Blog List

Wednesday 21 December 2016

A mobile target-netting technique for canopy birds

Author

  • Stoleson, Scott
  • Ordiway, Linda
  • Thomas, Emily H.
  • Watts, Donald.

Year Published

2016

Source

North American Bird Bander. 41(2): 57-61.

Abstract

Mist-netting of birds is a well-established and much used method for capturing birds for banding, taking blood, feather, or tissue samples, attaching radio transmitters or light-sensitive geolocators, and other purposes (Karr 1981, Dunn and Ralph 2004). Mistnets are typically ground based, with individual nets stretched between poles and extending 2.6 m high. Captures in ground-based mist-nets tend to be biased against canopy-dwelling species; however, (Pagen et al. 2002, Mallory et al. 2004) to compensate for this bias, numerous bird and bat researchers have developed methods to get nets higher into forest canopies.

Citation

Stoleson, Scott H.; Ordiway, Linda; Thomas, Emily H.; Watts, Donald. 2016. A mobile target-netting technique for canopy birds. North American Bird Bander. 41(2): 57-61.
Last updated on: September 21, 2016

For further information log on website :
http://www.nrs.fs.fed.us/pubs/52676

Fire regimes of remnant pitch pine communities in the Ridge and Valley Region of central Pennsylvania, USA. Forests

Author

  • Marschall, Joseph
  • Stambaugh, Michael
  • Jones, Benjamin
  • Guyette, Richard
  • Brose, Patrick
  • Dey, Daniel C.

Year Published

2016

Source

Forests. 7(10): 224.

Abstract

Many fire-adapted ecosystems in the northeastern U.S. are converting to fire-intolerant vegetation communities due to fire suppression in the 20th century. Prescribed fire and other vegetation management activities that increase resilience and resistance to global changes are increasingly being implemented, particularly on public lands. For many fire-dependent communities, there is little quantitative data describing historical fire regime attributes such as frequency, severity, and seasonality, or how these varied through time. Where available, fire-scarred live and remnant trees, including stumps and snags, offer valuable insights into historical fire regimes through tree-ring and fire-scar analyses. In this study, we dated fire scars from 66 trees at two sites in the Ridge and Valley Province of the Appalachian Mountains in central Pennsylvania, and described fire frequency, severity, and seasonality from the mid-17th century to 2013. Fires were historically frequent, of low to moderate severity, occurred mostly during the dormant season, and were influenced by aspect and topography. The current extended fire-free interval is unprecedented in the previous 250–300 years at both sites.

Keywords

Citation

Marschall, Joseph; Stambaugh, Michael; Jones, Benjamin; Guyette, Richard; Brose, Patrick; Dey, Daniel 2016. Fire regimes of remnant pitch pine communities in the Ridge and Valley Region of central Pennsylvania, USA. Forests. 7(10): 224.

Last updated on: October 18, 2016

For further information log on website :
http://www.nrs.fs.fed.us/pubs/53034

Advanced oak seedling development as influenced by shelterwood treatments, competition control, deer fencing, and prescribed fire

Author
  • Miller, Gary W.
  • Brose, Patrick H.
  • Gottschalk, Kurt W.
  • Year Published

    2016

    Source

    Journal of Forestry. 11 p. http://dx.doi.org/10.5849/jof.16-002

    Abstract

    Advanced northern red oak (Quercus rubra) seedlings in an 85-year-old forest located in north-central Pennsylvania were observed for 10 years after manipulation of available sunlight by shelterwood treatments, reduction of interfering plants by broadcast herbicides and/or a single prescribed fire, and reduction of deer damage by fencing. Twenty-four treatment combinations including untreated controls were studied on 72 permanent plots. The key to sustainable oak regeneration is to enhance both survival and growth of the advanced oak seedlings several years before a planned overstory harvest. In this study, survival and growth of 4,235 tagged oak seedlings were greatest in plots that received an overstory shelterwood harvest or midstory removal to increase sunlight, plus mist-blown herbicides to reduce interfering plants and fencing to reduce deer browsing. The overstory shelterwood harvest and midstory removal treatments reduced basal area by 30 and 12%, respectively. The prescribed fire treatment reduced survival because of the small size of the seedlings at the time of the burn. Published dominance probabilities were applied to the density and size of seedlings present after 10 years to compare the predicted number of codominant oaks resulting from the various treatments. Predicted success was greatest in fenced plots that received herbicide reduction of interfering plants and either the overstory shelterwood harvest or midstory removal treatments.

