National Fire &amp; Fire Surrogate study data: environmental effects of alternative fuel reduction treatments

McIver, James D.; Stephens, Scott L.; Agee, James K.; Barbour, Jamie; Boerner, Ralph E. J.; Edminster, Carleton B.; Erickson, Karen L.; Farris, Kerry L.; Fettig, Christopher J.; Fiedler, Carl E.; Haase, Sally M.; Hart, Stephen C.; Keeley, Jon E.; Knapp, Eric E.; Lehmkuhl, John F.; Moghaddas, Jason J.; Otrosina, William J.; Outcalt, Kenneth W.; Schwilk, Dylan W.; Skinner, Carl N.; Waldrop, Thomas A.; Weatherspoon, C. Phillip; Yaussy, Daniel A.; Youngblood, Andrew; Zack, Steve

doi:10.2737/rds-2016-0009

Cited by 5 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 116 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…This may explain why pre-firesuppression gap sizes appear to have been relatively small (0.12 to 0.32 ha [0.3 to 0.8 ac]) (Knapp et al 2012), yet most of these stands likely supported robust pine regeneration, because reconstruction studies and old data suggest pine often contributed >40 percent of mixed-conifer basal area (McKelvey and Johnson 1992). A recent study found that small gaps (0.04 ha [0.1 ac]) created in pile and burn treatments significantly increased stand-level light heterogeneity; that study also found greater ponderosa pine germination on ash substrates produced by the pile burns compared with bare soil (York et al 2012).…”

Section: Tree Regeneration and Canopy Covermentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These studies have generally had difficulty maintaining funding after initial implementation, so the resulting information from the studies has been limited to responses over relatively short time periods. In a few situations, researchers have been able to study some long-term questions by taking advantage of a well-designed study that had been dormant or abandoned for some time but had been well archived by the original researchers (Dolph et al 1995, Knapp et al 2012. These examples provide a valuable precedent for future research.…”

Section: Summary Of Cross-cutting Research Gapsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Treatments in the Stanislaus-Tuolumne Experimental Forest were designed to mimic historical reference conditions, including density, species composition, and age distribution (Knapp et al 2012). To achieve these objectives, treatments based on stand conditions described by original detailed data and old maps have extended into some riparian areas and moved away from diameter caps in favor of selecting trees for removal to achieve the desired structure and spatial pattern.…”

Section: Building On Adaptive Management Effortsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Multiple landscape modeling studies suggest that if treatments are strategically placed, an initial target of treating 10 to 25 percent of the landscape within a period of 5 to 10 years can effectively reduce the likelihood of unacceptably large, high-intensity fires (Ager et al 2007(Ager et al , 2010Finney et al 2007;Schmidt et al 2008;Syphard et al 2011). A strategy based on within-stand and across-landscape heterogeneity appears suited to deter the spread of high-intensity fire across the landscape while providing for a wide range of habitat conditions (Knapp et al 2012, Weatherspoon andSkinner 1996). This phase may require a number of years to be completed, as some areas may require sequential treatments before they would achieve the desired condition (Skinner 2005).…”

Section: General Technical Report Psw-gtr-247mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Treatments to reduce and promote variation in stem density and fuel loads should promote forest resilience to large disturbances associated with climate change, including droughts and insect and disease outbreaks , Littell et al 2012, Safford et al 2012b, Sturrock et al 2011. To promote desired wildlife habitat and other forest restoration objectives, traditional uniform treatments could be modified to yield more variable density structure and canopy closure consistent with reference conditions (Knapp et al 2012, North and Sherlock 2012, North and Stine 2012. North et al (2012) suggested that the most practical strategy for treating large areas is to significantly expand managed fire, while recognizing the importance of structural treatments to facilitate such a strategy.…”

Section: Promoting Heterogeneity Emulating Natural Disturbances Andmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 4 more Smart Citations

Science synthesis to support socioecological resilience in the Sierra Nevada and southern Cascade Range

