Research Plot PLEASE DO NOT DISTURB

1
Research Plot PLEASE DO NOT DISTURB
You are standing near the edge of an area where
research is being conducted on forest recovery
after fire. The Managing Fire with Fire in Alaska
Black Spruce Forests project is supported by the
Joint Fire Science Program, USDA Forest Service,
Bonanza Creek Long-Term Ecological Research, and
University of Alaska Fairbanks. This research
project aims to predict patterns of post fire
regeneration and future stand flammability based
on pre-fire environmental conditions and fire
severity from the 2004 Boundary wildfire. These
relationships can be used by managers to asses
how changes in fire conditions can affect forest
composition and habitat quality in the future. In
particular, we are looking at how variations in
site moisture, and differences in fire
consumption of vegetation and soil organic
material, affect subsequent patterns of forest
recovery. For example, areas where the fire
burned away much of the organic soil have a
higher chance of regenerating to low
flammability, deciduous forests. Long-term
research on how changes in fire conditions affect
forest recovery can provide managers with
valuable tools for effective management of
wildland fire in interior Alaska.
CONTACTS
Jill Johnstone [phone]
jill.johnstone_at_asask.ca
Teresa Nettleton Hollingsworth
[phone] thollingsworth_at_uaf.edu
Boreal Ecology Cooperative Research
Unit http//www.becru.uaf.edu/JFSP.htm