    Keywords

    Citation

    Miller, Gary W.; Brose, Patrick H.; Gottschalk, Kurt W. 2016. Advanced oak seedling development as influenced by shelterwood treatments, competition control, deer fencing, and prescribed fire. Journal of Forestry. 114. 11 p. http://dx.doi.org/10.5849/jof.16-002

    Last updated on: November 17, 2016

    For further information log on website :
    http://www.nrs.fs.fed.us/pubs/53084

    Litter Species Composition and Topographic Effects on Fuels and Modeled Fire Behavior in an Oak-Hickory Forest in the Eastern USA

    Author

  • Dickinson, Matthew B.
  • Hutchinson, Todd F.
  • Dietenberger, Mark
  • Matt, Frederick
  • Peters, Matthew P.
  • Yang, Jian
  • Year Published

    2016

    Source

    PLOS ONE, Vol. 11(8): e0159997-.

    Abstract

    Mesophytic species (esp. Acer rubrum) are increasingly replacing oaks (Quercus spp.) in fire-suppressed, deciduous oak-hickory forests of the eastern US. A pivotal hypothesis is that fuel beds derived from mesophytic litter are less likely than beds derived from oak litter to carry a fire and, if they do, are more likely to burn at lower intensities. Species effects, however, are confounded by topographic gradients that affect overstory composition and fuel bed decomposition. To examine the separate and combined effects of litter species composition and topography on surface fuel beds, we conducted a common garden experiment in oak-hickory forests of the Ohio Hills. Each common garden included beds composed of mostly oak and mostly maple litter, representative of oak- and maple-dominated stands, respectively, and a mixture of the two. Beds were replenished each fall for four years. Common gardens (N = 16) were established at four topographic positions (ridges, benches on south- and northeast-facing slopes, and stream terraces) at each of four sites. Litter source and topographic position had largely independent effects on fuel beds and modeled fire dynamics after four years of development. Loading (kg m-2) of the upper litter layer (L), the layer that primarily supports flaming spread, was least in more mesic landscape positions and for maple beds, implying greater decomposition rates for those situations. Bulk density in the L layer (kg m-3) was least for oak beds which, along with higher loading, would promote fire spread and fireline intensity. Loading and bulk density of the combined fermentation and humic (FH) layers were least on stream terrace positions but were not related to species. Litter- and FH-layer moistures during a 5-day dry-down period after a rain event were affected by time and topographic effects while litter source effects were not evident. Characteristics of flaming combustion determined with a cone calorimeter pointed to greater fireline intensity for oak fuel beds and unexpected interactions between litter source and topography. A spread index, which synthesizes a suite of fuel bed, particle, and combustion characteristics to indicate spread (vs extinction) potential, was primarily affected by litter source and, secondarily, by the low spread potentials on mesic landscape positions early in the 5-day dry-down period. A similar result was obtained for modeled fireline intensity. Our results suggest that the continuing transition from oaks to mesophytic species in the Ohio Hills will reduce fire spread potentials and fire intensities.

    Citation

    Dickinson, Matthew B.; Hutchinson, Todd F.; Dietenberger, Mark; Matt, Frederick; Peters, Matthew P.; Yang, Jian. 2016. Litter species composition and topographic effects on fuels and modeled fire behavior in an Oak-Hickory Forest in the Eastern USA. PLOS ONE. 11(8). 30 pp. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0159997.
    Last updated on: November 22, 2016

    For further information log on website :
    http://www.nrs.fs.fed.us/pubs/52394

    Equivalence of live tree carbon stocks produced by three estimation approaches for forests of the western United States

  • Author 
  • Hoover, Coeli M.
  • Smith, James E.
  • Year Published

    2017

    Source

    Forest Ecology and Management

    Abstract

    The focus on forest carbon estimation accompanying the implementation of increased regulatory and reporting requirements is fostering the development of numerous tools and methods to facilitate carbon estimation. One such well-established mechanism is via the Forest Vegetation Simulator (FVS), a growth and yield modeling system used by public and private land managers and researchers, which provides two alternate approaches to quantifying carbon in live trees on forest land – these are known as the Jenkins and Fire and Fuels Extension (FFE) equations. A necessary consideration in developing forest carbon estimates is to address alternate, potentially different, estimates that are likely available from more than one source. A key to using such information is some understanding of where alternate estimates are expected to produce equivalent results. We address this here by focusing on potential equivalence among three commonly employed approaches to estimating individual-tree carbon, which are all applicable to inventory sampling or inventory simulation applications. Specifically, the two approaches available in FVS – Jenkins and FFE – and the third, the component ratio method (CRM) used in the U.S. Forest Service's, Forest Inventory and Analysis national DataBase (FIADB). A key finding of this study is that the Jenkins, FFE, and CRM methods are not universally equivalent, and that equivalence varies across regions, forest types, and levels of data aggregation. No consistent alignment of approaches was identified. In general, equivalence was identified in a greater proportion of cases when forests were summarized at more aggregate levels such as all softwood type groups or entire variants. Most frequently, the FIA inventory-based CRM and FFE were determined to be equivalent.

