Molly E. Hunter

Recent trends in post-wildfire seeding in western US forests: costs and seed mixes

Broadcast seeding is one of the most commonly used post-fire rehabilitation treatments to establish ground cover for erosion control and mitigation of non-native plant species invasions. Little quantitative information is available on overall trends of post-fire seeding expenditures and seed mixes used over time in forested ecosystems in the western USA. We reviewed scientific articles, government publications and unpublished documents as well as USDA Forest Service Burned Area Reports to determine trends in post-fire seeding in forested ecosystems over time. Of 1164 USDA Forest Service Burned Area Reports, 380 contained information on seeding treatments conducted in forested ecosystems. A review of 40 papers and 67 Burned Area Reports reporting species seeded between 1970 and 2007 revealed a trend of increasing use of native species, annual cereal grains and sterile-grass hybrids, with natives dominating seed mixes. According to 380 Burned Area Reports with data on costs and area seeded, total post-fire seeding expenditures have increased substantially, averaging US

Managing burned landscapes: evaluating future management strategies for resilient forests under a warming climate

3.3 million per year spent on post-fire emergency seeding treatments in forested ecosystems that involved the Forest Service during the period 2000 to 2007 – an increase of 192% compared with the average spent during the previous 30 years. The percentage of the total burned area seeded averaged 21% in the 1970s, compared with only 4% between 2000 and 2007.

Historical and current fire management practices in two wilderness areas in the southwestern United States: The Saguaro Wilderness Area and the Gila-Aldo Leopold Wilderness Complex

Climate change effects on forested ecosystems worldwide include increases in drought-related mortality, changestodisturbanceregimesandshiftsinspeciesdistributions.Suchclimate-inducedchangeswillaltertheoutcomesof current management strategies, complicating the selection of appropriate strategies to promote forest resilience. We modelled forest growth in ponderosa pine forests that burned in Arizonas 2002 Rodeo-Chediski Fire using the Forest Vegetation Simulator Climate Extension, where initial stand structures were defined by pre-fire treatment and fire severity. Underextreme climatechange, existing forests persisted forseveral decades,but shifted towards pinyon-juniper woodlands by 2104. Under milder scenarios, pine persisted with reduced growth. Prescribed burning at 10- and 20-year intervals resulted in basal areas within the historical range of variability (HRV) in low-severity sites that were initially dominated by smaller diameter trees; but in sites initially dominated by larger trees, the range was consistently exceeded. For high-severity sites, prescribed fire was too frequent to reach the HRVs minimum basal area. Alternatively, for all stands under milder scenarios, uneven-aged management resulted in basal areas within the HRV because of its inherent flexibility to manipulate forest structures. These results emphasise the importance of flexible approaches to management in a changing climate. Additional keywords: Arizona, Climate-Forest Vegetation Simulator, high severity, juniper, pinyon pine, ponderosa pine, prescribed fire, Rodeo-Chediski, uneven-aged management.

Post-wildfire seeding in forests of the western United States: An evidence-based review

Fire suppression has been the dominant fire management strategy in the West over the last century. However, managers of the Gila and Aldo Leopold Wilderness Complex in New Mexico and the Saguaro Wilderness Area in Arizona have allowed fire to play a more natural role for decades. This report summarizes the effects of these fire management practices on key resources, and documents common challenges in implementing these practices and lessons for how to address them. By updating historical fire atlases, we show how fire patterns have changed with adoption of new policy and practices.