Forest restoration and fuels reduction in ponderosa pine and dry mixed conifer in the Southwest

Abstract

(Please note, this is an abstract only) Most people agree that ponderosa pine and dry mixed conifer stands need to be thinned and burned to move the stands to within a normal range of variability. Unfortunately, people are in disagreement beyond that point. To some, restoration and fuels reduction means restoring stands to more open, pre-European (pre-1880) conditions. To others, fuels reduction should involve the removal of only the smallest trees (less than 6-9") within the treated stands. The Forest Vegetation Simulator (FVS) stand model, along with the Fire and Fuels Extension (FFE) of FVS, were used to demonstrate the effects on fuel hazard and forest stand structures when various stocking levels and diameter caps are applied. The effectiveness of the various treatments was evaluated based upon resulting crowning and torching index values following various thinning treatments. The results of the stand treatment simulations point out that pine and dry mixed conifer stands need to be fairly open (residual basal areas

Parent Publication

• Ecology, management, and restoration of pinon-juniper and ponderosa pine ecosystems: combined proceedings of the 2005 St. George, Utah and 2006 Albuquerque, New Mexico workshops

Citation

Johnson, Marlin. 2008. Forest restoration and fuels reduction in ponderosa pine and dry mixed conifer in the Southwest. In: Gottfried, Gerald J.; Shaw, John D.; Ford, Paulette L., compilers. 2008. Ecology, management, and restoration of pinon-juniper and ponderosa pine ecosystems: combined proceedings of the 2005 St. George, Utah and 2006 Albuquerque, New Mexico workshops. Proceedings RMRS-P-51. Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. p. 185.