    Citation

    Hoover, Coeli M.; Smith, James E. 2017. Equivalence of live tree carbon stocks produced by three estimation approaches for forests of the western United States. Forest Ecology and Management. 236-253.
    Last updated on: December 14, 2016

    For further information log on website :
    http://www.nrs.fs.fed.us/pubs/53300

    Contributing to Stewardship through Long-term Research including Research Conducted on the Kane and Vinton Furnace Experimental Forests


    [photo:] Kane Experimental Forest signWe manage many research studies that we have measured for well over three decades, a few that we have measured for more than seventy years, and more recent studies. These records have great potential to help us determine whether recent climate changes have impacted forest growth and mortality, leading to improved confidence in potential future impacts. We also maintain long-term records of forest change in two nationally important remnant old-growth forests, the Tionesta Scenic and Research Natural Area (record begun in 1942) and the Hearts Content National Natural Landmark (record begun in 1928). 

    Selected Research

    Last Modified: 06/21/2013

    For further information log on website :
    http://www.nrs.fs.fed.us/units/sustainingforests/focus/ltr/

    Understanding, Predicting, and Managing the Impact of Climate Change on Forests


    We will develop models to predict the movement of habitat for trees and birds under various climate change scenarios, and increasingly to link these models of habitat change with our developing understanding of species migrations and interactions with land use. We will translate these models into web-based tools to help managers predict changes in their forests, linking models with users’ sense of place, helping managers decide if adjustments to their forest management practices are appropriate. We will also continue to study the role of forests in mitigating climate change through carbon sequestration. We will develop improved understanding of basic patterns of carbon accumulation in forests and its interactions with disturbances including forest management practices. We will continue to cooperate with entities developing markets for sequestered carbon to help managers develop affordable techniques to improve carbon sequestration and monitor carbon budgets effectively.

    Landscape Ecological Modeling

    Combining spatially distributed data related to organisms, climate, soils, and topography with statistical modeling techniques provides ever-increasing capabilities in modeling past, present, and potential future ecosystems at multiple scales. 

    Carbon Sequestration

    For further information log on website :
    http://www.nrs.fs.fed.us/units/sustainingforests/focus/climate_change/

    Managing Forests Affected by Invasive Species

    [photo:] Students examining external symptoms on an ash logOur research will provide increased understanding and management tools related to native and non-native invasive plants, insects, and diseases. We focus on the factors that cause forests to be invaded, including reasons that native plants become invasive, and risk mapping for invasions. We also study the response of forests to these invasions. Our management tools will help mangers predict and reduce the probability of invasion, and predict, manage and mitigate the impacts once invasions have begun. 

    Selected Research


    For further information log on website :
    http://www.nrs.fs.fed.us/units/sustainingforests/focus/invasive_species/

    Central Appalachians forest ecosystem vulnerability assessment and synthesis: a report from the Central Appalachians Climate Change Response Framework project

    Author

    Year Published

    2015

    Publication

    Gen. Tech. Rep. NRS-146. Newtown Square, PA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northern Research Station. 310 p.

    Abstract

    Forest ecosystems in the Central Appalachians will be affected directly and indirectly by a changing climate over the 21st century. This assessment evaluates the vulnerability of forest ecosystems in the Central Appalachian Broadleaf Forest-Coniferous Forest-Meadow and Eastern Broadleaf Forest Provinces of Ohio, West Virginia, and Maryland for a range of future climates. Information on current forest conditions, observed climate trends, projected climate changes, and impacts on forest ecosystems was considered by a multidisciplinary panel of scientists, land managers, and academics in order to assess ecosystem vulnerability to climate change. Appalachian (hemlock)/northern hardwood forests, large stream floodplain and riparian forests, small stream riparian forests, and spruce/fir forests were determined to be the most vulnerable. Dry/mesic oak forests and dry oak and oak/pine forests and woodlands were determined to be least vulnerable. Projected changes in climate and the associated impacts and vulnerabilities will have important implications for economically valuable timber species, forest-dependent wildlife and plants, recreation, and long-term natural resource planning.

