Monitoring and inventory to assess the effects of wildland fire is critical for 1) documenting fire effects, 2) assessing ecosystem damage and benefit, 3) evaluating the success or failure of a burn, and 4) appraising the potential for future treatments However, monitoring fire effects is often difficult because data collection requires abundant funds, resources, and sampling experience Often, the reason fire monitoring projects are not implemented is because fire management agencies do not have scientifically based, standardized protocols for inventorying pre- and postfire conditions that satisfy their monitoring and management objectives We have developed a comprehensive system, called the Fire Effects Monitoring and Inventory System (FIREMON), which is designed to satisfy fire management agencies' monitoring and inventory requirements for most ecosystems, fuel types, and geographic areas in the United States FIREMON consists of standardized sampling methods and manuals, field forms, database, analysis program, and an image analysis guide so that fire managers can 1) design a fire effects monitoring project, 2) collect and store the sampled data, 3) statistically analyze and summarize the data, 4) link the data with satellite imagery, and 5) map the sampled data across the landscape using image processing FIREMON allows flexible but comprehensive sampling of fire effects so data can be evaluated for significant impacts, shared across agencies, and used to update and refine fire management plans and prescriptions FIREMON has a flexible structure that allows the modification of sampling methods and local code fields to allow the sampling of locally important fire effects evaluation criteriaMore information: https://wwwframesgov/partner-sites/firemon/firemon-home/

FIREMON: Fire Effects Monitoring and Inventory System

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新しい国際学術雑誌"Forest Ecology and Management"の発行

https://www.fs.fed.us/pnw/pubs/journals/pnw_2012_hicke001.pdf

Effects of bark beetle-caused tree mortality on wildfire

https://www.fs.fed.us/pnw/pubs/journals/pnw_2010_ager001.pdf

A comparison of landscape fuel treatment strategies to mitigate wildland fire risk in the urban interface and preserve old forest structure

To control and use wildland fires safely and effectively depends on creditable assessments of fire potential, including the propensity for crowning in conifer forests. Simulation studies that use certain fire modelling systems (i.e. NEXUS, FlamMap, FARSITE, FFE-FVS (Fire and Fuels Extension to the Forest Vegetation Simulator), Fuel Manage- ment Analyst (FMAPlus), BehavePlus) based on separate implementations or direct integration of Rothermel's surface andcrownrateoffirespread modelswithVanWagner'scrownfiretransitionandpropagationmodelsareshowntohavea significant underprediction bias when used in assessing potential crown fire behaviour in conifer forests of western North America.Theprincipal sourcesof thisunderprediction biasareshowntoinclude:(i)incompatible modellinkages;(ii)use of surfaceand crownfire rateof spreadmodels that havean inherent underprediction bias;and (iii)reductionincrown fire rate of spread based on the use of unsubstantiated crown fraction burned functions. The use of uncalibrated custom fuel models to represent surface fuelbeds is a fourth potential source of bias. These sources are described and documented in detail based on comparisons with experimental fire and wildfire observations and on separate analyses of model components.Themannerinwhichthetwoprimarycanopyfuelinputsinfluencingcrownfireinitiation(i.e.foliarmoisture contentandcanopybaseheight)ishandledinthesesimulationstudiesandthemeaningofScottandReinhardt'stwocrown fire hazard indices are also critically examined.

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Assessing crown fire potential in coniferous forests of western North America: a critique of current approaches and recent simulation studies.

A new decision support tool, the Wildland Fire Decision Support System (WFDSS) has been developed to support risk-informed decision-making for individual fires in the United States. WFDSS accesses national weather data and forecasts, fire behavior prediction, economic assessment, smoke management assessment, and landscape databases to efficiently formulate and apply information to the decision making process. Risk-informed decision-making is becoming increasingly important as a means of improving fire management and offers substantial opportunities to benefit natural and community resource protection, management response effectiveness, firefighter resource use and exposure, and, possibly, suppression costs. This paper reviews the development, structure, and function of WFDSS, and how it contributes to increased flexibility and agility in decision making, leading to improved fire management program effectiveness.

/pdf/developing-the-us-wildland-fire-decision-support-system-89inu92dne.pdf

Developing the US Wildland Fire Decision Support System

Fuel treatment effectiveness is often evaluated with fire behavior modeling systems that use fuel models to generate fire behavior outputs. How surface fuels are assigned, either using one of the 53 stylized fuel models or developing custom fuel models, can affect predicted fire behavior. We collected surface and canopy fuels data before and 1, 2, 5, and 8 years after prescribed fire treatments across 10 National Forests in California. Two new methods of assigning fuel models within the Fire and Fuels Extension to the Forest Vegetation Simulator were evaluated. Field-based values for dead and downed fuel loading were used to create custom fuel models or to assign stylized fuel models. Fire was simulated with two wind scenarios (maximum 1-minute speed and maximum momentary gust speed) to assess the effect of the fuel model method on potential fire behavior. Surface flame lengths and fire type produced from custom fuel models followed the fluctuations and variability of fine fuel loading more closely than stylized fuel models. However, results of 7 out of 10 statistical tests comparing surface flame length between custom and stylized fuel models were not significant (P 0.05), suggesting that both methods used to assign surface fuel loads will predict fairly similar trends in fire behavior. FOR .S CI. ❚❚(❚):000-000.

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The effectiveness and limitations of fuel modeling using the Fire and Fuels Extension to the Forest Vegetation Simulator.

