"Wildfires characterized by large areas of high severity are increasingly occurring in ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa P. & C. Lawson) forests of the Southwest to extents that are out of the natural range of variability. Managers are now routinely applying thinning and/or burning treatments to reduce fire severity. To investigate the effects of pre-fire treatments and fire severity on post-fire vegetation recovery, we re-measured established plots on the 2002Rodeo-Chediski Fire on the White Mountain Apache Tribal (WMAT) lands eight years post-fire and the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest (ASNF) nine years post-fire. On the WMAT lands we re-measured 70 plots stratified by fire severity (high, low) and pre-fire treatment (untreated, and cut/burned). We found significantly higher overall plant cover, exotic forb cover (although this was still low,
High severity wildfires have been increasing across southwestern ponderosa pine forests in recent decades. As the effects of wildfire become more widespread across the landscape, the need for information about the ecological effects of fire on understory vegetation is mounting. We investigated understory plant community response to the Rodeo-Chediski fire by conducting parallel studies on the White Mountain Apache Tribal lands (WMAT) and the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests (A-S). We estimated plant canopy cover by species and quantified total plant species richness on 1000m2 plots. We established 71 plots on WMAT lands. Plots were stratified by fire severity (low and high) and pre-fire treatment (cut/burned and untreated). We found significantly higher plant cover on areas that were burned by severe fire, but did not detect significant differences due to pre-fire treatment. There was no significant difference in cover of exotic species between high and low severity sites. Indicator species were primarily early successional species or species that were included in the post-fire seed mix.
This book has been published a decade after Fires Effects on Ecosystems by DeBano, Neary, and Folliott (1998), and builds on their foundation to update knowledge on natural post-fire processes and describe the use and effectiveness of various restoration strategies that may be applied when human intervention is warranted. The chapters in this book,
"Throughout fire-adapted forests of the western US, and in the Sierra Nevada of California specifically, wildfire suppression has produced forest structures conducive to more severe, costly, and ecologically deleterious fires. Recent legislation has identified the necessity of management practices that manipulate forests towards less fire-hazardous structures. In the approximately 30 year old pine plantations of the Stanislaus National Forest, extensive fuels reduction procedures are being implemented. This dissertation addresses whether silvicultural and burning treatments are effective at reducing the intensity and severity of potential fire behavior, and how, along with wildfire, these treatments impact the evolution of carbon dioxide from the soil to the atmosphere. The first chapter addresses the relationships between soil respiration, tree injury, and forest floor characteristics in high and low severity wildfire burn sites in a salvage-logged mixed-conifer forest. The results indicate that fire severity influences soil CO2 efflux and should be considered in ecosystem carbon modeling. In the next chapter, fire models suggest that mechanical shredding of understory vegetation (mastication) is detrimental, and prescribed fire most effective in reducing potential fire behavior and severity in pine plantations. The third chapter documents the impact of alternative fuels treatments on soil carbon respiration patterns in the pine plantations, and shows that mastication produces short-term reductions in respiration rates and soil moisture. The final chapter further examines the relationships of fire-induced tree injuries, forest floor structure, and environmental factors to soil respiration response to fuels treatments. Each chapter is written as an independent manuscript; they collectively serve to expand the limited understanding of the effectiveness and ecological consequences of fire and fuels treatments in coniferous forests."--Abstract
Prescribed burning is an important tool throughout Southern forests, grasslands, and croplands. The need to control fire became evident to allow forests to regenerate. This manual is intended to help resource managers to plan and execute prescribed burns in Southern forests and grasslands. A new appreciation and interest has developed in recent years for using prescribed fire in grasslands, especially hardwood forests, and on steep mountain slopes. Proper planning and execution of prescribed fires are necessary to reduce detrimental effects, such as the impacts on air and downstream water quality. Check out these related products: Trees at Work: Economic Accounting for Forest Ecosystem Services in the U.S. South can be found here: https://bookstore.gpo.gov/products/trees-work-economic-accounting-forest-ecosystem-services-us-south Soil Survey Manual 2017 is available here: https://bookstore.gpo.gov/products/soil-survey-manual-march-2017 Quantifying the Role of the National Forest System Lands in Providing Surface Drinking Water Supply for the Southern United States is available here: https://bookstore.gpo.gov/products/quantifying-role-national-forest-system-lands-providing-surface-drinking-water-supply Fire Management Today print subscription is available here: https://bookstore.gpo.gov/products/fire-management-today Wildland Fire in Ecosystems: Fire and Nonnative Invasive Plants can be found here: https://bookstore.gpo.gov/products/wildland-fire-ecosystems-fire-and-nonnative-invasive-plants
