Analysis of fire frequency on the Talladega National Forest, USA, 1998-2018

2020 ◽  
Vol 29 (10) ◽  
pp. 919
Author(s):  
Jonathan Stober ◽  
Krista Merry ◽  
Pete Bettinger
Keyword(s):  
Fire History ◽  
Fire Frequency ◽  
Management Tool ◽  
Fire Season ◽  
National Forest ◽  
Simple Method ◽  
Fire Return Interval ◽  
Return Interval ◽  
Forested Landscapes ◽  
Pinus Spp

Fire is an essential ecological process and management tool for many forested landscapes, particularly the pine (Pinus spp.) forests of the southern USA. Within the Talladega National Forest in Alabama, where restoration and maintenance of pine ecosystems is a priority, fire frequency (both wild and prescribed) was assessed using a geographical process applied to a fire history database. Two methods for assessing fire frequency were employed: (1) a simple method that utilised the entire range of years acknowledged in the database and (2) a conservative method that was applied only the date of the first and last fires recorded at each location. Analyses were further separated by (a) method of mean fire return interval calculation (weighted by area or Weibull) and (b) fire season interval with analyses conducted on growing season and dormant season fires. Analyses of fire frequency for national forest planning purposes may help determine whether a prescribed fire program mimics ecological and historical fire frequencies and meets intended objectives. The estimated fire return interval was between ~5 and 6.5 years using common, straightforward (simple) methods. About one-third of the forest receives no fire management and about half of the balance has sufficiently managed fuels.

Annual Fire Return Interval Influences Nutritional Carrying Capacity of White-Tailed Deer in Pine–Hardwood Forests

2019 ◽  
Vol 65 (4) ◽  
pp. 483-491
Author(s):  
Michael P Glow ◽  
Stephen S Ditchkoff ◽  
Mark D Smith
Keyword(s):  
Prescribed Fire ◽  
Carrying Capacity ◽  
Habitat Management ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Fire Frequency ◽  
Management Tool ◽  
Forage Production ◽  
Fire Return Interval ◽  
Return Interval

AbstractPrescribed fire is a cost-effective habitat management tool in pine stands to enhance the quantity and quality of forage available for white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus). Management recommendations typically suggest a 3- to 5-year burn rotation in mixed pine–hardwood stands to increase quality forage production, but as fire frequency increases, forb and legume biomass increases, and woody browse decreases. A more frequent burn rotation may be a viable management option for deer managers, but there is still a lack of information regarding preferred forage and nutritional carrying capacity response to prescribed fire at these intervals. We measured the production and nutritional quality of forage within mature pine–hardwood stands after a 1- or 2-year fire-return interval during three nutritionally stressful periods for deer on a 640-acre (259-hectare) enclosure located in east-central Alabama during 2014 and 2015. These stands had previously been burned annually for over 15 years, resulting in an abundance of herbaceous vegetation. We then compared forage class biomass, nutritional carrying capacity estimates, and digestible protein between burn treatments. A 1-year fire return interval improved habitat quality to a greater degree than a 2-year fire return interval by increasing the production of forage able to support greater nutritional planes. An annual burn rotation is an effective option for managers to increase protein availability in pine–hardwood stands, but other factors such as decreased cover availability and soft mast production should also be considered.

Fire regimes and vegetation sensitivity analysis: an example from Bradshaw Station, monsoonal northern Australia

2003 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 349 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cameron Yates ◽  
Jeremy Russell-Smith
Keyword(s):  
Fire History ◽  
Fire Regime ◽  
Landscape Scale ◽  
Fire Season ◽  
Individual Species ◽  
Northern Australia ◽  
Sensitive Species ◽  
Obligate Seeder ◽  
Return Interval ◽  
Noaa Avhrr

