Download or read book Forest Fire Conditions Western North America written by and published by . This book was released on 1963 with total page 66 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Effects of Timber Harvest Following Wildfire in Western North America written by and published by . This book was released on 2009 with total page 60 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This synthesis provides an ecological foundation for management of the diverse ecosystems and fire regimes of North America, based on scientific principles of fire interactions with vegetation, fuels, and biophysical processes. Although a large amount of scientific data on fire exists, most of those data have been collected at small spatial and temporal scales. Thus, it is challenging to develop consistent science-based plans for large spatial and temporal scales where most fire management and planning occur. Understanding the regional geographic context of fire regimes is critical for developing appropriate and sustainable management strategies and policy. The degree to which human intervention has modified fire frequency, intensity, and severity varies greatly among different ecosystems, and must be considered when planning to alter fuel loads or implement restorative treatments. Detailed discussion of six ecosystems--ponderosa pine forest (western North America), chaparral (California), boreal forest (Alaska and Canada), Great Basin sagebrush (intermountain West), pine and pine-hardwood forests (Southern Appalachian Mountains), and longleaf pine (Southeastern United States)--illustrates the complexity of fire regimes and that fire management requires a clear regional focus that recognizes where conflicts might exist between fire hazard reduction and resource needs. In some systems, such as ponderosa pine, treatments are usually compatible with both fuel reduction and resource needs, whereas in others, such as chaparral, the potential exists for conflicts that need to be closely evaluated. Managing fire regimes in a changing climate and social environment requires a strong scientific basis for developing fire management and policy. --
Download or read book Fire Management in the American West written by Mark Hudson and published by University Press of Colorado. This book was released on 2011-11-01 with total page 229 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Most journalists and academics attribute the rise of wildfires in the western United States to the USDA Forest Service's successful fire-elimination policies of the twentieth century. However, in Fire Management in the American West, Mark Hudson argues that although a century of suppression did indeed increase the hazard of wildfire, the responsibility does not lie with the USFS alone. The roots are found in the Forest Service's relationships with other, more powerful elements of society--the timber industry in particular. Drawing on correspondence both between and within the Forest Service and the major timber industry associations, newspaper articles, articles from industry outlets, and policy documents from the late 1800s through the present, Hudson shows how the US forest industry, under the constraint of profitability, pushed the USFS away from private industry regulation and toward fire exclusion, eventually changing national forest policy into little more than fire policy. More recently, the USFS has attempted to move beyond the policy of complete fire suppression. Interviews with public land managers in the Pacific Northwest shed light on the sources of the agency's struggles as it attempts to change the way we understand and relate to fire in the West. Fire Management in the American West will be of great interest to environmentalists, sociologists, fire managers, scientists, and academics and students in environmental history and forestry.
Download or read book Ecological Foundations for Fire Management in North American Forest and Shrubland Ecosystems written by and published by . This book was released on 2009 with total page 102 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This synthesis provides an ecological foundation for management of the diverse ecosystems and fire regimes of North America, based on scientific principles of fire interactions with vegetation, fuels, and biophysical processes. Although a large amount of scientific data on fire exists, most of those data have been collected at small spatial and temporal scales. Thus, it is challenging to develop consistent science-based plans for large spatial and temporal scales where most fire management and planning occur. Understanding the regional geographic context of fire regimes is critical for developing appropriate and sustainable management strategies and policy. The degree to which human intervention has modified fire frequency, intensity, and severity varies greatly among different ecosystems, and must be considered when planning to alter fuel loads or implement restorative treatments. Detailed discussion of six ecosystems--ponderosa pine forest (western North America), chaparral (California), boreal forest (Alaska and Canada), Great Basin sagebrush (intermountain West), pine and pine-hardwood forests (Southern Appalachian Mountains), and longleaf pine (Southeastern United States)-- illustrates the complexity of fire regimes and that fire management requires a clear regional focus that recognizes where conflicts might exist between fire hazard reduction and resource needs. In some systems, such as ponderosa pine, treatments are usually compatible with both fuel reduction and resource needs, whereas in others, such as chaparral, the potential exists for conflicts that need to be closely evaluated. Managing fire regimes in a changing climate and social environment requires a strong scientific basis for developing fire management and policy.
Download or read book Wildland Fires and Air Pollution written by Andrzej Bytnerowicz and published by Elsevier. This book was released on 2009 with total page 688 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Wildland fires are one of the most devastating and terrifying forces of nature. While their effects are mostly destructive they also help with regeneration of forests and other ecosystems. Low-intensity fires clear accumulating biomass reducing risk of catastrophic crown fires and can be used as an effective management tool. This book presents current understanding of wildland fires and air quality as well as their effects on human health, forests and other ecosystems. in the first section of the book the basics of wildland fires and resulting emissions are presented from the perspective of changing global climate, air quality impairment and effects on environmental and human health and security. in the second section, effects of wildland fires on air quality, visibility and human health in various regions of the Earth are discussed. The third section of the book deals with complex issues of the ecological impacts of fires and air pollution in forests and chaparral in North America. The fourth section discusses various management issues facing land and fire managers which are related to wildfires, use of prescribed fires, and air quality. This section also presents various modeling systems used for describing fire dangers and behavior as well as smoke and air pollution predictions applied in the risk assessment analysis. The book concludes with a series of expert recommendations for wildland fire and atmospheric research.
