A new blog post from the Fire Adapted Communities Learning Network is designed to help practitioners access the science, research, and peer-reviewed literature that is so vital to understanding fire, people, and landscapes so that they can do more to change places and help more communities become fire adapted.
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Wildland Firefighter Suicide Study
A study from Oklahoma State University is seeking to determine the rates and risk factors for suicide in the wildland firefighter community. This project is designed to be the first of its kind to directly target wildland firefighters in an effort to assess their overall mental wellbeing. Wildland firefighters are being asked to participate in this research study in order to inform important theories in psychology.
Participate in the study here.
Continue ReadingSite Request: National Fish and Wildlife Foundation Longleaf Pine Growth and Yield Model
F&W Forestry Services, in cooperation with the University of Georgia’s Plantation Management Research Cooperative (PMRC), is currently identifying properties where permanent inventory plots can be established for developing new longleaf pine growth and yield models for the Southeast US. The project is supported by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) and results will be publicly available from the study.
F&W is seeking permission to establish 300 research plots on properties in the Coastal Plain region of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina. The identification of sites for plot establishment must meet the following criteria:
(1) Cutover sites
(2) Site prepared
(3) Planted containerized planted longleaf (Pinus palustris) 1-0 seedlings
(4) No following year interplanting
(5) Unthinned stands
(6) At least 5 years old (preferably at least 7-8 years old) at time of tree tagging/numbering
(7) No planned harvests for at least 5 years
(8) Ideally a candidate property will have multiple longleaf stands with variable age classes and site
characteristics
In addition to these requirements, ideal additional information will include:
(1) Site preparation methods and chemical rates (if applicable)
(2) Seedling source
(3) Month and year planted
(4) If pine straw has been raked
(5) Plantation spacing
(6) First and second year herbaceous control and rates (if applicable)
(7) Previous stand origin (planted or natural)
Those interested in contributing sites to the study can contact John Bell at 229.883.0505 or jbell@fwforestry.com for more information.
Continue ReadingSFE Webinar Recording Available: COVID-19 Impacts on Southeast Prescribed Fire and Strategies for Keeping Fire on the Ground
The recording of the Southern Fire Exchange webinar from Thursday, February 11th “COVID-19 Impacts on Southeast Prescribed Fire and Strategies for Keeping Fire on the Ground” is now live on the SFE YouTube webinar archive. This webinar featured a research presentation on the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on Southeastern prescribed fire as well as a fire manager panel discussion that covered strategies for managing prescribed fire programs in 2020 and 2021. Webinar presenters included: Benjamin Poulter, Ph.D., NASA Earth Sciences Division and Morgan Varner, Ph.D., Tall Timbers Research Station. The webinar fire manager panelists included: Greg Titus, US Fish and Wildlife Service, Brett Williams, US Air Force Wildland Fire Branch, and Sasha Ernst, Florida Park Service
Click here to view the archived webinar
Click here to download the webinar slides
New Book: The Fire Manager’s Guide to Blue Ridge Ecozones
In “The Fire Manager’s Guide to Blue Ridge Ecozones” a new book from the Southern Blue Ridge Fire Learning Network, TNC fire manager Adam Warwick explores a wide range of fire maintained ecosystems across the Blue Ridge. The beautiful 165 page guide includes full color photographs and illustrations. You can download the full .pdf file here. A print version of the book is expected soon.
Wildland Fire in the Appalachians: Discussions Among Managers and Scientists
Proceedings: Wildland Fire in the Appalachians: Discussions Among Managers and Scientists Download and read the full GTR here (pdf).
The USFS SRS-199 abstract:
Continue ReadingMany challenges face fire managers and scientists in the Appalachian Mountains because of the region’s diverse topography and limited research supporting prescribed burning. This conference was designed to promote communication among managers, researchers, and other interested parties. These proceedings contain 30 papers and abstracts that describe ongoing research, successful technology transfer, and management tools for planning prescribed fires. Five categories of papers include ecology of plants and plant communities, wildlife ecology, fire history and fire effects, tools for forest management, and manager-scientist success stories.
SFE Identifies Top Five Regional Fire Science Research Needs
Last fall the Southern Fire Exchange team worked to narrow and identify the top fire science needs for the Southeastern U.S. Using feedback from surveys, evaluations, and our advisory board, we worked with our principle investigators to develop a series of short documents that articulate some of the most pressing fire science needs for the region. These documents were shared with the Joint Fire Science Program to guide their fire science funding priorities for the country. Read more about this process and our top research needs topics for the region. The Joint Fire Science Program maintains an online database of fire science research needs that are national and regional in scope. This process provides an example of how the JFSP regional Fire Science Exchange Network can bridge the gap between fire science and management by identifying and elevating the most pressing and important research topics for funding.
A longleaf pine ecosystem restoration area in northwest Florida. Southern Fire Exchange photo by David Godwin.
2020 Top Five Southeastern Fire Science Research Needs
- Prescribed Fire Smoke Models (pdf)
- Prescribed Fire in Wetland Ecosystems (pdf)
- Spatial Scale of Prescribed Burning (pdf)
- Prescribed Fire on Private Lands (pdf)
- Prescribed Fire and Climate Change (pdf)
Scienceline: Prescribed fires may mean safer smoke
“When comparing how smoke from wildfires and prescribed burns affected children, “we saw worse effects from the wildfire,” says Dr. Mary Prunicki, who directs air pollution and health research at the Sean N. Parker Center for Allergy and Asthma Research at Stanford University. In a study published in the journal Allergy in 2019, her team found that children who lived near where a wildfire occurred suffered more severe respiratory and immune effects than those who lived near a prescribed burn.”
Continue ReadingUSFS Webinar this Week: “Know Your Smoke”
USFS Webinar “Know Your Smoke”
Wednesday, November 18 @10 – 11am MT
Presented by Shawn Urbanski, Research Physical Scientist and Duncan Lutes, RMRS Fire Ecologist
In this short webinar, RMRS Research Physical Scientist Shawn Urbanski and Fire Ecologist Duncan Lutes will discuss the current state of the science on wildland fire smoke emissions, including pollutants present in smoke, methods for quantifying emission flux, existing datasets, tools, and models, and deficiencies in current scientific understanding. For more information on this project, see this USFS-RMRS “Science You Can Use” bulletin.
Meeting ID: 161 0453 0612
Password: USFS1905!
Or connect with your phone: 1-669-254-5252 US (San Jose)
1-646-828-7666 US (New York)
Continue ReadingPartner Webinar: How Both Short and Long Term Wildlife Research can Inform Management
Long term research plays an invaluable role in informing natural resource management, particularly for long-lived wildlife species. However, short term and even opportunistic research can also yield important and sometimes surprising results relevant to management.
In this webinar, Dr. Smith will discuss management implications of a follow up survey of the alligator snapping turtle population on the Flint River, 22 years after eliminating harvest, the success of a forest restoration project in the eyes of pine snakes, and the unexpected added value of surveys of one threatened species (the gopher tortoise) for the conservation of another (the gopher frog).
No registration is required, join the webinar here.
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