scholarly journals Post-Wildfire Logging Hinders Regeneration and Increases Fire Risk

Science ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 311 (5759) ◽  
pp. 352-352 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. C. Donato ◽  
J. B. Fontaine ◽  
J. L. Campbell ◽  
W. D. Robinson ◽  
J. B. Kauffman ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Fire Risk ◽  
Fuel Reduction ◽  
Short Term ◽  
High Severity ◽  
Fuel Loads ◽  
Conifer Regeneration ◽  
Biscuit Fire ◽  
Additional Reduction

We present data from a study of early conifer regeneration and fuel loads after the 2002 Biscuit Fire, Oregon, USA, with and without postfire logging. Natural conifer regeneration was abundant after the high-severity fire. Postfire logging reduced median regeneration density by 71%, significantly increased downed woody fuels, and thus increased short-term fire risk. Additional reduction of fuels is necessary for effective mitigation of fire risk. Postfire logging can be counterproductive to the goals of forest regenration and fuel reduction.

scholarly journals Biodegradable Flame Retardants for Biodegradable Polymer

Biomolecules ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (7) ◽  
pp. 1038
Author(s):  
Muhammad Maqsood ◽  
Gunnar Seide
Keyword(s):  
Renewable Resources ◽  
Flame Retardants ◽  
Fire Risk ◽  
Polymeric Materials ◽  
Good Choice ◽  
Airborne Particle ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Renewable Materials ◽  
Long Time ◽  
Significant Attention

To improve sustainability of polymers and to reduce carbon footprint, polymers from renewable resources are given significant attention due to the developing concern over environmental protection. The renewable materials are progressively used in many technical applications instead of short-term-use products. However, among other applications, the flame retardancy of such polymers needs to be improved for technical applications due to potential fire risk and their involvement in our daily life. To overcome this potential risk, various flame retardants (FRs) compounds based on conventional and non-conventional approaches such as inorganic FRs, nitrogen-based FRs, halogenated FRs and nanofillers were synthesized. However, most of the conventional FRs are non-biodegradable and if disposed in the landfill, microorganisms in the soil or water cannot degrade them. Hence, they remain in the environment for long time and may find their way not only in the food chain but can also easily attach to any airborne particle and can travel distances and may end up in freshwater, food products, ecosystems, or even can be inhaled if they are present in the air. Furthermore, it is not a good choice to use non-biodegradable FRs in biodegradable polymers such as polylactic acid (PLA). Therefore, the goal of this review paper is to promote the use of biodegradable and bio-based compounds for flame retardants used in polymeric materials.

Short-term changes in summer and winter resident bird communities following a high severity wildfire in a southern USA mixed pine/hardwood forest

2015 ◽  
Vol 350 ◽  
pp. 13-21 ◽  
Author(s):  
Donald J. Brown ◽  
Jacqueline R. Ferrato ◽  
Clayton J. White ◽  
Ivana Mali ◽  
Michael R.J. Forstner ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Bird Communities ◽  
Hardwood Forest ◽  
Short Term ◽  
High Severity ◽  
Resident Bird

Short-term fire risk: foliage moisture content estimation from satellite data

1999 ◽  
pp. 17-38 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emilio Chuvieco ◽  
Michel Deshayes ◽  
Nicholas Stach ◽  
David Cocero ◽  
David Riaño
Keyword(s):  
Moisture Content ◽  
Satellite Data ◽  
Fire Risk ◽  
Short Term

Wildfire and Postfire Restoration Action Effects on Microclimate and Seedling Pine Tree Survivorship

2014 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 174-182 ◽  
Author(s):  
Donald J. Brown ◽  
Ivana Mali ◽  
Michael R.J. Forstner
Keyword(s):  
Soil Moisture ◽  
Wind Speed ◽  
Soil Temperature ◽  
Air Temperature ◽  
Loblolly Pine ◽  
Absolute Humidity ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Burned Areas ◽  
High Severity ◽  
Postfire Management

Abstract Through modification of structural characteristics, ecological processes such as fire can affect microhabitat parameters, which in turn can influence community composition dynamics. The prevalence of high-severity forest fires is increasing in the southern and western United States, creating the necessity to better understand effects of high-severity fire, and subsequent postfire management actions, on forest ecosystems. In this study we used a recent high-severity wildfire in the Lost Pines ecoregion of Texas to assess effects of the wildfire and postfire clearcutting on six microclimate parameters: air temperature, absolute humidity, mean wind speed, maximum wind speed, soil temperature, and soil moisture. We also assessed differences between burned areas and burned and subsequently clearcut areas for short-term survivorship of loblolly pine Pinus taeda seedling trees. We found that during the summer months approximately 2 y after the wildfire, mean and maximum wind speed differed between unburned and burned areas, as well as burned and burned and subsequently clearcut areas. Our results indicated air temperature, absolute humidity, soil temperature, and soil moisture did not differ between unburned and burned areas, or burned and burned and subsequently clearcut areas, during the study period. We found that short-term survivorship of loblolly pine seedling trees was influenced primarily by soil type, but was also lower in clearcut habitat compared with habitat containing dead standing trees. Ultimately, however, the outcome of the reforestation initiative will likely depend primarily on whether or not the trees can survive drought conditions in the future, and this study indicates there is flexibility in postfire management options prior to reseeding. Further, concerns about negative wildfire effects on microclimate parameters important to the endangered Houston toad Bufo (Anaxyrus) houstonensis were not supported in this study.

