We met fire ecologist and University of California Berkeley PhD candidate, Alison Forrestal at Point Reyes National Seashore (US National Park Service). Alison toured us around the park to look at areas where prescribed fire (Rx fire) had been implemented in chaparral fuels as well as areas of mastication (mechanical hazard reduction) in the understory of redwood forests that aimed to create strategic breaks and trail access in the event of a wildfire. (So far it seems the use of mastication is much more common than Rx burning as a way to reduce bushfire fuels).
We also inspected a redwood/tanoak forest affected by the plant pathogen Phytophthora ramorum, also known as Sudden Oak Death. This infectious disease was identified in California the mid 1990’s and has caused substantial mortality in tanoak and several oak tree species. The name Sudden Oak death is appropriate as once an oak is infected through the trunk and the leaves in the case of tanoak, the tree dies relatively quickly. Other tree species are affected by this pathogen including Douglas-fir and coast redwood that may not die but can act as hosts. The death of the oak trees is expected to significantly increase the dead fuel load in the forest. In order to monitor the changes in fuel loads, permanent fuels monitoring sites have been set up in the affected forest using Brown's method in the ‘Monitoring Dead and Downed Fuel Loads’ described in the National Park Service Fire Monitoring Handbook.
The park, and the surrounding area are widely populated by many large stands of eucalypt trees (mainly Eucalyptus globulus – Blue Gum) introduced from Australia in the 1850's during the Californian gold rush. Eucalypts here grow vigorously given the Mediterranean climate – warm, dry summers and cool rainy winters. Park fire management staff are grappling with the issues related to managing increased fuels from this introduced plant. Other current issues relating to monitoring and managing fuels include the increasing array of models available for predicting fire behaviour, the efficacy of such models and the issue of extrapolating data for use in fire behaviour models. Sounds familiar!
Thanks Alison!
Thanks Alison!