Long¹,

Quinn‐Davidson²,

Skinner³

2014

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Section: Tree Regeneration and Canopy Covermentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Summary Of Cross-cutting Research Gapsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Building On Adaptive Management Effortsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: General Technical Report Psw-gtr-247mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Promoting Heterogeneity Emulating Natural Disturbances Andmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Science synthesis to support socioecological resilience in the Sierra Nevada and southern Cascade Range

Long¹,

Quinn‐Davidson²,

Skinner³

2014

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Long‐term efficacy of fuel reduction and restoration treatments inNorthernRockies dry forests

Hood,

Crotteau,

Cleveland

2024

Ecological Applications

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Fuel and restoration treatments seeking to mitigate the likelihood of uncharacteristic high‐severity wildfires in forests with historically frequent, low‐severity fire regimes are increasingly common, but long‐term treatment effects on fuels, aboveground carbon, plant community structure, ecosystem resilience, and other ecosystem attributes are understudied. We present 20‐year responses to thinning and prescribed burning treatments commonly used in dry, low‐elevation forests of the western United States from a long‐term study site in the Northern Rockies that is part of the National Fire and Fire Surrogate Study. We provide a comprehensive synthesis of short‐term (<4 years) and mid‐term (<14 years) results from previous findings. We then place these results in the context of a mountain pine beetle (MPB; Dendroctonus ponderosae) outbreak that impacted the site 5–10 years post‐treatment and describe 20‐year responses to assess the longevity of restoration and fuel reduction treatments in light of the MPB outbreak. Thinning treatments had persistently lower forest density and higher tree growth, but effects were more pronounced when thinning was combined with prescribed fire. The thinning+prescribed fire treatment had the additional benefit of maintaining the highest proportion of ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) for overstory and regeneration. No differences in understory native plant cover and richness or exotic species cover remained after 20 years, but exotic species richness, while low relative to native species, was still higher in the thinning+prescribed fire treatment than the control. Aboveground live carbon stocks in thinning treatments recovered to near control and prescribed fire treatment levels by 20 years. The prescribed fire treatment and control had higher fuel loads than thinning treatments due to interactions with the MPB outbreak. The MPB‐induced changes to forest structure and fuels increased the fire hazard 20 years post‐treatment in the control and prescribed fire treatment. Should a wildfire occur now, the thinning+prescribed fire treatment would likely have the lowest intensity fire and highest tree survival and stable carbon stocks. Our findings show broad support that thinning and prescribed fire increase ponderosa pine forest resilience to both wildfire and bark beetles for up to 20 years, but efficacy is waning and additional fuel treatments are needed to maintain resilience.

show abstract

The Fire and Tree Mortality Database, for empirical modeling of individual tree mortality after fire

et al. 2020

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Wildland fires have a multitude of ecological effects in forests, woodlands, and savannas across the globe. A major focus of past research has been on tree mortality from fire, as trees provide a vast range of biological services. We assembled a database of individual-tree records from prescribed fires and wildfires in the United States. The Fire and Tree Mortality (FTM) database includes records from 164,293 individual trees with records of fire injury (crown scorch, bole char, etc.), tree diameter, and either mortality or top-kill up to ten years post-fire. Data span 142 species and 62 genera, from 409 fires occurring from 1981-2016. Additional variables such as insect attack are included when available. The FTM database can be used to evaluate individual fire-caused mortality models for pre-fire planning and post-fire decision support, to develop improved models, and to explore general patterns of individual fire-induced tree death. The database can also be used to identify knowledge gaps that could be addressed in future research.

show abstract

National Fire & Fire Surrogate study data: environmental effects of alternative fuel reduction treatments

Cited by 5 publications

References 116 publications

Science synthesis to support socioecological resilience in the Sierra Nevada and southern Cascade Range

Science synthesis to support socioecological resilience in the Sierra Nevada and southern Cascade Range

Long‐term efficacy of fuel reduction and restoration treatments inNorthernRockies dry forests

The Fire and Tree Mortality Database, for empirical modeling of individual tree mortality after fire

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About