermountain Western United States was used to estimate the probability of debris-flow occurrence and volume of debris flows along the burn area drainage network and for selected drainage basins within the burn area. The models incorporate measures of areal burn extent and severity, topography, soils, and storm rainfall intensity to estimate the probability and volume of debris flows following the fire. Relative hazard rankings of postwildfire debris flows were produced by summing the estimated probability and volume ranking to illustrate those areas with the highest potential occurrence of debris flows with the largest volumes. The probability that a drainage basin could produce debris flows and the volume of a possible debris flow at the basin outlet were estimated for three design storms: (1) a 2-year-recurrence, 30-minute-duration rainfall of 27 millimeters (mm) (a 50 percent chance of occurrence in any given year); (2) a 10-year-recurrence, 30-minute-duration rainfall of 42 mm (a 10 percent chance of occurrence in any given year); and (3) a 25-year-recurrence, 30-minute-duration rainfall of 51 mm (a 4 percent chance of occurrence in any given year). Thirty-nine percent of the 56 drainage basins modeled have a high (greater than 80 percent) probability of debris flows in response to the 2-year design storm; 80 percent of the modeled drainage basins have a high probability of debris flows in response to the 25-year design storm. For debris-flow volume, 7 percent of the modeled drainage basins have an estimated debris-flow volume greater than 100,000 cubic meters (m3) in response to the 2-year design storm; 9 percent of the drainage basins are included in the greater than 100,000 m3 category for both the 10-year and the 25-year design storms. Drainage basins in the greater than 100,000 m3 volume category also received the highest combined hazard ranking. The maps presented herein may be used to prioritize areas where emergency erosion mitigation or other protective measures may be needed prior to rainstorms within these drainage basins, their outlets, or areas downstream from these drainage basins within the 2- to 3-year period of vulnerability. This work is preliminary and is subject to revision. The assessment herein is provided on the condition that neither the U.S. Geological Survey nor the U.S. Government may be held liable for any damages resulting from the authorized or unauthorized use of the assessment.

Focused sunlight factor of forest fire danger assessment using Web-GIS and RS technologies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baranovskiy, Nikolay V.; Sherstnyov, Vladislav S.; Yankovich, Elena P.; Engel, Marina V.; Belov, Vladimir V.

2016-08-01

Timiryazevskiy forestry of Tomsk region (Siberia, Russia) is a study area elaborated in current research. Forest fire danger assessment is based on unique technology using probabilistic criterion, statistical data on forest fires, meteorological conditions, forest sites classification and remote sensing data. MODIS products are used for estimating some meteorological conditions and current forest fire situation. Geonformation technologies are used for geospatial analysis of forest fire danger situation on controlled forested territories. GIS-engine provides opportunities to construct electronic maps with different levels of forest fire probability and support raster layer for satellite remote sensing data on current forest fires. Web-interface is used for data loading on specific web-site and for forest fire danger data representation via World Wide Web. Special web-forms provide interface for choosing of relevant input data in order to process the forest fire danger data and assess the forest fire probability.

An evaluation of the impact of forest biomass harvest for biofuels on carbon storage in the US west coast states under different management scenarios

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hudiburg, T. M.; Law, B. E.

2009-12-01

Mitigation strategies to reduce fossil fuel emissions of carbon dioxide have lead to investigation of alternative sources of fuels. National and state forest policies have been implemented to both reduce risk of wildfire and promote use of forest biomass as a secondary biofuels energy source. However, the cost and biomass availability have been estimated without quantifying the impact on current and future terrestrial carbon balances. This study uses a combination of Federal Inventory Analysis data (FIA) and supplementary plot data for Washington, Oregon and California to quantify the current forest carbon stocks, net ecosystem production (NEP), and net biome production (NBP = NEP - removals) for the period from 2001-2006. Varying management treatments were applied to determine the net cost, carbon debt, and biofuels energy potential. The treatments were designed to meet multiple objectives emphasizing carbon storage, economic gain, or energy production. The hazardous fuels reduction treatment minimizes carbon loss by only harvesting biomass in forested areas classified by moderate to high risk fire condition classes (FRCC class). This scenario assumes no additional harvest in ecoregions characterized by long fire return intervals (>100 years) such as the Coast Range and the West Cascades and limits removals to an 18 in diameter at breast height (DBH). The energy production treatment maximizes biomass removal by harvesting areas regardless of FRCC class and allows removals up to a 24 inch DBH. Statewide estimates of carbon for 2001-2006 prior to harvest scenarios for California, Oregon, and Washington respectively are as follows: 1) Total land-based carbon stocks (excluding soils) averages 1680, 1663, and 1278 Tg C; 2) NEP is positive in most ecoregions averaging 213, 180, and 191 g C m-2 yr-1; 3) Actual harvest removals averaged 2.7, 6.5, and 5.1 Tg C yr-1 for the same period. In Oregon, the amount of biomass available for biofuels varies from 128 g C m-2 in the hazardous fuels reduction treatment versus 185 g C m-2 in the energy production treatment. Removal of this biomass over the next 20 years is estimated to result in an additional 4 Tg C yr-1 (a 60% increase) in harvest removals for the hazardous fuels reduction treatment and an additional 14 Tg C yr-1 (216% increase) for the energy production treatment. Even in a minimal removals scenario and assuming no other disturbance losses (i.e. insects and fire), Oregon forest NBP will be significantly reduced with the potential to become a carbon source.

Community Wildfire Protection Planning: The Importance of Framing, Scale, and Building Sustainable Capacity

Treesearch

Daniel R. Williams; Pamela J. Jakes; Sam Burns; Antony S. Cheng; Kristen C. Nelson; Victoria Sturtevant; Rachel F. Brummel; Emily Staychock; Stephanie G. Souter

2012-01-01

Community wildfire protection planning has become an important tool for engaging wildland-urban interface residents and other stakeholders in efforts to address their mutual concerns about wildland fire management, prioritize hazardous fuel reduction projects, and improve forest health. Drawing from 13 case studies from across the United States, this article describes...

Quantifying Ladder Fuels: A New Approach Using LiDAR

Treesearch

Heather Kramer; Brandon Collins; Maggi Kelly; Scott Stephens

2014-01-01

We investigated the relationship between LiDAR and ladder fuels in the northern Sierra Nevada, California USA. Ladder fuels are often targeted in hazardous fuel reduction treatments due to their role in propagating fire from the forest floor to tree crowns. Despite their importance, ladder fuels are difficult to quantify. One common approach is to calculate canopy base...

Israel wildfires: future trends, impacts and mitigation strategies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wittenberg, Lea

2017-04-01

Forest fires in the Euro-Mediterranean region burn about 450,000 ha each year. In Israel, the frequency and extent of wildfires have been steadily increasing over the past decades, culminating in several large and costly fires in 2010, 2012 and 2016. The extensive development of forest areas since the 1950's and the accumulation of fuel in the forests, has led to increased occurrences of high intensity fires. Land-use changes and human population growth are the most prevailing and common determinant of wildfire occurrence and impacts. Climate extremes, possibly already a sign of regional climate change, are another frequent determinant of increasing wildfire risk. Therefore, the combination of extreme dry spells, high fuel loads and increased anthropogenic pressure on the open spaces result in an overall amplified wildfire risk. These fires not only cause loss of life and damage to properties but also carry serious environmental repercussions. Combustion of standing vegetation and the leaf litter leave the soil bare and vulnerable to runoff and erosion, thereby increasing risks of flooding. Today, all of Israel's open spaces, forests, natural parks, major metropolitan centers, towns and villages are embedded within the wildland urban interface (WUI). Typically, wildfires near or in the WUI occur on uplands and runoff generated from the burned area poses flooding risks in urban and agricultural zones located downstream. Post-fire management aims at reducing associated hazards as collapsing trees and erosion risk. Often the time interval between a major fire and the definition of priority sites is in the order of days-to-weeks since administrative procedures, financial estimates and implementation of post-fire salvage logging operations require time. Defining the magnitude of the burn scar and estimating its potential impact on runoff and erosion must therefore be done quickly. A post-fire burn severity, runoff and erosion model is a useful tool in estimating potential risks and management strategic. Moreover, national agencies and local authorities must decide on a range of post-fire measures to mitigate risks quickly since most large fires occur late in summer shortly before the winter season. Possible climate changes, socio-economic trends, and intense land use pressures are contributing factors in a national challenge to deal with forest fires along the WUI. However, in order to support integrated fire preparedness, response, management and recovery at the national, regional and local scales, stronger research and planning effort are required. This includes long-term monitoring programs and a systematic, standardized data acquisition scheme, compiling fire history, landscape-fire spread, mitigation and assessment of the immediate fire effects, land use changes and weather data. Knowledge of both short and long-term impacts of wildfire is essential for effective risk assessment, policy formulation and wildfire management.

Time fluctuation analysis of forest fire sequences

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vega Orozco, Carmen D.; Kanevski, Mikhaïl; Tonini, Marj; Golay, Jean; Pereira, Mário J. G.

2013-04-01

Forest fires are complex events involving both space and time fluctuations. Understanding of their dynamics and pattern distribution is of great importance in order to improve the resource allocation and support fire management actions at local and global levels. This study aims at characterizing the temporal fluctuations of forest fire sequences observed in Portugal, which is the country that holds the largest wildfire land dataset in Europe. This research applies several exploratory data analysis measures to 302,000 forest fires occurred from 1980 to 2007. The applied clustering measures are: Morisita clustering index, fractal and multifractal dimensions (box-counting), Ripley's K-function, Allan Factor, and variography. These algorithms enable a global time structural analysis describing the degree of clustering of a point pattern and defining whether the observed events occur randomly, in clusters or in a regular pattern. The considered methods are of general importance and can be used for other spatio-temporal events (i.e. crime, epidemiology, biodiversity, geomarketing, etc.). An important contribution of this research deals with the analysis and estimation of local measures of clustering that helps understanding their temporal structure. Each measure is described and executed for the raw data (forest fires geo-database) and results are compared to reference patterns generated under the null hypothesis of randomness (Poisson processes) embedded in the same time period of the raw data. This comparison enables estimating the degree of the deviation of the real data from a Poisson process. Generalizations to functional measures of these clustering methods, taking into account the phenomena, were also applied and adapted to detect time dependences in a measured variable (i.e. burned area). The time clustering of the raw data is compared several times with the Poisson processes at different thresholds of the measured function. Then, the clustering measure value depends on the threshold which helps to understand the time pattern of the studied events. Our findings detected the presence of overdensity of events in particular time periods and showed that the forest fire sequences in Portugal can be considered as a multifractal process with a degree of time-clustering of the events. Key words: time sequences, Morisita index, fractals, multifractals, box-counting, Ripley's K-function, Allan Factor, variography, forest fires, point process. Acknowledgements This work was partly supported by the SNFS Project No. 200021-140658, "Analysis and Modelling of Space-Time Patterns in Complex Regions". References - Kanevski M. (Editor). 2008. Advanced Mapping of Environmental Data: Geostatistics, Machine Learning and Bayesian Maximum Entropy. London / Hoboken: iSTE / Wiley. - Telesca L. and Pereira M.G. 2010. Time-clustering investigation of fire temporal fluctuations in Portugal, Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., vol. 10(4): 661-666. - Vega Orozco C., Tonini M., Conedera M., Kanevski M. (2012) Cluster recognition in spatial-temporal sequences: the case of forest fires, Geoinformatica, vol. 16(4): 653-673.

Multi-temporal analysis of forest fire risk driven by environmental and socio-economic change in the Republic of Korea

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, S. J.; Lim, C. H.; Kim, G. S.; Lee, W. K.

2017-12-01

Analysis of forest fire risk is important in disaster risk reduction (DRR) since it provides a way to manage forest fires. Climate and socio-economic factors are important in the cause of forest fires, and the role of the socio-economic factors in prevention and preparedness of forest fires is increasing. As most of the forest fires in the Republic of Korea are highly related to human activities, both environmental factors and socio-economic factors were considered into the analysis of forest fire risk. In this study, the Maximum Entropy (MaxEnt) model was used to predict the potential geographical distribution and probability of forest fire occurrence spatially and temporally from 1980s to the 2010s in the Republic of Korea by multi-temporal analysis and analyze the relationship between forest fires and the factors. As a result of the risk analysis, there was an overall increasing trend in forest fire risk from the 1980s to the 2000s, and socio-economic factors were highly correlated with the occurrence of forest fires. The study demonstrates that the socio-economic factors considered as human activities can increase the occurrence of forest fires. The result implies that managing human activities are significant to prevent forest fire occurrence. In addition, timely forest fire prevention and control is necessary as drought index such as Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) also affected forest fires.

Fire monitoring from space: from research to operation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pergola, Nicola; Filizzola, Carolina; Corrado, Rosita; Coviello, Irina; lacava, Teodosio; Marchese, Francesco; Mazzeo, Giuseppe; Paciello, Rossana; Tramutoli, Valerio

2013-04-01

Each summer fires rage through European forests, burning hundreds of thousands of hectares per year, as a result of the many (up to 60000) forest fires that usually occur annually in Europe. Fires can threaten public health and safety, destroy property and cause economic damages. Despite of their medium extension (the average burnt area is less than 6 ha), much smaller if compared with other regions like the USA and Canada, the number of simultaneous active fires in Europe can be very high, fomented by weather conditions that, especially in summer times and for countries of South Europe, are particularly favourable to a rapid and dramatic development of flames. Fires still are not only a social problem, but also an environmental emergency, producing a continuous impoverishment of forests and possibly indirectly triggering other natural hazards (e.g. making slopes, without the trees action, more prone to landslides). Additionally, there is a general concern about the loss of biodiversity and the contribution to land degradation that fires may cause. Earth Observation satellite systems have been largely tested for fire detection and monitoring from space. Their spectral capability, synoptic view and revisit times can offer an added value in the operational use not only in real time, during fires fighting activities, but also in near-real or delay time during the phases of risk management and mitigation. However, the practice of an actual operational use of satellite products by end-users is still not usual at European level. This work is based on the experience carried out jointly by CNR-IMAA and the National Civil Protection Department (DPC), in the framework of a five-year agreement in which the operational use of an Earth observation satellite system for fires spotting and monitoring is tested. Satellite-based products, developed not only for detecting fires but also for continuously monitoring their evolution in time domain, have been provided to Civil Protection Department for the whole summer campaign on forest fires fighting, supporting their activities in routinely managing and monitoring forest fires risk. The experimented satellite system has demonstrated to provide valuable information that can be used by civil protection staff also in support to organization and allocation of fire fighting resources on ground, especially when, during the high risk periods, there are or are expected a large number of contemporary events. Training activities, devoted to make DPC staff fully able to self operate the provided satellite-based tool, were also carried out during this collaborative experience, which represents a best practice of a useful integration of satellite added value products within the operational framework of an expert user.

Forest-fire models

Treesearch

Haiganoush Preisler; Alan Ager

2013-01-01

For applied mathematicians forest fire models refer mainly to a non-linear dynamic system often used to simulate spread of fire. For forest managers forest fire models may pertain to any of the three phases of fire management: prefire planning (fire risk models), fire suppression (fire behavior models), and postfire evaluation (fire effects and economic models). In...

Forest fire risk zonation mapping using remote sensing technology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chandra, Sunil; Arora, M. K.

2006-12-01

Forest fires cause major losses to forest cover and disturb the ecological balance in our region. Rise in temperature during summer season causing increased dryness, increased activity of human beings in the forest areas, and the type of forest cover in the Garhwal Himalayas are some of the reasons that lead to forest fires. Therefore, generation of forest fire risk maps becomes necessary so that preventive measures can be taken at appropriate time. These risk maps shall indicate the zonation of the areas which are in very high, high, medium and low risk zones with regard to forest fire in the region. In this paper, an attempt has been made to generate the forest fire risk maps based on remote sensing data and other geographical variables responsible for the occurrence of fire. These include altitude, temperature and soil variations. Key thematic data layers pertaining to these variables have been generated using various techniques. A rule-based approach has been used and implemented in GIS environment to estimate fuel load and fuel index leading to the derivation of fire risk zonation index and subsequently to fire risk zonation maps. The fire risk maps thus generated have been validated on the ground for forest types as well as for forest fire risk areas. These maps would help the state forest departments in prioritizing their strategy for combating forest fires particularly during the fire seasons.

An approach to the real time risk evaluation system of boreal forest fire

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nakau, K.; Fukuda, M.; Kimura, K.; Hayasaka, H.; Tani, H.; Kushida, K.

2005-12-01

Huge boreal forest fire may cause massive impacts not only on global warming gas emission but also local communities. Thus, it is important to control forest fire. We collected data about boreal forest fire as satellite imagery and fire observation simultaneously in Alaska and east Siberia in summer fire seasons for these three years. Fire observation data was collected from aircraft flying between Japan and Europe. Fire detection results were compared with observed data to evaluate the accuracy and earliness of automatic detection. NOAA and MODIS satellite images covering Alaska and East Siberia are collected. We are also developing fire expansion simulation model to forecast the possible fire expansion area. On the basis of fire expansion forecast, risk analysis of possible fire expansion for decision aid of fire-fighting activities will be analyzed. To identify the risk of boreal forest fire and public concern about forest fire, we collected local news paper in Fairbanks, AK and discuss the statistics of articles related to forest fire on the newspaper.

Wildfire risk and optimal investments in watershed protection

Treesearch

Travis Warziniack; Matthew Thompson

2013-01-01

Following what was then one of the most destructive fire years on record, President Bush signed into law the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003. The law requires no less than fifty percent of all funds allocated for hazardous fuels reductions to occur in the wildland-urban interface (WUI), with the aim of enhancing the protection of homes and reducing the costs of...

Structural lumber from dense stands of small-diameter Douglas-fir trees.

Treesearch

David W. Green; Eini C. Lowell; Roland Hernandez

2005-01-01

Small-diameter trees growing in overstocked dense stands are often targeted for thinning to reduce fire hazard and improve forest health and ecosystem diversity. In the Pacific Northwest and Intermountain regions, Douglas-fir can be a predominant species in such stands. In this study, mechanical properties and grade yield of structural products were estimated for 2 by...

Mulching machines for pre-commercial thinning and fuel reduction

Treesearch

Jason D. Thompson

2002-01-01

Wildfires in the western United States and Florida over the last several years have highlighted the vulnerability of dense overstocked stands to fire. As a result, landowners, land managers, and researchers alike are interest ed in methods to reduce hazardous fuels in forest stands. Mechanical reduction of under-story and mid-story fuels by mulching or chipping is an...

Fire hazard from precommercial thinning of ponderosa pine.

Treesearch

George R. Fahnestock

1968-01-01

Precommercial thinning lately has become a major feature in management of ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa Laws.) on the National Forests in Oregon and Washington. Nearly 47,000 acres were thinned in 1966, up from 9,196 in 1959; and the upward trend appears certain to continue. Current practice is to cut the trees with a powersaw about a foot above...

FTM-West Model Results for Selected Fuel Treatment Scenarios

Treesearch

Andrew D. Kramp; Peter J. Ince

2006-01-01

This paper evaluated potential forest product market impacts in the U.S. West of increases in the supply of wood from thinnings to reduce fire hazard. Evaluations are done using the Fuel Treatment Market-West model for a set of hypothetical fuel treatment scenarios, which include stand-density-index (SDI) and thin-from-below (TFB) treatment regimes at alternative...

A statistical procedure for fire risk mapping in Italy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fiorucci, Paolo; Biondi, Guido; Campo, Lorenzo; D'Andrea, Mirko

2015-04-01

The high topographic and vegetation heterogeneity makes Italy vulnerable to forest fires both in the summer and in winter. In particular, northern regions are predominantly characterized by a winter fire regime, mainly due to frequent extremely dry winds from the north, while southern and central regions and the large islands are characterized by a severe summer fire regime, because of the higher temperatures and prolonged lack of precipitation. The threat of wildfires in Italy is not confined to wooded areas as they extend to agricultural areas and urban-forest interface areas. In view of the limited availability of fire risk management resources, most of which are used in the management of national and regional air services, it is necessary to precisely identify the areas most vulnerable to fire risk. The few resources available can thus be used on a yearly basis to mitigate problems in the areas at highest risk by defining a program of forest management interventions, which is expected to make a significant contribution to the problem in a few years' time. Given the availability of fire perimeters mapped over a period spanning from 5 to 10 years, depending by the region, a statistical procedure was defined in order to assess areas at risk based on objective criteria by observing past fire events. The availability of fire perimeters combined with a detailed knowledge of topography and land cover allowed to understand which are the main features involved in forest fire occurrences and their behavior. The seasonality of the fire regime was also considered, partitioning the analysis in two macro season (November-April and May- October). In addition, the total precipitation obtained from the interpolation of 30 years-long time series from 460 raingauges and the average air temperature obtained downscaling 30 years ERA-INTERIM data series were considered. The analysis consists on the subdivision of the territory in classes based on the named information layers (elevation, slope, rainfall height, temperature, etc.) with a recursive algorithm that ensures the equal numerosity of each class. The number of fires occurred in each class is then assessed basing on time series in the last decade, in order to have an estimation of the fire hazard with a contant statistical confidence. The analysis was carried out at a spatial resolution of 500 m on the whole Italian territory by using a dataset of fires occurrences that spans from 2007 to 2013.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Weise, David; Johnson, Timothy J.; Reardon, James

Prescribed burning is an accepted practice to manage biomass in the United States and throughout the world. It is a particularly important practice in pine forests throughout the world, many of which have evolved in the presence of fire [1]. A recent survey [2] of prescribed fire use reported that 2.62 x 106 ha of forest land in the southeastern U.S. (defined by the National Association of State Foresters) burned in 2011 for silvicultural purposes such as hazardous fuel reduction, wildlife habitat improvement, and forest regeneration. Earlier surveys reported 0.9 to 1.7 x 106 ha of prescribed burning in themore » southern U.S. [3–5] using different survey techniques. While it is not possible to determine confidence intervals on these estimates, it is clear that the use of prescribed burning has increased since the first published estimate of 1 x 106 ha we were able to locate or the recent survey captured more information. Smoke is an important consequence of prescribed burning that must be managed, [6] and a great deal of research has been performed since the 1970s trying to characterize the composition, production, and transport of smoke from such fires. A recent review of the state of science behind estimation of the contribution of wildland fire to greenhouse gases and black carbon in the U.S. identified several areas of research that must be performed [7]. In particular, two areas of knowledge that still need improvement are fuel characterization and smoke emissions, and the correlation(s) between the two. While many fuel types in the southeastern U.S. have been described for fire behavior and fire danger prediction, characterization of fuel bed components important for smoke production is more limited. Emissions characterization, both chemical and particulate, is needed to determine potential impacts of prescribed burning on nutrient cycling, planetary albedo, human health, and highway visibility [e.g. 8–10].« less

Fire intensity impacts on post-fire temperate coniferous forest net primary productivity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sparks, Aaron M.; Kolden, Crystal A.; Smith, Alistair M. S.; Boschetti, Luigi; Johnson, Daniel M.; Cochrane, Mark A.

2018-02-01

Fire is a dynamic ecological process in forests and impacts the carbon (C) cycle through direct combustion emissions, tree mortality, and by impairing the ability of surviving trees to sequester carbon. While studies on young trees have demonstrated that fire intensity is a determinant of post-fire net primary productivity, wildland fires on landscape to regional scales have largely been assumed to either cause tree mortality, or conversely, cause no physiological impact, ignoring the impacted but surviving trees. Our objective was to understand how fire intensity affects post-fire net primary productivity in conifer-dominated forested ecosystems on the spatial scale of large wildland fires. We examined the relationships between fire radiative power (FRP), its temporal integral (fire radiative energy - FRE), and net primary productivity (NPP) using 16 years of data from the MOderate Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MODIS) for 15 large fires in western United States coniferous forests. The greatest NPP post-fire loss occurred 1 year post-fire and ranged from -67 to -312 g C m-2 yr-1 (-13 to -54 %) across all fires. Forests dominated by fire-resistant species (species that typically survive low-intensity fires) experienced the lowest relative NPP reductions compared to forests with less resistant species. Post-fire NPP in forests that were dominated by fire-susceptible species were not as sensitive to FRP or FRE, indicating that NPP in these forests may be reduced to similar levels regardless of fire intensity. Conversely, post-fire NPP in forests dominated by fire-resistant and mixed species decreased with increasing FRP or FRE. In some cases, this dose-response relationship persisted for more than a decade post-fire, highlighting a legacy effect of fire intensity on post-fire C dynamics in these forests.

Using NPP-Suomi VIIRS I-band data to delineate high- and low-intensity burn areas for forest fires in interior Alaska

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Waigl, C. F.; Prakash, A.; Stuefer, M.; Ichoku, C. M.

2016-12-01

The aim of this work is to present and evaluate an algorithm that generates near real-time fire detections suitable for use by fire and related hazard management agencies in Alaska. Our scheme offers benefits over available global products and is sensitive to low-intensity residual burns while at the same time avoiding common sources of false detections as they are observed in the Alaskan boreal forest, such as refective river banks and old fire scars. The algorithm is based on I-band brightness temperature data form the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) on the NOAA's NPP Suomi spacecraft. Using datasets covering the entire 2015 Alaska fire season, we first evaluate the performance of two global fire products: MOD14/MYD14, derived from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), and the more recent global VIIRS I-band product. A comparison with the fire perimeter and properties data published by the Alaska Interagency Coordination Center (AICC) shows that both MODIS and VIIRS fire products successfully detect all fires larger than approx. 1000 hectares, with the VIIRS I-band product only moderately outperforming MOD14/MYD14. For smaller fires, the VIIRS I-band product offers higher detection likelihood, but still misses one fifth of the fire events overall. Furthermore, some daytime detections are missing, possibly due to processing difficulties or incomplete data transfer. Second, as an alternative, we present a simple algorithm that uses the normalized difference between the 3.74µm and 11.45 µm VIIRS-I band at-sensor brightness temperatures to map both low- and high-intensity burn areas. Such an approach has the advantage that it makes use of data that is available via the direct readout station operated by Geographic Information Network of Alaska (GINA). We apply this scheme to known Alaskan boreal forest fires and validate it using GIS data produced by fire management agencies, fire detections from near simultanous Landsat imagery, and sub-pixel analysis. We find that our VIIRS derived fire product more accurately captures the fire spread, can differentiate well between low- and high-intensity burn areas, and has fewer errors of omission compared to the MODIS and VIIRS global fire products.

Fire Patterns and Drivers of Fires in the West African Tropical Forest

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dwomoh, F. K.; Wimberly, M. C.

2015-12-01

The West African tropical forest (referred to as the Upper Guinean forest, UGF), is a global biodiversity hotspot providing vital ecosystem services for the region's socio-economic and environmental wellbeing. It is also one of the most fragmented and human-modified tropical forest ecosystems, with the only remaining large patches of original forests contained in protected areas. However, these remnant forests are susceptible to continued fire-mediated degradation and forest loss due to intense climatic, demographic and land use pressures. We analyzed human and climatic drivers of fire activity in the sub-region to better understand the spatial and temporal patterns of these risks. We utilized MODIS active fire and burned area products to identify fire activity within the sub-region. We measured climatic variability using TRMM rainfall data and derived indicators of human land use from a variety of geospatial datasets. We used a boosted regression trees model to determine the influences of predictor variables on fire activity. Our analyses indicated that the spatial and temporal variability of precipitation is a key driving factor of fire activity in the UGF. Anthropogenic effects on fire activity in the area were evident through the influences of agriculture and low-density populations. These human footprints in the landscape make forests more susceptible to fires through forest fragmentation, degradation, and fire spread from agricultural areas. Forested protected areas within the forest savanna mosaic experienced frequent fires, whereas the more humid forest areas located in the south and south-western portions of the study area had fewer fires as these rainforests tend to offer some buffering against fire encroachment. These results improve characterization of UGF fire regime and expand our understanding of the spatio-temporal dynamics of tropical forest fires in response to human and climatic pressures.

Modeling Forest Understory Fires in an Eastern Amazonian Landscape

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Alencar, A. A. C.; Solorzano, L. A.; Nepstad, D. C.

2004-01-01

Forest understory fires are an increasingly important cause of forest impoverishment in Ammonia, but little is known of the landscape characteristics and climatic phenomena that determine their occurrence. We developed empirical functions relating the occurrence of understory fires to landscape features near Paragominas, a 35- yr-old ranching and logging center in eastern Ammonia. An historical sequence of maps of forest understory fire was created based on field interviews With local farmers and Landsat TM images. Several landscape features that might explain spatial variations in the occurrence of understory fires were also mapped and co-registered for each of the sample dates, including: forest fragment size and shape, forest impoverishment through logging and understory fires, source of ignition (settlements and charcoal pits), roads, forest edges, and others. The spatial relationship between forest understory fire and each landscape characteristic was tested by regression analyses. Fire probability models were then developed for various combinations of landscape characteristics. The analyses were conducted separately for years of the El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO), which are associated with severe drought in eastern Amazonia, and non-ENS0 years. Most (91 %) of the forest area that burned during the 10-yr sequence caught fire during ENSO years, when severe drought may have increased both forest flammability and the escape of agricultural management fires. Forest understory fires were associated with forest edges, as reported in previous studies from Ammonia. But the strongest predictor of forest fire was the percentage of the forest fragment that had been previously logged or burned. Forest fragment size, distance to charcoal pits, distance to agricultural settlement, proximity to forest edge, and distance to roads were also correlated with forest understory fire. Logistic regression models using information on fragment degradation and distance to ignition sources accurately predicted the location of lss than 80% of the forest fires observed during the ENSO event of 1997- 1998. In this Amazon landscape, forest understory fire is a complex function of several variables that influence both the flammability and ignition exposure of the forest.

Gis-Based Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis for Forest Fire Risk Mapping

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Akay, A. E.; Erdoğan, A.

2017-11-01

The forested areas along the coastal zone of the Mediterranean region in Turkey are classified as first-degree fire sensitive areas. Forest fires are major environmental disaster that affects the sustainability of forest ecosystems. Besides, forest fires result in important economic losses and even threaten human lives. Thus, it is critical to determine the forested areas with fire risks and thereby minimize the damages on forest resources by taking necessary precaution measures in these areas. The risk of forest fire can be assessed based on various factors such as forest vegetation structures (tree species, crown closure, tree stage), topographic features (slope and aspect), and climatic parameters (temperature, wind). In this study, GIS-based Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) method was used to generate forest fire risk map. The study was implemented in the forested areas within Yayla Forest Enterprise Chiefs at Dursunbey Forest Enterprise Directorate which is classified as first degree fire sensitive area. In the solution process, "extAhp 2.0" plug-in running Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) method in ArcGIS 10.4.1 was used to categorize study area under five fire risk classes: extreme risk, high risk, moderate risk, and low risk. The results indicated that 23.81 % of the area was of extreme risk, while 25.81 % was of high risk. The result indicated that the most effective criterion was tree species, followed by tree stages. The aspect had the least effective criterion on forest fire risk. It was revealed that GIS techniques integrated with MCDA methods are effective tools to quickly estimate forest fire risk at low cost. The integration of these factors into GIS can be very useful to determine forested areas with high fire risk and also to plan forestry management after fire.

[Change trends of summer fire danger in great Xing' an Mountains forest region of Heilongjiang Province, Northeast China under climate change].

PubMed

Yang, Guang; Shu, Li-Fu; Di, Xue-Ying

2012-11-01

By using Delta and WGEN downscaling methods and Canadian Forest Fire Weather Index, this paper analyzed the variation characteristics of summer fire in Great Xing' an Mountains forest region of Heilongjiang Province in 1966-2010, estimated the change trends of the summer fire danger in 2010-2099, compared the differences of the forest fire in summer, spring, and autumn, and proposed the prevention and control strategies of the summer fire based on the fire environment. Under the background of climate warming, the summer forest fire in the region in 2000-2010 showed a high incidence trend. In foreseeable future, the summer forest fire across the region in 2010-2099, as compared to that in the baseline period 1961-1990, would be increased by 34%, and the increment would be obviously greater than that of spring and autumn fire. Relative to that in 1961-1990, the summer fire in 2010-2099 under both SRES A2a and SRES B2a scenarios would have an increasing trend, and, with the lapse of time, the trend would be more evident, and the area with high summer fire would become wider and wider. Under the scenario of SRES A2a, the summer fire by the end of the 21st century would be doubled, as compared to that in 1961-1990, and the area with high summer fire would be across the region. In the characteristics of fire source, attributes of forest fuel, and fire weather conditions, the summer forest fire was different from the spring and autumn forest fire, and thus, the management of fire source and forest fuel load as well as the forest fire forecast (mid-long term forecast in particular) in the region should be strengthened to control the summer forest fire.

