Tree mortality 6 years after burning a thinned Quercuschrysolepis stand

1993 ◽  
Vol 23 (10) ◽  
pp. 2236-2241 ◽  
Author(s):  
Timothy E. Paysen ◽  
Marcia G. Narog
Keyword(s):  
Prescribed Fire ◽  
Tree Mortality ◽  
Prescribed Burning ◽  
Root Zone ◽  
Wildlife Habitat ◽  
Management Tool ◽  
Prescribed Burn ◽  
Live Oak ◽  
San Bernardino ◽  
Favorable Conditions

Managers do not currently use prescribed fire in stands of canyon live oak (Quercuschrysolepis Liebm.) because it is highly susceptible to fire injury. A preliminary study investigating the effects of prescribed burning on this species was initiated on the San Bernardino National Forest in southern California. The purpose was to assess the feasibility of using thinning and prescribed burning to develop shaded fuel breaks in these stands. This paper addresses aboveground tree mortality inventoried 2 and 6 years after a prescribed burn. Aboveground tree stems were judged as live or dead (irrespective of root-zone sprouting). Fire caused approximately 50% mortality in DBH classes ≤15 cm and <10% in larger classes. Between the 2nd and 6th years after burning, tree mortality increased by only 3%. Our results suggest that prescribed fire can be used as a management tool in Q. chrysolepis stands and that tree mortality might be evaluated sooner than previously believed. More investigations are required to identify favorable conditions for prescribed burning in this species, as well as applicability for (i) degree of hazard reduction near the urban wildland interface, (ii) stand improvement by thinning small or crowded trees, and (iii) revitalizing wildlife habitat.

scholarly journals Tree Mortality following Prescribed Fire and a Storm Surge Event in Slash Pine (Pinus elliottiivar.densa) Forests in the Florida Keys, USA

2010 ◽  
Vol 2010 ◽  
pp. 1-13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jay P. Sah ◽  
Michael S. Ross ◽  
James R. Snyder ◽  
Danielle E. Ogurcak
Keyword(s):  
Storm Surge ◽  
Prescribed Fire ◽  
Statistical Power ◽  
Tree Mortality ◽  
Prescribed Burning ◽  
Fire Severity ◽  
Practical Importance ◽  
Florida Keys ◽  
Management Tool ◽  
Individual Tree

In fire-dependent forests, managers are interested in predicting the consequences of prescribed burning on postfire tree mortality. We examined the effects of prescribed fire on tree mortality in Florida Keys pine forests, using a factorial design with understory type, season, and year of burn as factors. We also used logistic regression to model the effects of burn season, fire severity, and tree dimensions on individual tree mortality. Despite limited statistical power due to problems in carrying out the full suite of planned experimental burns, associations with tree and fire variables were observed. Post-fire pine tree mortality was negatively correlated with tree size and positively correlated with char height and percent crown scorch. Unlike post-fire mortality, tree mortality associated with storm surge from Hurricane Wilma was greater in the large size classes. Due to their influence on population structure and fuel dynamics, the size-selective mortality patterns following fire and storm surge have practical importance for using fire as a management tool in Florida Keys pinelands in the future, particularly when the threats to their continued existence from tropical storms and sea level rise are expected to increase.

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.

The Effect of Season of Picloram and Chlorsulfuron Application on Dalmatian Toadflax (Linaria genistifolia) on Prescribed Burns

2005 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 319-324 ◽  
Author(s):  
James S. Jacobs ◽  
Roger L. Sheley
Keyword(s):  
Prescribed Fire ◽  
Prescribed Burning ◽  
Block Design ◽  
Prescribed Burn ◽  
Prescribed Burns ◽  
Randomized Complete Block Design ◽  
Untreated Check ◽  
Dalmatian Toadflax ◽  
Density And Biomass ◽  
Cover Density

