This week the team took a break from the usual back breaking labor and delved into the science behind prescribed burning. Fire plays a key role in maintaining the health of many ecosystems and is a crucial part of the management of our public lands. By monitoring the effects of fire, the United States Forest Service (USFS) and other government land management agencies are able to document the effects of a fire, assess the damage and benefit fire has on an ecosystem, evaluate the success or failure of a burn, and use the data to guide future fire treatments.
Working in the McCracken Prescribed Burn unit the team preformed stand assessment surveys. Some of the measurements include: duff & litter depth, downed woody debris counts, tree species counts, diameter of trees (DBH), and heights of trees. The Team was able to measure 21 plots across 7 different stands.
