WildFires

Wildfire causes?

- 13% lightning - 24% prescribed burns - 26% arson

Its is more serious to have a ______ fire than ______

big one than more frequent small ones

Alaskas common component is

boreal

fire climbs?

brush and low branches and begins to crown

Fuel comes from

brush, trees, and house

Preventing fires leads to

buildup of wildland fuels --> worse fires

Fire in tallgrass prairies act to

burn above ground biomass, killing woody plants, allowing sunlight to reach the soil and changing the soil PH and nutrient avaliability

cellulose will return itself to the atmosphere by

burning, tree takes water and carbon dioxide and makes cellulose burn a tree you form carbon dioxide and water cellulose return to atmosphere

cellulose + oxygen -->

carbon dioxide + water + heat

US forest service was formed in response to

catastrophic wildfire in northern Idaho and western Montana in summer 1910

natural oils and sap add to

combustibles

Cellulose

compound of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen

Jack pine seeds require

contact with mineral soil to germinate so fire serves to prepare the seedbed

convection

convection of flames

Southeast is common component is

different types of pines

heavy fuels with small surface areas ignite with

difficulty and burn slowly

____ and _____ determine how quickly fire ignites and spreads

distribution and moisture content - need dry grass and fuel

Chamise produces

dormant seeds that require fire for germination, these seeds create a large seed bank during non-fire years

fires start more easily and spread rapidly during

dry weather with low fuel moisture

firebrands or burning embers

embers occur within the crown of the tree, embers fly into the wind and set fire in other places

Natural fire in the great lakes occur

every 125 to 180 years

Jack pine is well adapted to

fire

Alaskas plant and animal communities are highly dependent on

fire regimes

Because grass provides a low quality of fuel, grasslands

fires are not intense, but move quickly

Longleaf pines favor

frequent fires

Midwest is primarily made up of

grasses and forbs with some shrubs, life cycle depends on how long a fire it has been

why do fires generally move faster uphill than downhill

heat rises, wind moves faster uphill, heat and flames rise and find new fuel up the hill

Fuel burns at

high temp by reaction with oxygen in the air

Predict fire depending on

how long it has been dry and how much rain has been in that region

Difference between jack pine and regular pine

if you didnt have frequent fires you wouldnt have jack pines anymore

radiant heat is close enough to fire to

ignite fuel (set something on fire without having flames touch it)

Great Lakes main component is

jack pine

If many years go by without fire, pitch pine barrens accumulate

large amounts of dead wood and pine needles, can make next fire too severe for the pines

________- accelerate ignition and burning

large relative surface areas

if fire is climbing slope, go

laterally cuz the flames are trying to go directly up the hill

shortleaf and loblolly pines favor

less frequent

which are the most effective fuels in initiating fire

light cellulose rich fuels with large surface area

______ ignited fires in southern pine communities are common

lightning

Northwest fires burn?

litter and releases soil nutrients providing a good seedbed for ponderosa pine seeds

Rockies common component is

lodgepole pine

Condtitions in the northeast

lots of sand cuz close to ocean, glaciers for those inland

ladder fuels

low brush and branches that ignite first and allow fire to climb into higher treetops

Fires in the northwest tend to be

low intensity ground fires that remove woody shrubs and favor grasses

Shorter burn intervals have insufficient fuel built up to

maintain the fire and longer periods may run the risk of causing tree killing crown fires

Pitch pine barrens are home to

many rare plants and insect, some require fire to shape their habitat or survive

Longleaf pine requires

mineral soil for seed germination and thus ground fires prepare the seedbed by removing litter and releasing nutrients

Ponderosa needles allow ground fire to

move quickly like fuel, thin covering moves through quickly

Natural management has been hapening for quite some time in the appalachians

native americans use to burn the forest quite often

Appalachians common component is

oak hickory

Midwest has grasslands because

of wildfires , grasslands need cosntant burning

The heat affects the jack pine seeds how

opens the scales of the cone and releases the seed onto the ground where the fire has removed much if the existing vegetation

Fire requires three things

oxygen, heat and fuel

fires in the boreal forest typically burn in

patchwork leaving a mosaic across the landscape

Fires remove shade and deep litter on the forest floor creating

perfect conditions for oaks and hickories to reproduce

Only thing that can grow on sandy soil is

pines

The main component in the northeast is

pitch pine barrens

Cellulose comes from

plants

Northwest: common source is

ponderosa

some tree species such as _____ survive fires that burn the ground vegetation

ponderosa pine

In ponderosa pine stands fire is generally

prescribed on 5 to 10 year intervals to reduce fuel loads

Many of the shrubs especially chamise promote fire by

producing highly flammable dead branches

Many of the pitch pine barren fires are

severe, pushed by wind from one tree crown tot he next

Oaks and hickories dont produce well in

shade, so other tree species take over the forest

firebrands carried by wind ignite

spot fires

Jack pine seeds have been well known to

still be viable after exposure to heat at 1000 degrees

Shrubs and plants have created adaptation to

survive fires, include stump sprouting

Midwest main component is

tall grass prairie

Dont have burns in the southeast on a frequent basis, then the trees

that take over changes, oaks take over and affects the wildlife and changes whole ecosystem

Forest Service does what is best for?

the forest and the people, oversight from congress

Tree gets nitrogen from

the ground because the nitrogen in the air is useless

Pitch pine has

thick bark that protet it from heat, can sprout back after fire and reproduces from seeds in cones

Most oaks have

thick barks so they can survive surface fires, sprout from the base of the trunk after fire

Radiation example

tree burning your able to set fire further away dont have to touch the tree to start the fire

primary sources of fuel are

trees and dry vegetation

crown fires burn through

treetops with incredible speed and heat

fires generally move rapidly

upslope and slowly downslope

Because of alaskas cool year round temperature

vegetation decays at slow rate, releasing nutrients slowly

Fire adaptations in California include

vigorous stump sprouting after fires by many shrubs

_____ and _____ are critical to the outcome of a fire

weather and topography

The life history of ponderosa pine is

well adapted to high frequency, low intensity fires

Which side of the tree is more burnt white or black

white, burns completely produces ash which is white

when fire is removed from a prairie ecosystem,

woody shrubs and trees eventually replace grasses and forbs

Natural fires in the rockies occur at intervals of

200 to 300 years

Natural fires occured in oak hickory forests at intervals of

25 years or less

midwest natural fires occur in

5 to 10 years

natural fires in california usually occur a

5 to 25 year cycles

Natural fires in the northwest ecosystem occur every

5 to 25 years

Natural fires occurring in pitch pine barrens every

6 to 25 years

Local topography can

- funnel air - accelerate fire - cause more rapid spreading - chimney like funneling effect in canyons and hillsides

Fires can be caused by

- naturally started by lightning strikes - intentionally set for beneficial purposes - set accidentally or maliciously

Shift mitigation and management of fires?

- prescribed burns to remove fuel - wildfires permitted to burn in wilderness areas

fires ignite and progress by

- radiation - convection - firebrands or burning embers

Fire investigation look for

- remnants of accelerants or matches - ignition location - travel path - track fire backwards to origin

US spends more than ____ per year with no long term benefit in Forest Management policy

1 billion

Fire suppression in the rockies creates

a fuel buildup that is difficult to manage and suppression is not consistent with maintaining ecological comunities

Forest management policy was to

aggressively fight wildfires

Fuel loading is

amount of burnable material

The plant community in california is dominated by

annual grasses, - more frequent fires favor grasses over shrubs

Land management agency

any land that is federal land that is a forest is under the forest service control, they answer to the president which is a branch of the gov

Oxygen comes from the

atmosphere