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Fuels and Fuel Treatments

Displaying 111 - 120 of 217

The Science of Fuel Treatments

Year of Publication
2017
Publication Type

High fuel loads can significantly contribute to the intensity and severity of fires. Fuels include plant material, such as leaves, bark, needles, branches, and vegetation. Land managers use various methods to reduce fuel levels. The two most common fuel treatment methods include forest thinning and prescribed fire.

Decomposition Rates for Hand-Piled Fuels

Year of Publication
2017
Publication Type

Hand-constructed piles in eastern Washington and north-central New Mexico were weighed periodically between October 2011 and June 2015 to develop decay-rate constants that are useful for estimating the rate of piled biomass loss over time. Decay-rate constants (k) were determined by fitting negative exponential curves to time series of pile weight for each site.

An Evaluation of the Forest Service Hazardous Fuels Treatment Program—Are We Treating Enough to Promote Resiliency or Reduce Hazard?

Year of Publication
2017
Publication Type

The National Cohesive Wildland Fire Management Strategy recognizes that wildfire is a necessary natural process in many ecosystems and strives to reduce conflicts between fire-prone landscapes and people. In an effort to mitigate potential negative wildfire impacts proactively, the Forest Service fuels program reduces wildland fuels.

Returning Fire to the Land—Celebrating Traditional Knowledge and Fire

Year of Publication
2017
Publication Type

North American tribes have traditional knowledge about fire effects on ecosystems, habitats, and resources. For millennia, tribes have used fire to promote valued resources. Sharing our collective understanding of fire, derived from traditional and western knowledge systems, can benefit landscapes and people.

Spatiotemporal dynamics of simulated wildfire, forest management, and forest succession in central Oregon, USA.

Year of Publication
2017
Publication Type

We use the simulation model Envision to analyze long-term wildfire dynamics and the effects of different fuel management scenarios in central Oregon, USA. We simulated a 50-year future where fuel management activities were increased by doubling and tripling the current area treated while retaining existing treatment strategies in terms of spatial distribution and treatment type.

The effects of thinning and burning on understory vegetation in North America: A meta-analysis

Year of Publication
2017
Publication Type

Management in fire-prone ecosystems relies widely upon application of prescribed fire and/or fire-surrogate (e.g., forest thinning) treatments to maintain biodiversity and ecosystem function. The literature suggests fire and mechanical treatments proved more variable in their effects on understory vegetation as compared to their effects on stand structure.