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) ...
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Women of Research: A Life of Healthy Forests with Jenny Juzwik
Forestcast
Research plant pathologist, , conducts studies on diseases of trees that impact forest health and productivity. Her career-long interest and passion has been the study of interactions among microorganisms and insects associated with disease occurrence and development. One particular focus has been on the insects responsible for transmission of the oak wilt fungus, Bretziella fagacearum. In 2014 she completed research that involved elucidation of the major biotic determinants of hickory decline and investigation of the role(s) putative pathogens play in the complex. In 2010, she initiated 13...
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Women of Research: The Nature of Stewardship with Lindsay Campbell
Forestcast
Research social scientist, Lindsay Campbell, explores the dynamics of civic stewardship, environmental governance, and sustainability policymaking--with a particular emphasis on issues of social and environmental justice—all from New York City. She is a founding member of the New York City , which was jointly created by the Northern Research Station and the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation. The Urban Field Station develops and applies adaptive management and science to improve human well-being and the environment in urban metropolitan areas. She creates transdisciplinary...
info_outlinePrescribed 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 Joe O’Brien 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 David Weise begins research into the processes related to pyrolysis to better estimate how prescribed burning affects people. And, in Arkansas, forestry technician Virginia McDaniel recounts a decades-long story of prescribed fire fortifying an ecosystem and an endangered woodpecker.
Related Research:
- Prescribed Fire Science: The Case for a Refined Research Agenda (2020)
- Comparing Two Methods to Measure Oxidative Pyrolysis Gases in a Wind Tunnel and in Prescribed Burns (2022)
- Comparison of Pyrolysis of Live Wildland Fuels Heated by Radiation vs. Convection (2020)
- A Project to Measure and Model Pyrolysis to Improve Prediction of Prescribed Fire Behavior (2018)
- Particulate & Trace Gas Emissions from Prescribed Burns in Southeastern U.S. (2015)
- