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Pre-wildfire fuel reduction treatments result in more resilient forest structure a decade after wildfire

Camille S. Stevens-Rumann, Kristen L. Shive, Peter Z. Fulé, Carolyn Hull Sieg
Summary - what did the authors do and why?

The authors compared treated and untreated areas nine years after the 2002 Rodeo-Chediski Fire to assess how stand structure and surface fuels change over longer periods of time. They further compared this information to a previous study (Strom and Fulé, 2007) that installed the study plots in 2004 to assess the differences between short- and longer-term fuel responses.

Publication findings:

In the Rodeo-Chediski Fire, pre-fire treatments resulted in reduced fire severity. Although fuel loads were high at both areas, pre-fire treated areas had lower levels of surface fuel loads than untreated sites with the difference between the two becoming greater over time. In treated areas mean live basal area increased over the past decade as regeneration occurred in the open spaces left by fire-killed trees. Conversely, basal area in untreated areas has decreased due to residual tree death and limited regeneration.

Fire and Ecosystem Effects Linkages

How do fire behavior, type, and intensity relate to tree dispersal, regeneration, and establishement?

In treated areas mean live basal area increased over the past decade as regeneration occurred in the open spaces left by fire-killed trees. Conversely, basal area in untreated areas has decreased due to residual tree death and limited regeneration.

How do fire behavior, type, and intensity relate to fuels?

In the Rodeo-Chediski Fire, pre-fire treatments resulted in reduced fire severity. Although fuel loads were high at both areas, pre-fire treated areas had lower levels of surface fuel loads than untreated sites with the difference between the two becoming greater over time.

How do fire behavior, type, and intensity relate to species composition, non-natives, and structure?

In the Rodeo-Chediski Fire, pre-fire treatments resulted in reduced fire severity. Although fuel loads were high at both areas, pre-fire treated areas had lower levels of surface fuel loads than untreated sites with the difference between the two becoming greater over time. In treated areas mean live basal area increased over the past decade as regeneration occurred in the open spaces left by fire-killed trees. Conversely, basal area in untreated areas has decreased due to residual tree death and limited regeneration.