Posts Tagged: Berkeley Forests

20-year study confirms California forests are healthier when burned or thinned

A researcher using a drip torch ignites low-growing plants for a prescribed burn

UC Berkeley's Blodgett Forest Research Station is the home of an ongoing, 20-year study investigating the impacts of prescribed fire and resoration thinning on forest health and wildfire risk in the Sierra Nevada. Photo by Ariel Roughton

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.

This study shows that restoration thinning is also a viable option for forest management and can be used in tandem with beneficial fire without harming forest health or biodiversity.

"Our findings show that there's not just one solution — there are multiple things that you can do to impact the risk of catastrophic fire," said study co-author Ariel Roughton, research station manager at Berkeley Forests. "Folks can choose from different combinations of treatments that might fit their needs, and we can show them how those treatments might impact things like wildfire behavior, tree growth and carbon holding in their forests."

UC Berkeley's Blodgett Forest Research Station is a model for how California can reduce the risk of severe wildfire and improve the ecological health of its forests. (UC Berkeley video by Roxanne Makasdjian and Jason Blalock)

Surrogates to wildfire

Over the past two decades, Stephens and other researchers at Berkeley Forests have used prescribed burning, restoration thinning or a combination of both to treat plots of land at Blodgett Forest Research Station, a 4,000-acre experimental forest located about 65 miles northeast of Sacramento on the unceded lands of the Nisenan peoples.

The Fire Surrogate Study was one of 13 studies across the U.S. first launched in 1999 with funding from the U.S. Joint Fire Science Program. Its aim was to study whether the two treatments could mimic the beneficial impacts of lightning fires and Indigenous burning practices on California's forests, which have become dense and overgrown after a century of logging and fire suppression.

"Prescribed fire and restoration thinning are both surrogates for wildfire, a key process that happened frequently in California before European colonization," Stephens said. "The impetus of this study was: If you're going to implement these treatments at a large scale, is there anything that's going to be lost?"

Sign in forest reads: C400, P 103 S, Sep-24-02, F, pre-burn

This photo of a research plot at Blodgett Forest was taken by Scott Stephens in 2002, before being treated with fire.

The study created nine experimental plots and three control plots at Blodgett. Three of the experimental plots were managed only using prescribed burns; three burns occurred over the course of 20 years. Three other experimental plots were first thinned and then burned, and the final three were treated only with restoration thinning. The control plots were left to grow without human interference except continued fire suppression.

At the end of the 20-year period, the researchers surveyed the vegetation in each plot and used computational modeling to estimate how many trees were likely to survive wildfire. They found that all three types of experimental plots were significantly more resilient to wildfire than the control plots, showing an 80% likelihood that at least 80% of trees would survive.

They also calculated the "index of competition," a measure of how strongly trees must compete for resources like sunlight, water and soil nutrients. By removing excess trees and vegetation, thinning and burning both limited the amount of competition between trees, making them less vulnerable to stressors, like drought and bark beetles.

However, the plots that were treated with a combination of thinning and fire had the best index of competition, suggesting that they would be the most resilient to the impacts of climate change.

"When you combine thinning with fire, you're able to modify all different levels of the forest structure, and it speeds up the timeline for achieving a more resilient structure," Roughton said.

Restoration thinning can also provide financial benefits: Often, larger trees can be sold to sawmills, and the proceeds can be used to help offset the cost of forest management. Over the course of 20 years, the treatments at Blodgett were entirely paid for by revenue from timber.

"When I go to Sacramento and talk about [forest management] with legislators, the first question they always ask is about cost," Stephens said. "People in the state government are telling us that they can't be the sole source support for this work. That's why the economics are so important."

Scott Stephens at Blodgett Forest Research Station in late 2021. Evett Kilmartin/UC Regents

Trial by fire

In September 2022, the forests at Blodgett were subjected to a real-life test: On the morning of Sept. 9, 2022, the Mosquito Fire breached the north side of the property, burning approximately 300 acres before it was contained two days later.

One of the study's control plots was located directly in the path of the blaze, and more than 60% of the trees in this plot were completely scorched. However, neighboring experimental plots that had been treated with prescribed burns served as “fuel breaks,” burning less hot than the control and acting as staging areas for firefighters.

"We think that, overall, our management actions, coupled with the weather, did have a pretty big impact on the behavior of the fire," Roughton said.

The researchers have received a four-year grant from the Joint Fire Science Program to continue the Fire Surrogate Project. With the help of the grant, they have established a new control plot to replace the one that burned and plan to apply a fourth fire to the experimental burn-only plots.

They are also collaborating with the United Auburn Indian Community to reestablish Indigenous cultural burning at Blodgett.

"We want to be part of the solution, and that's part of our mission at Blodgett," Roughton said. "We hope that by doing these studies and bringing folks here to see the effects of the different treatments, they will take that back and apply it to the land that they're going to be managing."

