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The NRFSN partnered with Sustainable Northwest and the Northwest Fire Science Consortium to share information about a JFSP funded research project that evaluates the "work of wildfires" on the landscape and helps identify post-fire management needs.

Landscapes of the Inland West have been deeply affected by 100+ years of fire exclusion, the loss of indigenous burning, and expansion and densification of many forests. Today, anthropogenic climate change and wildfires are modifying the structure and composition of forests across the West at rates that far exceed adaptation and restorative treatments. Fires that occur during the forest planning process can delay project implementation for years, further hindering the pace of restoration activities. Landscape evaluations and prescriptions are needed so that managers can assess the work of wildfires on affected landscapes; the topic of the webinar (recording below).

Wildfire effects can be beneficial: reducing fuel loads and fuel ladders, enhancing climate and wildfire resistant species composition and structure, and creating complex early-seral habitats. However, recent wildfires are creating uncharacteristically large high-severity patches compared with historical low and mixed-severity fires. In addition, wildfires increase future fuel loads that can create increase severity of future fires.

The convergence of these events underscores the need of managers to intentionally evaluate the “work of wildfires” to determine where they have aided or hampered adaptive and restorative management. Where they have aided, follow up treatments can be implemented that carry forward a good beginning; where they have hindered, managers can plan to rehabilitate those portions of the landscape to be climate change adapted and forested once again.

Presenters and research team included: Andrew Larson, C. Alina Cansler, Derek Churchill, Paul Hessburg Sr., Sean Jeronimo, Van Kane, Jim Lutz, and Nicholas Povak.

Check out the Special Issue in the journal Forest Ecology and Management related to this project.

Related Documents from the Research and Publications Database

Previous wildfires and management treatments moderate subsequent fire severity C. Alina Cansler et al.

Postfire treatments alter forest canopy structure up to three decades after fire C. Alina Cansler et al.

Post-fire landscape evaluations in Eastern Washington, USA: Assessing the work of contemporary wildfires Derek J. Churchill et al.

Tamm Review: Ecological principles to guide post-fire forest landscape management in the Inland Pacific and Northern Rocky Mountain regions Andrew J. Larson et al.

Wildfire severity and postfire salvage harvest effects on long‐term forest regeneration Nicholas A. Povak et al.

Tamm Review: Postfire landscape management in frequent-fire conifer forests of the southwestern United States Jens T. Stevens et al.

Recording(s)

Burned forest and tree regeneration

Contact(s)

Signe Leirfallom
signe.leirfallom@umontana.edu

Jenna Knobloch
jknobloch@sustainablenorthwest.org

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