			Home About us Contact

Fuel Treatments (fuel + treatment)

Distribution by Scientific Domains

Life Sciences	50%

Selected Abstracts

TIMBER MARKETS AND FUEL TREATMENTS IN THE WESTERN U.S.

NATURAL RESOURCE MODELING, Issue 1 2006
KAREN L. ABT
ABSTRACT. We developed a model of interrelated timber markets in the U.S. West to assess the impacts of large-scale fuel reduction programs on these markets, and concomitant effects ofthe market on the fuel reduction programs. The linear programming spatial equilibrium model allows interstate and international trade with western Canada and the rest of the world, while accounting for price effects of introducing softwood logs to the market. The model maximizes area treated, given fire regime-condition class priorities, maximum increases in softwood processing capacity, maximum rates of annual treatments, prohibitions on exports of U.S. and Canadian softwood logs from public lands and a fixed annual treatment budget. Results show that the loss to U.S. private timber producers is less than the gains for timber consumers (mills). States receiving more treatments when spending is not constrained by state proportions include Idaho, Montana, New Mexico and Oregon. When only the wildland-urban interface is treated, California, Oregon and Washington receive more treatments. Utah and Colorado receive more treatments when low risk stands are included. [source]

Understory vegetation response to mechanical mastication and other fuels treatments in a ponderosa pine forest

APPLIED VEGETATION SCIENCE, Issue 2 2010
Jeffrey M. Kane
Abstract Questions: What influence does mechanical mastication and other fuel treatments have on: (1) canopy and forest floor response variables that influence understory plant development; (2) initial understory vegetation cover, diversity, and composition; and (3) shrub and non-native species density in a second-growth ponderosa pine forest. Location: Challenge Experimental Forest, northern Sierra Nevada, California, USA. Methods: We compared the effects of mastication only, mastication with supplemental treatments (tilling and prescribed fire), hand removal, and a control on initial understory vegetation response using a randomized complete block experimental design. Each block (n=4) contained all five treatments and understory vegetation was surveyed within 0.04-ha plots for each treatment. Results: While mastication alone and hand removal dramatically reduced the midstory vegetation, these treatments had little effect on understory richness compared with control. Prescribed fire after mastication increased native species richness by 150% (+6.0 species m2) compared with control. However, this also increased non-native species richness (+0.8 species m2) and shrub seedling density (+24.7 stems m2). Mastication followed by tilling resulted in increased non-native forb density (+0.7 stems m2). Conclusions: Mechanical mastication and hand removal treatments aided in reducing midstory fuels but did not increase understory plant diversity. The subsequent treatment of prescribed burning not only further reduced fire hazard, but also exposed mineral soil, which likely promoted native plant diversity. Some potential drawbacks to this treatment include an increase of non-native species and stimulation of shrub seed germination, which could alter ecosystem functions and compromise fire hazard reduction in the long-term. [source]

Effects of invasion of fire-free arid shrublands by a fire-promoting invasive alien grass (Pennisetum setaceum) in South Africa

AUSTRAL ECOLOGY, Issue 8 2009
S. J. RAHLAO
Abstract Arid shrublands in the Karoo (South Africa) seldom accumulate sufficient combustible fuel to support fire. However, as a result of invasion by an alien perennial grass (Pennisetum setaceum), they could become flammable. This paper reports on an experiment to assess the effects of fire following invasion by P. setaceum. We established 10 plots (5 × 10 m) separated by 2.5 m, and added grass fuel to five plots (5 and 10 tons ha,1 to alternate halves of the plot) leaving the remaining five plots as interspersed controls. Plots with fuel added were burnt, and fire behaviour was measured during the burns. Rates of fire spread were generally low (0.01,0.07 m s,1) and did not differ significantly between burn treatments. Mean fireline intensities were higher in the high compared with the low fuel treatments (894 and 427 kW m,1, respectively). We recorded plant species and their cover before and after burning on each of the plots. After 15 months of follow-up monitoring in the burn plots, only two species, the dwarf shrub (Tripteris sinuata) and the perennial herb (Gazania krebsiana) resprouted. Most individuals of other species were killed and did not reseed during the 15-month study. The mass of added fuel load (high or low) did not influence vegetation recovery rates after fire. Should future invasions by P. setaceum lead to similar fuel loads in these shrublands, inevitable fires could change the vegetation and may favour spread of the flammable grass. Our results have important implications for predicting the effects of invasive alien plants (especially grasses) on fire-free ecosystems elsewhere. The predicted impacts of fire may alter species composition, ultimately affecting core natural resources that support the Karoo economy. [source]