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Project ID: 99-1-4-02

Year: 2000

Date Started: 10/07/1999

Date Completed: 03/13/2004

Title: The Value of Fuel Management in Reducing Wildfire Damage to Overstory Trees

Project Proposal Abstract: Prescribed burning has been declining in the South, resulting in the buildup of fuels and the potential for large wildfires during extended dry periods, such as occurred in Florida in 1998. Burning has long been pushed as a method of reducing the probability of wildfires. However, it may also be useful in reducing the severity of wildfires when they do occur. The objective of this study is to determine the effects of fuel management treatments (prescribed fire, herbicide treatment, no management after crop establishment) on wildfire severity as measured by overstory damage and tree mortality. Substantial information of this nature was collected in a similar study funded by the Joint Fire Science Program following the 1998 fires. However, because of delays most of the untreated and herbicide areas had been salvaged before data could be gathered. Therefore this study is being proposed as a task 4 project that requires a rapid response to obtain critical fuel management-related information following multiple fire incidents that are likely to occur in Florida this year. Stands with the different fuel treatment combinations will be chosen in as close proximity as possible. Chosen stands will be sampled with circular plots where the dbh, condition (live or dead), crown killed (%), bole char (height), and resin flow will be recorded for each tree. Data will be analyzed using analyses of variance to compare pre-fire treatment effects. Results will help managers decide the value of the different fuel treatment systems for reducing wildfire severity and overstory mortality.

Principal Investigator: Kenneth W. Outcalt

Agency/Organization: Forest Service

Branch or Dept: SRS-Ctr for Forest Disturbance Science

Other Project Collaborators

Type	Name	Agency/Organization	Branch or Dept
Collaborator/Contributor	William Metz	Forest Service	Osceola NF-Osceola Ranger District
Federal Cooperator	Kenneth W. Outcalt	Forest Service	SRS-Ctr for Forest Disturbance Science

Project Locations

Consortium

South

There are no project locations identified for this project.

Project Deliverables

Final Report ("Results presented in JFSP Final Reports may not have been peer-reviewed and should be interpreted as tentative until published in a peer-reviewed source.")

	ID	Type	Title
	4566	Refereed Publication	Fuels Management Reduces Tree Mortality from Wildfires in Southeastern United States

Supporting Documents

There are no supporting documents available for this project.

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