72 resources found

This paper addresses the critical need for improved understanding of the long-term effectiveness of fuel reduction treatments in dry, fire-prone forests of western North America. The authors highlight that current knowledge limitations lead to inefficient maintenance and inaccurate wildfire forecasting. They propose six key research opportunities designed to refine our grasp of how long treatments remain effective. These opportunities include evaluating longevity within specific management goals, referencing desired ecological conditions, accounting for natural forest variability, exploring internal treatment factors, increasing post-treatment sampling frequency, and incorporating spatial heterogeneity into analyses. The paper aims to foster climate-adaptive management that enhances dry forest resilience to wildfire through more efficient and informed treatment strategies.

This paper investigates the effectiveness of various fuel treatments in mitigating wildfire behavior in British Columbia's seasonally dry forests, a region increasingly vulnerable to extreme fires. Through field measurements and fire behavior modeling, the study assessed how different combinations of thinning, pruning, and residue fuel management impact the potential for crown fires and tree mortality. Key findings suggest that high-intensity thinning is more effective at reducing both passive and active crown fire potential and tree mortality compared to low-intensity thinning, while pruning after thinning offered little additional benefit. The study also highlights that chipping or pile burning residue fuel can reduce crown fire risk, but cautions that chipping may lead to delayed tree mortality not captured by current models, indicating a need for further research on its long-term effects.

This paper investigates the effectiveness of various fire management treatments on western U. S. coniferous forests, which have become more susceptible to severe wildfires due to a century of fire exclusion and altered land use. Researchers analyzed the impacts of mechanical thinning, prescribed burning, and a combination of both across six diverse sites. The study found that mechanical thinning combined with prescribed fire was the most effective strategy for significantly reducing surface fuel loads, decreasing the likelihood of severe crown fires, and lowering predicted tree mortality. While mechanical-only treatments were less consistent, they were effective when whole-tree harvesting systems were used, minimizing residual surface fuels.

This document focuses on fire risk reduction in the Coastal Douglas Fir biogeoclimatic zone and synthesizes expertise from a collaborative community to address the escalating threat of wildfires. It highlights the unique challenges within the CDF, particularly the high concentration of human settlements integrated with forests and the prevalence of degraded, homogenous forest stands resulting from historical logging and fire suppression. The document emphasizes the critical need for ecologically-informed active forest management to restore biodiversity and enhance climate resilience, moving away from a zero-fire model. It explores current initiatives, identifies significant inter-jurisdictional complexities and funding gaps, especially concerning privately held lands, and advocates for multi-scale collaboration and the reintroduction of Indigenous land management practices to achieve long-term wildfire mitigation and ecological integrity.

This document synthesizes existing research on forest fuel treatments and their effectiveness in modifying wildfire behavior. Recognizing that the local, currently wetter forests are projected to become similar to drier, fire-prone forests of the Western US due to climate change, the report explores how fuel treatments can reduce wildfire intensity and spread. It defines fuel treatments and outlines their objectives, such as ecosystem restoration and protecting communities, emphasizing that these actions aim to change fire behavior, not prevent fire ignition. Furthermore, the report delves into empirical evidence from past wildfires encountering treated areas, highlighting key principles for effective treatments in mature stands, including surface fuel reduction, increasing height to live crown, decreasing crown density, and retaining large fire-resistant trees. The ultimate purpose is to provide guidance for implementing appropriate and effective fuel management strategies in the Southern West Kootenays.

This document serves as a foundational guide for adapting forest management practices in the West Kootenay region of British Columbia in the face of climate change. Recognizing the confirmed reality of climate change and its projected impacts on the region, the report outlines a starting point for forest practitioners to consider and implement adaptation strategies. It structures these strategies across different scales - landscape, ecosystemstand, and operational - offering specific actions relevant to the unique vulnerabilities identified in the northern, mid, and southern subregions of the West Kootenays. Ultimately, the report emphasizes the need for a deliberate and informed decision-making process to select and implement effective adaptation measures, advocating for ongoing monitoring and collaboration among stakeholders.