Additional co-authors of the study include Daniel E. Foster, John J. Battles, Alexis A. Bernal, Brandon M. Collins, Rachelle Hedges and Robert A. York of UC Berkeley and Jason J. Moghaddas of the Spatial Informatics Group. This project was originally funded by the U.S. Joint Fire Science Program, and it has received additional support from the California Fourth Climate Change Assessment, the McIntire-Stennis Program, the California Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, and the UC Office of the President's UC Laboratory Fees Research Program. Smart Practices and Architecture for Prescribed Fires in California was also important to keeping this long-term project active.

More photos can be seen on original post at https://news.berkeley.edu/2023/12/12/twenty-year-study-confirms-california-forests-are-healthier-when-burned-or-thinned.

Posted on Wednesday, December 13, 2023 at 8:45 AM

Comments: 0

Author: Kara Manke, PhD, UC Berkeley Media Relations

Tags: Berkeley Forests, prescribed fire, Scott Stephens, wildfire

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 Network plays an integral role in providing and advancing science-based solutions and delivering useful tools throughout the state. Recently, the Fire Network...

Posted on Thursday, November 30, 2023 at 7:15 AM

Comments: 0

Author: Grace Dean

Tags: Berkeley Forests, Blodgett Research Forest, Fire, fire network, fire resilience, forestry, UC Berkeley

Focus Area Tags: Environment

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 settled in- the excitement, the nerves, the first 7AM breakfast you've had in the last few months. However, the magic of summer lingers, and is a bit more...

Posted on Wednesday, September 13, 2023 at 1:44 PM

Comments: 0

Author: Grace Dean

Tags: Berkeley Forests, college, community college, Forestry, forestry skills, UC Berkeley

Focus Area Tags: Environment

Climate-Change Resources

University of California UC ANR Green Blog (Climate Change and Other Topics) https://ucanr.edu/blogs/Green/index.cfm?tagname=climate%20change (full index)

Examples:

- Save Trees First: Tips to Keep Them Alive Under Drought https://ucanr.edu/b/~CdD

- Landscaping with Fire Exposure in Mind: https://ucanr.edu/b/~G4D

- Cities in California Inland Areas Must Make Street Tree Changes to adapt to Future Climate https://ucanr.edu/b/~oF7

Drought, Climate Change and California Water Management Ted Grantham, UC Cooperative Extension specialist (23 minutes) https://youtu.be/dlimj75Wn9Q

Climate Variability and Change: Trends and Impacts on CA Agriculture Tapan Pathak, UC Cooperative Extension specialist (24 minutes) https://youtu.be/bIHI0yqqQJc

California Institute for Water Resources (links to blogs, talks, podcasts, water experts, etc.) https://ciwr.ucanr.edu/California_Drought_Expertise/

UC ANR Wildfire Resources (publications, videos, etc.) https://ucanr.edu/News/For_the_media/Press_kits/Wildfire/ (main website)

-UC ANR Fire Resources and Information https://ucanr.edu/sites/fire/ (main website)

-Preparing Home Landscaping https://ucanr.edu/sites/fire/Prepare/Landscaping/

UC ANR Free Publications https://anrcatalog.ucanr.edu/ (main website)

- Benefits of Plants to Humans and Urban Ecosystems: https://anrcatalog.ucanr.edu/pdf/8726.pdf

-Keeping Plants Alive Under Drought and Water Restrictions (English version) https://anrcatalog.ucanr.edu/pdf/8553.pdf

(Spanish version) https://anrcatalog.ucanr.edu/pdf/8628.pdf

- Use of Graywater in Urban Landscapes https://anrcatalog.ucanr.edu/pdf/8536.pdf

- Sustainable Landscaping in California https://anrcatalog.ucanr.edu/pdf/8504.pdf

Other (Non-UC) Climate Change Resources

Urban Forests and Climate Change. Urban forests play an important role in climate change mitigation and adaptation. Active stewardship of a community's forestry assets can strengthen local resilience to climate change while creating more sustainable and desirable places to live. https://www.fs.usda.gov/ccrc/topics/urban-forests

Examining the Viability of Planting Trees to Mitigate Climate Change (plausible at the forest level) https://climate.nasa.gov/news/2927/examining-the-viability-of-planting-trees-to-help-mitigate-climate-change/

Reports and other information resources coordinated under the auspices of the United Nations and produced through the collaboration of thousands of international scientists to provide a clear and up to date view of the current state of scientific knowledge relevant to climate change. United Nations Climate Action

Scientific reports, programs, action movements and events related to climate change. National Center for Atmospheric Research (National Science Foundation)

Find useful reports, program information and other documents resulting from federally funded research and development into the behavior of the atmosphere and related physical, biological and social systems. Search and find climate data from prehistory through to an hour ago in the world's largest climate data archive. (Formerly the "Climatic Data Center") National Centers for Environmental Information (NOAA)

