Research Database
Displaying 61 - 74 of 74
Long-term perspective on wildfires in the western USA
Year: 2012
Understanding the causes and consequences of wildfires in forests of the western United States requires integrated information about fire, climate changes, and human activity on multiple temporal scales. We use sedimentary charcoal accumulation rates to construct long-term variations in fire during the past 3,000 y in the American West and compare this record to independent firehistory data from historical records and fire scars. There has been a slight decline in burning over the past 3,000 y, with the lowest levels attained during the 20th century and during the Little Ice Age (LIA, ca.…
Publication Type: Report
Developing Socioeconomic Performance Measures for the Watershed Condition Framework
Year: 2012
The purpose of this report is to propose principles and strategies for creating socioeconomic performance measures, as well as identify potential measures that could be integrated into the WCF and other restoration frameworks in the short term. It also recommends a longer-term strategy to develop a social condition assessment and performance accountability system that could be paired with the WCF and terrestrial condition framework currently being developed. Finally, this report identifies potential barriers and challenges to adopting new performance measures, and potential approaches to…
Publication Type: Report
The leaf-area shrinkage effect can bias paleoclimate and ecology research
Year: 2012
Premise of the Study: Leaf area is a key trait that links plant form, function, and environment. Measures of leaf area can be biased because leaf area is often estimated from dried or fossilized specimens that have shrunk by an unknown amount. We tested the common assumption that this shrinkage is negligible. Methods: We measured shrinkage by comparing dry and fresh leaf area in 3401 leaves of 380 temperate and tropical species and used phylogenetic and trait-based approaches to determine predictors of this shrinkage. We also tested the effects of rehydration and simulated fossilization on…
Publication Type: Journal Article
Wildfire Suppression Contracting: The Effect of Local Business Capacity During Large Wildfires
Year: 2012
Contracting capacity and local capture can be the result of local economic conditions (supply side conditions) as well as agency contracting practices (demand side conditions). In order to capture contracts locally, local businesses that can perform the work need to exist, and past experience contracting with the federal government is a reasonable indicator of that capacity. To better understand local contracting capacity, we examined how local contract capture varied between wildfires and the relationship between local capture and contracting capacity measures. We investigated how the number…
Publication Type: Report
Assessing tree health
Year: 2011
Healthy trees are beneficial to our environment and our property values - but how do we determine if a tree is healthy? This publication briefly discusses common tree health problems and outlines a procedure for assessing tree conditions and getting diagnoses and recommendations from tree health professionals.
Publication Type: Report
Vegetation recovery after fire in the Klamath-Siskiyou region, southern Oregon
Year: 2011
This overview is intended to facilitate decisions regarding forest regeneration in the Klamath-Siskiyou Ecoregion. It summarizes the results of several scientific investigations that took place in the ecoregion. Some of the research occurred in areas without post-fire management, and other research occurred in moderately or intensively managed areas. Some of the research also occurred immediately after a wildfire, and other work occurred several decades later.
Publication Type: Report
Reducing Fire Risk on Your Forest Property
Year: 2010
Whether you own a few acres or thousands, this publication will help you reduce the potential for wildfire damage on your property while improving overall forest health and wildlife habitat. Although these actions won’t prevent a wildfire from coming onto your property, they can make it more fire resistant. In other words, by following the guidelines in this publication you can reduce a fire’s severity so that most trees survive and firefighters are better able to attack and extinguish the blaze. While this publication provides suggestions for making your property more fire-resistant, it does…
Publication Type: Report
Synthesis of Knowledge on the Effects of Fire and Fire Surrogates on Wildlife in U.S. Dry Forests
Year: 2009
Dry forests throughout the United States are fire-dependent ecosystems, and much attention has been given to restoring their ecological function. As such, land managers often are tasked with reintroducing fire via prescribed fire, wildland fire use, and fire-surrogate treatments such as thinning and mastication. During planning, managers frequently are expected to anticipate effects of management actions on wildlife species. This document represents a synthesis of existing knowledge on wildlife responses to fire and fire-surrogate treatments, presented in a useful, management-relevant format…
Publication Type: Report
Synthesis of Knowledge on the Effects of Fire and Thinning Treatments on Understory Vegetation in U.S. Dry Forests
Year: 2009
The results of this synthesis illustrate several important lessons. First, current forest structure is the result of decades of fire-suppression activities, and so restoration will require multiple treatments to bring forests to within the range of historic variation. Second, while the treatments discussed in this document generally increased native plant responses, the same treatments also increased exotic plant response. Therefore, to avoid spread of exotic plant species, it is important to consider the context of the treatment area, (e.g., nearby roads, wildland urban interface, previous…
Publication Type: Report
Pruning
Year: 2008
Pruning is removing the lower branches of trees. Increasing the distance between the ground and the lowest tree branches reduces the likelihood that a fire on the ground will use the branches as a ladder to move into tree crowns. A crown fire is more difficult to control and can advance much more rapidly than a surface fire, under certain weather conditions.Pruning is a particularly effective fuels-reduction technique when combined with other forms of treatment such as thinning.
Publication Type: Report
Thinning
Year: 2008
Thinning is one of the most powerful forest management tools available to landowners for achieving a wide range of goals and objectives. Thinning influences: Trees’ growth rates and potential economic value Which species of trees and other plants will be in the stand Trees’ resistance to insects and disease Quality of wildlife habitat Forage production The stand’s aesthetic appearance Another, very important effect is that thinning increases a forest’s ability to survive wildfire.Thinning is: Removing trees that, if left in the stand, could increase fire risk and could lessen stand vigor (for…
Publication Type: Report
Disposing of Woody Material
Year: 2008
Thinning to reduce hazardous fuels often generates large amounts of woody residues, such as small-diameter logs, tree tops, and branches. This publication discusses several options for economically and effectively using and disposing of woody material.
Publication Type: Report
Mechanical Treatments
Year: 2008
Many manual and mechanical methods are used to reduce hazardous fuels on woodland properties. This publication describes three of the most common methods: Slashbusting and grinding Mowing and mastication Crushing Mechanical methods use several types of equipment to chop, chip, crush, or otherwise break apart fuels—such as brush, small trees, and slash—into small pieces or chips. The processed fuels carpet the ground, forming a relatively dense, compact layer of woody material. The material may be integral to the prime mover or may be then is left to decompose or is burned.Mechanical…
Publication Type: Report
A Homeowner’s Guide to Fire-Resistant Home Construction
Year: 2006
Defending homes from fast-spreading high-intensity wildfires is one of the most difficult and dangerous duties for wildland firefighters. Firefighters United for Safety, Ethics, and Ecology (FUSEE) feels strongly that informing homeowners about fire-resistant construction materials will help wildland firefighters better protect communities, and reduce some of the risks to firefighter safety. Moreover, when rural homes and communities are better prepared for wildland fire, then more options and opportunities open up to properly manage fires to restore forests and grasslands degraded from past…
Publication Type: Report