Burning and Natural Vegetation in the United States

Stewart, Omer C.

doi:10.2307/211026

Cited by 60 publications

(34 citation statements)

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“…Before Euro-American settlement, cultural burning practices of Native Americans augmented or even dominated fire regimes in many vegetation types (Barrett and Arno 1982, Stewart 1951, Lewis 1973. Lightning-caused fires were more frequent during periods (decades) of high temperatures and became less frequent during cool periods because warm periods tended to have longer fire seasons, resulting in more fires (Swetnam 1993, Stine 1996, Chang 1999.…”

Section: Historical Fire Patterns and Forest Structurementioning

confidence: 99%

Science basis for changing forest structure to modify wildfire behavior and severity

Graham¹,

McCaffrey²,

Jain³

2004

259

300

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Fire, other disturbances, physical setting, weather, and climate shape the structure and function of forests throughout the Western United States. More than 80 years of fire research have shown that physical setting, fuels, and weather combine to determine wildfire intensity (the rate at which it consumes fuel) and severity (the effect fire has on vegetation, soils, buildings, watersheds, and so forth). Millions of acres of forestlands (mainly in dry forests dominated by ponderosa pine and/or Douglas-fir) contain a high accumulation of flammable fuels compared to conditions prior to the 20 th century. Forests with high stem density and fuel loading combined with extreme fire weather conditions have led to severe and large wildfires (such as those seen in the summers of 2000, 2002, and 2003) that have put a number of important values at risk. Although homes in the path of a wildfire are perhaps the most immediately recognized value, these wildfires also put numerous other human and ecological values at risk, such as power grids, drinking water supplies, firefighter safety, critical habitat, soil productivity, and air quality.For a given set of weather conditions, fire behavior is strongly influenced by stand and fuel structure. Crown fires in the dry forest types represent an increasing challenge for fire management as well as a general threat to the ecology of these forests and the closely associated human values. Crown fires are dependent on the sequence of available fuels starting from the ground surface to the canopy. Limiting crown fire in these forests can be accomplished by actions that manage in concert the surface, ladder, and crown fuels. Reducing crown fire and wildland fire growth across landscapes decreases the chances of developing large wildfires that affect human values adjacent to forested areas. However, a narrow focus on minimizing crown fire potential will not necessarily reduce the damage to homes and ecosystems when fires do occur. Homes are often ignited by embers flying far from the fire front, and by surface fires. Fire effects on ecosystems can also occur during surface fires where surface and understory fuels and deep organic layers are sufficient to generate high temperatures for long periods.Fuel treatments can help produce forest structures and fuel characteristics that then reduce the likelihood that wildfires will cause large, rapid changes in biophysical conditions. Fuel treatments can also help modify fire behavior sufficiently so that some wildfires can be suppressed more easily. Subsequent, sustained fuel treatments can maintain these conditions. Different fuel reduction methods target different components of the fuel bed. Thinning mainly affects standing vegetation, and other types of fuel treatments such as prescribed fire and pile burning woody fuels are needed to modify the combustion environment of surface fuels. In forests that have not experienced fire for many decades, multiple fuel treatments-that is, thinning and surface fuel reduction-may be required to significantly...

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Section: Historical Fire Patterns and Forest Structurementioning

confidence: 99%

Science basis for changing forest structure to modify wildfire behavior and severity

Graham¹,

McCaffrey²,

Jain³

2004

259

300

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“…He stated, "Scarcely a year passes without the occurrence of fires of sufficient extent to attract public notice." Numerous authors (DeViro 1991; Patterson and Sassamen 1988;Stewart 1951Stewart , 1963Van Lear and Waldrop 1989) have discussed the vast extent to which Native Americans used fire. One historian (Russell 1983) agreed that fire frequency was greater near camps and villages than would be expected by lightning, but found no strong evidence that Native Americans burned large areas in the Northeast.…”

Section: Fire Regime Characteristicsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Wildland fire in ecosystems: effects of fire on flora

Brown¹,

Smith²

2000

299

156

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_____________________________________This state-of-knowledge review about the effects of fire on flora and fuels can assist land managers with ecosystem and fire management planning and in their efforts to inform others about the ecological role of fire. Chapter topics include fire regime classification, autecological effects of fire, fire regime characteristics and postfire plant community developments in ecosystems throughout the United States and Canada, global climate change, ecological principles of fire regimes, and practical considerations for managing fire in an ecosytem context.

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“…Annual burning in autumn and winter produced similar trends through time for most species. Big bluestem (Andropogon gerardii Vitman) cover increased with all burn regimes, whereas indiangrass [Sorghastrum nutans (L.) (Axelrod 1985), and for more than 7,000 years vegetation patterns have been influenced by anthropogenic burning practices (Sauer 1944, Stewart 1951 (Abril). Los factores topoedaficos influenciaron los patrones de respuesta de algunas especies al fuego estacional, aunque las diferencias fueron principalmente en la tasa de cambio.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Journal of Range Management, Volume 56, Number 2 (March 2003)

2003

REM

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Burning and Natural Vegetation in the United States

Cited by 60 publications

References 0 publications

Science basis for changing forest structure to modify wildfire behavior and severity

Science basis for changing forest structure to modify wildfire behavior and severity

Wildland fire in ecosystems: effects of fire on flora

Journal of Range Management, Volume 56, Number 2 (March 2003)

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