Research Database
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5
The Economic Value of Fuel Treatments: A Review of the Recent Literature for Fuel Treatment Planning
Year: 2022
This review synthesizes the scientific literature on fuel treatment economics published since 2013 with a focus on its implications for land managers and policy makers. We review the literature on whether fuel treatments are financially viable for land management agencies at the time of implementation, as well as over the lifespan of fuel treatment effectiveness. We also review the literature that considers the broad benefits of fuel treatments across multiple sectors of society. Most studies find that fuel treatments are not financially viable for land management agencies based on revenue…
Publication Type: Journal Article
The Cost of Forest Thinning Operations in the Western United States: A Systematic Literature Review and New Thinning Cost Model
Year: 2022
Mechanical forest thinning treatments are implemented across the western United States (US) to improve forest health and reduce hazardous fuels. However, the main challenge in thinning operations is low financial feasibility. This study synthesized the stump-to-truck cost of forest thinning operations in the western US based on operations research articles published over the last 40 years (1980–2020). We systematically selected and reviewed 20 thinning studies to analyze key variables affecting machine productivity and harvesting costs. The average cost of forest thinning was lowest for a…
Publication Type: Journal Article
Ponderosa Pine Biomass Relationships Vary with Site Treatment and Site Productivity
Year: 2011
Allometric equations, which express biomass as a function of tree size, are often used to estimate the amount of fuel in a site’s canopy. Most managers assume that one allometric equation per species is sufficient, or that any error introduced by extrapolation is irrelevant. This work showed, however, that the allometric biomass relationship for ponderosa pine likely changes over space and time. The researchers concluded that for maximum accuracy, allometric equations for ponderosa pine should account for stand management history and site productivity. Thinned trees replaced their foliage…
Publication Type: Report
Assessing Fuel Treatment Effectiveness After the Tripod Complex Fires
Year: 2011
Over the past 50 years, wildfire frequency and area burned have increased in the dry forests of western North America. To help reduce high surface fuel loads and potential wildfire severity, a variety of fuel treatments are applied. In spite of the common use of these management practices, there have been relatively few opportunities to quantitatively measure their efficacy in wildfires. That changed with the 2006 Tripod Complex fires in the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest in Washington—one of the largest fire events in Washington state over the past five decades. A serendipitous…
Publication Type: Report
Simulating fuel treatment effects in dry forests of the western United States: testing the principles of a fire-safe forest
Year: 2011
We used the Fire and Fuels Extension to the Forest Vegetation Simulator (FFE-FVS) to simulate fuel treatment effects on 45 1 62 stands in low- to midelevation dry forests (e.g., ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa Doug!. ex. P. & C. Laws.) and Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco) of the western United States. We evaluated treatment effects on predicted post-treatment fire behavior (fire type) and fire hazard (torching index). FFE-FVS predicts that thinning and surface fuel treatments reduced crown fire behavior relative to no treatment; a large proportion of stands were…
Publication Type: Journal Article