Think tank providing information, analysis, policy and solution development for addressing climate change and energy issues (formerly known as the: "Pew Center on Global Climate Change"). Center for Climate & Energy Solutions (C2ES)

Mapping Resilience: A Blueprint for Thriving in the Face of Climate Disaster. The Climate Adaptation Knowledge Exchange (CAKE) was launched in July 2010 and is managed by EcoAdapt, a non-profit with a singular mission: to create a robust future in the face of climate change by bringing together diverse players to reshape planning and management in response to rapid climate change. https://www.cakex.org/documents/mapping-resilience-blueprint-thriving-face-climate-disaster

Cal-Adapt provides a way to explore peer-reviewed data that portrays how climate change might affect California at the state and local level. We make this data available through downloads, visualizations, and the Cal-Adapt API for your research, outreach, and adaptation planning needs. Cal-Adapt is a collaboration between state agency funding programs, university and private sector researchers https://cal-adapt.org/

Find reports, maps, data and other resources produced through a confederation of the research arms of 13 Federal departments and agencies that carry out research and develop and maintain capabilities that support the Nation's response to global change. Global Change (U.S. Global Change Research Program)

The Pacific Institute is a global water think tank that combines science-based thought leadership with active outreach to influence local, national, and international efforts to develop sustainable water policies. https://pacinst.org/our-approach/

Making equity real in climate adaptation and community resilience policies and programs: a guidebook. https://greenlining.org/publications/2019/making-equity-real-in-climate-adaption-and-community-resilience-policies-and-programs-a-guidebook/

Quarterly CA Climate Updates and CA Drought Monitor Maps (updated each Thursday) https://www.drought.gov/documents/quarterly-climate-impacts-and-outlook-western-region-june-2022

Posted on Wednesday, May 10, 2023 at 1:21 PM

Comments: 0

Author: Janet Hartin

Tags: california, climate change, climate change resources, drought resources, trees

Focus Area Tags: Environment

Drought focus of Water Resources IMPACT magazine special issue

Yang points to diagram on clipboard held by a man standing between him and the farmer.

Michael Yang, left, discusses a new irrigation with a Hmong farmer. Photo by Ruth Dahlquist-Willard

UC ANR experts address emotional toll of drought

Preparing the American West for prolonged drought is the focus of a double issue of Water Resources IMPACT magazine. The California Water Commission staff are guest editors for this special open-access edition of the magazine, which is published by the American Water Resources Association.

Faith Kearns, academic coordinator of University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources' California Institute for Water Resources, is among the authors delving into how drought impacts people and the environment and how we can better prepare for the inevitable.

The first issue, published on Feb. 14, focuses on water scarcity issues confronting California and the ways these issues affect different sectors.

In “Trauma, Care, and Solidarity: Addressing the Emotional Toll of Chronic Drought,” Kearns highlights the effects of drought on mental health. She points to the spike in suicide hotline calls when wells ran dry in Southeast Asian communities in California's Central Valley.

By listening to Southeast Asian farmers, Ruth Dahlquist-Willard and Michael Yang of UC Cooperative Extension were able to “lighten the load” for them by providing pragmatic support, Kearns writes.

“The scale of some of these highly emotional issues – drought, wildfires, climate change – can make them seem incredibly difficult, if not impossible, to deal with,” Kearns said. “At the same time, they are affecting everyone living in the western U.S. on a daily basis. I wanted to highlight and provide models based on work that people – whether they are researchers, clinical psychologists, or Cooperative Extension advisors – are doing right now to ease the way.”

The authors who contributed to the double issue are a diverse array of Tribal experts, academics, nongovernmental organization thought-leaders, water managers and water policy influencers, each of whom brings their own perspective on the topic of drought. Their expertise and perspectives in climate science, water policy and water management will help inform drought-related decision-making and support policies that better prepare the state to thrive during periods of prolonged water scarcity.

Not all effects of drought are as easy to see as on this parched hillside. Photo by Faith Kearns

In addition to Kearns, the first issue includes articles contributed by:

Samantha Stevenson, University of California, Santa Barbara
Jay Lund, University of California, Davis
Ron Goode, North Fork Mono Tribe
Andy Fecko, Placer County Water Agency
Jeff Mount, Public Policy Institute of California, and Ted Grantham, University of California, Berkeley/UC Cooperative Extension
Nat Seavy and Karyn Stockdale, National Audubon Society
Kjia Rivers, Community Water Center
Cannon Michael, Bowles Farming
Michelle Reimers, Turlock Irrigation District

The January/February edition of Water Resources IMPACT magazine can be accessed, free of charge, on the American Water Resources Association website at https://www.awra.org under “Publications.”

The second issue, to be published in March, will focus on drought response, considering the options for adaptation. This two-part series complements the Commission's work on strategies to protect communities and fish and wildlife in the event of a long-term drought.

Posted on Thursday, February 16, 2023 at 10:42 AM

Comments: 0