Synthesis of Knowledge of Extreme Fire Behavior: Volume I for Fire Managers General Technical Report

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Abstract: The objective of this project is to synthesize existing (extreme fire behavior) EFB knowledge in a way that connects the weather, fuel, and topographic factors that contribute to development of EFB. This synthesis will focus on the state of the science, but will also consider how that science is currently presented to the fire management community, including incident commanders, fire behavior analysts, incident meteorologists, National Weather Service office forecasters, and firefighters. It will seek to clearly delineate the known, the unknown, and areas of research with the greatest potential impact on firefighter protection.
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Prescribed fire and season of burning influence levels of direct and beetle-caused tree mortality: Research Brief

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This study investigated the effect of burn season on direct and indirect tree mortality in mechanically thinned ponderosa and Jeffrey pine stands in California’s Tahoe National Forest. 

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Historical and current structure in a Southern Sierra Nevada forest landscape: Research Brief

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Historical and current structure in a Southern Sierra Nevada forest landscape: Research Brief

Compared to historic (1911) stands, current southern Sierra Nevada forests have a greater density of small to medium trees, lower density of large trees (>36 inches dbh), and greater density of white fir in mixed conifer. 

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Fire effects on small mammal communities in California’s frequent-fire forests: Research Brief

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 A 2015 study indicates that the reintroduction of fire in frequent fire forests of the Sierra Nevada creates a heterogeneous forest landscape and promotes diverse small mammal assemblages.

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A Different Perspective on Global Fire: USGS Research Brief

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This article argues that fire is more akin to trophic processes such as herbivory, and that there has been a reluctance by ecologists to incorporate the process of fire into general theories of community development and assembly. 
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A Decision Framework for Fire as a Restoration Tool: Research Brief

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This journal article provides a decision framework that integrates fire regime components, plant growth form, and survival attributes to predict how plants will respond to fires and how fires can be prescribed to enhance the likelihood of obtaining desired plant responses. 
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A Critical Assessment of the Burning Index Used in Fighting Wildland Fires: USGS Research Brief

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This study found that the predictive capability of the commonly used Burning Index was quite limited and proposed an index with improved predictive ability for Los Angeles County, California.
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10-Year Small Mammal Use on a Chaparral Fire Edge: Research Brief

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From 2002  to 2011,  Sinead and Mark Borchert live-trapped small mammals in two grids across the 65­‐m zone on either side of the perimeter of the 2002, 8,100‐ha Wolf Fire in Los Padres National Forest.  
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A Tale of Two Fire Syndromes: Recruiters vs. Resisters: Research Brief

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Chaparral  species  can  be  sorted  into  two   life  history  types:  those  with  dormant  seed   banks  that  germinate  after  fire  and  those   with  very  short-­‐lived  seeds  and these   species survive  fire  by  resprouting.

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A Shifting Mosaic of Grasslands and Shrublands: Research Brief

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To  better  understand  vegetation  succession  in  the   Los  Angeles,  California  basin,  modern  aerial   photos  (1980)  were  measured  and  compared  to   older  aerial  photos  (1928  &  1936),  spanning   roughly  50  years  of  vegetation  change.  Through   this  comparison,  the  authors  found  that shrublands  and  grasslands  formed  a  dynamic   mosaic. 
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Fire Suppression Impacts on Postfire Recovery of Sierra Nevada Chaparral Shrublands: USGS Research Brief

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These researchers did extensive studies of postfire recovery following the 2002 McNally Fire in Sequoia National Forest and compared ancient stands of chaparral with younger stands.
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Fire-Driven Alien Plant Invasion in a Fire-Prone Community: USGS Research Brief

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This study showed that fire-adapted shrublands are vulnerable to changes in fire regime, leading to loss of native diversity and setting the community on a trajectory towards type conversion from a woody to an herbaceous system. 

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Prescribed fires do not reduce future area burned in central and southern California: USGS Research Brief

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Researchers used 29 years of historical fire mapping to quantify the relationship between annual wildfire area and previous fire area in seven California counties to address the question of prescribed fire effectiveness in these counties. 
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The Built Environment Is More Influential Than Fuel Breaks in Exposure to Wind-Driven Chaparral Fire: USGS Research Brief

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A Bayesian Network model was used to evaluate the relative importance of fuel and fuel treatments compared to weather and variables of the built and natural environment on wildfire risk at the wildland-urban interface (WUI) in San Diego County. 
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Trees already stressed by drought may be more likely to die from fire: USGS Research Brief

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A study published in Ecology Letters suggests that the effects of drought and fire work in combination, such that forests experiencing drought will see more dead trees in the aftermath of wildfires.
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