    Keywords

    Citation

    Butler, Patricia R.; Iverson, Louis; Thompson, Frank R., III; Brandt, Leslie; Handler, Stephen; Janowiak, Maria; Shannon, P. Danielle; Swanston, Chris; Karriker, Kent; Bartig, Jarel; Connolly, Stephanie; Dijak, William; Bearer, Scott; Blatt, Steve; Brandon, Andrea; Byers, Elizabeth; Coon, Cheryl; Culbreth, Tim; Daly, Jad; Dorsey, Wade; Ede, David; Euler, Chris; Gillies, Neil; Hix, David M.; Johnson, Catherine; Lyte, Latasha; Matthews, Stephen; McCarthy, Dawn; Minney, Dave; Murphy, Daniel; O’Dea, Claire; Orwan, Rachel; Peters, Matthew; Prasad, Anantha; Randall, Cotton; Reed, Jason; Sandeno, Cynthia; Schuler, Tom; Sneddon, Lesley; Stanley, Bill; Steele, Al; Stout, Susan; Swaty, Randy; Teets, Jason; Tomon, Tim; Vanderhorst, Jim; Whatley, John; Zegre, Nicholas. 2015. Central Appalachians forest ecosystem vulnerability assessment and synthesis: a report from the Central Appalachians Climate Change Response Framework project. Gen. Tech. Rep. NRS-146. Newtown Square, PA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northern Research Station. 310 p.

    Last updated on: March 26, 2015

    For further details log on website :
    http://www.nrs.fs.fed.us/pubs/47885

    Beyond "fire temperatures": calibrating thermocouple probes and modeling their response to surface fires in hardwood fuels

    Author
  • Bova, Anthony S.
  • Dickinson, Matthew B.
  • Year Published

    2008

    Source

    Canadian Journal of Forest Research 38:1008-1020.

    Abstract

    The maximum temperatures of thermocouples, temperature-sensitive paints, and calorimeters exposed to flames in wildland fires are often called "fire temperatures" but are determined as much by the properties and deployment of the measurement devices as by the fires themselves. Rather than report device temperatures that are not generally comparable among studies, we show that maximum and time-integrated temperatures of relatively thick (4.8 mm diameter) type-K thermocouple probes (TCPs) can be calibrated to estimate fuel consumption and fire line intensity in surface fires. Although reporting standard fire characteristics is an improvement over reporting device temperatures, TCPs are not ideal instruments for monitoring surface fires, because they provide only point estimates of fire behavior and must be calibrated for different fire environments, TCP characteristics, and deployments. To illustrate how TCPs respond to fires and to point the way towards a more general calibration method, we report results from a numerical model that accurately simulated TCP response to a spreading surface fire.

    Citation

    Bova, Anthony S.; Dickinson, Matthew B. 2008. Beyond "fire temperatures": calibrating thermocouple probes and modeling their response to surface fires in hardwood fuels. Canadian Journal of Forest Research 38:1008-1020.
    Last updated on: August 15, 2008

    For further information log on website :
    http://www.nrs.fs.fed.us/pubs/5917

    Fire and the endangered Indiana bat

    Author

  • Dickinson, Matthew B.
  • Lacki, Michael J.
  • Cox, Daniel R.
  • Year Published

    2009

    Publication

    In: Hutchinson, Todd F., ed. Proceedings of the 3rd fire in eastern oak forests conference; 2008 May 20-22; Carbondale, IL. Gen. Tech. Rep. NRS-P-46. Newtown Square, PA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northern Research Station: 51-75.

    Abstract

    Fire and Indiana bats (Myotis sodalis) have coexisted for millennia in the central hardwoods region, yet past declines in populations of this endangered species, and the imperative of fire use in oak silviculture and ecosystem conservation, call for an analysis of both the risks and opportunities associated with using fires on landscapes in which the bat occurs. In this paper, we explore the potential direct effects of prescribed fire and associated smoke on Indiana bats. We identify the immediate effects on bats, such as exposure to smoke and displacement, when individuals are in tree roosts (under exfoliating bark or in crevices) and hibernacula (caves and mines). Radio-tracked northern long-eared bats (Myotis septentrionalis), an Indiana bat surrogate, flushed shortly after prescribed fire ignition in the Daniel Boone National Forest (Kentucky) on a warm spring day, confirming previously reported observations. We also consider the longer-term effects on bats of the habitat changes caused by fire use. Finally, we review National Forest Plans and ask how the available science supports their standards and guidelines. Efforts to manage Indiana bats are based on limited monitoring of the effects of habitat manipulations and a body of research that is deficient in key areas, providing a poor basis on which to either practice adaptive management or counter restrictions on growing-season burning.
    NOTE: information on page 66 of this publication was updated on Aug. 18, 2009.

