Fire Treatment Effects on Vegetation, Structure, Fuels, and Potential Fire Severity in Western U.S. Forests

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.