Topic: Fuels and Fuel Treatments

In fire management, there is an ongoing quest to find cost-effective, ecologically sound, and risk-reducing approaches to restoring dry conifer forests. So far little is known about the effectiveness of using mastication equipment in conjunction with prescribed burning to help meet management…

Dimensions, volume, and biomass were measured for 121 hand-constructed piles composed primarily of coniferous (n = 63) and shrub/hardwood (n = 58) material at sites in Washington and California. Equations using pile dimensions, shape, and type allow users to accurately estimate the biomass of…

Models and effect-size metrics for meta-analysis were compared in four separate meta-analyses quantifying surface fuels after prescribed fires in ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa Dougl. ex Laws.) forests of the Western United States. An aggregated data set was compiled from 8 published reports…

The Fire and Fire Surrogate (FFS) project is a large long-term metastudy established to assess the effectiveness and ecological impacts of burning and fire “surrogates” such as cuttings and mechanical fuel treatments that are used instead of fire, or in combination with fire, to restore dry…

Understanding the influences of forest management practices on wildfire severity is critical in fire-prone ecosystems of the western United States. Newly available geospatial data sets characterizing vegetation, fuels, topography, and burn severity offer new opportunities for studying fuel…

Thinning to reduce hazardous fuels often generates large amounts of woody residues, such as small-diameter logs, tree tops, and branches. This publication discusses several options for economically and effectively using and disposing of woody material.

Thinning is one of the most powerful forest management tools available to landowners for achieving a wide range of goals and objectives. Thinning influences: Trees’ growth rates and potential economic value Which species of trees and other plants will be in the stand Trees’ resistance to insects…

Pruning is removing the lower branches of trees. Increasing the distance between the ground and the lowest tree branches reduces the likelihood that a fire on the ground will use the branches as a ladder to move into tree crowns. A crown fire is more difficult to control and can advance much…

Many manual and mechanical methods are used to reduce hazardous fuels on woodland properties. This publication describes three of the most common methods: Slashbusting and grinding Mowing and mastication Crushing Mechanical methods use several types of equipment to chop, chip, crush, or…

With a history of management choices that have suppressed fire in the West, ecosystems in which fire would play a vital role have developed tremendous fuel loads. As a result, conditions are prime for fires to grow large, escape attack measures, and become catastrophic conflagrations that damage…