Articles

Impacts of Fire on Snowshoe Hares in Glacier National Park, Montana, USA

Forest fires fundamentally shape the habitats available for wildlife. Current predictions for fire under a warming climate suggest larger and more severe fires may occur, thus challenging scientists and manage...

Authors: Ellen Cheng, Karen E. Hodges and L. Scott Mills

Pile Burning Effects on Soil Water Repellency, Infiltration, and Downslope Water Chemistry in the Lake Tahoe Basin, USA

Thinning of conifers followed by pile burning has become a popular treatment to reduce fuel loads in the Lake Tahoe Basin, USA. However, concern has been voiced about burning within or near riparian areas beca...

Authors: Ken R. Hubbert, Matt Busse, Steve Overby, Carol Shestak and Ross Gerrard

Fire Enhances Whitebark Pine Seedling Establishment, Survival, and Growth

Periodic fire is thought to improve whitebark pine (Pinus albicaulis Engelm.) regeneration by reducing competition and creating openings, but the mechanisms by which fire affects seedling establishment are poorly...

Authors: Judy L. Perkins

Principles of Effective USA Federal Fire Management Plans

Federal fire management plans are essential implementation guides for the management of wildland fire on federal lands. Recent changes in federal fire policy implementation guidance and fire science informatio...

Authors: Marc D. Meyer, Susan L. Roberts, Robin Wills, Matthew Brooks and Eric M. Winford

Vegetation Response to Burn Severity, Native Grass Seeding, and Salvage Logging

As the size and extent of wildfires has increased in recent decades, so has the cost and extent of post-fire management, including seeding and salvage logging. However, we know little about how burn severity, ...

Authors: Penelope Morgan, Marshell Moy, Christine A. Droske, Sarah A. Lewis, Leigh B. Lentile, Peter R. Robichaud, Andrew T. Hudak and Christopher J. Williams

Calibration and Validation of Immediate Post-Fire Satellite-Derived Data to Three Severity Metrics

Since 2007, the USDA Forest Service’s Remote Sensing Applications Center (RSAC) has been producing fire severity data within the first 30 to 45 days after wildfire containment (i.e., initial assessments [IA]),...

Authors: Jay D. Miller and Brad Quayle

The Desert Grassland, Past and Present

Authors: Robert R. Humphrey

The Effects of Ash and Black Carbon (Biochar) on Germination of Different Tree Species

Forest fires generate large amounts of ash and biochar, or black carbon (BC), that cover the soil surface, interacting with the soil’s constituents and its seedbank. This study concerns reproductive ecology as...

Authors: Otilia Reyes, Joeri Kaal, Diego Arán, Raquel Gago, Javier Bernal, Juan García-Duro and Margarita Basanta

Predicting Burned Areas of Forest Fires: an Artificial Intelligence Approach

Forest fires importantly influence our environment and lives. The ability of accurately predicting the area that may be involved in a forest fire event may help in optimizing fire management efforts. Given the...

Authors: Mauro Castelli, Leonardo Vanneschi and Aleš Popovič

Assessment of Experiential Education in Prescribed Burning for Current and Future Natural Resource Managers

Acquiring experiential prescribed fire education is difficult for college students. In order to evaluate the effects of instruction on students, we surveyed those who were taking or had completed Oklahoma Stat...

Authors: J. Derek Scasta, John R. Weir and David M. Engle

Relative Bark Thickness is Correlated with Tree Species Distributions along a Fire Frequency Gradient

The probability of stem survival after fire is strongly influenced by energy allocation to bark because bark thickness affects heat transfer during fire. Greater relative investment in inner bark versus outer ...

Authors: Jennifer L. Schafer, Bradley P. Breslow, Matthew G. Hohmann and William A. Hoffmann

Fire Regime, Climate, and Vegetation in the Sierras de Córdoba, Argentina

Wildfires are a primary disturbance in the Sierras de Córdoba, Argentina, with approximately 2 152 000 ha burned between 1993 and 2012. However, little is known about the spatial and temporal patterns of fires...

