PART IX — TERRESTRIAL ECOSYSTEMS 



4. FOREST FIRE 



Research into Fire Ecology 



Fire is a useful tool in maintaining 

 or modifying many vegetation types. 

 Like all tools, however, it should be 

 used in certain situations and not in 

 others. For example, it should be 

 used only where it can be controlled 

 or where, if it escapes, the potential 

 damage will be minimal or at least 

 considerably less than the benefits. 

 Some vegetation types can be im- 

 proved by burning, others cannot. 

 Still others, such as certain desert 

 areas, support too little vegetation to 

 carry a fire. 



Fire and climate are interrelated to 

 the extent that a specific kind of cli- 

 mate largely determines the kind of 

 vegetation an area can produce. This, 

 in turn, determines the fire-vegetation 

 interrelationships — i.e., the readiness 

 with which an area will burn, the 

 effects of fire on modifying the plant 

 cover, and the effects of this modifi- 

 cation on the subsequent potential 

 fire history of the area. 



Fire can have various interrelated 

 beneficial effects on forests and grass- 

 land as well as on many woodland 

 (low-stature trees) and brushy areas. 

 It may control undesirable woody 

 species, thus promoting the growth 

 of grasses and other herbaceous 

 plants and, as a consequence, in- 

 creasing the grazing potential. This 

 modification often reduces soil ero- 

 sion and runoff, since grasses provide 

 a better close ground cover than 

 many woody species. (See Figure 

 IX-13) Other beneficial effects in- 

 clude ease and economy of controlling 

 accidental wildfires; soil fertilization 

 from the ashes; control of ticks, 

 poisonous snakes, and other undesir- 

 able animals; control of fungi in the 

 longleaf pine; creation of a better 

 habitat for game animals, including 

 turkeys, quail, and deer; reduction 

 of excessive pine reproduction; main- 

 tenance of profitable timber stands. 



Evaluation of Current Scientific 

 Knowledge 



There is a rather large body of 

 information on forest fire, much of it 

 from foreign countries. In the United 

 States, research is being carried on 

 by the Forest Service at the Univer- 

 sity of Washington, Seattle, and by 

 the U.S. Forest Fire Laboratory in Mis- 

 soula, Montana, among other places. 

 Significant recent additions to scien- 

 tific knowledge include the following: 



1. Considerable theoretical work 

 by Anderson and Beaufiat at 

 the Forest Service's Intermoun- 

 tain Research Station at Mis- 

 soula. 



2. Research on the practical as- 

 pects of fire behavior by Coun- 

 tryman, working out of the 

 Forest Service Laboratory in 

 Riverside, Calif. 



3. Research on quantitative char- 

 acteristics of fire in the desert 



grasslands by Claveran and 

 Moreno at the University of 

 Arizona, Tucson. 



4. Research on fire temperature, 

 development of mathematical 

 formulations, and effect on 

 mesquite and grasses being 

 carried on out of Texas Tech 

 University, Lubbock. 



5. An analysis of fire ecology by 

 Daubenmire. 



6. An analysis by Batchelder of 

 quantitative external factors 

 such as air temperature, hu- 

 midity, and wind in relation to 

 fire behavior. 



7. An analysis of fire in relation 

 to the various vegetation types 

 in the United States by Hum- 

 phrey. 



8. An aggressive and expanding 

 program of research and dis- 

 semination of information on 



Figure IX-13 — EFFECT OF FIRE ON MESQUITE SHRUBS 



The illustration to the left shows how mesquite chokes out grass under normal 

 conditions. After a fire, the grass recovers rapidly while the mesquite recovers 

 much more slowly. Controlled burning will eliminate the mesquite entirely and 

 maintain the grassland. 



306 



