Abstract
The shelterwood burn technique is becoming more accepted and used as a means of regenerating eastern mixed-oak (
Quercus spp.) forests on productive upland sites. Preparation is important to successfully implement this method; part of that preparation is selecting the proper fuel model (FM) for the prescribed fire. Because of the mix of leaf litter and logging slash, FMs 6, 8, 9, 10, and 11 may be appropriate representations of oak shelterwood stands for planning prescribed fires. This study compares fire behavior in oak shelterwood stands to BehavePlus-generated predictions for these FMs. BehavePlus most accurately predicted flame lengths and rates of spread with FM 11. When FM 6 was used, BehavePlus overestimated fire behavior. With FMs 8 and 9, BehavePlus consistently underestimated fire behavior, and with FM 10 BehavePlus produced overestimations and underestimations with no discernible pattern. When planning prescribed fires in oak-dominated shelterwood stands, resource managers should use either FM 11 to predict average fire behavior or FMs 6 and 9 to predict maximum and minimum fire behaviors.
Parent Publication
Citation
Brose, Patrick H. 2017. An evaluation of hardwood fuel models for planning prescribed fires in oak shelterwood stands. In: Kabrick, John M.; Dey, Daniel C.; Knapp, Benjamin O.; Larsen, David R.; Shifley, Stephen R.; Stelzer, Henry E., eds. Proceedings of the 20th Central Hardwood Forest Conference; 2016 March 28-April 1; Columbia, MO. General Technical Report NRS-P-167. Newtown Square, PA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northern Research Station: 134-145.
