Resource Objective Wildfires Benefit Forests: Research Brief

A 2015 study by Meyer showed that the natural range of variation (NRV) concept and key fire severity indicators could be used to quantitatively evaluate the landscape-scale effects of large wildfires managed for resource objectives.
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Constraints on Mechanical Treatment in the Sierra Nevada: Research Brief

The authors evaluated current USFS standards and guidelines, input from forest management practitioners, and geospatial data to develop a hierarchy of biological (i.e., nonproductive forest), legal (i.e., wilderness), operational (i.e., equipment access), and administrative (i.e., sensitive species and riparian areas) constraints on mechanical treatments.
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Yikes! An Old-school Wildlife “Experiment” Involving Fire: Research Brief

This  1952  study  is  a  questionably  designed   attempt  to  measure  wildlife  survival  during   prescribed  fire.  The  most  dubious  part  of  the   project  involves  burying  live-­‐trapped  animals  in   the  path  of  a  controlled  burn.  
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Wildland Fire in Ecosystems: Fire and Nonnative Invasive Plants: USGS Research Brief

Presented here is scientific information regarding wildland fire and nonnative invasive plant species, identifies the nonnative invasive species currently of greatest concern in major bioregions of the United States, and describes emerging fire-invasive issues in each bioregion and throughout the nation. 
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Vegetation Succession & Fire in California’s Bay Area: Research Brief

 This  2003  study used aerial  photos  taken  between 1939 and  1997 to  quantify  vegetation  change  in  the  landscape   mosaic  of  grasslands,  shrublands,  woodlands and   forests of the San Francisco Bay Area. 
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Using fire to increase the scale and benefits of forest fuel treatments: Research Brief

This brief discussed a 2012 study that indicates less than 20% of national forest and national park lands in the Sierra Nevada are experiencing fuels treatments needed to mitigate continuing degradation from either the lack of fire or wildfire burning at high severity.

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Using Fire for Invasive Plant Control in Wildlands: USGS Research Brief

This brief summarizes the current state of knowledge on the use of fire as a tool to manage invasive plants in wildlands. The authors of two publications discuss risks and challenges of conducting prescribed burns, types of systems and circumstances in which burning may be effective for the management of invasive plants, complexities of fire and plant community interactions, impacts of prescribed burning on the broader plant community and the soil, and comprehensive monitoring plans.

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Type Conversion Leads to Reduced Vertebrate Diversity: Research Brief

Between  the  1940s and  the  1970s,  converting   chaparral  to  grasslands  had  become  acceptable   and  widely  practiced  in  western  states. How these type conversions affected vertebrate diversity were addressed in this study.
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Three-year Mashing Operations for Better Deer Forage: Research Brief

In  the  interest  of  increasing browse  for deer   populations  on  California  chaparral lands,  a   brush  manipulation  program was  conducted by   the  California  Department  of  Fish & Game  (CDFG) from  1955  to  1960. The results of this project are discussed in this brief. 
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