http://www.fs.fed.us/pnw/publications/gtrs.shtml Pacific Northwest Research Station - Fire Publications en-us http://www.fs.fed.us/pnw/pubs/pnw_rp597.pdf On 28 September 2009, the Naches Ranger District on the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest in south-central Washington state ignited an 800-ha prescribed fire. Later that afternoon, elevated PM2.5 concentrations and visible smoke were reported in Yakima, Washington, about 40 km east of the burn unit. The U.S. National Weather Service forecast for the day had predicted good dispersion conditions and winds that would carry the smoke to the less populated area north of Yakima. We undertook a case study of this event to determine whether conditions leading to the intrusion of the smoke plume into Yakima could have been predicted before the burn was ignited, either from forecasts and model output available on the day of the burn or from higher resolution model output made available only after the event. We evaluated three different meteorological model predictions: (1) 4-km resolution hourly weather predictions from the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model that were available to forecasters on the day of the burn; (2) 4-km resolution WRF predictions at 10-minute intervals; and (3) 1.33-km resolution WRF predictions at 10-minute intervals. We found that predicted winds from the 4- and 1.33-km model resolutions compared well with each other, whereas there were some differences in the predicted planetary boundary layer height over Yakima. We also used the high-resolution 1.33-km WRF output to generate smoke dispersion predictions using the BlueSky Smoke Modeling Framework. Results showed that forecasters and regulators using either the model output available on the day of the burn or the higher-resolution model output generated afterward, would not have anticipated the meteorological conditions that resulted in the smoke intrusion that day. Brown, Martin J.; Kertis, Jane; Huff, Mark H. Thu., 24 Oct 2013 13:35:00 PST Res. Pap. PNW:RP:597. Portland, OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station. 30 p. Tiffany Chau http://www.fs.fed.us/pnw/pubs/pnw_rp592.pdf We monitored coarse woody debris dynamics and natural tree regeneration over a 14-year period after the 1991 Warner Creek Fire, a 3631-ha (8,972-ac) mixed severity fire in the western Cascade Range of Oregon. Rates for tree mortality in the fire, postfire mortality, snag fall, and snag fragmentation all showed distinct patterns by tree diameter and species, with Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco) more likely to survive a fire, and to remain standing as a snag, than other common tree species. Natural seedling regeneration was abundant, rapid, and highly variable in space. Densities of seedlings >10 cm height at 14 years postfire ranged from 1,530 to 392,000 per ha. Seedling establishment was not concentrated in a single year, and did not appear to be limited by the abundant growth of shrubs. The simultaneous processes of mortality, snag fall, and tree regeneration increased the variety of many measures of forest structure. The singular event of the fire has increased the structural diversity of the landscape. Brown, Martin J.; Kertis, Jane; Huff, Mark H. Fri., 17 May 2013 13:35:00 PST Res. Pap. PNW:RP:592. Portland, OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station. 50 p. Douglas Beebe http://www.fs.fed.us/pnw/pubs/pnw_gtr875.pdf Fire behavior modeling and geospatial analyses can provide tremendous insight for land managers as they grapple with the complex problems frequently encountered in wildfire risk assessments and fire and fuels management planning. Fuel management often is a particularly complicated process in which the benefits and potential impacts of fuel treatments need to be demonstrated in the context of land management goals and public expectations. The fuel treatment planning process is complicated by the lack of data assimilation among fire behavior models and weak linkages to geographic information systems (GIS), corporate data, and desktop office software. ArcFuels10 is a streamlined fuel management planning and wildfire risk assessment system that creates a trans-scale (stand to large landscape) interface to apply various forest growth and fire behavior models within an ArcGIS platform to design and test fuel treatment alternatives. The new version of ArcFuels has been implemented on Citrix at the Forest Service Enterprise Production Data Center, eliminating the need for desktop GIS, improving connectivity to the corporate geospatial databases housed at the data centers, and enabling sharing of information among Forest Service employees. This overview introduces ArcFuels10 and the tools available within the system. Vaillant, Nicole M.; Ager, Alan A.; Anderson, John Thu, 21 Mar 2013 11:30:36 PST Gen. Tech. Rep. PNW-GTR-875. Portland, OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station. 