Research Plot PLEASE DO NOT DISTURB

1. Research PlotPLEASEDO NOT DISTURB You are standing near the edge of an area where research is being conducted on forest recovery after fire. The Managing Fire with Fire in Alaska Black Spruce Forests project is supported by the Joint Fire Science Program, USDA Forest Service, Bonanza Creek Long-Term Ecological Research, and University of Alaska Fairbanks. This research project aims to predict patterns of post fire regeneration and future stand flammability based on pre-fire environmental conditions and fire severity from the 2004 Boundary wildfire. These relationships can be used by managers to asses how changes in fire conditions can affect forest composition and habitat quality in the future. In particular, we are looking at how variations in site moisture, and differences in fire consumption of vegetation and soil organic material, affect subsequent patterns of forest recovery. For example, areas where the fire burned away much of the organic soil have a higher chance of regenerating to low flammability, deciduous forests. Long-term research on how changes in fire conditions affect forest recovery can provide managers with valuable tools for effective management of wildland fire in interior Alaska. CONTACTS: Jill Johnstone: (306)966-4421 jill.johnstone@asask.ca Teresa Nettleton Hollingsworth: (907)474-2424 thollingsworth@uaf.edu Boreal Ecology Cooperative Research Unit http://www.becru.uaf.edu/JFSP.htm