Approach
EASTERN: Long-term fire suppression leads to shifts in ecosystem structure and composition, which may disproportionately favor certain species and reduce biodiversity. Restoring fire regimes that attempt to mimic natural disturbance in fire-adapted systems can enhance regeneration and encourage stronger competition by fire-dependent and fire-tolerant species. These actions can simultaneously foster more complex ecosystem structure and reduce the risk of severe wildfire. Projecting the effects of climate change on fire regimes in forest ecosystems is an area of active research. The wildfire season is expected to lengthen in much of the Midwest and Northeast, and wildfires may occur more frequently. Helping fire-adapted ecosystems tolerate these potential changes may be the focus of adaptation actions.
WESTERN: Long-term fire exclusion leads to shifts in ecosystem structure and composition, which may disproportionately favor certain species and reduce biodiversity and resilience. Restoring fire regimes that attempt to mimic the spatial and temporal patterns of natural disturbance in fire-adapted systems can enhance regeneration and encourage stronger competition by fire-dependent and fire-tolerant species. These actions can simultaneously foster more complex ecosystem structure and reduce the risk of severe wildfire. Projecting the effects of climate change on California’s fire regimes in forest ecosystems is an area of active research. The wildfire season is expected to lengthen in much of the western United States, and wildfires may occur at frequencies and severities outside of the natural range of variation for many forested ecosystems. Many tactics within this approach focus on enabling fire-adapted ecosystems to adjust to these anticipated changes, which ideally reduces long-term risk to the ecosystem.
Tactics
- Using prescribed fire to reduce ladder fuels, invasive species, and understory competition.
- Promoting fire- and drought-adapted species and ecosystems in areas that are expected to have increased fire risk as a result of climate change.
- Using natural or prescribed fire to restore the open character of oak woodlands and glades.
- Shifting prescribed burn seasons to align with projected seasonal precipitation changes, thereby reducing the risk of unintended wildfire conditions.
- Using prescribed fire to reduce surface and ladder fuels, increase understory diversity, create discontinuity in fuels across the landscape, and increase stand structural heterogeneity.
- Using prescribed fire to restore the open spatial arrangement of oak woodlands, meadows, and other inherently sun-exposed habitats.
- Managing wildland fire (i.e., prescribed fire, wildfire) within the natural range of variation to increase seral class diversity, benefit fire-dependent wildlife species, and enhance watershed function.
- Managing wildfires where feasible for resource objectives during cooler months and following wetter winters to maximize benefits of wildland fire in forest types adapted to low severity fire regimes.
- Implementing a strategic system of fuel treatments (e.g., mechanical or prescribed fire fuel breaks) in strategic locations to establish a network of low fuel “anchors” that could be used to facilitate the future management of wildfire for resource...
- Developing burn plans that include some high intensity fire at appropriate return intervals for the management of serotinous conifers, such as Pinus attenuata (knobcone pine) and Pinus muricata (Bishop pine), when present.
- Assigning prescribed burn seasons to align with appropriate weather conditions, thereby reducing the risk of unintended and uncontrollable wildfire.
- Identifying “demonstration firesheds” within and across large, uninhabited landscapes where wildfires can be predominantly managed for resource objectives over the long-term, and the resultant fire effects can be studied and monitored for effectiveness.
- Work across jurisdictional lines to lead a policy shift from fire suppression to using fire as a tool.
- Developing ecoregional fire management strategies to facilitate cross-jurisdictional fire management operations, effective communication, and positive fire effects at a landscape scale.
Strategy
Strategy Text
Climate change will have substantial effects on a suite of ecosystem functions, such as carbon storage, nutrient cycling, wildlife habitat, hydroelectric generation and water provisioning. As a result, many management actions will need to work both directly and indirectly to maintain the integrity of ecosystems in the face of climate change. This strategy seeks to sustain fundamental ecological functions, especially those related to soil and hydrologic conditions.
1. Swanston, C.W.; Janowiak, M.K.; Brandt, L.A.; Butler, P.R.; Handler, S.D.; Shannon, P.D.; Derby Lewis, A.; Hall, K.; Fahey, R.T.; Scott, L.; Kerber, A.; Miesbauer, J.W.; Darling, L.; 2016. Forest Adaptation Resources: climate change tools and approaches for land managers, 2nd ed. US Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northern Research Station. 161 p. http://dx.doi.org/10.2737/NRS-GTR-87-2