NEWS FLASHES
FERA Connects Climate Change Research with Monarch Butterfly
Study
In late July, FERA hosted Dr. Isabel Ramirez, one of a handful
of researchers worldwide who are focused on ecosystem and land-use
dynamics in the Mariposa Monarca Biosphere Reserve in the mountains
of central Mexico. Don McKenzie (FERA) and Dr. Ramirez (professor
of geography with the National University of Mexico) are studying
the interplay of land use and disturbance, vegetation, and microclimate
to better understand threats to the butterfly habitat from both
human activities and climate change. (August 18, 2008)
Online
Climate Change Resource Center
The U.S. Forest Service's three western research stations have
officially launched a new online reference site for resource managers
and decisionmakers who need information and tools to address climate
change in planning and project implementation in the West. The Climate
Change Resource Center (CCRC) is a site that connects climate change
information generated by the Forest Service with those who need
it. David L. Peterson, Don McKenzie, and several other members of
the FERA team have provided both leadership and scientific expertise
in the development of this website. (August 11, 2008)
Fire
Severity in Regenerating Stands Focus of New Study
Christina Lyons-Tinsley, a graduate student at the University of
Washington, has teamed up with FERA to analyze fire severity in
regenerating stands burned by the Tripod Complex fire. She intends
to determine how fuels and other factors contributed to surface
fire intensity and spread. Specifically, the project will compare
fire severity between regeneration cuts, the surrounding matrix,
and thinned units; and analyze fire severity among regeneration
units including the relationship between fire effects and stand
structure. (July 30, 2008)
NASA
Interns Study Tripod Complex Fire Severity Alongside FERA
Students from the NASA DEVELOP internship program
have been working this summer with FERA’s Dr. Susan Prichard
on a project using satellite imagery to assess burn severity at
the 2006 Tripod Complex fire in the Okanogan-Wenatchee National
Forest. The students spent one week in July 2008 working with FERA
crew members collecting field data within the Tripod Fire perimeter.
Satellite data are being used to create classified burn severity
maps of the Tripod Complex Fire in the Okanogan National Forest.
These maps will be used to perform an analysis of the relationship
between burn severity and variables such as landform and vegetation
types. (July 30, 2008)
Climate
Change Workshop Convened to Develop Educational Materials
A 2 ½-day workshop in late July has been organized to develop
a set of climate-related lectures to be recorded for the Climate
Change Resource Center. Held at the H.J. Andrews Experimental
Forest near Eugene, Oregon, the workshop brings together speakers
from the climate science community with managers from national forests
in the West. Videos of presentation and question-and-answer sessions
will be made available on the website of the resource center. FERA
will be represented by Dave Peterson, Jessica Halofsky, and Ellen
Eberhardt. (July 30, 2008)
WORKSHOPS AND TRAINING
A
Suite of Fuel Management Tools: Fuel Characteristic Classification
System, Natural Fuels Photo Series, Digital Photo Series, and Consume
3.0. Offered at the Pacific
Coast Fire Conference, December 1, 2008, in San Diego. Register
through the conference website.
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NEW PUBLICATIONS
Evaluation
of the Composite Burn Index for Assessing Fire Severity in Alaskan
Black Spruce Forests
An evaluation of the composite burn index in Alaskan black spruce
forests indicates it may be of limited potential for quantifying
fire severity in these ecosystems, in particular organic layer consumption,
which is an important factor to understand how ecosystems will respond
to changing climate and fire regimes in northern regions. Roger
Ottmar was one of 6 authors of this article in the International
Journal of Wildland Fire.
Abstract
[.html] Full text limited access [.pdf
1.1 MB][.html]
Douglas-Fir
Growth in Mountain Ecosystems: Water Limits Tree Growth from Stand
to Region
David L. Peterson was one of three authors on this paper that considers
the nature of growth-climate relationships for Douglas-fir across
the climatic dimensions of its niche. It was published in the journal
Ecological Monographs.
Abstract
[.html] Full
text [.pdf 1.4 MB]
Chapters
on National Forests and National Parks in the Preliminary Review
of Adaptation Options for Climate-Sensitive Ecosystems and Resources
David L. Peterson was one of nine authors of Chapter 3: National
Forests in the recently-released "highly influential"
report by the U.S. Climate Change Science Program and Subcommittee
on Global Change Research. Don McKenzie was a contributing author
to Chapter 4: National Parks. The report was published by the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency.
Full
text of Chapter 3 [.pdf 3 MB]
Full
text of Chapter 4 [.pdf 2MB]
Annex
A: Case Studies [.pdf 4 MB]
Annex
B: Confidence Estimates [.pdf 176 kb]
Analyzing
Fuel Treatments and Fire in the Pacific Northwest.
Morris Johnson successfully defended his Ph.D. dissertation at
the University of Washington with this manuscript.
Abstract
[.html] Full
text [.zip 30 MB]
Climate
Drivers of Regionally Synchronous Fires in the Inland Northwest
(1651-1900)
The International Journal of Wildland Fire published this paper
by Emily Heyerdahl, FERA's Don McKenzie that addresses specific
aspects of climate that appear to have driven the occurrence of
fires.
Abstract and
full text [.html]
Changes
in Fuelbed Characteristics and Resulting Fire Potentials after Fuel
Reduction Treatments in Dry Forests of the Blue Mountains, Northeastern
Oregon
This paper reports initial fuelbed conditions and changes immediately
and 4–6 years after fuel reduction treatments in an operational-scale
experiment in northeastern Oregon. Projected flame length, rate
of spread, and reaction intensity are derived as metrics of future
surface fire behavior. (Some users may have problems accessing this
publication. Please contact Ellen Eberhardt (eeberhardt@fs.fed.us)
to receive a paper copy.)
Link
to paper (limited access)
All
Publications
PRESENTATIONS AND POSTERS
The
'88 Fires: Yellowstone and Beyond Conference -- FERA will present
a poster "Stereo
Photo Series for Quantifying Natural Fuels" and also exhibit
at this meeting. September 22-26, 2008
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