Ecology Of Wildfire Residuals In Boreal Forests

This book will draw attention to the residuals in pan-borealforest fires and synthesize the state of knowledge. It willdo so by: (a) Examining the concept of fire residuals fromdifferent perspectives, (b) Reviewing the growing body ofscientific literature on the topic, (c) Conceptualizing theprocess of residual formation in relation to scale of firedisturbance, (d) Discussing the roles of fire residuals inecological processes, (e) Describing approaches and methods ofstudying fire residuals, (f) Compiling and summarizing what isknown about fire residual vegetation with respect to their extent,spatial patterns, and temporal changes, (g) Discussing howthe knowledge of fire residuals is applied in forest management,including social perspective, and (h) Synthesizing the state ofknowledge, identifying its uncertainties and gaps, and proposingresearch hypotheses. The authors use pan-borealscientific literature on boreal fire residuals as well as firebehaviour, fire ecology, habitat ecology, and geochemicalprocesses. For readers this book will be a reference forknowledge to date and a meta-analysis of research trends during thepast few decades. In addition, the authors judiciouslyinclude views constructed from their observations and researchexperience, from boreal Canada, when they synthesize andconceptualize the knowledge. They also incorporateinformation extracted from their discussions and interactions withNorth American and European ecologists, forest managers, andconservationists to provide insight to different views andperspectives on the fire residuals of the boreal forest system. This book will inform researchers and students who studyboreal forest ecology, as well as policymakers and forest managerswho apply forest ecological knowledge in forest management. This book provides a review and coalescence of the currentknowledge of boreal forest fire residuals, which at present issporadic and has not been unified or synthesized. Moreover,these are presently viewed myopically and parochially, rather thanholistically. The intent of the synthesis is to identifyknowledge uncertainties and gaps and propose topics for futureresearch. Most importantly, it brings together fire behaviour,ecological scale, vegetation ecology, and conservation biology toconceptualize forest fire residuals. Although focused onboreal forests, the contents and principles presented are also bepertinent to other large-scale fire driven forest systems, such asdry montane forests in North America and Australian eucalyptforests. This book will add to the current knowledge base byproviding a source of significant literature to-date, an in-depthexamination of baseline concepts of forest fire residuals, as wellas questions and research ideas to address the identified gaps. Thetiming is ideal because the knowledge base is beginning to expandand the interest in the topic is increasing: such a synthesis wouldprovide an important foundation for future advances in this veryrelevant topical area. The book is a compact, yet comprehensive,dissertation of remnant vegetation in boreal forest fires withrespect to their formation, role in ecological processes, appliedimportance, and a synthesis of state-of-the-knowledge and futureresearch directions. The scope is boreal forests worldwide,including North America, Europe, and Asia. Brief TOC: Why theinterest in boreal fire residuals; what are fire residuals; how arefire residuals formed; what are the ecological roles of the fireresiduals; what is the role of residuals in forest managementapplications; synthesis, knowledge, uncertainties and researchneeds.

A technical introduction to the behaviour of fire and its ecological consequences, using examples from the North American boreal forest.

A discussion of the direct and indirect mechanisms by which fire and climate interact to influence carbon cycling in North American boreal forests. The first section summarizes the information needed to understand and manage fires' effects on the ecology of boreal forests and its influence on global climate change issues. Following chapters discuss in detail the role of fire in the ecology of boreal forests, present data sets on fire and the distribution of carbon, and treat the use of satellite imagery in monitoring these regions as well as approaches to modeling the relevant processes.

The Forest Management Guide for Natural Disturbance Pattern Emulation (NDPE), which has been applied in Ontario since 2003, specifies directions and provides standards and guidance to emulate fire disturbances. Included in the NDPE guide are specific directions about the amount of residual structure to be retained during forest harvest. Improved understanding of the characteristics of post-fire residual structure in natural conditions will help forest policymakers to provide better strategic guidance for emulating natural fire disturbance patterns during forest harvesting, and forest managers to make better tactical decisions about retaining post-harvest residual structure to emulate fire disturbances. The objective of this report is to characterize the extent and variability of post-fire residual patch occurrence in natural boreal forest fire events to better understand their extent and spatial patterns and to relate these results to the directions provided in Ontario's NDPE guide.--Document.

This synthesis provides an ecological foundation for management of the diverse ecosystems and fire regimes of North America, based on scientific principles of fire interactions with vegetation, fuels, and biophysical processes. Although a large amount of scientific data on fire exists, most of those data have been collected at small spatial and temporal scales. Thus, it is challenging to develop consistent science-based plans for large spatial and temporal scales where most fire management and planning occur. Understanding the regional geographic context of fire regimes is critical for developing appropriate and sustainable management strategies and policy. The degree to which human intervention has modified fire frequency, intensity, and severity varies greatly among different ecosystems, and must be considered when planning to alter fuel loads or implement restorative treatments. Detailed discussion of six ecosystems--ponderosa pine forest (western North America), chaparral (California), boreal forest (Alaska and Canada), Great Basin sagebrush (intermountain West), pine and pine-hardwood forests (Southern Appalachian Mountains), and longleaf pine (Southeastern United States)-- illustrates the complexity of fire regimes and that fire management requires a clear regional focus that recognizes where conflicts might exist between fire hazard reduction and resource needs. In some systems, such as ponderosa pine, treatments are usually compatible with both fuel reduction and resource needs, whereas in others, such as chaparral, the potential exists for conflicts that need to be closely evaluated. Managing fire regimes in a changing climate and social environment requires a strong scientific basis for developing fire management and policy.

Ontario's "Forest management guide for natural disturbance pattern emulation" provides direction for emulating natural fire disturbances in forest management planning. This report examines the North American scientific literature on natural fire disturbances in relation to the directions in this guide for: landscape harvest size patterns; landscape harvest patch separation; residual stands; and residual trees & downed woody debris. Gaps in the published knowledge are identified. An annotated bibliography of the literature reviewed for the report is included.