    Citation

    Dickinson, Matthew B.; Lacki, Michael J.; Cox, Daniel R. 2009. Fire and the endangered Indiana bat. In: Hutchinson, Todd F., ed. Proceedings of the 3rd fire in eastern oak forests conference; 2008 May 20-22; Carbondale, IL. Gen. Tech. Rep. NRS-P-46. Newtown Square, PA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northern Research Station: 51-75.
    Last updated on: August 18, 2009

    For further information log on website :
    http://www.nrs.fs.fed.us/pubs/7291/

    An inverse method to estimate stem surface heat flux in wildland fires

    Author
  • Bova, Anthony S.
  • Dickinson, Matthew B.
  • Year Published

    2009

    Source

    International Journal of Wildland Fire. 18: 711-721.

    Abstract

    Models of wildland fire-induced stem heating and tissue necrosis require accurate estimates of inward heat flux at the bark surface. Thermocouple probes or heat flux sensors placed at a stem surface do not mimic the thermal response of tree bark to flames.We show that data from thin thermocouple probes inserted just below the bark can be used, by means of a one-dimensional inverse heat conduction method, to estimate net heat flux (inward minus outward heat flow) and temperature at the bark surface. Further, we estimate outward heat flux from emitted water vapor and bark surface re-radiation. Estimates of surface heat flux and temperature made by the inverse method confirm that surface-mounted heat flux sensors and thermocouple probes overestimate surface heat flux and temperature. As a demonstration of the utility of the method, we characterized uneven stem heating, due to leeward, flame-driven vortices, in a prescribed surface fire. Advantages of using an inverse method include lower cost, ease of multipoint measurements and negligible effects on the target stem. Drawbacks of the simple inverse model described herein include inability to estimate heat flux in very moist bark and uncertainty in estimates when extensive charring occurs.

    Keywords

    Citation


    Bova, Anthony S.; Dickinson, Matthew B. 2009. An inverse method to estimate stem surface heat flux in wildland fires. International Journal of Wildland Fire. 18: 711-721.

    For further information log on website :
    http://www.nrs.fs.fed.us/pubs/9747/

    Fuels and Fire Behavior in Eastern Hardwoods


    Research Issue

    [image:]   Burned area determined from multiple infrared heat release images taken from an aircraft during a prescribed fire in the Ohio Hills.An ability to predict fuel loads and fire behavior are needed to improve prescriptions for prescribed fire and answer questions about smoke emissions and transport and fire effects on flora and fauna.  Our fuels and fire behavior research seeks to develop process-based (mechanistic) approaches to predicting fuel characteristics and fire behavior, with particular focus on hardwoods in Appalachian topography.  Areas of emphasis have been fuel production and decomposition through seasons and across years, topographic variability in fuel moisture, and fire behavior monitoring.            

    Our Research

    In our Fuel Consumption and Smoke Emissions project, we are using a combination of infrared (IR) imaging from fixed-wing aircraft (remote sensing) and in-fire monitoring to characterize fire heat release and fuel consumption from prescribed burns in Ohio and Kentucky.  In our Calibrating Thermocouples for Monitoring Fire Behavior project, we have characterized the response of commonly used thermocouple probes to surface fires in an effort to increase their usefulness for fire behavior and effects applications.  The Coupled Hydrology and Ecosystem Process Modeling project provides fuel and fuel moisture inputs to fire behavior and effects models.

    Expected Outcomes 

    Climate-change simulation models require an ability to link forest conditions to fuels, fuels to fire behavior, and fire behavior to fire effects. To improve these linkages, we are developing a fire module for the Regional Hydroecological Simulation System (RHESSys), a coupled hydrology and ecosystem process model.
    Validating fire models and predicting effects requires high quality measurements of fire spread and heat release. We are devleoping airborne infrared technology to map fire heat release and spread at unprecedented detail (~1 m) and spatial extent (landscapes). With these data, fuel consumption is being estimated for prescribed burns in Ohio, Kentucky, Florida, and Georgia.

    Research Results

    Annual variation in leaf production in the Ohio Hills. 
    Transmission of solar radiation through forest canopies.
    Ohio and Kentucky Smoke Management Workshops.
    Thermocouple probe calibration equations for surface fire monitoring and associated protocol and MathCad physical model.