Authors: Juan P. Argañaraz, Gregorio Gavier Pizarro, Marcelo Zak and Laura M. Bellis

Fire Emissions and Carbon Uptake in Severely Burned Lenga Beech (Nothofagus pumilio) Forests of Patagonia, Argentina

Forest wildfires are recognized as sources of CO₂ and other greenhouse gases (GHG) that, altering the dynamics between terrestrial and atmospheric carbon (C) exchange, influence global climate. In central Andean ...

Authors: Maria Lila Bertolin, Maria Florencia Urretavizcaya and Guillermo Emilio Defossé

Ecological Implications of Fine-Scale Fire Patchiness and Severity in Tropical Savannas of Northern Australia

Understanding fine-scale fire patchiness has significant implications for ecological processes and biodiversity conservation. It can affect local extinction of and recolonisation by relatively immobile fauna a...

Authors: Sofia L. J. Oliveira, Manuel L. Campagnolo, Owen F. Price, Andrew C. Edwards, Jeremy Russell-Smith and José M. C. Pereira

The Characterization of Fires in Relation to Ecological Studies

Authors: A. G. McArthur and N. P. Cheney

Introduction to McArthur and Cheney’s Article

Authors: Neil Burrows

Making a World of Difference in Fire and Climate Change

Together with other stressors, interactions between fire and climate change are expressing their potential to drive ecosystem shifts and losses in biodiversity. Closely linked to human well-being in most regio...

Authors: Mary R. Huffman

Historical Pyrogeography of Texas, USA

Synthesis of multiple sources of fire history information increases the power and reliability of fire regime characterization. Fire regime characterization is critical for assessing fire risk, identifying clim...

Authors: Michael C. Stambaugh, Jeffrey C. Sparks and E. R. Abadir

Minimal Persistence of Native Bunchgrasses Seven Years after Seeding following Mastication and Prescribed Fire in Southwestern Oregon, USA

Seeding of native grasses is widely used to restore plant communities and prevent establishment of introduced species following wildfire and prescribed burns. However, there is a lack of long-term data to eval...

Authors: Laura M. Busby and Darlene Southworth

Vegetation Response after Post-Fire Mulching and Native Grass Seeding

Post-fire mulch and seeding treatments, often applied on steep, severely burned slopes immediately after large wildfires, are meant to reduce the potential of erosion and establishment of invasive plants, espe...

Authors: Penelope Morgan, Marshell Moy, Christine A. Droske, Leigh B. Lentile, Sarah A. Lewis, Peter R. Robichaud and Andrew T. Hudak

Vegetation Recovery and Fuel Reduction after Seasonal Burning of Western Juniper

The decrease in fire activity has been recognized as a main cause of expansion of North American woodlands. Piñon-juniper habitat in the western United States has expanded in area nearly 10-fold since the late...

Authors: Jonathan D. Bates, Rory O’Connor and Kirk W. Davies

Quaking Aspen Regeneration Following Prescribed Fire in Lassen Volcanic National Park, California, USA

Prescribed fire is commonly used for restoration, but the effects of reintroducing fire following a century of fire exclusion are unknown in many ecosystems. We assessed the effects of three prescribed fires, ...

Authors: Ellis Q. Margolis and Calvin A. Farris

The Ecological Role of Fire in Natural Conifer Forests of Western and Northern North America—Introduction

Authors: Herbert E. Wright Jr. and Miron L. Heinselman

Introduction to the Article by H.E. Wright Jr. and M.L. Heinselman

Authors: Martin E. Alexander

Student Wildland Fire Groups: Common Challenges and Shared Solutions

Student fire groups, collegiate-level groups explicitly organized around topics related to wildland fire, are widespread across the country. Student fire groups are at times participants in wildland fire-orien...

