Afire: Fire Ignition, Mitigation & Recovery
Forestcast
Fire shapes landscapes and lives, but how do humans shape fire? By measuring wildfire ignition, mitigation, and recovery, as well as the wildland-urban interface—where houses meet or intermingle with undeveloped wildland vegetation—scientists are uncovering the complex dynamics between wildfire and human behavior. Research social scientist, , sheds light on the rapidly growing wildland-urban interface and the challenges it poses for fire management and community resilience. Research forester, , delves into private landowners' behavior in central Oregon, and the surprising...
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Afire: Fire Effects Above and Belowground
Forestcast
Fire affects forests above and belowground. Travel along on a multiscale journey from forest-wide influences to molecular-level changes, unraveling the knowns and unknowns of fire effects on soil, vegetation, and carbon. explains how fire affects tree mortality, tracing the pivotal role of carbohydrates in a tree's post-fire survival. investigates the production and persistence of black carbon in soils, shedding light on its potential climate implications. shares innovative techniques for measuring belowground heat transfer during fires, and unveils the intricate effects on soil...
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Afire: Fire Weather, Wind & Smoke
Forestcast
From whipping winds that fan flames to swirling smoke that obscures visibility, fire weather is a complex phenomenon. In Episode 4 of "Afire," hear from three meteorologists at the intersection of the intricate relationships between fire weather, wind, and smoke. explains how large-scale atmospheric patterns, like extended dry periods before a wildfire, may contribute to the development of extreme fire events. discusses WindNinja, a high-resolution wind model that simulates local winds in complex terrain. And investigates the turbulent dynamics of small‑scale surface fires, as...
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Afire: Understanding Different Fire
Forestcast
Prescribed fire plays a vital role in creating healthy landscapes that better survive natural and human-caused disturbances, while reducing wildfire risk to communities, infrastructure, and natural and cultural resources. Episode 3 of "Afire" highlights three scientists and partnerships that are attempting to better understand and utilize prescribed fire. From Georgia, ecologist explains how researchers and forest managers are forming unique meetings that spark fresh ideas and advancements in prescribed burning across the South. In California, forester begins research into the processes...
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Afire: Understanding Fire Differently
Forestcast
Indigenous tribes gained their unique understanding of fire, and the role of fire on the landscape, long before European settlers came to what is now called North America. Since then, the relationship between federal fire management and indigenous perspectives has often been one of misunderstanding and mistrust. On Episode 2 of "Afire," join Forest Service scientists, , a tribal descendant, and , a tribal member, as they explain the ways in which Forest Service fire research is collaborating with tribes to jointly strive to better understand and manage fire. Related Research: (2023) ...
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Afire: Understanding Fire
Forestcast
Fire is a form all of its own, but a simple way to understand fire is as a swarm. A swarm of bees. Or starlings. Or mosquitos. A spreading fire is a swarm of ignitions, a series of small fires over and over. Season 4 of Forestcast is a series of fires, a series of voices. It’s a 360-degree introduction to fire from a scientific standpoint. The story of how fire research shapes our landscapes, and our lives. Through kaleidoscoping voices from across the country, listeners will be taken inside the largest forest research organization in the world to hear from seventeen scientists on what...
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Flying the Nuthatch Home
Forestcast
Once spanning nearly 6 million acres in Missouri's Ozarks, the shortleaf pine and oak woodland ecosystem has dwindled to 100,000 acres today. Along with the loss of this habitat, a bird—the brown-headed nuthatch—disappeared as well. However, after decades of woodland restoration, the brown-headed nuthatch has returned to Missouri—by plane. Over two summers in 2020 and 2021, a team of scientists successfully captured and flew 102 birds from Arkansas to Missouri, marking the bird’s return to the state after being locally extinct since 1907. Weighing in at a mere one-third of an ounce,...
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Women of Research: Our Sustainable Future with Cindi West
Forestcast
has over 30 years of experience working across private industry, academia, and federal government in a variety of jobs to ensure sustainability of natural resources. In February 2021 she assumed the position of Director of the and the . She has served in various leadership roles in the Forest Service, including as the Director of the Office of Sustainability & Climate Change, Associate Deputy Chief for R&D, Director for Resource Use Sciences, and Deputy Station Director for Pacific Northwest Research Station. Cindi holds a BS degree in Forestry Management, an MBA in Marketing and...
