Science
Partner Webinar: Effectiveness of fuel treatments at the landscape scale
Maximizing the effectiveness of fuel treatments at the landscape scale is a key research and management need given the inability to treat all areas at risk from wildfire, and there is a growing body of scientific literature assessing this need. Rocky Mountain Research Station scientists, in collaboration with the Joint Fire Science Network, synthesized existing science on landscape-scale fuel treatment effectiveness in North American ecosystems through a systematic literature review.
A recent report, Effectiveness of fuel treatments at the landscape scale: State of understanding and key research gaps, provides key findings from four literature synthesis documents (concepts and fuel treatment effectiveness measurements, empirical, simulation, and case studies) that evaluate the extent to which landscape fuel treatments mitigate adverse effects of wildfire, provide opportunities to manage fire for beneficial effects of wildfire, provide opportunities for cost efficient fire suppression strategies, maximize fire responder safety, provide results to inform future fuel treatment planning, and identify research gaps.
Event Details
Join the Joint Fire Science Network and Rocky Mountain Research Station for the Landscape Fuel Treatment Effectiveness webinar on Wednesday, April 5 from 11:00 – 12:30 MT. Registration is required.
Four Rocky Mountain Research Station scientists will present their latest research followed by a panel discussion and Q&A.
- Lessons learned from wildland fire case studies | Ali Urza, Research Ecologist
- Quantifying forest wildfire hazard and fuel treatment effectiveness from stands to landscapes | Sharon Hood, Research Ecologist
- Fuel treatment scenarios tested through simulation studies | Jeff Ott, Research Ecologist
- Is there empirical evidence for landscape-level fuel treatment effectiveness? | Shawn McKinney, Writer/Editor
Non-native Grasses are Driving Fire Regime Changes Around the World
An article (Flammable invasive grasses are increasing risk of devastating wildfires) in the special grass issue of Science Magazine described how non-native invasive grasses are driving dramatic changes in fire regimes around the world. From Australia to Argentina, to the United States, non-native grasses are producing highly flammable fine fuels that are altering fire behavior and fire frequency in native ecosystems. The story features research on cogongrass (Imperata cylindrica) from Dr. Luke Flory at the University of Florida.
Continue ReadingSFE Reddit AMA with Dr. Rae Crandall
On July 29th, Southern Fire Exchange’s Dr. Rae Crandall will be live on Reddit’s “I Am A” page answering questions about wildland fire. She has experience as a wildland firefighter in the West, a fire ecology researcher at the University Florida, and a prescribed fire practitioner across the US, so be sure to ask her anything about wildland fire!
More about Dr. Crandall:
“I am a forestry professor at the University of Florida who studies the effects of wildland fire on plants. Some people call me a pyromaniac, because I love to light prescribed fires as much as I love to measure and study plants. As an undergraduate student, I volunteered on a prescribed fire, “caught the fire bug”, and have been passionate about teaching others about the benefits of prescribed fire ever since. I have worked as a wildland firefighter in the West, and as a fire lighter across many states of the U.S. Ask me anything about wildland fire!
I am also the mother of two young boys, who enjoy going hiking and learning about the positive effects of using prescribed fire for management of our natural areas.”
You can learn more about Dr. Crandall’s research here.
Continue ReadingEPA Tools and Resources Webinar – Air Pollution and Heart Disease
Host: EPA Office of Research and Development
Presenter: Wayne E. Cascio, Ph.D., Director of the Center for Public Health and Environmental Assessment, EPA Office of Research and Development
Abstract:
Over the past 50 years to meet its mission of protecting human health and the environment, EPA has worked to ensure that all Americans have access to clean air, land and water. Environmental law, policy and science have afforded the U.S. improved environmental quality across all media with attendant benefits to human health. Advances in clinical and population-based research methods, engineering, technology and medicine have increased our knowledge of air pollution and its constituents, the way the pollution is generated and moves in the atmosphere, as well as the impacts this pollution has on human health and ecosystems. Air research conducted and funded by EPA’s Office of Research and Development has contributed substantially over the past 50 years to establishing the Clean Air Act’s National Ambient Air Quality Standards. Research has linked regulated air pollutants such as ozone and particulate matter (PM) to lung and heart disease and other health problems. This research is in-part responsible for increasing the average life expectancy of Americans by approximately five to eight months according to findings from a 2009 EPA-supported study. This webinar will discuss the parallel progress of EPA science, the evolution of the technology used for studying air quality and health, and our understanding of heart disease, improvement in air quality and human health.
Registration Required: https://epawebconferencing.acms.com/tools_august2020/event/registration.html
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