Fire Ecology & Effects
Big sagebrush and scabland sagebrush communities responded uniquely to multiple fires, due to different fuel loadings, fire severities, succession and invasion dynamics. Big sagebrush experienced nearly complete shrub loss and conversion from exotic invaded‐shrubland to exotic annual grassland after only one fire. In contrast, scabland sagebrush retained a minor shrub component and higher relative cover of native herbaceous species, even after three fires. Both communities retained cover of native perennial grasses, including shallow‐ and deep‐rooted species, likely reflecting decreasing fire intensity with number of times burned.
Description: The event will provide leaders intent around the Cohesive Strategy moving forward and context for 2020 implementation to date.
Presenters: Vicki Christiansen, Chief, US Forest Service; Jeff Rupert, Director, Office of Wildland Fire, DOI; George Geissler, State Forester, Washington State DNR. Additional presenters will be announced in the coming weeks based on your suggested topics and questions.
Access the videos ranging from about 1:30-10:00 in length.
Two research fish biologists describe how fish in the Pacific Northwest have evolved with wildfire disturbances, and how considering this history can help inform management prescriptions for both wildfire and fisheries. Creative animation illuminates details of how wildfires can provide beneficial habitat for native fish species.
As MTBS data have been used over the course of many years and for many disparate applications, users should be aware that the MTBS burned area and severity products have been actively reviewed and revised to benefit from more robust satellite image availability and to address any observed quality issues. In a sample of 123 remapped fires, we found no significant change in the burned area boundary products when compared to the original mapped fires; however, significant changes did exist in the distribution of unburned, low, and moderate burn severity pixels within the thematic product.
Grasslands occur on all of the continents. They collectively constitute the largest ecosystem in the world, making up 40.5% of the terrestrial land area, excluding Greenland and Antarctica. Grasslands are not entirely natural because they have formed and developed under natural and anthropogenic pressures. Their importance now is to the variety of ecosystem services that they provide: livestock grazing areas, water catchments, biodiversity reserves, tourism sites, recreation areas, religious sites, wild food sources, and natural medicine sources. An important function of grasslands is their sequestration and storage of carbon (C). Mollisol soils of grasslands have deep organic matter horizons that make this vegetation type almost as important as forests for C fixation and storage. Fire has been and continues to be an important disturbance in grassland evolution and management. Natural wildfires have been a component of grasslands for over 300 million years and were important in creating and maintaining most of these ecosystems. Humans ignited fires over many millennia to improve habitat for animals and livestock. Prescribed fire practiced by humans is a component of modern grassland management. The incidence of wildfires in grasslands continues to grow as an issue as droughts persist in semi-arid regions. Knowledge of fire effects on grasslands has risen in importance to land managers because fire, as a disturbance process, is an integral part of the concept of ecosystem management and restoration ecology. Fire is an intrusive disturbance in both managed and wildland forests and grasslands. It initiates changes in ecosystems that affect the composition, structure, and patterns of vegetation on the landscape. It also affects the soil and water resources of ecosystems that are critical to overall ecosystem functions and processes.
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The avifauna within the Sky Islands of southeastern Arizona includes species found nowhere else in the United States, in part due to the availability of diverse habitats created by the mixing of Madrean and Cordilleran ecosystems. Neotropical migratory bird species visit these mountains, as well as many species typical of western North American montane forests. Birdwatchers from across the globe visit the region, providing a vibrant state and local ecotourism industry. Within the last two decades, the Sky Islands have been under increased stress associated with ongoing droughts and wildfires. Nearly every mountain range in the region has been impacted by wildfires. The largest wildfire was the 2011 Horseshoe Two Fire, which burned 90,307 hectares of the Chiricahua Mountains.
The Northeastern California Plateaus Bioregion Science Synthesis reviews literature relevant to the ecology and management of the Great Basin ecosystems and dry pine forests of the Lassen and Modoc National Forests. Critical factors on these national forests are reduced water availability—expected to become more challenging as levels and patterns of precipitation and temperature change under climate variability—coupled with a high proportion of rangeland and open woodland whose vegetation community is influenced by grazing of livestock and wild animal populations. Conifer encroachment of rangelands and the densification of woodlands, a result of fire suppression, impact wildlife communities that rely on open woodlands and other habitats characterized by having overstories of low density. Sagebrush habitat, in particular, is threatened by fragmentation and conversion. Socioeconomic changes in the region include a transition in the economic base from extraction to that of consumption of amenity values, and the resulting fragmentation of landownership. The local human population is expected to continue its trend of decline, but increased pressure by recreationists from nearby expanding urban areas is forcing land managers to consider increasingly complex situations or actions integrating social, ecological, and economic factors. Indigenous peoples are assuming a greater role in the management of their lands. Finally, disturbance patterns, such as nonhistorical fire frequency and intensity levels, novel combinations of climate patterns, and the pervasive pressure of nonnative invasive species could result in future ecosystems different than those today, presenting additional managerial challenges. This synthesis is intended to serve as a science-based foundation that supports management of Northeastern California forests, woodlands, and rangelands.
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The Association for Fire Ecology (AFE) and Pau Costa Foundation (PCF) are partnering with Regione Toscana and University of Florence to host a conference in Florence, Italy for diverse stakeholders involved in wildfire management. Experts from Europe and around the world are invited to gather in Florence to share fire ecology science and expertise. This conference will be a meeting point for international wildfire and landscape managers, scientists, policy makers, communicators and other representatives from national, regional and local organizations.
The conference aims to increase the interaction of the wildfire community across boundaries to more effectively exchange knowledge and understanding about the contribution of fire ecology on fire management. Such coordination is needed to help providing solutions that balance ecological processes and wildfire risk reduction. This collaborative event will provide a space to understand and discuss the global wildfire situation and regional challenges, the uncertainties that need to be addressed, and also to share solutions on wildfire mitigation.
Link to webinar recording.
Description: The avifauna within the Sky Islands of southeastern Arizona includes species found nowhere else in the United States, in part due to the availability of diverse habitats created by the mixing of Madrean and Cordilleran ecosystems. Neotropical migratory bird species visit these mountains, as well as many species typical of western North American montane forests. Birdwatchers from across the globe visit the region, providing a vibrant state and local ecotourism industry. Within the last two decades, the Sky Islands have been under increased stress associated with ongoing droughts and wildfires. Nearly every mountain range in the region has been impacted by wildfires. The largest wildfire was the 2011 Horseshoe Two Fire, which burned 90,307 hectares of the Chiricahua Mountains.