Fire history in ponderosa pine landscapes of Grand Canyon National Park: is it reliable enough for management and restoration?

2006 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 433 ◽  
Author(s):  
William L. Baker
Keyword(s):  
Ponderosa Pine ◽  
National Park ◽  
Fire History ◽  
Fire Regime ◽  
Grand Canyon ◽  
Fire Risk ◽  
Fire Regimes ◽  
Grand Canyon National Park ◽  
High Severity ◽  
The Impact

Reconstructing fire regimes of the past can provide a valuable frame of reference for understanding the impact of human land uses on contemporary fire and forest structure, but methods for reconstructing past fire regimes are under re-evaluation. In the present article, a common method of characterizing surface fire regimes, using composite fire intervals from fire scars, is shown to significantly underestimate the length of the fire rotation and population mean fire interval in Grand Canyon landscapes where these parameters are known. Also, the evidence and interpretation that past high-severity fire was uncommon in ponderosa pine landscapes in Grand Canyon National Park are challenged. Together, these two concerns mean that an alternative characterization of the fire regime, which has very different implications, cannot be excluded. Management aimed at lowering fire risk, as a means of restoration, does not presently have a sound scientific basis, if it uses the composite fire interval as a measure of the fire regime or is based on fire history research that lacks adequate analysis of past high-severity fire.

Ecological effects of alternative fuel-reduction treatments: highlights of the National Fire and Fire Surrogate study (FFS)

2013 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 63 ◽  
Author(s):  
James D. McIver ◽  
Scott L. Stephens ◽  
James K. Agee ◽  
Jamie Barbour ◽  
Ralph E. J. Boerner ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Adaptive Management ◽  
Prescribed Fire ◽  
Bark Beetles ◽  
Alternative Fuel ◽  
Fuel Reduction ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Seasonally Dry ◽  
The Us ◽  
Key Variables ◽  
Term Response

The 12-site National Fire and Fire Surrogate study (FFS) was a multivariate experiment that evaluated ecological consequences of alternative fuel-reduction treatments in seasonally dry forests of the US. Each site was a replicated experiment with a common design that compared an un-manipulated control, prescribed fire, mechanical and mechanical + fire treatments. Variables within the vegetation, fuelbed, forest floor and soil, bark beetles, tree diseases and wildlife were measured in 10-ha stands, and ecological response was compared among treatments at the site level, and across sites, to better understand the influence of differential site conditions. For most sites, treated stands were predicted to be more resilient to wildfire if it occurred shortly after treatment, but for most ecological variables, short-term response to treatments was subtle and transient. Strong site-specificity was observed in the response of most ecosystem variables, suggesting that practitioners employ adaptive management at the local scale. Because ecosystem components were tightly linked, adaptive management would need to include monitoring of a carefully chosen set of key variables. Mechanical treatments did not serve as surrogates for fire for most variables, suggesting that fire be maintained whenever possible. Restoration to pre-settlement conditions will require repeated treatments over time, with eastern forests requiring more frequent applications.

scholarly journals Short-Term Effects of Moderate- to High-Severity Wildfire on a Disturbance-Dependent Flycatcher in Northwest California

The Auk ◽  
2003 ◽  
Vol 120 (4) ◽  
pp. 1102-1113
Author(s):  
Timothy D. Meehan ◽  
T. Luke George
Keyword(s):  
Odds Ratio ◽  
Forest Regeneration ◽  
Site Occupancy ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Burned Areas ◽  
High Severity ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Nest Loss ◽  
Short Term Effects

Abstract Previous studies have shown Olive-sided Flycatchers (Contopus cooperi) to be associated with burned forest, which suggests that wildfire is beneficial to the species. To examine that more closely, we studied the short-term effects (first two years after disturbance) of moderate- to high-severity wildfire on Olive-sided Flycatchers breeding in northwestern California. During summers of 2000 and 2001, we investigated distribution of and compared the relative nest loss, foraging rates, and aerial arthropod biomass at Olive-sided Flycatcher territories in burned and adjacent unburned forest. The probability of postfire site occupancy was best predicted by the presence of pre-existing forest edges (odds ratio = 8:1). Probability of relative nest loss was much higher in the presence of fire (odds ratio = 9:1). Adult female peak foraging rates were nearly twice as high in unburned (2000 = 2.1 attacks min−1, 2001 = 2.5) as in burned (2000 = 1.0, 2001 = 1.5) territories, and relative aerial arthropod biomass was nearly twice as high in unburned (2000 = 1,909 mg 2 m−2 40 days−1, 2001 = 3,200) as in burned (2000 = 1,105, 2001 = 1,751) territories. Although Olive-sided Flycatchers occupied recently burned areas, fire had apparent negative effects on reproduction. Poor reproduction appeared to be partially related to reduced food availability in recently burned areas. Our data suggest a need for detailed investigations of the relationship between Olive-sided Flycatchers and wildfire as postfire forest regeneration progresses.

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