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11-1-8-4
2011
10/01/2011
11/12/2015
How Do Pile Age and Season of Burn Influence Combustion and Fire Effects?
Typical hazardous fuel reduction treatments target small diameter trees for removal producing large amounts of woody material, much of which is piled and burned on site. Little is known about how physical characteristics and the environmental conditions under which piles are burned affects atmospheric emissions, carbon pools and fluxes, soils, and vegetation. We propose experimental pile burns in the Pacific Northwest (PNW) and the Southwest (SW) to provide managers in these regions with new information documenting the effects of burning piles of increasing age under different environmental conditions. Specifically we will measure combustion rate and duration, fuel consumption, charcoal production, burn intensity (above and below ground heat fluxes), changes in soil properties (nutrient levels and hydrophobicity), adjacent tree damage, surface vegetation responses, and changes in invasive species prevalence after pile burning. We will identify one location in each region that has undergone a typical "thin from below" silvicultural fuel treatment in the summer of 2011, construct, characterize, and instrument 100 piles (50 in the PNW and 50 in the SW), and burn replicate piles (n=5) at six-month intervals to test the effects on the above-listed measures of increasing age (0, 0.5, 1, 1.5, and 2 years since piling) under two different seasons (spring vs. fall). Deliverables will include peer-reviewed publications documenting the research results; manager-focused fact sheets, webinars, and field visits; archived data; and an enhanced version of the Piled Fuels Biomass and Emissions Calculator in a format that is compatible with the Interagency Fuel Treatment Decision Support System. Providing fuel and fire practitioners with detailed, quantitative information about the effects of pile burning will inform key management decisions about when to burn and how to minimize potential negative emissions, soil, carbon, and vegetation impacts.
Clinton S. Wright
Forest Service
PNW-Seattle-Managing Natural Disturbances

Other Project Collaborators

Other Project Collaborators

Type

Name

Agency/Organization

Branch or Dept

Agreements Contact

Christina T. Bui

Forest Service

PNW-Pacific Northwest Research Station

Budget Contact

Rebecca A. Slick

Forest Service

PNW-Pacific Northwest Research Station

Co-Principal Investigator

Alexander M. Evans

Forest Guild

Co-Principal Investigator

Karen A. Haubensak

Northern Arizona University

College of Engineering, Forestry & Natural Sciences

Federal Cooperator

Clinton S. Wright

Forest Service

PNW-Seattle-Managing Natural Disturbances

Project Locations

Project Locations

Fire Science Exchange Network

Northwest

Southwest

Level

State

Agency

Unit

STATE

WA

FS

Wenatchee National Forest

STATE

NM

BIA

Pueblo of Santa Clara

Final Report

Project Deliverables

Title
 
Decomposition Rates for Hand-Piled FuelsView
Fire Management TodayView
Forest Ecology and ManagementView
International Journal of Wildland FireView
GeodermaView
Pile burning in WashingtonView
Pile burning in New MexicoView
Installing thermocouplesView
Reweighing pilesView
Science at Santa Clara: measuring the effects of slash pile burning and how fire effects change as pView
Measuring the effects of slash pile burning and how fire effects change as piles ageView
Measuring the effects of slash pile burning and how fire effects change as piles ageView
Pile age and season of burning influence combustion and fire effectsView
Pile Age and Fire EffectsView
Measuring the effects of slash pile burning: collaborative science to inform managementView

Supporting Documents