JFSP Fire Science Exchange Network
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.
View Full Article (Open Access)
Read MoreIn this study, the authors used observed weather and climate data, as well as climate model simulations, to project shifts in the frequency and seasonality of burn windows in the Western United States. Real-world burn plans were used to calculate median upper and lower prescription values for weather, climate, and vegetation parameters. These upper and lower median values determined days that were suitable for prescribed fire (RxDay) at a given location, in both the past and in a warmer climate future.
Read MoreThis study analyzed a 2-km hourly gridded weather dataset over a 23-year period to investigate the influence of climatological trends on prescribed fire weather windows. The authors explored how prescribed fire windows changed over this period for two California counties: Sonoma County near the coast and Plumas County in the Sierra Nevada, which contrast in land ownership types, vegetation, and climate. These counties represent diverse prescribed fire considerations in regions where recent catastrophic wildfire has drawn interest from land managers. Using burn prescriptions written by experienced local fire practitioners, the authors identified the degree of weather-driven change in prescribed fire opportunities for these two distinct areas within California.
View Full Article (open access)
Read MoreThis paper examines a 20-year forest restoration study in the northern Sierra Nevada looking at changes in forest structure and composition, fuel accumulation, modeled fire behavior, intertree competition, and economics resulting from four treatment regimes: multiple applications of prescribed fire (Fire), multiple mechanical restoration thinnings (Mech), multiple mechanical restoration thinnings followed by prescribed fire (Mech + Fire), and untreated controls
View Full Article (open access)
Read MoreThis study investigates Bishop pine's unique fire ecology, seed bank dynamics, and the impacts pine pitch canker infection has on stands.
View Full Article (open access)
Read MoreResearchers from Michigan State University and the USFS Fire Behavior Assessment Team used 15 years of immediate pre- and post-fire fuel and wildfire behavior data to identify the role of fire advancement mode and pre-fire environmental drivers (e.g., topography, fire weather, and fuel loadings) on fuel consumption and fire effects in California mixed-conifer forests.
Read MoreIn Southern California, native bunchgrass communities dominated by Stipa pulchra are widely distributed in the state but often share dominance with non-native annual grasses. Restoration of these grasslands is focused on altering the balance of native to non-native grasses to favor the native perennial grasses. This study investigated the impact of burning on vegetation recovery.
View Full Article (open access) >
Read MoreThis study leveraged data collected from 20-year-old forest monitoring plots within fuel treatment units that captured a range of wildfire occurrence (i.e., not burned, burned once, or burned twice) following application of initial thinning treatments and prescribed fire.
View Full Article (open access) >
Read MoreWith narrowing and potentially non-existent opportunities during other times of year, winter may currently be the most realistic and advantageous time to conduct prescribed burns. This study evaluated the effectiveness and feasibility of winter burning to demonstrate its potential utility in mixed conifer forests.
Read MoreIn this study, pyrosilviculture is presented as a conceptual management framework that merges prescribed fire and silvicultural systems for promoting resilient and sustainably managed forests.
Read MoreThe study used models to predict fire behavior differences according to two primary factors: mid-story density (i.e. the ladder fuel layer) and live fuel moisture. This is relevant for prescribed burns because both of these factors can be modified when conducting burns.
Read MoreThis study uses historical patterns of burn windows to predict burn window likelihood to inform prescribed burning planning and budgeting.
Read MoreThis study compares post-drought forests to historical forests to understand if the recent tree mortality event shifted forests closer to or further from resilient conditions.
Photo credit: Historic conditions in a ponderosa pine stand circa 1917. Source: Sierra National Forest Photo HP0313
Read MoreThis study focused on better understanding the role of stand characteristics and burn entry number in fuel consumption.
Read MoreA comparison study of different liability lows shows how gross negligence coupled with some key additional regulations would likely result in prescribed fire being more available to managers while also providing safety assurance to the public.
Read MoreWith this paper, we aim to clarify basic liability laws in California, using state law and case examples to further the collective understanding and comfort around prescribed fire liability.
Read MoreThis synthesis draws recommendations from four studies that are relevant to prescribed burning as a fuels reduction method in young stands. Most studies also looked at potential effects of mastication as a fuels treatment in comparison to prescribed burning.
Read MoreFor many fire-adapted ecosystems, prescribed fires and managed wildfires are valuable tools for mimicking and maintaining natural fire’s full assortment of invaluable Ecosystem Services.
Read MoreThe objective of this research synthesis was to examine the differences in community level exposures to smoke from both wildfire and prescribed fire.
Read MoreDr. Biswell's influence on the development of prescribed burning in California was paramount in so many of our actions today. Here’s a throwback to his work, where he leads a prescribed fire and discussion in Southern California in May 1983.
Read More
The California Fire Science Consortium is divided into 4 geographic regions and 1 wildland-urban interface (WUI) team. Statewide coordination of this program is based at UC Berkeley.
View the about page to learn more >
This regional Fire Science Exchange is one of 15 regional fire science exchanges sponsored by Joint Fire Science Program (JFSP).
Link to another exchange:
