Effects of prescribed fire on soil quality in Mediterranean grassland (Prades Mountains, north-east Spain)

2005 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 379 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xavier Úbeda ◽  
Marc Lorca ◽  
Luís R. Outeiro ◽  
Sara Bernia ◽  
Marc Castellnou
Keyword(s):  
Soil Quality ◽  
Prescribed Fire ◽  
Mediterranean Climate ◽  
Prescribed Burning ◽  
Total Carbon ◽  
Fire Intensity ◽  
North East ◽  
Soil Temperatures ◽  
Phosphorous Content ◽  
One Year

This study examines the effects of a prescribed fire, conducted in grassland in order to maintain a fire break, on soil quality (pH and nutrients) in the Prades Mountains in the Mediterranean climate of north-east Spain. Soil at a 4 × 18 m study plot, located in an abandoned agricultural terrace on calcareous bedrock at 760 m above sea level, was sampled at 0–5 cm depth at 42 sampling points before, immediately after and one year after the burn and analysed for pH and carbon, nitrogen, potassium and phosphorous content. Fire intensity was low and surface soil temperatures did not exceed 200°C. All parameters examined showed a significant increase immediately after the fire. One year later, pH and total carbon had returned to pre-fire levels, and nitrogen and phosphorous were above, whereas potassium levels had decreased to below pre-fire levels. Overall, the prescribed fire did not appear to adversely affect soil. However, using prescribed burning on an annual basis as a tool to maintain an effective fire break may not allow enough time for the soils to fully recover.

scholarly journals A New Method for Evaluating the Visual Quality of Loblolly Pine (Pinus Taeda L.) Forest

2018 ◽  
Vol 5 (5) ◽  
pp. 51
Author(s):  
Murat Atasoy ◽  
John S. Kush
Keyword(s):  
Loblolly Pine ◽  
Prescribed Fire ◽  
Prescribed Burning ◽  
Fire Management ◽  
Visual Quality ◽  
Grass Cover ◽  
Fire Return Interval ◽  
Return Interval ◽  
One Year

<p>Most of the forested lands in the south-eastern United States were largely the result of the frequent, low intensity, non-lethal fires that swept through the pre-settlement forests. In the absence of fire, forested stands develop a thick undergrowth of broad-leaved species and herbaceous vegetation. In this study, we compared the influence of prescribed fire on the understory vegetative cover of loblolly pine stands in relation to visual quality assessment. To examine the visual quality of prescribed fire management, a box-counting method was used to analyze photographs of prescribed fire management. The photographs were taken from: a) one-year fire return interval, b) two-year fire return interval, c) three-year fire return interval, and d) no-burn. The objectives of this study were: 1) develop a comparison of aesthetic value of the different fire return intervals of fire management with areas not experiencing prescribed fire; and 2) provide an estimate of enhancing visual quality of forest stands with prescribed fire management. The results showed that one-year interval prescribed fire application stands had more abundant grass cover (Andropogon sp.) than two- and three-year interval treatments. There was a significant decrease in grass cover between one-year and two-year prescribed burning. A positive relationship was also found between frequency of fire treatment and abundance of grass. No burn areas were covered by woody vegetation which may have a negative impact on scenic beauty and visual quality.</p>

Modelling the potential for prescribed burning to mitigate carbon emissions from wildfires in fire-prone forests of Australia

2012 ◽  
Vol 21 (6) ◽  
pp. 629 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. A. Bradstock ◽  
M. M. Boer ◽  
G. J. Cary ◽  
O. F. Price ◽  
R. J. Williams ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Carbon Emissions ◽  
Prescribed Fire ◽  
Prescribed Burning ◽  
Fire Regimes ◽  
Fire Intensity ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
Burning Rates ◽  
Fuel Dynamics ◽  
Eucalypt Forests ◽  
In Fire

