Managing Fire for the Future: Insights from the Sierra Nevada

To help forest managers understand how to manage forests that are seeing larger and more severe wildfires, SW CASC-funded researchers assessed forest conditions after three different fires in Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks. In their recent publication, the researchers studied postfire fuel levels and forest structure across a range of fire intensity levels and compared these with current management targets. 

During a severe fire, many areas will still burn at low to moderate severity, meaning mature trees survive while surface fuels (such as fallen logs, branches and charred vegetation) are cleared out. The researchers determined that these low and moderate severity fires can actually help forest management meet restoration goals by reducing excess burning materials. Conversely, high severity areas had fewer living trees than recommended and large amounts of standing dead fuel, posing potential future management concerns. 

Throughout the forest plots studied, researchers also found that burned areas had on average 79.5% less fuels than unburned areas, which meets short-term fire reduction goals but might not create the diverse landscape needed for healthy forests. For long-term management, experts recommend keeping a mix of fuel levels across the landscape to mimic natural fire patterns. Inside the giant sequoia groves, fuel levels were higher and therefore more closely matched with these long-term targets. However, because the giant sequoia is both highly valued and has seen substantial losses to high severity fires in recent years, managers might find that the higher fuel loads are risky even in a landscape context. While this case study focuses on fuels patterns at Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, the authors hope that the work can serve as a reference and help managers to achieve their management goals in other wildfire-affected forests throughout the Sierra Nevada.

Read the full publication in Forest Ecology and Management.