Photographic handbook for comparing burned and unburned sites within a dry forested and grassland mosiac: a tool for communication, calibration, and monitoring post-fire effects

Jain, Theresa B.; Juillerat, Molly; Sandquist, Jonathan E.; Ford, Mike; Sauer, Brad; Mitchell, R. L.; McAvoy, Scott; Hanley, Justin; David, Jon

doi:10.2737/rmrs-gtr-197

Cited by 3 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 3 publications

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“…Fires occurred in Colorado (five fires), Idaho (21 fires), and Montana (51 fires) from 2000 through 2003. Second, we used the indices to quantify the post-fire environments for the Cascade Complex of Wildfires (see [28] for a site description) in central Idaho and the Indian and Germaine wildfires in eastern Montana (see [29] for a site description). Circular plots (1.0 m 2 ) were used to characterize the post-fire environment of the Cascade Wildfires and linear transects were used for the Indian and Germaine wildfires.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Index for Characterizing Post-Fire Soil Environments in Temperate Coniferous Forests

Jain

Pilliod

Graham

et al. 2012

Forests

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Many scientists and managers have an interest in describing the environment following a fire to understand the effects on soil productivity, vegetation growth, and wildlife habitat, but little research has focused on the scientific rationale for classifying the post-fire environment. We developed an empirically-grounded soil post-fire index (PFI) based on available science and ecological thresholds. Using over 50 literature sources, we identified a minimum of five broad categories of post-fire outcomes: (a) unburned, (b) abundant surface organic matter (>85% surface organic matter), (c) moderate amount of surface organic matter (≥40 through 85%), (d) small amounts of surface organic matter (<40%), and (e) absence of surface organic matter (no organic matter left). We then subdivided each broad category on the basis of post-fire mineral soil colors providing a more fine-tuned post-fire soil index. We related each PFI category to characteristics such as soil temperature and duration of heating during fire, and physical, chemical, and biological responses. Classifying or describing post-fire soil conditions consistently will improve interpretations of fire effects research and facilitate communication of potential responses or outcomes (e.g., erosion potential) from fires of varying severities. OPEN ACCESSForests 2012, 3 446

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Index for Characterizing Post-Fire Soil Environments in Temperate Coniferous Forests

Jain

Pilliod

Graham

et al. 2012

Forests

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“…When estimates for fuels are required for project planning, resource specialists, particularly fuels specialists or fire management officers, frequently use fuels photo-series for the appropriate forest type and region (http:// www.fs.fed.us/pnw/fera/research/fuels/photo_series/index.shtml). Photo series have been developed for many upland forest and vegetation types; for a range of fuel loading conditions that may occur on a specific national forest (e.g., Popp and Lundquist 2006); for given areas, such as the WUI in the Colorado Front Range (Battaglia et al 2006); or for a specific purpose, e.g., comparing burned and unburned sites (Jain et al 2007). Photos are accompanied by measured fuel loadings and usually grouped by forest or vegetation type and stand age, including regeneration stages following past forest harvest.…”

Section: Vegetation Influences On Fire Propertiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Riparian fuel treatments in the western USA: Challenges and considerations

Dwire¹,

Meyer²,

Riegel³

et al. 2016

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Vegetation and soil effects from prescribed, wild, and combined fire events along a ponderosa pine and grassland mosaic

Jain¹,

Juillerat²,

Sandquist³

et al. 2007

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We describe the efficacy of prescribed fires after two wildfires burned through and around these fires located in eastern Montana within the Missouri River Breaks. The objectives of the prescribed fires were to decrease tree density and favor increased herbaceous cover, thus decreasing the potential for crown fire. Our objective was to evaluate post-fire tree density, herbaceous cover, soil surface, and burn severity to determine if the prescribed fires fulfilled management objectives and if they affected post-wildfire outcomes. Because there is no information available on pre-fire conditions, we used a draft of the handbook Forest Descriptions and Photographs of Forested Areas Along the Breaks of the Missouri River in Eastern Montana (RMRS-GTR-186) of unburned sites as our frame of reference. We compared sites burned by prescribed fire alone, wildfire alone, and prescribed fire followed by wildfire to the unburned sites from the handbook. Statistical analysis showed no significance in tree density, herbaceous cover, and crown scorch, but we do report observed trends. Depending on the physiographic position, more trees survived in places burned by the combination of prescribed and wildfire than places burned only by the wildfire. The prescribed fires tended not to fulfill prescription objectives, particularly in tree density, until the second fire occurred. However, the wildfire tended to exceed prescription objectives because it killed too many trees. Compared to the unburned sites, all the fires tended to decrease litter and favor higher amounts of grass cover, thus fulfilling prescription objectives. Heterogeneity in vegetation characteristics such as canopy base height increased as a function of the combined fires. This CD describes detailed results and outcomes among the different fires and the unburned sites, and its accompanying photograph handbook provides examples of burned and unburned sites to use as a communication, calibration, and/or monitoring tool. Although the information is unique to a series of fires, the concepts and methods we used are applicable in other locales required to evaluate efficacy of fuel treatments.

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Photographic handbook for comparing burned and unburned sites within a dry forested and grassland mosiac: a tool for communication, calibration, and monitoring post-fire effects

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Cited by 3 publications

References 3 publications

Index for Characterizing Post-Fire Soil Environments in Temperate Coniferous Forests

Index for Characterizing Post-Fire Soil Environments in Temperate Coniferous Forests

Riparian fuel treatments in the western USA: Challenges and considerations

Vegetation and soil effects from prescribed, wild, and combined fire events along a ponderosa pine and grassland mosaic

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