65 p. Douglas Beebe http://www.fs.fed.us/pnw/pubs/pnw_gtr870.pdf This report is a scientific assessment of the current condition and likely future condition of forest resources in the United States relative to climatic variability and change. It serves as the U.S. Forest Service forest sector technical report for the National Climate Assessment and includes descriptions of key regional issues and examples of a risk-based framework for assessing climate-change effects. By the end of the 21st century, forest ecosystems in the United States will differ from those of today as a result of changing climate. Although increases in temperature, changes in precipitation, higher atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide (CO₂), and higher nitrogen (N) deposition may change ecosystem structure and function, the most rapidly visible and most significant short-term effects on forest ecosystems will be caused by altered disturbance regimes. For example, wildfires, insect infestations, pulses of erosion and flooding, and drought-induced tree mortality are all expected to increase during the 21st century. These direct and indirect climate-change effects are likely to cause losses of ecosystem services in some areas, but may also improve and expand ecosystem services in others. Some areas may be particularly vulnerable because current infrastructure and resource production are based on past climate and steady-state conditions. The ability of communities with resource-based economies to adapt to climate change is linked to their direct exposure to these changes, as well as to the social and institutional structures present in each environment. Human communities that have diverse economies and are resilient to change today will also be prepared for future climatic stresses. Vose, James M.; Peterson, David L.; Patel-Weynand, Toral Fri, 15 Mar 2013 12:01:00 PST Gen. Tech. Rep. PNW-GTR-870. Portland, OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station. 265 p. Douglas Beebe http://www.fs.fed.us/pnw/pubs/pnw_gtr805.pdf 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. Wright, Clinton S.; Balog, Cameron S.; Kelly, Jeffrey W. Mon, 22 Feb 2009 10:40:00 PST Gen. Tech. Rep. PNW-GTR-805. Portland, OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station. Tiffany Dong http://www.fs.fed.us/pnw/pubs/pnw_rp582.pdf 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 that contained data from 65 fire treatment units. Tue, 16 Jun 2009 11:45:00 PST Gen. Tech. Rep. PNW-RP-582. Portland, OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station. 24 p. Tiffany Dong http://www.fs.fed.us/pnw/pubs/pnw_gtr779.pdf This synthesis provides an ecological foundation for management of the diverse ecosystems and fire regimes of North America, based on scientific principles of fire interactions with vegetation, fuels, and biophysical processes. Although a large amount of scientific data on fire exists, most of those data have been collected at small spatial and temporal scales. Thus, it is challenging to develop consistent science-based plans for large spatial and temporal scales where most fire management and planning occur. Understanding the regional geographic context of fire regimes is critical for developing appropriate and sustainable management strategies and policy. The degree to which human intervention has modified fire frequency, intensity, and severity varies greatly among different ecosystems, and must be considered when planning to alter fuel loads or implement restorative treatments. Detailed discussion of six ecosystems--ponderosa pine forest (western North America), chaparral (California), boreal forest (Alaska and Canada), Great Basin sagebrush (intermountain West), pine and pine-hardwood forests (Southern Appalachian Mountains), and longleaf pine (Southeastern United States)--illustrates the complexity of fire regimes and that fire management requires a clear regional focus that recognizes where conflicts might exist between fire hazard reduction and resource needs. In some systems, such as ponderosa pine, treatments are usually compatible with both fuel reduction and resource needs, whereas in others, such as chaparral, the potential exists for conflicts that need to be closely evaluated. Managing fire regimes in a changing climate and social environment requires a strong scientific basis for developing fire management and policy. Keeley, J.E.; Aplet, G.H.; Christensen, N.L.; Conard, S.C.; Johnson, E.A.; Omi, P.N.; Peterson, D.L.; Swetnam, T.W. Thu, 19 Mar 2009 11:45:00 PST Gen. Tech. Rep. PNW-GTR-779. Portland, OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station. 