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4.FireResearch

4.1FireEcologyandFireEffects

TheGoal

ToconductresearchrequiredtobuildfireeffectsandecosystemresponsemodelsinsupportofforestecosystemmanagementinCanada,includinguseoffireasamanagementandecosystemrestorationtool.

FireResearchActivities

WithintheresearchareaofFireEcologyandFireEffects,theresearchactivitiesoftheFireResearchGroupcanbefoundunderthefollowingcategories:

GeneralOverview

BORFIRE-BorealFireEffectsModel

EcosystemRestorationinMontaneEcosystemsinJasperNationalPark

EMEND-EcosystemManagementbyEmulatingNaturalDisturbance

FireEcologyResearchinQueticoProvincialParkinOntario

FireHistoryStudiesinEasternOntarioandWesternQuebec

RelationshipsbetweenFireSeverityandVegetationReproduction

Publications

Contacts

4.1.1GeneralOverview

ResearchcarriedoutwithintheFireEcologyandFireEffectsresearchareaprovidesthescientificbasisfortheuseoffireinthesustainablemanagementofCanada'sforestresource.ThisisaccomplishedbyelucidatingthenaturalroleoffireinCanada'sforestecosystems,simulatingitseffectsinvariousforestregionsundervariousfireregimes,andprovidingtheecologicalunderpinningsrequiredfortheoperationalapplicationoffireinnaturalresourcemanagement.

Theprogramconsistsoffourmajorcomponents:

FireEffectsField-BasedEcologyResearch:

toprovidethedataforconstructionoffireeffectsandecosystemresponsemodels.

Landscape-LevelSimulations:

tosimulateforestdevelopmentundervariousfireregimesandpotentialclimatechange.

PrescribedFireGuidelines,includingtheuseoffireforecosystemrestoration:

fortheknowledgableapplicationofprescribedfiretomeetforestecosystemmanagement,wildlifehabitat,andrestorationguidelinesintheproductionforestaswellasconservationareas.

ForestEcosystemManagement,byemulationoffireasanaturaldisturbance:

EMEND（EcosystemManagementbyEmulatingNaturalDisturbance）isacooperativemultidisciplinaryresearchprojectinCanada'sborealforesttodeterminetheharvestinglevelatwhichrecoveryofecosystemstructureandfunctionwillmostcloselyresemblepostfiretrends.

4.1.2BORFIRE-BorealFireEffectsModel

TheBorealFireEffectsModel（BORFIRE）wasdevelopedtostudytheeffectsoffuturealteredfireregimesontheborealforest.Asaresultofclimatechange,futurefireregimesareexpectedtoshowageneralincreaseinfireintensity,fireseverity（depthofburn）,andfireseasonlength.Changeinthefireregimeisalsoexpectedtohaveaneffectontheforestdisturbancerateorannualareaburned.Becauseofdifferencesinfiresurvivalandpostfireregenerationstrategy,achangeinthefuturefireregimewillfavorsometreespeciesoverothersandcouldcauseashiftinforestcomposition.Thiscouldinturnaffectcarbonsequestrationratesthroughthedifferentgrowthratesoftreespecies.Biomass（orfuel）dynamicsalsohaveafeedbackeffectonfireregimethroughflammabilityandfuelload,whichaffectfireoccurrenceandintensity.BORFIREwasdevelopedtosimulatetheinteractionsbetweenphysicalfireparametersandthefireecologyofborealtreespecies.

BORFIREquantitativelysimulatestreecommunitydynamics（speciescomposition,standdensity,andaveragetreeheightanddiameter）andbiomassdynamics（above-andbelow-ground,liveanddeadorganicmaterial）forsixmajorborealtreespecies:

blackspruce（Piceamariana）,whitespruce（Piceaglauca）,jackpine（Pinusbanksiana）,tremblingaspen（Populustremuloides）,whitebirch（Betulapapyrifera）andbalsamfir（Abiesbalsamea）.Changesintreecommunityandbiomassconditionsarebasedonprocessesoftreemortality,treerecruitment,treegrowth,biomassdecomposition,andbiomassconsumptionbyfire（seediagrambelow）.Fire,climate,andcompetitiondrivethemodelprocesses.Treecommunitydynamicsaredrivenbyfiredisturbanceevents,whichaffectrecruitmentandmortality,andbynaturalthinningduetointra-andinter-specificcompetitionwithinthestand.Biomasscomponentvaluesaretheproductofspeciescomposition,standdensity,andaccumulationofdeadorganicmatter.Biomassincreaseswithtreegrowthanddecreaseswithdecompositionofdeadorganicmaterialandfuelconsumptionduringfire.Themodelisprocess-driven,usesanannualtime-step,andsimulatesconditionsatthestandlevel.

BORFIREhasbeenappliedtofournationalparksinthePrairieRegionusingclimatedataoutputfromtheCanadianGlobalCoupledModel（CGCM）.Climatedataforpresent（1975–1990）andfuture（2080–2100）conditionswereusedtocalculatefireweatherandcomponentvaluesoftheCanadianForestFireWeatherIndexSystem.Thesewerethenusedtocalculatefirebehavior（headfireintensity,depthofburn,fuelconsumption,rateofspread）forsimulatedfires.Overall,shorterfirecyclesandhigherfireseverityinthemodelsimulationsresultedinashifttowardmorePopulustremuloides,whichresproutsquicklyafterfire,andlessPiceaglauca,whichregeneratespoorlyafterfire.TotalbiomassstoragealsotendedtoincreasebecauseoffastergrowthratesinPopulustremuloides.

