FIRE ECOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT
FOR 6934
Spring 2005

Instructors:

Alan J. Long
Associate Professor SFRC
355 Newins-Ziegler
ph 846-0891
ajl2@ufl.edu		 George Tanner
Professor WEC
322 Newins-Ziegler
ph 846-0570
tanner@ufl.edu



 

 

Dr. Long's Home Page

Class Hours Office Hours Focus Objectives
Textbook Class Format Field Activities Projects
Weekly Schedule Evaluation Grading Software Use
Web sites Literature Sources Texts Academic Honesty
UF Counseling Services      

Class Hours:

Wednesday, 5:15 – 6:15 pm; Thursday, 5:15 – 7:15 pm
222 Newins-Ziegler Hall

Office Hours:

Long: Thursday, 8:00 am – 4:00 pm (or any other time I am in the office)
Tanner: Tuesday, Thursday, 9:00 – 11:00 am

Focus:

Develop a thorough understanding of the function of wildland fire in natural resource systems, especially in terms of effects on plant communities and various environmental factors.

Objectives:

  1. Understand the basic forces and factors that determine fire behavior and its consequent effects.
  2. Become familiar with the natural and historical role that fire has played in North America, especially in the Southeast, and with how that role has been altered in the last 100 years.
  3. Identify the direct and indirect effects of fire on flora, fauna, soils and other key ecosystem components.
  4. Recognize and compare the general fire regimes characteristic of North America.
  5. Understand fire management policies and organizations and describe the various issues with fire in natural resource management.
  6. Understand key issues involving prescribed burning and wildland-urban interface fire.

Textbook:

Class Format:

Combined lecture and discussion to review main topics and student reviews of related literature. Students are also encouraged, if interested, to participate in some of the Friday afternoon undergraduate prescribed burning labs and field trips.

Field Activities:

  1. Participation in several prescribed burns (weather, landowners and your time permitting).
  2. Field trip to Archbold Biological Station, ACMF or other fire research facility.
  3. Field boots, long pants, long sleeved shirts and hard hats are required for prescribed burning; pants and shirts should be 100% cotton fabric; gloves and eye protection are recommended.

Projects:

  1. Weekly (almost): 1-page abstract of selected literature related to the following week’s topic and brief discussion/description of your topic in class; plus 1 article read by everyone for more detailed discussion. Summaries from FEIS will be included in these weekly projects.
  2. Collaborate in the preparation and review of a publication or presentation for a national level fire conference and/or the hypertext encyclopedia on fire science.
  3. Term paper/proposition: “Prescribed burning should be increased or decreased in Florida”.

Evaluation of Student Performance:

20% Publication/presentation article
20% Proposition
40% 2 Exams (weeks 8 and 15)
20% Publication reviews

 

 

 

 

Grading:

90% + A 86% - 89.9% B+
80% - 85.9% B 76% - 79.9% C+
70% - 75.9% C 66% - 69.9% D+
60% - 65.9% D < 60% E

Academic Honesty:

In 1995 the UF student body enacted a new honor code and voluntarily committed itself to the highest standards of honesty and integrity. By enrolling at the University, and in this course, you commit yourself to that standard. The honor code, in part, states “On all work submitted for credit by students at the university, the following pledge is either required or implied: ‘On my honor, I have neither given nor received unauthorized aid in doing this assignment.’” Failure to comply with this commitment may result in disciplinary actions up to and including failing this course and expulsion from the University.

UF Counseling Services:

Resources are available on campus for students having personal problems or lacking clear career and academic goals that interfere with their academic performance. These resources include: University Counseling Center (301 Peabody Hall 392 1575) for personal and career counseling; Student Mental Health (Student Health Care Center 392 1171) for personal counseling; Sexual Assault Recovery Services (Student Health Care Center 392 1161 x 6) for sexual counseling; and Career Resource Center (Reitz Union 392 1601) for career development assistance and counseling.

Software Use:

All faculty, staff and students of the University are required and expected to obey the laws and legal agreements governing software use. Failure to do so can lead to monetary damages and/or criminal penalties for the individual violator. Because such violations are also against University policies and rules, disciplinary action will be taken as appropriate.