92 p. Keiko Williams http://www.fs.fed.us/pnw/pubs/pnw_gtr776.pdf g, patch size of harvest relative to fire size, and long-term (10+ years) biophysical changes. Uncertainty about the effects of postfire logging can be reduced by implementing management experiments to document long-term changes in natural resources at different spatial scales. Peterson, David L.; Agee, James K.; Aplet, Gregory H.; Dykstra, Dennis P.; Graham, Russell T.; Lehmkuhl, John F.; Pilliod, David S.; Potts, Donald F.; Powers, Robert F.; Stuart, John D. Fri, 06 Mar 2009 10:10:00 PST Gen. Tech. Rep. PNW-GTR-776. Portland, OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station. 51 p. Keiko Williams http://www.fs.fed.us/pnw/pubs/pnw_rp577.pdf 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 forests. One of the 13 national FFS sites is the Northeastern Cascades site at Mission Creek on the Okanogan- Wenatchee National Forest. The study area includes 12 forested stands that encompass a representative range of dry forest conditions in the northeastern Cascade Range. We describe site histories and environmental settings, experimental design, field methods, and quantify the pretreatment composition and structure of vegetation, fuels, soils and soil biota, entomology and pathology, birds, and small mammals that occurred during the 2000 and 2001 field seasons. We also describe the implementation of thinning treatments completed during 2003 and spring burning treatments done during 2004 and 2006. Agee, James K..; Lehmkuhl, John F. (comps.) Tue, 08 Jul 2008 09:10:00 PST Res. Pap. PNW-RP-577. Portland, OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station. 158 p. Keiko Williams http://www.fs.fed.us/pnw/pubs/pnw_gtr777.pdf The concept of management studies-implemented by managers as normal business to meet priority learning needs-is applied to a priority regional question: how to manage after a large wildfire to better meet preexisting or new societal needs. Bormann, B.T.; Laurence, J.A.; Shimamoto, K.; Thrailkill, J.; Lehmkuhl, J.; Reeves, G.; Markus, A.; Peterson, D.W.; Forsman, E. Mon, 08 Dec 2008 08:00:00 PST Gen. Tech. Rep. PNW-GTR-777. Portland, OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station. 27 p. Tiffany Dong http://www.fs.fed.us/pnw/pubs/pnw_gtr767.pdf Black spruce (Picea mariana (Mill) B.S.P) is the dominant forest cover type in interior Alaska and is prone to frequent, stand-replacing wildfires. Johnstone, Jill F.; Hollingsworth, Teresa N.; Chapin, F. Stuart, III. Mon, 08 Dec 2008 08:00:00 PST Gen. Tech. Rep. PNW-GTR-767. Portland, OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station. 37 p. Tiffany Dong http://www.fs.fed.us/pnw/pubs/pnw_gtr769.pdf The Malheur model for fire-caused delayed mortality is presented as an easily interpreted graph (mortality-probability calculator) as part of a one-page field guide that allows the user to determine postfire probability of mortality for ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa Dougl. ex Laws.). Thies, Walter G.; Westlind, Douglas J.; Loewen, Mark; Brenner, Greg. Thu, 06 Nov 2008 08:00:00 PST Gen. Tech. Rep. PNW-GTR-769. Portland, OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station. 16 p. Tiffany Dong http://www.fs.fed.us/pnw/pubs/pnw_gtr759.pdf Soils are fundamental to a healthy and functioning ecosystem. Therefore, forest land managers can greatly benefit from a more thorough understanding of the ecological impacts of fire and fuel management activities on the vital services soils provide. We present a summary of new research on fire effects and soils made possible through the Joint Fire Science Program and highlight management implications where applicable. Some responses were consistent across sites, whereas others were unique and may not easily be extrapolated to other sites. Selected findings include (1) postfire soil water repellency is most likely to occur in areas of high burn severity and is closely related to surface vegetation; (2) although wildfire has the potential to decrease the amount of carbon stored in soils, major changes in land use, such as conversion from forest to grasslands, present a much greater threat to carbon storage; (3) prescribed fires, which tend to burn less severely than wildfires and oftentimes have minor effects on soils, may nonetheless decrease species richness of certain types of fungi; and (4) early season prescribed burns tend to have less impact than late season burns on soil organisms, soil carbon, and other soil properties. Erickson, Heather E.; White, Rachel Thu, 22 May 2008 14:00:00 PST Gen. Tech. Rep. PNW-GTR-759. Portland, OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station. 