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Paul Hessburg: Why Wildfires Have Gotten Worse-and What We Can Do About It
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Megafires, individual fires that burn more than 100,000 acres, are on the rise in the western United States -- the direct result of unintentional yet massive changes we've brought to the forests through a century of misguided management. What steps can we take to avoid further destruction? Forest ecologist Paul Hessburg confronts some tough truths about wildfires and details how we can help restore the natural balance of the landscape.
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News & Events
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News Inbox
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Pedoecological Modeling to Guide Forest Restoration using Ecological Site Descriptions
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the u.s. department of agriculture (usda)-natural resources conservation service (nrcs) uses an ecological site description (esd) framework to help incorporate interactions between local soil, climate, flora, fauna, and humans into schema for land management decision-making. we demonstrate esd and digital soil mapping tools to (i) estimate potential o horizon carbon (c) stock accumulation from restoring alternative ecological states in high-elevation forests of the central appalachian Mountains in west Virginia (wV), usa, and (ii) map areas in alternative ecological states that can be targeted for restoration. this region was extensively disturbed by clear-cut harvests and related fires during the 1880s through 1930s. we combined spodic soil property maps, recently linked to historic red spruce–eastern hemlock (Picea rubens–Tsuga canadensis) forest communities, with current forest inventories to provide guidance for restoration to a historic reference state. this allowed mapping of alternative hardwood states within areas of the spodic shale uplands conifer forest (scF) ecological site, which is mapped along the regional conifer-hardwood transition of the central appalachian Mountains. Plots examined in these areas suggest that many of the spruce-hemlock dominated stands in wV converted to a hardwood state by historic disturbance have lost at least 10 cm of o horizon thickness, and possibly much more. Based on this 10 cm estimate, we calculate that at least 3.74 to 6.62 tg of c were lost from areas above 880 m elevation in wV due to historic disturbance of o horizons, and that much of these stocks and related ecosystem functions could potentially be restored within 100 yr under focused management, but more practical scenarios would likely require closer to 200 yr.
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Resources
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Climate Science Documents
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Planning for Growth and Open Space Conservation Webinar Series
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In 2012, we embarked on a project to help inform natural resource professionals, land use planners, private landowners and others about the issues facing our forestlands – both public and private – and to help them learn about opportunities and strategies to conserve open space through a series of monthly webinars. Below is the archive of these webinars. We hope you find them interesting!
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Training
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Videos and Webinars
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Prescribed Burn Associations: Different Models for Different Places
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Training
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Videos, podcasts, multimedia
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Videos
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Prescribed Burn School
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This course places an emphasis on fire behavior, how to employ the correct firing technique, and equipment & safety. After successful completion of this course, you will be eligible to schedule your official exam and field component to apply to become a Certified and Insured Prescribed Burn Manager (CIPBM) from TDA.
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Training
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Online Training Programs and Materials
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Prescribed burning in wooded areas
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John Weir from the Oklahoma State University explains the value of prescribed burning in oak forests -- and describes the differences in burning needs that exist between Eastern and Western Oklahoma.
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Training
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Videos, podcasts, multimedia
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Prescribed Fire and Bats Webinar
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With bat populations declining due to white-nose syndrome and other factors, it is critical to strike a balance between the use of prescribed fire for managing natural areas and the need to protect bats and their critical habitats.
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News & Events
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Events
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Prescribed Fire Community of Practice
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The Prescribed Fire Community of Practice (CoP) provides a clearinghouse for information on conducting controlled burns and the effects of fire on plants and wildlife. The CoP also offers information on fire through articles, FAQs from the nation’s top prescribed fire personnel, and up-to-date fire news and events. The CoP is a National Cooperative Extension Resource.
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LP Members
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Organizations Search
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Prescribed Fire Effects on Water Quality in the Southern Appalachians April 22nd, 12:00-1:00 EST
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Kipling Klimas (Utah State University) will discuss his work assessing the impact of prescribed fire on high value forested watersheds in the southern Blue Ridge Mountains.
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News & Events
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Events Inbox
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Prescribed Fire for Forest Management Webinar Series
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Foresters and land managers have many management tools at their disposal. A tool that’s often overlooked is prescribed fire. Prescribed fire for forest management is important for ecosystem health, forest regeneration, wildlife habitat, forest health, and disease control. Join us for insightful discussions with national experts as we discuss forest management using prescribed fire. Learn some of the practical knowledge of where, when, why, and how to apply fire in forest ecosystems.
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News & Events
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