In many parts of California, past timber harvesting, livestock grazing practices, and fire exclusion have changed the fire regime from low to mixed severity to a high severity regime with an increase in active crown fire. Land managers responded by implementing hazardous fuel treatment projects to reduce the risk of such uncharacteristic stand-replacing crown fires. Various fuel treatments have been implemented using either mechanical methods or prescribed fire in forested ecosystems across 14 national forests in California, USA. Mechanical treatments significantly altered forest structure (tree density, 75th percentile quadratic mean diameter, canopy cover, canopy base height, and canopy bulk density) and generally increased surface fuel loads as compared to pre-treatment conditions. Prescribed fire significantly reduced ground and surface fuel loads and increased canopy base height, but did not appreciably alter other forest structure metrics. The changes in forest and fuel structures from prescribed fire reduced predicted fire behavior metrics (fire type, flame length, fireline intensity, and rate of spread); mechanical methods showed mixed effects on resulting fire behavior metrics. Modeled fire type, in addition to predicted flame length, fireline intensity, and rate of spread, is an essential metric for managers when choosing where to implement fuel treatments and for assessing the effectiveness of completed treatments. Under 90th percentile windspeed, out of the five forest treatment combinations, three exhibited some passive crown fire before treatment and only one exhibited passive crown fire after treatment. Using gusting windspeed, four of the five combinations maintain the potential for crown fire (passive or conditional) after treatment. If reducing the potential for uncharacteristic crown fire is the main priority for fuel treatments, it might be beneficial to prioritize areas with elevated risk and to combine both mechanical methods and prescribed fire in order to achieve desired fire behavior under more extreme conditions.

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Effect of Fuel Treatments on Fuels and Potential Fire Behavior in California, USA, National Forests

Altered fuel conditions coupled with changing climate have disrupted fire regimes of forests historically characterisedbyhigh-frequencyandlow-to-moderate-severityfire.Managersusefueltreatmentstoabateundesirablefire behaviour and effects. Short-term effectiveness of fuel treatments to alter fire behaviour and effects is well documented; however, long-term effectiveness is not well known. We evaluated surface fuel load, vegetation cover and forest structure beforeandaftermechanicalandfire-onlytreatmentsover8yearsacross11NationalForestsinCalifornia.Eightyearspost treatment, total surface fuel load returned to 67 to 79% and 55 to 103% of pretreatment levels following fire-only and mechanical treatments respectively. Herbaceous or shrub cover exceeded pretreatment levels two-thirds of the time 8yearsaftertreatment.Fire-onlytreatmentswarrantedre-entryat8yearsposttreatmentowingtotheaccumulationoflive and dead fuels and minimal impact on canopy bulk density. In general, mechanical treatments were more effective at reducing canopy bulk density and initially increasing canopy base height than prescribed fire. However, elevated surface fuel loads, canopy base height reductions in later years and lack of restoration of fire as an ecological process suggest that including prescribed fire would be beneficial. Additional keywords: dry mixed conifer, mechanical treatments, moist mixed conifer, prescribed fire, yellow pine.

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Fuel accumulation and forest structure change following hazardous fuel reduction treatments throughout California

Much of the coniferous zones in the Western United States where fires were historically frequent have seen large increases in stand densities and associated forest fuels due to 20th century anthropogenic influences. This condition is partially responsible for contemporary large, uncharacteristically severe wildfires. Therefore, considerable effort is under way to reduce the potential for extreme wildfire behavior and effects, especially near communities, by manipulating canopy and surface fuels using mechanical thinning and/or prescribed burning. Treatment effectiveness, however, has been difficult to quantitatively assess, but methods are now available for estimating stand-level canopy and surface fuels with which fire behavior can be more accurately modeled and compared among different fuel treatments. The Sheafman Fuels Reduction Project was recently conducted by the Bitterroot National Forest incorporating various fuel treatments to reduce the probability of high intensity crown fire impacting a watershed adjacent to Pinesdale, MT. Detailed sampling of stand conditions was conducted before and after two treatments: overstory thinning with understory cutting, and understory cutting only. Both were followed by slash burning. Surface fuel loadings were estimated from intercept data, and canopy fuels were estimated from tree data using the FuelCalc program. Pre- and posttreatment fuels data were used to model surface and crown fire behavior using the NEXUS program. A comparison was made between fire behavior computed from treatment mean fuels data and individual plot fuels data. Results indicate that because surface fuels and estimated mid-flame wind speeds increased modestly with treatments, surface fire behavior was not greatly altered until 20-ft wind speeds exceeded 20 mph. Treatment effects on canopy base heights and canopy bulk densities within the small landscape determined the level of estimated treatment effectiveness. Both treatments reduced the probability of crown fire initiation by raising canopy base heights. The likelihood of crown fire spread was appreciably reduced only in the overstory thinning treatment. An examination of plot scale surface and crown fire behavior gave a more detailed assessment of treatment effectiveness than average treatment values.

https://www.fs.fed.us/rm/pubs/rmrs_p046/rmrs_p046_301_314.pdf

Erin Noonan-Wright

Papers

Developing the US Wildland Fire Decision Support System

The effectiveness and limitations of fuel modeling using the Fire and Fuels Extension to the Forest Vegetation Simulator.

Effect of Fuel Treatments on Fuels and Potential Fire Behavior in California, USA, National Forests

Fuel accumulation and forest structure change following hazardous fuel reduction treatments throughout California

Testing the Modeled Effectiveness of an Operational Fuel Reduction Treatment in a Small Western Montana Interface Landscape Using Two Spatial Scales