Forest & Fire Ecology Research in the Central Sierra

Nevada of CASadie Stone

Internship Organization

Pacific SouthwestResearch Station

Project LocationPinecrest, CA

Project LocationStanislaus National Forest

Project LocationStanislaus-Tuolumne Experimental Forest

(STEF)

• 1929: Duncan Dunning started a “Methods of Cutting” study and mapped all trees and quantified all understory vegetation

• 2006: Eric Knapp found Duncan Dunning’s old data from ‘30’s

• 2007-2008: Remapped trees – Among the oldest plots in the USFS system

• 2009: Two Studies: (1) “Variable Density Thinning” and Rx Fire initiated on 240 ac. (2) Comparing Thinning and Rx Fire treatments to alleviate pine mortality on 135 ac.

Research Introduction

So What Did I Do?!5,760 meters of transect lines located & marked

1,152 herbaceous 1x1 meter plots 1,152 sapling

5x5 meter plots

3,500 trees: tagged, identified & measured

(DBH & hgt. to canopy)

1,920 meters of ground fuels measured

(classified as 1, 10, 100, 1,000 hour fuels)

+/- 500 pines >60 cm DBH found & measured at DBH, fire scars noted

250 wildlife grid points flagged

What Wildlife?!

Elephants!

Sharks!

Turtles!

OK – Seriously though…

Canopy estimates taken for +/- 300 trees

+/- 60 downed trees >30.5 cm in diameter

measured and mapped

80 canopy pictures

taken

Thank You!!

Eric KnappBob Carlson

Ali FurlerBeth BrownJamie Bass

Any Questions?