SpatiallandscapeapplicationsofBORFIREareinprogress,includingadditionalclimatechangestudiesandreal-timeapplicationsforfiremanagement.

4.1.3EcosystemRestorationUsingPrescribedFireinMontaneEcosystemsinJasperNationalPark

Introduction

MontaneecosystemswithinJasperNationalPark,Alberta,havehistoricallybeendominatedbyfire.Fire-exclusionpolicieshaveremovedtheinfluenceoffirethroughoutmuchoftheparksincetheearlypartofthe20thcentury,and,asaresult,somenaturallyoccurringecosystemsarebecominglessabundantacrossthelandscape.ThisresearchfocusesontwomontaneecosystemslocatednorthoftheJaspertown-sitealongtheAthabascaRivervalleyandmakesuseofJasperNationalPark'sprescribedburningprogramtoreintroducefireintotheseareas.

Themontanelodgepolepine–grasslandecosystemisarelativelyopen-foresttypecommunity.Intheabsenceoffiredisturbanceithasgraduallybecomemoredenselypopulatedwithuneven-agedpine.Inaddition,exceptionallyhighpopulationsofelk（Cervuselaphus）withintheparkboundariesentailincreasedhabitatuseandapotentiallyunnaturalinfluenceonassociatedplantcommunities.

TheDouglas-fir（Pseudotsugamenziesii）ecosystemisalsotypicallyanopen-foresttypecommunity,maintainedbyrelativelyshortfireintervalsoflowfireintensity.Thistypeoffireregimetendstokillsmallerstems,whileallowinglargerstemstosurvive.Sincefirehasbeenexcluded,thisecosystemhasdevelopedhighstemdensitiesandhasmorerecentlysufferedfromDouglas-firbeetle（DendroctonuspseudotsugaeHopk.）infestations.

Thisresearchfocusesonquantifyingtheserelationshipsanddevelopingrestorationprotocolsthroughtheuseofprescribedfireinthemontanelodgepolepine–grasslandandDouglas-firecosystems.Morespecifically,theresearchhasthefollowingobjectives:

Todeterminetheimpactoffireontheecosystems.

Todeterminetheimpactofelkbrowsingonthelodgepolepine–grasslandecosystem.

Todeterminetheinteractionbetweenfireandelkbrowsinginthelodgepolepine–grasslandecosystem.

TouseprescribedfiretoreducethestemdensityofDouglas-firintheDouglas-firecosystem.

TodeterminetheinteractionbetweenfireandDouglas-firbeetleintheDouglas-firecosystem.

JackladderIUnit

Lodgepolepine–grassland

TheJackladderIunitwassampledin1998,burnedinMay1999,andresampledin1999,2000,and2001.Samplingeffortscollecteddataonfuelloading;tree,shrub,andherbinventories;andelkpelletcounts.Thesedatawerecollectedinbothfencedexclosuresandnonfencedareas.FireintheJackladderIunitwasalow-intensitysurfacefire,althoughsomeindividualtreesdidbecomefullyengulfedinflames.Inareasofopen-canopyforest,mosttreeswerekilled.Inareasofclosed-canopyfire,approximatelyhalfofthetreeswerekilled.Juniperwaseasilykilledbyfireandhasnotre-establishedonthesitetodate;buffaloberrywasalsoeasilykilledbuthaseffectivelyre-establishedonthesite.Forbdiversityquicklyreturnedtoprefirelevelsintheyearfollowingtheburn.Forbandgrass,atvariousstagesofcuring,recoveredquicklyaswell.

JackladderIIUnit

Lodgepolepine–grassland

TheJackladderIIunitwassampledin1998and2000,burnedin2001,andresampledin2001.SamplingeffortscollectedthesamedataaswerecollectedintheJackladderIunit.FireintensityintheJackladderIIunitwashigh,andpracticallyalltreeswerefullyengulfedinflames.Inallareas,treemortalitywas100%.Samplingperformedin2001primarilyfocusedonestimatesoffireintensity,andfurthersamplingin2002willquantifyfireeffectsontrees,shrubs,groundvegetation,andhabitatuse.

HawkMountainUnits

Douglas-fir

TheHawkMountainunitsweresampledin2001,andaretentativelyscheduledforburninginspring2003.Intensivesamplingthroughouttheunitscollecteddataonfuels,treeinventories,shrubdensities,andDouglas-firbeetleactivity.Todate,thedatahavebeenusedfordevelopmentofthefireprescriptionandwillbeusedforestimatingtheimpactoffirefollowingdisturbance.

Acknowledgments

FundingandsupportofthisworkhavebeenprovidedbytheCanadianForestService（NorthernForestryCentre）,ParksCanada（JasperNationalParks）,andtheFoothillsModelForest.

RequestforfurtherinformationandquestionsrelatedtothisworkortheCanadianForestServiceprescribedfireprogramcanbedir