| USE OF PRESCRIBED FIRE in the PINE BARRENS of NEW YORK & NEW JERSEY
Prescribed Fire Management Program
NY State Central Pine Barrens Joint Policy and Planning Commission.
Comprehensive set of web pages & documents describing the use of Prescribed Fire in the Central Pine Barrens [NY State].
The Central Pine Barrens Comprehensive Prescribed Fire Management Plan is an overarching guidance and planning document that identifies the long-term strategy and practice of conducting prescribed fire management in the Central Pine Barrens [NY State].
Fire in the Forest: The Science and History of Prescribed Burns in the New Jersey Pine Barrens
September 30, 2020 by AMC (Appalachian Mountain Club) Staff
Fire Behavior in the New Jersey Pine Barrens
North Carolina State University. “While the Southeast is a leader in the use of prescribed fire, prescribed fire is also used as a land management tool across the nation and the world, including in the pine barrens of New Jersey. The videos on this page show what fire behavior looked like inside several prescribed fires conducted in the New Jersey pine barrens in 2019. The videos were taken using a transparent, water-cooled enclosure which houses a commercial 360-degree camera. The apparatus was developed by researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology.”
Tree Regeneration in Oak–Pine Stands with and without Prescribed Fire in the New Jersey Pine Barrens: Management Implications
MG Olson, NORTH. J. APPL. FOR. 28(1) 2011. “This is a case study comparing understory tree regeneration in two mixedwood stands types in the New Jersey Pine Barrens: oak–pine treated with prescribed fire over the last half century (burned) and oak–pine without a history of controlled burning (unburned). Understories of burned stands supported mainly desirable oak (Quercus spp.) and pine (Pinus spp.) regeneration (0.3 ft tall, 3 in. dbh), whereas the understories of unburned stands supported a greater abundance of undesirable, nonoak hardwoods (mainly sassafras [Sassafras albidum]) along with good numbers of oak regeneration and, unexpectedly, pine saplings (4.5 ft tall, 3 in. dbh). A regime of prescribed fire applied on an 6-year interval during the last half century appears to have reduced or excluded nonoak hardwoods, with the exception of hickory (Carya spp.). Maintaining oak–pine mixtures on sites similar to the unburned stands used in this study may require silvicultural intervention…On the section of WSF used in this study, a regime of prescribed fire was initiated around 1954, and forest stands treated with prescribed fire are typically burned in late winter on a return interval of 6 years (Steve Holmes, NJ Forest Fire Service, pers. comm., Mar. 3, 2010)…”
Pine Barrens natural landscape will rebound from Wharton wildfire
by Alison Mitchell in https://www.njconservation.org/, June 30, 2022
Fire management and carbon sequestration in Pine Barren Forests
Kenneth L. Clark et al., 2015. Journal of Sustainable Forestry. 34(1-2): 125-146. “Prescribed burning is the major viable option that land managers have for reducing hazardous fuels and ensuring the regeneration of fire-dependent species in a cost-effective manner in Pine Barren ecosystems. Fuels management activities are directly linked to carbon (C) storage and rates of C sequestration by forests. To evaluate the effects of prescribed burning on forest C dynamics, we quantified consumption and accumulation of the forest floor and understory vegetation and measured net CO2 exchange in upland forest stands in the New Jersey Pinelands burned with prescribed fires. Prescribed fires released an average of 470 ± 137 g C m-2 from the litter layer and understory, equivalent to approximately 2-3 yr of sequestered C in undisturbed upland forests. Canopy and understory foliage averaged 85% of preburn periods, and CO2 uptake at near-full sunlight conditions averaged 79% of preborn levels during the following growing season. On an annual basis, stands lost C during the year of the burn, but released C was recovered within 2-3 yr. Field measurements and model simulations suggest that continued prescribed burning in upland fire-dependent pine-dominated stands would have little appreciable effect on long-term forest C dynamics at the landscape scale.” Currently, the NJFFS and federal wildland fire managers conduct an average of 129 ± 31 prescribed burns on 4,650 ± 2,000 ha per year…
N.J. Forest Fire Service Demonstrates Its Use Of Prescribed Burns To Protect Residents Living In The State’s ‘Wildland-Urban Interface’
By Bill Bonvie for pinebarrenstribune.com, Mar 9, 2023
Fire Keeps the “Pine” in “Pine Barrens”
“The Long Island Pine Barrens is a fire-dependent ecosystem, meaning that the health of the ecosystem depends on consistent wildfire.” Role of Prescribed Fire described.
Decision support tools to improve the effectiveness of hazardous fuel reduction treatments in the New Jersey Pine Barrens
Kenneth L. Clark et al. 2009. International Journal of Wildland Fire 18, 268–277. “Abstract. Our goal is to assist the New Jersey Forest Fire Service and federal wildland fire managers in the New Jersey Pine Barrens evaluate where and when to conduct hazardous fuel reduction treatments. We used remotely sensed LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging System) data and field sampling to estimate fuel loads and consumption during prescribedfire treatments. This information was integrated with data on prescribed fire treatments conducted by the New Jersey ForestFire Service over the last 15 years to produce and interpret maps of current fuel loads. Forest productivity measurements and models were then used to estimate rates of fuel accumulation through time. We could then calculate return intervals for desired fuel load conditions. Through formal workshops and frequent discussions with state and federal fire managers, ourresults enhance the ability of these agencies to make key decisions regarding the effectiveness and longevity of hazardous fuels treatments.” |