The fire-prone savannas of northern Australia comprise a matrix of mostly fire-resilient vegetation types, with embedded fire-sensitive species and communities particularly in rugged sandstone habitats. This paper addresses the assessment of fire-sensitivity at the landscape scale, drawing on detailed fire history and vegetation data assembled for one large property of 9100�km2, Bradshaw Station in the Top End of the Northern Territory, Australia. We describe (1) the contemporary fire regime for Bradshaw Station for a 10 year period; (2) the distribution and status of 'fire sensitive' vegetation; and (3) an assessment of fire-sensitivity at the landscape scale. Fire-sensitive species (FSS) were defined as obligate seeder species with minimum maturation periods of at least 3 years. The recent fire history for Bradshaw Station was derived from the interpretation of fine resolution Landsat MSS and Landsat TM imagery, supplemented with mapping from coarse resolution NOAA-AVHRR imagery where cloud had obstructed the use of Landsat images late in the fire season (typically October–November). Validation assessments of fire mapping accuracy were conducted in 1998 and 1999. On average 40% of Bradshaw burnt annually with about half of this, 22%, occurring after August (Late Dry Season LDS), and 65% of the property burnt 4 or more times, over the 10 year period; 89% of Bradshaw Station had a minimum fire return interval of less than 3 years in the study period. The derived fire seasonality, frequency and return interval data were assessed with respect to landscape units (landsystems). The largest landsystem, Pinkerton (51%, mostly sandstone) was burnt 41% on average, with about 70% burnt four times or more, over the 10 year period. Assessment of the fire-sensitivity of individual species was undertaken with reference to data assembled for 345 vegetation plots, herbarium records, and an aerial survey of the distribution of the long-lived obligate-seeder tree species Callitris intratropica. A unique list of 1310 plant species was attributed with regenerative characteristics (i.e. habit, perenniality, resprouting capability, time to seed maturation). The great majority of FSS species were restricted to rugged sandstone landforms. The approach has wider application for assessing landscape fire-sensitivity and associated landscape health in savanna landscapes in northern Australia, and elsewhere.

Climate - fire interactions during the Holocene: a test of the utility of charcoal morphotypes in a sediment core from the boreal region of north-western Ontario (Canada)

2012 ◽  
Vol 21 (6) ◽  
pp. 640 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melissa T. Moos ◽  
Brian F. Cumming
Keyword(s):  
Sediment Core ◽  
Late Holocene ◽  
Fold Increase ◽  
Fire Frequency ◽  
Accumulation Rates ◽  
Fire Return Interval ◽  
The Holocene ◽  
Return Interval ◽  
In Fire ◽  
North Western

Charcoal accumulation rates and fire-return intervals were calculated from total charcoal and charcoal morphotypes over the Holocene, from a well-dated sediment core from Lake 239 located in north-western Ontario, and compared with previously published independent climate reconstructions. Both total and morphotype analysis show a two-to-three fold increase in accumulation rates in the early-to-mid Holocene (range: 1 to 6 pieces cm–2 year–1) compared with the early and late Holocene (range: 0 to 2 pieces cm–2 year–1). Fire-return intervals and fire frequencies calculated during these periods, based on peak analysis, showed very different trends. The fire-return interval based on Type M charcoal, a morphotype associated with primary charcoal deposition, was high during the early and late Holocene, and low from ~7500 to 4000 cal year BP, with high inferred fire frequency during the warm mid-Holocene (~12.5 fires per 1000 years), compared with <5 fires per 1000 years over the rest of the Holocene, whereas fire-return interval and fire frequency based on total charcoal did not show patterns consistent with climate. These results suggest that a two- to three-fold increase in fire frequency would not be unexpected in the future under a predicted warmer climate.

How does increased fire frequency affect carbon loss from fire? A case study in the northern boreal forest

2011 ◽  
Vol 20 (7) ◽  
pp. 829 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. D. Brown ◽  
J. F. Johnstone
Keyword(s):  
Boreal Forests ◽  
Forest Canopy ◽  
Short Interval ◽  
Fire Frequency ◽  
Fire Return Interval ◽  
Fire Cycle ◽  
Return Interval ◽  
Canopy Soil ◽  
Carbon Stores ◽  
Stand Conditions

Fire frequency is expected to increase due to climate warming in many areas, particularly the boreal forests. An increase in fire frequency may have important effects on the global carbon cycle by decreasing the size of boreal carbon stores. Our objective was to quantify and compare the amount of carbon consumed during and the amount of carbon remaining following fire in black spruce (Picea mariana (Mill.) BSP) forests burned after long v. short intervals. We hypothesised that stands with a shortened fire return interval would have a higher carbon consumption than those experiencing a historically typical fire return interval. Using field measurements of forest canopy, soil organic horizons and adventitious roots, we reconstructed pre-fire stand conditions to estimate the biomass lost in each fire and the effects on post-fire residual carbon stores. We found evidence of a higher loss of carbon following two fire events that recurred after a short interval, resulting in a much greater total reduction in carbon relative to pre-fire or mature stand conditions. Consequently, carbon storage across disturbance intervals was dramatically reduced following short-interval burns. Recovery of these stores would require a subsequent lengthening of the fire cycle, which appears unlikely under future climate scenarios.

