Fire regimes; fire effects on ecosystem components and processes
Southern Fire Exchange Archived Webinars
Herbert Stoddard and the Origins of Fire Ecology (2022)
Presenter: Jim Cox, Tall Timbers Research Station
Herbert Stoddard has been undervalued and sometimes overlooked in terms of his contributions to wildlife conservation and management in North America. Although his formal education ended in the 8th grade, Stoddard fundamentally changed game species management through a focus on habitat management rather than bag limits. He also established the study of fire ecology and developed novel timber management strategies that mimicked natural disturbances, provided income for landowners, and also met the needs of rare species. Stoddard is also responsible in part for establishing the Wade Tract, the only National Natural Landmark dedicated to the endangered longleaf pine ecosystem.
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Fire Suppression and Mesophication of Upland Oak Landscapes (2021)
Presenter: Dr. Heather Alexander, Auburn University.
Historically pyrophytic and open-canopied upland oak landscapes across the central and eastern U.S. are shifting to closed-canopied forests dominated by shade-tolerant, often fire-sensitive species. Mesophication, a hypothesized process initiated by intentional fire exclusion by which these encroaching species progressively create conditions favorable for their own persistence at the expense of pyrophytic species, is commonly cited as causing this structural and compositional transition. While many forest ecologists and land managers accept the mesophication hypothesis as evidence for these shifts, the reason for these changes is not clear and many questions remain. In this presentation, we will consider current evidence for mesophication plus knowledge gaps and potential future research that considers which tree species and tree traits create self-perpetuating conditions and under what conditions tree-level processes might affect forest flammability at broader scales. The goal is to promote research that can better inform restoration and conservation of oak ecosystems experiencing structural and compositional shifts across the region.
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Growing-Season Prescribed Fires and Ground-Nesting Birds (2020)
Presenter: Jim Cox, Tall Timbers Research Station and Land Conservancy.
Millions of dollars have been spent over the past 20 years on reforestation of longleaf pine forests. Restoration will take time coupled with frequent and repeated application of prescribed burning. Burning is absolutely critical to restoration, but an appreciable number of individuals and groups now limit their opportunities to burn to a smaller and smaller burn window. The concern often voiced is that burning from April – July is detrimental to ground nesting/grassland birds and should be avoided. Restoration targets that require frequent burning and may not be achieved if the burn window becomes too narrow. This webinar examines the science behind the use of fire during the “lightning season” (the months of April – July) and its effects on ground-nesting birds such as quail and Bachman’s sparrow.
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Northern Bobwhites and Fire – A Perfect Match (2020)
Presenter: James Martin, Ph.D., Associate Professor, University of Georgia
Since Herbert Stoddard Northern Bobwhites and prescribed fire have been strongly connected. However, prescribed fire, bobwhite ecology, and local site conditions need to be aligned for optimal bobwhite population response. This talk discussed the context of fire frequency, scale, and seasonality for bobwhite management and restoration.
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Low-Severity Fires Protect Carbon Stores in Global Peatlands (2020)
Presenter: Neal Flanagan, Ph.D., Duke University
Recent research led by Duke University investigated the impacts of fire on peatland ecosystems. Severe wildfires can cause smoldering ground fires that oxidize entire carbon stores and threaten peatlands around the globe. However, low‐severity surface fires can physically protect soil organic matter by thermally altering surface carbon chemistry, thus creating a slower cycling carbon pool that positively affects long‐term carbon balances in peatlands worldwide.
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Prescribed Fire in Piedmont Hardwoods (2020)
Presenters: Sharon Bischoff, Mountain Region Biologist with North Carolina State Parks, Dr. Chris Moorman, Professor and Coordinator of the Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology Program at North Carolina State University, Dr. Dan Dey, Research Forester for the USDA Forest Service, Northern Research Station.
There is increasing interest in using prescribed fire to restore and maintain Piedmont ecosystems dominated by hardwood species. This webinar will address several topics relevant to those using prescribed fire in Piedmont hardwood ecosystems, including the history of North Carolina Piedmont hardwood ecosystems, wildlife impacts for game and non-game species, and silvicultural considerations.
