Ecological effects of prescribed fire season: a literature review and synthesis for managers

Knapp, Eric E.; Estes, Becky L.; Skinner, Carl N.

doi:10.2737/psw-gtr-224

Cited by 191 publications

(203 citation statements)

References 187 publications

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“…In particular, burn severity is a critical factor in understanding the degree of influence of forest fires on forest ecosystems, post-fire vegetation responses and heterogeneity of vegetation composition and configuration in burned areas by affecting the availability of seed sources, sprouting rates, soil humidity, soil nutrients, lights, wind speed, alien plant invasion, tree mortality, animal populations and community dynamics [10,[12][13][14][15] at various spatial and temporal scales. Therefore, burn severity is the most critical factor in determining the dynamics and complexity of the post-fire response of a damaged forest ecosystem to a fire event [10,16]. Due to the strong impacts of burn severity on forest ecosystems, understanding how burn severity is influenced by various environmental factors during a fire can offer profound insights to minimize economic loss, preserve forest ecosystems, practice fire-resilient forest management strategies and plan effective post-fire restoration for planners and decision makers.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Complex Relationships of the Effects of Topographic Characteristics and Susceptible Tree Cover on Burn Severity

2018

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Forest fires and burn severity mosaics have profound impacts on the post-fire dynamics and complexity of forest ecosystems. Numerous studies have investigated the relationship between topographic variables and susceptible tree covers with regard to burn severity. However, these relationships have not been fully elucidated, because most studies have assumed linearity in these relationships. Therefore, we examined the linearity and the nonlinearity in the relationships between topographic variables and susceptible tree covers with burn severity by comparing linear and nonlinear models. The site of the Samcheok fire, the largest recorded forest fire in Korea, was used as the study area. We generated 802 grid cells with a 500-m resolution that encompassed the entire study area and collected a dataset that included the topographic variables and percentage of red pine trees, which are the most susceptible tree cover types in Korea. We used conventional linear models and generalized additive models to estimate the linear and the nonlinear models based on topographic variables and Japanese red pine trees. The results revealed that the percentage of red pine trees had linear effects on burn severity, reinforcing the importance of silviculture and forest management to lower burn severity. Meanwhile, the topographic variables had nonlinear effects on burn severity. Among the topographic variables, elevation had the strongest nonlinear effect on burn severity, possibly by overriding the effects of susceptible fuels over elevation effects or due to the nonlinear effects of topographic characteristics on pre-fire fuel conditions, including the spatial distribution and availability of susceptible tree cover. To validate and generalize the nonlinear effects of elevation and other topographic variables, additional research is required at different fire sites with different tree cover types in different geographic locations.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Complex Relationships of the Effects of Topographic Characteristics and Susceptible Tree Cover on Burn Severity

2018

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“…In addition to its fuel-reduction effects, prescribed fire drives key ecosystem processes (e.g. nutrient cycling, seed scarification, stimulation of food plants for wildlife) and maintains fire-adapted biological communities [6,7]. Together, these attributes make prescribed burning a popular tool for southern land managers, who in 2011 reported burning over 2.4 million ha [5].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Perspectives on Trends, Effectiveness, and Impediments to Prescribed Burning in the Southern U.S.

Kobziar

Godwin

Taylor³

et al. 2015

Forests

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Abstract:The southern region of the U.S. uses prescribed fire as a management tool on more of its burnable land than anywhere in the U.S., with ecosystem restoration, wildlife habitat enhancement, and reduction of hazardous fuel loads as typical goals. Although the region performs more than 50,000 prescribed fire treatments each year, evaluation of their effects on wildfire suppression resources or behavior/effects is limited. To better understand trends in the use and effectiveness of prescribed fire, we conducted a region-wide survey of 523 fire use practitioners, working on both public and private lands. A 1-2 year prescribed fire interval was consistently viewed as effective in decreasing wildfire ignitions, behavior, and severity, as well as reducing suppression resources needed where wildfire occurred. Yet fewer than 15% of practitioners viewed burn intervals of 3-4 years as effective in reducing ignitions, underscoring the importance of high-frequency burning in vegetation communities where fuel recovery is rapid. Public lands managers identified limited budget and staffing as major institutional impediments to prescribed fire, in contrast to private individuals, more of whom chose liability as a key challenge. Differences in responses across ownership type, state, and vegetation type call for a broader perspective on how fire managers in the southern U.S. view prescribed fire. OPEN ACCESSForests 2015, 6 562

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“…Furthermore, drought, coupling with other climate and topographic variables, has indirect impact on grassland ecosystem through affecting other disturbances, such as fire regimes [87]. This has been studied extensively in forestry.…”

Section: Climate Effectmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Significant variability of fire regime existed for forests, with mesic forests governed by mixed-to stand-replacing fire regime of 400 to 500 years [88] [89], while drier forests maintained by low-to mixed-severity fire regime of approximately 15 years [88]. Also it has been found that there exists a gradient in fire regimes from north to south as a function of meteorological variables, i.e., temperature and precipitation patterns [87].…”

Section: Climate Effectmentioning

confidence: 99%

Long Term Effect of Major Disturbances on the Northern Mixed Grassland Ecosystem—A Review

Li¹,

Guo²

2014

OJE

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Grassland ecosystems in North America have been significantly altered through various disturbances from past to present. This paper has identified and examined major disturbances in the grassland ecosystems, which include grazing, fire and drought. A brief history of each disturbance is reviewed and its impact on the grassland ecosystem is discussed, by synthesizing previous research efforts available in the current literature. The paper intends to understand the grassland ecosystem from a comprehensive perspective and particularly tries to articulate the compound effect of the major disturbances in the same context instead of viewing them in isolations. It is concluded that a holistic understanding of the interaction between disturbances and plant communities is essential for sustainable grassland management, which demands comprehensive research effort in this area. The paper also points out the challenges we are facing in the current researches and suggests potential future improvement.

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Ecological effects of prescribed fire season: a literature review and synthesis for managers

Cited by 191 publications

References 187 publications

Complex Relationships of the Effects of Topographic Characteristics and Susceptible Tree Cover on Burn Severity

Complex Relationships of the Effects of Topographic Characteristics and Susceptible Tree Cover on Burn Severity

Perspectives on Trends, Effectiveness, and Impediments to Prescribed Burning in the Southern U.S.

Long Term Effect of Major Disturbances on the Northern Mixed Grassland Ecosystem—A Review

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