Research Database
Displaying 61 - 74 of 74
Developing Socioeconomic Performance Measures for the Watershed Condition Framework
Year: 2012
The purpose of this report is to propose principles and strategies for creating socioeconomic performance measures, as well as identify potential measures that could be integrated into the WCF and other restoration frameworks in the short term. It also recommends a longer-term strategy to develop a social condition assessment and performance accountability system that could be paired with the WCF and terrestrial condition framework currently being developed. Finally, this report identifies potential barriers and challenges to adopting new performance measures, and potential approaches to…
Publication Type: Report
Vegetation recovery after fire in the Klamath-Siskiyou region, southern Oregon
Year: 2011
This overview is intended to facilitate decisions regarding forest regeneration in the Klamath-Siskiyou Ecoregion. It summarizes the results of several scientific investigations that took place in the ecoregion. Some of the research occurred in areas without post-fire management, and other research occurred in moderately or intensively managed areas. Some of the research also occurred immediately after a wildfire, and other work occurred several decades later.
Publication Type: Report
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 tree health
Year: 2011
Healthy trees are beneficial to our environment and our property values - but how do we determine if a tree is healthy? This publication briefly discusses common tree health problems and outlines a procedure for assessing tree conditions and getting diagnoses and recommendations from tree health professionals.
Publication Type: Report
Reducing Fire Risk on Your Forest Property
Year: 2010
Whether you own a few acres or thousands, this publication will help you reduce the potential for wildfire damage on your property while improving overall forest health and wildlife habitat. Although these actions won’t prevent a wildfire from coming onto your property, they can make it more fire resistant. In other words, by following the guidelines in this publication you can reduce a fire’s severity so that most trees survive and firefighters are better able to attack and extinguish the blaze.While this publication provides suggestions for making your property more fire-resistant, it does…
Publication Type: Report
Response of antelope bitterbrush to repeated prescribed burning in Central Oregon ponderosa pine forests
Year: 2009
Antelope bitterbrush is a dominant shrub in many interior ponderosa pine forests in the western UnitedStates. How it responds to prescribed fire is not well understood, yet is of considerable concern to wildlifeand fire managers alike given its importance as a browse species and as a ladder fuel in these fire-proneforests. We quantified bitterbrush cover, density, and biomass in response to repeated burning in thinnedponderosa pine forests. Low- to moderate-intensity spring burning killed the majority of bitterbrushplants on replicate plots. Moderately rapid recovery of bitterbrush density…
Publication Type: Journal Article
Synthesis of Knowledge on the Effects of Fire and Fire Surrogates on Wildlife in U.S. Dry Forests
Year: 2009
Dry forests throughout the United States are fire-dependent ecosystems, and much attention has been given to restoring their ecological function. As such, land managers often are tasked with reintroducing fire via prescribed fire, wildland fire use, and fire-surrogate treatments such as thinning and mastication. During planning, managers frequently are expected to anticipate effects of management actions on wildlife species. This document represents a synthesis of existing knowledge on wildlife responses to fire and fire-surrogate treatments, presented in a useful, management-relevant format…
Publication Type: Report
Synthesis of Knowledge on the Effects of Fire and Thinning Treatments on Understory Vegetation in U.S. Dry Forests
Year: 2009
The results of this synthesis illustrate several important lessons. First, current forest structure is the result of decades of fire-suppression activities, and so restoration will require multiple treatments to bring forests to within the range of historic variation. Second, while the treatments discussed in this document generally increased native plant responses, the same treatments also increased exotic plant response. Therefore, to avoid spread of exotic plant species, it is important to consider the context of the treatment area, (e.g., nearby roads, wildland urban interface, previous…
Publication Type: Report
Mechanical Treatments
Year: 2008
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 otherwise break apart fuels—such as brush, small trees, and slash—into small pieces or chips. The processed fuels carpet the ground, forming a relatively dense, compact layer of woody material. The material may be integral to the prime mover or may be then is left to decompose or is burned.Mechanical…
Publication Type: Report
Pruning
Year: 2008
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 more rapidly than a surface fire, under certain weather conditions.Pruning is a particularly effective fuels-reduction technique when combined with other forms of treatment such as thinning.
Publication Type: Report
Thinning
Year: 2008
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 and disease Quality of wildlife habitat Forage production The stand’s aesthetic appearance Another, very important effect is that thinning increases a forest’s ability to survive wildfire.Thinning is: Removing trees that, if left in the stand, could increase fire risk and could lessen stand vigor (for…
Publication Type: Report
Disposing of Woody Material
Year: 2008
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.
Publication Type: Report
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…
Publication Type: Report
Fire-resistant Plants for Home Landscapes: Selecting plants that may reduce your risk from wildfire
Year: 2006
In the Pacific Northwest, fires are a natural part of the changing landscape. As homeowners continue to build in the wildland-urban interface, they must take special precautions to protect their lives, homes, and property.One way to do this is to create a defensible space around your home. This is the area between your home or other structures, where potential fuel (materials or vegetation) have been modified, reduced, or cleared to create a barrier and slow the spread of wildfire toward your home. A defensible space also allows room for firefighters to fight the fire safely.Three critical…
Publication Type: Report