Study Guide: Fire Ecology

To-Do Date: May 3 at 9:30am

As we examine climate change impacts, it is impossible to avoid thinking about wildfires and their impact on Sonoma County.   Each of us has been impacted by the fires to different degrees.  I know that this can be a painful topic, but hopefully with greater knowledge will come greater ability to make decisions  and choices.  Ideally we can look for solutions to better manage our forests and  coexist safely in a fire-adapted landscape.

There are many factors that affect fire in California. We'll examine 

• the biology of 3 California ecosystems: chaparral, mixed evergreen forest & redwood forests
• this includes the role of fire in a Mediterranean climate and plant adaptations to fire
• Loss of fire - loss of cultural fires and fire suppression 
• Forest management practices, timber  harvesting in particular
• Climate change
• Growth of the Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI) 

 

In this cartoon, Smokey the Bear is reading the news surrounded by bottles of Tylenol, Tums, Pepto Bismal and is drinking straight from a Maalox bottle. The news paper  headlines are about West Coast fires and Fire Index while the actual paper catches on fire. Can you explain why Smokey is so worried? What role did Smokey play in creating this problem? What role does climate change play? 

 

 

Study Guide Questions

1.  Be able to describe the basic biology of chaparral, redwood forest and mixed evergreen forest.

• • • What types of plants live in these ecosystems?
    • Where are these ecosystems found in California?
    • What are the important interactions between species in these ecosystems? 
    • What adaptations do plants have to survive and reproduce in these ecosystems? To drought?  To fire? 
    • What is mineral soil? Why is it helpful for new seedlings after a fire? 

2.Fire is a natural part of California's ecosystems. What are plant adaptations to fire?

• • What adaptations do they have to surviving fire?
  • What adaptations do plants have to reproducing after fire?
  • What are the advantages for a fire adapted plant after a fire? 
  • What is the role of natural selection in determining plant adaptations?

3. Why is fire a part of California's landscape?

• • • What is the role of a Mediterranean climate? 
    • How did  indigenous peoples of California use fire? For what purposes? 
    • How does fire affect the movement of water ecosystems? 
    • What was the impact on native plant ecosystems?

4. What has lead to the loss of fire in California? 

• • Why did the Spanish stop the use of cultural fire by indigenous Californians?
  • What role did the Big Burn have in shaping the US Forest Service?
  • What was the  US Forest Service's policy on fire up until the 1970s?
  • In what way did this policy lead to the super fires that we see today?

 

5. What are the impacts of fire and fire suppression and timber harvesting  on important ecosystems in California. Fill out this chart. 

Ecosystem Type	Historic fire type (understory, mixed severity, stand replacing)	Fire Adaptations	Consequence of Fire Suppression	Consequence of Clear Cutting	Consequences of Fire Too Frequently?
Montane Forest					not discussed
Oak Woodland				not discussed	not discussed
Chaparral				not discussed

 

6. What are the impacts of climate change on fire?

• • What is the impact on fire frequency?  Fire intensity? 
  • What ecosystems are the most at risk? 
  • Specifically what parts of climate change are exacerbating our fire risk? (ie. timing of high winds with hotter weather in the fall, etc) 
  • What can we expect in the future regarding fire? 
  • What can be done to reduce fire risk? 

7. What is the Wildland-Urban Interface and what is its role in fire risk?

• • Do you live in the WUI? How close?
  • What is the risk of fire to your home?
  • Where is the WUI growing in the US? 
  • Why does an increase in the WUI lead to more complex fire fighting operations? 

 

Unit Assessment Questions

Your final assessment for this module will be to respond to some common statements made about fire.  Select 4 of the myths below, write a response that is grounded in the content covered in this module.  Each response should be three to five sentences long and include evidence in support of your response.  I've included an example below:

Example Statement:  Historical fires were understory fires.

Example Response:  Many historical fires were understory fires in ecosystems like montane forests, Northcoast forests and oak woodlands. However, some historic fires were stand-replacing.  For  example, the Great 1910 Fire in the Rocky Mountains was a stand replacing event; the fire climbed into the crown of the trees within the montane forest because of strong winds.  Also, in some ecosystems, like chaparral, fires are stand-replacing, moving through the dense shrubs and killing most or all above-ground vegetation.

Statements to Evaluate: Select 4 of these statements 

Statement #1. All wildfires are bad and should be stopped immediately

Statement #2. Wildfires are natural and should be allowed to burn freely

Statement #3. Fires are the result of forest mismanagement

Statement #4.  Logging forests prevents wildfires

Statement #5. Mechanical thinning for fuels reduction is harmful to forest health.

Statement #6. The fires are caused by climate change

Statement #7. We can stop fire along the WUI by better fuels management

Statement #8. Defensible space around a home will save it from a wildfire.

 

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