California wildfires offer opportunity to focus on prevention methods
California Desk
September 04, 2009
As 140,150 acres continue to burn in California´s Angeles National Forest, and other wildfires rage across the state, we are reminded that preventive action is required to avoid the losses of life, property, and habitat that result from such fires. Scientists are examining best practices for preventing wildfires. A recent Society for Range Management conference noted "the need for national plans with priorities for times of wildfire crisis."
The June 2009 issue of Rangelands, a publication of the Society for Range Management, presents a special section devoted to wildfires and invasive plant species—often a source of fuel for those fires. The topical papers grew out of discussions in five workshops at the December 2008 conference "SRM Center for Professional Education and Development: Wildfires and Invasive Plants in American Deserts." The workshops were structured to identify funding sources, science needs, and implementation strategies needed by policy makers and land managers.
These articles explore, as the conference did, the interactions among exotic invasive plants, native plants, and changing wildfire regimes on the Colorado Plateau and the Sonoran, Chihuahuan, Mojave, and Great Basin deserts of North America. Advocated tools of science for wildfire prevention include using plant materials to suppress invasive species, creating green strips, implementing assisted migration, and avoiding actions that disseminate invasive plants and facilitate their spread.
The five primary areas addressed in the special section are: (1) hot-desert invasive species and fire management, (2) cold-desert invasive species and fire management, (3) effective invasive plant management, (4) fuels management at the landscape level, and (5) wildfire rehabilitation and restoration: triage in the pursuit of resilience.
Full text of the article, "SRM Center for Professional Education and Development: Wildfires and Invasive Plants in American Deserts," is available at http://www2.allenpress.com/pdf/RALA_31.3_i1551-Final.pdf
The June 2009 issue of Rangelands, a publication of the Society for Range Management, presents a special section devoted to wildfires and invasive plant species—often a source of fuel for those fires. The topical papers grew out of discussions in five workshops at the December 2008 conference "SRM Center for Professional Education and Development: Wildfires and Invasive Plants in American Deserts." The workshops were structured to identify funding sources, science needs, and implementation strategies needed by policy makers and land managers.
These articles explore, as the conference did, the interactions among exotic invasive plants, native plants, and changing wildfire regimes on the Colorado Plateau and the Sonoran, Chihuahuan, Mojave, and Great Basin deserts of North America. Advocated tools of science for wildfire prevention include using plant materials to suppress invasive species, creating green strips, implementing assisted migration, and avoiding actions that disseminate invasive plants and facilitate their spread.
The five primary areas addressed in the special section are: (1) hot-desert invasive species and fire management, (2) cold-desert invasive species and fire management, (3) effective invasive plant management, (4) fuels management at the landscape level, and (5) wildfire rehabilitation and restoration: triage in the pursuit of resilience.
Full text of the article, "SRM Center for Professional Education and Development: Wildfires and Invasive Plants in American Deserts," is available at http://www2.allenpress.com/pdf/RALA_31.3_i1551-Final.pdf
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