Year: 1996
Type: article
Abstract: Many of the tools available for managing forested ecosystems lie within the disciplines of silviculture and fire management. These two sets of management practices, in fact, are commonly used in con- cert. Understanding the relationships between these two disciplines, therefore, can contribute to more intelligent ecosystem management. Silvicultural techniques mimic to varying degrees some of the distur- bance functions—such as facilitating establishment of regeneration and influencing forest structure and composition—performed natu- rally by fire. This chapter provides a brief overview of some of these relationships for a range of stand structures and fire regimes. Effects of partial cuttings on fire hazard also are discussed. Research is needed to clarify basic relationships between fire regimes and the dynamics and structures of stands and landscapes. Adaptive management experiments also should be undertaken to determine the practicability and long-term ecological consequences of a range of silvicultural and fire treatments.
Author: C. Phillip Weatherspoon
Language: English
Topic: Fire effects on ecosystems
Subfield: Global and Planetary Change
Field: Environmental Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
SDG: Life on land
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W367019407