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Recent Advances in Understanding Eastern US Litter Flammability (2019)
Presenter: Dr. Jesse Kreye, Penn State University
Litter flammability is an important and often overlooked component of understanding the role of fire in the environment. Litter flammability traits have the potential to influence important fire behavior and effects, including duff consumption, spotting potential, fire spread rates and even home ignition. Recent and ongoing research in the Eastern US is expanding our understanding of how vegetative litter, species traits and environmental conditions interact to affect leaf litter flammability characteristics. In this webinar, Dr. Jesse Kreye shared the results and management implications of his research on these topics.
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Influence of Prescribed Fire on the Ecology of Wild Turkeys (2019)
Presenter: Dr. Michael Chamberlain, University of Georgia
In this webinar Dr. Chamberlain presented the results of research projects throughout the southeastern United States focused on understanding how wild turkeys respond to prescribed fires. He discussed the basic ecology of birds in fire-managed landscapes, such as reproductive ecology, and how turkey movements are affected by fire. Lastly, Dr. Chamberlain discussed recent research exploring how the spatial scale of fires on public lands influence turkey movements and reproductive ecology.
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Fire History Paradigms in North America: Controversy and Consensus (2019)
Presenter: Dr. Kevin Robertson, Tall Timbers Research Station
There is wide agreement that prescribed fire is essential and under-utilized for restoring and maintaining natural ecosystem function, sustaining native wildlife populations, and mitigating wildfire hazard. There is less agreement on the history of fire, specifically the degree to which historic fire regimes and the natural communities that depend on them are essentially anthropogenic as opposed lightning-initiated as a function of climate and topography. This presentation provided a simplified summary of the two positions and present examples of more comprehensive research approaches that embrace data over dogma.
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Mapping burned areas from the Landsat archive (2019)
Presenter: Dr. Todd Hawbaker, US Geological Survey, Dr. Casey Teske, Tall Timbers Research Station
Complete and accurate burned area data are needed to document the patterns of fires, to quantify their drivers, and to assess the impacts on human and natural systems. Unfortunately, existing fire occurrence datasets are known to be incomplete. In response, we developed the Landsat Burned Area BA algorithm that identifies burned areas in dense time-series of Landsat data and used it to map burned areas across the conterminous United States. This presentation described the Landsat Burned Area algorithm and products. Additionally, applications using the burned area products were covered. Working with the USGS, Tall Timbers has developed a statewide spatial database of fire extent in Florida that will be integrated into further analyses specific to landscape conservation and monitoring. Examples of fire management applications were discussed.
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Longleaf and Ponderosa Pine Fire Ecology: How History can be your Guide (2019)
Presenter: Dr. John Kush, Auburn University
Longleaf pine and ponderosa pine in the same talk? Both of these forests were often described as open and park-like. This presentation will provide a historical overview of these forests and a discussion of each species ecology and the relationship with fire. It is important to use history as a guide and an overview of the early research into these forests will be presented.
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Burning for Birds: Fire and Southeastern Habitat Management
Jim Cox, Stoddard Bird Lab Director with Tall Timbers Research Station explored four ways that prescribed burners can influence bird habitat in the Southeastern US. Jim provided scientific evidence to demonstrate how decisions related to prescribed fire frequency, season, size, and ignition pattern can influence the quality of bird habitat in Southeastern US uplands.
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The Ecology of Fuels
Fuels are one of the three elements of the fire triangle. In this webinar Dr. Joe O’Brien with the US Forest Service Southern Research Station will use examples from Southeastern US fire ecology to highlight the complex relationships linking forest structure, natural fuels and wildland fire. These interactions are frequently under-appreciated and oversimplified in the wildland fire community. A better understanding of natural fuels can improve land management at multiple levels and fuels can act as a bridge linking the fire ops, forestry and ecology professional communities.
