Treesearch

Information on fire’s role in pre-twentieth-century lodgepole pine forests of the southern Sierra Nevada is limited. It has generally been assumed that fire plays only a minor role in lodgepole’s dynamics unlike in other portions of its range. This assertion was examined by sampling fire-scarred trees and reconstructing fire history in monospecific stands of lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta var. murrayana [Grev. & Balf.] Engelm.) on Chagoopa Plateau in the Kern River drainage of Sequoia National Park. Using dendrochronological methods 17 fire events were dated between A.D. 1385 and 2000....

Extreme fire weather is of over riding importance in determining fire behavior in coastal chaparral and on these landscapes fire suppression policy has not resulted in fire exclusion. There is regional variation in foehn winds, which are most important in southern California. Under these severe fire weather conditions fuel age does not constrain fire behavior. As a consequence prefire fuel manipulations have limited impact on fire spread during mass fire events, although strategic placement of fuel modifications may determine the outcome of fires under moderate weather conditions.

Natural fire regimes in the southwestern United States have been significantly altered by past land-use practices and the fire suppression polices of land management agencies. One consequence of this alteration has been to increase the loadings of downed woody fuels. Ecologists and land managers are reintroducing fire into the ecosystems of the Madrean Province to reduce the excessive buildups of fuels that have a high probability of igniting and becoming unnaturally severe wildfire. However, incomplete knowledge of fuel loadings often constrains the successful reintroduction of fire...

Few administrative units involved in wildland fire protection are islands unto themselves when it comes to wildfire activity and suppression. If not directly affected by the wildfire workload of their neighbors, they are affected by the availability of nationally shared resources impacted by wildfire activity at the regional and national scale. These external influences should be taken into account when local administrative units plan their presuppression organizations. Failure to account for the external influences of fire workload and resource availability can lead to incorrect assessment...

This paper synthesizes research on presettlement dynamics and modern disruption of Madrean pine-oak forests in Arizona. In response to surface fires characteristic of presettlement times, pines were fire resistant, exhibiting high top-survival, whereas oaks were fire resilient, exhibiting lower top-survival but pronounced resprouting. Thus, low-severity fire favors pines, but resprouting allows oaks to rebound during inter-fire periods. Age structures reveal large increases in stand density, especially for oaks, as a result of modern fire suppression, suggesting more open conditions and...

A key purpose of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) is to “promote effortswhich will prevent or eliminate damage to the environment and biosphere and stimulate thehealth and welfare of man” (NEPA, Sec 2). The Council on Environmental Quality states “theNEPA process is intended to help public officials make decisions that are based onunderstanding of the environmental consequences, and take actions that protect, restore, andenhance the environment” (40 CFR Part 1500.1(c)). Smoke from prescribed fire affects airquality and has the potential to impact human health and quality of...

Management planning for fires becomes increasingly difficult as scale increases. Stratification provides land managers with multiple scales in which to prepare plans. Using statistical techniques, Geographic Information Systems (GIS), and meetings with land managers, we divided a large landscape of over 2 million acres (White Sands Missile Range) into parcels useful in fire management. Within this hierarchy, 8 fire management areas (FMA), with major roads or drainages forming boundaries, were identified. Within these FMAs were 106 burn units (BU) defined by natural or human fire breaks....

Remotely sensed data and Geographical Information Systems (GIS) can be an effective tool in fire management. For the inclusion of these tools, fire management and research personnel must be effective in communication regarding needs and limitations of the data and implementing that data at various scales. A number of personnel can be involved within fire management including land managers, landowners, natural resource professionals, and researchers. Remotely sensed data and GIS can be an effective tool for bridging those involved in fire management. One barrier can be the lack of communicat...

In 1999, Trinity County CA, initiated a participatory fire management planning effort. Since that time, the Trinity County Fire Safe Council has completed critical portions of a fire safe plan and has begun to implement projects defined in the plan. Completion of a GIS based, landscape scale fuels reduction element in the plan defined by volunteer fire fighters, agency staff and community members has been a highlight of the past 3 years' work. Current efforts are focused on implementing fuels reduction projects. This paper reports on the plan development process, project implementation,...

Summer 2002 was a season of markedly increased wildfire in the southwestern United States. Four fires affected landscapes that encompassed watersheds and streams containing fishes. Streams affected in three of the four fires were sampled for multiple factors, including fishes, to delineate the impact of fires on aquatic ecosystems in the -Southwest. All fishes were lost in one stream, Ponil Creek, affected by the Ponil Complex fire. In two streams, Rio Medio and West Fork of the Gila River, 60 to 80 percent reductions in fish populations occurred following combinations of ash and flood...