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FOCUS (Fire Operational Characteristics Using Simulation) is a computer simulation model for evaluating alternative fire management plans. This final report provides a broad overview of the FOCUS system, describes two major modules-fire suppression and cost, explains the role in the system of gaming large fires, and outlines the support programs and ways of implementing the system. Retrieval Terms: fire management planning, fire suppression cost, simulation, mathematical models, FOCUS (computer program).

In 1962, the Management Sciences Staff was organized in Berkeley, Calif., as the internal consultant to the Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture. From then until 1979, the Staff conducted 41 major studies. Although the rate of implementing recommendations from these studies was high, a more formal self-assessment was considered advisable. The following six case studies with the largest investment were analyzed: size of Ranger Districts, solid waste management, radio telecommunications design and management, computer support systems, ADVENT, and rock aggregates transport. The...

A total of 56 photographs shows different levels of natural fuel loadings for selected size classes in seven forest types of the southern Cascade and northern Sierra-Nevada ranges. Data provided with each photo include size, weight, volumes, residue depths, and percent of ground coverage. Stand information includes sizes, weights, and volumes of the trees sampled for the inventory. Instructions for using the photos to describe natural fuel accumulations are provided.

This guide provides instructions for the use of POLO2, a computer program for multivariate probit or logic analysis of quantal response data. As many as 3000 test subjects may be included in a single analysis. Including the constant term, up to nine explanatory variables may be used. Examples illustrating input, output, and uses of the program's special features for hypothesis testing are included.

Native oak species grow on 15 to 20 million acres (6 to 8 million ha) of California land, and have an estimated net volume of about 3 billion ft3 (85 million m3). This resource, valuable not only for traditional wood products, but also for wildlife habitat, watershed protection, and recreational-esthetic values, is not effectively managed, partly because of a lack of silvicultural and other management knowledge. Some helpful information is available. Viable acorns of scrub oak (Quercus dumosa Nutt.) can be picked 1 1/2 to 2 months before normal maturity, and after proper drying, can be...

Caribbean pine is an important exotic being bred throughout the tropics, but published estimates are lacking for heritability of economically important traits and the genetic correlations between them. Based on a Puerto Rican trial of 16 open-pollinated parents of var. hondurensis selected in Belize, heritabilities for a number of characteristics ranged from 0.04 to 0.53. Volume had a moderate heritability of 0.11 while bark thickness had a high heritability of 0.53. These values are similar to those for southern pines, and indicate the potential for substantial gains from selection of...

When grown in a common environment, the progeny of white pine (Pinus strobus L.) from weeviled stands improved by selection thinning outperformed the progeny of wolfy dominants from untreated stands in both height and weevil resistance. Within families, weevils tended to attack the tallest trees. Among families the relationship was not as strong and actually reversed during the last year of measurement. Therefore, it is possible to select for weevil resistance without sacrificing height growth. The improvement in height was attributed in part to natural and artifical selection for rapid...

Abstract - Root decay after timber cutting can lead to slope failure. In situ measurements of soil with tree roots showed that soil strength increased linearly as root biomass increased. Forests clear-felled 3 years earlier contained about one-third of the root biomass of old-growth forests. Nearly all of the roots < 2 mm in diameter were gone from 7-year-old logged areas while about 30 percent of the < 17 mm fraction was found. Extensive brushfields occupied areas logged 12 to 24 years earlier. The biomass of brushfield roots < 2 mm in diameter was 80 percent of that in the uncut forest,...

Abstract - The most effective control of erosion, in both physical and economic terms, is through prevention because once natural erosion is accelerated, corrective action is not only expensive but seldom entirely successful. To control erosion it is important to understand the forces that cause material to move or resist movement. Once the forces and processes of erosion are understood, proposed erosion control measures can be evaluated for anticipated effectiveness. The successful control of erosion is as much a philosphical and political problem as a technical one

Abstract - Steepland erosion is a composite of surface, channel, and mass erosion. The relative importance of each process is determined by an interaction between climate, soil, geology, topography, and vegetation. A change in any of these components can increase or decrease the rate of erosion. The key to successful management of erosion is the ability to 1) identify potentially erodible sites, 2) correctly assess appropriate activities at those sites, and 3) have a political/regulatory system that allows for the exclusion of hazardous sites from land treatment. Steepland erosion is...