scholarly journals COMPARAÇÃO ENTRE O PERFIL DOS INCÊNDIOS FLORESTAIS DE MONTE ALEGRE, BRASIL, E DE PINAR DEL RÍO, CUBA

FLORESTA ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 43 (2) ◽  
pp. 231 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcos Pedro Ramos Rodríguez ◽  
Ronaldo Viana Soares ◽  
Antonio Carlos Batista ◽  
Alexandre França Tetto ◽  
Luis Wilfredo Martínez Becerra
Keyword(s):  
Forest Fires ◽  
Fire History ◽  
Fire Season ◽  
Burned Area ◽  
Fire Occurrence ◽  
Fire Control ◽  
Spatial And Temporal Distributions ◽  
Del Rio ◽  
Pinus Spp ◽  
Control Service

 É importante se determinar onde, quando e porque ocorrem os incêndios florestais, com vistas a estruturar os serviços de prevenção e combate dentro de limites economicamente viáveis. Esta pesquisa foi desenvolvida com o objetivo de comparar o comportamento histórico dos incêndios florestais ocorridos no período de 2002 a 2011 no Distrito Florestal de Monte Alegre, estado do Paraná, Brasil, e nas empresas florestais da Província de Pinar del Río, Cuba. Foram consideradas as distribuições temporal e espacial dos incêndios, tendo sido analisada também a eficiência do serviço de proteção. Os registros de ocorrência de incêndios foram fornecidos pela Klabin S/A e pelo Corpo de Guardabosques de Pinar del Río. Os resultados mostraram um maior número de ocorrências e uma menor área queimada em Monte Alegre. Os incêndios se concentraram nos meses de agosto a outubro (77,97% do total) em Monte Alegre e de março a maio (86,80%) em Pinar del Río. A cobertura vegetal mais afetada nas duas regiões foi “Pinus spp.” e a principal causa foi “incendiário” (71,66% do total) em Monte Alegre e “raios” (39,26%) em Pinar del Río. Conclui-se que há uma similaridade no perfil dos incêndios para os dois lugares, com exceção da época de incêndios.Palavras-chave: Estatísticas de incêndios; época de incêndios; prevenção de incêndios. AbstractComparison between the forest fires statistics in Monte Alegre, Brazil, and Pinar del Río, Cuba. It is important to determine where, when and why forest fires occur in order to structure the prevention and suppression within economically viable limits. This research was developed in order to compare the historical behavior of forest fires in the period 2002 to 2011 in the Forest District of Monte Alegre, Paraná State, Brazil, and forestry companies in the province of Pinar del Río, Cuba. Spatial and temporal distributions of fire occurrence were considered and the efficiency of fire control service was analyzed. Records of fire occurrence were provided by Klabin S/A and the Forest Department of Pinar del Río. The results revealed a higher number of occurrences and a lower burned area in Monte Alegre. The fires were concentrated from the month of August to October (77.97% of total) in Monte Alegre and March-May (86.80%) in Pinar del Río. The most affected vegetation in both regions was "Pinus spp" and the main cause of the occurrence was "incendiary" (71.66% of total) in Monte Alegre and "lightning" (39.26%) in Pinar del Río. There was a similarity in the fire profile for the two regions, except in the fire season.Keywords: Fire statistics; fire history; fire season; fire prevention.

scholarly journals Demographic Effects of Severe Fire in Montane Shrubland on Tasmania’s Central Plateau

Fire ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 32
Author(s):  
Judy A. Foulkes ◽  
Lynda D. Prior ◽  
Steven W. J. Leonard ◽  
David M. J. S. Bowman
Keyword(s):  
Woody Species ◽  
Fire Frequency ◽  
Fire Season ◽  
Burned Area ◽  
Large Area ◽  
Seedling Regeneration ◽  
Central Plateau ◽  
Conservation Area ◽  
Severe Fire ◽  
Representative Area

