Agriculture Reference
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other fuel component; standard silvicultural measurements, such as basal area, tree
density, and DBH, were not correlated to fuel component loadings, and none of
the eight surface fuel components were correlated with each other. These findings
provide valuable insight into why it is so difficult to create fuel applications and
products that accurately predict fuel loadings—the high variability within a fuel
component coupled with the fact that each component loading is independent of
other component loadings and the spatial distribution of that variability is different
for each fuel component often overwhelms statistical analyses (Keane et al.
2013
).
The spatial variability of wildland fuel components over time directly impacts
the fire regime, which in turn, has major ramifications for fire management. Land-
scape patches that have insufficient fuels to sustain fire spread, such as recently
treated or burned patches, form fuel breaks that limit fire growth, reduce fire in-
tensity, and minimize fire severity (Agee and Skinner
2005
). The extent and spa-
tial distribution of these burned patches on the landscape modify growth of future
fires. This self-organizational property of wildland fire will be incredibly important
in predicting future fire dynamics under climate change (McKenzie and Kennedy
2011
; McKenzie et al.
2014
). Fire frequencies, for example, may increase under
warming climates only to a point when postburn patches limit fire growth. Even-
tually, dynamics of the fuel mosaic interact with fire to create landscapes that are
self-organized and exhibit a unique fire regime (McKenzie et al.
2011
). Fire and
fuel management can use this ecological theory to develop management plans that
effectively integrate wildfires, controlled wildfires, prescribed fires, and fuel treat-
ments to minimize firefighting costs and maximize ecosystem resilience while still
protecting homes and people (Reinhardt et al.
2008
).
References
Agee JK, Huff MH (1987) Fuel succession in a western hemlock/Douglas-fir forest. Can J For
Res 17(7):697-704
Agee JK, Skinner CN (2005) Basic principles of forest fuel reduction treatments. Forest Ecol
Manag 211:83-96
Albini FA, Reinhardt ED (1995) Modeling ignition and burning rate of large woody natural fuels.
Int J Wildland Fire 5(2):81-91
Alexander RR (1954) A comparison of growth and morality following cutting in old-growth
mountain spruce stands. USDA Forest Service Rocky Mountain Forest and Range Experiment
Station. Research Note RN-11. Fort Collins, CO USA. 11 pp
Anderson HE (1976) Fuels—the source of the matter. Paper presented at the Air quality and smoke
from urban and forest fires—Proceedings of the international symposium, Colorado State
University, Fort Collins, CO, 1976
Asner GP, Elmore AJ, Olander LP, Martin RE, Harris AT (2004) Grazing systems, ecosystem
responses, and global change. Annu Rev Environ Res 29(1):261-299. doi:10.1146/annurev.
energy.29.062403.102142
Augusiak J, Van den Brink PJ, Grimm V (2013) Merging validation and evaluation of ecologi-
cal models to 'evaludation': a review of terminology and a practical approach. Ecol Model.
doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2013.11.009
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