Browsing by Subject "prescribed fire"
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Item Open Access Effects of Wildfire on Vegetation Composition and Structure in Linville Gorge Wilderness Area, North Carolina(2015-04-24) Pallai, CassandraLocated in Western North Carolina, Linville Gorge Wilderness Area has an extensive fire history that has been characterized by burns of variable size and severity. Beginning in the 1940s, an era of burn suppression policies curtailed the Gorge’s established fire regime. Local stakeholders, including The Wilderness Society (TWS) and the U.S. Forest Service, are concerned about the effects of burn suppression on fire dependent species and communities. As such, these groups are interested in following a modern resurgence of anthropogenic wildfires with a prescribed fire program. Many sampling efforts since 1992 have studied permanent vegetation plots spread throughout Linville Gorge to characterize local plant communities and their relationship with five recent fires. With my Master’s Project, done for The Wilderness Society, two objectives related to fire in the Gorge are addressed. First, structural and compositional trends in Linville Gorge forests have been identified, and those trends have been overlain with geospatial environmental variables as well as remotely sensed fire severity estimations. Second, wildfires have been evaluated for their meeting of restoration goals. TWS’s restoration targets include a reduction in the importance of ericaceous and fire intolerant species, an increase in the importance of fire dependent species, and a lack of invasion from nonnative species following fire events. Multivariate statistical methods have been implemented to analyze the Linville vegetation dataset for structural and compositional trends, and paired t-tests have been utilized to evaluate changes in target species’ importance with fire. Fire has emerged as a major driver of change and compositional heterogeneity in the Wilderness Area. However, burns have produced variable success in meeting restoration goals. While ericaceous species have been reduced in importance, fire dependent species also have experienced declines. Fire intolerant species have increased in abundance with fire; similar increases have not been observed on unburned plots. Invasive species may be a concern, particularly in twice burned forests. If prescribed fire is pursued as a restoration tool in Linville Gorge Wilderness Area, managers should be careful in planning the frequency and severity of fires, and continue to monitor results for the achievement of goals.Item Open Access Piedmont Longleaf Pine Restoration: A Management Plan for the Private Landowner(2016-04-27) Worthington, CakeyOnce abundant across the southeastern United States, longleaf pine communities now cover only 3-5% of their native range. Much of this land has been converted to fire-excluded loblolly pine plantations to supply the South's burgeoning timber market. Ecosystems dominant in longleaf pine provide valuable habitat to many unique and threatened southern species as well as financial gain from timber and alternative uses such as leasing for pine straw or hunting. Restoration efforts are currently being implemented on a variety of public and private lands, bringing a heightened awareness and scrutiny of the management practices necessary to bring back this important species. This study examines the potential for restoration of longleaf pine habitat on 3300 acres of private land in the central Piedmont of North Carolina. The intent of this management plan is to provide: a historical background on management of the property, current ecological and site conditions, a projection of future forest growth and value, and recommendations for restoration and future management in accordance with the landowner’s vision for the property. The study included collection and compilation of data on site qualities, an assessment of the current remaining timber stock, a forecast of the potential longleaf pine growth including the impact from fire management, and the potential economic value of the forest conservation investment. Major findings of the study include that fire is beneficial for competition control and that the potential for ecological and economic gain from this effort is dependent on selection of appropriate management techniques and alternative uses.Item Open Access Prescribed Fire: Balancing Public Health and Land Management Goals(2022-05-22) Oakley, DanielFire is a critical component of many natural disturbance regimes in the southeastern United States; however, a century of fire suppression policies has disrupted many such regimes and severely degraded ecosystems throughout the region. Today land managers use prescribed fire to restore ecosystems, but the sudden increase in burning has raised concerns over public health. Smoke from fire adds fine particulate matter (PM2.5) to the atmosphere, which is linked to a myriad of negative health outcomes. This study seeks to identify areas with high smoke sensitivity across the southeastern U.S. and quantify the costs and benefits of using prescribed fire in these areas. Combining a variety of ecological, epidemiological, and economic models using geographic information systems, I found that using prescribed fire does negatively impact public health. Nonetheless, this impact is dwarfed by the negative impact of wildfires, which are more likely to occur if fire is excluded from fire-dependent ecosystems. I recommend land managers continue to use prescribed fire for maintaining ecosystem functions, but to minimize smoke dispersion over local and regional sensitive areas.Item Open Access Wildlife in the Southern Blue Ridge Ecoregion: Assessing Management Impacts and Establishing Regional Monitoring Efforts(2016-04-28) Wojcik, Meredith; Mason, Sara; Sowers, Mark; Le, MarkusThe Southern Blue Ridge Mountains are biologically important, harboring many rare and endangered species and high levels of biodiversity. A history of fire suppression in the region has led to loss of biodiversity through the decline of fire-reliant ecosystems. Forest managers have accelerated the reintroduction of fire into the Southern Blue Ridge, but could benefit from more evidence-based information about the effects that fires, and other related management activities, could have on the region’s wildlife. By performing a systematic review and meta-analysis of relevant literature we summarize the impacts that various management activities have on the abundance and diversity of wildlife taxa in this region. Using our analysis we also provide suggestions for collaborative regional wildlife monitoring, highlighting species and taxa that are most sensitive to management.