A Review on the Dynamics of Prescribed Fire, Tree Mortality, and Injury in Managing Oak Natural Communities to Minimize Economic Loss in North America

Abstract

Abstract:The long history of fire in North America spans millennia and is recognized as an important driver in the widespread and long-term dominance of oak species and oak natural communities. Frequent wildfires from about 1850 to 1950 resulted in much forest damage, and gained fire a negative reputation. The lack of fire for the past nearly 100 years due to suppression programs is now indicted as a major cause of widespread oak regeneration failures and loss of fire-dependent natural communities. The use of prescribed fire is increasing in forest management and ecosystem restoration. An understanding of fire effects on trees can provide the basis for the silviculture of restoring and sustaining oak ecosystems. We present an overview of fire-tree wounding interactions, highlight important determinants of fire injury and damage, and discuss several practical situations where fire can be used to favor oak while minimizing damage and devaluation of the forest. We also identify stages in stand development, regeneration methods, and management objectives for which fire has the potential of causing substantial damage and recommend preferred alternative practices.

Global fire season severity analysis and forecasting

“…Wildfires have a fundamental role in the environment and a huge impact on human lives (M. C. Pereira et al, 2008;Chen et al, 2010;Brando et al, 2014). They affect biodiversity, cause damage to forests and properties, influence global climate, and pose direct risks to human health (Flannigan et al, 2006;Spessa et al, 2015;Dey and Schweitzer, 2018). Forecasting fire activity thus brings many benefits for fire management and control (M. C. Pereira et al, 2008;Flannigan et al, 2013).…”

Improving Coastal Plain Hardwoods for Deer and Turkeys with Canopy Reduction and Fire

“…Despite the concern associated with application of prescribed fire in upland hardwoods in the Coastal Plain, continued disturbance is necessary to maintain desirable conditions for deer and turkeys. We expected low to moderate damage to overstory mast producers following the application of fire to our stands, as species such as water oak are not considered to be fire tolerant (Heyward 1939, Dey and Schweitzer 2015). Despite the lower tolerance of many Coastal Plain hardwood species compared to southern yellow pine species, the low‐intensity, dormant‐season fires we applied resulted in cambium damage to <5% of retained mast‐producing trees, and we documented no fire‐associated mortality.…”

Dynamic Community Detection into Analyzing of Wildfires Events

“…Such environmental process has a significant impact on human life [ 2 ]. For example, it is responsible for damage to properties [ 3 ]; it may affect the forest dynamics, potentially changing hydrological processes and cloud microphysics – due to the aerosols emissions of gases and particles, which results in a considerable impact on climate [ 4 ]. Besides, as a source of CO and particulate matter, it contributes to the greenhouse and global warming [ 1 ] effects.…”