Fire ecology of western Montana forest habitat types

Treesearch

William C. Fischer; Anne F. Bradley

1987-01-01

Provides information on fire as an ecological factor for forest habitat types in western Montana. Identifies Fire Groups of habitat types based on fire's role in forest succession. Describes forest fuels and suggests considerations for fire management.

Wildfire policy and management in England: an evolving response from Fire and Rescue Services, forestry and cross-sector groups

PubMed Central

McMorrow, Julia; Aylen, Jonathan

2016-01-01

Severe wildfires are an intermittent problem in England. The paper presents the first analysis of wildfire policy, showing its halting evolution over two decades. First efforts to coordinate wildfire management came from local fire operation groups, where stakeholders such as fire services, land owners and amenity groups shared knowledge and equipment to tackle the problem. A variety of structures and informal management solutions emerged in response to local needs. Knowledge of wildfire accumulated within regional and national wildfire forums and academic networks. Only later did the need for central emergency planning and the response to climate change produce a national policy response. Fire statistics have allowed wildfires to be spatially evidenced on a national scale only since 2009. National awareness of wildfire was spurred by the 2011 fire season, and the high-impact Swinley Forest fire, which threatened critical infrastructure and communities within 50 miles of London. Severe wildfire was included in the National Risk Register for the first time in 2013. Cross-sector approaches to wildfire proved difficult as government responsibility is fragmented along the hazard chain. Stakeholders such as the Forestry Commission pioneered good practice in adaptive land management to build fire resilience into UK forests. The grass-roots evolution of participatory solutions has also been a key enabling process. A coordinated policy is now needed to identify best practice and to promote understanding of the role of fire in the ecosystem. This article is part of a themed issue ‘The interaction of fire and mankind’. PMID:27216511

Wildfire policy and management in England: an evolving response from Fire and Rescue Services, forestry and cross-sector groups.

PubMed

Gazzard, Rob; McMorrow, Julia; Aylen, Jonathan

2016-06-05

Severe wildfires are an intermittent problem in England. The paper presents the first analysis of wildfire policy, showing its halting evolution over two decades. First efforts to coordinate wildfire management came from local fire operation groups, where stakeholders such as fire services, land owners and amenity groups shared knowledge and equipment to tackle the problem. A variety of structures and informal management solutions emerged in response to local needs. Knowledge of wildfire accumulated within regional and national wildfire forums and academic networks. Only later did the need for central emergency planning and the response to climate change produce a national policy response. Fire statistics have allowed wildfires to be spatially evidenced on a national scale only since 2009. National awareness of wildfire was spurred by the 2011 fire season, and the high-impact Swinley Forest fire, which threatened critical infrastructure and communities within 50 miles of London. Severe wildfire was included in the National Risk Register for the first time in 2013. Cross-sector approaches to wildfire proved difficult as government responsibility is fragmented along the hazard chain. Stakeholders such as the Forestry Commission pioneered good practice in adaptive land management to build fire resilience into UK forests. The grass-roots evolution of participatory solutions has also been a key enabling process. A coordinated policy is now needed to identify best practice and to promote understanding of the role of fire in the ecosystem.This article is part of a themed issue 'The interaction of fire and mankind'. © 2016 The Author(s).

Fire regimes, forest change, and self-organization in an old-growth mixed-conifer forest, Yosemite National Park, USA.

PubMed

Scholl, Andrew E; Taylor, Alan H

2010-03-01

Fire is recognized as a keystone process in dry mixed-conifer forests that have been altered by decades of fire suppression, Restoration of fire disturbance to these forests is a guiding principle of resource management in the U.S. National Park Service. Policy implementation is often hindered by a poor understanding of forest conditions before fire exclusion, the characteristics of forest changes since excluding fire, and the influence of topographic or self-organizing controls on forest structure. In this study the spatial and temporal characteristics of fire regimes and forest structure are reconstructed in a 2125-ha mixed-conifer forest. Forests were multi-aged, burned frequently at low severity and fire-return interval, and forest structure did not vary with slope aspect, elevation, or slope position. Fire exclusion has caused an increase in forest density and basal area and a compositional shift to shade-tolerant and fire-intolerant species. The median point fire-return interval and extent of a fire was 10 yr and 115 ha, respectively. The pre-Euro-American settlement fire rotation of 13 yr increased to 378 yr after 1905. The position of fire scars within tree rings indicates that 79% of fires burned in the midsummer to fall period. The spatial pattern of burns exhibited self-organizing behavior. Area burned was 10-fold greater when an area had not been burned by the previous fire. Fires were frequent and widespread, but patches of similar aged trees were < 0.2 ha, suggesting small fire-caused canopy openings. Managers need to apply multiple burns at short intervals for a sustained period to reduce surface fuels and create small canopy openings characteristic of the reference forest. By coupling explicit reference conditions with consideration of current conditions and projected climate change, management activities can balance restoration and risk management.

Scientists assess impact of Indonesia fires

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Showstack, Randy

The fires burning in Indonesia over the past several months are setting aflame the biomass and wildlife habitat of the tropical forests, spreading a dangerously unhealthy haze across the populous country and nearby nations in southeast Asia, causing transportation hazards, and sending plumes of smoke up into the troposphere.Most of the fires have been set—by big landowners, commercial loggers, and small farmers—in attempts to clear and cultivate the land, as people have done in the past. But this year a drought induced by El Niño limited the rainfall that could help extinguish the flames and wash away the smoke and haze. In addition, some scientists say that smoke could even delay the monsoon, which usually arrives in early November.

Optimizing prescribed fire allocation for managing fire risk in central Catalonia.

PubMed

Alcasena, Fermín J; Ager, Alan A; Salis, Michele; Day, Michelle A; Vega-Garcia, Cristina

2018-04-15

We used spatial optimization to allocate and prioritize prescribed fire treatments in the fire-prone Bages County, central Catalonia (northeastern Spain). The goal of this study was to identify suitable strategic locations on forest lands for fuel treatments in order to: 1) disrupt major fire movements, 2) reduce ember emissions, and 3) reduce the likelihood of large fires burning into residential communities. We first modeled fire spread, hazard and exposure metrics under historical extreme fire weather conditions, including node influence grid for surface fire pathways, crown fraction burned and fire transmission to residential structures. Then, we performed an optimization analysis on individual planning areas to identify production possibility frontiers for addressing fire exposure and explore alternative prescribed fire treatment configurations. The results revealed strong trade-offs among different fire exposure metrics, showed treatment mosaics that optimize the allocation of prescribed fire, and identified specific opportunities to achieve multiple objectives. Our methods can contribute to improving the efficiency of prescribed fire treatment investments and wildfire management programs aimed at creating fire resilient ecosystems, facilitating safe and efficient fire suppression, and safeguarding rural communities from catastrophic wildfires. The analysis framework can be used to optimally allocate prescribed fire in other fire-prone areas within the Mediterranean region and elsewhere. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The 2007 southern California wildfires: Lessons in complexity

USGS Publications Warehouse

Keeley, J.E.; Safford, H.; Fotheringham, C.J.; Franklin, J.; Moritz, M.

2009-01-01

The 2007 wildfire season in southern California burned over 1,000,000 ac (400,000 ha) and included several megafires. We use the 2007 fires as a case study to draw three major lessons about wildfires and wildfire complexity in southern California. First, the great majority of large fires in southern California occur in the autumn under the influence of Santa Ana windstorms. These fires also cost the most to contain and cause the most damage to life and property, and the October 2007 fires were no exception because thousands of homes were lost and seven people were killed. Being pushed by wind gusts over 100 kph, young fuels presented little barrier to their spread as the 2007 fires reburned considerable portions of the area burned in the historic 2003 fire season. Adding to the size of these fires was the historic 2006-2007 drought that contributed to high dead fuel loads and long distance spotting. As in 2003, young chaparral stands and fuel treatments were not reliable barriers to fire in October 2007. Second, the Zaca Fire in July and August 2007 showed that other factors besides high winds can sometimes combine to create conditions for large fires in southern California. Spring and summer fires in southern California chaparral are usually easily contained because of higher fuel moisture and the general lack of high winds. However, the Zaca Fire burned in a remote wilderness area of rugged terrain that made access difficult. In addition, because of its remoteness, anthropogenic ignitions have been low and stand age and fuel loads were high. Coupled with this was severe drought that year that generated fuel moisture levels considerably below normal for early summer. A third lesson comes from 2007 conifer forest fires in the southern California mountains. In contrast to lower elevation chaparral, fire suppression has led to major increases in conifer forest fuels that can lead to unnaturally severe fires when ignitions escape control. The Slide and Grass Valley Fires of October 2007 occurred in forests that had been subject to extensive fuel treatment, but fire control was complicated by a patchwork of untreated private properties and mountain homes built of highly flammable materials. In a fashion reminiscent of other recent destructive conifer fires in California, burning homes themselves were a major source of fire spread. These lessons suggest that the most important advances in fire safety in this region are to come from advances in fire prevention, fire preparedness, and land-use planning that includes fire hazard patterns.

Classification of Large-Scale Remote Sensing Images for Automatic Identification of Health Hazards: Smoke Detection Using an Autologistic Regression Classifier.

PubMed

Wolters, Mark A; Dean, C B

2017-01-01

Remote sensing images from Earth-orbiting satellites are a potentially rich data source for monitoring and cataloguing atmospheric health hazards that cover large geographic regions. A method is proposed for classifying such images into hazard and nonhazard regions using the autologistic regression model, which may be viewed as a spatial extension of logistic regression. The method includes a novel and simple approach to parameter estimation that makes it well suited to handling the large and high-dimensional datasets arising from satellite-borne instruments. The methodology is demonstrated on both simulated images and a real application to the identification of forest fire smoke.

Examining Historical and Current Mixed-Severity Fire Regimes in Ponderosa Pine and Mixed-Conifer Forests of Western North America

PubMed Central

Odion, Dennis C.; Hanson, Chad T.; Arsenault, André; Baker, William L.; DellaSala, Dominick A.; Hutto, Richard L.; Klenner, Walt; Moritz, Max A.; Sherriff, Rosemary L.; Veblen, Thomas T.; Williams, Mark A.

2014-01-01

There is widespread concern that fire exclusion has led to an unprecedented threat of uncharacteristically severe fires in ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa Dougl. ex. Laws) and mixed-conifer forests of western North America. These extensive montane forests are considered to be adapted to a low/moderate-severity fire regime that maintained stands of relatively old trees. However, there is increasing recognition from landscape-scale assessments that, prior to any significant effects of fire exclusion, fires and forest structure were more variable in these forests. Biota in these forests are also dependent on the resources made available by higher-severity fire. A better understanding of historical fire regimes in the ponderosa pine and mixed-conifer forests of western North America is therefore needed to define reference conditions and help maintain characteristic ecological diversity of these systems. We compiled landscape-scale evidence of historical fire severity patterns in the ponderosa pine and mixed-conifer forests from published literature sources and stand ages available from the Forest Inventory and Analysis program in the USA. The consensus from this evidence is that the traditional reference conditions of low-severity fire regimes are inaccurate for most forests of western North America. Instead, most forests appear to have been characterized by mixed-severity fire that included ecologically significant amounts of weather-driven, high-severity fire. Diverse forests in different stages of succession, with a high proportion in relatively young stages, occurred prior to fire exclusion. Over the past century, successional diversity created by fire decreased. Our findings suggest that ecological management goals that incorporate successional diversity created by fire may support characteristic biodiversity, whereas current attempts to “restore” forests to open, low-severity fire conditions may not align with historical reference conditions in most ponderosa pine and mixed-conifer forests of western North America. PMID:24498383

Examining historical and current mixed-severity fire regimes in ponderosa pine and mixed-conifer forests of western North America.

PubMed

Odion, Dennis C; Hanson, Chad T; Arsenault, André; Baker, William L; Dellasala, Dominick A; Hutto, Richard L; Klenner, Walt; Moritz, Max A; Sherriff, Rosemary L; Veblen, Thomas T; Williams, Mark A

2014-01-01

There is widespread concern that fire exclusion has led to an unprecedented threat of uncharacteristically severe fires in ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa Dougl. ex. Laws) and mixed-conifer forests of western North America. These extensive montane forests are considered to be adapted to a low/moderate-severity fire regime that maintained stands of relatively old trees. However, there is increasing recognition from landscape-scale assessments that, prior to any significant effects of fire exclusion, fires and forest structure were more variable in these forests. Biota in these forests are also dependent on the resources made available by higher-severity fire. A better understanding of historical fire regimes in the ponderosa pine and mixed-conifer forests of western North America is therefore needed to define reference conditions and help maintain characteristic ecological diversity of these systems. We compiled landscape-scale evidence of historical fire severity patterns in the ponderosa pine and mixed-conifer forests from published literature sources and stand ages available from the Forest Inventory and Analysis program in the USA. The consensus from this evidence is that the traditional reference conditions of low-severity fire regimes are inaccurate for most forests of western North America. Instead, most forests appear to have been characterized by mixed-severity fire that included ecologically significant amounts of weather-driven, high-severity fire. Diverse forests in different stages of succession, with a high proportion in relatively young stages, occurred prior to fire exclusion. Over the past century, successional diversity created by fire decreased. Our findings suggest that ecological management goals that incorporate successional diversity created by fire may support characteristic biodiversity, whereas current attempts to "restore" forests to open, low-severity fire conditions may not align with historical reference conditions in most ponderosa pine and mixed-conifer forests of western North America.

Decreasing Fires in Mediterranean Europe

PubMed Central

Turco, Marco; Bedia, Joaquín; Di Liberto, Fabrizio; Fiorucci, Paolo; von Hardenberg, Jost; Koutsias, Nikos; Llasat, Maria-Carmen; Xystrakis, Fotios; Provenzale, Antonello

2016-01-01

Forest fires are a serious environmental hazard in southern Europe. Quantitative assessment of recent trends in fire statistics is important for assessing the possible shifts induced by climate and other environmental/socioeconomic changes in this area. Here we analyse recent fire trends in Portugal, Spain, southern France, Italy and Greece, building on a homogenized fire database integrating official fire statistics provided by several national/EU agencies. During the period 1985-2011, the total annual burned area (BA) displayed a general decreasing trend, with the exception of Portugal, where a heterogeneous signal was found. Considering all countries globally, we found that BA decreased by about 3020 km2 over the 27-year-long study period (i.e. about -66% of the mean historical value). These results are consistent with those obtained on longer time scales when data were available, also yielding predominantly negative trends in Spain and France (1974-2011) and a mixed trend in Portugal (1980-2011). Similar overall results were found for the annual number of fires (NF), which globally decreased by about 12600 in the study period (about -59%), except for Spain where, excluding the provinces along the Mediterranean coast, an upward trend was found for the longer period. We argue that the negative trends can be explained, at least in part, by an increased effort in fire management and prevention after the big fires of the 1980’s, while positive trends may be related to recent socioeconomic transformations leading to more hazardous landscape configurations, as well as to the observed warming of recent decades. We stress the importance of fire data homogenization prior to analysis, in order to alleviate spurious effects associated with non-stationarities in the data due to temporal variations in fire detection efforts. PMID:26982584

Decreasing Fires in Mediterranean Europe.

PubMed

Turco, Marco; Bedia, Joaquín; Di Liberto, Fabrizio; Fiorucci, Paolo; von Hardenberg, Jost; Koutsias, Nikos; Llasat, Maria-Carmen; Xystrakis, Fotios; Provenzale, Antonello

2016-01-01

Forest fires are a serious environmental hazard in southern Europe. Quantitative assessment of recent trends in fire statistics is important for assessing the possible shifts induced by climate and other environmental/socioeconomic changes in this area. Here we analyse recent fire trends in Portugal, Spain, southern France, Italy and Greece, building on a homogenized fire database integrating official fire statistics provided by several national/EU agencies. During the period 1985-2011, the total annual burned area (BA) displayed a general decreasing trend, with the exception of Portugal, where a heterogeneous signal was found. Considering all countries globally, we found that BA decreased by about 3020 km2 over the 27-year-long study period (i.e. about -66% of the mean historical value). These results are consistent with those obtained on longer time scales when data were available, also yielding predominantly negative trends in Spain and France (1974-2011) and a mixed trend in Portugal (1980-2011). Similar overall results were found for the annual number of fires (NF), which globally decreased by about 12600 in the study period (about -59%), except for Spain where, excluding the provinces along the Mediterranean coast, an upward trend was found for the longer period. We argue that the negative trends can be explained, at least in part, by an increased effort in fire management and prevention after the big fires of the 1980's, while positive trends may be related to recent socioeconomic transformations leading to more hazardous landscape configurations, as well as to the observed warming of recent decades. We stress the importance of fire data homogenization prior to analysis, in order to alleviate spurious effects associated with non-stationarities in the data due to temporal variations in fire detection efforts.

The Habitat Susceptibility of Bali Starling (Leucopsar rothschildi Stresemann> 1912) Based on Forest Fire Vulnerability Mappin in West Bali National Park

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pramatana, F.; Prasetyo, L. B.; Rushayati, S. B.

2017-10-01

Bali starling is an endemic and endangered species which tend to decrease of its population in the wild. West Bali National Park (WBNP) is the only habitat of bali starling, however it is threatened nowadays by forest fire. Understanding the sensitivity of habitat to forest & land fire is urgently needed. Geographic Information System (GIS) can be used for mapping the vulnerability of forest fire. This study aims to analyze the contributed factor of forest fire, to develop vulnerability level map of forest fire in WBNP, to estimate habitat vulnerability of bali starling. The variable for mapping forest fire in WBNP were road distance, village distance, land cover, NDVI, NDMI, surface temperature, and slope. Forest fire map in WBNP was created by scoring from each variable, and classified into four classes of forest fire vulnerability which are very low (9 821 ha), low (5 015.718 ha), middle (6 778.656 ha), and high (2 126.006 ha). Bali starling existence in the middle and high vulnerability forest fire class in WBNP, consequently the population and habitat of bali starling is a very vulnerable. Management of population and habitat of bali starling in WBNP must be implemented focus on forest fire impact.

Decree No. 849/988 of 14 December 1988 setting forth regulations on the prevention and combat of forest fires.

PubMed

1989-01-01

This Uruguayan Decree sets forth regulations on the prevention and fighting of forest fires. Among other things, it does the following: 1) requires all public and private organizations, as well as all persons, to assist personally in and provide vehicles, machines, and tools for the fighting of forest fires; 2) requires the owners of property containing forests to maintain instruction in fighting fires for an adequate number of employees; 3) requires all forests to be kept cleared of vegetation capable of spreading fires and to have fire walls; 4) requires owners of forests larger than 30 hectares in size to present to the Forest Directorate an annual plan for forest fire defense; and 5) requires owners of forests larger than 30 hectares in size to maintain specified equipment for fighting fires. Persons violating the provisions of this Decree are subject to fines.

Wildland inventory and resource modeling for Douglas and Carson City Counties, Nevada, using LANDSAT and digital terrain data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Brass, J. A.; Likens, W. C.; Thornhill, R. R.

1983-01-01

The potential of using LANDSAT satellite imagery to map and inventory pinyon-juniper desert forest types in Douglas and Carson City Counties, Nevada was demonstrated. Specific map and statistical products produced include land cover, mechanical operations capability, big game winter range habitat, fire hazard, and forest harvestability. The Nevada Division of Forestry determined that LANDSAT can produce a reliable and low-cost resource data. Added benefits become apparent when the data are linked to a geographical information system (GIS) containing existing ownership, planning, elevation, slope, and aspect information.

Assessing insect-induced tree mortality across large areas with high-resolution aerial photography in a multistage sample

Treesearch

Randy Hamilton; Kevin Megown; James Ellenwood; Henry Lachowski; Paul Maus

2010-01-01

In recent years, unprecedented tree mortality has occurred throughout the national forests owing to insect infestations and disease outbreaks. The magnitude and extent of mortality, coupled with the lack of routine monitoring in some areas, has made it difficult to assess the damage, associated ecological impact, and fire hazard in a timely and cost-effective manner....

Managing slash to minimize colonization of residual leave trees by Ips and other bark beetle species following thinning in southwestern ponderosa pine

Treesearch

T. DeGomez; C.J. Fettig; J.D. McMillin; J.A. Anhold; C.J. Hayes

2008-01-01

Due to high fire hazard and perceived reductions in forest health, thinning of small diameter trees has become a prevalent management activity particularly in dense stands. Creation of large amounts of logging slash, however, has created large quantities of habitat for bark beetles primarily in the Ips genus (Coleoptera: Curculionidae,...

Modeling forest planning trade-offs on the Colorado Front Range using MAGIS, an optimization, spatial decision support system

Treesearch

Edward B. Butler

2005-01-01

The fires of 2000 and 2002 catalyzed a national mandate for fuel treatment programs to facilitate wildfire mitigation, yet the issues that need to be considered when planning large landscape projects are daunting, often ending in gridlock due to planning conflicts. Hazardous fuels maps help little when planning for integrated, system-wide ecological objectives and fail...

Science You Can Use Bulletin: Revisiting disturbance: A new guide for keeping dry mixed conifer forests healthy through fuel management

Treesearch

Sue Miller; Theresa Jain; Mike A. Battaglia; Han-Sup Han; Russell T. Graham; Christopher R. Keyes; Jeremy S. Fried; Jonathan E. Sandquist

2014-01-01

Planning for hazardous fuels reduction can be challenging, given that land managers must balance multiple resource objectives. To help managers with planning and implementing fuel treatments, the Rocky Mountain Research Station, with support from the Joint Fire Science Program, has published A Comprehensive Guide to Fuel Management Practices for Dry Mixed Conifer...

Characterizing wood properties of small diameter Northwest trees

Treesearch

Thomas M. Gorman; David W. Green

2002-01-01

Forest lands of the Rocky Mountain region of the U.S. have many timber stands consisting of overgrown, densely stocked trees that create a fire hazard and are prone to disease. These stands need to be thinned, but the cost of harvesting often exceeds the value of the timber produced. However, because of the dense stocking and the resulting slow growth these trees may...

Effects of slash, machine passes, and soil moisture on penetration resistance in a cut-to-length harvesting

Treesearch

Han-Sup Han; Debbie Page-Dumroese; Sang-Kyun Han; Joanne Tirocke

2006-01-01

Multiple entries into forest stands are often needed for fire hazard reduction and ecosystem restoration treatments in the Inland-Northwest U.S.A. region. However, soil compaction occurring from mechanized harvesting operations often remains for many years and may contribute to a decline in long-term site productivity. A controlled experiment on a silt loam soil was...

Fire ecology of forests and woodlands in Utah

Treesearch

Anne F. Bradley; Nonan V. Noste; William C. Fischer

1992-01-01

Provides information on fire as an ecological factor in forest habitat types, and in pinyon-juniper woodland and oak-maple brushland communities occurring in Utah. Identifies Fire Groups based on fire's role in forest succession. Describes forest fuels and suggests considerations for fire management.

Fire ecology of the forest habitat types of eastern Idaho and western Wyoming

Treesearch

Anne F. Bradley; William C. Fischer; Nonan V. Noste

1992-01-01

Provides information on fire as an ecological factor in the forest habitat types occurring in eastern Idaho and western Wyoming. Identifies Fire Groups based on fire's role in forest succession. Describes forest fuels and suggests considerations for fire management.

Impact of forest fires on particulate matter and ozone levels during the 2003, 2004 and 2005 fire seasons in Portugal.

PubMed

Martins, V; Miranda, A I; Carvalho, A; Schaap, M; Borrego, C; Sá, E

2012-01-01

The main purpose of this work is to estimate the impact of forest fires on air pollution applying the LOTOS-EUROS air quality modeling system in Portugal for three consecutive years, 2003-2005. Forest fire emissions have been included in the modeling system through the development of a numerical module, which takes into account the most suitable parameters for Portuguese forest fire characteristics and the burnt area by large forest fires. To better evaluate the influence of forest fires on air quality the LOTOS-EUROS system has been applied with and without forest fire emissions. Hourly concentration results have been compared to measure data at several monitoring locations with better modeling quality parameters when forest fire emissions were considered. Moreover, hourly estimates, with and without fire emissions, can reach differences in the order of 20%, showing the importance and the influence of this type of emissions on air quality. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Fire and forest history at Mount Rushmore.

PubMed

Brown, Peter M; Wienk, Cody L; Symstad, Amy J

2008-12-01

Mount Rushmore National Memorial in the Black Hills of South Dakota is known worldwide for its massive sculpture of four of the United States' most respected presidents. The Memorial landscape also is covered by extensive ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) forest that has not burned in over a century. We compiled dendroecological and forest structural data from 29 plots across the 517-ha Memorial and used fire behavior modeling to reconstruct the historical fire regime and forest structure and compare them to current conditions. The historical fire regime is best characterized as one of low-severity surface fires with occasional (> 100 years) patches (< 100 ha) of passive crown fire. We estimate that only approximately 3.3% of the landscape burned as crown fire during 22 landscape fire years (recorded at > or = 25% of plots) between 1529 and 1893. The last landscape fire was in 1893. Mean fire intervals before 1893 varied depending on spatial scale, from 34 years based on scar-to-scar intervals on individual trees to 16 years between landscape fire years. Modal fire intervals were 11-15 years and did not vary with scale. Fire rotation (the time to burn an area the size of the study area) was estimated to be 30 years for surface fire and 800+ years for crown fire. The current forest is denser and contains more small trees, fewer large trees, lower canopy base heights, and greater canopy bulk density than a reconstructed historical (1870) forest. Fire behavior modeling using the NEXUS program suggests that surface fires would have dominated fire behavior in the 1870 forest during both moderate and severe weather conditions, while crown fire would dominate in the current forest especially under severe weather. Changes in the fire regime and forest structure at Mount Rushmore parallel those seen in ponderosa pine forests from the southwestern United States. Shifts from historical to current forest structure and the increased likelihood of crown fire justify the need for forest restoration before a catastrophic wildfire occurs and adversely impacts the ecological and aesthetic setting of the Mount Rushmore sculpture.

Fire ecology of Montana forest habitat types east of the Continental Divide

Treesearch

William C. Fischer; Bruce D. Clayton

1983-01-01

Provides information on fire as an ecological factor for forest habitat types occurring east of the Continental Divide in Montana. Identifies "Fire Groups" of habitat types based on fire's role in forest succession. Describes forest fuels and suggests considerations for fire management.

Mixed-severity fire history at a forest-grassland ecotone in west central British Columbia, Canada.

PubMed

Harvey, Jill E; Smith, Dan J; Veblen, Thomas T

2017-09-01

This study examines spatially variable stand structure and fire-climate relationships at a low elevation forest-grassland ecotone in west central British Columbia, Canada. Fire history reconstructions were based on samples from 92 fire-scarred trees and stand demography from 27 plots collected over an area of about 7 km 2 . We documented historical chronologies of widespread fires and localized grassland fires between AD 1600 and 1900. Relationships between fire events, reconstructed values of the Palmer Drought Severity Index, and annual precipitation were examined using superposed epoch and bivariate event analyses. Widespread fires occurred during warm, dry years and were preceded by multiple anomalously dry, warm years. Localized fires that affected only grassland-proximal forests were more frequent than widespread fires. These localized fires showed a lagged, positive relationship with wetter conditions. The landscape pattern of forest structure provided further evidence of complex fire activity with multiple plots shown to have experienced low-, mixed-, and/or high-severity fires over the last four centuries. We concluded that this forest-grassland ecotone was characterized by fires of mixed severity, dominated by frequent, low-severity fires punctuated by widespread fires of moderate to high severity. This landscape-level variability in fire-climate relationships and patterns in forest structure has important implications for fire and grassland management in west central British Columbia and similar environments elsewhere. Forest restoration techniques such as prescribed fire and thinning are oftentimes applied at the forest-grassland ecotone on the basis that historically high frequency, low-severity fires defined the character of past fire activity. This study provides forest managers and policy makers with important information on mixed-severity fire activity at a low elevation forest-grassland ecotone, a crucial prerequisite for the effective management of these complex ecosystems. © 2017 by the Ecological Society of America.

Influence of landscape structure, topography, and forest type on spatial variation in historical fire regimes, central Oregon, USA

USGS Publications Warehouse

Merschel, Andrew; Heyerdahl, Emily K.; Spies, Thomas A; Loehman, Rachel A.

2018-01-01

Context In the interior Northwest, debate over restoring mixed-conifer forests after a century of fire exclusion is hampered by poor understanding of the pattern and causes of spatial variation in historical fire regimes. Objectives To identify the roles of topography, landscape structure, and forest type in driving spatial variation in historical fire regimes in mixed-conifer forests of central Oregon. Methods We used tree rings to reconstruct multicentury fire and forest histories at 105 plots over 10,393 ha. We classified fire regimes into four types and assessed whether they varied with topography, the location of fuel-limited pumice basins that inhibit fire spread, and an updated classification of forest type. Results We identified four fire-regime types and six forest types. Although surface fires were frequent and often extensive, severe fires were rare in all four types. Fire regimes varied with some aspects of topography (elevation), but not others (slope or aspect) and with the distribution of pumice basins. Fire regimes did not strictly co-vary with mixed-conifer forest types. Conclusions Our work reveals the persistent influence of landscape structure on spatial variation in historical fire regimes and can help inform discussions about appropriate restoration of fire-excluded forests in the interior Northwest. Where the goal is to restore historical fire regimes at landscape scales, managers may want to consider the influence of topoedaphic and vegetation patch types that could affect fire spread and ignition frequency.

Effects of forest fire and logging on forest degradation in Mongolia

Treesearch

Yeong Dae Park; Don Koo Lee; Jamsran Tsogtbaatar; John A. Stanturf

2010-01-01

Forests in Mongolia have been severely degraded by forest fire and exploitive logging. This study investigate changes in vegetation and soil properties after forest fire or clearfelling. Microclimate conditions such as temperature and relative humidity (RH) changed drastically after forest fire or logging; temperature increased 1.6-1.7 ºC on average, whereas...

Changing Weather Extremes Call for Early Warning of Potential for Catastrophic Fire

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Boer, Matthias M.; Nolan, Rachael H.; Resco De Dios, Víctor; Clarke, Hamish; Price, Owen F.; Bradstock, Ross A.

2017-12-01

Changing frequencies of extreme weather events and shifting fire seasons call for enhanced capability to forecast where and when forested landscapes switch from a nonflammable (i.e., wet fuel) state to the highly flammable (i.e., dry fuel) state required for catastrophic forest fires. Current forest fire danger indices used in Europe, North America, and Australia rate potential fire behavior by combining numerical indices of fuel moisture content, potential rate of fire spread, and fire intensity. These numerical rating systems lack the physical basis required to reliably quantify forest flammability outside the environments of their development or under novel climate conditions. Here, we argue that exceedance of critical forest flammability thresholds is a prerequisite for major forest fires and therefore early warning systems should be based on a reliable prediction of fuel moisture content plus a regionally calibrated model of how forest fire activity responds to variation in fuel moisture content. We demonstrate the potential of this approach through a case study in Portugal. We use a physically based fuel moisture model with historical weather and fire records to identify critical fuel moisture thresholds for forest fire activity and then show that the catastrophic June 2017 forest fires in central Portugal erupted shortly after fuels in the region dried out to historically unprecedented levels.

Forest Fire Advanced System Technology (FFAST): A Conceptual Design for Detection and Mapping

Treesearch

J. David Nichols; John R. Warren

1987-01-01

The Forest Fire Advanced System Technology (FFAST) project is developing a data system to provide near-real-time forest fire information to fire management at the fire Incident Command Post (ICP). The completed conceptual design defined an integrated forest fire detection and mapping system that is based upon technology available in the 1990's. System component...

Relation of weather forecasts to the prediction of dangerous forest fire conditions

Treesearch

R. H. Weidman

1923-01-01

The purpose of predicting dangerous forest-fire conditions, of course, is to reduce the great cost and damage caused by forest fires. In the region of Montana and northern Idaho alone the average cost to the United States Forest Service of fire protection and suppression is over $1,000,000 a year. Although the causes of forest fires will gradually be reduced by...

Numerical study of propagation of forest fires in the presence of fire breaks using an averaged setting

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Marzaeva, S. I.; Galtseva, O. V.