Herbicides are an important tool for managing weeds where prescribed fire is used for rangeland improvement. Understanding how the season of herbicide application relates to prescribed burning is important. Our objective was to determine the effect of picloram and chlorsulfuron on Dalmatian toadflax cover, density, and biomass, where these herbicides were applied in the fall before burning or in the spring before or after burning. Six herbicide treatments and an untreated check were applied in a randomized complete block design with four replications to a prescribed burn at two sites infested with Dalmatian toadflax in Montana, United States. Herbicides were applied in the fall preburn, spring preburn, and spring postburn. Site 1 was treated in 1999 and 2000, and site 2 was treated in 2000 and 2001. Cover, biomass, and density of Dalmatian toadflax were sampled in September 2000, 2001, and 2002 at site 1 and September 2001 and 2002 at site 2. At site 1, cover, biomass, and density of Dalmatian toadflax were at least 76% lower compared with the check in both spring-applied picloram treatments, whereas the fall picloram treatment had similar Dalmatian toadflax cover, biomass, and density compared with the check 3 yr after application. By 2002, chlorsulfuron reduced Dalmatian toadflax cover, biomass, and density by at least 79% compared with the check in all timings of application at site 1. At site 2, Dalmatian toadflax cover, biomass, and density were reduced by at least 86% for all picloram and chlorsulfuron treatments in 2002, 2 yr after application. Chlorsulfuron applied in the fall or the spring and picloram applied in the spring effectively suppressed Dalmatian toadflax cover, biomass, and density for up to 3 yr.

scholarly journals Estimating Fuel Consumption for the Upper Coastal Plain of South Carolina

2010 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
pp. 5-12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Scott L. Goodrick ◽  
Dan Shea ◽  
John Blake
Keyword(s):  
South Carolina ◽  
Air Quality ◽  
Fuel Consumption ◽  
Prescribed Fire ◽  
Coastal Plain ◽  
Prescribed Burning ◽  
Management Tool ◽  
Fuel Load ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Continued Use

Abstract Recent changes in air quality regulations present a potential obstacle to continued use of prescribed fire as a land management tool. Lowering of the acceptable daily concentration of particulate matter from 65 to 35 μg/m3 will bring much closer scrutiny of prescribed burning practices from the air quality community. To work within this narrow window, land managers need simple tools to allow them to estimate their potential emissions and examine trade-offs between continued use of prescribed fire and other means of fuels management. A critical part of the emissions estimation process is determining the amount of fuel consumed during the burn. This study combines results from a number of studies along the Upper Coastal Plain of South Carolina to arrive at a simple means of estimating total fuel consumption on prescribed fires. The result is a simple linear relationship that determines the total fuel consumed as a function of the product of the preburn fuel load and the burning index of the National Fire Danger Rating System.

Prescribed-fire effects on fine-root and tree mortality in old-growth ponderosa pine

1991 ◽  
Vol 21 (5) ◽  
pp. 626-634 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Michael Swezy ◽  
James K. Agee
Keyword(s):  
Ponderosa Pine ◽  
Tree Mortality ◽  
Prescribed Burning ◽  
Fine Root ◽  
Soil Depth ◽  
Fire Severity ◽  
Dry Weight ◽  
Prescribed Burn ◽  
Old Growth ◽  
Root Dry Weight

Old-growth Pinusponderosa Dougl. stands were surveyed at Crater Lake National Park to investigate potential accelerated mortality of large pines due to prescribed burning. Mortality of P. ponderosa greater than 22 cm diameter at breast height was higher in burned areas (19.5%) than in unburned areas (6.6%), and early-season burns had over 30% mortality. Mortality was associated with fire severity, as measured by scorch height and ground char, season of burning, and tree vigor. Pines of high, moderate, and low vigor were subjected to a prescribed burn in June; half of the trees had debris raked from tree bases as an additional treatment. Lethal heat loads (>60 °C) occurred in >75% of samples at the soil surface and at 5 cm soil depth, with duration exceeding 5 h. Burning reduced fine-root dry weight 50–75% 1 and 5 months after burning; raking and burning reduced fine-root dry weight more than burning alone after 1 month and had similar effects to burning after 5 months. A low-vigor tree that had been raked and burned died by the beginning of the fourth dry season after burning. Present fuel loads may be too high to burn during spring if old-growth P. ponderosa are to be protected.

