FOREST FIRE 



fire ecology that has been car- 

 ried on for several years under 

 Komarek by the Tall Timber 

 Research Station, Tallahassee, 

 Florida. 



Despite the extent of the present 

 data base, however, the entire sub- 

 ject of fire ecology has been inade- 

 quately studied. Three aspects that 

 are particularly deficient are the re- 

 actions of individual species to fire, 

 the effect of repeat burns on species 

 and vegetation types, and mathemati- 

 cal modes of fire-ecosystem com- 

 ponent relationships. Although a few 

 data are beginning to accumulate that 

 are serviceable as a base for both 

 theoretical formulation and mathe- 

 matical modeling, relatively little of 

 the earlier research was suited to 

 this approach. Currently, there ap- 

 pears to be a trend in the direction of 

 quantitative research and a continued 

 increase is anticipated. Much more 

 is needed. 



Status of Instrumentation — With 

 a shift from qualitative to quantita- 

 tive research, one progresses from 

 minimal use of instruments to a 

 need for instrumentation that is often 

 expensive and highly sophisticated. 

 Fire research today is moving in this 

 direction, and, as a consequence, pro- 

 posed investigations are requiring a 

 budget for equipment that would 

 have been unthought of only a few 

 years ago. Remote-sensing and moni- 

 toring equipment to obtain a variety 

 of temperature and moisture meas- 

 urements with time are particularly 

 useful in these studies. Although 

 much of the basic equipment is cur- 

 rently available, refined techniques 

 or specific situations will necessarily 

 result in some modification or re- 

 finement. 



Interaction with Other Environ- 

 mental Systems — Despite the fact 

 that most fire research has been of 

 an applied nature — relating fire to 

 noxious-plant control, forage produc- 

 tion, timber yield, soil and water 

 losses, and water yield — surprisingly 

 little is known about the specifics of 

 fire as it relates to other environ- 

 mental systems. For example, many 

 of our forests and grasslands can be 

 improved for recreation and hunting 

 by the judicious use of fire. These 

 same areas can be rendered less li- 

 able to destruction by wildfires when 

 administered under a sensible pro- 

 gram of controlled burning. Yet this 

 relationship is almost completely un- 

 explored. 



As the use of our wild lands in- 

 creases consequential to the greater 

 availability of leisure time and the 

 need to escape from urban conges- 

 tion, these lands are exposed to an 

 ever increasing hazard of destruction 

 from man-caused fires. The possibil- 

 ity of reducing this hazard through 

 a management-by-fire approach needs 

 to be thoroughly investigated. In 

 cities, we stress cleaning up poten- 

 tial fuel in our fire-prevention cam- 

 paigns; in forests, by contrast, we 

 encourage accumulation of fuel to a 

 point where an accidental fire can 

 become a holocaust. 



Because of anti-fire propaganda 

 and the inadequacy of research, there 

 is considerable difference of opinion 

 even in scientific circles on the bene- 

 ficial and harmful effects of fire in 

 most vegetation types. This contro- 

 versy extends from the interpretation 

 of historical records, through the 

 long-time effects of previous fires and 

 present fire-control policies on the 

 "climax" vegetation, to the yield of 

 such renewable natural resources as 

 forage, game animals, timber, and 



water. Obviously, these differences 

 of opinion must be resolvec 

 lands are to be used most effective! 

 and, in many instances, if we are 

 to prevent their further deterioration 

 or destruction. 



Requirements for Scientific 

 Activity 



The principal needed scientific ad- 

 vances are: (a) amplification of both 

 qualitative and quantitative studies 

 directed to specific vegetation types 

 and individual species; (b) greater 

 emphasis on man and his effect on 

 the wildland environment as this af- 

 fects the incidence of fires; (c) re- 

 search on controlled burning as a 

 means of pretreatment to control 

 wildfires; (d) additional research on 

 the generalities and specifics of fire 

 (controlled and wild) as interrelated 

 with all other aspects of specific 

 ecosystems; and (e) extensive devel- 

 opment of theoretical formulation, in- 

 cluding mathematical modeling. The 

 current scientific poverty of knowl- 

 edge on this topic and the rapidly 

 increasing rate of use of our wild- 

 lands by man indicate a high degree 

 of urgency for such research. 



Necessary significant advances 

 could be made in a minimum of 

 three years. Five years would be 

 adequate to effect a more far-reaching 

 breakthrough. In addition, many 

 ecological studies require a long pe- 

 riod of time to evaluate cause-effect 

 relationships properly, and fire stud- 

 ies are no exception. Aside from 

 recovery time following a single fire, 

 fire research often requires repeat 

 burning at periodic intervals over a 

 period of years. Studies of this sort 

 should have a minimum duration of 

 25 years or more. 



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