2018-05-01

The forest fires spread in the pine forests have been numerically simulated using a three-dimensional mathematical model. The model was integrated with respect to the vertical coordinate because horizontal sizes of forest are much greater than the heights of trees. In this paper, the assignment and theoretical investigations of the problems of crown forest fires spread pass the firebreaks were carried out. In this context, a study ( mathematical modeling) of the conditions of forest fire spreading that would make it possible to obtain a detailed picture of the change in the temperature and component concentration fields with time, and determine as well as the limiting condition of fire propagation in forest with these fire breaks.

Mexican forest fires and their decadal variations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Velasco Herrera, Graciela

2016-11-01

A high forest fire season of two to three years is regularly observed each decade in Mexican forests. This seems to be related to the presence of the El Niño phenomenon and to the amount of total solar irradiance. In this study, the results of a multi-cross wavelet analysis are reported based on the occurrence of Mexican forest fires, El Niño and the total solar irradiance for the period 1970-2014. The analysis shows that Mexican forest fires and the strongest El Niño phenomena occur mostly around the minima of the solar cycle. This suggests that the total solar irradiance minima provide the appropriate climatological conditions for the occurrence of these forest fires. The next high season for Mexican forest fires could start in the next solar minimum, which will take place between the years 2017 and 2019. A complementary space analysis based on MODIS active fire data for Mexican forest fires from 2005 to 2014 shows that most of these fires occur in cedar and pine forests, on savannas and pasturelands, and in the central jungles of the Atlantic and Pacific coasts.

Meteorological factors in the Quartz Creek forest fire

Treesearch

H. T. Gisborne

1927-01-01

It is not often that a large forest fire occurs conveniently near a weather station specially equipped for measuring forest-fire weather. The 13,000-acre Quartz Creek fire on the Kaniksu National Forest during the summer of 1936 was close enough to the Priest River Experimental Forest of the Northern Rocky Mountain Forest Experiment Station for the roar of the flumes...

Understorey fire frequency and the fate of burned forests in southern Amazonia.

PubMed

Morton, D C; Le Page, Y; DeFries, R; Collatz, G J; Hurtt, G C

2013-06-05

Recent drought events underscore the vulnerability of Amazon forests to understorey fires. The long-term impact of fires on biodiversity and forest carbon stocks depends on the frequency of fire damages and deforestation rates of burned forests. Here, we characterized the spatial and temporal dynamics of understorey fires (1999-2010) and deforestation (2001-2010) in southern Amazonia using new satellite-based estimates of annual fire activity (greater than 50 ha) and deforestation (greater than 10 ha). Understorey forest fires burned more than 85 500 km(2) between 1999 and 2010 (2.8% of all forests). Forests that burned more than once accounted for 16 per cent of all understorey fires. Repeated fire activity was concentrated in Mato Grosso and eastern Pará, whereas single fires were widespread across the arc of deforestation. Routine fire activity in Mato Grosso coincided with annual periods of low night-time relative humidity, suggesting a strong climate control on both single and repeated fires. Understorey fires occurred in regions with active deforestation, yet the interannual variability of fire and deforestation were uncorrelated, and only 2.6 per cent of forests that burned between 1999 and 2008 were deforested for agricultural use by 2010. Evidence from the past decade suggests that future projections of frontier landscapes in Amazonia should separately consider economic drivers to project future deforestation and climate to project fire risk.

Understorey fire frequency and the fate of burned forests in southern Amazonia

PubMed Central

Morton, D. C.; Le Page, Y.; DeFries, R.; Collatz, G. J.; Hurtt, G. C.

2013-01-01

Recent drought events underscore the vulnerability of Amazon forests to understorey fires. The long-term impact of fires on biodiversity and forest carbon stocks depends on the frequency of fire damages and deforestation rates of burned forests. Here, we characterized the spatial and temporal dynamics of understorey fires (1999–2010) and deforestation (2001–2010) in southern Amazonia using new satellite-based estimates of annual fire activity (greater than 50 ha) and deforestation (greater than 10 ha). Understorey forest fires burned more than 85 500 km2 between 1999 and 2010 (2.8% of all forests). Forests that burned more than once accounted for 16 per cent of all understorey fires. Repeated fire activity was concentrated in Mato Grosso and eastern Pará, whereas single fires were widespread across the arc of deforestation. Routine fire activity in Mato Grosso coincided with annual periods of low night-time relative humidity, suggesting a strong climate control on both single and repeated fires. Understorey fires occurred in regions with active deforestation, yet the interannual variability of fire and deforestation were uncorrelated, and only 2.6 per cent of forests that burned between 1999 and 2008 were deforested for agricultural use by 2010. Evidence from the past decade suggests that future projections of frontier landscapes in Amazonia should separately consider economic drivers to project future deforestation and climate to project fire risk. PMID:23610169

Fire ecology of the forest habitat types of northern Idaho

Treesearch

Jane Kapler Smith; William C. Fischer

1997-01-01

Provides information on fire ecology in forest habitat and community types occurring in northern Idaho. Identifies fire groups based on presettlement fire regimes and patterns of succession and stand development after fire. Describes forest fuels and suggests considerations for fire management.

Chemistry, toxicology, and persistence of particulates during and after the 2016 Fort McMurray Wildfires in Alberta, Canada

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kohl, L.; Chan, A. W. H.; Cooke, C. A.; Hustins, S.; Jackson, B.; Wang, S.; Jing, X.; Meng, M.

2017-12-01

The Horse River Fire in May 2016 forced the evacuation of 88,000 Fort McMurray residents, and led to the destruction of over 2000 houses. After re-entry to homes, there is significant concern about exposures to residual fire-derived contaminants in residential houses. Wildfire research, however, provides little guidance on how long ashes and pollutants persist in household dust after major fires. The FACET project studies the chemistry and toxicology of samples of urban and forest ashes and airborne particles collected during the fire, as well as over 500 house dust samples collected in July 2017 (14 months after the fire). Here we present results on the chemical composition of the urban and forest ash samples collected during the fire along with initial results from house dust samples. Wildfire ashes contained elevated concentrations of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), heavy metals, and dioxin like compounds (DLC). Relative to EPA reference doses, As and Sb constitute the greatest non-carcinogenic health hazard, whereas PAHs Benzo(a)pyrene and Indeno(1,2,3-cd)pyrene are the most relevant carcinogens. Ashes from urban locations contained higher concentrations of heavy metals and DLC than samples collected from forested areas outside of the City of Fort McMurray. Urban samples furthermore had a greater potential for generating oxidative stress than rural samples, as determined by dithiothreitol (DTT) consumption assays. The oxidative potential was positively correlated to Al, Cu, As, and V concentrations. Airborne particulate matter samples from the smoke plume contained consistent concentrations of levoglucosan (99 ± 5 mg g-1), along with other tracers for biomass burning (free lignin monomers, retene). Together these results will serve as proxies for understanding the contribution and the persistence of fire-derived pollutants in house dust in Fort McMurray homes.

A method for mapping fire hazard and risk across multiple scales and its application in fire management

Treesearch

Robert E. Keane; Stacy A. Drury; Eva C. Karau; Paul F. Hessburg; Keith M. Reynolds

2010-01-01

This paper presents modeling methods for mapping fire hazard and fire risk using a research model called FIREHARM (FIRE Hazard and Risk Model) that computes common measures of fire behavior, fire danger, and fire effects to spatially portray fire hazard over space. FIREHARM can compute a measure of risk associated with the distribution of these measures over time using...

Fire ecology of the forest habitat types of central Idaho

Treesearch

M. F. Crane; William C. Fischer

1986-01-01

Discusses fire as an ecological factor for forest habitat types occurring in central Idaho. Identifies "Fire Groups" of habitat types based on fire's role in forest succession. Considerations for fire management are suggested.

Short- and long-term effects of fire on carbon in US dry temperate forest systems

USGS Publications Warehouse

Hurteau, Matthew D.; Brooks, Matthew L.

2011-01-01

Forests sequester carbon from the atmosphere, and in so doing can mitigate the effects of climate change. Fire is a natural disturbance process in many forest systems that releases carbon back to the atmosphere. In dry temperate forests, fires historically burned with greater frequency and lower severity than they do today. Frequent fires consumed fuels on the forest floor and maintained open stand structures. Fire suppression has resulted in increased understory fuel loads and tree density; a change in structure that has caused a shift from low- to high-severity fires. More severe fires, resulting in greater tree mortality, have caused a decrease in forest carbon stability. Fire management actions can mitigate the risk of high-severity fires, but these actions often require a trade-off between maximizing carbon stocks and carbon stability. We discuss the effects of fire on forest carbon stocks and recommend that managing forests on the basis of their specific ecologies should be the foremost goal, with carbon sequestration being an ancillary benefit. ?? 2011 by American Institute of Biological Sciences. All rights reserved.

Satellite Analysis of the Severe 1987 Forest Fires in Northern China and Southeastern Siberia

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cahoon, Donald R., Jr.; Stocks, Brian J.; Levine, Joel S.; Cofer, Wesley R., III; Pierson, Joseph M.

1994-01-01

Meteorological conditions, extremely conducive to fire development and spread in the spring of 1987, resulted in forest fires burning over extremely large areas in the boreal forest zone in northeastern China and the southeastern region of Siberia. The great China fire, one of the largest and most destructive forest fires in recent history, occurred during this period in the Heilongjiang Province of China. Satellite imagery is used to examine the development and areal distribution of 1987 forest fires in this region. Overall trace gas emissions to the atmosphere from these fires are determined using a satellite-derived estimate of area burned in combination with fuel consumption figures and carbon emission ratios for boreal forest fires.

Satellite analysis of the severe 1987 forest fires in northern China and southeastern Siberia

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cahoon, Donald R, Jr.; Stocks, Brian J.; Levine, Joel S.; Cofer, Wesley R., III; Pierson, Joseph M.

1994-01-01

Meteorological conditions, extremely conducive to fire development and spread in the spring of 1987, resulted in forest fires burning over extremely large areas in the boreal forest zone in northeastern China and the southeastern region of Siberia. The great China fire, one of the largest and most destructive forest fires in recent history, occurred during this period in the Heilongjiang Province of China. Satellite imagery is used to examine the development and areal distribution of 1987 forest fires in this region. Overall trace gas emissions to the atmosphere from these fires are determined using a satellite-derived estimate of area burned in combination with fuel consumption figures and carbon emission ratios for boreal forest fires.

Using simulated historical time series to prioritize fuel treatments on landscapes across the United States: The LANDFIRE prototype project

USGS Publications Warehouse

Keane, Robert E.; Rollins, Matthew; Zhu, Zhi-Liang

2007-01-01

Canopy and surface fuels in many fire-prone forests of the United States have increased over the last 70 years as a result of modern fire exclusion policies, grazing, and other land management activities. The Healthy Forest Restoration Act and National Fire Plan establish a national commitment to reduce fire hazard and restore fire-adapted ecosystems across the USA. The primary index used to prioritize treatment areas across the nation is Fire Regime Condition Class (FRCC) computed as departures of current conditions from the historical fire and landscape conditions. This paper describes a process that uses an extensive set of ecological models to map FRCC from a departure statistic computed from simulated time series of historical landscape composition. This mapping process uses a data-driven, biophysical approach where georeferenced field data, biogeochemical simulation models, and spatial data libraries are integrated using spatial statistical modeling to map environmental gradients that are then used to predict vegetation and fuels characteristics over space. These characteristics are then fed into a landscape fire and succession simulation model to simulate a time series of historical landscape compositions that are then compared to the composition of current landscapes to compute departure, and the FRCC values. Intermediate products from this process are then used to create ancillary vegetation, fuels, and fire regime layers that are useful in the eventual planning and implementation of fuel and restoration treatments at local scales. The complex integration of varied ecological models at different scales is described and problems encountered during the implementation of this process in the LANDFIRE prototype project are addressed.

Spatial patterns and controls on historical fire regimes and forest structure in the Klamath Mountains

Treesearch

Alan H. Taylor; Carl N. Skinner

2003-01-01

Fire exclusion in mixed conifer forests has increased the risk of fire due to decades of fuel accumulation. Restoration of fire into altered forests is a challenge because of a poor understanding of the spatial and temporal dynamics of fire regimes. In this study the spatial and temporal characteristics of fire regimes and forest age structure are reconstructed in a...

Fuel variability following wildfire in forests with mixed severity fire regimes, Cascade Range, USA

Treesearch

Jessica L. Hudec; David L. Peterson

2012-01-01

Fire severity influences post-burn structure and composition of a forest and the potential for a future fire to burn through the area. The effects of fire on forests with mixed severity fire regimes are difficult to predict and interpret because the quantity, structure, and composition of forest fuels vary considerably. This study examines the relationship between fire...

Changing patterns of fire occurrence in proximity to forest edges, roads and rivers between NW Amazonian countries

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Armenteras, Dolors; Barreto, Joan Sebastian; Tabor, Karyn; Molowny-Horas, Roberto; Retana, Javier

2017-06-01

Tropical forests in NW Amazonia are highly threatened by the expansion of the agricultural frontier and subsequent deforestation. Fire is used, both directly and indirectly, in Brazilian Amazonia to propagate deforestation and increase forest accessibility. Forest fragmentation, a measure of forest degradation, is also attributed to fire occurrence in the tropics. However, outside the Brazilian Legal Amazonia the role of fire in increasing accessibility and forest fragmentation is less explored. In this study, we compared fire regimes in five countries that share this tropical biome in the most north-westerly part of the Amazon Basin (Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Brazil). We analysed spatial differences in the timing of peak fire activity and in relation to proximity to roads and rivers using 12 years of MODIS active fire detections. We also distinguished patterns of fire in relation to forest fragmentation by analysing fire distance to the forest edge as a measure of fragmentation for each country. We found significant hemispheric differences in peak fire occurrence with the highest number of fires in the south in 2005 vs. 2007 in the north. Despite this, both hemispheres are equally affected by fire. We also found difference in peak fire occurrence by country. Fire peaked in February in Colombia and Venezuela, whereas it peaked in September in Brazil and Peru, and finally Ecuador presented two fire peaks in January and October. We confirmed the relationship between fires and forest fragmentation for all countries and also found significant differences in the distance between the fire and the forest edge for each country. Fires were associated with roads and rivers in most countries. These results can inform land use planning at the regional, national and subnational scales to minimize the contribution of road expansion and subsequent access to the Amazonian natural resources to fire occurrence and the associated deforestation and carbon emissions.

A second-order impact model for forest fire regimes.

PubMed

Maggi, Stefano; Rinaldi, Sergio

2006-09-01

We present a very simple "impact" model for the description of forest fires and show that it can mimic the known characteristics of wild fire regimes in savannas, boreal forests, and Mediterranean forests. Moreover, the distribution of burned biomasses in model generated fires resemble those of burned areas in numerous large forests around the world. The model has also the merits of being the first second-order model for forest fires and the first example of the use of impact models in the study of ecosystems.

Modeling the Effects of Fire Frequency and Severity on Forests in the Northwestern United States

USGS Publications Warehouse

Busing, Richard T.; Solomon, Allen M.

2006-01-01

This study used a model of forest dynamics (FORCLIM) and actual forest survey data to demonstrate the effects of various fire regimes on different forest types in the Pacific Northwest. We examined forests in eight ecoregions ranging from wet coastal forests dominated by Pseudotsuga menziesii and other tall conifers to dry interior forests dominated by Pinus ponderosa. Fire effects simulated as elevated mortality of trees based on their species and size did alter forest structure and species composition. Low frequency fires characteristic of wetter forests (return interval >200 yr) had minor effects on composition. When fires were severe, they tended to reduce total basal area with little regard to species differences. High frequency fires characteristic of drier forests (return interval <30 yr) had major effects on species composition and on total basal area. Typically, they caused substantial reductions in total basal area and shifts in dominance toward highly fire tolerant species. With the addition of fire, simulated basal areas averaged across ecoregions were reduced to levels approximating observed basal areas.

Assessment of Post Forest Fire Landslides in Uttarakhand Himalaya, India

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sharma, N.; Singh, R. B.

2017-12-01

According to Forest Survey of India-State Forest Report (2015), the total geographical area of Uttarakhand is 53, 483 covers km2 out of which 24,402 km2 area covers under total forest covers. As noticed during last week of April, 2016 forest of Uttarakhand mountains was gutted down due to major incidences of fire. This incident caused huge damage to different species of flora-fauna, human being, livestock, property and destruction of mountain ecosystem. As per media reports, six people were lost their lives and recorded several charred carcasses of livestock's due to this incident. The forest fire was affected the eleven out of total thirteen districts which roughly covers the 0.2% (approx.) of total vegetation covers.The direct impact of losses are easy to be estimated but indirect impacts of this forest fire are yet to be occurred. The threat of post Forest fire induced landslides during rainfall is themain concern. Since, after forest fire top soil and rocks are loose due to loss of vegetation as binding and protecting agent against rainfall. Therefore, the pore water pressure and weathering will be very high during rainy season which can cause many landslides in regions affected by forest fire. The demarcation of areas worse affected by forest fire is necessary for issuing alerts to habitations and important infrastructures. These alerts will be based upon region specific probable rainfall forecasting through Indian Meteorological Department (IMD). The main objective is to develop a tool for detecting early forest fire and to create awareness amongst mountain community, researchers and concerned government agencies to take an appropriate measures to minimize the incidences of Forest fire and impact of post forest fire landslides in future through implementation of sustainable mountain strategy.

Remote optical observations of actively burning biomass fires using potassium line spectral emission

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Magidimisha, Edwin; Griffith, Derek J.

2016-02-01

Wildland fires are a widespread, seasonal and largely man-made hazard which have a broad range of negative effects. These wildfires cause not only the destruction of homes, infrastructure, cultivated forests and natural habitats but also contribute to climate change through greenhouse gas emissions and aerosol particle production. Global satellite-based monitoring of biomass burning using thermal infrared sensors is currently a powerful tool to assist in finding ways to establish suppression strategies and to understand the role that fires play in global climate change. Advances in silicon-based camera technology present opportunities to resolve the challenge of ubiquitous wildfire early detection in a cost-effective manner. This study investigated several feasibility aspects of detecting wildland fires using near-infrared (NIR) spectral line emissions from electronically excited potassium (K) atoms at wavelengths of 766.5 and 769.9 nm, during biomass burning.

Mitigating wildland fire hazard using complex network centrality measures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Russo, Lucia; Russo, Paola; Siettos, Constantinos I.

2016-12-01

We show how to distribute firebreaks in heterogeneous forest landscapes in the presence of strong wind using complex network centrality measures. The proposed framework is essentially a two-tire one: at the inner part a state-of- the-art Cellular Automata model is used to compute the weights of the underlying lattice network while at the outer part the allocation of the fire breaks is scheduled in terms of a hierarchy of centralities which influence the most the spread of fire. For illustration purposes we applied the proposed framework to a real-case wildfire that broke up in Spetses Island, Greece in 1990. We evaluate the scheme against the benchmark of random allocation of firebreaks under the weather conditions of the real incident i.e. in the presence of relatively strong winds.

Assessment of forest fire impacts and emissions in the European Union based on the European forest fire information system

Treesearch

Paulo Barbosa; Andrea Camia; Jan Kucera; Giorgio Libertá; Ilaria Palumbo; Jesus San-Miguel-Ayanz; Guido Schmuck

2009-01-01

An analysis on the number of forest fires and burned area distribution as retrieved by the European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS) database is presented. On average, from 2000 to 2005 about...

Innovations in fuels management: Demonstrating success in treating a serious threat of wildfire in Northern Minnesota

Treesearch

Dennis Neitzke

2007-01-01

This case study illustrates the positive effects of strategic fuels treatments in continuous heavy fuels. In 1999, a severe windstorm blew down close to 1,000 square miles of forest land in northern Minnesota and Canada. As much as 400,000 acres of the blowdown occurred in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. Fire experts were invited to assess the hazardous...

Timber product implications of a program of mechanical fuel treatments applied on public timberland in the Western United States

Treesearch

Barbour R. James.; Xiaoping Zhou; Jeffrey P. Prestemon

2008-01-01

This study reports the results from a 5 year simulation of forest thinning intended to reduce fire hazard on publicly managed lands in the western United States. A state simulation model of interrelated timber markets was used to evaluate the timber product outputs. Approximately 84 million acres (34 million hectares), or 66% of total timberland in the western United...

Plant succession on a cut-over, burned, and grazed Douglas fir area.

Treesearch

Elbert H. Reid; Leo A. Isaac; G.D. Pickford

1938-01-01

In the Douglas-fir region of Oregon and Washington the protection and use of cut-over forest land are matters of utmost importance. In view of the large acreage of cut-over land and the additions that are being made to it each year, any use of such land that mill bring an immediate financial return, or reduce the fire hazard, without hindering the establishment of a...

Natural and social factors influencing forest fire occurrence at a local spatial scale

Treesearch

Maria Luisa Chas-Amil; Julia M. Touza; Jeffrey P. Prestemon; Colin J. McClean

2012-01-01

Development of efficient forest fire policies requires an understanding of the underlying reasons behind forest fire ignitions. Globally, there is a close relationship between forest fires and human activities, i.e., fires understood as human events due to negligence (e.g., agricultural burning escapes), and deliberate actions (e.g., pyromania, revenge, land use change...

Modeling impacts of fire severity on successional trajectories and future fire behavior in Alaskan boreal forests

Treesearch

Jill F. Johnstone; T. Scott Rupp; Mark Olson; David. Verbyla

2011-01-01

Much of the boreal forest in western North America and Alaska experiences frequent, stand-replacing wildfires. Secondary succession after fire initiates most forest stands and variations in fire characteristics can have strong effects on pathways of succession. Variations in surface fire severity that influence whether regenerating forests are dominated by coniferous...

Fire risk in east-side forests.

Treesearch

Valerie. Rapp

2002-01-01

Wildfire was a natural part of ecosystems in east-side Oregon and Washington before the 20th century. The fire regimes, or characteristic patterns of fire—how often, how hot, how big, what time of year—helped create and maintain various types of forests.Forests are dynamic, and fire interacts with other ecological processes. Fires, forests...

Fire Regime and Land Abandonment in European Russia: Case Study of Smolensk Oblast

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Krylov, A.; McCarty, J. L.; Potapov, P.; Turubanova, S.; Prishchepov, A. V.; Manisha, A.; Romanenkov, V.; Rukhovitch, D.; Koroleva, P.; Hansen, M.

2014-12-01

Fires in anthropogenically-dominated landscapes are generally attributed to ecosystem management, agriculture, and policy drivers. In European Russia, fire mainly occurring on agricultural lands, wetlands, and abandoned lands. In the agricultural practice in Russia prescribed fires are believed to increase pasture and hay productivity, suppress trees and shrub expansion, and reduce fire hazards, with fire frequency fire dependent on land use and agricultural practices. The large-scale socio-economic transition since the fall of the Soviet Union has led to changes in land use and land management, including land abandonment and changing agricultural practices. In June 2014, an extensive field campaign was completed in the Smolensk Oblast, located approximately two hundred kilometers west of Moscow on the border with Belarus. Our field sampling was based on circa 1985 Landsat-based forest cover map (Potapov et al., 2014). Points were randomly selected from the non-forested class of the 1985 classification, prior to the collapse of the Soviet Union. Of total field collects, 55% points were sampled on land in either early or late stage of abandonment, 15% from actively cropped fields, and 30% from hay or pasture. Fire frequency was calculated for the 108 field points using 1 km Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) active fire data for years 2000-2014. Also we calculated percent of points burned in spring 2014 using 30 m Landsat 8 Operational Land Imager (OLI) data to derive burn scars. Actively cropped fields had lowest burn frequency while abandoned lands - early and late stage abandonment - had highest frequency. Fire frequency was significantly higher on wet soils than dry soils, with no relationship between fire frequency and tree canopy cover. We hypothesize, higher fire frequency on abandoned lands was likely due to greater fuel loads and because of traditional belief in rural Russia that fire is efficient way to suppress tree and shrub expansion.

The estimation of territiry predeposition to wildfires

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Panchenko, Ekaterina; Dukarev, Anatoly

2010-05-01

Wildfires have significant environmental effects. The indirect damages because of fires are an emission of various combustion products such as aerosols, greenhouse gases and carcinogen. Analysis of smoke emission show that from 1 ha burning area emitted aerosols from 0.2 to 1 ton. The aim of our research is to estimate biomass burning emission: Biomass Burning Emission=BA x FL x CE x EF, where BA is Burned Area (ha); FL is forest litter cover (cm); CE is Combustion Efficiency (0-1), depends on a class of fire danger; EF is Emission Factor (kg emitted / kg dry-mass burnt). Consequently for estimation of biomass burning emission it is necessary to analyze of territory predisposition to wildfires and give characteristic of combustion material types for detection fire hazard, for prognosis fire origin and extension. Prognosis of occurrence of wildfires and definition of emissions is possible by means of data of depth forest litter, types of vegetation and type of landscapes including concrete weather conditions (seasons, length of arid period, current temperature, wind speed and its direction). The investigated object is the territory Tomskii district near to the city of Tomsk (56° 31 N-85°08 E) - with the population more than 500 thousand people. The conducted analysis of investigated territory and the calculation will be basic prognostic model for researching wildfires.

Landscape fragmentation, severe drought, and the new Amazon forest fire regime.

PubMed

Alencar, Ane A; Brando, Paulo M; Asner, Gregory P; Putz, Francis E

2015-09-01

Changes in weather and land use are transforming the spatial and temporal characteristics of fire regimes in Amazonia, with important effects on the functioning of dense (i.e., closed-canopy), open-canopy, and transitional forests across the Basin. To quantify, document, and describe the characteristics and recent changes in forest fire regimes, we sampled 6 million ha of these three representative forests of the eastern and southern edges of the Amazon using 24 years (1983-2007) of satellite-derived annual forest fire scar maps and 16 years of monthly hot pixel information (1992-2007). Our results reveal that changes in forest fire regime properties differentially affected these three forest types in terms of area burned and fire scar size, frequency, and seasonality. During the study period, forest fires burned 15% (0.3 million ha), 44% (1 million ha), and 46% (0.6 million ha) of dense, open, and transitional forests, respectively. Total forest area burned and fire scar size tended to increase over time (even in years of average rainfall in open canopy and transitional forests). In dense forests, most of the temporal variability in fire regime properties was linked to El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO)-related droughts. Compared with dense forests, transitional and open forests experienced fires twice as frequently, with at least 20% of these forests' areas burning two or more times during the 24-year study period. Open and transitional forests also experienced higher deforestation rates than dense forests. During drier years, the end of the dry season was delayed by about a month, which resulted in larger burn scars and increases in overall area burned later in the season. These observations suggest that climate-mediated forest flammability is enhanced by landscape fragmentation caused by deforestation, as observed for open and transitional forests in the Eastern portion of the Amazon Basin.

Creation and implementation of a certification system for insurability and fire risk classification for forest plantations

Treesearch

Veronica Loewe M.; Victor Vargas; Juan Miguel Ruiz; Andrea Alvarez C.; Felipe Lobo Q.

2015-01-01

Currently, the Chilean insurance market sells forest fire insurance policies and agricultural weather risk policies. However, access to forest fire insurance is difficult for small and medium enterprises (SMEs), with a significant proportion (close to 50%) of forest plantations being without coverage. Indeed, the insurance market that sells forest fire insurance...

77 FR 18997 - Rim Lakes Forest Restoration Project; Apache-Sitgreavese National Forest, Black Mesa Ranger...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-03-29

... uncharacteristicly high-severity wild fires, which can lead to loss of entire stands during one fire event. About 67..., fire, and wind. The purpose of the project is to restore forest health, move forests toward an uneven-aged forest structure with all age classes represented, and restore frequent, periodic surface fire as...

Protection against fire in the mountainous forests of Greece case study: forest complex of W. Nestos

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Drosos, Vasileios C.; Giannoulas, Vasileios J.; Stergiadou, Anastasia; Karagiannis, Evaggelos; Doukas, Aristotelis-Kosmas G.

2014-08-01

Forest fires are an ancient phenomenon. Appear, however, with devastating frequency and intensity over the last 30 years. In our country, the climatic conditions in combination with the intense relief, favor their rapid spread. Considering the fact that environmental conditions provided for decades even worse (increased temperature, drought and vegetation), then the problem of forest fires in our country, is expected to become more intense. The work focuses on the optimization model of the opening up of the forest mountain areas taking into account the prevention and suppression of forest fires. Research area is the mountain forest complex of W. Nestos of Drama Prefecture. The percentage of forest protection area is examined under the light whether the total hose length corresponds to the actual operational capacity to reach a fire source. For this reason are decided to present a three case study concerning area of the forest being protected by fire extinguishing vehicles. The first one corresponds to a fire suppression bandwidth (buffer zone) with a capacity radius of 150m uphill and 250m downhill from the origin point where the fire extinguishing vehicle stands. The second one corresponds to a fire suppression capacity of 200m uphill and 400m downhill and the third one corresponds to a fire suppression capacity of 300m uphill and 500m downhill. The most important forest technical infrastructures to prevent fire are roads network (opening up) for fire protection and buffer zones. Patrols of small and agile 4 × 4 appropriately equipped (pipe length of 500 meters and putting pressure on uphill to 300 meters) for the first attack of the fire in the summer months coupled with early warning of fire observatories adequately cover the forest protection of W. Nestos complex. But spatial distribution needed improvements to a road density of the optimum economic Dec, both forest protection and for better management (skidding) of woody capital.

Alternative characterization of forest fire regimes: incorporating spatial patterns

Treesearch

Brandon M. Collins; Jens T. Stevens; Jay D. Miller; Scott L. Stephens; Peter M. Brown; Malcolm P. North

2017-01-01

ContextThe proportion of fire area that experienced stand-replacing fire effects is an important attribute of individual fires and fire regimes in forests, and this metric has been used to group forest types into characteristic fire regimes. However, relying on proportion alone ignores important spatial characteristics...

A study of forest fire danger district division in Lushan Mountain based on RS and GIS

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xiao, Jinxiang; Huang, Shu-E.; Zhong, Anjian; Zhu, Biqin; Ye, Qing; Sun, Lijun

2009-09-01

The study selected 9 factors, average maximum temperature, average temperature, average precipitation, average the longest days of continuous drought and average wind speed during fire prevention period, vegetation type, altitude, slope and aspect as the index of forest fire danger district division, which has taken the features of Lushan Mountain's forest fire history into consideration, then assigned subjective weights to each factor according to their sensitivity to fire or their fire-inducing capability. By remote sensing and GIS, vegetation information layer were gotten from Landsat TM image and DEM with a scale of 1:50000 was abstracted from the digital scanned relief map. Topography info. (elevation, slope, aspect) layers could be gotten after that. A climate resource databank that contained the data from the stations of Lushan Mountain and other nearby 7 stations was built up and extrapolated through the way of grid extrapolation in order to make the distribution map of climate resource. Finally synthetical district division maps were made by weighing and integrating all the single factor special layers,and the study area were divided into three forest fire danger district, include special fire danger district, I-fire danger district and II-fire danger district. It could be used as a basis for developing a forest fire prevention system, preparing the annual investment plan, allocating reasonably the investment of fire prevention, developing the program of forest fire prevention and handle, setting up forest fire brigade, leaders' decisions on forest fire prevention work.

Analysis of zone of vulnurability and impact of forest fires in forest ecosystems in north algeria by susing remote sensing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zegrar, Ahmed

2010-05-01

The Forest in steppe present ecological diversity, and seen climatic unfavourable conditions in zone and impact of forest fires; we notes deterioration of physical environment particularly, deterioration of natural forest. This deterioration of forests provokes an unbalance of environment witch provokes a process of deterioration advanced in the ultimate stadium is desertification. By elsewhere, where climatic conditions are favourable, the fire is an ecological and acted agent like integral part of evolution of the ecosystems, the specific regeneration of plants are influenced greatly by the regime of fire (season of fire, intensity, interval), witch leads to the recuperation of the vegetation of meadow- fire. In this survey we used the pictures ALSAT-1 for detection of zones with risk of forest fire and their impact on the naturals forests in region named TLEMCEN in the north west of Algeria. A thematic detailed analysis of forests well attended ecosystems some processing on the picture ALSAT-1, we allowed to identify and classifying the forests in there opinion components flowers. We identified ampleness of fire on this zone also. Some parameters as the slope, the proximity to the road and the forests formations were studied in the goal of determining the zones to risk of forest fire. A crossing of diaper of information in a GIS according to a very determined logic allowed classifying the zones in degree of risk of fire in semi arid zone witch forest zone not encouraging the regeneration but permitting the installation of cash of steppe which encourages the desertification.