The use of prescribed fire in the management of Canada's forested lands

1992 ◽  
Vol 68 (3) ◽  
pp. 324-334 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. G. Weber ◽  
S. W. Taylor
Keyword(s):  
Prescribed Fire ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Wildlife Habitat ◽  
Management Tool ◽  
Natural Ecosystems ◽  
Fire Adaptations ◽  
Fire Use ◽  
Management Objectives ◽  
Habitat Enhancement ◽  
Vegetation Stand

Present uses of prescribed fire in Canada are reviewed. Fire has been a natural component of many forested North American landscapes for millennia, making it an obvious choice as an effective forest management tool. It can be used in harmony with known fire adaptations of ecosystems to be managed. Prescribed fire uses are separated into six categories: (1) hazard reduction which evolved into (2) silviculture (including fire use for site preparation, managing competing vegetation, stand conversion, and stand rehabilitation) (3) wildlife habitat enhancement (4) range burning (5) insect and disease control (6) conservation of natural ecosystems. Some historic developments of prescribed fire use are presented including area burned under prescription by province and territory. Prescribed fire emerges as a cost effective practice that is ecologically compatible with many forest, wildlife, and park management objectives. Its continued use in the management of Canadian forests seems to be assured, as long as it is constantly developed and adapted to the changing needs and priorities of the general public.

A review of prescribed burning effectiveness in fire hazard reduction

2003 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 117 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paulo M. Fernandes ◽  
Hermínio S. Botelho
Keyword(s):  
Prescribed Fire ◽  
Prescribed Burning ◽  
Fire Regime ◽  
Accumulation Rate ◽  
Fire Suppression ◽  
Fire Hazard ◽  
Weather Conditions ◽  
Management Tool ◽  
Adequate Treatment ◽  
Hazard Reduction

Wildfire hazard abatement is one of the major reasons to use prescribed burning. Computer simulation, case studies, and analysis of the fire regime in the presence of active prescribed burning programs in forest and shrubland generally indicate that this fuel management tool facilitates fire suppression efforts by reducing the intensity, size and damage of wildfires. However, the conclusions that can be drawn from the above approaches are limited, highlighting the need for more properly designed experiments addressing this question. Fuel accumulation rate frequently limits prescribed fire effectiveness to a short post-treatment period (2–4 years). Optimisation of the spatial pattern of fire application is critical but has been poorly addressed by research, and practical management guidelines are lacking to initiate this. Furthermore, adequate treatment efforts in terms of fire protection are constrained by operational, social and ecological issues. The best results of prescribed fire application are likely to be attained in heterogeneous landscapes and in climates where the likelihood of extreme weather conditions is low. Conclusive statements concerning the hazard-reduction potential of prescribed fire are not easily generalised, and will ultimately depend on the overall efficiency of the entire fire management process.

Fuel treatment effects on tree mortality following wildfire in dry mixed conifer forests, Washington State, USA

2012 ◽  
Vol 21 (8) ◽  
pp. 1004 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan J. Prichard ◽  
Maureen C. Kennedy
Keyword(s):  
Pinus Ponderosa ◽  
Tree Mortality ◽  
Prescribed Burning ◽  
Strong Predictor ◽  
Large Diameter ◽  
Lower Probability ◽  
First Year ◽  
Prescribed Burn ◽  
Fuel Treatment ◽  
Crown Scorch