Prescribed fire can potentially reduce carbon emissions from unplanned fires. This potential will differ among ecosystems owing to inherent differences in the efficacy of prescribed burning in reducing unplanned fire activity (or ‘leverage’, i.e. the reduction in area of unplanned fire per unit area of prescribed fire). In temperate eucalypt forests, prescribed burning leverage is relatively low and potential for mitigation of carbon emissions from unplanned fires via prescribed fire is potentially limited. Simulations of fire regimes accounting for non-linear patterns of fuel dynamics for three fuel types characteristic of eucalypt forests in south-eastern Australia supported this prediction. Estimated mean annual fuel consumption increased with diminishing leverage and increasing rate of prescribed burning, even though average fire intensity (prescribed and unplanned fires combined) decreased. The results indicated that use of prescribed burning in these temperate forests is unlikely to yield a net reduction in carbon emissions. Future increases in burning rates under climate change may increase emissions and reduce carbon sequestration. A more detailed understanding of the efficacy of prescribed burning and dynamics of combustible biomass pools is required to clarify the potential for mitigation of carbon emissions in temperate eucalypt forests and other ecosystems.

scholarly journals Soil temperatures during autumn prescribed burning: implications for the germination of fire responsive species?

2008 ◽  
Vol 17 (5) ◽  
pp. 572 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. D. Penman ◽  
A. L. Towerton
Keyword(s):  
Prescribed Fire ◽  
Prescribed Burning ◽  
Woody Debris ◽  
Seed Banks ◽  
Ecological Impacts ◽  
Management Tool ◽  
Soil Seed Banks ◽  
Native Flora ◽  
Soil Temperatures ◽  
Standard Practices

Prescribed fire is a widely applied management tool in native forests. There have been concerns raised about the ecological impacts of prescribed fire on native flora. One aspect of the debate is the extent to which prescribed fire heats the soil to levels reported to trigger germination in the soil seed banks. We used Thermochrons to test soil temperatures at 2 and 5 cm in prescribed burns in dry sclerophyll forests. Soil temperatures during the burns were generally low (<40°C) with less than 5% of sites being exposed to temperatures necessary for the germination of fire-dependent shrub species. High temperatures were associated with high fuel consumption and large woody debris. This information suggests that prescribed fires, carried out according to standard practices, in these forests are unlikely to trigger germination in the majority of the soil-stored seed banks. If ecological burns in these forests are aimed at promoting populations of senescing obligate seeder species, they need to be hotter than standard practice if they are to achieve their objectives, although we acknowledge that there are inherent risks associated with hotter burns.

scholarly journals A review of malignant pleural mesothelioma in a large North East UK pleural centre

2020 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Declan C. Murphy ◽  
Alexander Mount ◽  
Fiona Starkie ◽  
Leah Taylor ◽  
Avinash Aujayeb
Keyword(s):  
Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma ◽  
Survival Rates ◽  
Case Series ◽  
Pleural Mesothelioma ◽  
Retrospective Case ◽  
Pleural Thickening ◽  
North East ◽  
Total Cohort ◽  
Anti Cancer ◽  
One Year

AbstractObjectivesThe National Mesothelioma Audit 2020 showed Northumbria to have low rates of histopathological confirmation, treatment and one-year survival rates for malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM). We hypothesized that an internal analysis over a 10-year period provides valuable insights into presentation, diagnosis, treatment and outcomes.MethodsA single-centre retrospective case series of all confirmed MPM patients between 1 January 2009 and 31 December 2019 was performed. Demographics, clinical, radiological and histopathological characteristics and outcomes were collected. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS V26.0.ResultsA total of 247 patients had MPM. About 86% were male, mean age 75.7 years. Dyspnoea (77.4%) and chest pain (38.5%) were commonest symptoms. 64.9 and 71.4% had pleural thickening and effusion, respectively. About 86.8% had at least one attempt to obtain a tissue biopsy, but histopathological confirmation in only 108 (43.7%). About 66.3% with PS 0 and 1 (62.7% of total cohort) had at least one anti-cancer therapy. Death within 12 months was associated with disease progression within 6 months (p≤0.001). Chemotherapy (p≤0.001) and epithelioid histological subtype (p=0.01) were protective.ConclusionsThis study confirms known epidemiology of MPM, demonstrates variability in practices and highlights how some NMA recommendations are not met. This provides the incentive for a regional mesothelioma multi-disciplinary meeting.