Examining fire-induced forest changes using novel remote sensing technique: a case study in a mixed pine-oak forest

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Meng, R.; Wu, J.; Zhao, F. R.; Cook, B.; Hanavan, R. P.; Serbin, S.

2017-12-01

Fire-induced forest changes has long been a central focus for forest ecology and global carbon cycling studies, and is becoming a pressing issue for global change biologists particularly with the projected increases in the frequency and intensity of fire with a warmer and drier climate. Compared with time-consuming and labor intensive field-based approaches, remote sensing offers a promising way to efficiently assess fire effects and monitor post-fire forest responses across a range of spatial and temporal scales. However, traditional remote sensing studies relying on simple optical spectral indices or coarse resolution imagery still face a number of technical challenges, including confusion or contamination of the signal by understory dynamics and mixed pixels with moderate to coarse resolution data (>= 30 m). As such, traditional remote sensing may not meet the increasing demand for more ecologically-meaningful monitoring and quantitation of fire-induced forest changes. Here we examined the use of novel remote sensing technique (i.e. airborne imaging spectroscopy and LiDAR measurement, very high spatial resolution (VHR) space-borne multi-spectral measurement, and high temporal-spatial resolution UAS-based (Unmanned Aerial System) imagery), in combination with field and phenocam measurements to map forest burn severity across spatial scales, quantify crown-scale post-fire forest recovery rate, and track fire-induced phenology changes in the burned areas. We focused on a mixed pine-oak forest undergoing multiple fire disturbances for the past several years in Long Island, NY as a case study. We demonstrate that (1) forest burn severity mapping from VHR remote sensing measurement can capture crown-scale heterogeneous fire patterns over large-scale; (2) the combination of VHR optical and structural measurements provides an efficient means to remotely sense species-level post-fire forest responses; (3) the UAS-based remote sensing enables monitoring of fire-induced forest phenology changes at unprecedented temporal and spatial resolutions. This work provides the methodological approach monitor fire-induced forest changes in a spatially explicit manner across scales, with important implications for fire-related forest management and for constraining/benchmarking process models.

Potential climate change impacts on fire intensity and key wildfire suppression thresholds in Canada

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wotton, B. M.; Flannigan, M. D.; Marshall, G. A.

2017-09-01

Much research has been carried out on the potential impacts of climate change on forest fire activity in the boreal forest. Indeed, there is a general consensus that, while change will vary regionally across the vast extent of the boreal, in general the fire environment will become more conducive to fire. Land management agencies must consider ways to adapt to these new conditions. This paper examines the impact of that changed fire environment on overall wildfire suppression capability. We use multiple General Circulation Models and carbon emission pathways to generate future fire environment scenarios for Canada’s forested region. We then use these scenarios with the Canadian Forest Fire Behaviour Prediction System and spatial coverages of the current forest fuel composition across the landscape to examine potential variation in key fire behaviour outputs that influence whether fire management resources can effectively suppress fire. Specifically, we evaluate how the potential for crown fire occurrence and active growth of fires changes with the changing climate. We also examine future fire behaviour through the lens of operational fire intensity thresholds used to guide decisions about resources effectiveness. Results indicate that the proportion of days in fire seasons with the potential for unmanageable fire will increase across Canada’s forest, more than doubling in some regions in northern and eastern boreal forest.

Decreases in net primary production and net ecosystem production along a repeated-fires induced forest/grassland gradient

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cheng, C. H.; Huang, Y. H.; Chung-Yu, L.; Menyailo, O.

2016-12-01

Fire is one of the most important disturbances in ecosystems. Fire rapidly releases stored carbon into atmosphere and also plays critical roles on soil properties, light and moisture regimes, and plant structures and communities. With the interventions of climate change and human activities, fire regimes become more severe and frequent. In many parts of world, forest fire regimes can be further altered by grass invasion because the invasive grasses create a positive feedback cycle through their rapid recovery after fires and their high flammability during dry periods and allow forests to be burned repeatedly in a relatively short time. For such invasive grass-fire cycle, a great change of native vegetation community can occur. In this study, we examined a C4 invasive grass () fire-induced forest/grassland gradient to quantify the changes of net primary production (NPP) and net ecosystem production (NEP) from an unburned forest to repeated fire grassland. Our results demonstrated negative effects of repeated fires on NPP and NEP. Within 4 years of the onset of repeated fires on the unburned forest, NPP declined by 14%, mainly due to the reduction in aboveground NPP but offset by increase of belowground NPP. Subsequent fires cumulatively caused reductions in both aboveground and belowground NPP. A total of 40% reduction in the long-term repeated fire induced grassland was found. Soil respiration rate were not significantly different along the forest/grassland gradient. Thus, a great reduction in NEP were shown in grassland, which shifted from 4.6 Mg C ha-1 yr-1 in unburnt forest to -2.6 Mg C ha-1 yr-1. Such great losses are critical within the context of forest carbon cycling and long-term sustainability. Forest management practices that can effectively reduce the likelihood of repeated fires and consequent likelihood of establishment of the grass fire cycle are essential for protecting the forest.

Shifts in functional traits elevate risk of fire-driven tree dieback in tropical savanna and forest biomes.

PubMed

Pellegrini, Adam F A; Franco, Augusto C; Hoffmann, William A

2016-03-01

Numerous predictions indicate rising CO2 will accelerate the expansion of forests into savannas. Although encroaching forests can sequester carbon over the short term, increased fires and drought-fire interactions could offset carbon gains, which may be amplified by the shift toward forest plant communities more susceptible to fire-driven dieback. We quantify how bark thickness determines the ability of individual tree species to tolerate fire and subsequently determine the fire sensitivity of ecosystem carbon across 180 plots in savannas and forests throughout the 2.2-million km(2) Cerrado region in Brazil. We find that not accounting for variation in bark thickness across tree species underestimated carbon losses in forests by ~50%, totaling 0.22 PgC across the Cerrado region. The lower bark thicknesses of plant species in forests decreased fire tolerance to such an extent that a third of carbon gains during forest encroachment may be at risk of dieback if burned. These results illustrate that consideration of trait-based differences in fire tolerance is critical for determining the climate-carbon-fire feedback in tropical savanna and forest biomes. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Defining fire environment zones in the boreal forests of northeastern China.

PubMed

Wu, Zhiwei; He, Hong S; Yang, Jian; Liang, Yu

2015-06-15

Fire activity in boreal forests will substantially increase with prolonged growing seasons under a warming climate. This trend poses challenges to managing fires in boreal forest landscapes. A fire environment zone map offers a basis for evaluating these fire-related problems and designing more effective fire management plans to improve the allocation of management resources across a landscape. Toward that goal, we identified three fire environment zones across boreal forest landscapes in northeastern China using analytical methods to identify spatial clustering of the environmental variables of climate, vegetation, topography, and human activity. The three fire environment zones were found to be in strong agreement with the spatial distributions of the historical fire data (occurrence, size, and frequency) for 1966-2005. This paper discusses how the resulting fire environment zone map can be used to guide forest fire management and fire regime prediction. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Early forest dynamics in stand-replacing fire patches in the northern Sierra Nevada, California, USA

Treesearch

Brandon M. Collins; Gary B. Roller

2013-01-01

There is considerable concern over the occurrence of stand-replacing fire in forest types historically associated with low- to moderate-severity fire. The concern is largely over whether contemporary levels of stand-replacing fire are outside the historical range of variability, and what natural forest recovery is in these forest types following stand-replacing fire....

Spatiotemporal patterns of fire-induced forest mortality in boreal regions and its potential drivers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, J.; Tian, H.; Pan, S.; Hansen, M.; Wang, Y.

2017-12-01

Wildfire is the major natural disturbance in boreal forests, which have substantially affected various biological and biophysical processes. Although a few previous studies examined fire severity in boreal regions and reported a higher fire-induced forest mortality in boreal North America than in boreal Eurasia, it remains unclear how this mortality changes over time and how environmental factors affect the temporal dynamics of mortality at a large scale. By using a combination of multiple sources of satellite observations, we investigate the spatiotemporal patterns of fire-induced forest mortality in boreal regions, and examine the contributions of potential drivers. Our results show that forest composition is the key factor influencing the spatial variations of fire mortality across ecoregions. For the temporal variations, we find that the late-season burning was associated with higher fire intensity, which lead to greater forest mortality than the early-season burning. Forests burned in the warm and dry years had greater mortality than those burned in the cool and wet years. Our findings suggest that climate warming and drying not only stimulated boreal fire frequency, but also enhanced fire severity and forest mortality. Due to the significant effects of forest mortality on vegetation structure and ecosystem carbon dynamics, the spatiotemporal changes of fire-induced forest mortality should be explicitly considered to better understand fire impacts on regional and global climate change.

Effects of fire on small mammal communities in frequent-fire forests in California

USGS Publications Warehouse

Roberts, Susan L.; Kelt, Douglas A.; Van Wagtendonk, Jan W.; Miles, A. Keith; Meyer, Marc D.

2015-01-01

Fire is a natural, dynamic process that is integral to maintaining ecosystem function. The reintroduction of fire (e.g., prescribed fire, managed wildfire) is a critical management tool for protecting many frequent-fire forests against stand-replacing fires while restoring an essential ecological process. Understanding the effects of fire on forests and wildlife communities is important in natural resource planning efforts. Small mammals are key components of forest food webs and essential to ecosystem function. To investigate the relationship of fire to small mammal assemblages, we live trapped small mammals in 10 burned and 10 unburned forests over 2 years in the central Sierra Nevada, California. Small mammal abundance was higher in unburned forests, largely reflecting the greater proportion of closed-canopy species such as Glaucomys sabrinus in unburned forests. The most abundant species across the entire study area was the highly adaptable generalist species, Peromyscus maniculatus. Species diversity was similar between burned and unburned forests, but burned forests were characterized by greater habitat heterogeneity and higher small mammal species evenness. The use and reintroduction of fire to maintain a matrix of burn severities, including large patches of unburned refugia, creates a heterogeneous and resilient landscape that allows for fire-sensitive species to proliferate and, as such, may help maintain key ecological functions and diverse small mammal assemblages.

The influence of fire on lepidopteran abundance and community structure in forested habitats of eastern Texas

Treesearch

D. Craig Rudolph; Charles A. Ely

2000-01-01

Transect surveys were used to examine the influence of fire on lepidopteran communities (Papilionoidea and Hesperioidea) in forested habitats in eastern Texas. Lepidopteran abundance was greater in pine forests where prescribed fire maintained an open mid- and understory compared to forests where fire had less impact on forest structure. Ahundance of nectar sources...

Long-term effects of prescribed fire on mixed conifer forest structure in the Sierra Nevada, California

USGS Publications Warehouse

van Mantgem, Phillip J.; Stephenson, Nathan L.; Knapp, Eric; Keeley, Jon E.

2011-01-01

The capacity of prescribed fire to restore forest conditions is often judged by changes in forest structure within a few years following burning. However, prescribed fire might have longer-term effects on forest structure, potentially changing treatment assessments. We examined annual changes in forest structure in five 1 ha old-growth plots immediately before prescribed fire and up to eight years after fire at Sequoia National Park, California. Fire-induced declines in stem density (67% average decrease at eight years post-fire) were nonlinear, taking up to eight years to reach a presumed asymptote. Declines in live stem biomass were also nonlinear, but smaller in magnitude (32% average decrease at eight years post-fire) as most large trees survived the fires. The preferential survival of large trees following fire resulted in significant shifts in stem diameter distributions. Mortality rates remained significantly above background rates up to six years after the fires. Prescribed fire did not have a large influence on the representation of dominant species. Fire-caused mortality appeared to be spatially random, and therefore did not generally alter heterogeneous tree spatial patterns. Our results suggest that prescribed fire can bring about substantial changes to forest structure in old-growth mixed conifer forests in the Sierra Nevada, but that long-term observations are needed to fully describe some measures of fire effects.

Latent resilience in ponderosa pine forest: effects of resumed frequent fire.

PubMed

Larson, Andrew J; Belote, R Travis; Cansler, C Alina; Parks, Sean A; Dietz, Matthew S

2013-09-01

Ecological systems often exhibit resilient states that are maintained through negative feedbacks. In ponderosa pine forests, fire historically represented the negative feedback mechanism that maintained ecosystem resilience; fire exclusion reduced that resilience, predisposing the transition to an alternative ecosystem state upon reintroduction of fire. We evaluated the effects of reintroduced frequent wildfire in unlogged, fire-excluded, ponderosa pine forest in the Bob Marshall Wilderness, Montana, USA. Initial reintroduction of fire in 2003 reduced tree density and consumed surface fuels, but also stimulated establishment of a dense cohort of lodgepole pine, maintaining a trajectory toward an alternative state. Resumption of a frequent fire regime by a second fire in 2011 restored a low-density forest dominated by large-diameter ponderosa pine by eliminating many regenerating lodgepole pines and by continuing to remove surface fuels and small-diameter lodgepole pine and Douglas-fir that established during the fire suppression era. Our data demonstrate that some unlogged, fire-excluded, ponderosa pine forests possess latent resilience to reintroduced fire. A passive model of simply allowing lightning-ignited fires to burn appears to be a viable approach to restoration of such forests.

Avian community responses to post-fire forest structure: implications for fire management in mixed conifer forests

Treesearch

Angela White; Patricia Manley; Gina Tarbill; T. W. Richardson; R. E. Russell; H. D. Safford; S. Z. Dobrowski

2016-01-01

Fire is a natural process and the dominant disturbance shaping plant and animal communities in many coniferous forests of the western US. Given that fire size and severity are predicted to increase in the future, it has become increasingly important to understand how wildlife responds to fire and post-fire management. The Angora Fire...

Forest fires impact in semi arid lands in Algeria, analysis and followed of desertification by using remote sensing and GIS

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zegrar, Ahmed

The Forest in steppe present ecological diversity, and seen climatic unfavourable conditions in zone and impact of forest fires; we notes deterioration of physical environment particularly, deterioration of natural forest. This deterioration of forests provokes an unbalance of environment witch provokes a process of deterioration advanced in the ultimate stadium is desertification. By elsewhere, where climatic conditions are favourable, the fire is an ecological and acted agent like integral part of evolution of the ecosystems, the specific regeneration of plants are influenced greatly by the regime of fire (season of fire, intensity, interval), who leads to the recuperation of the vegetation of meadow- fire. In this survey we used the pictures ALSAT-1 for detection of zones with risk of forest fire and their impact on the naturals forests in region of Tlemcen. A thematic detailed analysis of forests well attended ecosystems some processing on the picture ALSAT-1, we allowed to identify and classifying the forests in there opinion components flowers. we identified ampleness of fire on this zone also. Some parameters as the slope, the proximity to the road and the forests formations were studied in the goal of determining the zones to risk of forest fire. A crossing of diaper of information in a SIG according to a very determined logic allowed to classify the zones in degree of risk of fire in a middle arid in a forest zone not encouraging the regeneration on the other hand permitting the installation of cash of steppe which encourages the desertification.

Hydrologic Vulnerability and Risk Assessment Associated With the Increased Role of Fire on Western Landscapes, Great Basin, USA

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Williams, C. J.; Pierson, F. B.; Robichaud, P. R.; Spaeth, K. E.; Hardegree, S. P.; Clark, P. E.; Moffet, C. A.; Al-Hamdan, O. Z.; Boll, J.

2010-12-01

Landscape-scale plant community transitions and altered fire regimes across Great Basin, USA, rangelands have increased the likelihood of post-fire flooding and erosion events. These hazards are particularly concerning for western urban centers along the rangeland urban-wildland interface where natural resources, property, and human life are at risk. Extensive conversion of 4-7 million hectares of Great Basin shrub-steppe to cheatgrass-dominated (Bromus tectorum) grasslands has increased the frequency and size of wildland fires within these ecosystems. Fire frequencies have increased by more than an order of magnitude and occur on 3-10 year intervals across much of the cheatgrass-dominated landscape. Extensive tree (Pinus spp. and Juniperus spp.) encroachment into wooded shrub-steppe has increased heavy fuel loads. Ladder fuels in these ecosystems promote rapidly spreading, high-intensity and severe ground-surface-crown fires. These altered fuel structures across much of the historical Great Basin shrub-steppe have initiated an upsurge in large rangeland wildfires and have increased the spatial and temporal vulnerability of these landscapes to amplified runoff and erosion. Resource and infrastructure damages, and loss of life have been reported due to flooding following recent large-scale burning of western rangelands and dry forests. We present a decade of post-fire rangeland hydrologic research that provides a foundation for conceptual modeling of the hydrologic impacts associated with an increased role of rangeland wildfires. We highlight advancements in predictive tools to address this large-scale phenomenon and discuss vital research voids requiring attention. Our geographic emphasis is the Great Basin Region, however, these concepts likely extend elsewhere given the increased role of fire in many geographic regions and across rangeland-to-forest ecotones in the western United States.

Thirty-Two Years of Forest Service Research at the Southern Forest Fire Laboratory in Macon, GA

Treesearch

USDA Forest Service

1991-01-01

When completed in 1959, the Southern Forest Fire Laboratory was the world?s first devoted entirely to the study of forest fires, Since then the scientists at the Laboratory have: 1) performed basic and applied research on critical fire problems of national interest, 2) conducted special regional research on fire problems peculiar to the 13 Southern States, and 3)...

Modern fire regime resembles historical fire regime in a ponderosa pine forest on Native American land

Treesearch

Amanda B. Stan; Peter Z. Fule; Kathryn B. Ireland; Jamie S. Sanderlin

2014-01-01

Forests on tribal lands in the western United States have seen the return of low-intensity surface fires for several decades longer than forests on non-tribal lands. We examined the surface fire regime in a ponderosa pinedominated (Pinus ponderosa) forest on the Hualapai tribal lands in the south-western United States. Using fire-scarred trees, we inferred temporal (...

Simulations of Forest Fires by the Cellular Automata Model "ABBAMPAU"

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

di Gregorio, S.; Bendicenti, E.

2003-04-01

Forest fires represent a serious environmental problem, whose negative impact is becoming day by day more worrisome. Forest fires are very complex phenomena; that need an interdisciplinary approach. The adopted method to modelling involves the definition of local rules, from which the global behaviour of the system can emerge. The paradigm of Cellular Automata was applied and the model ABBAMPAU was projected to simulate the evolution of forest fires. Cellular Automata features (parallelism and a-centrism) seem to match the system "forest fire"; the parameters, describing globally a forest fire, i.e. propagation rate, flame length and direction, fireline intensity, fire duration time et c. are mainly depending on some local characteristics i.e. vegetation type (live and dead fuel), relative humidity, fuel moisture, heat, territory morphology (altitude, slope), et c.. The only global characteristic is given by wind velocity and direction, but wind velocity and direction is locally altered according to the morphology; therefore wind has also to be considered at local level. ABBAMPAU accounts for the following aspects of the phenomenon: effects of combustion in surface and crown fire inside the cell, crown fire triggering off; surface and crown fire spread, determination of the local wind rate and direction. A validation of ABBAMPAU was tested on a real case of forest fire, in the territory of Villaputzu, Sardinia island, August 22nd, 1998. First simulations account for the main characteristics of the phenomenon and agree with the observations. The results show that the model could be applied for the forest fire preventions, the productions of risk scenarios and the evaluation of the forest fire environmental impact.

Modeling of natural risks in GIS, decision support in the Civil Protection and Emergency Planning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Santos, M.; Martins, L.; Moreira, S.; Costa, A.; Matos, F.; Teixeira, M.; Bateira, C.

2012-04-01

The assessment of natural hazards in Civil Protection is essential in the prevention and mitigation of emergency situations. This paper presents the results of the development of mapping susceptibility to landslides, floods, forest fires and soil erosion, using GIS (Geographic Information System) tools in two municipalities - Santo Tirso and Trofa - in the district of Oporto, in the northwest of Portugal. The mapping of natural hazards fits in the legislative plan of the Municipal Civil Protection (Law No. 65/2007 of 12 November) and it provides the key elements to planning and preparing an appropriate response in case some of the processes / phenomena occur, thus optimizing the procedures for protection and relief provided by the Municipal Civil Protection Service. Susceptibility mapping to landslides, floods, forest fires and soil erosion was performed with GIS tools resources. The methodology used to compile the mapping of landslides, forest fires and soil erosion was based on the modeling of different conditioning factors and validated with field work and event log. The mapping of susceptibility to floods and flooding was developed through mathematical parameters (statistical, hydrologic and hydraulic), supported by field work and the recognition of individual characteristics of each sector analysis and subsequently analyzed in a GIS environment The mapping proposal was made in 1:5000 scale which allows not only the identification of large sets affected by the spatial dynamics of the processes / phenomena, but also a more detailed analysis, especially when combined with geographic information systems (GIS) thus allowing to study more specific situations that require a quick response. The maps developed in this study are fundamental to the understanding, prediction and prevention of susceptibility and risks present in the municipalities, being a valuable tool in the process of Emergency Planning, since it identifies priority areas of intervention for farther detail analysis, promote and safeguard mechanisms to prevent injury and it anticipates the possibility of potential interventions that can minimize the risk.

Scientific support to prescribed underburning in southern Europe: What do we know?

PubMed

Fernandes, Paulo M

2018-07-15

Prescribed burning is a technically demanding and usually highly scrutinized and debated practice. Barriers of various natures have constrained the development of prescribed burning in forests (PUB) in southern Europe, with insufficient research and outreach among the contributing factors. This paper synthesizes PUB knowledge in the region and identifies research needs. PUB research in the western Mediterranean basin was fostered by international cooperative projects that studied the ecological and management ramifications of low-intensity burning for fire hazard mitigation. Effects of PUB on soil and vegetation are minor and short-lived and regulated through forest floor moisture content, fire intensity, tree resistance to fire, and ignition patterns. Generic burn prescriptions are available and specific burn windows targeting site-specific burn objectives can be developed with the existing software tools. However, the need to increase the depth and breadth of PUB research is apparent. Current knowledge is based upon pine forests, particularly Pinus pinaster, as past research has overlooked hardwoods; was obtained across a limited number of research teams and study sites; and essentially reflects short-term treatments. Fuel consumption by PUB effectively decreases fire potential, but post-treatment fuel dynamics and effects on wildfire spread and severity warrant further study. Future work should devote more attention to the socioeconomic, biodiversity and carbon storage implications of PUB and should expand to encompass cumulative effects and the whole PUB regime and its variation; long-term experiments and monitored management programs are crucial to this end. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Fire-mediated dieback and compositional cascade in an Amazonian forest.

PubMed

Barlow, Jos; Peres, Carlos A

2008-05-27

The only fully coupled land-atmosphere global climate model predicts a widespread dieback of Amazonian forest cover through reduced precipitation. Although these predictions are controversial, the structural and compositional resilience of Amazonian forests may also have been overestimated, as current vegetation models fail to consider the potential role of fire in the degradation of forest ecosystems. We examine forest structure and composition in the Arapiuns River basin in the central Brazilian Amazon, evaluating post-fire forest recovery and the consequences of recurrent fires for the patterns of dominance of tree species. We surveyed tree plots in unburned and once-burned forests examined 1, 3 and 9 years after an unprecedented fire event, in twice-burned forests examined 3 and 9 years after fire and in thrice-burned forests examined 5 years after the most recent fire event. The number of trees recorded in unburned primary forest control plots was stable over time. However, in both once- and twice-burned forest plots, there was a marked recruitment into the 10-20cm diameter at breast height tree size classes between 3 and 9 years post-fire. Considering tree assemblage composition 9 years after the first fire contact, we observed (i) a clear pattern of community turnover among small trees and the most abundant shrubs and saplings, and (ii) that species that were common in any of the four burn treatments (unburned, once-, twice- and thrice-burned) were often rare or entirely absent in other burn treatments. We conclude that episodic wildfires can lead to drastic changes in forest structure and composition, with cascading shifts in forest composition following each additional fire event. Finally, we use these results to evaluate the validity of the savannization paradigm.

Global spatial assessment of WUI and related land cover in Portugal

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tonini, Marj; Parente, Joana; Pereira, Mário G.

2017-04-01

Forest fires as hazardous events are assuming an increasing importance all around the world, especially in relation to climate changes and to urban sprawl, which makes it difficult to outline a border between human infrastructures and wildland areas. This zone, known as the Wildland Urban Interface (WUI), is defined as the area where structures and other human development meet or intermingle with undeveloped wildland (USDA 2001). Its extension is influenced by anthropogenic features, since, as it was proved, the distance to roads and houses negatively influence the probability of forest fires ignitions, while the population density positively affects it. Land use is also a crucial feature to be considered in the analyses of the impact of forest fires, and each natural, semi-natural and artificial land cover can be affected in a different proportion. The aim of the present study is to investigate and mapping the wildland urban interface and its temporal dynamic in Portugal at global scale. Secondly, it aims at providing a quantitative characterization of forest fires occurred in the last few decades (1990 - 2012) in relation to the burned area and the land covers evolution. The National mapping burnt area dataset (by the Institute for the Conservation of Nature and Forests) provided the information allowing to precisely localize forest fires. The land cover classes were derived from the Corinne Land Cover, available for four periods (1990-2000-2006-2012). The following two classes were retained to outline the WUI: 1) artificial surfaces, as representative of the human development; 2) forest and semi-natural area, as representative of undeveloped wildland. First, we investigated the distribution of the burned areas among the different detailed land covers classes. Then, to map the WUI, we considered a buffer distance around artificial surfaces located in proximity of forests and semi-natural areas. The descriptive statistic carried out individually within each district revealed that in the southern part of the country forest fires are highly dispersed, while in the northern regions they tend to be aggregated around the anthropogenic infrastructures. This WUI-model can be replicated to assess the WUI at different periods, namely 1990, 2000, 2006, and to analyses the evolution of the WUI up to 2012. More accurate analyses at large scale for characterizing and mapping WUI using precise data (e.g. the true houses footprints) will be necessary to give practical indications in term of land and fire management. Nevertheless our study is necessary to give precious suggestions as for what is the global distribution on WUI in Portugal and which regions need to be prioritized in term of WUI extension and fires protection. References: Conedera M., Tonini M., Oleggini L., Vega Orozco C., Leuenberger M., Pezzati G.B. (2015) - Geospatial approach for defining the Wildland-Urban Interface in the Alpine environment. Computers, Environment and Urban Systems, Vol. 52: 10-20 Bouillon C., Fernandez R., Sirca C., Fierro G., Casula F., Vila B., Long Fournel M., Pellizzaro G., Arca B., Tedim F., Trebini F., Derudas A., Cane S. (2014) - A tool for mapping rural-urban interfaces on different scales. Advanced in Forest Fire Research, Imprensa da Universidade de Coimbra ED, pp. 611-625 Acknowledgements: This work was supported by: (i) the FIREXTR project, PTDC/ATP¬GEO/0462/2014; (ii) the project Interact - Integrative Research in Environment,Agro-Chain and Technology, NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000017, research line BEST, cofinanced by FEDER/NORTE 2020; and, (iii) European Investment Funds by FEDER/COMPETE/POCI-Operacional Competitiveness and Internacionalization Programme, under Project POCI-01-0145-FEDER-006958 and National Funds by FCT - Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology, under the project UID/AGR/04033. We are especially grateful to ICNF for providing the fire.

Stand structure, fuelloads, and fire behavior in riparian and upland forests, Sierra Nevada Mountains, USA; a comparison of current and reconstructed conditions

Treesearch

Kip Van de Water; Malcolm North

2011-01-01

Fire plays an important role in shaping many Sierran coniferous forests, but longer fire return intervals and reductions in area burned have altered forest conditions. Productive, mesic riparian forests can accumulate high stem densities and fuel loads, making them susceptible to high-severity fire. Fuels treatments applied to upland forests, however, are...

The largest forest fires in Portugal: the constraints of burned area size on the comprehension of fire severity.

PubMed

Tedim, Fantina; Remelgado, Ruben; Martins, João; Carvalho, Salete

2015-01-01

Portugal is a European country with highest forest fires density and burned area. Since beginning of official forest fires database in 1980, an increase in number of fires and burned area as well as appearance of large and catastrophic fires have characterized fire activity in Portugal. In 1980s, the largest fires were just a little bit over 10,000 ha. However, in the beginning of 21st century several fires occurred with a burned area over 20,000 ha. Some of these events can be classified as mega-fires due to their ecological and socioeconomic severity. The present study aimed to discuss the characterization of large forest fires trend, in order to understand if the largest fires that occurred in Portugal were exceptional events or evidences of a new trend, and the constraints of fire size to characterize fire effects because, usually, it is assumed that larger the fire higher the damages. Using Portuguese forest fire database and satellite imagery, the present study showed that the largest fires could be seen at the same time as exceptional events and as evidence of a new fire regime. It highlighted the importance of size and patterns of unburned patches within fire perimeter as well as heterogeneity of fire ecological severity, usually not included in fire regime description, which are critical to fire management and research. The findings of this research can be used in forest risk reduction and suppression planning.

Fire regime in a Mexican forest under indigenous resource management.

PubMed

Fulé, Peter Z; Ramos-Gómez, Mauro; Cortés-Montaño, Citlali; Miller, Andrew M

2011-04-01

The Rarámuri (Tarahumara) people live in the mountains and canyons of the Sierra Madre Occidental of Chihuahua, Mexico. They base their subsistence on multiple-use strategies of their natural resources, including agriculture, pastoralism, and harvesting of native plants and wildlife. Pino Gordo is a Rarámuri settlement in a remote location where the forest has not been commercially logged. We reconstructed the forest fire regime from fire-scarred trees, measured the structure of the never-logged forest, and interviewed community members about fire use. Fire occurrence was consistent throughout the 19th and 20th centuries up to our fire scar collection in 2004. This is the least interrupted surface-fire regime reported to date in North America. Studies from other relict sites such as nature reserves in Mexico or the USA have all shown some recent alterations associated with industrialized society. At Pino Gordo, fires recurred frequently at the three study sites, with a composite mean fire interval of 1.9 years (all fires) to 7.6 years (fires scarring 25% or more of samples). Per-sample fire intervals averaged 10-14 years at the three sites. Approximately two-thirds of fires burned in the season of cambial dormancy, probably during the pre-monsoonal drought. Forests were dominated by pines and contained many large living trees and snags, in contrast to two nearby similar forests that have been logged. Community residents reported using fire for many purposes, consistent with previous literature on fire use by indigenous people. Pino Gordo is a valuable example of a continuing frequent-fire regime in a never-harvested forest. The Rarámuri people have actively conserved this forest through their traditional livelihood and management techniques, as opposed to logging the forest, and have also facilitated the fire regime by burning. The data contribute to a better understanding of the interactions of humans who live in pine forests and the fire regimes of these ecosystems, a topic that has been controversial and difficult to assess from historical or paleoecological evidence.

Disturbance and productivity interactions mediate stability of forest composition and structure.

PubMed

O'Connor, Christopher D; Falk, Donald A; Lynch, Ann M; Swetnam, Thomas W; Wilcox, Craig P

2017-04-01

Fire is returning to many conifer-dominated forests where species composition and structure have been altered by fire exclusion. Ecological effects of these fires are influenced strongly by the degree of forest change during the fire-free period. Response of fire-adapted species assemblages to extended fire-free intervals is highly variable, even in communities with similar historical fire regimes. This variability in plant community response to fire exclusion is not well understood; however, ecological mechanisms such as individual species' adaptations to disturbance or competition and underlying site characteristics that facilitate or impede establishment and growth have been proposed as potential drivers of assemblage response. We used spatially explicit dendrochronological reconstruction of tree population dynamics and fire regimes to examine the influence of historical disturbance frequency (a proxy for adaptation to disturbance or competition), and potential site productivity (a proxy for underlying site characteristics) on the stability of forest composition and structure along a continuous ecological gradient of pine, dry mixed-conifer, mesic mixed-conifer, and spruce-fir forests following fire exclusion. While average structural density increased in all forests, species composition was relatively stable in the lowest productivity pine-dominated and highest productivity spruce-fir-dominated sites immediately following fire exclusion and for the next 100 years, suggesting site productivity as a primary control on species composition and structure in forests with very different historical fire regimes. Species composition was least stable on intermediate productivity sites dominated by mixed-conifer forests, shifting from primarily fire-adapted species to competition-adapted, fire-sensitive species within 20 years of fire exclusion. Rapid changes to species composition and stand densities have been interpreted by some as evidence of high-severity fire. We demonstrate that the very different ecological process of fire exclusion can produce similar changes by shifting selective pressures from disturbance-mediated to productivity-mediated controls. Restoring disturbance-adapted species composition and structure to intermediate productivity forests may help to buffer them against projected increasing temperatures, lengthening fire seasons, and more frequent and prolonged moisture stress. Fewer management options are available to promote adaptation in forest assemblages historically constrained by underlying site productivity. © 2016 by the Ecological Society of America.

