Fire and Environmental Research Applications Team

CORE FIRE SCIENCE PLAN UNVEILED

Advancing research in fire physics in a coordinated way among researchers is the goal of the newly-developed Core Fire Science Research Advancement Plan. The plan is a vehicle to continue the collaborative process of identifying and solving the most critical fire science issues. It offers problem analyses of combustion and heat transfer, complex fuelbeds, fire behavior transitions, and fire event dynamics and fire-atmosphere interactions. The most urgent study questions developed needed to progress toward solutions of the problems are outlined.

Funded by the Joint Fire Science Program, this plan was developed and/or reviewed by over two dozen scientists. The effort was led by the U.S. Forest Service Core Fire Science Portfolio Team including FERA’s Roger Ottmar. They were assisted in this task by two other members of the team, David Sandberg and Ellen Eberhardt.

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

IMPROVING PREDICTION OF SMOKE IMPACTS IN THE EASTERN UNITED STATES

FERA and its cooperators across the country have received funds to validate and/or improve fuel consumption equations in Consume 3.0 and FOFEM. Through analysis of data both on the ground and from the air will be used to determine what modifications will be made to Consume 3.0 and FOFEM. Deliverables include updated software, a peer-reviewed manuscript, and a workshop for users of these tools.

http://www.fs.fed.us/pnw/fera/research/smoke/consumevalidation.shtml

EFFICIENT FIELD WORK ACROSS SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

FERA's field crew is spending several weeks in southern California, from Sequoia National Forest in the east to the Los Padres National Forest in the west, measuring piles of forest residue created by hand toward the goal of improving consumption and emissions equations involving such fuels. A stop was made in the San Bernardino National Forest to measure post-burn fuel consumption on chaparral shrubland at two sites.

http://www.fs.fed.us/pnw/fera/research/smoke/handpiles.shtml

EFFORTS CONTINUE TO ASSIST LAND MANAGERS IN PLANNING FOR CLIMATE CHANGE
The demand for guidance in incorporating climate change into forest planning finds Dave Peterson traveling this past month to meet with the Northern Region of the Forest Service in Missoula, MT. He has also conducted introductory meetings on these concepts with the Siuslaw, Willamette and Mt. Hood National Forests in Oregon, in partnership with Olympic National Forest Supervisor Kathy O’Halloran (via videoconference).

In an effort to streamline this process and serve a wider audience, the Forest Service has funded development a toolkit for adapting to climate change on western national forests. The resulting website, case studies, guidebook, and scientific documentation will help mangers plan for climate change. Dave Peterson is one of several investigators working on this project.

http://www.fs.fed.us/pnw/fera/research/climate/adaptationtoolkit.shtml

LANDSCAPE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM TO HELP SELECT ACTIONS TO MITIGATE CARBON EMISSIONS WHILE REDUCING FIRE RISK AND FUTURE COSTS

The Forest Service has funded a collaborative project to enhance the Landscape Management System software for selecting forest management action priorities in the West that best mitigate carbon emissions while reducing fire risk and future costs. Don McKenzie is one of 10 team members working on this task.

http://www.fs.fed.us/pnw/fera/research/climate/carbonoffsets.shtml

CHANGES IN FUELBED CHARACTERISTICS AND RESULTING FIRE POTENTIALS AFTER FUEL REDUCTION TREATMENTS IN DRY FORESTS OF THE BLUE MOUNTAINS, NORTHEASTERN OREGON

This paper reports initial fuelbed conditions and changes immediately and 4–6 years after fuel reduction treatments in an operational-scale experiment in northeastern Oregon. Treatments included a single entry thin from below conducted in 1998, a late season burn conducted in 2000, a thin followed by burning (thin + burn), and a no action treatment which served as a control. Projected flame length, rate of spread, and reaction intensity are derived as metrics of future surface fire behavior. These results are discussed in the context of management options for restoration of ecosystem health in similar low elevation dry ponderosa pine and Douglas-fir forests. (Some users may have problems accessing this publication. Please contact Ellen Eberhardt [eeberhardt@fs.fed.us] to receive a paper copy.)

Link to paper (limited access)