17 p. Tiffany Dong http://www.fs.fed.us/pnw/pubs/pnw_gtr707.pdf Invasive nonnative plants may be responsible for serious, long-term ecological impacts, including altering fire behavior and fire regimes. Therefore, knowing how to successfully manage invasive plants and their impacts on natural resources is crucial. We present a summary of research on invasive plants and fire that has been generated through the Joint Fire Science Program—focusing specifically on ecology of species invasions, the interactions between fire and invasives, and the responses of invasives to different management practices. Selected findings include (1) prescribed fire may increase invasive species in some ecosystems; (2) fuel treatments that leave some overstory canopy, minimize exposure of bare ground, and target sites that already host species capable of resprouting may be less likely to promote invasives; and (3) postfire seeding should be approached with caution, as it can increase invasives. Erickson, Heather E.; White, R. Wed, 07 Nov 2007 08:00:00 PST Gen. Tech. Rep. PNW-GTR-707. Portland, OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station. 18 p. Tiffany Dong http://www.fs.fed.us/pnw/pubs/pnw_gtr727.pdf Operational-scale experiments that evaluate the consequences of fire and mechanical "surrogates" for natural disturbance events are essential to better understand strategies for reducing the incidence and severity of wildfire. The national Fire and Fire Surrogate (FFS) study was initiated in 1999 to establish an integrated network of long-term studies designed to evaluate the consequences of using fire and fire surrogate treatments for fuel reduction and forest restoration. Beginning in September2005, four regional workshops were conducted with selected clients to identify effective and efficient means of communicating FFS study findings to users. We used participatory evaluation to design the workshops, collect responses to focused questions and impressions, and summarize the results. We asked four overarching questions: (1) Who needs fuel reduction information? (2) What information do they need? (3) Why do they need it? (4) How can it best be delivered to them? Participants identified key users of FFS science and technology, specific pieces of information that users most desired, and how this information might be applied to resolve fuel reduction and restoration issues. They offered recommendations for improving overall science delivery and specific ideas for improving delivery of FFS study results and information. User groups identified by workshop participants and recommendations for science delivery are then combined in a matrix to form the foundation of a strategic plan for conducting science delivery of FFS study results and information. These potential users, their information needs, and preferred science delivery processes likely have wide applicability to other fire science research. Youngblood, Andrew; Bigler-Cole, Heidi; Fettig, Christopher J.; Fiedler, Carl; Knapp, Eric E.; Lehmkuhl, John F.; Outcalt, Kenneth W.; Skinner, Carl N.; Stephens, Scott L.; Waldrop, Thomas A. Thu, 16 Aug 2007 09:45:00 PST Gen. Tech. Rep. PNW-GTR-727. Portland, OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station. Tiffany Dong http://www.fs.fed.us/pnw/pubs/pnw_gtr712.pdf This publication provides information about prescribed fire effects on habitats and populations of birds of the interior West and a synthesis of existing information on bird responses to fire across North America. Our literature synthesis indicated that aerial, ground, and bark insectivores favored recently burned habitats, whereas foliage gleaners preferred unburned habitats. Saab, Victoria; Block, William; Russell, Robin; Lehmkuhl, John; Bate, Lisa; White, Rachel Thu, 16 Aug 2007 09:00:00 PST Gen. Tech. Rep. PNW-GTR-712. Portland, OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station. Tiffany Dong http://www.fs.fed.us/pnw/pubs/pnw_gtr715.pdf This report reviews the growing literature on the concept of agency-citizen interactions after large wildfires. Because large wildfires have historically occurred at irregular intervals, research from related fields has been reviewed where appropriate. This issue is particularly salient in the West where excess fuel conditions indicate that the large wildfires occurring in many states are expected to continue to be a major problem