Variation in fire regimes of the Rocky Mountains: Implications for avian communities and fire management

USGS Publications Warehouse

Saab, Victoria A.; Powell, Hugo D.W.; Kotliar, Natasha B.; Newlon, Karen R.; Saab, Victoria A.; Powell, Hugo D.W.

2005-01-01

Information about avian responses to fire in the U.S. Rocky Mountains is based solely on studies of crown fires. However, fire management in this region is based primarily on studies of low-elevation ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) forests maintained largely by frequent understory fires. In contrast to both of these trends, most Rocky Mountain forests are subject to mixed severity fire regimes. As a result, our knowledge of bird responses to fire in the region is incomplete and skewed toward ponderosa pine forests. Research in recent large wildfires across the Rocky Mountains indicates that large burns support diverse avifauna. In the absence of controlled studies of bird responses to fire, we compared reproductive success for six cavity-nesting species using results from studies in burned and unburned habitats. Birds in ponderosa pine forests burned by stand-replacement fire tended to have higher nest success than individuals of the same species in unburned habitats, but unburned areas are needed to serve species dependent upon live woody vegetation, especially foliage gleaners. Over the last century, fire suppression, livestock grazing, and logging altered the structure and composition of many low-elevation forests, leading to larger and more severe burns. In higher elevation forests, changes have been less marked. Traditional low-severity prescribed fire is not likely to replicate historical conditions in these mixed or high-severity fire regimes, which include many mixed coniferous forests and all lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta) and spruce-fi r (Picea-Abies) forests. We suggest four research priorities: (1) the effects of fire severity and patch size on species’ responses to fire, (2) the possibility that postfire forests are ephemeral sources for some bird species, (3) the effect of salvage logging prescriptions on bird communities, and (4) experiments that illustrate bird responses to prescribed fire and other forest restoration methods. This research is urgent if we are to develop fire management strategies that reduce fire risk and maintain habitat for avifauna and other wildlife of the Rocky Mountains.

Variation in fire regimes of the rocky mountains: Implications for avian communities and fire management

USGS Publications Warehouse

Saab, V.A.; Powell, Hugo D.W.; Kotliar, N.B.; Newlon, K.R.

2005-01-01

Information about avian responses to fire in the U.S. Rocky Mountains is based solely on studies of crown fires. However, fire management in this region is based primarily on studies of low-elevation ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) forests maintained largely by frequent understory fires. In contrast to both of these trends, most Rocky Mountain forests are subject to mixed severity fire regimes. As a result, our knowledge of bird responses to fire in the region is incomplete and skewed toward ponderosa pine forests. Research in recent large wildfires across the Rocky Mountains indicates that large burns support diverse avifauna. In the absence of controlled studies of bird responses to fire, we compared reproductive success for six cavity-nesting species using results from studies in burned and unburned habitats. Birds in ponderosa pine forests burned by stand-replacement fire tended to have higher nest success than individuals of the same species in unburned habitats, but unburned areas are needed to serve species dependent upon live woody vegetation, especially foliage gleaners. Over the last century, fire suppression, livestock grazing, and logging altered the structure and composition of many low-elevation forests, leading to larger and more severe burns. In higher elevation forests, changes have been less marked. Traditional low-severity prescribed fire is not likely to replicate historical conditions in these mixed or high-severity fire regimes, which include many mixed coniferous forests and all lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta) and spruce-fir (Picea-Abies) forests. We suggest four research priorities: (1) the effects of fire severity and patch size on species' responses to fire, (2) the possibility that postfire forests are ephemeral sources for some bird species, (3) the effect of salvage logging prescriptions on bird communities, and (4) experiments that illustrate bird responses to prescribed fire and other forest restoration methods. This research is urgent if we are to develop fire management strategies that reduce fire risk and maintain habitat for avifauna and other wildlife of the Rocky Mountains.

The influence of weather and fuel type on the fuel composition of the area burned by forest fires in Ontario, 1996-2006.

PubMed

Podur, Justin J; Martell, David L

2009-07-01

Forest fires are influenced by weather, fuels, and topography, but the relative influence of these factors may vary in different forest types. Compositional analysis can be used to assess the relative importance of fuels and weather in the boreal forest. Do forest or wild land fires burn more flammable fuels preferentially or, because most large fires burn in extreme weather conditions, do fires burn fuels in the proportions they are available despite differences in flammability? In the Canadian boreal forest, aspen (Populus tremuloides) has been found to burn in less than the proportion in which it is available. We used the province of Ontario's Provincial Fuels Database and fire records provided by the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources to compare the fuel composition of area burned by 594 large (>40 ha) fires that occurred in Ontario's boreal forest region, a study area some 430,000 km2 in size, between 1996 and 2006 with the fuel composition of the neighborhoods around the fires. We found that, over the range of fire weather conditions in which large fires burned and in a study area with 8% aspen, fires burn fuels in the proportions that they are available, results which are consistent with the dominance of weather in controlling large fires.

Mathematical modeling of forest fire initiation in three dimensional setting

Treesearch

Valeriy Perminov

2007-01-01

In this study, the assignment and theoretical investigations of the problems of forest fire initiation were carried out, including development of a mathematical model for description of heat and mass transfer processes in overterrestrial layer of atmosphere at crown forest fire initiation, taking into account their mutual influence. Mathematical model of forest fire...

Measurements of forest fire danger

Treesearch

Leo Shames

1938-01-01

Although the annual destruction of life and property attributable to forest fires is enormous, scientific methods of forest fire control in the United States are of comparatively recent origin. In one important phase of control, that of determining how large a network of observers is necessary for the purpose of discovering forest fires in their infancy, accurate means...

Fire regimes and approaches for determining fire history

Treesearch

James K. Agee

1996-01-01

Fire has been an important evolutionary influence in forests, affecting species composition, structure, and functional aspects of forest biology. Restoration of wildland forests of the future will depend in part on restoring fire to an appropriate role in forest ecosystems. This may include the "range of natural variability" or other concepts associated with...

Strategy for increasing the participation of masyarakat peduli api in forest fire control

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ni’mah, N. L. K.; Herdiansyah, H.; Soesilo, T. E. B.; Mutia, E. F.

2018-03-01

Forest fires have negative impact on ecology, health, and damage economic activities. One of conservation areas facing the threat of forest fire is Gunung Ciremai National Park. This research aims to formulate a strategy to increase the participation of Masyarakat Peduli Api in the effort of forest fire control. This research use quantitative method with SWOT analysis. Expert consisting of representatives from the national park, Ministry of Environment and Forestry, and BPBD Kuningan Regency. An alternative strategy based on SWOT analysis is in quadrant 1 with coordinate point (0,39; 1,23). The position shows that sustainability of national park management through forest fire control can be done with an aggressive strategy. That is maximizing the strength that is owned with its potential as an ecotourism area to increase community motivation to engage in forest fire control activities. Provision of tourism management licenses will create employment opportunities and increase income for the community so it is expected to increase community participation to prevent the occurrence of forest fires rather than forest fire prevention.

Effects of prescribed fire on wintering, bark-foraging birds in northern Arizona

Treesearch

Theresa L. Pope

2006-01-01

Forest management practices of the past century have led to an increase in unnatural and destructive crown fires in ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) forests of the southwest. To combat large fires, forest managers are attempting to simulate past fire regimes of low-intensity surface fires using prescribed fire. While there have been many studies...

Disturbance and productivity interactions mediate stability of forest composition and structure

Treesearch

Christopher D. O' Connor; Donald A. Falk; Ann M. Lynch; Thomas W. Swetnam; Craig P. Wilcox

2017-01-01

Fire is returning to many conifer-dominated forests where species composition and structure have been altered by fire exclusion. Ecological effects of these fires are influenced strongly by the degree of forest change during the fire-free period. Response of fire-adapted species assemblages to extended fire-free intervals is highly variable, even in communities with...

Improvement of Forest Fire Detection Algorithm Using Brightness Temperature Lapse Rate Correction in HIMAWARI-8 IR Channels: Application to the 6 may 2017 Samcheok City, Korea

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Park, S. H.; Park, W.; Jung, H. S.

2018-04-01

Forest fires are a major natural disaster that destroys a forest area and a natural environment. In order to minimize the damage caused by the forest fire, it is necessary to know the location and the time of day and continuous monitoring is required until fire is fully put out. We have tried to improve the forest fire detection algorithm by using a method to reduce the variability of surrounding pixels. We focused that forest areas of East Asia, part of the Himawari-8 AHI coverage, are mostly located in mountainous areas. The proposed method was applied to the forest fire detection in Samcheok city, Korea on May 6 to 10, 2017.

Using Airborne LIDAR Data for Assessment of Forest Fire Fuel Load Potential

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

İnan, M.; Bilici, E.; Akay, A. E.

2017-11-01

Forest fire incidences are one of the most detrimental disasters that may cause long terms effects on forest ecosystems in many parts of the world. In order to minimize environmental damages of fires on forest ecosystems, the forested areas with high fire risk should be determined so that necessary precaution measurements can be implemented in those areas. Assessment of forest fire fuel load can be used to estimate forest fire risk. In order to estimate fuel load capacity, forestry parameters such as number of trees, tree height, tree diameter, crown diameter, and tree volume should be accurately measured. In recent years, with the advancements in remote sensing technology, it is possible to use airborne LIDAR for data estimation of forestry parameters. In this study, the capabilities of using LIDAR based point cloud data for assessment of the forest fuel load potential was investigated. The research area was chosen in the Istanbul Bentler series of Bahceköy Forest Enterprise Directorate that composed of mixed deciduous forest structure.

Temporal scaling behavior of forest and urban fires

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, J.; Song, W.; Zheng, H.; Telesca, L.

2009-04-01

It has been found that many natural systems are characterized by scaling behavior. In such systems natural factors dominate the event dynamics. Forest fires in different countries have been found to exhibit frequency-size power law over many orders of magnitude and with similar value of parameters. But in countries with high population density such as China and Japan, more than 95% of the forest fire disasters are caused by human activities. Furthermore, with the development of society, the wildland-urban interface (WUI) area is becoming more and more populated, and the forest fire is much connected with urban fire. Therefore exploring the scaling behavior of fires dominated by human-related factors is very challenging. The present paper explores the temporal scaling behavior of forest fires and urban fires in Japan with mathematical methods. Two factors, Allan factor (AF) and Fano factor (FF) are used to investigate time-scaling of fire systems. It is found that the FF for both forest fires and urban fires increases linearly in log-log scales, and this indicates that it behaves as a power-law for all the investigated timescales. From the AF plot a 7 days cycle is found, which indicates a weekly cycle. This may be caused by human activities which has a weekly periodicity because on weekends people usually have more outdoor activities, which may cause more hidden trouble of fire disasters. Our findings point out that although the human factors are the main cause, both the forest fires and urban fires exhibit time-scaling behavior. At the same time, the scaling exponents for urban fires are larger than forest fires, signifying a more intense clustering. The reason may be that fires are affected not only by weather condition, but also by human activities, which play a more important role for urban fires than forest fires and have a power law distribution and scaling behavior. Then some work is done to the relative humidity. Similar distribution law characterizes the relative humidity. The AF plot and FF plot of relative humidity validate the existence of a strong link between weather and fires, and it is very likely that the daily humidity cycle determines the daily fire periodicity.

Severe fire weather and intensive forest management increase fire severity in a multi-ownership landscape.

PubMed

Zald, Harold S J; Dunn, Christopher J

2018-04-26

Many studies have examined how fuels, topography, climate, and fire weather influence fire severity. Less is known about how different forest management practices influence fire severity in multi-owner landscapes, despite costly and controversial suppression of wildfires that do not acknowledge ownership boundaries. In 2013, the Douglas Complex burned over 19,000 ha of Oregon & California Railroad (O&C) lands in Southwestern Oregon, USA. O&C lands are composed of a checkerboard of private industrial and federal forestland (Bureau of Land Management, BLM) with contrasting management objectives, providing a unique experimental landscape to understand how different management practices influence wildfire severity. Leveraging Landsat based estimates of fire severity (Relative differenced Normalized Burn Ratio, RdNBR) and geospatial data on fire progression, weather, topography, pre-fire forest conditions, and land ownership, we asked (1) what is the relative importance of different variables driving fire severity, and (2) is intensive plantation forestry associated with higher fire severity? Using Random Forest ensemble machine learning, we found daily fire weather was the most important predictor of fire severity, followed by stand age and ownership, followed by topographic features. Estimates of pre-fire forest biomass were not an important predictor of fire severity. Adjusting for all other predictor variables in a general least squares model incorporating spatial autocorrelation, mean predicted RdNBR was higher on private industrial forests (RdNBR 521.85 ± 18.67 [mean ± SE]) vs. BLM forests (398.87 ± 18.23) with a much greater proportion of older forests. Our findings suggest intensive plantation forestry characterized by young forests and spatially homogenized fuels, rather than pre-fire biomass, were significant drivers of wildfire severity. This has implications for perceptions of wildfire risk, shared fire management responsibilities, and developing fire resilience for multiple objectives in multi-owner landscapes. © 2018 by the Ecological Society of America.

Impacts of the Canadian forest fires on atmospheric mercury and carbonaceous particles in Northern New York.

PubMed

Wang, Yungang; Huang, Jiaoyan; Zananski, Tiffany J; Hopke, Philip K; Holsen, Thomas M

2010-11-15

The impact of Canadian forest fires in Quebec on May 31, 2010 on PM(2.5), carbonaceous species, and atmospheric mercury species was observed at three rural sites in northern New York. The results were compared with previous studies during a 2002 Quebec forest fire episode. MODIS satellite images showed transport of forest fire smoke from southern Quebec, Canada to northern New York on May 31, 2010. Back-trajectories were consistent with this regional transport. During the forest fire event, as much as an 18-fold increase in PM(2.5) concentration was observed. The concentrations of episode-related OC, EC, BC, UVBC, and their difference (Delta-C), reactive gaseous mercury (RGM), and particle-bound mercury (PBM) were also significantly higher than those under normal conditions, suggesting a high impact of Canadian forest fire emissions on air quality in northern New York. PBM, RGM, and Delta-C are all emitted from forest fires. The correlation coefficient between Delta-C and other carbonaceous species may serve as an indicator of forest fire smoke. Given the marked changes in PBM, it may serve as a more useful tracer of forest fires over distances of several hundred kilometers relative to GEM. However, the Delta-C concentration changes are more readily measured.

Web-GIS platform for forest fire danger prediction in Ukraine: prospects of RS technologies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baranovskiy, N. V.; Zharikova, M. V.

2016-10-01

There are many different statistical and empirical methods of forest fire danger use at present time. All systems have not physical basis. Last decade deterministic-probabilistic method is rapidly developed in Tomsk Polytechnic University. Forest sites classification is one way to estimate forest fire danger. We used this method in present work. Forest fire danger estimation depends on forest vegetation condition, forest fire retrospective, precipitation and air temperature. In fact, we use modified Nesterov Criterion. Lightning activity is under consideration as a high temperature source in present work. We use Web-GIS platform for program realization of this method. The program realization of the fire danger assessment system is the Web-oriented geoinformation system developed by the Django platform in the programming language Python. The GeoDjango framework was used for realization of cartographic functions. We suggest using of Terra/Aqua MODIS products for hot spot monitoring. Typical territory for forest fire danger estimation is Proletarskoe forestry of Kherson region (Ukraine).

Forest fires in Missouri.

Treesearch

Donald A. Haines; William A. Main; John S. Crosby

1973-01-01

Describes factors that contribute to forest fires on two of the State of Missouri's Protection Districts and the Clark National Forest. Includes an analysis of fire cause, annual distribution, weather, and activity by day of week; also discusses multiple-fire day.

Interactive effects of historical logging and fire exclusion on ponderosa pine forest structure in the northern Rockies.

PubMed

Naficy, Cameron; Sala, Anna; Keeling, Eric G; Graham, Jon; DeLuca, Thomas H

2010-10-01

Increased forest density resulting from decades of fire exclusion is often perceived as the leading cause of historically aberrant, severe, contemporary wildfires and insect outbreaks documented in some fire-prone forests of the western United States. Based on this notion, current U.S. forest policy directs managers to reduce stand density and restore historical conditions in fire-excluded forests to help minimize high-severity disturbances. Historical logging, however, has also caused widespread change in forest vegetation conditions, but its long-term effects on vegetation structure and composition have never been adequately quantified. We document that fire-excluded ponderosa pine forests of the northern Rocky Mountains logged prior to 1960 have much higher average stand density, greater homogeneity of stand structure, more standing dead trees and increased abundance of fire-intolerant trees than paired fire-excluded, unlogged counterparts. Notably, the magnitude of the interactive effect of fire exclusion and historical logging substantially exceeds the effects of fire exclusion alone. These differences suggest that historically logged sites are more prone to severe wildfires and insect outbreaks than unlogged, fire-excluded forests and should be considered a high priority for fuels reduction treatments. Furthermore, we propose that ponderosa pine forests with these distinct management histories likely require distinct restoration approaches. We also highlight potential long-term risks of mechanical stand manipulation in unlogged forests and emphasize the need for a long-term view of fuels management.

Development and analysis of a 12-year daily 1-km forest fire dataset across North America from NOAA/AVHRR

Treesearch

Ruiliang Pu; Zhanqing Li; Peng Gong; Ivan Csiszar; Robert Fraser; Wei-Min Hao; Shobha Kondragunta; Fuzhong Weng

2007-01-01

Fires in boreal and temperate forests play a significant role in the global carbon cycle. While forest fires in North America (NA) have been surveyed extensively by U.S. and Canadian forest services, most fire records are limited to seasonal statistics without information on temporal evolution and spatial expansion. Such dynamic information is crucial for modeling fire...

Fire History of a Forest, Savanna, and Fen Mosaic at White Ranch State Forest

Treesearch

Daniel C. Dey; Ricahrd P. Guyette; Michael C. Stambaugh

2004-01-01

We present the fire history of a 1-km2 area that is a mosaic of oak forest, savanna, and fen on the White Ranch State Forest, Howell County, Missouri. We dated 135 fire scars on 35 cross-sections of post oak ( Quercus stellata) trees and constructed a fire chronology dating from 1705 to 1997. Mean fire return intervals by periods were 3.7 years (...

Design and realization of disaster assessment algorithm after forest fire

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xu, Aijun; Wang, Danfeng; Tang, Lihua

2008-10-01

Based on GIS technology, this paper mainly focuses on the application of disaster assessment algorithm after forest fire and studies on the design and realization of disaster assessment based on GIS. After forest fire through the analysis and processing of multi-sources and heterogeneous data, this paper integrates the foundation that the domestic and foreign scholars laid of the research on assessment for forest fire loss with the related knowledge of assessment, accounting and forest resources appraisal so as to study and approach the theory framework and assessment index of the research on assessment for forest fire loss. The technologies of extracting boundary, overlay analysis, and division processing of multi-sources spatial data are available to realize the application of the investigation method of the burnt forest area and the computation of the fire area. The assessment provides evidence for fire cleaning in burnt areas and new policy making on restoration in terms of the direct and the indirect economic loss and ecological and environmental damage caused by forest fire under the condition of different fire danger classes and different amounts of forest accumulation, thus makes forest resources protection operated in a faster, more efficient and more economical way. Finally, this paper takes Lin'an city of Zhejiang province as a test area to confirm the method mentioned in the paper in terms of key technologies.

Forest fires caused by lightning activity in Portugal

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Russo, Ana; Ramos, Alexandre M.; Benali, Akli; Trigo, Ricardo M.

2017-04-01

Wildfires in southern Europe have been causing in the last decades extensive economic and ecological losses and, even human casualties (e.g. Pereira et al., 2011). According to statistics provided by the EC-JRC European Forest Fires Information System (EFFIS) for Europe, the years of 2003 and 2007 represent the most dramatic fire seasons since the beginning of the millennium, followed by the years 2005 and 2012. These extreme years registered total annual burned areas for Europe of over 600.000 ha, reaching 800.000 ha in 2003. Over Iberia and France, the exceptional fire seasons registered in 2003 and 2005 were coincident respectively with one of the most severe heatwaves (Bastos et al., 2014) and droughts of the 20th century (Gouveia et al., 2009). On the other hand, the year 2007 was very peculiar as the area of the Peloponnese was struck by a severe winter drought followed by a subsequent wet spring, being also stricken by three heat heaves during summer and played a major role increasing the susceptibility of the region to wildfires (Gouveia et al., 2016). Some countries have a relatively large fraction of fires caused by natural factors such as lightning, e.g. northwestern USA, Canada, Russia. In contrast, Mediterranean countries such as Portugal has only a small percentage of fire records caused by lightning. Although significant uncertainties remain for the triggering mechanism for the majority of fires registered in the catalog, since they were cataloged without a likely cause. In this work we have used mainly two different databases: 1) the Portuguese Rural Fire Database (PRFD) which is representative of rural fires that have occurred in Continental Portugal, 2002-2009, with the original data provided by the National forestry Authority; 2) lightning discharges location which were extracted from the Portuguese Lightning Location System that has been in service since June of 2002 and is operated by the national weather service - Portuguese Institute for Sea and Atmosphere (IPMA). The main objective of this work was to evaluate and quantify the relations between the wildfires' occurrence and the lightning activity. In particularly we were able to verify if wildfires which were identified as "ignited by lightning" by comparing its location to the lightning discharges location database. Furthermore we have also investigated possible fire ignition by lightning discharges that have not yet been labeled in the PRFD by comparing daily data from both datasets. - Bastos A., Gouveia C.M., Trigo R.M., Running S.W., 2014. Biogeosciences, 11, 3421-3435. - Pereira M.G., B.D. Malamud R.M. Trigo, P.I. Alves, 2011. Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 11, 3343-3358. - Gouveia C., Trigo R.M., DaCamara C.C., 2009. Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 9, 185-195 - Gouveia C.M., Bistinas I., Liberato M.L.R., Bastos A., Koutsiasd N., Trigo R., 2016. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology, 218-219, 135-145. Acknowledgements Research performed was supported by FAPESP/FCT Project Brazilian Fire-Land-Atmosphere System (BrFLAS) (1389/2014 and 2015/01389-4). Ana Russo thanks FCT for granted support (SFRH/BPD/99757/2014). A. M. Ramos was also supported by a FCT postdoctoral grant (FCT/DFRH/ SFRH/BPD/84328/2012).

Effects of fire and post-fire salvage logging on avian communities in conifer-dominated forests of the western United States

USGS Publications Warehouse

Kotliar, N.B.; Hejl, S.J.; Hutto, R.L.; Saab, V.; Melcher, Cynthia; McFadzen, M.E.; George, T.L.; Dobkin, D.S.

2002-01-01

Historically, fire was one of the most widespread natural disturbances in the western United States. More recently, however, significant anthropogenic activities, especially fire suppression and silvicultural practices, have altered fire regimes; as a result, landscapes and associated communities have changed as well. Herein, we review current knowledge of how fire and postfire salvaging practices affect avian communities in conifer-dominated forests of the western United States. Specifically, we contrast avian communities in (1) burned vs. unburned forest, and (2) unsalvaged vs. salvage-logged burns. We also examine how variation in burn characteristics (e.g., severity, age, size) and salvage logging can alter avian communities in burns.Of the 41 avian species observed in three or more studies comparing early postfire and adjacent unburned forests, 22% are consistently more abundant in burned forests, 34% are usually more abundant in unburned forests, and 44% are equally abundant in burned and unburned forests or have varied responses. In general, woodpeckers and aerial foragers are more abundant in burned forest, whereas most foliage-gleaning species are more abundant in unburned forests. Bird species that are frequently observed in stand-replacement burns are less common in understory burns; similarly, species commonly observed in unburned forests often decrease in abundance with increasing burn severity. Granivores and species common in open-canopy forests exhibit less consistency among studies. For all species, responses to tire may be influenced by a number of factors including burn severity, fire size and shape, proximity to unburned forests, pre-and post-fire cover types, and time since fire. In addition, postfire management can alter species’ responses to burns. Most cavity-nesting species do not use severely salvaged burns, whereas some cavity-nesters persist in partially salvaged burns. Early post fire specialists, in particular, appear to prefer unsalvaged burns. We discuss several alternatives to severe salvage-logging that will help provide habitat for cavity nesters.We provide an overview of critical research questions and design considerations crucial for evaluating the effects of prescribed fire and other anthropogenic disturbances, such as forest fragmentation. Management of native avifaunas may be most successful if natural disturbance regimes, including fire, are permitted to occur when possible. Natural fires could be augmented with practices, such as prescribed fire (including high-severity fire), that mimic inherent disturbance regimes.

Real time forest fire warning and forest fire risk zoning: a Vietnamese case study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chu, T.; Pham, D.; Phung, T.; Ha, A.; Paschke, M.

2016-12-01

Forest fire occurs seriously in Vietnam and has been considered as one of the major causes of forest lost and degradation. Several studies of forest fire risk warning were conducted using Modified Nesterov Index (MNI) but remaining shortcomings and inaccurate predictions that needs to be urgently improved. In our study, several important topographic and social factors such as aspect, slope, elevation, distance to residential areas and road system were considered as "permanent" factors while meteorological data were updated hourly using near-real-time (NRT) remotely sensed data (i.e. MODIS Terra/Aqua and TRMM) for the prediction and warning of fire. Due to the limited number of weather stations in Vietnam, data from all active stations (i.e. 178) were used with the satellite data to calibrate and upscale meteorological variables. These data with finer resolution were then used to generate MNI. The only significant "permanent" factors were selected as input variables based on the correlation coefficients that computed from multi-variable regression among true fire-burning (collected from 1/2007) and its spatial characteristics. These coefficients also used to suggest appropriate weight for computing forest fire risk (FR) model. Forest fire risk model was calculated from the MNI and the selected factors using fuzzy regression models (FRMs) and GIS based multi-criteria analysis. By this approach, the FR was slightly modified from MNI by the integrated use of various factors in our fire warning and prediction model. Multifactor-based maps of forest fire risk zone were generated from classifying FR into three potential danger levels. Fire risk maps were displayed using webgis technology that is easy for managing data and extracting reports. Reported fire-burnings thereafter have been used as true values for validating the forest fire risk. Fire probability has strong relationship with potential danger levels (varied from 5.3% to 53.8%) indicating that the higher potential risk, the more chance of fire happen. By adding spatial factors to continuous daily updated remote sensing based meteo-data, results are valuable for both mapping forest fire risk zones in short and long-term and real time fire warning in Vietnam. Key words: Near-real-time, forest fire warning, fuzzy regression model, remote sensing.

Using Landsat data to assess fire and burn severity in the North American boreal forest region: an overview and summary of results

Treesearch

Nancy H.F. French; Eric S. Kasischke; Ronald J. Hall; Karen A. Murphy; David L. Verbyla; Elizabeth E. Hoy; Jennifer L. Allen

2008-01-01

There has been considerable interest in the recent literature regarding the assessment of post-fire effects on forested areas within the North American boreal forest. Assessing the physical and ecological effects of fire in boreal forests has far-reaching implications for a variety of ecosystem processes -- such as post-fire forest succession -- and land management...

Forest fires in Pennsylvania.

Treesearch

Donald A. Haines; William A. Main; Eugene F. McNamara

1978-01-01

Describes factors that contribute to forest fires in Pennsylvania. Includes an analysis of basic statistics; distribution of fires during normal, drought, and wet years; fire cause, fire activity by day-of-week; multiple-fire day; and fire climatology.

21st Century drought-related fires counteract the decline of Amazon deforestation carbon emissions.

PubMed

Aragão, Luiz E O C; Anderson, Liana O; Fonseca, Marisa G; Rosan, Thais M; Vedovato, Laura B; Wagner, Fabien H; Silva, Camila V J; Silva Junior, Celso H L; Arai, Egidio; Aguiar, Ana P; Barlow, Jos; Berenguer, Erika; Deeter, Merritt N; Domingues, Lucas G; Gatti, Luciana; Gloor, Manuel; Malhi, Yadvinder; Marengo, Jose A; Miller, John B; Phillips, Oliver L; Saatchi, Sassan

2018-02-13

Tropical carbon emissions are largely derived from direct forest clearing processes. Yet, emissions from drought-induced forest fires are, usually, not included in national-level carbon emission inventories. Here we examine Brazilian Amazon drought impacts on fire incidence and associated forest fire carbon emissions over the period 2003-2015. We show that despite a 76% decline in deforestation rates over the past 13 years, fire incidence increased by 36% during the 2015 drought compared to the preceding 12 years. The 2015 drought had the largest ever ratio of active fire counts to deforestation, with active fires occurring over an area of 799,293 km 2 . Gross emissions from forest fires (989 ± 504 Tg CO 2 year -1 ) alone are more than half as great as those from old-growth forest deforestation during drought years. We conclude that carbon emission inventories intended for accounting and developing policies need to take account of substantial forest fire emissions not associated to the deforestation process.

Are High-Severity Fires Burning at Much Higher Rates Recently than Historically in Dry-Forest Landscapes of the Western USA?

PubMed

Baker, William L

2015-01-01

Dry forests at low elevations in temperate-zone mountains are commonly hypothesized to be at risk of exceptional rates of severe fire from climatic change and land-use effects. Their setting is fire-prone, they have been altered by land-uses, and fire severity may be increasing. However, where fires were excluded, increased fire could also be hypothesized as restorative of historical fire. These competing hypotheses are not well tested, as reference data prior to widespread land-use expansion were insufficient. Moreover, fire-climate projections were lacking for these forests. Here, I used new reference data and records of high-severity fire from 1984-2012 across all dry forests (25.5 million ha) of the western USA to test these hypotheses. I also approximated projected effects of climatic change on high-severity fire in dry forests by applying existing projections. This analysis showed the rate of recent high-severity fire in dry forests is within the range of historical rates, or is too low, overall across dry forests and individually in 42 of 43 analysis regions. Significant upward trends were lacking overall from 1984-2012 for area burned and fraction burned at high severity. Upward trends in area burned at high severity were found in only 4 of 43 analysis regions. Projections for A.D. 2046-2065 showed high-severity fire would generally be still operating at, or have been restored to historical rates, although high projections suggest high-severity fire rotations that are too short could ensue in 6 of 43 regions. Programs to generally reduce fire severity in dry forests are not supported and have significant adverse ecological impacts, including reducing habitat for native species dependent on early-successional burned patches and decreasing landscape heterogeneity that confers resilience to climatic change. Some adverse ecological effects of high-severity fires are concerns. Managers and communities can improve our ability to live with high-severity fire in dry forests.

Fire Impact on Phytomass and Carbon Emissions in the Forests of Siberia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ivanova, Galina A.; Zhila, Sergei V.; Ivanov, Valery A.; Kovaleva, Nataly M.; Kukavskaya, Elena A.; Platonova, Irina A.; Conard, Susan G.

2014-05-01

Siberian boreal forests contribute considerably to the global carbon budget, since they take up vast areas, accumulate large amount of carbon, and are sensitive to climatic changes. Fire is the main forest disturbance factor, covering up to millions of hectares of boreal forests annually, of which the majority is in Siberia. Carbon emissions released from phytomass burning influence atmospheric chemistry and global carbon cycling. Changing climate and land use influence the number and intensity of wildfires, forest state, and productivity, as well as global carbon balance. Fire effects on forest overstory, subcanopy woody layer, and ground vegetation phytomass were estimated on sites in light-conifer forests of the Central Siberia as a part of the project "The Influence of Changing Forestry Practices on the Effects of Wildfire and on Interactions Between Fire and Changing Climate in Central Siberia" supported by NASA (NEESPI). This study focuses on collecting quantitative data and modeling the influence of fires of varying intensity on fire emissions, carbon budget, and ecosystem processes in coniferous stands. Fires have a profound impact on forest-atmospheric carbon exchange and transform forests from carbon sinks to carbon sources lasting long after the time of burning. Our long-term experiments allowed us to identify vegetation succession patterns in taiga Scots pine stands after fires of known behavior. Estimating fire contributions to the carbon budget requires consideration of many factors, including vegetation type and fire type and intensity. Carbon emissions were found to depend on fire intensity and weather. In the first several years after fire, the above-ground phytomass appeared to be strongly controlled by fire intensity. However, the influence of burning intensity on organic matter accumulation was found to decrease with time.

