Treesearch

A complete set of nomographs for estimating surface fire rate of spread and flame length for the original 13 and new 40 fire behavior fuel models is presented. The nomographs allow calculation of spread rate and flame length for wind in any direction with respect to slope and allow for nonheading spread directions. Basic instructions for use are included.

The effects of burn severity on avian communities are poorly understood, yet this information is crucial to fire management programs. To quantify avian response patterns along a burn severity gradient, we sampled 49 random plots (2001-2002) at the 17351-ha Cerro Grande Fire (2000) in New Mexico, USA. Additionally, pre-fire avian surveys (1986- 1988, 1990) created a unique opportunity to quantify avifaunal changes in 13 pre-fire transects (resampled in 2002) and to compare two designs for analyzing the effects of unplanned disturbances: after-only analysis and before-after comparisons....

A bedload trap is a portable sampler designed specifically for collecting gravel and cobble bedload (4 to 180 mm in diameter) in wadeable streams. Bedload traps consist of an aluminum frame with a 12 by 8 inch (0.3 by 0.2 m) opening to which a 3- to 5.5-ft (0.9 to 1.65 m) long trailing net is attached. Bedload traps are installed on ground plates that are anchored to the stream bottom with metal stakes. Traps do not have to be hand-held while sampling and have a large volumetric capacity. This permits collection of bedload over relatively long intervals, typically one hour per sample. In...

Douglas-fir has life history traits that greatly enhance resistance to injury from fire, thereby increasing post-fire survival rates. Tools for predicting the probability of tree mortality following fire are important components of both pre-fire planning and post-fire management efforts. Using data from mixed-severity wildfire in Montana and Wyoming, Hood and Bentz (2007) developed models for predicting the probability of Douglas-fir mortality and Douglas-fir bark beetle attack based on fire injury and stand characteristics. This guide is based on information in Hood and Bentz (2007) and...

Multiphase surveys are often conducted in forest inventories, with the goal of estimating forested area and tree characteristics over large regions. This article describes how design-based estimation of such quantities, based on information gathered during ground visits of sampled plots, can be made more precise by incorporating auxiliary information available from remote sensing. The relationship between the ground visit measurements and the remote sensing variables is modeled using generalized additive models. Nonparametric estimators for these models are discussed and applied to forest...

Concern over changes in soil productivity due to forest management is often debated by forest managers and the public. One key element in the discussion is use of mechanized equipment (such as rubber-tired skidders, log forwarders, or tracked vehicles) to remove timber products from the forest. Part of the debate focuses on soil compaction, removal of nutrients when tree crowns are removed rather than left on the soil surface after harvest, length of time for soils to recover, and methods for monitoring. We have found that ultimately soil properties (texture, organic matter, and water...

Invasive species can alter habitat quality over broad scales, so they pose a severe threat to songbird populations. Through our long-term research program supported by BEMRP, we have found that changes in habitat quality induced by exotic plants like spotted knapweed can lead to subtle yet profound changes in songbird populations. For example, in knapweed-invaded habitats compared to those dominated by native vegetation, we detected no change in abundance of adult chipping sparrows -- but we observed delays in breeding that led to reduced breeding productivity and increased turnover of...

The application of a next-generation dead-fuel moisture model, the 'Nelson model', to four timelag fuel classes using an extensive 21-month dataset of dead-fuel moisture observations is described. Developed by Ralph Nelson in the 1990s, the Nelson model is a dead-fuel moisture model designed to take advantage of frequent automated weather observations. Originally developed for 10-h fuels, the model is adaptable to other fuel size classes through modification of the model's fuel stick parameters. The algorithms for dead-fuel moisture in the National Fire Danger Rating System (NFDRS), on the...

We monitored the nest densities and nest survival of seven cavity-nesting bird species, including four open-space foragers (American Kestrel [Falco sparverius], Lewis's Woodpecker [Melanerpes lewis], Western Bluebird [Sialia mexicana], and Mountain Bluebird [S. currucoides]) and three wood-foragers (Hairy Woodpecker [Picoides villosus], Black-backed Woodpecker [P. arcticus], and Northern Flicker [Colaptes auratus]), after two wildfires (one partially salvage-logged and one unlogged) in western Idaho from 1994–2004. We estimated the relationship between nest density and time since fire,...

What is the nature of the relationship between U.S. Forest Service researchers and private industrial foresters? How can Forest Service Research maintain independence while serving agency and private forestry managers? We decided to seek input from someone outside of the Forest Service, so I asked Pat Connell, Vice President of Resource Operations for Rocky Mountain Log Homes, Hamilton, MT, for his views. Pat is a member of the Ravalli County Resource Advisory Committee that works with local citizens and the Bitterroot National Forest.