Download or read book Effects of Timber Harvest Following Wildfire in Western North America written by David L. Peterson and published by DIANE Publishing. This book was released on 2010-11 with total page 60 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Timber harvest following wildfire leads to different outcomes depending on the biophysical setting of the forest, pattern of burn severity, operational aspects of tree removal, and other activities. Postfire logging adds to these effects by removing standing dead trees (snags) and disturbing the soil. The influence of postfire logging depends on the intensity of the fire, intensity of the logging operation, and mgmt. activities such as fuel treatments. Removal of snags reduces long-term fuel loads but generally results in increased amounts of fine fuels for the first few years after logging. Cavity-nesting birds, small mammals, and amphibians may be affected by harvest of standing dead and live trees, with negative effects on most species. Illustrations.
Download or read book Wildfire Atlas of the Northeastern and North Central States written by Donald A. Haines and published by . This book was released on 1975 with total page 32 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Forest Fires written by Philip Nori Omi and published by Bloomsbury Publishing USA. This book was released on 2005-05-23 with total page 366 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From killer fires to ecosystem rehabilitation, an exhaustive survey exploring the ecological, social, and economic consequences of managing fires in U.S. wildland areas. Fire management involves protecting natural resources from fire but also using controlled burning for land management purposes. Who are the stewards of land management and the researchers who devote their entire careers studying fire? How are ecosystems restored after major fires? What are the economic ramifications and what assessment tools are available? Forest Fires: A Reference Handbook explores the historical, ecological, economic, and social dimensions of wildland combustion and their impacts in North America. Explaining how legislation and public perception have been shaped by historic fires and fire seasons, particular emphasis is placed on the summer of 2000 as a way of understanding and managing future fires.
Download or read book Wildland Fire in Ecosystems written by and published by . This book was released on 1998 with total page 92 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Ecological Foundations for Fire Management in North American Forest and Shrubland Ecosystems written by J. E. Keeley and published by DIANE Publishing. This book was released on 2011-05 with total page 100 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Provides an ecological foundation for mgmt. of the diverse ecosystems and fire regimes of N. America, based on scientific principles of fire interactions with vegetation, fuels, and biophysical processes. Detailed discussion of six ecosystems ¿ ponderosa pine forest (western N. America), chaparral (Calif.), boreal forest (Alaska and Canada), Great Basin sagebrush (inter-mountain West), pine and pine-hardwood forests (Southern Appalachian Mountains), and longleaf pine (Southeastern U.S.) ¿ illustrates the complexity of fire regimes and that fire mgmt. requires a clear regional focus that recognizes where conflicts might exist between fire hazard reduction and resource needs. Illustrations. This is a print on demand report.
Download or read book Wildfires and Thunderstorms on Alaska s North Slopes written by Richard J. Barney and published by . This book was released on 1973 with total page 8 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Trees in Trouble written by Daniel Mathews and published by Catapult. This book was released on 2020-04-07 with total page 304 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A troubling story of the devastating and compounding effects of climate change in the Western and Rocky Mountain states, told through in–depth reportage and conversations with ecologists, professional forest managers, park service scientists, burn boss, activists, and more. Climate change manifests in many ways across North America, but few as dramatic as the attacks on our western pine forests. In Trees in Trouble, Daniel Mathews tells the urgent story of this loss, accompanying burn crews and forest ecologists as they study the myriad risk factors and refine techniques for saving this important, limited resource. Mathews transports the reader from the exquisitely aromatic haze of ponderosa and Jeffrey pine groves to the fantastic gnarls and whorls of five–thousand–year–old bristlecone pines, from genetic test nurseries where white pine seedlings are deliberately infected with their mortal enemy to the hottest megafire sites and neighborhoods leveled by fire tornadoes or ember blizzards. Scrupulously researched, Trees in Trouble not only explores the devastating ripple effects of climate change, but also introduces us to the people devoting their lives to saving our forests. Mathews also offers hope: a new approach to managing western pine forests is underway. Trees in Trouble explores how we might succeed in sustaining our forests through the challenging transition to a new environment.