scholarly journals Short- and long-term effects of ponderosa pine fuel treatments intersected by the Egley Fire Complex, Oregon, USA

Fire Ecology ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jessie M. Dodge ◽  
Eva K. Strand ◽  
Andrew T. Hudak ◽  
Benjamin C. Bright ◽  
Darcy H. Hammond ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Prescribed Fire ◽  
Vegetation Cover ◽  
Tree Density ◽  
Tree Canopy ◽  
Fuel Treatments ◽  
Dead Tree ◽  
High Severity ◽  
Short And Long Term ◽  
One Year

Abstract Background Fuel treatments are widely used to alter fuels in forested ecosystems to mitigate wildfire behavior and effects. However, few studies have examined long-term ecological effects of interacting fuel treatments (commercial harvests, pre-commercial thinnings, pile and burning, and prescribed fire) and wildfire. Using annually fitted Landsat satellite-derived Normalized Burn Ratio (NBR) curves and paired pre-fire treated and untreated field sites, we tested changes in the differenced NBR (dNBR) and years since treatment as predictors of biophysical attributes one and nine years after the 2007 Egley Fire Complex in Oregon, USA. We also assessed short- and long-term fuel treatment impacts on field-measured attributes one and nine years post fire. Results One-year post-fire burn severity (dNBR) was lower in treated than in untreated sites across the Egley Fire Complex. Annual NBR trends showed that treated sites nearly recovered to pre-fire values four years post fire, while untreated sites had a slower recovery rate. Time since treatment and dNBR significantly predicted tree canopy and understory green vegetation cover in 2008, suggesting that tree canopy and understory vegetation cover increased in areas that were treated recently pre fire. Live tree density was more affected by severity than by pre-fire treatment in either year, as was dead tree density one year post fire. In 2008, neither treatment nor severity affected percent cover of functional groups (shrub, graminoid, forb, invasive, and moss–lichen–fungi); however, by 2016, shrub, graminoid, forb, and invasive cover were higher in high-severity burn sites than in low-severity burn sites. Total fuel loads nine years post fire were higher in untreated, high-severity burn sites than any other sites. Tree canopy cover and density of trees, saplings, and seedlings were lower nine years post fire than one year post fire across treatments and severity, whereas live and dead tree basal area, understory surface cover, and fuel loads increased. Conclusions Pre-fire fuel treatments effectively lowered the occurrence of high-severity wildfire, likely due to successful pre-fire tree and sapling density and surface fuels reduction. This study also quantified the changes in vegetation and fuels from one to nine years post fire. We suggest that low-severity wildfire can meet prescribed fire management objectives of lowering surface fuel accumulations while not increasing overstory tree mortality.

scholarly journals Prescribed burning in a mediterranean-climate region mitigates the disturbance by bushfire to a critical food resource for an endangered bird, the Carnaby’s cockatoo

Fire Ecology ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Valerie S. Densmore ◽  
Emma S. Clingan
Keyword(s):  
Seed Production ◽  
Prescribed Burning ◽  
Fire Regime ◽  
Fire Hazard ◽  
Food Resource ◽  
Management Tool ◽  
Fire Intensity ◽  
Prescribed Burns ◽  
Low Intensity ◽  
Percentage Survival

