Background
Forests in many fire-dependent ecosystems of the United States are denser and more spatially uniform, have many more small trees and fewer large trees, and have greater quantities of forest fuels than did their presettlement counterparts. Fire suppression policy, past livestock grazing, timber harvesting, and changes in climate have contributed to current conditions. These practices have resulted in a general deterioration in forest ecosystem integrity and an increased probability of large, high-severity wildfires. Nationally, such conditions are especially prevalent in forests with historically short-interval, low- to moderate-severity fire regimes. The report of the Sierra Nevada Ecosystem Project highlighted these problems and explained the need for large-scale and strategically-located thinning (especially of small trees), fuel treatment, and use of prescribed fire. Modeling studies have indicated that some fuel and silvicultural treatments can be effective in limiting the size and intensity of wildfires, but these predictions need to be validated with field experiments. Furthermore, the extent to which alternative fuel and stand treatments restore ecosystem structure and function is largely unknown. |
Prescribed fire in Unit 9 (Early season treatment) – June 20, 2002 (Photo by Eric Knapp) |
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A team of scientists and land managers has designed an integrated national network of 13 long-term research sites to address this need, with support from the USDA/USDI Joint Fire Science Program. The steering committee and other participants in this national Fire/Fire Surrogate (FFS) study represent a number of federal and state agencies, universities, and private entities, as well as a wide range of disciplines and geographic regions. The study uses a common experimental design to facilitate broad applicability of results. The primary focus is to understand the ecosystem impacts of different fire hazard reduction treatments. As part of the FFS study, USGS researchers at the Western Ecological Research Center are assessing the ecological impacts of early season and late season prescribed fire treatments to reduce fire hazard at one of the sites in the study network - Sequoia National Park. The other twelve sites, including Blodgett Forest (also in mixed conifer forests of the Sierra Nevada) are comparing mechanical thinning, prescribed fire, and mechanical thinning followed by prescribed fire. |
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Products Photos -- National Fire and Fire Surrogate Study -- Sequoia National Park prescribed fire program |
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