    Download:

    Research Participants

    Principal Investigator

    Research Partners

    • Anthony S. Bova, USDA Forest Service - Northern Research Station Physical Scientist
    • Larry Band, University of North Carolina, Geography Department - Voit Gilmore Distinguished Professor
    • Kim J. Brown, Franklin Park Conservatory
    • Valerie L. Young, Ohio University, Chemical Engineering Department - Associate Professor
    • Michael Bowden, Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Division of Forestry – Fire Program Administrator
    • Robert L. Kremens, Rochester Institute of Technology, Center for Imaging Science - Senior Research Scientist
    • Ann Acheson, USDA-Forest Service - National Forest System (WO), Wildlife, Fish & Rare Plants, Programs– Air Program Leader 
    • Cindy Huber, USDA-Forest Service National Forest System - Southern Region - Air Quality Specialist
    For further information log on website :
    http://www.nrs.fs.fed.us/sustaining_forests/natural_disturbance/fuels_fire_behavior/

    Fire Effects in Eastern Forests


    Research Issue

    [photo:]  Red maple stem heating experiment.Understanding fire effects requires consideration of the processes by which the effects occur.  We are applying process-based (mechanistic) approaches to modeling fire effects on endangered Indiana bats and fire-caused tree injury and mortality.  Fires pose risks for bats but also provide opportunities for improving bat roosting habitat, our project considers both sides of the problem.  Ecologists and land managers would like to predict tree injury and mortality from fire behavior, but the tools available are not sufficiently process-based to be general, that is, applicable across a wide range of species and locations.  In our tree injury and mortality work, we seek to develop general models.      

    Our Research

    In our Tree Injury and Mortality project, we are collaborating on the development of FireStem, a stem heating and injury model, and are extending the model to crown injury.  In the Indiana Bat project, we are modeling potential effects of fires on bats through a linked series of steps:  heat release from fires drives smoke transport across burn units and the resulting exposures to gas and heat in roosts cause toxicological effects.   Literature reviews and field research on bat habitat relations and behavior provide context for our modeling. 

    Expected Outcomes

    Our research is designed to advance development of a comprehensive, process-based fire effects model for the USFS and beyond. Specific projects include: 1) optimizing and validating FireStem, a tree stem heating and injury model; 2) extending our ability to link fire behavior with both stem and canopy injury; and 3) producing relationships that can predict smoke exposures to fauna in shelters. 
    Our work will define the prescribed fire conditions under which tree roosting bats (especially the endangered Indiana bat) experience a high risk of injury. At the same time, we are quantifying effects of fire on bat habitat quality, including increases in insect prey resources following fire.
    A national collaboration is reviewing the state-of-the-science in fire effects prediction. The series of papers will explore research in fire monitoring, fire effects on soils, vegetation, and fauna, and the devleopment of software systems for land manageement.

    Research Results

    Bova, Anthony S.; Dickinson, Matthew B. 2009. An inverse method to estimate stem surface heat flux in wildland fires. International Journal of Wildland Fire. 18: 711-721.
    Dickinson, Matthew B.; Lacki, Michael J.; Cox, Daniel R. 2009. Fire and the endangered Indiana bat. In: Hutchinson, Todd F., ed. Proceedings of the 3rd fire in eastern oak forests conference; 2008 May 20-22; Carbondale, IL. Gen. Tech. Rep. NRS-P-46. Newtown Square, PA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northern Research Station: 51-75.

    Research Participants

    Principal Investigator

    Research Partners

    • Anthony S. Bova, USDA Forest Service - Northern Research Station Physical Scientist
    • Bret W. Butler, USDA Forest Service – Rocky Mountain Research Station Research Engineer
    • Dan Jimenez, USDA Forest Service – Rocky Mountain Research Station Research Engineer
    • Brent Webb, Brigham Young University, Department of Mechanical Engineering - Professor
    • Valerie L. Young, Ohio University, Chemical Engineering Department - Associate Professor
    • James Norris, Norris Consulting Services
    • Michael J. Lacki, University of Kentucky, Department of Forestry - Professor

    For further information log on website :
    http://www.nrs.fs.fed.us/sustaining_forests/natural_disturbance/fire_effects/

    Sustaining Forests in a Changing Environment

    Fire Behavior and Effects Research under the National Fire Plan 


    [image:] Map of heat release from a ridge ignition burn on the Daniel Boone National Forest generated by aerial infrared mappingUnderstand, Model, Monitor, and Predict Fuel Characteristics, Fire Behavior, and fire Effects to achieve objectives of the National Fire Plan – We will develop process-based (mechanistic) approaches to predicting fuel characteristics, predicting and monitoring fire behavior, and understanding fire effects. Although we focus on Appalachian forests, our goal is to develop generally applicable tools and models. We use in-fire and airborne monitoring to characterize fuel consumption and smoke emissions and develop fire modules for process-based ecosystem models. We collaborate to develop predictive models of tree injury and mortality and smoke effects on endangered Indiana bats. Our work contributes to wildland fire forensics.