Abstract Background Prescribed burning is used to reduce fire hazard in highly flammable vegetation types, including Banksia L.f. woodland that occurs on the Swan Coastal Plain (SCP), Western Australia, Australia. The 2016 census recorded well over 1.9 million people living on the SCP, which also encompasses Perth, the fourth largest city in Australia. Banksia woodland is prone to frequent ignitions that can cause extensive bushfires that consume canopy-stored banksia seeds, a critical food resource for an endangered bird, the Carnaby’s cockatoo (Calyptorynchus latirostris, Carnaby 1948). The time needed for banksias to reach maturity and maximum seed production is several years longer than the typical interval between prescribed burns. We compared prescribed burns to bushfires and unburned sites at three locations in banksia woodland to determine whether low-intensity prescribed burns affect the number of adult banksias and their seed production. Study sites were matched to the same vegetation complex, fire regime, and time-since-fire to isolate fire intensity as a variable. Results Headfire rates of spread and differenced normalized burn ratios indicated that prescribed burning was generally of a much lower intensity than bushfire. The percentage survival of adult banksias and their production of cones and follicles (seeds) did not decrease during the first three years following a prescribed burn. However, survival and seed production were significantly diminished followed high-intensity bushfire. Thus, carrying capacity for Carnaby’s cockatoo was unchanged by prescribed burning but decreased markedly following bushfire in banksia woodland. Conclusions These results suggest that prescribed burning is markedly different from bushfire when considering appropriate fire intervals to conserve canopy habitats in fire-resilient vegetation communities. Therefore, low-intensity prescribed burning represents a viable management tool to reduce the frequency and extent of bushfire impacts on banksia woodland and Carnaby’s cockatoo.

scholarly journals Facilitating Prescribed Fire in Northern California through Indigenous Governance and Interagency Partnerships

Fire ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 37
Author(s):  
Tony Marks-Block ◽  
William Tripp
Keyword(s):  
Political Ecology ◽  
Prescribed Fire ◽  
Prescribed Burning ◽  
Participant Observation ◽  
Fire Suppression ◽  
The United States ◽  
Northern California ◽  
Prescribed Burn ◽  
California Department ◽  
State Regulations

Prescribed burning by Indigenous people was once ubiquitous throughout California. Settler colonialism brought immense investments in fire suppression by the United States Forest Service and the California Department of Forestry and Fire Prevention (CAL FIRE) to protect timber and structures, effectively limiting prescribed burning in California. Despite this, fire-dependent American Indian communities such as the Karuk and Yurok peoples, stalwartly advocate for expanding prescribed burning as a part of their efforts to revitalize their culture and sovereignty. To examine the political ecology of prescribed burning in Northern California, we coupled participant observation of prescribed burning in Karuk and Yurok territories (2015–2019) with 75 surveys and 18 interviews with Indigenous and non-Indigenous fire managers to identify political structures and material conditions that facilitate and constrain prescribed fire expansion. Managers report that interagency partnerships have provided supplemental funding and personnel to enable burning, and that decentralized prescribed burn associations facilitate prescribed fire. However, land dispossession and centralized state regulations undermine Indigenous and local fire governance. Excessive investment in suppression and the underfunding of prescribed fire produces a scarcity of personnel to implement and plan burns. Where Tribes and local communities have established burning infrastructure, authorities should consider the devolution of decision-making and land repatriation to accelerate prescribed fire expansion.

scholarly journals Effects of Land-Use Change on Soil Functionality and Biodiversity: Toward Sustainable Planning of New Vineyards

Land ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 358
Author(s):  
Elena Gagnarli ◽  
Giuseppe Valboa ◽  
Nadia Vignozzi ◽  
Donatella Goggioli ◽  
Silvia Guidi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Land Use Change ◽  
Soil Quality ◽  
Soil Biodiversity ◽  
Soil Microarthropods ◽  
Quick Recovery ◽  
Sustainable Planning ◽  
Soil Functionality ◽  
One Year ◽  
Soil Microarthropod