Authors: Daniel S. Godwin and Jena Ferrarese

A Comparison of Rangeland Monitoring Techniques for Modeling Herbaceous Fuels and Forage in Central Arizona, USA

While fire and rangeland managers frequently have different land management roles and objectives, their data needs with regards to herbaceous biomass (fuel loads and forage) often overlap, and can be served wi...

Authors: Edward C. Rhodes, Doug R. Tolleson, Jay P. Angerer, John A. Kava, Judith Dyess and Tessa Nicolet

Modeling Climate-Fire Connections within the Great Basin and Upper Colorado River Basin, Western United States

The specific temporal patterns of antecedent conditions associated with fire occurrence in the Great Basin and Upper Colorado River Basin are poorly understood. Using 25 years of combined fire and climate data...

Authors: James D. Arnold, Simon C. Brewer and Philip E. Dennison

Changes in Severity Distribution after Subsequent Fires on the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona, USA

Understanding the distribution of fire severity patches across a landscape is of critical importance to managers and researchers. Of particular interest are those areas that burn multiple times. Understanding ...

Authors: Valentijn Hoff, Casey C. Teske, James P. Riddering, Lloyd P. Queen, Eric G. Gdula and Windy A. Bunn

Characteristics of Burns Conducted under Modified Prescriptions to Mitigate Limited Fuels in a Semi-Arid Grassland

In semi-arid grasslands of the North American Great Plains, fire has traditionally been viewed as having few management applications, and quantitative measurements of fire behavior in the low fuel loads charac...

Authors: David J. Augustine, Justin D. Derner and David P. Smith

Modeling Wildfire Spread in Mountain Pine Beetle-Affected Forest Stands, British Columbia, Canada

The mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae Hopkins; MPB) has killed lodgepole pines (Pinus contorta Dougl. ex Loud.) across 20 million hectares of central British Columbia, Canada, since the late 1990s, ch...

Authors: Daniel D. B. Perrakis, Rick A. Lanoville, Stephen W. Taylor and Dana Hicks

Barriers to Understanding the Influence of Use of Fire by Aborigines on Vegetation

Authors: Omer C. Stewart

Introduction to Omer C. Stewart’s Article

Authors: M. Kat Anderson

Fire on Earth: An Introduction. 2014. By A.C. Scott, D.M.J.S. Bowman, W.J. Bond, S. J. Pyne, and M.E. Alexander. Wiley Blackwell, Hoboken, New Jersey, USA. 434 pages. Paperback, US$89.95; hardcover, US$149.95. ISBN 978-1-119-95356-2

Authors: Leda N. Kobziar

Fire in Mediterranean Ecosystems: Ecology, Evolution and Management. 2012. By J.E. Keeley, W.J. Bond, R.A. Bradstock, J.G. Pausas, and P.W. Rundel. Cambridge University Press, United Kingdom. 515 pages. Hardback. US$127. ISBN 978-0-521-82491-0

Authors: David L. Peterson

Vegetation Fires and Global Change. 2013. By Johann G. Goldammer and 58 contributing authors. Kessel Publishing House, Remagen-Oberwinter, Germany. 398 pages. Soft-cover. |US$48 (€35). ISBN 978-3-941300-78-1

Authors: David L. Peterson

Intercomparison of Fire Size, Fuel Loading, Fuel Consumption, and Smoke Emissions Estimates on the 2006 Tripod Fire, Washington, USA

Land managers rely on prescribed burning and naturally ignited wildfires for ecosystem management, and must balance trade-offs of air quality, carbon storage, and ecosystem health. A current challenge for land...

Authors: Stacy A. Drury, Narasimhan Sim Larkin, Tara T. Strand, ShihMing Huang, Scott J. Strenfel, Erin M. Banwell, Theresa E. O’Brien and Sean M. Raffuse

Survival and Recovery Following Wildfire in the Southern Range of the Coast Redwood Forest

Fire plays a central role in determining structure, composition, and recruitment in many forest types. In coast redwood forests, the role of fire is not well understood and scant literature exists on post-fire...

