Fuels & Fuel Treatments
Stand composition and development stage affect fuel characteristics of quaking aspen forests in Utah
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We investigated surface and canopy fuel characteristics in 80 aspen stands in Utah, U.S., that spanned gradients of tree species composition from aspen to conifer dominance and stand development from early to late stages. We quantified fuel type and load, measured fuel moisture content in representative stands across two summer seasons, and modeled flame lengths in each stand. Fuel type and load varied greatly across stands, though late development, conifer-dominated stands had significantly higher (∼2-5 times) fine dead woody and litter load and significantly lower (∼2-5 times) live understory herbaceous load compared to pure aspen stands. Fuel moisture content did not vary by stand type. Modeled flame lengths were lowest in pure aspen stands, and flame lengths increased linearly with decreasing aspen composition, suggesting that potential surface fire behavior increases as a seral aspen stand progresses through succession to conifer dominance.
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We used novel data sources to measure how recreation was influenced by fuels reduction efforts under the US Forest Service Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration (CFLR) Program. We used posts to four social media platforms to estimate the number of social media user-days within CFLR landscapes and asked: (1) did visitation within CFLR Program landscapes between 2012 and 2020 change in a manner consistent with the pattern on nearby lands, and (2) was there a relationship between the magnitudes of specific fuel treatment activities within CFLR landscapes and visitation to that landscape? In aggregate, visitation to the CFLR landscapes changed at a rate mirroring the trend observed elsewhere. Within CFLR landscapes, pre-commercial thinning and pruning had slight positive influences on visitation whereas prescribed burning and managed wildfire had slight negative influences.
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We found that within the sagebrush biome, fuel breaks are generally located in areas with high burn probability and are thus positioned well to intercept potential wildfires. However, fuel breaks are also frequently positioned in areas with lower predicted fuel break effectiveness relative to the sagebrush biome overall. Fuel breaks also are spatially associated with high invasive grass cover, indicating the need to better understand the causal relationship between fuel breaks and annual invasive grasses. We also show that the fuel break network is dense within priority wildlife habitats. Dense fuel breaks within wildlife habitats may trade off wildfire protection for decreased integrity of such habitats.
View article and brief.
Although fuels treatments are generally shown to be effective at reducing fire severity, there is widespread interest in monitoring that efficacy as the climate continues to warm and the incidence of extreme fire weather increases. This paper compared basal area mortality across adjacent treated and untreated sites in the 2021 Dixie Fire of California’s Sierra Nevada.
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This study aimed to determine the flammability of cheatgrass compared to two native perennial grasses (Columbia needlegrass [Achnatherum nelsonii] and bluebunch wheatgrass [Pseudoroegneria spicata]) across a range of fuel moistures. All three grass species had decreased flammability with increasing fuel moisture. Columbia needlegrass averaged 11% lower mass consumption than cheatgrass, and bluebunch wheatgrass had longer flaming duration and higher maximum temperatures than cheatgrass and Columbia needlegrass. The addition of cheatgrass to each perennial grass increased combined mass consumption, flaming duration, and flame heights. For these three attributes, the impact differed by the amount of cheatgrass in the mixture. Maximum and mean temperatures during perennial grass combustion were similar with and without cheatgrass addition. Some attributes of Columbia needlegrass flammability when burned with cheatgrass were higher than expected based on the flammability of each species, suggesting that Columbia needlegrass may be susceptible to pre-heating from combustion of cheatgrass. Conversely, the flammability of bluebunch wheatgrass and cheatgrass together had both positive and negative interactive effects, suggesting the impact on joint flammability from cheatgrass differs by perennial grass species.
The US Geological Survey Land Management Research Program and the Great Basin Fire Science Exchange teamed up to bring you updates in sagebrush, fire, and wildlife related research. On 2/27/2025, USGS researchers, Matt Germino, Doug Shinneman, and Beth Horning shared research on fuels, fuel breaks, and economics useful to decision making, Matt Germino and Morgan Roche shared research on herbicide treatments for invasive annual grasses, and Lea Condon shared research on the threats to biocrust in sagebrush ecosystems. Below are the webinar recording and resources associated with each presentation.
