Fire and Environmental Research Applications Team

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.

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