Sustainable agriculture largely depends on soil biodiversity and requires efficient methods to assess the effectiveness of agronomic planning. Knowledge of the landscape and relative pedosite is enriched by data on the soil microarthropod community, which represent useful bio-indicators for early soil-quality detection in land-use change (LUC). In the hilly Maremma region of Grosseto, Italy, two areas, a >10ys meadow converted into a vineyard and an old biodynamic vineyard (no-LUC), were selected for evaluating the LUC effect. For maintaining soil vitality and ecosystem services by meadow, the vineyard was planted and cultivated using criteria of the patented “Corino method”. The aim was to evaluate the LUC impact, within one year, by assessing parameters characterizing soil properties and soil microarthropod communities after the vineyard was planted. The adopted preservative method in the new vineyards did not show a detrimental impact on the biodiversity of soil microarthropods, and in particular, additional mulching contributed to a quick recovery from soil stress due to working the plantation. In the short term, the adopted agricultural context confirmed that the targeted objectives preserved the soil quality and functionality.

Reproductive output of ponderosa pine in response to thinning and prescribed burning in western Montana

2008 ◽  
Vol 38 (4) ◽  
pp. 844-850 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gregory Peters ◽  
Anna Sala
Keyword(s):  
Pinus Ponderosa ◽  
Prescribed Fire ◽  
Ponderosa Pine ◽  
Reproductive Output ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Prescribed Burning ◽  
Seed Mass ◽  
Reproductive Traits ◽  
Western Montana ◽  
Cone Production

Thinning and thinning followed by prescribed fire are common management practices intended to restore historic conditions in low-elevation ponderosa pine ( Pinus ponderosa Dougl. ex P. & C. Laws.) forests of the northern Rocky Mountains. While these treatments generally ameliorate the physiology and growth of residual trees, treatment-specific effects on reproductive output are not known. We examined reproductive output of second-growth ponderosa pine in western Montana 9 years after the application of four treatments: thinning, thinning followed by spring prescribed fire, thinning followed by fall prescribed fire, and unthinned control stands. Field and greenhouse observations indicated that reproductive traits vary depending on the specific management treatment. Cone production was significantly higher in trees from all actively managed stands relative to control trees. Trees subjected to prescribed fire produced cones with higher numbers of filled seeds than trees in unburned treatments. Seed mass, percentage germination, and seedling biomass were significantly lower for seeds from trees in spring burn treatments relative to all others and were generally higher in trees from fall burn treatments. We show for the first time that thinning and prescribed-burning treatments can influence reproductive output in ponderosa pine.

Fuel and fire characteristics in savanna - woodland of West Africa in relation to grazing and dominant grass type

2007 ◽  
Vol 16 (5) ◽  
pp. 531 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrice Savadogo ◽  
Didier Zida ◽  
Louis Sawadogo ◽  
Daniel Tiveau ◽  
Mulualem Tigabu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Prescribed Burning ◽  
Management Tool ◽  
Fuel Load ◽  
Maximum Temperature ◽  
Fire Intensity ◽  
Fire Behaviour ◽  
Savanna Woodland ◽  
Vegetation Height ◽  
Average Maximum ◽  
Dominant Grass

Fuel characteristics, fire behaviour and temperature were studied in relation to grazing, dominant grass type and wind direction in West African savanna–woodland by lighting 32 prescribed early fires. Grazing significantly reduced the vegetation height, total fuel load, and dead and live fuel fractions whereas plots dominated by perennial grasses had higher values for vegetation height, total fuel load and the quantity of live fuel load. Although fire intensity remained insensitive (P > 0.05) to any of these factors, fuel consumption was significantly (P = 0.021) reduced by grazing, rate of spread was faster in head fire (P = 0.012), and flame length was shorter in head fire than back fire (P = 0.044). The average maximum temperature was higher (P < 0.05) on non-grazed plots, on plots dominated by annual grasses, on plots subjected to head fire, and at the soil surface. Lethal temperature residence time showed a nearly similar trend to fire temperature. Wind speed and total fuel load were best predictors of fire behaviour parameters (R2 ranging from 0.557 to 0.862). It can be concluded that grazing could be used as a management tool to modify fire behaviour, back fire should be carried out during prescribed burning to lower fire severity, and the fire behaviour models can be employed to guide prescribed early fire in the study area.

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