A 20-year experiment in the Sierra Nevada confirms that different forest management techniques — prescribed burning, restoration thinning or a combination of both — are effective at reducing the risk of catastrophic wildfire in California.
A 20-year experiment in the Sierra Nevada confirms that different forest management techniques — prescribed burning, restoration thinning or a combination of both — are effective at reducing the risk of catastrophic wildfire in California.
These treatments also improve forest health, making trees more resilient to stressors like drought and bark beetles, and they do not negatively impact plant or wildlife biodiversity within individual tree stands, the research found. The findings of the experiment, called the Fire Surrogate Study, are published online in the journal Ecological Applications.
"The research is pretty darn clear that these treatments are effective — very effective," said study lead author Scott Stephens, a professor of fire science at the University of California, Berkeley. "I hope this lets people know that there is great hope in doing these treatments at scale, without any negative consequences."
Last year, California announced a strategic plan for expanding the use of prescribed fire to 400,000 acres annually by 2025. However, the use of beneficial fire continues to be hindered by multiple factors, including the lack of a trained workforce, the need for specific weather conditions for burning, and fears about potential risks.
Read more at University of California - Berkeley
Image: Blodgett's compartment 400 during a second prescribed burn in 2009. Photo Credit: Scott Stephens/UC Berkeley)