Web Sites:

Fire Effects Information System
Fire management software
Fire news
FIREWISE
Florida Division of Forestry (weather, drought index, etc)
National Interagency Fire Center
Tall Timbers Research Center
USFS – Fire
USFS – Southern Research Station, Interface South
USFS – Southern Appalachian Forest Ecosystems
University of California Forest Products Lab

Important Literature Sources:

International Journal of Wildland Fire
Journal of Forest Ecology and Management
Journal of Forestry
Southern, Western, Northern Journals of Applied Forestry
Canadian Journal of Forest Research
Proceedings of Tall Timber Fire Ecology Conferences
Proceedings, Second International Wildland Fire Ecology and Fire Management Congress, 2003
Proceedings of other relevant symposia
Journal of Applied Meteorology
U.S. Forest Service Research Notes and Papers, and Technical Reports

Texts:

Agee, J.K. 1993. Fire ecology of Pacific Northwest forests. Island Press, Washington, D.C. 493 p.


Arno, S.F. and S. Allison-Bunnell. 2002. Flames in our forest: Disaster or renewal? Island Press, Washington. 227 p.


Biswell, H.H. 1989. Prescribed burning in California wildlands vegetation management. University of California Press, Berkeley. 255 p.


Bond, W.J. and B.W. van Wilgen. 1996. Fire and plants. Chapman and Hall, London. 263 p.


DeBano, L.F., D.G. Neary, P.F. Ffolliott. 1998. Fire's effects on ecosystems. J. Wiley, NY.


Johnson, E.A. and K. Miyanishi (eds.). 2001. Forest fires: Behavior and ecological effects. Academic Press, San Diego, CA. 594 p.


Walstad, J.D., S.R. Radosevich and D.V. Sandberg (eds.). 1990. Natural and prescribed fire in Pacific Northwest forests. Oregon State University Press, Corvallis. 317 p.

Weekly Schedule:

1

Fire fundamentals

Reading: The Ecology of Fire, Chapters 1,2
Introduction to Wildland Fire, Chapter 1
Aids to determining fuel models for estimating fire behavior (Anderson, 1982).
Proposition: Begin literature review
Assignment: Locate and summarize 1 research paper on effects of fuels on fire behavior
2 Wildland fuels

Reading: Introduction to Wildland Fire, Chapter 3
Proposition:
Assignment: Literature reviews (for hypertext encyclopedia outline)
3 Fire weather & effects of topography: Weather & topography

Reading: Introduction to Wildland Fire, Chapter 4
Proposition: Submit list of references (at least 10) you will use
Assignment: Download BEHAVE and read through manual and/or tutorial
4 Fire behavior: Fire behavior; spread, growth & intensity; predicting fire behavior; extreme fire situations.

Reading: Introduction to Wildland Fire, Chapter 2
Assignment: Literature reviews – assigned in class for discussion next week
5 Fire ecology: Plant adaptations; effects on plants and plant communities

Reading: The Ecology of Fire, Chapters 3, 5
Proposition: Abstract and outline due
Assignment: Species summaries from FEIS for next week
6

Fire ecology: Effects on animals and microorganisms

Reading: The Ecology of Fire, Chapter 6
Assignment: Literature reviews – assigned in class for discussion next week
7 Fire ecology: Effects on soils, water and air

Reading: Selected literature sources, research reports

Proposition: Outlines returned to students
Assignment: Literature reviews for next week
8 Fire ecology: Fire regimes

Reading: The Ecology of Fire, Chapter 7
Introduction to Wildland Fire, Ch 5, pages 204-211; Ch 6, pages 271-305
Assignments: Take-home exam: Due Week 10
9 SPRING BREAK
10

Fire ecology: ACMF field trip
EXAM due

Reading: Introduction to Wildland Fire, Chapter 6, pages 213 – 270
Assignment: Literature reviews for next week
11 Fire history

Reading: Introduction to Wildland Fire, Chapter 10
Proposition: Draft of proposition due
Assignment: Literature reviews

 
12

Prescribed fire

Reading: Introduction to Wildland Fire, Chapter 10
Proposition: Drafts returned to students
Assignment: Literature reviews
13

Wildland-urban interface fire; hazard rating systems.

Reading: Introduction to Wildland Fire, various sections to be listed in class
Managing for Fire in the Interface: Challenges & Opportunities
Assignment: Literature reviews
14




Fire prevention and fuel mitigation programs

Reading: Introduction to Wildland Fire, Chapter 8, pages 405-419
Proposition: Final paper due
Assignment: Fire in other countries
15 Global fire

Reading: Introduction to Wildland Fire, Chapter 11
16 FINAL EXAM April 26 (3:00 – 5:00 PM)

Updated 10/19/05