This document details an analysis using the PrognosisBC model to evaluate various partial-cutting silvicultural options for long-term forest management compared to clearcutting. The authors explore how different harvesting methods in a specific forest type could meet sustainability targets, encompassing biodiversity, visual quality, old-growth recruitment, and timber production over a 100-year rotation. By modeling several scenarios and comparing their outputs, the study aims to familiarize readers with the PrognosisBC tool and demonstrate its utility in assessing trade-offs and informing complex forest management decisions, while also acknowledging the model's limitations and the crucial role of professional judgment.

This report details a second timber harvest entry conducted on a mule deer winter range in British Columbia, thirty years after the initial logging. The study examines the application of General Wildlife Measures for shallow and moderate snowpack zones, focusing on a clumpy single-tree selection silvicultural system designed to balance timber harvesting with maintaining and enhancing mule deer habitat. Key aspects explored include the planning and operational implementation of this approach, including the creation of small canopy gaps and thinning from below, along with the lessons learned regarding ecological impacts, adherence to regulations, and operational feasibility. The report serves to document this long-term research project's progression and inform future management practices on similar winter ranges.

This document serves as a comprehensive guide for land managers considering mastication as a vegetation management tool. It synthesizes current scientific knowledge, detailing the characteristics and costs of various mastication equipment, including carrier machines and cutting heads. The report also summarizes the ecological effects of mastication on vegetation, soils, and wildlife habitat, noting the variability of these impacts across different ecosystems. It provides decision trees and implementation criteria to aid managers in selecting the most appropriate treatment methods and mastication configurations based on their specific site conditions and management objectives.

This document delves into the critical aspects of aspen silviculture, addressing the increasing complexity of managing aspen forests due to greater utilization and evolving approaches to mixedwood management. The authors review the mechanisms of aspen regeneration, both through root suckering and seeds, and offer preliminary guidelines for managing the density of aspen stands in their early development. The paper aims to synthesize existing knowledge and identify knowledge gaps to better inform management decisions aimed at achieving various forest composition objectives.

This extension note outlines the successional pathways of various forest ecosystems in British Columbia and how these natural trajectories are influenced by natural disturbances, forest management practices, and projected climate change. The document describes typical post-disturbance development, the impacts of human interventions like harvesting, and potential future shifts due to altered temperature and precipitation regimes. The primary aim is to provide natural resource managers with a concise overview to inform strategies for building resistant and resilient forests in the face of ongoing environmental change.

This paper explores operational resilience in western U. S. frequent-fire forests, emphasizing how historical forest structures fostered health and adaptability. The authors argue that very low tree densities prior to widespread fire suppression minimized competition, which in turn supported vigorous tree growth and greater resistance to stressors like drought and bark beetles. By comparing historical data with contemporary forest conditions using the Stand Density Index, the authors found a significant increase in tree density and competition today. This sugests that current management practices, which are focused primarily on fuel reduction, may not adequately restore the ecological resilience historically maintained by frequent, low-intensity fires. The paper advocates for a fundamental rethinking of forest management to prioritize significantly lower tree densities and minimal competition to enhance long-term forest health.

This document investigates the long-term effects of pre-commercial stand thinning in lodgepole pine forests in British Columbia, specifically examining 30-year responses across a range of thinning densities. The central focus is on whether heavy thinning can simultaneously enhance forest productivity, measured by merchantable wood volume and carbon storage, and accelerate the development of old-forest structural attributes important for wildlife conservation. Findings revealed that heavy thinning did create large dominant trees with substantial crowns and other old-growth features, partially supporting the goal of restoration of old-forest structural attributes, and restored much of the lost carbon storage through crown growth. This study suggests that the structural complexity created by heavy thinning, rather than forest age alone, may be sufficient to sustain comparable total abundance, species richness, and diversity of forest-floor small mammals to that found in old-growth stands, highlighting a viable silvicultural approach to address timber needs and ecological restoration.

