In this study, the average core area of the owls’ pre-fire forest habitat was 106 ha with a greater proportion of hardwoods compared to an average core area of 180 ha in the Sierra in which conifers dominate.
Read MoreThis ambitious four-year study assessed fire effects on the diversity of ten carnivore species and frequency of the three most common carnivore species after a 5670- ha fire in 2007.
Read MoreIn this 5-year study, the post-fire populations and microhabitat preferences of four small mammal species were compared. The study analyzed preferences in unburned, moderate and high-severity fire in mixed conifer forest.
Read MoreHotter, drier climates resulting from climate change will reduce the ability of woody plants to recover after fire. When combined with shorter fire return intervals, the resulting “interval squeeze” increases the risk for individual species extirpation.
Read MoreThe authors surveyed understory vegetation across a gradient of increasing canopy loss, ranging from unmanaged forest to fuel treatments, fuel treatments followed by low-moderate severity wildfire, and high-severity wildfire only.
Read MoreAgenda for the Mojave Desert Fire Science and Management Workshop. Barstow, CA 2014.
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Presented at the Mojave Desert Fire Science and Management Workshop. Barstow, CA 2014.
This presentation explains the use and implication of utilizing modeling tools to predict invasive species distribution after a fire.
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Presented at the Mojave Desert Fire Science and Management Workshop. Barstow, CA 2014.
Conclusions from this presentation include statements about the prehistoric, historic, and current characteristics in the Mojave desert area. For example, high elevation and riparian vegetation types contain many species that evolved with fire, whereas lower elevation vegetation is characterized by species that evolved with very little fire.
Presenter: Matthew Brooks
Read MoreThe goals of this project were to provide a more detailed representation of the rainfall patterns in the Mojave and to compare the current precipitation regime and patterns with both historic patterns and predicted future patterns.
Presenter: Jerry Tagestad et al.
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Presented at the Mojave Desert Fire Science and Management Workshop. Barstow, CA 2014.
This presentation discusses the process of model development to map the ignition probability and fire severity.
Presenter: Emma Underwood et al.
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This presentation discusses findings from two large scale integrated projects. The overarching goals of these projects were to use models and create tools about resource issues such as non-native species, postfire vegetation, ignition likelihood and fire severity.
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This presentation was given at the Mojave Desert Fire Science and Management Workshop. Barstow, CA 2014.
Results from multiple studies on seeding in the Mojave Desert are presented in this presentation.
Read MoreAbstract: "This article presents results from an interview-based case study examining burning practices of the Nez Perce tribe in the Inland Northwest in both their contemporary and historical policy context. Despite the lack of a prominent fire tradition, our interviews uncovered a legacy of knowledge and cultural traditions linked to fire and a variety of contemporary fire practices on the reservation performed by land-management professionals and individual tribal members. Many of these practices, particularly those involving broadcast burning, have diminished over the years. We examine the reasons for this and the potentials for mitigating some of the practical and policy constraints to such burning. We conclude that the nontribal community still has much to learn about fire from those who have lived in fire-adapted landscapes longer than anyone else."
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Abstract: The objective of this project is to synthesize existing (extreme fire behavior) EFB knowledge in a way that connects the weather, fuel, and topographic factors that contribute to development of EFB. This synthesis will focus on the state of the science, but will also consider how that science is currently presented to the fire management community, including incident commanders, fire behavior analysts, incident meteorologists, National Weather Service office forecasters, and firefighters. It will seek to clearly delineate the known, the unknown, and areas of research with the greatest potential impact on firefighter protection.
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Abstract: Broad discretion is granted at all levels throughout federal land management agencies regarding compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). We explored the diversity of procedures employed in NEPA processes across four agencies, the USDA Forest Service, the USDI National Park Service and Bureau of Land Management, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, through document review and interviews with chief NEPA compliance officers, interdisciplinary team leaders, team members, and decision makers within the agencies. A lack of consistency is highlighted not only between, but also within, agencies with regard to how NEPA is perceived and implemented. This report focuses on how successful NEPA processes are defined within each agency and what strategies are perceived to be the most or least beneficial to positive NEPA outcomes. It also identifies unresolved questions about NEPA processes and presents a research strategy for addressing them.
Read MoreThis General Technical Report, from the PNW Research Station of the Forest Service, summarizes the findings of in-depth interviews with 12 district rangers on project design and implementation, and the effect of NEPA on those processes. A "Recommendations" section is included with general suggestions - based on the findings from the interviews - for how to managers in the Forest Service can write more accessible NEPA documents and improve the efficiency and outcomes of the NEPA process.
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This technical report shows the hundreds of uses of oaks by indigenous people from food sources to tools. The management practices to maintain oaks are also explained with recommendations for oak restoration.
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Abstract: "As the large scale of fuel treatments needed to promote ecosystem health and reduce heavy fuel loads becomes clear in California’s mixed conifer forests, managers are beginning to focus on how to scale up prescribed fire use in order to treat a meaningful portion of the landscape. We look at the example of Western Australia’s large-scale and highly successful prescribed burning program by their Department of Environment and Conservation as a model for emulation by land management agencies in California. Focusing on: 1) novel management practices, 2) inter-agency collaboration, 3) regulatory collaboration and policy, 4) research integration, 5) cultural acceptance, and 6) political support of prescribed fire, we make recommendations for a new approach to the management and regulation of fire use in California’s mixed conifer forests."
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CFSC blog post about the report>
Read MoreThe California Fire Science Consortium coordinated the Panel Review of the California Board of Forestry and Fire Protection's Draft Vegetation Treatment Plan Environmental Impact Report (VTPEIR). The report from this review is available here.
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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.
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This regional Fire Science Exchange is one of 15 regional fire science exchanges.
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