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Fire and Fuels Monitoring Workshop

Virtual and Field-based Training

June 1-4, 2021 ~0800-1200 Central

Workshop Objectives - Workshop introduces participants to tools for selecting metrics that match management/restoration objectives; developing site-specific protocols for sampling; developing a monitoring handbook and monitoring protocols/program for your local ecosystems; how to establish long-term monitoring and quantitative/qualitative data for wildfire risk assessment; and evaluating the need for prescribed burns and other fuels treatments.

June 1, 2, 4: 8:00am – 12:00pm (Central), June 3: on-your-own or at Satellite Field Location

Lead Instructor

Brian Stearns - Assistant Zone Fire Management Officer, Huron-Manistee National Forests, brian.stearns@usda.gov

Instructor Cadre

Michael Kelly - Fuels Technician, Mark Twain National Forest, michael.j.kelly@usda.gov

Joseph Marschall - Senior Research Specialist, University of Missouri, marschallj@missouri.edu

Brian Sturtevant - Research Ecologist, Northern Research Station USDA Forest Service, brian.r.sturtevant@usda.gov

Paul Priestley - Fire and Forest Restoration Coordinator, The Nature Conservancy Minnesota Chapter, paul.priestley@TNC.ORG

Jack McGowan-Stinski - Program Manager, Lake States Fire Science Consortium, mcgowan-stinski.1@osu.edu

RECORDINGS for the Workshop are listed for each time slot in the agenda below -

Day One – June 1 8:00 AM – 12:00 PM

8:00 – 8:15 Introduction for the workshop and the Joint Fire Science Program Fire Science Exchange Network (Instructor: McGowan-Stinski)

8:15 - 9:00 Developing a monitoring handbook for your local ecosystem to meet management objectives (NPS Fire Monitoring Handbook, measurement rotation, plot locations and density) (Instructor: Stearns, video link: https://vimeo.com/561932272/1daf6ee9b4 )

9:00 – 10:00 Fuel’s measurement techniques (Brown’s fuel transects, duff/litter) (Instructors: Stearns and Cadre, video link: https://vimeo.com/561932954/1b23dc80ec )

10:00 - 10:10 Break

10:10 -10:40 Forms - Standard forms and how to customize(Instructor: Stearns, video link: https://vimeo.com/561934058/34ae01e6c3 )

10:40 - 11:50 Fuels/vegetation photo monitoring, break-out groups (Instructor: Sturtevant, video link: https://vimeo.com/561935631/b36fd31fbf ) (BREAK-OUT GROUPS) (Photoload technique video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6PxBtxGHpwU )

11:50 – 12:00 Close-out

Day Two – June 2 8:00 AM – 12:00 PM

8:00 – 8:10 Welcome and outline of day, housekeeping details (McGowan-Stinski)

8:10 – 9:30 Mortality measurements (Instructor: Priestley, video link: https://vimeo.com/561939447/bcce25221e ); Fire severity and composite burn index (Instructor: Sturtevant, video link: https://vimeo.com/561938985/0216a1ef6e ) (BREAK-OUT GROUPS)

9:30 – 10:20 Fire behavior and burn severity mapping (Instructors: Stearns and Cadre, video link: https://vimeo.com/561940322/ecbcb5d757 )

10:20 – 10:30 Break

10:30-11:30 Online resources and Apps: Excel fuels calculator, FFI, FFI Lite, FCCS, Survey 123 (Instructor: Stearns, video link: https://vimeo.com/561942656/b56bdee08a )

11:30 – 11:50 Fire effects on timber value measurements (Instructor: Marschall, video link: https://vimeo.com/561943125/459f0c3aba )

11:50 - 12:00 Close-out

Day Three – June 3 8:00 AM – 12:00 PM

Independent field work and data collection 0n-your-own home unit, or at Satellite Field Locations in:

MI - Instructor: Stearns
MN - Instructor: Priestley
MO - Instructor: Kelly
WI - Instructor: Sturtevant

Forms and methods provided in Days 1 and 2. Collect data for some of the categories listed below:

Fuel loading / Brown’s Transects / Estimating fuel consumption
Soils & organics / Estimating duff & litter consumption
Fire severity / Burn Severity Indices / Composite Burn Index
Mortality / snag creation / Crown scorch / Canopy base height / Bole char / char depth

Day Four – June 4 8:00 AM – 11:00 PM

8:00 – 9:30 Compiling results and archiving data and forms; communicating and reporting monitoring results; Updating or adapting monitoring handbook; evaluating monitoring programs and changing protocols; overview of coarse-level metrics (Instructors: Stearns and Cadre, video link: https://vimeo.com/561950993/88c40bdd42 )

9:30 – 9:40 Break

9:40 – 10:50 (Instructors: Stearns and Cadre)

