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• 1. [Article] Climate Change and Fire Management in the Mid-Atlantic Region

  In this review, we summarize the potential impacts of climate change on wildfire activity in the mid­-Atlantic region, and then consider how the beneficial uses of prescribed fire could conflict with mitigation ...

  Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: Climate Change and Fire Management in the Mid-Atlantic Region Author: Clark, Kenneth L., Skowronski, Nicholas, Renninger, Heidi, Scheller, Robert M. Year: 2013 In this review, we summarize the potential impacts of climate change on wildfire activity in the mid­-Atlantic region, and then consider how the beneficial uses of prescribed fire could conflict with mitigation needs for climate change, focusing on patters of carbon (C) sequestration by forests in the region. We use a synthesis of field studies, eddy flux tower measurements, and simulation studies to evaluate how the use of prescibed fire affects short-and long-term forest C dynamics. Climate change may create weather conditions more conducive to wildfire activity, but successional changes in forest composition, altered gap dynamics, reduced understory and forest floor fuels, and fire suppression will likely continue to limit wildfire occurrence and severity throughout the region. Prescribed burning ls the only major viable option that land managers have for redudng hazardous fuels in a cost-effective manner, or ensuring the regeneration and maintenance of fire-dependent species. Field measurements and model simulations indicate that consumption of fine fuels on the forest floor and understory vegetation during most prescribed burns is equivalent to Title: Climate Change and Fire Management in the Mid-Atlantic Region Author: Clark, Kenneth L., Skowronski, Nicholas, Renninger, Heidi, Scheller, Robert M. Year: 2013 In this review, we summarize the potential impacts of climate change on wildfire activity in the mid­-Atlantic region, and then consider how the beneficial uses of prescribed fire could conflict with mitigation needs for climate change, focusing on patters of carbon (C) sequestration by forests in the region. We use a synthesis of field studies, eddy flux tower measurements, and simulation studies to evaluate how the use of prescibed fire affects short-and long-term forest C dynamics. Climate change may create weather conditions more conducive to wildfire activity, but successional changes in forest composition, altered gap dynamics, reduced understory and forest floor fuels, and fire suppression will likely continue to limit wildfire occurrence and severity throughout the region. Prescribed burning ls the only major viable option that land managers have for redudng hazardous fuels in a cost-effective manner, or ensuring the regeneration and maintenance of fire-dependent species. Field measurements and model simulations indicate that consumption of fine fuels on the forest floor and understory vegetation during most prescribed burns is equivalent to Close