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FEIS and How to Find the Best Available Science on Fire Ecology and Fire Regimes
In this webinar Robin and Ilana describe the components of FEIS and demonstrate how FEIS can be used to search for a variety of fire science, fire ecology, and fire regime information that can be incorporated into reports, prescribed burn plans, and research syntheses.
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Fire and Fauna in the Southeast: Lessons Learned from Recent Research
In this webinar Dr. Chris Moorman of NCSU shared information about recent research investigating the response of wildlife to prescribed fire.
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Fire Disturbance and Successional Dynamics in Major Natural South Florida Plant Communities
Dr. Mike Duever, University Florida, describes the procedures that led to the creation of the models as well as real world examples of the successional and disturbance pathways.
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Fire in Wetlands – Fire Ecology and Prescribed Fire Tactics (2018)
More than 96 southern species are at risk of disappearing due to loss of fire from wetland habitats. This webinar will use examples from the Ocala National Forest to discuss the role of fire in wetland ecology, restoring and maintaining wetlands with fire by incorporating ecological goals in fire planning, tips for during a “no-go” into a “go”, and adjusting tactics during wetland burns to achieve the desired results.
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Historical Fire and the Species that Coevolved with it in the South. What should we be doing with fire now?
In this webinar Dr. Cecil Frost will address this topic using some of his detailed maps of pre-colonial fire frequency for sites in the Southeastern US and discuss opportunities for regional fire management strategies now and in the future.
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How cattle, logging, fire, and climate shaped the Mississippi Piney Woods since 1750
Grant Harley, Assistant Professor with the University of Southern Mississippi discussed recent research that reconstructed the historical fire regimes of southern Mississippi longleaf pine forests. Using fire history evidence, Dr. Harley looked at the influence of past human land use activities as well as regional climate patterns on fire activity going back to the year 1750. This webinar provides management recommendations for those looking to burn in ways that mimic historical landscape patterns.
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How Important is it to Mimic Natural Fire Regimes in the SE Coastal Plain?
Dr. Reed Noss discusses how species and ecosystems in the southeastern US depend on frequent fire for their existence, and most species in fire-prone ecosystems possess fire-adaptive strategies and traits. However, fire-adapted species are not adapted to fire per se, but rather to particular fire regimes.
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MTBS Applications in the South
Presenter: Josh Picotte, USGS Technical Specialist
This webinar provides an introduction to the Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity (MTBS) dataset, as well as a discussion of MTBS data applications in the South
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The Path Back: Oaks Facilitating Longleaf Pine Seedling Success on Xeric Sites
Presented by: Louise Loudermilk, Ph.D.
Do deciduous midstory oaks on xeric sandhill sites hurt or help longleaf pine seedlings? Intuitive or blasphemy? New research suggests that the presence of midstory oaks on xeric sandhill sites can significantly improve microsite conditions for 2 year old longleaf pine seedlings by reducing soil temperature and lowering moisture loss due to evaporation. Over longer timescales, the authors suggest that understanding and managing for the facilitative roles of native midstory oaks may be important for longleaf pine forest sustainability during droughts, wildfires, and hurricanes.
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Setting Back the Clock: Fire Biogeochemistry and its Importance in Restoration of Low-Nutrient Wetland Ecosystems
As part of the SFE Spotlight on Fire in Wetlands, Dr. Patrick Inglett of the University of Florida explored the effects of fire on biogeochemical processes in wetlands and the potential for this management tool to help or hinder restoration of nutrient-impacted systems. This webinar included discussions of research results from two publications in the journal Fire Ecology special issue on fire in wetland ecosystems.
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Wildfire Effects on Forest Structure and Soils in Big Cypress National Preserve, Florida
Adam Watts, Postdoctoral Research Ecologist at the University of Florida, presented results from studies conducted in Big Cypress National Preserve on delayed mortality from wildfire in pondcypress and on smoldering combustion in the organic soil found in cypress swamps.
