Determining potential wildlife benefits from wildfire in Arizona ponderosa pine forests

Philip O. Lowe; Peter F. Ffolliott; John H. Dieterich; David R. Patton

Treesearch

Determining potential wildlife benefits from wildfire in Arizona ponderosa pine forests

Informally Refereed

Authors:

Philip O. Lowe, Peter F. Ffolliott, John H. Dieterich, David R. Patton

Year:

1978

Type:

General Technical Report

Station:

Rocky Mountain Research Station

Source:

Gen. Tech. Rep. RM-GTR-52. Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Forest and Range Experiment Station. 12 p.

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Download (PDF 1.02 MB): https://research.fs.usda.gov/download/treesearch/37801.pdf

Abstract

Large wildfires are frequently destructive to the timber resource, but wildlife may not be so adversely affected. A study of selected species of wildlife (deer, elk, rodents, and birds) that were present on large burned areas, 1, 3, 7, and 20 years old, indicated population fluctuations and habitat changes that are, for the most part, predictable, and can be expressed in economic terms. An "Index to Benefits" was developed that converts the flows of benefits or losses after fire to annuities. By assuming values for wildlife use, the manager can interpret these changes in terms of dollars in order to describe the total impact of wildfire on the wildlife resource.

Keywords

fire effects, fire economics, species diversity, wildlife populations, game and nongame animals

Citation

Lowe, Philip O.; Ffolliott, Peter F.; Dieterich, John H.; Patton, David R. 1978. Determining potential wildlife benefits from wildfire in Arizona ponderosa pine forests. Gen. Tech. Rep. RM-GTR-52. Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Forest and Range Experiment Station. 12 p.