Download or read book Forest Structure and Fire Hazard in Dry Forests of the Western United States written by David Lawrence Peterson and published by . This book was released on 2005 with total page 42 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Fire, in conjunction with landforms and climate, shapes the structure and function of forests throughout the Western United States, where millions of acres of forest lands contain accumulations of flammable fuel that are much higher than historical conditions owing to various forms of fire exclusion. The Healthy Forests Restoration Act mandates that public land managers assertively address this situation through active management of fuel and vegetation. This document synthesizes the relevant scientific knowledge that can assist fuel-treatment projects on national forests and other public lands and contribute to National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) analyses and other assessments. It is intended to support science-based decisionmaking for fuel management in dry forests of the Western United States at the scale of forest stands (about 1 to 200 acres). It highlights ecological principles that need to be considered when managing forest fuel and vegetation for specific conditions related to forest structure and fire hazard. It also provides quantitative and qualitative guidelines for planning and implementing fuel treatments through various silvicultural prescriptions and surfacefuel treatments. Effective fuel treatments in forest stands with high fuel accumulations will typically require thinning to increase canopy base height, reduce canopy bulk density, reduce canopy continuity, and require a substantial reduction in surface fuel through prescribed fire or mechanical treatment or both. Long-term maintenance of desired fuel loadings and consideration of broader landscape patterns may improve the effectiveness of fuel treatments.
Download or read book Implications of the California Wildfires for Health Communities and Preparedness written by National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2020-08-31 with total page 161 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: California and other wildfire-prone western states have experienced a substantial increase in the number and intensity of wildfires in recent years. Wildlands and climate experts expect these trends to continue and quite likely to worsen in coming years. Wildfires and other disasters can be particularly devastating for vulnerable communities. Members of these communities tend to experience worse health outcomes from disasters, have fewer resources for responding and rebuilding, and receive less assistance from state, local, and federal agencies. Because burning wood releases particulate matter and other toxicants, the health effects of wildfires extend well beyond burns. In addition, deposition of toxicants in soil and water can result in chronic as well as acute exposures. On June 4-5, 2019, four different entities within the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine held a workshop titled Implications of the California Wildfires for Health, Communities, and Preparedness at the Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing at the University of California, Davis. The workshop explored the population health, environmental health, emergency preparedness, and health equity consequences of increasingly strong and numerous wildfires, particularly in California. This publication is a summary of the presentations and discussion of the workshop.
Download or read book Mimicking Nature s Fire written by Stephen F. Arno and published by . This book was released on 2005-03-16 with total page 272 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In Mimicking Nature's Fire, forest ecologists Stephen Arno and Carl Fiedler present practical solutions to the pervasive problem of deteriorating forest conditions in western North America.
Download or read book Firestorm written by Edward Struzik and published by Island Press. This book was released on 2017-10-05 with total page 271 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Frightening...Firestorm comes alive when Struzik discusses the work of offbeat scientists." —New York Times Book Review "Comprehensive and compelling." —Booklist "A powerful message." —Kirkus "Should be required reading." —Library Journal For two months in the spring of 2016, the world watched as wildfire ravaged the Canadian town of Fort McMurray. Firefighters named the fire “the Beast.” It acted like a mythical animal, alive with destructive energy, and they hoped never to see anything like it again. Yet it’s not a stretch to imagine we will all soon live in a world in which fires like the Beast are commonplace. A glance at international headlines shows a remarkable increase in higher temperatures, stronger winds, and drier lands– a trifecta for igniting wildfires like we’ve rarely seen before. This change is particularly noticeable in the northern forests of the United States and Canada. These forests require fire to maintain healthy ecosystems, but as the human population grows, and as changes in climate, animal and insect species, and disease cause further destabilization, wildfires have turned into a potentially uncontrollable threat to human lives and livelihoods. Our understanding of the role fire plays in healthy forests has come a long way in the past century. Despite this, we are not prepared to deal with an escalation of fire during periods of intense drought and shorter winters, earlier springs, potentially more lightning strikes and hotter summers. There is too much fuel on the ground, too many people and assets to protect, and no plan in place to deal with these challenges. In Firestorm, journalist Edward Struzik visits scorched earth from Alaska to Maine, and introduces the scientists, firefighters, and resource managers making the case for a radically different approach to managing wildfire in the 21st century. Wildfires can no longer be treated as avoidable events because the risk and dangers are becoming too great and costly. Struzik weaves a heart-pumping narrative of science, economics, politics, and human determination and points to the ways that we, and the wilder inhabitants of the forests around our cities and towns, might yet flourish in an age of growing megafires.
Download or read book Living with Fire written by Sara E. Jensen and published by Univ of California Press. This book was released on 2008-08-04 with total page 193 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Fire, both inevitable and ubiquitous, plays a crucial role in North American ecosystems. But as necessary as fire is to maintaining healthy ecosystems, it threatens human lives and livelihoods in unacceptable ways. This volume explores the rich yet largely uncharted terrain at the intersection of fire policy, fire science, and fire management in order to find better ways of addressing this pressing dilemma. Written in clear language, it will help scientists, policy makers, and the general public, especially residents of fire-prone areas, better understand where we are today in regard to coping with wildfires, how we got here, and where we need to go. Drawing on abundant historical and analytic information to shed new light on current controversies, Living with Fire offers a dynamic new paradigm for coping with fire that recognizes its critical environmental role. The book also tells how we can rebuild the important ecological and political processes that are necessary for finding better ways to cope with fire and with other complex policy dilemmas.