Short-term responses of birds to prescribed fire in fire-suppressed forests of California

Treesearch

Bagne Karen; Kathryn Purcell

2011-01-01

Prescribed fire is one tool for restoring fire-suppressed forests, but application of fire during spring coincides with breeding and arrival of migrant birds. We examined effects of low-severity prescribed fires on counts of birds in a managed forest in the Sierra Nevada of California immediately, 1 year, and 3–6 years after fire was applied in spring. Of 26 species...

Dry forests of the Northeastern Cascades Fire and Fire Surrogate project site, Mission Creek, Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest

Treesearch

James K. Agee; John F. (comps.) Lehmkuhl

2009-01-01

The Fire and Fire Surrogate (FFS) project is a large long-term metastudy established to assess the effectiveness and ecological impacts of burning and fire "surrogates" such as cuttings and mechanical fuel treatments that are used instead of fire, or in combination with fire, to restore dry forests. One of the 13 national FFS sites is the Northeastern...

Effectiveness of Prescribed Fire as a Fuel Treatment in Californian Coniferous Forests

Treesearch

Nicole M. Vaillant; JoAnn Fites-Kaufman; Scott L. Stephens

2006-01-01

Effective fire suppression for the past century has altered forest structure and increased fuel loads. Prescribed fire as a fuels treatment can reduce wildfire size and severity. This study investigates how prescribed fire affects fuel loads, forest structure, potential fire behavior, and modeled tree mortality at 80th, 90th, and 97.5th percentile fire weather...

A soil burn severity index for understanding soil-fire relations in tropical forests

Treesearch

Theresa B. Jain; William A. Gould; Russell T. Graham; David S. Pilliod; Leigh B. Lentile; Grizelle Gonzalez

2008-01-01

Methods for evaluating the impact of fires within tropical forests are needed as fires become more frequent and human populations and demands on forests increase. Short- and long-term fire effects on soils are determined by the prefire, fire, and postfire environments. We placed these components within a fire-disturbance continuum to guide our literature synthesis and...

46 CFR 71.25-45 - Fire hazards.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... 46 Shipping 3 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Fire hazards. 71.25-45 Section 71.25-45 Shipping COAST... Inspection § 71.25-45 Fire hazards. (a) At each annual inspection, the inspector shall examine the tank tons... fire hazard. (b) [Reserved] ...

Glare-reducing goggles for lookouts.

Treesearch

Richard E. McArdle; William G. Morris; Thornton T. Munger

1936-01-01

Detection of forest fires while they are still small is so important in forest protection that studies of the visibility of forest fire smokes from lookout points has been one of the principal phases of the fire studies program of the Pacific Northwest Forest Experiment Station. One phase of fire detection is the personal efficiency of the lookout. The Station has...

Influence of wildfires in the boreal forests of Eastern Siberia on atmospheric aerosol parameters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tomshin, Oleg A.; Solovyev, Vladimir S.

2017-11-01

The results of studies of the dynamics of forest fires in the boreal forests of Yakutia (Eastern Siberia) for 2001-2016 are presented. Variations of aerosol optical thickness (AOT), aerosol index (AI) and total carbon monoxide content during May-September were studied depending on the different forest fire activity level. It is shown that the seasonal variations of AOT, AI and CO in the most fire-dangerous years differ significantly from the fire seasons when forest fire activity was medium or low.

Broadleaf deciduous forest counterbalanced the direct effect of climate on Holocene fire regime in hemiboreal/boreal region (NE Europe)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Feurdean, Angelica; Veski, Siim; Florescu, Gabriela; Vannière, Boris; Pfeiffer, Mirjam; O'Hara, Robert B.; Stivrins, Normunds; Amon, Leeli; Heinsalu, Atko; Vassiljev, Jüri; Hickler, Thomas

2017-08-01

Disturbances by fire are essential for the functioning of boreal/hemiboreal forests, but knowledge of long-term fire regime dynamics is limited. We analysed macrocharcoal morphologies and pollen of a sediment record from Lake Lielais Svētiņu (eastern Latvia), and in conjunction with fire traits analysis present the first record of Holocene variability in fire regime, fuel sources and fire types in boreal forests of the Baltic region. We found a phase of moderate to high fire activity during the cool and moist early (mean fire return interval; mFRI of ∼280 years; 11,700-7500 cal yr BP) and the late (mFRI of ∼190 years; 4500-0 cal yr BP) Holocene and low fire activity (mFRI of ∼630 years) during the Holocene Thermal Optimum (7500-4500 cal yr BP). Charcoal morphotypes and the pollen record show the predominance of frequent surface fires, occasionally transitioning to the crown during Pinus sylvestris-Betula boreal forests and less frequent surface fires during the dominance of temperate deciduous forests. In contrast to the prevailing opinion that fires in boreal forests are mostly low to moderate severity surface fires, we found evidence for common occurrence of stand-replacing crown fires in Picea abies canopy. Our results highlight that charcoal morphotypes analysis allows for distinguishing the fuel types and surface from crown fires, therefore significantly advancing our interpretation of fire regime. Future warmer temperatures and increase in the frequency of dry spells and abundant biomass accumulation can enhance the fire risk on the one hand, but will probably promote the expansion of broadleaf deciduous forests to higher latitudes, on the other hand. By highlighting the capability of broadleaf deciduous forests to act as fire-suppressing landscape elements, our results suggest that fire activity may not increase in the Baltic area under future climate change.

Prediction of forest fires occurrences with area-level Poisson mixed models.

PubMed

Boubeta, Miguel; Lombardía, María José; Marey-Pérez, Manuel Francisco; Morales, Domingo

2015-05-01

The number of fires in forest areas of Galicia (north-west of Spain) during the summer period is quite high. Local authorities are interested in analyzing the factors that explain this phenomenon. Poisson regression models are good tools for describing and predicting the number of fires per forest areas. This work employs area-level Poisson mixed models for treating real data about fires in forest areas. A parametric bootstrap method is applied for estimating the mean squared errors of fires predictors. The developed methodology and software are applied to a real data set of fires in forest areas of Galicia. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Severity of an uncharacteristically large wildfire, the Rim Fire, in forests with relatively restored frequent fire regimes

Treesearch

Jamie Lydersen; Malcolm North; Brandon M. Collins

2014-01-01

The 2013 Rim Fire, originating on Forest Service land, burned into old-growth forests within Yosemite National Park with relatively restored frequent-fire regimes (¡Ý2 predominantly low and moderate severity burns within the last 35 years). Forest structure and fuels data were collected in the field 3-4 years before the fire, providing a rare chance to use pre-existing...

The forest fire season at different elevations in Idaho

Treesearch

J. A. Larsen

1925-01-01

In any fire-ridden forest region, such as north Idaho, there is great need for a tangible basis by which to judge the length and the intensity of the fire season in different forest types and at different elevations. The major and natural forest types, such as the western yellow pine forests, the western white-pine forests, and the subalpine forests occur in...

Seed invasion filters and forest fire severity

Treesearch

Tom R. Cottrell; Paul F. Hessburg; Jonathan A. Betz

2008-01-01

Forest seed dispersal is altered after fire. Using seed traps, we studied impacts of fire severity on timing of seed dispersal, total seed rain, and seed rain richness in patches of high and low severity fire and unburned Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) forests in the Fischer and Tyee fire complexes in the eastern Washington Cascades. Unburned...

Historical fire regime and forest variability on two eastern Great Basin fire-sheds (USA)

Treesearch

Stanley G. Kitchen

2012-01-01

Proper management of naturally forested landscapes requires knowledge of key disturbance processes and their effects on species composition and structure. Spatially-intensive fire and forest histories provide valuable information about how fire and vegetation may vary and interact on heterogeneous landscapes. I constructed 800-year fire and tree recruitment...

Exploring fire dynamics with BFAST approach: case studies in Sardinia, Italy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Quarfeld, Jamie; di Mauro, Biagio; Colombo, Roberto; Verbesselt, Jan

2016-04-01

The synergistic effect of wildfire and extreme post-fire climatic events, (e.g. droughts or torrential rainfall), may result in long windows of disturbance - challenging the overall resilience of Mediterranean ecosystems and communities. The notion that increased fire frequency and severity may reduce ecosystem resilience has received much attention in Mediterranean regions in recent decades. Careful evaluation of vegetation recovery and landscape regeneration after a fire event provides vital information useful in land management. In this study, an extension of Breaks For Additive Seasonal and Trend (BFAST) is proposed as an ideal approach to monitor change and assess fire dynamics at the landscape level based on analysis of the MODerate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS, TERRA) time series. To this end, satellite images of three vegetation indices (VIs), the Normalized Burn Ratio (NBR), the Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI) and the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) were used. The analysis was conducted on areas affected by wildfires in the Sardinia region (Italy) between 2007 and 2010. Some land surface (LS) descriptors (i.e. mean and maximum VI) and fire characteristics (e.g. pre-fire trend & VI, change magnitude, current VI) were extracted to characterize the post-fire evolution of each site within a fifteen-year period (2000-2015). Resilience was estimated using a classic linear function, whereby recovery rates were compared to regional climate data (e.g. water balance) and local landscape components (e.g.topography, land use and land cover). The methodology was applied according to land cover type (e.g. mixed forest, maquis, shrubland, pasture) within each fire site and highlighted the challenge of isolating effects and quantifying the role of fire regime characteristics on resilience in a dynamic way when considering large, heterogeneous areas. Preliminary findings can be outlined as follows: I. NBR showed it was most effective at detecting fire occurrence. EVI showed it was more sensitive to the influence of the Savitkzy-Golay smoothing filter than NBR or NDVI; II. The quantitative assessment of resilience for different land covers (maquis, mixed forest, shrubland) allows discrimination of diverse post-fire dynamics. Mixed forest showed an overall lower resilience compared to maquis and shrubland. Detection of post-fire breakpoints appears to occur in a similar time sequence with respect to both year of fire occurrence and land cover. III. The combined use of several climate and landscape components enables characterization of different features of post-fire dynamics in a Mediterranean ecosystem. In summary, the approach used in this study provides useful insight into complex post-fire vegetation dynamics in Mediterranean regions from a remote sensing perspective. Tailoring of the methodologies employed this study can inform a broad spectrum of forest and wildfire management activities, from monitoring and decision support during the fire season to long-term fuel management and landscape planning, with the general goal of reducing fire exposure and losses from future wildfires. Results can be expanded to include additional LS descriptors or soil geological aspects that contribute to a stronger integration of remote sensing data in operational natural resource management plans for ecosystem conservation and natural hazard prevention.

Effects of repeated fires on ecosystem C and N stocks along a fire induced forest/grassland gradient

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cheng, Chih-Hsin; Chen, Yung-Sheng; Huang, Yu-Hsuan; Chiou, Chyi-Rong; Lin, Chau-Chih; Menyailo, Oleg V.

2013-03-01

Repeated fires might have different effect on ecosystem carbon storage than a single fire event, but information on repeated fires and their effects on forest ecosystems and carbon storage is scarce. However, changes in climate, vegetation composition, and human activities are expected to make forests more susceptible to fires that recur with relatively high frequency. In this study, the effects of repeated fires on ecosystem carbon and nitrogen stocks were examined along a fire-induced forest/grassland gradient wherein the fire events varied from an unburned forest to repeatedly burned grassland. Results from the study show repeated fires drastically decreased ecosystem carbon and nitrogen stocks along the forest/grassland gradient. The reduction began with the disappearance of living tree biomass, and followed by the loss of soil carbon and nitrogen. Within 4 years of the onset of repeated fires on the unburned forest, the original ecosystem carbon and nitrogen stocks were reduced by 42% and 21%, respectively. Subsequent fires caused cumulative reductions in ecosystem carbon and nitrogen stocks by 68% and 44% from the original ecosystem carbon and nitrogen stocks, respectively. The analyses of carbon budgets calculated by vegetation composition and stable isotopic δ13C values indicate that 84% of forest-derived carbon is lost at grassland, whereas the gain of grass-derived carbon only compensates 18% for this loss. Such significant losses in ecosystem carbon and nitrogen stocks suggest that the effects of repeated fires have substantial impacts on ecosystem and soil carbon and nitrogen cycling.

Landscape-scale effects of fire severity on mixed-conifer and red fir forest structure in Yosemite National Park

USGS Publications Warehouse

Kane, Van R.; Lutz, James A.; Roberts, Susan L.; Smith, Douglas F.; McGaughey, Robert J.; Povak, Nicholas A.; Brooks, Matthew L.

2013-01-01

While fire shapes the structure of forests and acts as a keystone process, the details of how fire modifies forest structure have been difficult to evaluate because of the complexity of interactions between fires and forests. We studied this relationship across 69.2 km2 of Yosemite National Park, USA, that was subject to 32 fires ⩾40 ha between 1984 and 2010. Forests types included ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa), white fir-sugar pine (Abies concolor/Pinus lambertiana), and red fir (Abies magnifica). We estimated and stratified burned area by fire severity using the Landsat-derived Relativized differenced Normalized Burn Ratio (RdNBR). Airborne LiDAR data, acquired in July 2010, measured the vertical and horizontal structure of canopy material and landscape patterning of canopy patches and gaps. Increasing fire severity changed structure at the scale of fire severity patches, the arrangement of canopy patches and gaps within fire severity patches, and vertically within tree clumps. Each forest type showed an individual trajectory of structural change with increasing fire severity. As a result, the relationship between estimates of fire severity such as RdNBR and actual changes appears to vary among forest types. We found three arrangements of canopy patches and gaps associated with different fire severities: canopy-gap arrangements in which gaps were enclosed in otherwise continuous canopy (typically unburned and low fire severities); patch-gap arrangements in which tree clumps and gaps alternated and neither dominated (typically moderate fire severity); and open-patch arrangements in which trees were scattered across open areas (typically high fire severity). Compared to stands outside fire perimeters, increasing fire severity generally resulted first in loss of canopy cover in lower height strata and increased number and size of gaps, then in loss of canopy cover in higher height strata, and eventually the transition to open areas with few or no trees. However, the estimated fire severities at which these transitions occurred differed for each forest type. Our work suggests that low severity fire in red fir forests and moderate severity fire in ponderosa pine and white fir-sugar pine forests would restore vertical and horizontal canopy structures believed to have been common prior to the start of widespread fire suppression in the early 1900s. The fusion of LiDAR and Landsat data identified post-fire structural conditions that would not be identified by Landsat alone, suggesting a broad applicability of combining Landsat and LiDAR data for landscape-scale structural analysis for fire management.

Fire performance in traditional silvicultural and fire and fire surrogate treatments in Sierran mixed-conifer forests: a brief summary

Treesearch

Jason J. Moghaddas; Scott L. Stephens

2007-01-01

Mixed conifer forests cover 7.9 million acres of California’s total land base. Forest structure in these forests has been influenced by harvest practices and silvicultural systems implemented since the beginning of the California Gold Rush in 1849. Today, the role of fire in coniferous forests, both in shaping past stand structure and its ability to shape future...

MODIS NDVI Response Following Fires in Siberia

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ranson, K. Jon; Sun, G.; Kovacs, K.; Kharuk, V. I.

2003-01-01

The Siberian boreal forest is considered a carbon sink but may become an important source of carbon dioxide if climatic warming predictions are correct. The forest is continually changing through various disturbance mechanisms such as insects, logging, mineral exploitation, and especially fires. Patterns of disturbance and forest recovery processes are important factors regulating carbon flux in this area. NASA's Terra MODIS provides useful information for assessing location of fires and post fire changes in forests. MODIS fire (MOD14), and NDVI (MOD13) products were used to examine fire occurrence and post fire variability in vegetation cover as indicated by NDVI. Results were interpreted for various post fire outcomes, such as decreased NDVI after fire, no change in NDVI after fire and positive NDVI change after fire. The fire frequency data were also evaluated in terms of proximity to population centers, and transportation networks.

A heuristic expert system for forest fire guidance in Greece.

PubMed

Iliadis, Lazaros S; Papastavrou, Anastasios K; Lefakis, Panagiotis D

2002-07-01

Forests and forestlands are common inheritance for all Greeks and a piece of the national wealth that must be handed over to the next generations in the best possible condition. After 1974, Greece faces a severe forest fire problem and forest fire forecasting is the process that will enable the Greek ministry of Agriculture to reduce the destruction. This paper describes the basic design principles of an Expert System that performs forest fire forecasting (for the following fire season) and classification of the prefectures of Greece into forest fire risk zones. The Expert system handles uncertainty and uses heuristics in order to produce scenarios based on the presence or absence of various qualitative factors. The initial research focused on the construction of a mathematical model which attempted to describe the annual number of forest fires and burnt area in Greece based on historical data. However this has proven to be impossible using regression analysis and time series. A closer analysis of the fire data revealed that two qualitative factors dramatically affect the number of forest fires and the hectares of burnt areas annually. The first is political stability and national elections and the other is drought cycles. Heuristics were constructed that use political stability and drought cycles, to provide forest fire guidance. Fuzzy logic was applied to produce a fuzzy expected interval for each prefecture of Greece. A fuzzy expected interval is a narrow interval of values that best describes the situation in the country or a part of the country for a certain time period. A successful classification of the prefectures of Greece in forest fire risk zones was done by the system, by comparing the fuzzy expected intervals to each other. The system was tested for the years 1994 and 1995. The testing has clearly shown that the system can predict accurately, the number of forest fires for each prefecture for the following year. The average accuracy was as high as 85.25% for 1995 and 80.89% for 1994. This makes the Expert System a very important tool for forest fire prevention planning.

Synergy between land use and climate change increases future fire risk in Amazon forests

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Le Page, Yannick; Morton, Douglas; Hartin, Corinne; Bond-Lamberty, Ben; Cardoso Pereira, José Miguel; Hurtt, George; Asrar, Ghassem

2017-12-01

Tropical forests have been a permanent feature of the Amazon basin for at least 55 million years, yet climate change and land use threaten the forest's future over the next century. Understory forest fires, which are common under the current climate in frontier forests, may accelerate Amazon forest losses from climate-driven dieback and deforestation. Far from land use frontiers, scarce fire ignitions and high moisture levels preclude significant burning, yet projected climate and land use changes may increase fire activity in these remote regions. Here, we used a fire model specifically parameterized for Amazon understory fires to examine the interactions between anthropogenic activities and climate under current and projected conditions. In a scenario of low mitigation efforts with substantial land use expansion and climate change - Representative Concentration Pathway (RCP) 8.5 - projected understory fires increase in frequency and duration, burning 4-28 times more forest in 2080-2100 than during 1990-2010. In contrast, active climate mitigation and land use contraction in RCP4.5 constrain the projected increase in fire activity to 0.9-5.4 times contemporary burned area. Importantly, if climate mitigation is not successful, land use contraction alone is very effective under low to moderate climate change, but does little to reduce fire activity under the most severe climate projections. These results underscore the potential for a fire-driven transformation of Amazon forests if recent regional policies for forest conservation are not paired with global efforts to mitigate climate change.

A dendrochronology based fire history of Jeffry pine-mixed conifer forests in the Sierra San Pedro Martir, Mexico

Treesearch

Scott L. Stephens; Carl N. Skinner; Samantha J. Gill

2003-01-01

Conifer forests in northwestern Mexico have not experienced systematic fire suppression or logging, making them unique in western North America. Fire regimes of Pinus jeffreyi Grev. & Balf. mixed conifer forests in the Sierra San Pedro Martir, Baja California, Mexico, were determined by identifying 105 fire dates from 1034 fire scars in 105 specimens. Fires were...

Initial tree regeneration responses to fire and thinning treatments in a Sierra Nevada mixed-conifer forest, USA

Treesearch

Harold S.J. Zald; Andrew N. Gray; Malcolm North; Ruth A. Kern

2008-01-01

Fire is a driver of ecosystem patterns and processes in forests globally, but natural fire regimes have often been altered by decades of active fire management. Following almost a century of fire suppression, many Western U.S. forests have greater fuel levels, higher tree densities, and are now dominated by fire-sensitive, shade-tolerant species. These fuel-loaded...

A soil burn severity index for understanding soil-fire relations in tropical forests [Chinese version

Treesearch

Theresa B. Jain; William A. Gould; Russell T. Graham; David S. Pilliod; Leigh B. Lentile; Grizelle Gonzalez

2008-01-01

Methods for evaluating the impact of fires within tropical forests are needed as fires become more frequent and human populations and demands on forests increase. Short- and long-term fire effects on soils are determined by the prefire, fire, and postfire environments. We placed these components within a fire-disturbance continuum to guide our literature synthesis and...

The ecology of mixed severity fire regimes in Washington, Oregon, and Northern California

Treesearch

David Perry; Paul Hessburg; Carl Skinner; Thomas Spies; Scott Stephens; Alan Henry Taylor; Jerry Franklin; Brenda McComb; Greg Riegel

2011-01-01

Forests characterized by mixed-severity fires occupy a broad moisture gradient between lower elevation forests typified by low-severity fires and higher elevation forests in which high-severity, stand replacing fires are the norm. Mixed-severity forest types are poorly documented and little understood but likely occupy significant areas in the western United States. By...

Long-term impacts of prescribed fire on stand structure, growth, mortality, and individual tree vigor in Pinus resinosa forests

Treesearch

Sawyer S. Scherer; Anthony W. D' Amato; Christel C. Kern; Brian J. Palik; Matthew B. Russell

2016-01-01

Prescribed fire is increasingly being viewed as a valuable tool for mitigating the ecological consequences of long-term fire suppression within fire-adapted forest ecosystems. While the use of burning treatments in northern temperate conifer forests has at times received considerable attention, the long-term (>10 years) effects on forest structure and...

Forest health in the Blue Mountains: a management strategy for fire-adapted ecosystems.

Treesearch

R.W. Mutch; S.F. Arno; J.K. Brown; C.E. Carlson; R.D. Ottmar; J.L. Peterson

1993-01-01

The fire-adapted forests of the Blue Mountains are suffering from a forest health problem of catastrophic proportions. Contributing to the decline of forest health are such factors as the extensive harvesting of the western larch and ponderosa pine overstory during the 1900s, attempted exclusion of fire from a fire-dependent ecosystem, and the continuing drought. The...

Climatic stress increases forest fire severity across the western United States

USGS Publications Warehouse

van Mantgem, Philip J.; Nesmith, Jonathan C. B.; Keifer, MaryBeth; Knapp, Eric E.; Flint, Alan; Flint, Lorraine

2013-01-01

Pervasive warming can lead to chronic stress on forest trees, which may contribute to mortality resulting from fire-caused injuries. Longitudinal analyses of forest plots from across the western US show that high pre-fire climatic water deficit was related to increased post-fire tree mortality probabilities. This relationship between climate and fire was present after accounting for fire defences and injuries, and appeared to influence the effects of crown and stem injuries. Climate and fire interactions did not vary substantially across geographical regions, major genera and tree sizes. Our findings support recent physiological evidence showing that both drought and heating from fire can impair xylem conductivity. Warming trends have been linked to increasing probabilities of severe fire weather and fire spread; our results suggest that warming may also increase forest fire severity (the number of trees killed) independent of fire intensity (the amount of heat released during a fire).

Decadal time-scale monitoring of forest fires in Similipal Biosphere Reserve, India using remote sensing and GIS.

PubMed

Saranya, K R L; Reddy, C Sudhakar; Rao, P V V Prasada; Jha, C S

2014-05-01

Analyzing the spatial extent and distribution of forest fires is essential for sustainable forest resource management. There is no comprehensive data existing on forest fires on a regular basis in Biosphere Reserves of India. The present work have been carried out to locate and estimate the spatial extent of forest burnt areas using Resourcesat-1 data and fire frequency covering decadal fire events (2004-2013) in Similipal Biosphere Reserve. The anomalous quantity of forest burnt area was recorded during 2009 as 1,014.7 km(2). There was inconsistency in the fire susceptibility across the different vegetation types. The spatial analysis of burnt area shows that an area of 34.2 % of dry deciduous forests, followed by tree savannah, shrub savannah, and grasslands affected by fires in 2013. The analysis based on decadal time scale satellite data reveals that an area of 2,175.9 km(2) (59.6 % of total vegetation cover) has been affected by varied rate of frequency of forest fires. Fire density pattern indicates low count of burnt area patches in 2013 estimated at 1,017 and high count at 1,916 in 2004. An estimate of fire risk area over a decade identifies 12.2 km(2) is experiencing an annual fire damage. Summing the fire frequency data across the grids (each 1 km(2)) indicates 1,211 (26 %) grids are having very high disturbance regimes due to repeated fires in all the 10 years, followed by 711 grids in 9 years and 418 in 8 years and 382 in 7 years. The spatial database offers excellent opportunities to understand the ecological impact of fires on biodiversity and is helpful in formulating conservation action plans.

Climate change and forest fires.

PubMed

Flannigan, M D; Stocks, B J; Wotton, B M

2000-11-15

This paper addresses the impacts of climate change on forest fires and describes how this, in turn, will impact on the forests of the United States. In addition to reviewing existing studies on climate change and forest fires we have used two transient general circulation models (GCMs), namely the Hadley Centre and the Canadian GCMs, to estimate fire season severity in the middle of the next century. Ratios of 2 x CO2 seasonal severity rating (SSR) over present day SSR were calculated for the means and maximums for North America. The results suggest that the SSR will increase by 10-50% over most of North America; although, there are regions of little change or where the SSR may decrease by the middle of the next century. Increased SSRs should translate into increased forest fire activity. Thus, forest fires could be viewed as an agent of change for US forests as the fire regime will respond rapidly to climate warming. This change in the fire regime has the potential to overshadow the direct effects of climate change on species distribution and migration.

Wildfire and drought dynamics destabilize carbon stores of fire-suppressed forests.

PubMed

Earles, J Mason; North, Malcolm P; Hurteau, Matthew D

2014-06-01

Widespread fire suppression and thinning have altered the structure and composition of many forests in the western United States, making them more susceptible to the synergy of large-scale drought and fire events. We examine how these changes affect carbon storage and stability compared to historic fire-adapted conditions. We modeled carbon dynamics under possible drought and fire conditions over a 300-year simulation period in two mixed-conifer conditions common in the western United States: (1) pine-dominated with an active fire regime and (2) fir-dominated, fire suppressed forests. Fir-dominated stands, with higher live- and dead-wood density, had much lower carbon stability as drought and fire frequency increased compared to pine-dominated forest. Carbon instability resulted from species (i.e., fir's greater susceptibility to drought and fire) and stand (i.e., high density of smaller trees) conditions that develop in the absence of active management. Our modeling suggests restoring historic species composition and active fire regimes can significantly increase carbon stability in fire-suppressed, mixed-conifer forests. Long-term management of forest carbon should consider the relative resilience of stand structure and composition to possible increases in disturbance frequency and intensity under changing climate.

Factors affecting collective action for forest fire management: a comparative study of community forest user groups in central Siwalik, Nepal.

PubMed

Sapkota, Lok Mani; Shrestha, Rajendra Prasad; Jourdain, Damien; Shivakoti, Ganesh P

2015-01-01

The attributes of social ecological systems affect the management of commons. Strengthening and enhancing social capital and the enforcement of rules and sanctions aid in the collective action of communities in forest fire management. Using a set of variables drawn from previous studies on the management of commons, we conducted a study across 20 community forest user groups in Central Siwalik, Nepal, by dividing the groups into two categories based on the type and level of their forest fire management response. Our study shows that the collective action in forest fire management is consistent with the collective actions in other community development activities. However, the effectiveness of collective action is primarily dependent on the complex interaction of various variables. We found that strong social capital, strong enforcement of rules and sanctions, and users' participation in crafting the rules were the major variables that strengthen collective action in forest fire management. Conversely, users' dependency on a daily wage and a lack of transparency were the variables that weaken collective action. In fire-prone forests such as the Siwalik, our results indicate that strengthening social capital and forming and enforcing forest fire management rules are important variables that encourage people to engage in collective action in fire management.

Ecological responses to el Niño-induced surface fires in central Brazilian Amazonia: management implications for flammable tropical forests.

PubMed Central

Barlow, Jos; Peres, Carlos A

2004-01-01

Over the past 20 years the combined effects of El Niño-induced droughts and land-use change have dramatically increased the frequency of fire in humid tropical forests. Despite the potential for rapid ecosystem alteration and the current prevalence of wildfire disturbance, the consequences of such fires for tropical forest biodiversity remain poorly understood. We provide a pan-tropical review of the current state of knowledge of these fires, and include data from a study in a seasonally dry terra firme forest of central Brazilian Amazonia. Overall, this study supports predictions that rates of tree mortality and changes in forest structure are strongly linked to burn severity. The potential consequences for biomass loss and carbon emissions are explored. Despite the paucity of data on faunal responses to tropical forest fires, some trends are becoming apparent; for example, large canopy frugivores and understorey insectivorous birds appear to be highly sensitive to changes in forest structure and composition during the first 3 years after fires. Finally, we appraise the management implications of fires and evaluate the viability of techniques and legislation that can be used to reduce forest flammability, prevent anthropogenic ignition sources from coming into contact with flammable forests and aid the post-fire recovery process. PMID:15212091

Fire, climate change, and forest resilience in interior Alaska

Treesearch

Jill F. Johnstone; F. Stuart Chapin; Teresa N. Hollingsworth; Michelle C. Mack; Vladimir Romanovsky; Merritt Turetsky

2010-01-01

In the boreal forests of interior Alaska, feedbacks that link forest soils, fire characteristics, and plant traits have supported stable cycles of forest succession for the past 6000 years. This high resilience of forest stands to fire disturbance is supported by two interrelated feedback cycles: (i) interactions among disturbance regime and plant-soil-microbial...

The impact of anthropogenic climate change on wildfire across western US forests

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Williams, P.; Abatzoglou, J. T.

2016-12-01

Increased forest fire activity across the western United States (US) in recent decades has contributed to widespread forest mortality, carbon emissions, periods of degraded air quality, and substantial fire suppression expenditures. The increase in forest fire activity has likely been enabled by a number of factors including the legacy of fire suppression and human settlement, changes in suppression policies, natural climate variability, and human-caused climate change. We use modeled climate projections to estimate the contribution of anthropogenic climate change to observed increases in eight fuel aridity metrics and forest fire area across the western US. Anthropogenic increases in temperature and vapor pressure deficit have significantly enhanced fuel aridity across western US forests over the past several decades. Comparing observational climate records to records recalculated after removal of modeled anthropogenic trends, we find that anthropogenic climate change accounted for approximately 55% of observed increases in the eight-metric mean fuel aridity during 1979-2015 across western US forests. This implicates anthropogenic climate change as an important driver of observed increases in fuel aridity, and also highlights the importance of natural multi-decadal climate variability in influencing trends in forest fire potential on the timescales of human lives. Based on a very strong (R2 = 0.76) and mechanistically reasonable relationship between interannual variability in the eight-metric mean fuel aridity and forest-fire area in the western US, we estimate that anthropogenic increases in fuel aridity contributed to an additional 4.2 million ha (95% confidence range: 2.7-6.5 million ha) of forest fire area during 1984-2015, nearly doubling the total forest fire area expected in the absence of anthropogenic climate change. The relationship between annual forest fire area and fuel aridity is exponential and the proportion of total forest area burned in a given year has grown rapidly over the past 32 years. Natural climate variability will continue to alternate between modulating and compounding anthropogenic increases in fuel aridity, but anthropogenic climate change has emerged as a chronic driver of increased forest fire activity and should continue to do so where fuels are not limiting.

Climatic stress increases forest fire severity across the western United States

Treesearch

Phillip J. van Mantgem; Jonathan C.B. Nesmith; MaryBeth Keifer; Eric E. Knapp; Alan Flint; Lorriane Flint

2013-01-01

Pervasive warming can lead to chronic stress on forest trees, which may contribute to mortality resulting from fire-caused injuries. Longitudinal analyses of forest plots from across the western US show that high pre-fire climatic water deficit was related to increased post-fire tree mortality probabilities. This relationship between climate and fire was present after...

Contrasting spatial patterns in active-fire and fire-suppressed Mediterranean climate old-growth mixed conifer forests

Treesearch

Danny L. Fry; Scott L. Stephens; Brandon M. Collins; Malcolm North; Ernesto Franco-Vizcaino; Samantha J. Gill

2014-01-01

In Mediterranean environments in western North America, historic fire regimes in frequent-fire conifer forests are highly variable both temporally and spatially. This complexity influenced forest structure and spatial patterns, but some of this diversity has been lost due to anthropogenic disruption of ecosystem processes, including fire. Information from reference...

