Skip to Main Content
U.S. Forest Service
Caring for the land and serving people

United States Department of Agriculture

Home > Search > Publication Information

  1. Aligning smoke management with ecological and public health goals

    Share via EmailShare on FacebookShare on LinkedInShare on Twitter
    Dislike this pubLike this pub
    Author(s): Jonathan W. Long; Leland W. Tarnay; Malcolm P. North
    Date: 2017
    Source: Journal of Forestry. 116(1): 76-86
    Publication Series: Scientific Journal (JRNL)
    Station: Pacific Southwest Research Station
    DOI: https://doi.org/10.5849/jof.16-042
    PDF: View PDF  (1.0 MB)

    Description

    Past and current forest management affects wildland fire smoke impacts on downwind human populations. However, mismatches between the scale of benefits and risks make it difficult to proactively manage wildland fires to promote both ecological and public health. Building on recent literature and advances in modeling smoke and health effects, we outline a framework to more directly quantify and compare smoke impacts based on emissions, dispersion, and the size and vulnerability of downwind populations across time and space. We apply the framework in a case study to demonstrate how different kinds of fires in California's Central Sierra Nevada have resulted in very different smoke impacts. Our results indicate that the 257,314-acre Rim Fire of 2013 probably resulted in 7 million person-days of smoke impact across California and Nevada, which was greater than 5 times the impact per burned unit area than two earlier wildfires, Grouse and Harden of 2009, that were intentionally managed for resource objectives within the same airshed. The framework and results suggest strategies and tactics for undertaking larger-scale burns that can minimize smoke impacts, restore forest ecosystems, and reduce the potential for more hazardous wildfire and smoke events.

    Publication Notes

    • You may send email to psw_communications@fs.fed.us to request a hard copy of this publication.
    • (Please specify exactly which publication you are requesting and your mailing address.)
    • We recommend that you also print this page and attach it to the printout of the article, to retain the full citation information.
    • This article was written and prepared by U.S. Government employees on official time, and is therefore in the public domain.

    Citation

    Long, Jonathan W.; Tarnay, Leland W.; North, Malcolm P. 2017. Aligning smoke management with ecological and public health goals. Journal of Forestry. 116(1): 76-86. https://doi.org/10.5849/jof.16-042

    Cited

    Google Scholar

    Keywords

    California, USA, air quality, particulate matter, socioecological systems, wildland fire

    Related Search

    XML: View XML
Show More
Show Fewer
Jump to Top of Page