Authors: Rachel Lazzeri-Aerts and Will Russell

Post-Fire Seeding in Western United States Forests: Perspectives of Resource Managers

Recent reviews have brought into question the effectiveness of post-fire seeding in mitigating soil erosion and non-native plant invasions, yet millions of dollars continue to be spent annually on post-fire se...

Authors: Donna L. Peppin, Anne L. Mottek-Lucas and Peter Z. Fulé

Northern Rockies Pyrogeography: an Example of Fire Atlas Utility

We demonstrated the utility of digital fire atlases by analyzing forest fire extent across cold, dry, and mesic forests, within and outside federally designated wilderness areas during three different fire man...

Authors: Penelope Morgan, Emily K. Heyerdahl, Carol Miller, Aaron M. Wilson and Carly E. Gibson

Fire as an Ecological and Silvicultural Factor in the Ponderosa Pine Region of the Pacific Slope

This article presents evidence in support of the author’s belief that complete prevention of forest fires in the ponderosa pine region of the Pacific Slope¹ has certain undesirable ecological and silvicultural ef...

Authors: Harold Weaver and Arthur A. Brown

Introduction to H. Weaver’s Article

Authors: Jan W. van Wagtendonk

Prescribed Burning in Fire-Prone Landscapes. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment Online Issue Number 1, Volume 11, August 2013. Ecological Society of America, Washington, D.C., USA. http://www.esajournals.org/toc/fron/11/s1

Authors: C. Alina Cansler and Andrew J. Larson

Fire Effects on Basal Area, Tiller Production, and Mortality of the C₄ Bunchgrass, Purple Threeawn

Fire behavior associated with wild and prescribed fires is variable, but plays a vital role in how a plant responds to fire. Understanding the relationship between fire behavior and rangeland plant community r...

Authors: Dustin J. Strong, Amy C. Ganguli and Lance T. Vermeire

Seasonal Variation in Flammability Characteristics of Quercus marilandica and Quercus stellata Leaf Litter Burned in the Laboratory

Historically, the Cross Timbers forest of Oklahoma, Kansas, and Texas burned frequently. Fire managers in the region often have varied success when conducting prescribed fires, with one hypothesis being that f...

Authors: John R. Weir and Ryan F. Limb

Short-Term Effects of Repeated Wildfires in Oak-Juniper Woodlands

Fire can shape both the structure and composition of vegetation communities, especially those dominated by species with different regeneration strategies. The dominant species of oak-juniper communities in cen...

Authors: Charlotte M. Reemts and Laura L. Hansen

Unauthorized Firesetting as Socioecological Disturbance: A Spatiotemporal Analysis of Incendiary Wildfires in Georgia, USA, 1987–2010

I analyzed the spatiotemporal patterning of intentional, unauthorized landscape fires in the state of Georgia, USA, for the years 1987 through 2010 with the aim of delineating socioecological constraints on an...

Authors: Michael R. Coughlan

Foliar Consumption across a Sudden Oak Death Chronosequence in Laboratory Fires

The recent introduction and spread of sudden oak death (SOD; caused by Phytopthora ramorum) has caused heavy mortality in native tanoak (Notholithocarpus densiflorus [Hook. & Arn.] Manos et al. = Lithocarpus dens...

Authors: Howard Kuljian and J. Morgan Varner

Lepidoptera Pest Species Response to Mid-Summer Fire

In the American Midwest, summer fires are infrequent, and there is little information on their impact on ecosystems. After an accidental wildfire in a 20 ha grassland restoration, new growth provided effective...

Authors: T. R. Evans, C. J. M. Musters, E. D. Cashatt and G. R. de Snoo

Is the Longleaf Type a Climax?

Authors: H. H. Chapman

Introduction to H.H. Chapman’s Article

Authors: Brian P. Oswald