Fuel reduction treatments are increasingly used to mitigate future wildfire severity in dry forests, but few opportunities exist to assess their effectiveness. We evaluated the influence of fuel treatment, tree size and species on tree mortality following a large wildfire event in recent thin-only, thin and prescribed burn (thin-Rx) units. Of the trees that died within the first 3 years, most died in the first year regardless of treatment. First-year mortality was much higher in control and thin-only units (65 and 52%) than in thin-Rx units (37%). Cumulative third-year mortality followed a similar trend (78 and 64% in control and thin-only units) v. 43% in thin-Rx units. Percentage crown scorch is a strong predictor of mortality and is highly dependent on fuel treatment. Across all treatments, Pinus ponderosa had a lower probability of post-fire mortality than did Pseudotsuga menziesii. Finally, the probability of beetle attack on surviving trees was highest in large-diameter trees within thin-only treatments and lowest within thin-Rx treatments. This study contributes further evidence supporting the effectiveness of thinning and prescribed burning on mitigating post-fire tree mortality. We also present evidence that a combination of thinning and prescribed burning is associated with lower incidence of post-fire bark beetle attack.

Management of Red Pine for Multiple Benefits Using Prescribed Fire

1993 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 53-62 ◽  
Author(s):  
Donald I. Dickmann
Keyword(s):  
Prescribed Fire ◽  
Prescribed Burning ◽  
Wildlife Habitat ◽  
Red Pine ◽  
Environmental Damage ◽  
Pests And Diseases ◽  
Wildfire Hazard ◽  
Pine Regeneration ◽  
Technical Discussion ◽  
Mature Stands

Abstract An aspect of the silviculture of mature stands of red pine heretofore neglected by forestland managers in northeastern North America is prescribed burning (underburning). This paper presents a technical discussion of prescribed burning and its application to red pine managed for timber, wildlife habitat, aesthetics, or other purposes. The author draws on relevant conifer literature, as well as his own experience with burning under red pine. Topics addressed include the effects of prescribed fire on (1)overstory tree growth, (2) understory plants and pine regeneration, (3) soil properties, (4) soil organisms, pests and diseases, and (5) wildlife habitat. Also considered are the environmental impacts of prescribed underburning and its use in wildfire hazard reduction. Elements of the practical application of prescribed burning also are discussed, including proper weather and fuel conditions for burning. Burning under mature red pine stands can provide many benefits with little risk of overstory mortality, wildfire escape, or environmental damage. This paper should encourage managers to include prescribed underburning in the silvicultural palate of this important forest species. North. J. Appl. For. 10(2):53-62.

Stand- and landscape-level effects of prescribed burning on two Arizona wildfires

2005 ◽  
Vol 35 (7) ◽  
pp. 1714-1722 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark A Finney ◽  
Charles W McHugh ◽  
Isaac C Grenfell
Keyword(s):  
Prescribed Fire ◽  
Ponderosa Pine ◽  
Prescribed Burning ◽  
Wildland Fire ◽  
Fire Severity ◽  
Prescribed Burn ◽  
Fire Size ◽  
Ponderosa Pine Forests ◽  
Model Predictions ◽  
Landsat 7

Performance of fuel treatments in modifying behavior and effects of the largest wildfires has rarely been evaluated, because the necessary data on fire movement, treatment characteristics, and fire severity were not obtainable together. Here we analyzed satellite imagery and prescribed fire records from two Arizona wildfires that occurred in 2002, finding that prescribed fire treatments reduced wildfire severity and changed its progress. Prescribed burning in ponderosa pine forests 1–9 years before the Rodeo and Chediski fires reduced fire severity compared with untreated areas, despite the unprecedented 1860-km2 combined wildfire sizes and record drought. Fire severity increased with time since treatment but decreased with unit size and number of repeated prescribed burn treatments. Fire progression captured by Landsat 7 enhanced thematic mapper plus (ETM+) clearly showed the fire circumventing treatment units and protecting areas on their lee side. This evidence is consistent with model predictions that suggest wildland fire size and severity can be mitigated by strategic placement of treatments.

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