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Wildfire Management: Getting Fire Science on the Ground
Host: Southern Fire Exchange, Fire Science Exchange Network , American Geosciences Institute
This is the second presentation from the AGI Critical Issues webinar, “Adapting Wildfire Management to 21st Century Conditions”. This webinar explores recent trends in wildfires and changes in contributing factors / drivers of these hazards and features case studies of wildfire policy and management strategies in the western and southern United States.
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Other useful archived webinars on this subject
Adapting Wildfire Management to 21st Century Conditions
Host: American Geosciences Institute
This Critical Issues webinar explores recent trends in wildfires and changes in contributing factors / drivers of these hazards and features case studies of wildfire policy and management strategies in the western and southern United States.
Click here to view the archived webinar
Climate Variability and U.S. Forests
Host: Webinar Portal for Forestry and Natural Resources
Forest Service climate change advisor Dave Cleaves, along with Jim Vose and Mark Megalos, give an overview of the Forest Service report “Effects of Climatic Variability and Change on Forest Ecosystems: A Comprehensive Science Synthesis for the U.S. Forest.”
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Critical Fire Weather Patterns–Eastern United States, Canada and Australia
Host: LLC-JFSP-IAWF
Paul Werth, a fire weather meteorologist with Weather Research and Consulting Services, LLC, provides a discussion of weather elements that promote extreme fire behavior, regional critical fire weather patterns, and forecast products that are useful in determining areas at risk for extreme fire behavior.
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Critical Fire Weather Patterns–Western United States
Host: LLC-JFSP-IAWF
Paul Werth, a fire weather meteorologist with Weather Research and Consulting Services, LLC leads this presentation summarizes the existing knowledge of how weather affects extreme wildland fire behavior. It defines the concept of critical fire weather patterns and identifies the significant weather elements associated with these patterns. Examples of critical fire weather patterns are provided through the use of national and regional wildland fire case studies.
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Effect of Complex Terrain on Extreme Fire Behavior
Host: LLC-JFSP-IAWF
Craig Clements and Neil Lareau from the Fire Weather Research Laboratory at San Jose State University, provides a discussion of wind systems in mountainous terrain, modeling fire behavior on slopes, and wind modeling tools.
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Fire Columns and Plume Dynamics
Host: LLC-JFSP-IAWF
Brian Potter, a research meteorologist with the USDA Forest Service, presented this webinar regarding the state of science with respect to the airflow associated with fire convection plumes. This includes the concepts of plume dominated fires, adverse wind profiles, the role of atmospheric stability in fire behavior, downdrafts, and plume collapse.
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Effects of Fuels Treatments on the Spatial Probabilities of Burning and Final Size of Recent Wildfires across the United States
Host: LLC-JFSP-IAWF
Mark Cochrane will describe Fuel Treatment Effectiveness in the United States (FTEUS)—a project designed to assess how fuels treatments are affecting fire severity and altering the extents of recent wildfires by examining and modeling the degree to which the fuels treatments explain observed patterns of burn severity or fire spread.
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Live Fuel Moisture: A New Look at the Combustion of Living Plants
Host: Lake States Fire Science Consortium and Alaska Fire Science Consortium
Dr. Matt Jolly, USFS with the Missoula Fire Sciences Laboratory will delve into the interactive factors that control live fuel moisture and will discuss some of the potential implications of these factors on seasonal variations in the fire potential of living plants. Ultimately, he will show how the interactions between the water content of the foliage and seasonal changes in the leaf’s dry weight combine to influence calculated live fuel moisture and ultimately, its flammability.
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Reconstructing Pre-European Fire Regimes, Forests, and Wildlife Habitats in the Eastern United States
Host: Oak Woodlands & Forests Fire Science Consortium
Cecil Frost, Adjunct Professor University of North Carolina discusses the mapping of presettlement vegitation and fire regime found in Mammoth Cave National Park.
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Spot Fires
Host: LLC-JFSP-IAWF
Brian Potter, presented a summary of the state of science behind spot fires. Spotting is one characteristic of “extreme fire behavior,” capable of short range acceleration of fires as well as producing long-distance spot fires that complicate management efforts. The presentation will summarize current knowledge and tools, as well as knowledge gaps.
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