Fire Effects Information System

Format of FEIS reviews

What topics are in a review?*
What is contained in the topics?

Animal Species Review:

INTRODUCTORY
AUTHORSHIP AND CITATION: Complete citation for the review; can be cut-and-pasted into other documents
ABBREVIATION: 4-letter abbreviation used as keyword in Citation Retrieval System
COMMON NAMES
TAXONOMY
ORDER
CLASS
FEDERAL LEGAL STATUS: Endangered, threatened, etc.
OTHER STATUS: Endangered, threatened, etc. status in United States and/or Canada

ANIMAL DISTRIBUTION AND OCCURRENCE
GENERAL DISTRIBUTION
PLANT COMMUNITIES

BIOLOGICAL DATA AND HABITAT REQUIREMENTS
LIFE HISTORY
PREFERRED HABITAT
COVER REQUIREMENTS
FOOD HABITS
PREDATORS
MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS

FIRE EFFECTS AND MANAGEMENT
DIRECT FIRE EFFECTS ON ANIMALS (sometimes called "first-order" fire effects)
INDIRECT FIRE EFFECTS (sometimes called "second-order" fire effects): Discusses how fire affects plant species the animal species uses for forage, cover, or other purposes, and other habitat-related effects of fire.
FIRE REGIMES: Summarizes information on fire regimes and fire behavior for plant communities where the animal is common.
FIRE MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS: Discusses implications of fire effects for the practice of fire management, such as planning fire use, prescribed fire specifications, fire exclusion, fire behavior, fuel management, fire hazard, etc.

FIRE CASE STUDIES
Summary of one or more research projects on the effects of prescribed fire on the animal, including information about prefire conditions, burning conditions, fire behavior, and animal response

APPENDIX: FIRE REGIME TABLE
The table provides historic fire-return intervals for plant communities and ecosystems in which the species occurs. If you are interested in plant communities or ecosystems that are not listed, see the expanded Fire Regime Table.

REFERENCES
Complete citations for all reports cited in the species review

Plant and Lichen Species Reviews:

INTRODUCTORY
AUTHORSHIP AND CITATION: Complete citation for this review; can be cut-and-pasted into other documents
ABBREVIATION: 6- or 7-letter abbreviation used as keyword in the Citation Retrieval System
SYNONYMS
NRCS PLANT CODE
COMMON NAMES
TAXONOMY
LIFE FORM: Tree, shrub, vine, graminoid, forb, cactus, fern, bryophyte, lichen
FEDERAL LEGAL STATUS: Endangered, threatened, etc.
OTHER STATUS: Endangered, threatened, etc. in United States and Canada; weed status

DISTRIBUTION AND OCCURRENCE
GENERAL DISTRIBUTION
HABITAT TYPES AND PLANT COMMUNITIES

BOTANICAL AND ECOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS
GENERAL BOTANICAL CHARACTERISTICS: Traits related to survival and regeneration; not a key for identification
SEASONAL DEVELOPMENT: phenology
REGENERATION PROCESSES: Regeneration from vegetative parts and from seed; includes seed banking
SITE CHARACTERISTICS: Includes information on topography, soil types and elevations where species occurs
SUCCESSIONAL STATUS: Includes information on shade tolerance, occurrences as pioneer and/or persistent species

FIRE EFFECTS AND MANAGEMENT
FIRE EFFECTS: Includes Immediate Fire Effect in Plant (sometimes called "immediate", "direct", or "first-order" fire effects); Postfire Regeneration Strategy, a list of ways the species may regenerate after fire; Plant Adaptations and Plant Response to Fire (Sometimes called "second-order" or "indirect" fire effects)
FUELS AND FIRE REGIMES: Contains information for estimating fuel loadings, if available. Provides information on fire regimes.
FIRE MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS: Discuss implications of fire effects and plant response information for practice of fire management, such as planning fire use, prescribed fire specifications, fire exclusion, fire behavior, fuel management, fire hazard reduction, etc.

FIRE CASE STUDIES
Summary of one or more research projects on the effects of prescribed fire (or rarely, wildfire) on the plant, including information about prefire conditions, burning conditions, fire behavior, and animal response

MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS (for reviews of noninvasive plants)
IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE
VALUE FOR REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED SITES
OTHER USES
OTHER MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS

or:

MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS (for reviews of invasive plants)
IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE
OTHER USES
IMPACTS AND CONTROL

APPENDIX: FIRE REGIME TABLE
The table provides historic fire-return intervals for plant communities and ecosystems in which the species occurs. If you are interested in plant communities or ecosystems that are not listed, see the expanded Fire Regime Table.

REFERENCES
Complete citations for all reports cited in the species review

Kuchler Potential Natural Vegetation Type Review:

INTRODUCTION
AUTHORSHIP AND CITATION: Complete citation for the Kuchler review; can be cut-and-pasted into other documents
KUCHLER TYPE NUMBER
PHYSIOGNOMY (general appearance)
OCCURRENCE

DESCRIPTION
PHYSIOGRAPHY (elevation, hydrology, site characteristics)
CLIMATE
SOILS
VEGETATION
WILDLIFE
ECOLOGICAL RELATIONSHIPS (including successional patterns)

KUCHLER TYPE MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS
FORESTRY VALUES
RANGE VALUES
WILDLIFE VALUES
OTHER VALUES
OTHER MANAGEMENT CONCERNS

KUCHLER TYPE FIRE ECOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT
FUELS, FLAMMABILITY AND FIRE OCCURRENCE (including fire regimes)
FIRE EFFECTS ON SITE
FIRE EFFECTS ON VEGETATION
FIRE EFFECTS ON RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
FIRE USE CONSIDERATIONS
FIRE MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS
REHABILITATION OF SITES FOLLOWING WILDFIRE

REFERENCES
Complete citations for all reports cited in the Kuchler review

Research Project Summary Review:

INTRODUCTORY
RESEARCH PROJECT SUMMARY CITATION: Reference on which the research project summary is primarily based
SPECIES INCLUDED IN THE SUMMARY
STUDY LOCATION
SITE DESCRIPTION
PREFIRE PLANT COMMUNITY
PLANT PHENOLOGY: Seasonal development of the vegetation when burned
SEASON/SEVERITY CLASSIFICATION: Description of fire timing and severity
FIRE DESCRIPTION: Fire behavior, fire weather, fuel consumption, etc.
FIRE EFFECTS ON PLANT COMMUNITY: Increased, decreased, or unchanged species abundance, frequency, cover, etc. following fire
FIRE MANAGEMENT IMPLICATIONS

REFERENCES
Complete citations for all references cited in the research project summary

STATE/PROVINCE abbreviation key:

United States:

Canada:

Mexico:

*For reviews written before 2009, order of topics will differ from the sequence provided.

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