Description

During and after the 2004 Woodchopper Fire (A5ZE), fire effects monitoring plots were established to study how fire burned through varying vegetation types and the effects of fire on vegetation and permafrost. Seven plots (4 black spruce and 3 paper birch) were established to document the pre and post condition of the vegetation and fuels during ongoing wildfires. The goals of the study are to: 1) validate predictive fire models used by fire managers; 2) determine the vegetative and structural components that are important to fuel models; and 3) identify fire effects under varying burn severity levels. The plot methods follow the same protocol as the Alaska Interagency Fire Effects Task Group (FETG) Fire Plots (2005).