Reintroducing fire in regenerated dry forests following stand-replacing wildfire.

Treesearch

David W. Peterson; Paul F. Hessburg; Brion Salter; Kevin M. James; Matthew C. Dahlgreen; John A. Barnes

2007-01-01

Prescribed fire use may be effective for increasing fire resilience in young coniferous forests by reducing surface fuels, modifying overstory stand structure, and promoting development of large trees of fire resistant species. Questions remain, however, about when and how to reintroduce fire in regenerated forests, and to what end. We studied the effects of spring...

Lessons learned from prescribed fire in ponderosa pine forests of the southern Sierra Nevada

Treesearch

Karen E. Bagne; Kathryn L. Purcell

2009-01-01

Prescribed fire is a commonly used management tool in fire-suppressed ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) forests, but effects of these fires on birds are largely unstudied. We investigated both direct and indirect impacts on breeding birds in ponderosa pine forests of the southern Sierra Nevada where fires were applied in the spring. Following...

Detection, Emission Estimation and Risk Prediction of Forest Fires in China Using Satellite Sensors and Simulation Models in the Past Three Decades—An Overview

PubMed Central

Zhang, Jia-Hua; Yao, Feng-Mei; Liu, Cheng; Yang, Li-Min; Boken, Vijendra K.

2011-01-01

Forest fires have major impact on ecosystems and greatly impact the amount of greenhouse gases and aerosols in the atmosphere. This paper presents an overview in the forest fire detection, emission estimation, and fire risk prediction in China using satellite imagery, climate data, and various simulation models over the past three decades. Since the 1980s, remotely-sensed data acquired by many satellites, such as NOAA/AVHRR, FY-series, MODIS, CBERS, and ENVISAT, have been widely utilized for detecting forest fire hot spots and burned areas in China. Some developed algorithms have been utilized for detecting the forest fire hot spots at a sub-pixel level. With respect to modeling the forest burning emission, a remote sensing data-driven Net Primary productivity (NPP) estimation model was developed for estimating forest biomass and fuel. In order to improve the forest fire risk modeling in China, real-time meteorological data, such as surface temperature, relative humidity, wind speed and direction, have been used as the model input for improving prediction of forest fire occurrence and its behavior. Shortwave infrared (SWIR) and near infrared (NIR) channels of satellite sensors have been employed for detecting live fuel moisture content (FMC), and the Normalized Difference Water Index (NDWI) was used for evaluating the forest vegetation condition and its moisture status. PMID:21909297

Detection, emission estimation and risk prediction of forest fires in China using satellite sensors and simulation models in the past three decades--an overview.

PubMed

Zhang, Jia-Hua; Yao, Feng-Mei; Liu, Cheng; Yang, Li-Min; Boken, Vijendra K

2011-08-01

Forest fires have major impact on ecosystems and greatly impact the amount of greenhouse gases and aerosols in the atmosphere. This paper presents an overview in the forest fire detection, emission estimation, and fire risk prediction in China using satellite imagery, climate data, and various simulation models over the past three decades. Since the 1980s, remotely-sensed data acquired by many satellites, such as NOAA/AVHRR, FY-series, MODIS, CBERS, and ENVISAT, have been widely utilized for detecting forest fire hot spots and burned areas in China. Some developed algorithms have been utilized for detecting the forest fire hot spots at a sub-pixel level. With respect to modeling the forest burning emission, a remote sensing data-driven Net Primary productivity (NPP) estimation model was developed for estimating forest biomass and fuel. In order to improve the forest fire risk modeling in China, real-time meteorological data, such as surface temperature, relative humidity, wind speed and direction, have been used as the model input for improving prediction of forest fire occurrence and its behavior. Shortwave infrared (SWIR) and near infrared (NIR) channels of satellite sensors have been employed for detecting live fuel moisture content (FMC), and the Normalized Difference Water Index (NDWI) was used for evaluating the forest vegetation condition and its moisture status.

75 FR 3193 - Information Collection; Annual Wildfire Summary Report

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-01-20

... addressed to Tim Melchert, Fire and Aviation Management, National Interagency Fire Center, Forest Service... Forest Service State and Private Forestry Cooperative Fire Program. The program provides supplemental funding for State and local fire fighting agencies. The Forest Service works cooperatively with State and...

Economic vulnerability of timber resources to forest fires.

PubMed

y Silva, Francisco Rodríguez; Molina, Juan Ramón; González-Cabán, Armando; Machuca, Miguel Ángel Herrera

2012-06-15

The temporal-spatial planning of activities for a territorial fire management program requires knowing the value of forest ecosystems. In this paper we extend to and apply the economic valuation principle to the concept of economic vulnerability and present a methodology for the economic valuation of the forest production ecosystems. The forest vulnerability is analyzed from criteria intrinsically associated to the forest characterization, and to the potential behavior of surface fires. Integrating a mapping process of fire potential and analytical valuation algorithms facilitates the implementation of fire prevention planning. The availability of cartography of economic vulnerability of the forest ecosystems is fundamental for budget optimization, and to help in the decision making process. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Multi-season climate synchronized forest fires throughout the 20th century, Northern Rockies, USA

Treesearch

Penelope Morgan; Emily K. Heyerdahl; Carly E. Gibson

2008-01-01

We inferred climate drivers of 20th-century years with regionally synchronous forest fires in the U.S. northern Rockies. We derived annual fire extent from an existing fire atlas that includes 5038 fire polygons recorded from 12 070 086 ha, or 71% of the forested land in Idaho and Montana west of the Continental Divide. The 11 regional-fire years, those exceeding the...

Increasing resiliency in frequent fire forests: Lessons from the Sierra Nevada and western Australia

Treesearch

Scott L. Stephens

2014-01-01

This paper will primarily focus on the management and restoration of forests adapted to frequent, low-moderate intensity fire regimes. These are the forest types that are most at risk from large, high-severity wildfires and in many regions their fire regimes are changing. Fire as a landscape process can exhibit self-limiting characteristics in some forests which can...

Average stand age from forest inventory plots does not describe historical fire regimes in ponderosa pine and mixed-conifer forests of western North America

Treesearch

Jens T. Stevens; Hugh D. Safford; Malcolm P. North; Jeremy S. Fried; Andrew N. Gray; Peter M. Brown; Christopher R. Dolanc; Solomon Z. Dobrowski; Donald A. Falk; Calvin A. Farris; Jerry F. Franklin; Peter Z. Fulé; R. Keala Hagmann; Eric E. Knapp; Jay D. Miller; Douglas F. Smith; Thomas W. Swetnam; Alan H. Taylor; Julia A. Jones

2016-01-01

Quantifying historical fire regimes provides important information for managing contemporary forests. Historical fire frequency and severity can be estimated using several methods; each method has strengths and weaknesses and presents challenges for interpretation and verification. Recent efforts to quantify the timing of historical high-severity fire events in forests...

Dry forests and wildland fires of the inland Northwest USA: contrasting the landscape ecology of the pre-settlement and modern eras.

Treesearch

Paul F. Hessburg; James K. Agee; Jerry F. Franklin

2005-01-01

Prior to Euro-American settlement, dry ponderosa pine and mixed conifer forests (hereafter, the "dry forests") of the Inland Northwest were burned by frequent low- or mixed-severity fires. These mostly surface fires maintained low and variable tree densities, light and patchy ground fuels, simplified forest structure, and favored fire-tolerant trees, such as...

Simulating boreal forest carbon dynamics after stand-replacing fire disturbance: insights from a global process-based vegetation model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yue, C.; Ciais, P.; Luyssaert, S.; Cadule, P.; Harden, J.; Randerson, J.; Bellassen, V.; Wang, T.; Piao, S. L.; Poulter, B.; Viovy, N.

2013-04-01

Stand-replacing fires are the dominant fire type in North American boreal forest and leave a historical legacy of a mosaic landscape of different aged forest cohorts. To accurately quantify the role of fire in historical and current regional forest carbon balance using models, one needs to explicitly simulate the new forest cohort that is established after fire. The present study adapted the global process-based vegetation model ORCHIDEE to simulate boreal forest fire CO2 emissions and follow-up recovery after a stand-replacing fire, with representation of postfire new cohort establishment, forest stand structure and the following self-thinning process. Simulation results are evaluated against three clusters of postfire forest chronosequence observations in Canada and Alaska. Evaluation variables for simulated postfire carbon dynamics include: fire carbon emissions, CO2 fluxes (gross primary production, total ecosystem respiration and net ecosystem exchange), leaf area index (LAI), and biometric measurements (aboveground biomass carbon, forest floor carbon, woody debris carbon, stand individual density, stand basal area, and mean diameter at breast height). The model simulation results, when forced by local climate and the atmospheric CO2 history on each chronosequence site, generally match the observed CO2 fluxes and carbon stock data well, with model-measurement mean square root of deviation comparable with measurement accuracy (for CO2 flux ~100 g C m-2 yr-1, for biomass carbon ~1000 g C m-2 and for soil carbon ~2000 g C m-2). We find that current postfire forest carbon sink on evaluation sites observed by chronosequence methods is mainly driven by historical atmospheric CO2 increase when forests recover from fire disturbance. Historical climate generally exerts a negative effect, probably due to increasing water stress caused by significant temperature increase without sufficient increase in precipitation. Our simulation results demonstrate that a global vegetation model such as ORCHIDEE is able to capture the essential ecosystem processes in fire-disturbed boreal forests and produces satisfactory results in terms of both carbon fluxes and carbon stocks evolution after fire, making it suitable for regional simulations in boreal regions where fire regimes play a key role on ecosystem carbon balance.

Fire effects on temperate forest soil C and N storage.

PubMed

Nave, Lucas E; Vance, Eric D; Swanston, Christopher W; Curtis, Peter S

2011-06-01

Temperate forest soils store globally significant amounts of carbon (C) and nitrogen (N). Understanding how soil pools of these two elements change in response to disturbance and management is critical to maintaining ecosystem services such as forest productivity, greenhouse gas mitigation, and water resource protection. Fire is one of the principal disturbances acting on forest soil C and N storage and is also the subject of enormous management efforts. In the present article, we use meta-analysis to quantify fire effects on temperate forest soil C and N storage. Across a combined total of 468 soil C and N response ratios from 57 publications (concentrations and pool sizes), fire had significant overall effects on soil C (-26%) and soil N (-22%). The impacts of fire on forest floors were significantly different from its effects on mineral soils. Fires reduced forest floor C and N storage (pool sizes only) by an average of 59% and 50%, respectively, but the concentrations of these two elements did not change. Prescribed fires caused smaller reductions in forest floor C and N storage (-46% and -35%) than wildfires (-67% and -69%), and the presence of hardwoods also mitigated fire impacts. Burned forest floors recovered their C and N pools in an average of 128 and 103 years, respectively. Among mineral soils, there were no significant changes in C or N storage, but C and N concentrations declined significantly (-11% and -12%, respectively). Mineral soil C and N concentrations were significantly affected by fire type, with no change following prescribed burns, but significant reductions in response to wildfires. Geographic variation in fire effects on mineral soil C and N storage underscores the need for region-specific fire management plans, and the role of fire type in mediating C and N shifts (especially in the forest floor) indicates that averting wildfires through prescribed burning is desirable from a soils perspective.

Forest fire laboratory at Riverside and fire research in California: past, present, and future

Treesearch

Carl C. Wilson; James B. Davis

1988-01-01

The need for protection from uncontrolled fire in California was identified by Abbott Kinney, Chairman of the State Board of Forestry, more than 75 years before the construction of the Riverside Forest Fire Laboratory. With the organization of the USDA Forest Service the need for an effective fire protection organization became apparent. In response, a...

The Missoula Fire Sciences Laboratory: A 50-year dedication to understanding wildlands and fire

Treesearch

Diane M. Smith

2012-01-01

In 1960, the USDA Forest Service established the Northern Forest Fire Laboratory (now the Missoula Fire Sciences Laboratory) to find scientific solutions for better managing the nation's wildland resources and to research ways to improve forest fire prevention and suppression. This new state-of-the-art research facility did not emerge from a vacuum, however. This...

Modeling of multi-strata forest fire severity using Landsat TM data

Treesearch

Q. Meng; R.K. Meentemeyer

2011-01-01

Most of fire severity studies use field measures of composite burn index (CBI) to represent forest fire severity and fit the relationships between CBI and Landsat imagery derived differenced normalized burn ratio (dNBR) to predict and map fire severity at unsampled locations. However, less attention has been paid on the multi-strata forest fire severity, which...

Lightning fires in southwestern forests

Treesearch

Jack S. Barrows

1978-01-01

Lightning is the leading cause of fires in southwestern forests. On all protected private, state and federal lands in Arizona and New Mexico, nearly 80 percent of the forest, brush and range fires are ignited by lightning. The Southwestern region leads all other regions of the United States both in total number of lightning fires and in the area burned by these fires...

1954 forest fire weather in western Oregon and Washington.

Treesearch

Owen P. Cramer

1954-01-01

For the second successive fire season forest fire weather in western Oregon and Washington was far below normal severity. The low danger is reflected in record low numbers of fires reported by forestry offices of both States and by the U. S. Forest Service for their respective protection areas. Although spring and fall fire weather was near normal, a rain-producing...

Post-fire surface fuel dynamics in California forests across three burn severity classes

Treesearch

Bianca N. I. Eskelson; Vicente J. Monleon

2018-01-01

Forest wildfires consume fuel and are followed by post-fire fuel accumulation. This study examines post-fire surface fuel dynamics over 9 years across a wide range of conditions characteristic of California fires in dry conifer and hardwood forests. We estimated post-fire surface fuel loadings (Mg ha _1) from 191 repeatedly measured United States...

Forest Understory Fire in the Brazilian Amazon in ENSO and Non-ENSO Years: Area Burned and Committed Carbon Emissions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Alencar, A.; Nepstad, D.; Ver-Diaz, M. Del. C.

2004-01-01

"Understory fires" that burn the floor of standing forests are one of the most important types of forest impoverishment in the Amazon, especially during the severe droughts of El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO) episodes. However, we are aware of no estimates of the areal extent of these fires for the Brazilian Amazon and, hence, of their contribution to Amazon carbon fluxes to the atmosphere. We calculated the area of forest understory fires for the Brazilian Amazon region during an El Nino (1998) and a non El Nino (1995) year based on forest fire scars mapped with satellite images for three locations in eastern and southern Amazon, where deforestation is concentrated. The three study sites represented a gradient of both forest types and dry season severity. The burning scar maps were used to determine how the percentage of forest that burned varied with distance from agricultural clearings. These spatial functions were then applied to similar forest/climate combinations outside of the study sites to derive an initial estimate for the Brazilian Amazon. Ninety-one percent of the forest area that burned in the study sites was within the first kilometer of a clearing for the non ENSO year and within the first four kilometers for the ENSO year. The area of forest burned by understory forest fire during the severe drought (ENSO) year (3.9 millions of hectares) was 13 times greater than the area burned during the average rainfall year (0.2 million hectares), and twice the area of annual deforestation rate. Dense forest was, proportionally, the forest area most affected by understory fires during the El Nino year, while understory fires were concentrated in transitional forests during the year of average rainfall. Our estimate of aboveground tree biomass killed by fire ranged from 0.06 Pg to 0.38 Pg during the ENSO and from 0,004 Pg to 0,024 Pg during the non ENSO.

Synergy between land use and climate change increases future fire risk in Amazon forests

DOE PAGES

Le Page, Yannick; Morton, Douglas; Hartin, Corinne; ...

2017-12-20

Tropical forests have been a permanent feature of the Amazon basin for at least 55 million years, yet climate change and land use threaten the forest's future over the next century. Understory forest fires, which are common under the current climate in frontier forests, may accelerate Amazon forest losses from climate-driven dieback and deforestation. Far from land use frontiers, scarce fire ignitions and high moisture levels preclude significant burning, yet projected climate and land use changes may increase fire activity in these remote regions. Here, we used a fire model specifically parameterized for Amazon understory fires to examine the interactionsmore » between anthropogenic activities and climate under current and projected conditions. In a scenario of low mitigation efforts with substantial land use expansion and climate change – Representative Concentration Pathway (RCP) 8.5 – projected understory fires increase in frequency and duration, burning 4–28 times more forest in 2080–2100 than during 1990–2010. In contrast, active climate mitigation and land use contraction in RCP4.5 constrain the projected increase in fire activity to 0.9–5.4 times contemporary burned area. Importantly, if climate mitigation is not successful, land use contraction alone is very effective under low to moderate climate change, but does little to reduce fire activity under the most severe climate projections. These results underscore the potential for a fire-driven transformation of Amazon forests if recent regional policies for forest conservation are not paired with global efforts to mitigate climate change.« less

Forest Fire Danger Rating (FFDR) Prediction over the Korean Peninsula

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Song, B.; Won, M.; Jang, K.; Yoon, S.; Lim, J.

2016-12-01

Approximately five hundred forest fires occur and inflict the losses of both life and property each year in Korea during the forest fire seasons in the spring and autumn. Thus, an accurate prediction of forest fire is essential for effective forest fire prevention. The meteorology is one of important factors to predict and understand the fire occurrence as well as its behaviors and spread. In this study, we present the Forest Fire Danger Rating Systems (FFDRS) on the Korean Peninsula based on the Daily Weather Index (DWI) which represents the meteorological characteristics related to forest fire. The thematic maps including temperature, humidity, and wind speed produced from Korea Meteorology Administration (KMA) were applied to the forest fire occurrence probability model by logistic regression to analyze the DWI over the Korean Peninsula. The regional data assimilation and prediction system (RDAPS) and the improved digital forecast model were used to verify the sensitivity of DWI. The result of verification test revealed that the improved digital forecast model dataset showed better agreements with the real-time weather data. The forest fire danger rating index (FFDRI) calculated by the improved digital forecast model dataset showed a good agreement with the real-time weather dataset at the 233 administrative districts (R2=0.854). In addition, FFDRI were compared with observation-based FFDRI at 76 national weather stations. The mean difference was 0.5 at the site-level. The results produced in this study indicate that the improved digital forecast model dataset can be useful to predict the FFDRI in the Korean Peninsula successfully.

Early recruitment responses to interactions between frequent fires, nutrients, and herbivory in the southern Amazon.

PubMed

Massad, Tara Joy; Balch, Jennifer K; Mews, Cândida Lahís; Porto, Pábio; Marimon Junior, Ben Hur; Quintino, Raimundo Mota; Brando, P M; Vieira, Simone A; Trumbore, Susan E

2015-07-01

Understanding tropical forest diversity is a long-standing challenge in ecology. With global change, it has become increasingly important to understand how anthropogenic and natural factors interact to determine diversity. Anthropogenic increases in fire frequency are among the global change variables affecting forest diversity and functioning, and seasonally dry forest of the southern Amazon is among the ecosystems most affected by such pressures. Studying how fire will impact forests in this region is therefore important for understanding ecosystem functioning and for designing effective conservation action. We report the results of an experiment in which we manipulated fire, nutrient availability, and herbivory. We measured the effects of these interacting factors on the regenerative capacity of the ecotone between humid Amazon forest and Brazilian savanna. Regeneration density, diversity, and community composition were severely altered by fire. Additions of P and N + P reduced losses of density and richness in the first year post-fire. Herbivory was most important just after germination. Diversity was positively correlated with herbivory in unburned forest, likely because fire reduced the number of reproductive individuals. This contrasts with earlier results from the same study system in which herbivory was related to increased diversity after fire. We documented a significant effect of fire frequency; diversity in triennially burned forest was more similar to that in unburned than in annually burned forest, and the community composition of triennially burned forest was intermediate between unburned and annually burned areas. Preventing frequent fires will therefore help reduce losses in diversity in the southern Amazon's matrix of human-altered landscapes.

Synergy between land use and climate change increases future fire risk in Amazon forests

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Le Page, Yannick; Morton, Douglas; Hartin, Corinne

Tropical forests have been a permanent feature of the Amazon basin for at least 55 million years, yet climate change and land use threaten the forest's future over the next century. Understory forest fires, which are common under the current climate in frontier forests, may accelerate Amazon forest losses from climate-driven dieback and deforestation. Far from land use frontiers, scarce fire ignitions and high moisture levels preclude significant burning, yet projected climate and land use changes may increase fire activity in these remote regions. Here, we used a fire model specifically parameterized for Amazon understory fires to examine the interactionsmore » between anthropogenic activities and climate under current and projected conditions. In a scenario of low mitigation efforts with substantial land use expansion and climate change – Representative Concentration Pathway (RCP) 8.5 – projected understory fires increase in frequency and duration, burning 4–28 times more forest in 2080–2100 than during 1990–2010. In contrast, active climate mitigation and land use contraction in RCP4.5 constrain the projected increase in fire activity to 0.9–5.4 times contemporary burned area. Importantly, if climate mitigation is not successful, land use contraction alone is very effective under low to moderate climate change, but does little to reduce fire activity under the most severe climate projections. These results underscore the potential for a fire-driven transformation of Amazon forests if recent regional policies for forest conservation are not paired with global efforts to mitigate climate change.« less

Are High-Severity Fires Burning at Much Higher Rates Recently than Historically in Dry-Forest Landscapes of the Western USA?

PubMed Central

Baker, William L.

2015-01-01

Dry forests at low elevations in temperate-zone mountains are commonly hypothesized to be at risk of exceptional rates of severe fire from climatic change and land-use effects. Their setting is fire-prone, they have been altered by land-uses, and fire severity may be increasing. However, where fires were excluded, increased fire could also be hypothesized as restorative of historical fire. These competing hypotheses are not well tested, as reference data prior to widespread land-use expansion were insufficient. Moreover, fire-climate projections were lacking for these forests. Here, I used new reference data and records of high-severity fire from 1984–2012 across all dry forests (25.5 million ha) of the western USA to test these hypotheses. I also approximated projected effects of climatic change on high-severity fire in dry forests by applying existing projections. This analysis showed the rate of recent high-severity fire in dry forests is within the range of historical rates, or is too low, overall across dry forests and individually in 42 of 43 analysis regions. Significant upward trends were lacking overall from 1984–2012 for area burned and fraction burned at high severity. Upward trends in area burned at high severity were found in only 4 of 43 analysis regions. Projections for A.D. 2046–2065 showed high-severity fire would generally be still operating at, or have been restored to historical rates, although high projections suggest high-severity fire rotations that are too short could ensue in 6 of 43 regions. Programs to generally reduce fire severity in dry forests are not supported and have significant adverse ecological impacts, including reducing habitat for native species dependent on early-successional burned patches and decreasing landscape heterogeneity that confers resilience to climatic change. Some adverse ecological effects of high-severity fires are concerns. Managers and communities can improve our ability to live with high-severity fire in dry forests. PMID:26351850

An update on The Hazard Mapping System (HMS) - a multiplatform remote sensing approach to fire and smoke detection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kibler, J. M.; Ruminski, M. G.; Simko, J. J.; McNamara, D. P.; Kasheta, T.

2004-12-01

The Hazard Mapping System (HMS) is a multiplatform remote sensing approach to detecting fires and smoke over the US, Canada, Mexico and Central America. This system is an integral part of the Satellite Services Division's near realtime hazards detection and mitigation efforts. The system utilizes NOAA's Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites (GOES), Polar Operational Environmental Satellites (POES), the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instrument on NASA's Terra and Aqua spacecraft and the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program Operational Linescan System (OLS) sensor, (F14 and F15). Automated detection algorithms are employed for each of the satellites (except DMSP OLS) for the fire detects while smoke is annotated by a satellite analyst. Fire detects can also be added by the satellite analyst. Major customers for this product include the National Weather Service, Storm Prediction Center, US Forest Service, Environmental Protection Agency, research science teams, as well as numerous federal, state and local land and air quality managers. In 2004 the HMS was upgraded by adding the Canadian, Mexican, and Central American sectors for hotspot and smoke detection. These sectors can be easily turned off or on by changing flags in the system configuration file. This enables analysis in sectors only during their respective burning seasons. The Alaskan and Canadian sectors are typically turned off in the winter season and the Mexican sector is cut off after the March-May burning season. But sectors can also be easily added or restarted if, for instance, smoke from a region is affecting the United States. Various ancillary data sources are used in the HMS to aid the analysis. Stable Lights is a static product that identifies stable sources of light from the OLS sensor and is usually associated with cities and urban areas. It appears on the screen as a transparent overlay on the satellite imagery being displayed. This capability can assist the analyst by screening out heat sources where stable lights are present. Vegetation type and water overlays aid in the decision to add or delete a fire point. Water sources many times may cause false detects due to low sun zenith angles during sunrise and sunset or due to temperature contrast between land and water at night. This overlay aides in quickly finding these false detects. Vegetation overlays enable the analyst by showing what type of land is present near the hotspot in question. For example, fires are more likely in forest or grassland than desert or barren lands. The SSD fire team is currently assessing the feasibility of a descriptive smoke text product and would like to incorporate additional datasets for the monitoring of fires, smoke, dust, and air pollution. The HMS is a dynamic product that changes with the needs of our analysts and customers.

Hayman Fire case study: Summary [RMRS-GTR-114

Treesearch

Russell T. Graham

2003-01-01

Historically, wildfires burned Western forests creating and maintaining a variety of forest compositions and structures (Agee 1993). Prior to European settlement lightning along with Native Americans ignited fires routinely across many forested landscapes. After Euro-American settlement, fires continued to be quite common with fires ignited by settlers, railroads, and...

36 CFR 211.4 - Cooperation for fire prevention and control.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 36 Parks, Forests, and Public Property 2 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Cooperation for fire... AGRICULTURE ADMINISTRATION Cooperation § 211.4 Cooperation for fire prevention and control. The Forest Service... will result in mutual benefit in the prevention and suppression of forest fires: Provided, That the...

36 CFR 211.4 - Cooperation for fire prevention and control.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... 36 Parks, Forests, and Public Property 2 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Cooperation for fire... AGRICULTURE ADMINISTRATION Cooperation § 211.4 Cooperation for fire prevention and control. The Forest Service... will result in mutual benefit in the prevention and suppression of forest fires: Provided, That the...

Analysing Forst Fores in China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Casanova, Jose-Luis; Sanz, Julia; Garcia, Miguel; Salvador, Pablo; Quin, Xianlin; Li, Zengyuan; Yin, Lingyu; Sun, Guifen; Goldammer, Johann

2016-08-01

Forest fires are a major concern in China because of the economical and biodiversity looses and because the emission of trace gases into the atmosphere. During 12 years LATUV has been working in the development of forest fires products, especially in North China. A catalogue of products has been generated like: forest fire detection, burnt area mapping, gas emissions, severity and burnt biomass.Forest fires can be detected by different platforms and sensor but the rate of false alarms is high because of industrial activity. The gas emissions are important, because of the forest fires inside China and because the forest fires between China and Russia that have a considerable impact in the atmosphere composition in China.The availability of new sensors on board sentinel 2 and sentinel 3 platforms will increase the product catalogue with new products more accurate and increasing the periodicity information.

Long-term boreal forest dynamics and disturbances: a multi-proxy approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stivrins, Normunds; Aakala, Tuomas; Kuuluvainen, Timo; Pasanen, Leena; Ilvonen, Liisa; Holmström, Lasse; Seppä, Heikki

2017-04-01

The boreal forest provides a variety of ecosystem services that are threatened under the ongoing climate warming. Along with the climate, there are several factors (fire, human-impact, pathogens), which influence boreal forest dynamics. Combination of short and long-term studies allowing complex assessment of forest response to natural abiotic and biotic stress factors is necessary for sustainable management of the boreal forest now and in the future. The ongoing EBOR (Ecological history and long-term dynamics of the boreal forest ecosystem) project integrates forest ecological and palaeoecological approaches to study boreal forest dynamics and disturbances. Using pollen, non-pollen palynomorphs, micro- and macrocharcoal, tree rings and fire scars, we analysed forest dynamics at stand-scale by sampling small forest hollows (small paludified depressions) and the surrounding forest stands in Finland and western Russia. Using charcoal data, we estimated a fire return interval of 320 years for the Russian sites, and, based on the fungi Neurospora that can grow on charred tree bark after a low-intensity fire, we were able to distinguish low- and high-intensity fire-events. In addition to the influence of fire events and/or fire regime changes, we further assessed potential relationships between tree species and herbivore presence and pathogens. As an example of such a relationship, our preliminary findings indicated a negative relationship between Picea and fungi Lasiosphaeria (caudata), which occurred during times of Picea decline.

Contrasting spatial patterns in active-fire and fire-suppressed Mediterranean climate old-growth mixed conifer forests.

PubMed

Fry, Danny L; Stephens, Scott L; Collins, Brandon M; North, Malcolm P; Franco-Vizcaíno, Ernesto; Gill, Samantha J

2014-01-01

In Mediterranean environments in western North America, historic fire regimes in frequent-fire conifer forests are highly variable both temporally and spatially. This complexity influenced forest structure and spatial patterns, but some of this diversity has been lost due to anthropogenic disruption of ecosystem processes, including fire. Information from reference forest sites can help management efforts to restore forests conditions that may be more resilient to future changes in disturbance regimes and climate. In this study, we characterize tree spatial patterns using four-ha stem maps from four old-growth, Jeffrey pine-mixed conifer forests, two with active-fire regimes in northwestern Mexico and two that experienced fire exclusion in the southern Sierra Nevada. Most of the trees were in patches, averaging six to 11 trees per patch at 0.007 to 0.014 ha(-1), and occupied 27-46% of the study areas. Average canopy gap sizes (0.04 ha) covering 11-20% of the area were not significantly different among sites. The putative main effects of fire exclusion were higher densities of single trees in smaller size classes, larger proportion of trees (≥ 56%) in large patches (≥ 10 trees), and decreases in spatial complexity. While a homogenization of forest structure has been a typical result from fire exclusion, some similarities in patch, single tree, and gap attributes were maintained at these sites. These within-stand descriptions provide spatially relevant benchmarks from which to manage for structural heterogeneity in frequent-fire forest types.

Contribution of Near Real Time MODIS-Based Forest Disturbance Detection Products to a National Forest Threat Early Warning System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Spruce, J.; Hargrove, W. W.; Gasser, J.; Smoot, J.; Kuper, P.

2011-12-01

This presentation discusses an effort to compute and post weekly MODIS forest change products for the conterminous US (CONUS), as part of a web-based national forest threat early warning system (EWS) known as the U.S. Forest Change Assessment Viewer (FCAV). The US Forest Service, NASA, USGS, and ORNL are working collaboratively to contribute weekly change products to this EWS. Large acreages of the nation's forests are being disturbed by a growing multitude of biotic and abiotic threats that can act either singularly or in combination. When common at regional scales, such disturbances can pose hazards and threats to floral and faunal bio-diversity, ecosystem sustainability, ecosystem services, and human settlements across the conterminous US. Regionally evident forest disturbances range from ephemeral periodic canopy defoliation to stand replacement mortality events due to insects, disease, fire, hurricanes, tornadoes, ice, hail, and drought. Mandated by the Healthy Forest Restoration Act of 2003, this forest threat EWS has been actively developed since 2006 and on-line since 2010. The FCAV system employs 250-meter MODIS NDVI-based forest change products as a key element of the system, providing regional and CONUS scale products in near real time every 8 days. Each of our forest change products in FCAV is based on current versus historical 24 day composites of NDVI data gridded at 231.66 meter resolution. Current NDVI is derived from USGS eMODIS expedited products. MOD13 NDVI is used for constructing historical baselines. CONUS change products are computed for all forests as % change in the current versus historical NDVI for a given 24 day period. Change products are computed according to previous year, previous 3 year and previous 8 year historical baselines. The use of multiple baselines enables apparent forest disturbance anomalies to be more fully assessed. CONUS forest change products are posted each week on the FCAV, a web mapping service constructed and maintained by the National Environmental Modeling and Analysis Center. The FCAV EWS has been used to aid multiple Federal and State agency forest management activities, including aerial disturbance detection surveys, as well as rapid response preliminary assessments of timber loss due to tornadoes, regional drought studies, and fire damage assessments. The FCAV allows end-users to assess the context of apparent forest vegetation change with respect to ancillary data, such as land cover, topography, hydrology, climate variables, and administrative boundaries. Such change products are being evaluated through case studies involving comparison with higher spatial resolution satellite, aerial, and field data. The presentation will include multiple examples in which regionally evident forest disturbances were successfully detected and monitored with the MODIS-based change products, as part of the FCAV. FCAV's MODIS forest change products enable end-users (e.g., resource managers) to view and monitor forest hazards at regional scales throughout the year and across the nation.

