Fire applications in ecosystem management

Abstract

Decades of fire absence from ponderosa pine/Douglas-fir forests has resulted in overstocked, unhealthy, and severe fireprone stands requiring management attention. Prescribed fire can be used in three general situations during restoration management. First is when fuel loadings are excessive from either natural accumulation or harvest slash. Second is when dense understory conifers are thinned and burned. Third is when tree cutting is impractical or against policy and, therefore, applied fire may be the only practical option. Maintenance burning should be planned to coincide with future silvicultural activities or to maintain ecological processes.

Parent Publication

• The Bitterroot Ecosystem Management Research Project: What we have learned

Citation

Harrington, Michael G. 2000. Fire applications in ecosystem management. In: Smith, Helen Y., ed. 2000. The Bitterroot Ecosystem Management Research Project: What we have learned: symposium proceedings; 1999 May 18-20; Missoula, MT. Proc. RMRS-P-17. Ogden, UT: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. p. 21-22