    Selected Research


    Last Modified: 06/21/2013

    For further information log on website :
    http://www.nrs.fs.fed.us/units/sustainingforests/focus/fire/

    An Economist with an Abiding Commitment to Making the World Better

    Author

    BY TOM TURNER – DECEMBER 9, 2016

    In Memoriam: Jim Harding — Faith, Hope, and Clarity

    In the autumn of 1969 there was a big environmental conference in San Francisco sponsored, if memory serves, by one of the United Nations agencies. A panel at the conference featured high school students who were active in various environmental activities. One was a lad from Cubberly High School in Palo Alto named Jim Harding. After the panel, Harding met David Brower, who had recently been forced out of the Sierra Club and founded Friends of the Earth. Each impressed the other.

    Jim Harding

    Photo courtesy of David Chatfield

    Jim Harding at a talk in 1982. Harding was a key player in energy planning everywhere. The recent decision by the Pacific Gas and Electric Company to phase out its last reactor, at Diablo Canyon is a fitting capstone to his decades of activism against nuclear energy.

    After high school Harding enrolled at Bowdoin College in Maine, where he studied economics and became interested in the economics of energy production, especially nuclear power. In due course he made it back to the Bay Area and joined the staff of FOE, which was actively campaigning to have nuclear reactors shut down.

    As the campaign grew, Harding undertook a column in FOE’s journal Not Man Apart, a twice-monthly, two-page tabloid-newspaper spread called “The Nuclear Blowdown.” It covered economic matters as well as technical issues to do with reactor safety and many other topics. Despite NMA’s relatively small circulation, "The Blowdown" became required reading, both for nuclear boosters and for opponents. At one point, Mark Dowie wrote in Mother Jones that he had snuck into a high-level nuclear meeting and heard any number of people say that they depended on “The Blowdown” to keep them up to date on what the antinuclear movement was thinking and doing.

