Evaluating Economic Impacts of Prescribed Fire in the Central Hardwood Region

Abstract Surface fires are often prescribed to favor oak (Quercus) regeneration in eastern forests, but there is potential for fire to damage residual overstory timber. This study evaluated the potential economic effects of prescribed fire on sawtimber volume and value across 139 stands, each with a...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of forestry 2020-05, Vol.118 (3), p.275-288
Main Authors: Mann, David P, Wiedenbeck, Jan K, Dey, Daniel C, Saunders, Mike R
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Controlled burning
Economic impact
Economics
Fire damage
Fires
Forest & brush fires
Forests
Hardwoods
National forests
Prediction models
Prescribed fire
Quercus
Regeneration
Species composition
Statistical analysis
Timber
Topography
Twain, Mark (Samuel Langhorne Clemens) (1835-1910)
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Summary:Abstract Surface fires are often prescribed to favor oak (Quercus) regeneration in eastern forests, but there is potential for fire to damage residual overstory timber. This study evaluated the potential economic effects of prescribed fire on sawtimber volume and value across 139 stands, each with a known history of one to six prescribed fires, on the Hoosier, Mark Twain, Wayne, and Daniel Boone National Forests. Sawtimber volume and value losses were highly variable, ranging from 0 to 2,269 bd ft ac–1 and from US$0 to US$272.95 ac–1, respectively, for stands that had received at least one prescribed fire. Volume and value losses increased linearly by +0.9 percent and +1.5 percent per burn, respectively, that a stand received over the past 25 years. Stands with south-facing aspects had greater relative volume and value losses (+1.4 to +1.5 percent, respectively), but this influence was statistically less important than the number of burns in predictive models. The eastern national forests had much lower average relative volume and value losses,
ISSN:0022-1201
1938-3746
DOI:10.1093/jofore/fvaa004