The Effects of Prescribed Fire Season and Fire Surrogates on

Crown-Fire Adapted Knobcone Pine Forests

Principal Investigators

James Dawson, Area Fire Management Officer, Bureau of Land Management

Dr. Scott Stephens, Assistant Professor of Fire Science, University of California, Berkeley

Dr. Joe McBride, Professor of Forest Ecology, University of California, Berkeley

Dr. Max Moritz, Adjunct Assistant Professor of Wildland Fire, University of California, Berkeley

Collaborators:

Bureau of Land Management, Ukiah Field Office

CalFire (California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection)

University of California Hopland Research and Extension Center (http://groups.ucanr.org/hopland/)

Objective

The objectives of this research are to determine if there are significant differences in knobcone pine regeneration density after the following treatments: fall and spring prescribed fire, fall and spring mechanical followed by prescribed fire, and fall and spring mechanical only. In achieving the primary objective several secondary objectives will be addressed including the effect of the season of fire and fire surrogates on 1) fire hazard reduction, 2) recovery of competing vegetation, 3) resurgence of fuels, and 4) costs of the different treatments.

Study Area

Located east of Ukiah, the 24,000 hectare Cow Mountain Recreation Area (http://www.blm.gov/ca/st/en/fo/ukiah/cowmtn.html) is owned and managed by the Bureau of Land Management since 1958. In the Mayacmas Mountains along the Mendocino/Lake County line, the area is open to the public for recreational activities. The terrain is rugged, consisting mostly of steep, chaparral-covered slopes with scattered stands of knobcone pine and Douglas fir-mixed evergreen forest. Elevations range from 240 to 1220 meters.

Fig.1 Fig. 2

Treatments

Figures Title: Fall and Spring Mechanical Treatment

Fig. 3 Fig. 4

Mechanical units were treated (June and November 2005) using a 6-8 man chainsaw crew. Trees were felled and branches were lopped and scattered. Understory brush were cut at the base and scattered. Units were treated so that all cut activity fuels were less than one meter off the ground.

Fall and Spring Prescribed Burn Treatment

Fig. 5 Fig. 6

Standing burn units were ignited (December 2005) with headfire strips using a heli-torch. Due to weather conditions, the fire did not burn into the crowns or the interior of the units. Alternative treatments are being considered for these units.

Fall and Spring Mechanical Treatment Followed by Prescribed Burn Treatment-

Fig. 7 Fig. 8

Units were treated (December 2005 and April 2007) using same methods as above. Units were scheduled to cure for one year before burning. Due to weather, the spring units cured for two years resulting in higher fire intensities.