10:50 – 11:20 Coarse-level metrics (Jack McGowan-Stinski, video link: https://vimeo.com/565620938/6aedfbc6f9 )

10:50 – 11:00 Close-out review, program evaluation (Instructors: Stearns and Cadre)

Presentations (all PDF)

Monitoring Program Development_Stearns

Design and Fuels Measurement_Stearns

NBR Severity Mapping_Stearns

Forms_Stearns

Online Resources_Stearns

Fire and Tree Mortality Measurements_Priestley

PhotoLoad_Sturtevant

Severity_Sturtevant

Assessing fire effects on oak timber value_Marschall

Coarse-level monitoring metrics -McGowan-Stinski

Videos created by Joe Marschall, Oak Woodlands and Forests Fire Consortium

Brian Stearns, go-no-go fuels gauge demonstration (0:34)

Brian Stearns, mortality plot demonstration (2:45)

Brian Stearns, densiometer / moose-tube demonstration (3:53)

Brian Stearns, bole char and crown scorch measurement demonstration (4:01)

Brian Stearns, frequently used fuels and fire monitoring tools (3:16)

Brian Stearns, hori-hori use litter measurement and fuel bed depth measurement demonstration (1:52)

Brian Stearns, common fuels measurement questions (1:35)

Brian Stearns, fuels tally up-close demonstration (1:25)

Brian Stearns, litter and duff measurement demonstration (1:41)

Mike Kelly, post-burn fuels transect demonstration (13:53)

Mike Kelly, pre-burn fuels transect, new plot installation (17:29)

Resources - References - Protocols

Blank Protocols Handbook (Word)

Monitoring Objectives and Protocols - blank form (Word)

Measure Matrix (Word)

Equipment List (Word)

Explanation of Fuels Data sheet terms (Word)

Stearns Monitoring Handbook (Word)

Stearns F&FM Workshop Reference List (Word)

PhotoScale (Excel)

FireMON Protocols

Fuel Load Chapter

Landscape Assessment Chapter includes the CBIs

Research Brief on Fire damage effects on red oak timber product value

Paper on Fire damage effects on red oak timber product value

Coarse-level Metrics

Coarse-level Metrics Protocol (PDF)

Coarse-level Metrics Monitoring Form (PDF)

Fuel Photoload

Fire&FuelWorkshop_MoquahPhotoLoads (Excel)

Holley and Keane - A visual training tool for the Photoload sampling technique [a practice guide on real fuel beds]

Keane and Dickinson - The photoload sampling technique: estimating surface fuel loadings from downward-looking photographs of synthetic fuelbeds [a photoseries for use in the field]

Photoload technique video

Herb Fuel Examples

IMG_1720

IMG_1759

IMG_1781

IMG_1782

Woody Fuel Examples

IMG_0199

IMG_0223

IMG_0255

IMG_0256

Fuels Calculation

Brittle Fire Effects Monitoring Protocols (Word)

Calculation_LFM (Excel)

CANOPY BULK DENSITY PLOT (Word)

Crown Bulk Desity Cal (Excel)

FUEL CALC PRINT FORMS (Excel)

Fuel calculations (Excel)

Fuel Load Calc (Excel)

Fuel Moisture (Excel)

Fuels Inventory Data Sheet (Word)

Fuels Inventory Data (PDF)

Mortality Form (new) (Excel)

Reports

Fire Effects of burn char (Word)

Fire Effects of Slash Burning on Xeric Soils (Word)

Miesel_FESP5_Dublin_20150713 (PDF)

Shell Knob SPP (Word)

Summary for Brittle (Word)

Severity

Burn Severity NBR (Word)

CBI (PDF)

Severity Mapping

Severity_CBI - EXERCISES
Fire&FuelsMonitoringPhotoExercise_CBI_DataEntry (Excel)
ALL PHOTOS ARE LISTED AND LINKED AT BOTTOM OF THIS WEBPAGE
Moquah Field Site (WI) – Prescribed Fire Pre-and Post
Fire&FuelWorkshop_MoquahSeverity (Excel)

Pagami Creek Wildfire (MN) - Wildfire Post
Fire&FuelWorkshop_PagamiSeverity (Excel)

Tree Mortality

Glossary of key terms (Word)

Mortality Form (Excel)

Hood_2018_Environ._Res._Lett._13_113004 (PDF)

How do fires kill plants? The hydraulic death hypothesis and Cape Proteaceae “fire-resisters” (PDF)

Vegetation

Biomass-Fuels

Cover_Line_Intercept_EV_1 (Excel)

Cover_Line_Intercept_EV_1_Immature (Excel)

Cover-Line_Intecept (PDF)

FFI_Surface_Fuels-Veg (PDF)