Saara Lilja
University
of Helsinki
Department
of Forest Ecology
The Presentation of the FIRE-Project (Fire
Implications in Restoration Ecology)
Background
In natural
boreal forest ecosystems, fire regulates major functions and processes:
regeneration and reproduction, preparation of seedbeds and dry-matte
accumulation, amount of competing vegetation, soil nutrition, stand thinning
and health, and forest succession. The
study focuses on ecological and forest management questions whether habitats
can be created by use of prescribed fires for maintenance of biodiversity and
endangered species in managed forest areas.
An economically crucial question is how to allocate resources most
efficiently between total protection and restoration-oriented management.
Goals and
subjects
This
research project consists of the following four integrated sub-projects and tasks:
Task
1: Fuel types and fire behaviour a)
Define of fuel types and development of fire ignitability classification, b)
Determine fire spread and behaviour characteristics in Finnish forests.
Task
2: Ecological impacts of fire in
restoration a) Determine the effects of different restoration and cutting
treatments on vegetation characteristics, biodiversity and ecological
succession, b) Determine the risk of damage to surrounding forest caused by
bark beetles and fungi in different restoration treatments.
Task
3: Prescribed burning techniques a)
Review existing knowledge of prescribed
fire in forestry and synthesise information for development of prescribed fire,
b) Test new burning techniques and equipment, c)Publish a guidebook “Prescribed
burning”.
Task 4:
Environmental economic assessment of restoration-oriented forest management
using prescribed fire a)Evaluate if restoration-oriented forest management is
an economically competitive alternative in comparison with the solution of
having totally protected areas embedded in normal production.
Methods
For
adequate characterisation of various fire and their physical and ecological
outcomes, controlled burns will be used to determine fire behaviour in
different stand types with different fuel loading and where fuel loads are
manipulated. In ecological impacts of
fire in restoration, the mainidea of the experimental design is to use
restoration treatments (felling of trees) and selective cuttings to rapidly
create and emulate the long-term effects of fire on stand structure.
Environmental
economic assessment of restoration-oriented forest management using prescribed
fire will be carried out by cost-benefit and simulation analyses. Analyses use data from experimental burns
and other available data for parameterisation and testing.
Results
This
research and closely associated development work will i) provide better
understanding the fundamental interactions of fire and vegetation, ii) describe the role of fire in the
restoration of structure and composition of forested habitats, and iii)
evaluate if restoration-oriented forest management using prescribed fire is an
economically competitive option compared with total protection. These issues have not previously been
studied in Finland in an integrated way.
The
research is carried out in close co-operation with the major Finnish forest
organisations and the results and other outcomes, that are practically
relevant, will be incorporated into their management guidelines or policies.
Specifically, we will develop burning methods, developing guidelines and
instructions for burns to promote biodiversity.