RAPID Collaborative Research: Fire severity and ecosystem impacts immediately following an extreme fire event in northern Minnesota

RAPID 合作研究：明尼苏达州北部极端火灾事件后火灾严重程度和生态系统影响

• 批准号: 1201146
• 负责人: Peter Wolter
• 金额: $ 1.42万
• 依托单位: Iowa State University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2011
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2011-11-01 至 2012-10-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1201146&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: RAPID; Collaborative; Research; Fire; severity

Large natural disturbances have important implications for both short and long term ecosystem function and dynamics. Among the most important attributes is severity, a combined function of disturbance intensity and the relative susceptibility of ecosystem elements, such as vegetation and soils. The Pagami Creek Fire of August 2011 in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness of Minnesota presents an historical opportunity for understanding spatial heterogeneity in fire effects and its consequences for future ecosystem recovery within a fire dependent ecosystem in the eastern United States. This large fire exhibited a wide range of behaviors across an ecologically diverse area for which unprecedented levels of pre-fire forest conditions were documented. The seasonal timing requires a rapid field response so that fire intensity, severity, and initial soil impacts can be accurately measured prior to the onset of winter. Transects of plots will be sampled across major forest types for data on live and dead vegetation amounts and distribution and chemical attributes of the soils in burned and unburned plots that will also be compared to data obtained before the fire. Satellite imagery will be used to characterize tree and shrub burn severity and vegetation loss. This information will be used to scale the plot level data to the entire burned area and will enable the scientists to examine the feedbacks among forest structure and fire disturbance and to better predict future ecosystem recovery. Opportunities for studying the behavior and ecological impacts of major fire events in forests of the eastern United States are dramatically less than in the west. This research will provide a foundation for programs that will increase public safety, facilitate reintroduction of fire into fire dependent eastern forests, and provide guidance for forest and wilderness management in the face of major natural disturbances.

大的自然干扰对生态系统的短期和长期功能和动态都有重要影响。最重要的属性之一是严重性，这是干扰强度和生态系统要素(如植被和土壤)相对易感性的综合作用。2011年8月发生在明尼苏达州边界水域独木舟荒野地区的帕加米溪火灾为了解火灾影响的空间异质性及其对美国东部依赖火灾的生态系统未来生态系统恢复的后果提供了一个历史机会。这场大火在一个生态多样化的地区表现出了广泛的行为，记录了前所未有的火灾前森林状况。季节性的时间安排需要快速的现场响应，以便在冬季到来之前准确测量火灾强度、严重程度和初始土壤影响。将对主要森林类型的样地进行抽样，以获取烧毁和未烧毁地块中活的和死亡的植被数量、分布和土壤化学属性的数据，这些数据也将与火灾前获得的数据进行比较。卫星图像将被用来描述树木和灌木烧伤的严重程度和植被损失。这些信息将被用来将地块水平数据扩展到整个烧毁地区，使科学家能够检查森林结构和火灾干扰之间的反馈，并更好地预测未来的生态系统恢复。研究美国东部森林重大火灾事件的行为和生态影响的机会比西部少得多。这项研究将为提高公共安全、促进火灾重新引入依赖火的东部森林的项目提供基础，并在面临重大自然干扰时为森林和荒野管理提供指导。