To view a complete list of resources (completed and planned), please view the program for this slate of presentations.
2/27 – Fire, fuels management, and invasive species
Webinar recording
Longevity of herbicides targeting exotic annual grassed in sagebrush-steppe soils
Project webpage
Patchy response of cheatgrass and nontarget vegetation to indaziflam and imazapic applied after wildfire in sagebrush steppe
A collaborative and iterative framework for delivering applied fuel break science: With a focus on sagebrush ecosystems and the Great Basin
Project webpage
Future direction of fuels management in sagebrush rangelands
UAS survey of sagebrush fuel breaks
Project webpage
Invasive annual grass – An economic assessment
Project webpage
Longevity of herbicides targeting exotic annual grasses in sagebrush-steppe soils
Project webpage
Intra-site sources of restoration variability in severely invaded rangeland: Strong temporal effects of herbicide–weather interactions; weak spatial effects of plant community patch type and litter
Synthesis of indaziflam outcomes for protecting sagebrush ecosystems
Project webpage
Can ruderal components of biocrust be maintained under increasing threats of drought, grazing, and wild horses?
Project webpage
Season of grazing interacts with soil texture, selecting for associations of biocrust morphogroups
Biological soil crusts are more prevalent in warmer and drier environments within the Great Basin ecoregion: Implications for managing annual grass invasion
The US Geological Survey Land Management Research Program and the Great Basin Fire Science Exchange teamed up to bring you updates in sagebrush, fire, and wildlife related research. On 2/20/2025, USGS researchers, Rob Arkle, Doug Shinneman, and Michelle Jeffries, shared research on monitoring and planning, Adam Noel and Sarah Halperin shared their latest research on pinyon-juniper treatments and decision support. Below are the webinar recording and resources associated with each presentation.
To view a complete list of resources (completed and planned), please view the program for this slate of presentations.
2/20 – Monitoring, pinyon-juniper, and fuels management
Webinar recording
Planning for conservation delivery success: Linking biome-wide Sagebrush Conservation Design to local treatment planning by leveraging landscape restoration outcomes
Land Treatment Exploration Tool (LTET)
Technical transfer tools for the Nevada and Oregon rangeland monitoring project (NORMP)
Oregon rangeland monitoring program: SageCon
Rapid and Other Assessment and Monitoring Methods (ROAM) project
ROAM project website
Pinyon-juniper treatments for minimizing climate and fire vulnerability
Project website
Most PJ woodland species distributions projected to shrink under climate change
Data of estimated environmental suitability of PJ species under various climate scenarios
Earth Engine App with PJ projected distributions
Synthesizing scientific information on treatment and natural disturbance effects on pinyon-juniper woodlands and associated wildlife habitat
Project website
Ecological effects of PJ removal in the western US: A synthesis (2014-2021)
Webinar recording.
LANDFIRE is one of several programs that tracks treatment events on the landscape. Join TNC Fire Ecologist, Kori Blankenship as she discusses the importance of knowing when and where these treatments occur – having this knowledge available allows land managers to track progress towards land management objectives. Kori provides a brief summary of treatment tracking events and their effort to demonstrates how The Nature Conservancy is using LANDFIRE’s Events data to assess the extent of treatments in dry forests in the 11 western states.
Registration opens in March.
Please mark your calendars for the 2025 Idaho Forest Restoration Partnership Annual Conference. We will host the conference at the Barber Park Education and Event Center in Boise on the following dates:
April 22, 2025. 10:00am-4:00pm MDT
April 23, 2025. 8:00am-12pm MDT
Researchers at Utah State University studied the Old Woman South Prescribed Fire project, planned and implemented by U.S. Forest Service and Utah Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands personnel on the Fishlake National Forest and adjacent private lands in 2022-23. The research examined perceptions of agency personnel, landowners, and other affected persons about the project, which included strong efforts to maintain communication and collaboration among agency personnel, landowners, and other affected persons, using a prescription designed to minimize the risk of escape or loss of valued resources.