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Project ID: 05-2-1-20

Year: 2005

Date Started: 05/12/2005

Date Completed: 04/30/2008

Title: Masticated Fuel Beds: Custom Fuel Models, Fire Behavior, and Fire Effects

Project Proposal Abstract: In the foothill and mountain regions of California and southern Oregon, dense flammable vegetation and seasonally extreme fire weather present a daunting fuel management challenge. Mastication is an increasingly popular means of treating ladder fuels to reduce wildfire hazard, yet little is known about how masticated fuels in this vegetation type burn. Managers are hampered in making predictions about fire behavior and effects by the lack of information on appropriate model inputs. We propose to thoroughly characterize fuel beds composed of masticated shrubs and small trees at multiple sites in California and southern Oregon, determining fueled depth, bulk density, and the proportion of fuel in different time lag size classes. Because the masticated pieces are often highly fractured and not readily categorized by size, we will additionally estimate ’effective’ size by developing moisture loss curves. Small replicated burns of masticated fuel beds will be conducted under controlled conditions in the laboratory to test differences in above- and below-ground heating among fueled types, fueled compaction levels, and soil moisture levels. Observations of fire behavior will be compared with fire model outputs for existing and custom fuel models, and correction factors developed when warranted. Accuracy of these custom model inputs in predicting fire behavior and effects will be validated by replicated prescribed burns in the field. Products generated from this proposed research will assist managers in estimating fire hazard reduction and developing strategies for prescribed burning that minimizes tree mortality and adverse soil heating impacts.

Principal Investigator: Eric E. Knapp

Agency/Organization: Forest Service

Branch or Dept: PSW-Silviculture Lab-Redding

Other Project Collaborators

Type	Name	Agency/Organization	Branch or Dept
Co-Principal Investigator	Matt D. Busse	Forest Service	PSW-Silviculture Lab-Redding
Co-Principal Investigator	Carl N. Skinner	Forest Service	PSW-Silviculture Lab-Redding
Federal Cooperator	Eric E. Knapp	Forest Service	PSW-Silviculture Lab-Redding

Project Locations

Consortium

California

Northwest

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
	8616	Refereed Publication	Understory Vegetation Response to Mechanical Mastication and Other Fuels Treatments in a Ponderosa Pine Forest
	8615	Refereed Publication	Novel Fuelbed Characteristics Associated with Mechanical Mastication Treatments in Northern California and Southwestern Oregon, USA
	9183	Refereed Publication	Effects of Particle Fracturing and Moisture Content on Fire Behaviour in Masticated Fuelbeds Burned in a Laboratory
	9182	Refereed Publication	Soil Physical Properties Regulate Lethal Heating During Burning of Woody Residues
	7489	Refereed Publication	Moisture Dynamics in Masticated Fuelbeds: A Preliminary Analysis
	4795	NonRefereed Publication	Variability in Loading of Mechanically Masticated Fuel Beds in Northern California and Southwestern Oregon
	9184	MS Thesis	Moisture Dynamics and Fire Behavior in Mechanically Generated (Masticated) Fuelbeds (J.K. Kreye)
	7490	MS Thesis	Fuel Loading and Vegetation Response to Mechanical Mastication Fuels Treatments (J.M. Kane)
	6901	Conference/Symposia/Workshop	Lethal Soil Heating During Burning of Masticated Fuels: Effects of Soil Moisture and Texture
	6900	Conference/Symposia/Workshop	Initial Understory Vegetation Response to Mechanical Mastication Fuel Treatments: Balancing Biodiversity and Fire Hazard Reduction
	6899	Conference/Symposia/Workshop	Behavior and Short-Term Effects of Fire in Masticated Fuel Beds

Supporting Documents

The following supporting documents are available for this project.

Brief

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