for forest managers in the coming years. This review focuses on five major themes that emerge from prior research: contextual considerations, barriers and obstacles, uncertainty and perceptions of risk, communication and outreach, and bringing communities together. It offers ideas on how forest managers can interact with stakeholders for planning and restoration activities after a large wildfire. Management implications are included. Olsen, Christine S.; Shindler, Bruce A. Thu, 16 Aug 2007 09:00:00 PST Gen. Tech. Rep. PNW-GTR-715. Portland, OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station. Tiffany Dong http://www.fs.fed.us/pnw/pubs/pnw_gtr690.pdf Current efforts to improve the scientific basis for fire management on public lands will benefit from more efficient transfer of technical information and tools that support planning, implementation, and effectiveness of vegetation and hazardous fuel treatments. The technical scope, complexity, and relevant spatial scale of analytical and decision-support tools differ considerably, which provides a challenge to resource managers and other users who want to select tools appropriate for a particular application. This publication provides a state-of-science summary of tools currently available for management of vegetation and fuels. Detailed summaries include a description of each tool, location where it can be obtained, relevant spatial scale, level of user knowledge required, data requirements, model outputs, application in fuel treatments, linkage to other tools, and availability of training and support. Streamlined summaries in tabular format allow users to rapidly identify those tools that could potentially be applied to a specific management need. In addition, an interdisciplinary team process is described that facilitates application of tools and decisionmaking at different spatial scales. Peterson, David L.; Evers, Louisa; Gravenmier, Rebecca A.; Eberhardt, Ellen Fri, 02 Feb 2007 10:45:00 PST Gen. Tech. Rep. PNW-GTR-690. Portland, OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station. Tiffany Dong http://www.fs.fed.us/pnw/pubs/pnw_gtr673.pdf This guidebook describes the High Peak/Moon Creek Research Natural Area, a 617.5-ha (1,526-ac) tract of coniferous forest containing stands dominated by 100-to 150-year-old Douglas-fir, a small old-growth (500+ years) Douglas-fir stand, and riparian vegetation within the western hemlock zone of the Coast Range in western Oregon. Schuller, Reid Mon, 04 Dec 2006 09:26:36 PST Gen. Tech. Rep. PNW-GTR-673. Portland, OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station. 31 p. Tiffany Dong http://www.fs.fed.us/pnw/pubs/pnw_gtr663.pdf My Fuel Treatment Planner (MyFTP) is a tool for calculating and displaying the financial costs and potential revenues associated with forest fuel reduction treatments. It was designed for fuel treatment planners including those with little or no background in economics, forest management, or timber sales. This guide provides the information needed to acquire, load, and begin to use MyFTP. Biesecker, Robin L.; Fight, Roger D. Wed, 19 Apr 2006 15:25:36 PST Gen. Tech. Rep. PNW-GTR-663. Portland, OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station. 31 p. Tiffany Dong http://www.fs.fed.us/pnw/sciencef/scifi82.pdf A century of fire suppression has resulted in dense fuel loads within the dry pine forests of eastern Oregon . To alleviate the risk of stand-replacing wildfire, forest managers are using prescribed fire and thinning treatments. Until recently, the impact of these fuel treatments on soil productivity has been largely unknown. Such information is essential for making sound management decisions about the successful reintroduction of fire to the ecosystem to retain biodiversity of soil fungi and achieve the desired future condition of large ponderosa pines with low fuel loads. In a recent pair of studies, led by researchers at the PNW Forestry Sciences Laboratory in Corvallis, Oregon, novel molecular techniques were utilized to investigate the response of soil ecosystems to prescribed burning and thinning. The research compared impacts of the season of burn and various combinations of fuel-reducing treatments. Results suggest that overly severe fires can damage soil productivity and that less intense fires can be used to gradually reduce accumulations of fuel. The findings are currently being implemented in decisions about forest management and contribute important new information to the science. Thompson, Jonathan Fri, 14 Apr 2006 15:00:36 PST Science Findings 82. Portland, OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station. 5 p. Tiffany Dong