Fire and Environmental Research Applications Team

RESEARCH RECOGNITION WORLDWIDE

Concepción, Chile – Don McKenzie presented two plenary talks at an international symposium entitled "Global Warming and Wildfires", one on climate change and wildfires and the other on fuel management to reduce fire hazard. He also met with faculty at the University of Concepción, and will be initiating an inter-hemispheric study of lodgepole pine dynamics and wildfire potential in upper montane forest ecosystems.

http://www.silvotecna.co.cl/descripcion.html

Stockholm, Sweden – The 2007 Nobel Peace Prize, awarded to both Al Gore and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, is shared in part by IPCC panel member and FERA research scientist David L. Peterson for efforts to build up and disseminate greater knowledge about man-made climate change, and to lay the foundations for the measures that are needed to counteract such change. Dave has been an author on chapters on forest and mountain ecosystems for various IPCC assessments, as well as a reviewer and contributor.

http://www.ipcc.ch

Brasilia, Brazil – Ernesto Alvarado traveled to Brazil to participate at 19th International Congress of Mechanical Engineering held in Brasilia, Brazil from November 5-9, 2007. He was invited to give a lecture during the Combustion and Environmental Engineering Symposium. The title of his lecture was "From Milimetric to Global Scales: Understanding the role of Biomass Combustion Modeling to Assess the Environmental Effects of Megacities". During his visit to Brazil, Ernesto also worked on the preparation of an interdisciplinary research proposal for 2008-2010 on biomass combustion, smoke plume formation and dispersion prepared by a team of the Brazil's Combustion Network.

http://www.cobem2007.com.br/start.asp?menu=en&op=symposiumCEE

OTTMAR ASSISTS CITY OF PORTLAND IN EVALUATING FIRE HAZARD USING FCCS

The City of Portland, Oregon is working to reduce the risk of significant property loss due to wildfire in their urban natural areas. Roger is part of a technical advisory team that will provide expertise in wildand fuels. To determine the current fire hazard associated with each area, Roger is developing set of fuelbeds using the Fuel Characteristic Classification System (FCCS). The hazard values will be used to determine if and what type of fuels treatment alternatives may be required to reduce the risk of wildfire and potential property loss.

http://www.fs.fed.us/pnw/fera/fccs/portland.shtml

OVERSTORY TREE MORTALITY RESULTING FROM REINTRODUCING FIRE TO LONG-UNBURNED LONGLEAF PINE FORESTS: THE IMPORTANCE OF DUFF MOISTURE

This paper, published in the Canadian Journal of Forest Research, discusses the effect of fuel moisture on the morality of longleaf pine in fires. Roger Ottmar contributed to this research.

http://rparticle.web-p.cisti.nrc.ca/rparticle/AbstractTemplateServlet?journal=cjfr&volume=37&year=&issue=&msno=x06-315&calyLang=eng

FOREST FIRE AND CLIMATE CHANGE IN WESTERN NORTH AMERICA: INSIGHTS FROM SEDIMENT CHARCOAL RECORDS

Susan Prichard and David L. Peterson were authors on this paper published in Frontiers of Ecology and the Environment highlights the relevance of charcoal sediments in reconstructing historical fire dynamics.

http://rparticle.web-p.cisti.nrc.ca/rparticle/AbstractTemplateServlet?journal=cjfr&volume=37&year=&issue=&msno=x06-315&calyLang=eng

SANDBERG HONORED FOR DISTINGUISHED ACHIEVEMENT

Dr. David V (Sam) Sandberg was honored during at the University of Washington College of Forest Resources 100-year anniversary gala. Sam was recognized with the Distinguished Achievement award for lifetime pioneering achievement in forest science for anticipating and acting on future challenges to resource management through education and research.

http://www.fs.fed.us/pnw/fera/news