Australian montane sclerophyll shrubland vegetation is widely considered to be resilient to infrequent severe fire, but this may not be the case in Tasmania. Here, we report on the vegetative and seedling regeneration response of a Tasmanian non-coniferous woody montane shrubland following a severe fire, which burned much of the Great Pine Tier in the Central Plateau Conservation Area during the 2018–2019 fire season when a historically anomalously large area was burned in central Tasmania. Our field survey of a representative area burned by severe crown fire revealed that more than 99% of the shrubland plants were top-killed, with only 5% of the burnt plants resprouting one year following the fire. Such a low resprouting rate means the resilience of the shrubland depends on seedling regeneration from aerial and soil seedbanks or colonization from plants outside the burned area. Woody species’ seedling densities were variable but generally low (25 m−2). The low number of resprouters, and reliance on seedlings for recovery, suggest the shrubland may not be as resilient to fire as mainland Australian montane shrubland, particularly given a warming climate and likely increase in fire frequency.

Fire regime shift linked to increased forest density in a piñon–juniper savanna landscape

2014 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 234 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ellis Q. Margolis
Keyword(s):  
Regime Shift ◽  
Fire History ◽  
Fire Regime ◽  
Fire Regimes ◽  
Fire Frequency ◽  
Climatic Conditions ◽  
Tree Density ◽  
High Severity ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
In Fire

Piñon–juniper (PJ) fire regimes are generally characterised as infrequent high-severity. However, PJ ecosystems vary across a large geographic and bio-climatic range and little is known about one of the principal PJ functional types, PJ savannas. It is logical that (1) grass in PJ savannas could support frequent, low-severity fire and (2) exclusion of frequent fire could explain increased tree density in PJ savannas. To assess these hypotheses I used dendroecological methods to reconstruct fire history and forest structure in a PJ-dominated savanna. Evidence of high-severity fire was not observed. From 112 fire-scarred trees I reconstructed 87 fire years (1547–1899). Mean fire interval was 7.8 years for fires recorded at ≥2 sites. Tree establishment was negatively correlated with fire frequency (r=–0.74) and peak PJ establishment was synchronous with dry (unfavourable) conditions and a regime shift (decline) in fire frequency in the late 1800s. The collapse of the grass-fuelled, frequent, surface fire regime in this PJ savanna was likely the primary driver of current high tree density (mean=881treesha–1) that is >600% of the historical estimate. Variability in bio-climatic conditions likely drive variability in fire regimes across the wide range of PJ ecosystems.

Spatial and temporal variations of fire regimes in the Canadian Rocky Mountains and Foothills of southern Alberta

2016 ◽  
Vol 25 (11) ◽  
pp. 1117 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marie-Pierre Rogeau ◽  
Mike D. Flannigan ◽  
Brad C. Hawkes ◽  
Marc-André Parisien ◽  
Rick Arthur
Keyword(s):  
Rocky Mountains ◽  
Fire History ◽  
Fire Severity ◽  
Ecological Integrity ◽  
Fire Regimes ◽  
Temporal Variations ◽  
Fire Season ◽  
Canadian Rocky Mountains ◽  
Southern Alberta ◽  
Fire Exclusion

Like many fire-adapted ecosystems, decades of fire exclusion policy in the Rocky Mountains and Foothills natural regions of southern Alberta, Canada are raising concern over the loss of ecological integrity. Departure from historical conditions is evaluated using median fire return intervals (MdFRI) based on fire history data from the Subalpine (SUB), Montane (MT) and Upper Foothills (UF) natural subregions. Fire severity, seasonality and cause are also documented. Pre-1948 MdFRI ranged between 65 and 85 years in SUB, between 26 and 35 years in MT and was 39 years in UF. The fire exclusion era resulted in a critical departure of 197–223% in MT (MdFRI = 84–104 years). The departure in UF was 170% (MdFRI = 104 years), while regions of continuous fuels in SUB were departed by 129% (MdFRI = 149 years). The most rugged region of SUB is within its historical range of variation with a departure of 42% (MdFRI = 121 years). More mixed-severity burning took place in MT and UF. SUB and MT are in a lightning shadow pointing to a predominance of anthropogenic burning. A summer fire season prevails in SUB, but occurs from spring to fall elsewhere. These findings will assist in developing fire and forest management policies and adaptive strategies in the future.

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