Posts Tagged: Berkeley Forests
UC ANR Fire Network Hosts Wildfire Legislative Tour with Berkeley Forests
As California grapples with decades of severe wildfires, the newly established UC ANR Fire...
A mini-camp with major impact: California community college students are introduced to UC Berkeley’s Forestry Mini-Camp
The window of summer is closed, and that ‘back to school' feeling everyone knows has...
Lessons on wildfire resilience from a 4,000-acre forest lab
Reposted from the UC Berkeley News In his years managing California woodlands, Rob York has...
To reduce wildfire risk, forestland owners can do winter controlled burns, says UCCE expert
Reposted from the UC ANR news
When conditions are right, winter can be a good time to conduct prescribed burns for forest management, says Rob York, UC Cooperative Extension forestry specialist.
“A huge issue we have in California is fire severity. We know from research that prescribed fire can be a very good tool for reducing fire severity,” York said. “For forest landowners or foresters who want to do their own prescribed burning, winter burning can be a good entry point.”
York is based at the UC Blodgett Forest Research Station in Georgetown, where he developed a series of eight short videos demonstrating how fire can be used on landscapes during the colder months. The videos feature controlled fires conducted at the station on Dec. 6 and 9, 2020. More videos in this series will be posted during the upcoming year.
Among the factors covered in the videos are climatic conditions and site selection for winter burning.
Climatic conditions
Wet or snowy weather in the fall may seem to shut the window for prescribed burning, but York said often the snow melts away and fuels dry out enough to do a winter burn.
“The idea is to be ready when the fuels dry out,” he said. Thinning trees and masticating underbrush are ways to prepare the forest for a burn.
When selecting the day of the fire, relative humidity, temperature and wind speed and direction are important considerations.
“Relative humidity should be low. You want the cloud cover to be very low. A sunny day helps dry out the fuel,” York said. “In the winter, you want that drying and heating power of the sun to help the fuel be consumed.”
Site selection
Among the factors to consider in selecting locations for winter burns is the aspect. The sun's warmth is optimized on south-facing slopes.
“That's what we're looking for,” York said. “Relatively small areas that are burnable.”
An open canopy allows sunlight to dry out the understory vegetation and surface fuels, enabling successful winter burns.
Vegetation type also weighs into winter burning decisions.
“Bear clover plus pine needles make this feasible, including conditions on the wetter side when you might not otherwise be able to burn, you can burn,” York said. “If you can encourage bear clover and pine needles, you can encourage more opportunities for low density burns, which I think do a great job to maintain low fire hazard.”
Find the complete series on the UC Forestry and Range YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/user/UCExtensionForestry) in the playlist titled Winter Prescribed Burning.
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Berkeley Forests: New Future for UC Center for Forestry & Center for Fire Research & Outreach
The Center for Forestry and Center for Fire Research and Outreach are merging to become Berkeley Forests!
As we all know, forests and fire are inextricably linked in California. Historically, both Centers have carried out research, outreach, and education on human interactions with California ecosystems. Combining the Centers under one roof will facilitate the work of our co-directors, Dr. Scott Stephens and Dr. William Stewart, our Berkeley Forests staff, and management of our new research forest, Grouse Ridge.
To this end, we are proud to release our new website at https://forests.berkeley.edu/ The new website features easy to access information about our forests, fire resources, information on current research, our long-term datasets for our forests, and more.
With these changes, we will also be hiring a new Policy Analyst (located at the Berkeley campus). We seek someone with experience in and knowledge of forests, fire, grant writing, social media, website work, and GIS/data analysis. An official position will be released shortly on the Berkeley jobs website, but please make sure to follow us on social media or email one of or co-directors so you don't miss it!
We're also merging all our social media pages! The Center for Forestry and Center for Fire facebook pages will be closed and transition to the Blodgett Forest Research Station page to become Blodgett Research Station at Berkeley Forests. Please like us at our new home if you have not done so already!
On twitter, the @ucforestcenter page will be closed, and the @ucfirecenter page will become @berkeleyforests. If you are only on the @ucforestcenter, please make sure to change your follow to @berkeleyforests!
If you have questions or concerns, please contact Berkeley Forests' co-directors at billstewart@berkeley.edu or sstephens@berkeley.edu