Pacific Southwest Research Station

Education

B.S. Forest Management, 1984, Auburn University
M.S. Forest Biometrics, 1986, Auburn University
Ph.D. Wildland Resource Science, 1993, University of California, Berkeley
Emphasis Area: Fire behavior models

Research Interests/Duties

My primary research objective is to develop knowledge to facilitate the use of prescribed fire. My education and experience in forest management and prescribed fire research at the former Southern Forest Fire Lab provided me an appreciation of the utility and challenges of prescribed fire use. Currently I am focused on the application and use of various models for fire behavior and fuel treatment. These models include fire spread models, fuel moisture models, and landscape level planning models.

Current Emphases, Studies, Projects

• Marginal burning in chaparral and live fuels for prescribed fire application
• Pre-ignition, ignition, and flame spread in live shrub fuels
• Fuel description and smoke characterization in southwestern fuel types
• Application of fuel moisture and fire behavior models to Hawaiian conditions
• Potential application of prescribed fire in southern California forests

Selected Publications

Hosseini, S; Qi, L.; Cocker, D.; Weise, D.; Miller, A.; Shrivastava, M.; Miller, J.W.; Mahalingam, S.; Princevac, M.; Jung, H. 2010. Particle size distributions from laboratory-scale biomass fires using fast response instruments. Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics 10: 8065-8076.

Weise, D.R.; Stephens, S.L.; Fujioka, F.M.; Moody, T.J.; Benoit, J. 2010. Estimation of fire danger in Hawai'i using limited weather data and simulation. Pacific Science 64(2):199-220.

Benson, R.P.; Roads, J.; Weise, D.R. 2009. Weather and climate factors influencing fire occurrence. Book chapter. Wildland Fires and Air Pollution (edited by Bytnerowicz et al.). Elsevier.

Stephens, S.L.; Weise, D.R.; Fry, D.L.; Keiffer, R.J.; Dawson, J.; Koo, E.; Potts, J.; Pagni, P.J. 2008. Measuring the rate of spread of chaparral prescribed fires in northern California. Fire Ecology 4(1): 77-86.

Tachajapong, W.; Lozano, J.; Mahalingam, S.; Weise, D.R. 2008. An investigation of crown fuel bulk density effects on the dynamics of crown fire initiation. Combustion Science and Technology 180(4): 593-615.

Fletcher, T.H.; Pickett, B.M.; Smith, S.G.;Spittle, G.S.; Woodhouse, M.M.; Haake, E.; Weise, D.R. 2007. Effects of moisture on ignition behavior of moist California chaparral and Utah leaves. Combustion Science and Technology 179(6): 1183-1203.

Castillo, J.M.; G. Enriques; M. Nakahara; D. Weise; L. Ford; R. Moraga; and R. Vihnanek. 2007. Effects of cattle grazing, glyphosate, and prescribed burning on fountaingrass fuel loading in Hawai´i. Proceedings of the 23rd Tall Timbers Fire Ecology Conference: Fire in Grassland and Shrubland Ecosystems. Tall Timbers Research Station, Tallahassee, Florida, USA.

Weise, D.R.; Fujioka, F.M.; Nelson, R.M., Jr. 2005. A comparison of 3 models of 1-hr time lag fuel moisture in Hawaii. Agriculture and Forest Meteorology 133:28-39.