    In 1976, as California voters were considering how to vote on Proposition 15, which would have severely cramped any thought of nuclear expansion, Harding was lured to Sacramento to work for the new California Energy Commission, one of several agencies created during Jerry Brown’s first stint as governor, two others being SolarCal and the Office of Appropriate Technology.
    After about three years in state government, Harding returned to FOE and joined Amory Lovins to create the International Project on Soft Energy Paths, “soft” energy being Amory’s description of solar, wind, other renewables, and efficiency and conservation. They published an elegant journal called Soft Energy Notes, which became quite an influential fixture, and conducted research and sponsored conferences for about five years.
    Nuclear energy was a hot topic in California in the ‘70s and ‘80. The state then had reactors operating at Humboldt Bay, San Onofre, Diablo Canyon, and Rancho Seco. When the Sacramento Municipal Utility District suggested building a second reactor at Rancho Seco, Harding produced a devastating economic analysis that stopped the proposal in its tracks.
    In late 1985 Friends of the Earth imploded and the entire San Francisco operation was shuttered. Harding worked for several years at MHB Technical Associates, a firm run by three nuclear engineers who left General Electric to campaign against nuclear power. Harding testified all across the country and the world at various hearings considering matters nuclear. He then moved north, working first for the Washington State Energy Office, then the Northwest Power Planning Council, and finally Seattle City Light. Later he set up his own consultancy.
    Denis Hayes of the Bullitt Foundation and head of the Solar Energy Research Institute under Jimmy Carter, reports, “he was deeply involved in a Keystone Institute project to assess the economic viability of the current generation of nuclear reactors in an era of rising commodity prices (steel, concrete, etc.). Jim basically outworked everyone else and managed to move a diverse group to adopt a very skeptical final report. He was particularly upset by the phony baloney accounting that the French were using [see below] to hide massive expenses to justify their all-in commitment. . . . He was a smart, engaged guy who worked hard and cared deeply.”  
    In short, Harding was a key player in energy planning everywhere. The recent decision by the Pacific Gas and Electric Company to phase out its last reactor, at Diablo Canyon, negotiated by S. David Freeman for Friends of the Earth, is a fitting capstone to this effort.
    Harding died on November 14, having had a brutal and relentless series of setbacks starting about 10 years previously. He was 64 years old. He is survived by one sister, Ann, and one brother, Rob.
    Here is a sampling of what some of his friends and colleagues wrote for the Harding family to share at a private memorial service on Thanksgiving.  
    “As the other one of Dave Brower’s original energy protégés at Friends of the Earth, I had the special pleasure of working with Jim on many analyses and writings over decades, chiefly on nuclear power. He had faith, hope, and clarity, and the greatest of these is clarity.
    An economist for whom economics was a powerful tool rather than a brain disease, Jim was blessed with an excellent mind, a sharp pen, a keen wit, low tolerance for lies and cant, and an abiding commitment to making the world better. And he knew well, as Joseph Wood Krutch said, that “The wicked flee where no man pursueth, but they make better time when someone is after them.”
    —   Amory Lovins
    “My earliest clear memory of Jim was, I believe, 1975, at the American Nuclear Society/Atomic Industrial Forum conference in San Francisco. Friends of the Earth held a press conference to launch a new
publication, Jim´s analysis of the economics of the proposed Rancho Seco 2. Jim was, what? 20 years old? [23, actually] in front of a room packed to bursting with nuclear heavies at the height of their pomp. Jim was debonair and effortlessly confident as he presented his devastating demolition job on this California nuclear flagship. When he finished by announcing that copies of the analysis were available from the platform, the entire room surged forward as one. I´d never seen anything like it. It was the beginning of a remarkable career. That´s how I´ll remember my longtime friend and colleague Jim, as one of the doughtiest bravura fighters in a long David-Goliath battle that David is clearly winning. “
    —   Walt Patterson
    “I was active in the NW energy community when Jim arrived in Olympia, and we shared many hours together plotting the demise of the WPPSS [Washington Public Power Supply System, sometimes pronounced “woops”] nuclear plants. Five were started, and only one was finished, so we batted .800, which should get both of us into the Hall of Fame.
    He had to be a little careful, as he worked for a governor who was allied with the construction unions, which thought these were terrific projects. Being careful was not really Jim’s strong suit. I was self-employed doing consulting for consumer and environmental clients, and could be more brash. He fed me a lot of good stuff. It helped both of us — he knew that what he knew was being used effectively, and I looked really smart.”
    —   Jim Lazar
    “I worked with him at Friends of the Earth in the early ‘70s, yet 40 years later I can conjure up that smile, like he knew some grand secret, and that extraordinary mind that leapt and focused and could light up. “
    —   Trish Sarr 
    “He welcomed me when David Brower brought me to Friends of the Earth to write about the Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant. Jim welcomed me and nurtured me in my writings. Jim bought me meals when my own funds were lacking and welcomed me into his home. I value the time that I spent with Jim. “
    —   Mark Evanoff
    “I have wonderful humorous memories of his Danish parodies (I share this link) as well as a memory of spending an afternoon trying to translate into English endless data on France's sly manipulation of the facts behind its buildup of nuclear power plants. Jim was so intelligent yet patient with me and my efforts to translate something I didn't understand (nuclear power). May his family be proud of him! “
    —   Mary Jorgensen
    “What a sad piece of news. I think often about how far ahead of the curve FOE was on energy policy, and Jim was one of the key people figuring it out. “
    —   David Chatfield
    “I worked with Jim at Friends of the Earth in the early 1980s, and for part of that time, Jim and I were housemates. Jim's intellect, wit, and unpredictable sense of humor were extraordinary and remain unmatched in my experience. Among other things, he introduced me to the magic of chocolate with chicken; the novels of John Le Carre, and the music of Leonard Cohen. I have always, and will always, think of Jim when listening to Cohen's music. I'm very grateful for that.”
    —   Juliette Majot
    “Juliette forwarded me the hard news about Jim. I also worked at Friends of the Earth. In fact, the three of us spent a lot of time together when they were housemates. Before then, I was pretty intimidated by Jim's cool intellect and analytical capabilities. His extraordinary work appeared effortless and his ability to challenge the nuclear establishment (in person and in writing) earned him a great deal of respect on both sides of the fence. In the office he was so buttoned up and focused on his work, I actually dreaded going to his house for dinner the first time.  
    But the Jim who greeted me at the door, grinning ear to ear, a gravy-stained dish towel on his shoulder and Miles Davis on the stereo, was not what I expected. Neither was the lovely aroma of something amazing in the oven. Work/politics never came up that evening or any other. Our time with Jim was often filled with bouts of extreme laughter over all kinds of silliness. We went to foreign films that we didn't get. We fell through sinkholes in the mud around Pyramid Lake. I think what he loved best was to shock us with gossip about the lofty characters in the environmental movement. He'd tell their most off-color secrets and laugh and laugh watching us freak out at the info. He also loved being teased. We could not embarrass that man no matter how hard we tried. He really cracked me up. “
    —   Angela Gennino

    For further information log on website :
    http://www.earthisland.org/journal/index.php/elist/eListRead/an_economist_with_an_abiding_commitment_to_making_the_world_better

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