Pacific Southwest Research Station

Nutrient Emissions from Prescribed Fire

This study will assess the potential impacts of fuel reductions through prescribed fire on water and air quality in the basin as a function of fuel condition. This information can be used by forest managers to optimize burn practices by balancing environmental impacts with management objectives.

Full title:  Potential nutrient emissions from prescribed fire in the Lake Tahoe basin

Proposal [pdf-193KB]

Lead Researchers:    Paul S.J. Verburg, Richard B. Susfalk, and Lung-Wen Antony Chen, Desert Research Institute

Goals

1. Assess potential impacts of prescribed fire on nutrient loads to air and water.
2. Assess fuel loads in the basin.

Sites:    Field inventory of fuels in 100- by 100-m gridded plots in five prescribed burns

Timeframe:     October 2007 through June 2010 (2.5 years)

Products

1. Assessment of the potential nutrient emissions from prescribed fire both into the soil and the air as a function of fuel type and moisture.
2. Basinwide inventory of potential emissions based on the laboratory studies, field surveys, and GIS modeling.