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Women of Research: Scientific & Ethical Integrity with Maggie Hardy
Forestcast
is the program manager of the Rocky Mountain Research Station , a group of scientists that develops and delivers scientific knowledge and management tools for sustaining and restoring the health, biodiversity, productivity, and ecosystem processes of forest and woodland landscapes. Before joining the Rocky Mountain Research Station, Maggie served as Chief Regulatory Scientist and as an Executive Director with the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority. In these roles, Maggie managed areas of policy; regulation and budget; provided strategic stakeholder engagement; and led...
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Women of Research: Changing the World Through Soil with Deb Page-Dumroese
Forestcast
Research soil scientist research interests center around maintaining soil productivity during and after land management activities. As site principal investigator for several plots, Deb is well-versed in the pre- and post-treatment sampling necessary to determine changes in above- and below-ground nutrient properties associated with harvesting, organic matter removal, and biochar additions. In partnership with the Missoula Technology Development Center (Keith Windell) and Dr. Nate Anderson (RMRS) she developed a to easily distribute biochar on forest sites. Related Research: (2022) ...
info_outlineFire is a form all of its own, but a simple way to understand fire is as a swarm. A swarm of bees. Or starlings. Or mosquitos. A spreading fire is a swarm of ignitions, a series of small fires over and over.
Season 4 of Forestcast is a series of fires, a series of voices. It’s a 360-degree introduction to fire from a scientific standpoint. The story of how fire research shapes our landscapes, and our lives.
Through kaleidoscoping voices from across the country, listeners will be taken inside the largest forest research organization in the world to hear from seventeen scientists on what they know, and don’t know, about one of the most complex elements in nature—fire.
In episode one, hear from research mechanical engineer, Sara McAllister, on the process of ignition; spatial fire analyst, Greg Dillon, on the timeline of fire management and research in the Forest Service; and research forester, Dan Dey, on the history of fire: where it was, where it’s been, and what can be done knowing its history?
Related Research:
- Understanding Wildfire as a Dynamic System: A New Comprehensive Book on Wildland Fire Behavior (2023)
- New In-flame Flammability Testing Method Applied to Monitor Seasonal Changes in Live Fuel(2023)
- The Wildfire Crisis Strategy: How it Started, How it’s Going, and How RMRS Science Contributes (2023)
- Prescribed Fire for Upland Oaks (2023)
- Fire in Eastern Oak Forests—A Primer (2022)
- The North American Tree-Ring Fire-Scar Network (2022)
Scientists:
- Sara McAllister, Research Mech. Engineer, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Missoula, Montana
- Greg Dillon, Spatial Fire Analyst, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Missoula, Montana
- Dan Dey, Research Forester, Northern Research Station, Columbia, Missouri
Forestcast is an official USDA Forest Service podcast, and is produced by USDA Forest Service Research and Development.
Want more information? Visit us at https://www.fs.usda.gov/research/products/multimedia/forestcast
Questions or ideas for the show? Connect with Jon at [email protected]
This episode, we used the following archival recordings:
- The Fires of 1910 [National Wildfire Coordinating Group]
- Forest Service Officials Testify on Wildfire Management [C-SPAN]
- The Greatest Good: A Forest Service Centennial Film [USDA Forest Service]
- 1950s Smokey the Bear P.S.A.s [USDA Forest Service]
- Suppression of Fires in Natl. Parks & Forests [C-SPAN]
- The MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour (1988-07-27) [AAPB]
- The MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour (1988-09-13) [AAPB]
- Harry Gisborne Oral History Project [U of Montana]
- Up In Flames: A History of Fire Fighting in the Forest [Forest History Society]
- Higgins Ridge [Montana PBS]
- Learning from the Experts: Richard Rothermel [Wildland Fire LLC]
- U.S. House of Representatives House Session (2009-03-26) [C-SPAN]
- The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer (2000-08-07) [AAPB]
- Wildfire Crisis Strategy 2022 [USDA Forest Service]
- President Biden Signs Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill [C-SPAN]