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The Effects of Thinning and Burning on Understory Vegetation in North America: A Meta-Analysis

View the publication here!

This meta-analysis was conducted to determine if there were consistent responses of understory vegetation to fire and thinning treatments in North American forests that historically experienced frequent surface fire regimes (<20 years fire return interval, FRI). The most consistent effect of the treatments was the increase in non-native species following mechanical thinning and reduction in shrub cover following a burn. These differences suggest the two treatments may not be surrogates in the short-term (less than 5 years). Prescribed fire and thinning treatments can be used successfully to restore understory species richness and cover, but they can create different conditions and these potentially different outcomes need to be considered in the planning of a fuels reduction treatment.

Image Source: Joint Fire Science Program

 

Posted by:
Gloria Edwards
Published on:
June 21, 2017

Categories: Research Brief/SynthesisTags: all regions, biodiversity, disturbance, Fire Ecology & Effects, fire management, fire regime, Fire Regimes, fire return interval, Forest Management, forest understory, fuels management and effectiveness, fuels thinning treatments, invasive species, landscape restoration and resilience, non-native species, Prescribed Fire, wildfire

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This regional Fire Exchange is one of 15 regional fire science exchanges sponsored by the Joint Fire Science Program (JFSP).
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