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Research Database

Displaying 201 - 206 of 206

Postfire woodpecker foraging in salvage-logged and unlogged forests of the Sierra Nevada

Year: 2008
In forests, high-severity burn patches — wherein most or all of the trees are killed by fire — often occur within a mosaic of low- and moderate-severity effects. Although there have been several studies of postfire salvage-logging effects on bird species, there have been few studies of effects on bird species associated with high-severity patches in forests that have otherwise burned at lower severities. From 2004 to 2006, we investigated the foraging presence or absence of three woodpecker species, the Black-backed (Picoides arcticus), Hairy (P. villosus), and White-headed (P. albolarvatus)…
Fish and Wildlife Habitat
post-fire, wildlife, fire severity, salvage logging
Publication Type: Journal Article

In a Ponderosa Pine Forest, Prescribed Fires Reduce the Likelihood of Scorched Earth

Year: 2008
The Malheur National Forest is located in the Blue Mountains on Oregon’s eastern side, the portion of the state that lies east of the Cascade Crest. In the mid 1990s, researchers and land managers conceived a suite of experiments to explore the effects of prescribed fire on forest health. The studies were designed to coincide with prescribed burns conducted by the USDA Forest Service. The experiments took place in the Emigrant Creek Ranger District, a remote area dominated by ponderosa pine. One of the research projects aimed to assess soil health after different intervals of fire frequency…
Fire Effects and Fire Ecology, Prescribed Burning, Soils and Woody Debris
jfsp fire science briefs and digests, ponderosa pine, fire severity, tree mortality
Publication Type: Report

Lessons of the Hayman fire: weeds, woodpeckers and fire severity

Year: 2008
This project took advantage of pre-fire data gathered within the perimeter of Colorado’s 2002 Hayman Fire. Researchers studied the unique fire regime of Front Range ponderosa pine forests, and fire effects on understory-plant communities and American Three-toed Woodpeckers. Results confirmed that historically, the diverse structure of these forests was maintained by a mixed-severity fire regime that included large areas of severe fire. In addition, researchers found that much of the burn meets habitat requirements for American Three-toed Woodpeckers, and that understory plant species that…
Fire Effects and Fire Ecology, Fish and Wildlife Habitat
fire severity, ponderosa pine, fire regimes, forest structure
Publication Type: Report

The Ecological Importance of Severe Wildfires: Some Like it Hot

Year: 2008
Many scientists and forest land managers concur that past fire suppression, grazing, and timber harvesting practices have created unnatural and unhealthy conditions in the dry, ponderosa pine forests of the western United States. Specifically, such forests are said to carry higher fuel loads and experience fires that are more severe than those that occurred historically. It remains unclear, however, how far these generalizations can be extrapolated in time and space, and how well they apply to the more mesic ponderosa pine systems and to other forest systems within the western United States.…
Fish and Wildlife Habitat, Mixed-Conifer Management
fire regimes, fire severity, wildlife
Publication Type: Journal Article

A Homeowner’s Guide to Fire-Resistant Home Construction

Year: 2006
Defending homes from fast-spreading high-intensity wildfires is one of the most difficult and dangerous duties for wildland firefighters. Firefighters United for Safety, Ethics, and Ecology (FUSEE) feels strongly that informing homeowners about fire-resistant construction materials will help wildland firefighters better protect communities, and reduce some of the risks to firefighter safety. Moreover, when rural homes and communities are better prepared for wildland fire, then more options and opportunities open up to properly manage fires to restore forests and grasslands degraded from past…
Communicating about Fire, Restoration and Hazardous Fuel Reduction
extension publications and factsheets, mitigation, community
Publication Type: Report

Social Science to Improve Fuels Management: A Synthesis of Research Relevant to Communicating with Homeowners About Fuels Management

Year: 2006
The large fires in southern California during the fall of 2003 highlighted the significant fire hazard many wildland-urban interface communities and homes currently face. Despite this risk, people continue to leave metropolitan areas for the beauty and tranquility of the wildland-urban interface. The peaceful natural views instill a treasured sense of place and privacy among residents, which can make it challenging to manage the environment and reduce fuels (Lee and Tribe 1987, Lee et al. 1987, Shands 1988, Sullivan 1994, Weise and Martin 1994). Firefighting and land management agencies as…
Fuels and Fuel Treatments, Public Perceptions of Fire and Smoke
management, Wildland-urban interface (WUI), mitigation
Publication Type: Report