This FRDA Report #196 is a synthesis of project results investigating the effects of fertilization and thinning on a Douglas-fir ecosystem at Shawnigan Lake, British Columbia. The research reports on a long-term, multidisciplinary study examining how these forest management techniques influence tree growth, physiology, and ecosystem processes. Key themes include the long-term impact on growth and yield, the mechanistic response of the trees to nitrogen, and the fate of nitrogen fertilizers within the soil and water systems. This document provides a comprehensive overview intended to inform better forest management practices by synthesizing decades of experimental data.

This document introduces a field study in British Columbia designed to move away from creating forest monocultures and toward sustainable mixedwood management. The text contrasts traditional unmixing practices with a new experimental project that tests alternative brushing treatments, such as manual cutting and localized chemical applications. By comparing six different methods across established plots, the authors aim to determine how to best promote white spruce growth while maintaining the ecological and economic benefits provided by trembling aspen. This document serves as an early record of the site's characteristics and the long-term research objectives required to balance timber yields with biodiversity and ecosystem stability in the boreal forest.

This document examines the ecological role and management of bigleaf maple within coastal mixedwood forests. While the species promotes nutrient cycling and biodiversity, its rapid regrowth after harvesting creates dense canopies that can suppress understorey conifers by blocking nearly all sunlight and causing physical damage. To address this, researchers established two experiments near Port Alberni to determine how different coppice densities and thinning intensities affect available light levels and tree performance. The study seeks to provide a scientific framework for balancing the commercial and environmental value of bigleaf maple with the successful growth of evergreen species like Douglas-fir.

This document outlines a thirty-year study examining how crop-tree thinning affects the growth of western larch in southeastern British Columbia. By evaluating different levels of growing space, the author demonstrates that increasing the radius of clearance around individual trees significantly boosts their diameter, basal area, and merchantable volume. While the expansion of tree width was directly proportional to the amount of space provided, the study found that vertical height remained largely unaffected by the various thinning intensities. The results suggest that thinning must be implemented at an early age to be most effective, as older stands show a diminished capacity to respond to increased light and reduced root competition.

This document examines how pre-commercial thinning influences the development of coastal Douglas-fir plantations in British Columbia. By evaluating seventeen years of data from various thinning regimes, the study demonstrates that reducing stand density significantly enhances the merchantable volume and diameter of individual trees. The author specifically recommends gradual thinning to a density of fewer than 1, 000 stems per hectare before the stand reaches thirty years of age to optimize sawlog production. This document serves as a practical guide for foresters, providing empirical evidence and growth simulation data to support more effective timber management strategies on medium-quality sites.

This document evaluates the long-term effectiveness of various silviculture practices and forest management techniques across the Engelmann Spruce-Subalpine Fir zones of British Columbia. By assessing historical research trials and logged areas in the southern interior, the document details why certain methods lead to regeneration success or failure, specifically noting the challenges of competing vegetation and harsh environmental conditions. The document is structured to provide a comprehensive analysis of site preparation methods, planting outcomes, and the quality of remaining trees, ultimately revealing that initial spruce growth is often slow and survival rates are frequently unsatisfactory. This document concludes with strategic recommendations for future study to better understand how elevation and plant competition influence the sustainable recovery of these high-altitude ecosystems.

This document is a part of a long-running Levels-of-Growing-Stock (LOGS) Cooperative Study in Douglas-fir stands, specifically detailing findings from installations at Sayward Forest and Shawnigan Lake in British Columbia. The core objective of the LOGS study is to understand how different thinning intensities impact cumulative wood production, individual tree size, and growth ratios in young Douglas-fir stands. This progress report summarizes data from these two Canadian sites, showing that volume growth is strongly tied to the amount of growing stock retained, and that thinning significantly influences tree size distribution and live crown development, suggesting potential for future productivity gains. The study also offers comparisons between various thinning regimes and unthhinned control plots, revealing the long-term implications of silvicultural practices on forest stands.