Impact of anthropogenic climate change on wildfire across western US forests.

PubMed

Abatzoglou, John T; Williams, A Park

2016-10-18

Increased forest fire activity across the western continental United States (US) in recent decades has likely been enabled by a number of factors, including the legacy of fire suppression and human settlement, natural climate variability, and human-caused climate change. We use modeled climate projections to estimate the contribution of anthropogenic climate change to observed increases in eight fuel aridity metrics and forest fire area across the western United States. Anthropogenic increases in temperature and vapor pressure deficit significantly enhanced fuel aridity across western US forests over the past several decades and, during 2000-2015, contributed to 75% more forested area experiencing high (>1 σ) fire-season fuel aridity and an average of nine additional days per year of high fire potential. Anthropogenic climate change accounted for ∼55% of observed increases in fuel aridity from 1979 to 2015 across western US forests, highlighting both anthropogenic climate change and natural climate variability as important contributors to increased wildfire potential in recent decades. We estimate that human-caused climate change contributed to an additional 4.2 million ha of forest fire area during 1984-2015, nearly doubling the forest fire area expected in its absence. Natural climate variability will continue to alternate between modulating and compounding anthropogenic increases in fuel aridity, but anthropogenic climate change has emerged as a driver of increased forest fire activity and should continue to do so while fuels are not limiting.

Impact of anthropogenic climate change on wildfire across western US forests

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Abatzoglou, John T.; Park Williams, A.

2016-10-01

Increased forest fire activity across the western continental United States (US) in recent decades has likely been enabled by a number of factors, including the legacy of fire suppression and human settlement, natural climate variability, and human-caused climate change. We use modeled climate projections to estimate the contribution of anthropogenic climate change to observed increases in eight fuel aridity metrics and forest fire area across the western United States. Anthropogenic increases in temperature and vapor pressure deficit significantly enhanced fuel aridity across western US forests over the past several decades and, during 2000-2015, contributed to 75% more forested area experiencing high (>1 σ) fire-season fuel aridity and an average of nine additional days per year of high fire potential. Anthropogenic climate change accounted for ˜55% of observed increases in fuel aridity from 1979 to 2015 across western US forests, highlighting both anthropogenic climate change and natural climate variability as important contributors to increased wildfire potential in recent decades. We estimate that human-caused climate change contributed to an additional 4.2 million ha of forest fire area during 1984-2015, nearly doubling the forest fire area expected in its absence. Natural climate variability will continue to alternate between modulating and compounding anthropogenic increases in fuel aridity, but anthropogenic climate change has emerged as a driver of increased forest fire activity and should continue to do so while fuels are not limiting.

Long-term effects of fire and harvest on carbon stocks of boreal forests in northeastern China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huang, C.; He, H. S.; Hawbaker, T. J.; Zhu, Z.; Liang, Y.; Gong, P.

2017-12-01

Fire, harvest and their interactions have strong effects on boreal forests carbon stocks. Repeated disturbances associated with relatively short fire return intervals and harvest rotations, and their interactions caused their effects to increase over simulation time.Boreal forests in the northeastern of China cover 8.46×105 km2, store about 350 Tg aboveground carbon, and play an important role in maintaining China's carbon balance. Boreal forests in this region are facing pressures from repeated fires and timber harvesting activities.The objectives of our study were to evaluate the effects of fire, harvest and their interactions on boreal forest carbon stocks of northeastern China.We used the LANDIS PRO-LINKAGES model-coupling framework to simulate the landscape-level effects of fire and harvest and their interactions over 150 years. Our simulation results suggested that aboveground and soil organic carbon are significantly reduced by fire and harvest over 150 years. The long-term effects of fire and harvest on carbon stocks were greater than the short-term effects in the Great Xing' an Mountains. The total effects of fire-harvest interactions on boreal forests are less than the sum of separate effects of fire and harvest. The response of carbon stocks among ecoregions diverged and was due to the spatial variability of fire and harvest regimes.These results emphasize that fire, harvest, and their interactions play an important role in regulating boreal forest carbon stocks, the extent of fire and harvest effects depended on the intensity of these disturbances.

Modeling forest fire occurrences using count-data mixed models in Qiannan autonomous prefecture of Guizhou province in China.

PubMed

Xiao, Yundan; Zhang, Xiongqing; Ji, Ping

2015-01-01

Forest fires can cause catastrophic damage on natural resources. In the meantime, it can also bring serious economic and social impacts. Meteorological factors play a critical role in establishing conditions favorable for a forest fire. Effective prediction of forest fire occurrences could prevent or minimize losses. This paper uses count data models to analyze fire occurrence data which is likely to be dispersed and frequently contain an excess of zero counts (no fire occurrence). Such data have commonly been analyzed using count data models such as a Poisson model, negative binomial model (NB), zero-inflated models, and hurdle models. Data we used in this paper is collected from Qiannan autonomous prefecture of Guizhou province in China. Using the fire occurrence data from January to April (spring fire season) for the years 1996 through 2007, we introduced random effects to the count data models. In this study, the results indicated that the prediction achieved through NB model provided a more compelling and credible inferential basis for fitting actual forest fire occurrence, and mixed-effects model performed better than corresponding fixed-effects model in forest fire forecasting. Besides, among all meteorological factors, we found that relative humidity and wind speed is highly correlated with fire occurrence.

Modeling Forest Fire Occurrences Using Count-Data Mixed Models in Qiannan Autonomous Prefecture of Guizhou Province in China

PubMed Central

Ji, Ping

2015-01-01

Forest fires can cause catastrophic damage on natural resources. In the meantime, it can also bring serious economic and social impacts. Meteorological factors play a critical role in establishing conditions favorable for a forest fire. Effective prediction of forest fire occurrences could prevent or minimize losses. This paper uses count data models to analyze fire occurrence data which is likely to be dispersed and frequently contain an excess of zero counts (no fire occurrence). Such data have commonly been analyzed using count data models such as a Poisson model, negative binomial model (NB), zero-inflated models, and hurdle models. Data we used in this paper is collected from Qiannan autonomous prefecture of Guizhou province in China. Using the fire occurrence data from January to April (spring fire season) for the years 1996 through 2007, we introduced random effects to the count data models. In this study, the results indicated that the prediction achieved through NB model provided a more compelling and credible inferential basis for fitting actual forest fire occurrence, and mixed-effects model performed better than corresponding fixed-effects model in forest fire forecasting. Besides, among all meteorological factors, we found that relative humidity and wind speed is highly correlated with fire occurrence. PMID:25790309

Strategies for preventing invasive plant outbreaks after prescribed fire in ponderosa pine forest

USGS Publications Warehouse

Symstad, Amy J.; Newton, Wesley E.; Swanson, Daniel J.

2014-01-01

Land managers use prescribed fire to return a vital process to fire-adapted ecosystems, restore forest structure from a state altered by long-term fire suppression, and reduce wildfire intensity. However, fire often produces favorable conditions for invasive plant species, particularly if it is intense enough to reveal bare mineral soil and open previously closed canopies. Understanding the environmental or fire characteristics that explain post-fire invasive plant abundance would aid managers in efficiently finding and quickly responding to fire-caused infestations. To that end, we used an information-theoretic model-selection approach to assess the relative importance of abiotic environmental characteristics (topoedaphic position, distance from roads), pre-and post-fire biotic environmental characteristics (forest structure, understory vegetation, fuel load), and prescribed fire severity (measured in four different ways) in explaining invasive plant cover in ponderosa pine forest in South Dakota’s Black Hills. Environmental characteristics (distance from roads and post-fire forest structure) alone provided the most explanation of variation (26%) in post-fire cover of Verbascum thapsus (common mullein), but a combination of surface fire severity and environmental characteristics (pre-fire forest structure and distance from roads) explained 36–39% of the variation in post-fire cover of Cirsium arvense (Canada thistle) and all invasives together. For four species and all invasives together, their pre-fire cover explained more variation (26–82%) in post-fire cover than environmental and fire characteristics did, suggesting one strategy for reducing post-fire invasive outbreaks may be to find and control invasives before the fire. Finding them may be difficult, however, since pre-fire environmental characteristics explained only 20% of variation in pre-fire total invasive cover, and less for individual species. Thus, moderating fire intensity or targeting areas of high severity for post-fire invasive control may be the most efficient means for reducing the chances of post-fire invasive plant outbreaks when conducting prescribed fires in this region.

Sanford Prescribed Fire Review

Treesearch

Scott Conroy; Jim Saveland; Mark Beighley; John Shive; Joni Ward; Marcus Trujillo; Paul Keller

2003-01-01

The Dixie National Forest has a long-standing history of successfully implementing prescribed fire and suppression programs. The Forest's safety record has been exemplary. The Forest is known Region-wide for its aggressive and innovative prescribed fire program. In particular, the Dixie National Forest is recognized for its leadership in introducing landscape-...

Early Forest Fire Detection Using Radio-Acoustic Sounding System

PubMed Central

Sahin, Yasar Guneri; Ince, Turker

2009-01-01

Automated early fire detection systems have recently received a significant amount of attention due to their importance in protecting the global environment. Some emergent technologies such as ground-based, satellite-based remote sensing and distributed sensor networks systems have been used to detect forest fires in the early stages. In this study, a radio-acoustic sounding system with fine space and time resolution capabilities for continuous monitoring and early detection of forest fires is proposed. Simulations show that remote thermal mapping of a particular forest region by the proposed system could be a potential solution to the problem of early detection of forest fires. PMID:22573967

Spatially explicit measurements of forest structure and fire behavior following restoration treatments in dry forests

Treesearch

Justin Paul Ziegler; Chad Hoffman; Michael Battaglia; William Mell

2017-01-01

Restoration treatments in dry forests of the western US often attempt silvicultural practices to restore the historical characteristics of forest structure and fire behavior. However, it is suggested that a reliance on non-spatial metrics of forest stand structure, along with the use of wildland fire behavior models that lack the ability to handle complex structures,...

Long-term effects of prescribed fire on mixed conifer forest structure in the Sierra Nevada, California

Treesearch

Phillip J. Van Mantgem; Nathan L. Stephenson; Eric Knapp; John Barrles; Jon E. Keeley

2011-01-01

The capacity of prescribed fire to restore forest conditions is often judged by changes in forest structure within a few years following burning. However, prescribed fire might have longer-term effects on forest structure, potentially changing treatment assessments. We examined annual changes in forest structure in five 1 ha old-growth plots immediately before...

Using fire to increase the scale, benefits and future maintenance of fuels treatments

Treesearch

Malcolm P. North; Brandon M. Collins; Scott L Stephens

2012-01-01

The Forest Service is implementing a new planning rule and starting to revise forest plans for many of the 155 National Forests. In forests that historically had frequent fire regimes, the scale of current fuels reduction treatments has often been too limited to affect fire severity and the Forest Service has predominantly focused on suppression. In addition to...

Climate change and wildland firefighter health and safety.

PubMed

Withen, Patrick

2015-02-01

The author examines how climate change is impacting wildland firefighters. Climate change has made wildland fires more frequent and more intense. The increase in frequency and intensity of fires has pushed the number of fatalities and injuries higher in recent decades. The most common hazards on fires follow the trend of fire in general in that these hazards become more frequent and intense. Burnovers, heat exhaustion, tree hazards, and many other common fire hazards are more likely. The fire suppression agencies are making every effort to improve health and safety on fires by improving communication, weather forecasting, mapping, fire shelters, decision making and more. Despite these efforts, wildfires are becoming ever more hazardous because of climate change and the increasing frequency and intensity of wildfires. © 2015 SAGE Publications.

Climatic stress increases forest fire severity across the western United States.

PubMed

van Mantgem, Phillip J; Nesmith, Jonathan C B; Keifer, MaryBeth; Knapp, Eric E; Flint, Alan; Flint, Lorriane

2013-09-01

Pervasive warming can lead to chronic stress on forest trees, which may contribute to mortality resulting from fire-caused injuries. Longitudinal analyses of forest plots from across the western US show that high pre-fire climatic water deficit was related to increased post-fire tree mortality probabilities. This relationship between climate and fire was present after accounting for fire defences and injuries, and appeared to influence the effects of crown and stem injuries. Climate and fire interactions did not vary substantially across geographical regions, major genera and tree sizes. Our findings support recent physiological evidence showing that both drought and heating from fire can impair xylem conductivity. Warming trends have been linked to increasing probabilities of severe fire weather and fire spread; our results suggest that warming may also increase forest fire severity (the number of trees killed) independent of fire intensity (the amount of heat released during a fire). Published 2013. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.

Fire-induced changes in boreal forest canopy volume and soil organic matter from multi-temporal airborne lidar

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alonzo, M.; Cook, B.; Andersen, H. E.; Babcock, C. R.; Morton, D. C.

2016-12-01

Fire in boreal forests initiates a cascade of biogeochemical and biophysical processes. Over typical fire return intervals, net radiative forcing from boreal forest fires depends on the offsetting impacts of greenhouse gas emissions and post-fire changes in land surface albedo. Whether boreal forest fires warm or cool the climate over these multi-decadal intervals depends on the magnitude of fire emissions and the time scales of decomposition, albedo changes, and forest regrowth. Our understanding of vegetation and surface organic matter (SOM) changes from boreal forest fires is shaped by field measurements and moderate resolution remote sensing data. Intensive field plot measurements offer detailed data on overstory, understory, and SOM changes from fire, but sparse plot data can be difficult to extend across the heterogeneous boreal forest landscape. Conversely, satellite measurements of burn severity are spatially extensive but only provide proxy measures of fire effects. In this research, we seek to bridge the scale gap between existing intensive and extensive methods using a combination of airborne lidar data and time series of Landsat data to evaluate pre- and post-fire conditions across Alaska's Kenai Peninsula. Lidar-based estimates of pre-fire stand structure and composition were essential to characterize the loss of canopy volume from fires between 2001 and 2014, quantify transitions from live to dead standing carbon pools, and isolate vegetation recovery following fire over 1 to 13 year time scales. Results from this study demonstrate the utility of lidar for estimating pre-fire structure and species composition at the scale of individual tree crowns. Multi-temporal airborne lidar data also provide essential insights regarding the heterogeneity of canopy and SOM losses at a sub-Landsat pixel scale. Fire effects are forest-structure and species dependent with variable temporal lags in carbon release due to delayed mortality (>5 years post fire) and standing dead trees. Establishing the spatial and temporal scales of canopy structural change will aid in constraining estimates of net radiative forcing from both carbon release and albedo in the years following fire.

Forest construction infrastructures for the prevision, suppression, and protection before and after forest fires

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Drosos, Vasileios C.; Giannoulas, Vasileios J.; Daoutis, Christodoulos

2014-08-01

Climatic changes cause temperature rise and thus increase the risk of forest fires. In Greece the forests with the greatest risk to fire are usually those located near residential and tourist areas where there are major pressures on land use changes, while there are no currently guaranteed cadastral maps and defined title deeds because of the lack of National and Forest Cadastre. In these areas the deliberate causes of forest fires are at a percentage more than 50%. This study focuses on the forest opening up model concerning both the prevention and suppression of forest fires. The most urgent interventions that can be done after the fire destructions is also studied in relation to soil protection constructions, in order to minimize the erosion and the torrential conditions. Digital orthophotos were used in order to produce and analyze spatial data using Geographical Information Systems (GIS). Initially, Digital Elevation Models were generated, based on photogrammetry and forest areas as well as the forest road network were mapped. Road density, road distance, skidding distance and the opening up percentage were accurately measured for a forest complex. Finally, conclusions and suggestions have been drawn about the environmental compatibility of forest protection and wood harvesting works. In particular the contribution of modern technologies such as digital photogrammetry, remote sensing and Geographical Information Systems is very important, allowing reliable, effective and fast process of spatial analysis contributing to a successful planning of opening up works and fire protection.

[Estimation of carbonaceous gases emission from forest fires in Xiao Xing'an Mountains of Northeast China in 1953-2011].

PubMed

Hu, Hai-Qing; Luo, Bi-Zhen; Wei, Shu-Jing; Sun, Long; Wei, Shu-Wei; Wen, Zheng-Min

2013-11-01

Based on the forest resources investigation data and the forest fire inventory in 1953-2011, in combining with our field research in burned areas and our laboratory experiments, this paper estimated the carbonaceous gases carbon dioxide (CO2), carbon monoxide (CO), methane (CH4), and nonmethane hydrocarbons (NMHC) emission from the forest fires in Xiao Xing' an Mountains of Heilongjiang Province, Northeast China in 1953-2011. The total carbon emission from the forest fires in the Xiao Xing'an Mountains in 1953-2011 was 1.12 x 10(7) t, and the annual emission was averagely 1.90 x10(5) t, accounting for 1.7% of the annual average total carbon emission from the forest fires in China. The emission of CO2, CO, CH4, and NMHC was 3.39 x 10(7), 1.94 x 10(5), 1.09 x 10(5), and 7.46 x 10(4) t, respectively, and the corresponding annual average emission was 5.74 x 10(5), 3.29 x 10(4), 1.85 x 10(3), and 1.27 x 10(3) t, accounting for 1.4%, 1.2%, 1.7%, and 1.1% of the annual carbonaceous gases emitted from the forest fires in China, respectively. The combustion efficiency and the carbon emission per unit burned area of different forest types decreased in order of coniferous forest > broad-leaved forest > coniferous broadleaved mixed forest. Some rational forest fire management measures were put forward.

A numerical solution of the problem of crown forest fire initiation and spread

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Marzaeva, S. I.; Galtseva, O. V.

2018-05-01

Mathematical model of forest fire was based on an analysis of known experimental data and using concept and methods from reactive media mechanics. The study takes in to account the mutual interaction of the forest fires and three-dimensional atmosphere flows. The research is done by means of mathematical modeling of physical processes. It is based on numerical solution of Reynolds equations for chemical components and equations of energy conservation for gaseous and condensed phases. It is assumed that the forest during a forest fire can be modeled as a two-temperature multiphase non-deformable porous reactive medium. A discrete analog for the system of equations was obtained by means of the control volume method. The developed model of forest fire initiation and spreading would make it possible to obtain a detailed picture of the variation in the velocity, temperature and chemical species concentration fields with time. Mathematical model and the result of the calculation give an opportunity to evaluate critical conditions of the forest fire initiation and spread which allows applying the given model for of means for preventing fires.

Opposing effects of fire severity on climate feedbacks in Siberian larch forests

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Loranty, M. M.; Alexander, H. D.; Natali, S.; Kropp, H.; Mack, M. C.; Bunn, A. G.; Davydov, S. P.; Erb, A.; Kholodov, A. L.; Schaaf, C.; Wang, Z.; Zimov, N.; Zimov, S. A.

2017-12-01

Boreal larch forests in northeastern Siberia comprise nearly 25% of the continuous permafrost zone. Structural and functional changes in these ecosystems will have important climate feedbacks at regional and global scales. Like boreal ecosystems in North America, fire is an important determinant of landscape scale forest distribution, and fire regimes are intensifying as climate warms. In Siberian larch forests are dominated by a single tree species, and there is evidence that fire severity influences post-fire forest density via impacts on seedling establishment. The extent to which these effects occur, or persist, and the associated climate feedbacks are not well quantified. In this study we use forest stand inventories, in situ observations, and satellite remote sensing to examine: 1) variation in forest density within and between fire scars, and 2) changes in land surface albedo and active layer dynamics associated with forest density variation. At the landscape scale we observed declines in Landsat derived albedo as forests recovered in the first several decades after fire, though canopy cover varied widely within and between individual fire scars. Within an individual mid-successional fire scar ( 75 years) we observed canopy cover ranging from 15-90% with correspondingly large ranges of albedo during periods of snow cover, and relatively small differences in albedo during the growing season. We found an inverse relationship between canopy density and soil temperature within this fire scar; high-density low-albedo stands had cooler soils and shallower active layers, while low-density stands had warmer soils and deeper active layers. Intensive energy balance measurements at a high- and low- density site show that canopy cover alters the magnitude and timing of ground heat fluxes that affect active layer properties. Our results show that fire impacts on stand structure in Siberian larch forests affect land surface albedo and active layer dynamics in ways that may lead to opposing climate feedbacks. At effectively large scales these changes constitute positive and negative climate feedbacks, respectively. Accurate predictive understanding of terrestrial Arctic climate feedbacks requires improved knowledge regarding the ecological consequences of changing fire regimes in Siberian boreal forests.

Best Longitudinal Adjustment of Satellite Trajectories for the Observation of Forest Fires (Blastoff): A Stochastic Programming Approach to Satellite System Design

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hoskins, Aaron B.

Forest fires cause a significant amount of damage and destruction each year. Optimally dispatching resources reduces the amount of damage a forest fire can cause. Models predict the fire spread to provide the data required to optimally dispatch resources. However, the models are only as accurate as the data used to build them. Satellites are one valuable tool in the collection of data for the forest fire models. Satellites provide data on the types of vegetation, the wind speed and direction, the soil moisture content, etc. The current operating paradigm is to passively collect data when possible. However, images from directly overhead provide better resolution and are easier to process. Maneuvering a constellation of satellites to fly directly over the forest fire provides higher quality data than is achieved with the current operating paradigm. Before launch, the location of the forest fire is unknown. Therefore, it is impossible to optimize the initial orbits for the satellites. Instead, the expected cost of maneuvering to observe the forest fire determines the optimal initial orbits. A two-stage stochastic programming approach is well suited for this class of problem where initial decisions are made with an uncertain future and then subsequent decisions are made once a scenario is realized. A repeat ground track orbit provides a non-maneuvering, natural solution providing a daily flyover of the forest fire. However, additional maneuvers provide a second daily flyover of the forest fire. The additional maneuvering comes at a significant cost in terms of additional fuel, but provides more data collection opportunities. After data are collected, ground stations receive the data for processing. Optimally selecting the ground station locations reduce the number of built ground stations and reduces the data fusion issues. However, the location of the forest fire alters the optimal ground station sites. A two-stage stochastic programming approach optimizes the selection of ground stations to maximize the expected amount of data downloaded from a satellite. The approaches of selecting initial orbits and ground station locations including uncertainty will provide a robust system to reduce the amount of damage caused by forest fires.

Characterization of biomass burning aerosols from forest fire in Indonesia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fujii, Y.; Iriana, W.; Okumura, M.; Lestari, P.; Tohno, S.; Akira, M.; Okuda, T.

2012-12-01

Biomass burning (forest fire, wild fire) is a major source of pollutants, generating an estimate of 104 Tg per year of aerosol particles worldwide. These particles have adverse human health effects and can affect the radiation budget and climate directly and indirectly. Eighty percent of biomass burning aerosols are generated in the tropics and about thirty percent of them originate in the tropical regions of Asia (Andreae, 1991). Several recent studies have reported on the organic compositions of biomass burning aerosols in the tropical regions of South America and Africa, however, there is little data about forest fire aerosols in the tropical regions of Asia. It is important to characterize biomass burning aerosols in the tropical regions of Asia because the aerosol properties vary between fires depending on type and moisture of wood, combustion phase, wind conditions, and several other variables (Reid et al., 2005). We have characterized PM2.5 fractions of biomass burning aerosols emitted from forest fire in Indonesia. During the dry season in 2012, PM2.5 aerosols from several forest fires occurring in Riau, Sumatra, Indonesia were collected on quartz and teflon filters with two mini-volume samplers. Background aerosols in forest were sampled during transition period of rainy season to dry season (baseline period). Samples were analyzed with several analytical instruments. The carbonaceous content (organic and elemental carbon, OC and EC) of the aerosols was analyzed by a thermal optical reflectance technique using IMPROVE protocol. The metal, inorganic ion and organic components of the aerosols were analyzed by X-ray Fluorescence (XRF), ion chromatography and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, respectively. There was a great difference of chemical composition between forest fire and non-forest fire samples. Smoke aerosols for forest fires events were composed of ~ 45 % OC and ~ 2.5 % EC. On the other hand, background aerosols for baseline periods were composed of ~ 18 % OC and ~ 10 % EC. OC/EC ratio was consistently lower (~ 2) for baseline periods than that for forest fire events (~ 20). OC and EC concentrations for forest fire events were more than 150 times and 10 times higher than those for baseline periods.

Land surveys show regional variability of historical fire regimes and dry forest structure of the western United States.

PubMed

Baker, William L; Williams, Mark A

2018-03-01

An understanding of how historical fire and structure in dry forests (ponderosa pine, dry mixed conifer) varied across the western United States remains incomplete. Yet, fire strongly affects ecosystem services, and forest restoration programs are underway. We used General Land Office survey reconstructions from the late 1800s across 11 landscapes covering ~1.9 million ha in four states to analyze spatial variation in fire regimes and forest structure. We first synthesized the state of validation of our methods using 20 modern validations, 53 historical cross-validations, and corroborating evidence. These show our method creates accurate reconstructions with low errors. One independent modern test reported high error, but did not replicate our method and made many calculation errors. Using reconstructed parameters of historical fire regimes and forest structure from our validated methods, forests were found to be non-uniform across the 11 landscapes, but grouped together in three geographical areas. Each had a mixture of fire severities, but dominated by low-severity fire and low median tree density in Arizona, mixed-severity fire and intermediate to high median tree density in Oregon-California, and high-severity fire and intermediate median tree density in Colorado. Programs to restore fire and forest structure could benefit from regional frameworks, rather than one size fits all. © 2018 by the Ecological Society of America.

The experience of community residents in a fire-prone ecosystem: A case study on the San Bernardino National Forest

Treesearch

George T. Cvetkovich; Patricia L. Winter

2008-01-01

This report presents results from a study of San Bernardino National Forest community residents’ experiences with and perceptions of fire, fire management, and the Forest Service. Using self-administered surveys and focus group discussions, we found that participants had personal experiences with fire, were concerned about fire, and felt knowledgeable about effective...

Fire exclusion as a disturbance in the temperate forests of the USA: examples from longleaf pine forests

Treesearch

W. Keith Moser; Dale D. Wade

2005-01-01

Forest fires are a disturbance where the effects can range from benign to extreme devastation within a given ecosystem. The stage of stand development coupled with prior management dictates the amount and composition of potential fuels. Thus, fire policy exerts a strong influence on fire effects. Changes in cultural acceptance and use of tire typically drive fire...

Proposed wildland fire amendment to the Coronado National Forest Land and Resource Management Plan

Treesearch

Sherry A. Tune; Erin M. Boyle

2005-01-01

The Coronado National Forest proposed amending its 1986 Land and Resource Management Plan to conform to the 2001 Federal Wildland Fire Management Policy. This Policy emphasizes fire’s essential role in maintaining natural ecosystems and allows a broader range of management options for wildland fires. Under the current Forest Plan, fires must be suppressed in areas...

Fire and fire surrogate study in the Sierra Nevada: evaluating restoration treatments at Blodgett Forest and Sequoia National Park

Treesearch

Eric E. Knapp; Scott L. Stephens; James D. McIver; Jason J. Moghaddas; Jon E. Keeley

2004-01-01

Management practices have altered both the structure and function of forests throughout the United States. Some of the most dramatic changes have resulted from fire exclusion, especially in forests that historically experienced relatively frequent, low- to moderate-intensity fire regimes. In the Sierra Nevada, fire exclusion is believed to have resulted in widespread...

Assessment of fire effects based on Forest Inventory and Analysis data and a long-term fire mapping data set

Treesearch

John D. Shaw; Sara A. Goeking; James Menlove; Charles E. Werstak

2017-01-01

Integration of Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) plot data with Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity (MTBS) data can provide new information about fire effects on forests. This integration allowed broad-scale assessment of the cover types burned in large fires, the relationship between prefire stand conditions and fire severity, and postfire stand conditions. Of the 42...

A Drought Index for Forest Fire Control

Treesearch

John J. Keetch; George M. Byram

1968-01-01

The moisture content of the upper soil, as well as that of the covering layer of duff, has an important effect on the fire suppression effort in forest and wildland areas. In certain forested areas of the United States, fires in deep duff fuels are of particular concern to the fire control manager. When these fuels are dry, fires burn deeply, dam-age is excessive, and...

Fire effects in southwestern forests: Proceedings of the second La Mesa Fire Symposium

Treesearch

Craig D. Allen

1996-01-01

In 1977, the La Mesa Fire burned across 15,444 acres of ponderosa pine forests on the adjoining lands of Bandelier National Monument, the Santa Fe National Forest, and Los Alamos National Laboratory. Following this event, several fire effects studies were initiated. The 16 papers herein document longer-term knowledge gained about the ecological effects of the fire and...

Ecological consequences of alternative fuel reduction treatments in seasonally dry forests: the national fire and fire surrogate study

Treesearch

J.D. McIver; C.J. Fettig

2010-01-01

This special issue of Forest Science features the national Fire and Fire Surrogate study (FFS), a niultisite, multivariate research project that evaluates the ecological consequences of prescribed fire and its mechanical surrogates in seasonally dry forests of the United States. The need for a comprehensive national FFS study stemmed from concern that information on...

Tree mortality based fire severity classification for forest inventories: A Pacific Northwest national forests example

Treesearch

Thomas R. Whittier; Andrew N. Gray

2016-01-01

Determining how the frequency, severity, and extent of forest fires are changing in response to changes in management and climate is a key concern in many regions where fire is an important natural disturbance. In the USA the only national-scale fire severity classification uses satellite image changedetection to produce maps for large (>400 ha) fires, and is...

Prioritizing forest fuels treatments based on the probability of high-severity fire restores adaptive capacity in Sierran forests

Treesearch

Daniel J. Krofcheck; Matthew D. Hurteau; Robert M. Scheller; E. Louise Loudermilk

2017-01-01

In frequent fire forests of the western United States, a legacy of fire suppression coupled with increases in fire weather severity have altered fire regimes and vegetation dynamics. When coupled with projected climate change, these conditions have the potential to lead to vegetation type change and altered carbon (C) dynamics. In the Sierra Nevada, fuels...

Assessing fire impacts on the carbon stability of fire-tolerant forests.

PubMed

Bennett, Lauren T; Bruce, Matthew J; Machunter, Josephine; Kohout, Michele; Krishnaraj, Saravanan Jangammanaidu; Aponte, Cristina

2017-12-01

The carbon stability of fire-tolerant forests is often assumed but less frequently assessed, limiting the potential to anticipate threats to forest carbon posed by predicted increases in forest fire activity. Assessing the carbon stability of fire-tolerant forests requires multi-indicator approaches that recognize the myriad ways that fires influence the carbon balance, including combustion, deposition of pyrogenic material, and tree death, post-fire decomposition, recruitment, and growth. Five years after a large-scale wildfire in southeastern Australia, we assessed the impacts of low- and high-severity wildfire, with and without prescribed fire (≤10 yr before), on carbon stocks in multiple pools, and on carbon stability indicators (carbon stock percentages in live trees and in small trees, and carbon stocks in char and fuels) in fire-tolerant eucalypt forests. Relative to unburned forest, high-severity wildfire decreased short-term (five-year) carbon stability by significantly decreasing live tree carbon stocks and percentage stocks in live standing trees (reflecting elevated tree mortality), by increasing the percentage of live tree carbon in small trees (those vulnerable to the next fire), and by potentially increasing the probability of another fire through increased elevated fine fuel loads. In contrast, low-severity wildfire enhanced carbon stability by having negligible effects on aboveground stocks and indicators, and by significantly increasing carbon stocks in char and, in particular, soils, indicating pyrogenic carbon accumulation. Overall, recent preceding prescribed fire did not markedly influence wildfire effects on short-term carbon stability at stand scales. Despite wide confidence intervals around mean stock differences, indicating uncertainty about the magnitude of fire effects in these natural forests, our assessment highlights the need for active management of carbon assets in fire-tolerant eucalypt forests under contemporary fire regimes. Decreased live tree carbon and increased reliance on younger cohorts for carbon recovery after high-severity wildfire could increase vulnerabilities to imminent fires, leading to decisions about interventions to maintain the productivity of some stands. Our multi-indicator assessment also highlights the importance of considering all carbon pools, particularly pyrogenic reservoirs like soils, when evaluating the potential for prescribed fire regimes to mitigate the carbon costs of wildfires in fire-prone landscapes. © 2017 by the Ecological Society of America.

46 CFR 91.25-45 - Fire hazards.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... 46 Shipping 4 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Fire hazards. 91.25-45 Section 91.25-45 Shipping COAST... CERTIFICATION Inspection for Certification § 91.25-45 Fire hazards. (a) At each inspection for certification and... that there is no accumulation of oil which might create a fire hazard. [CGFR 65-50, 30 FR 16974, Dec...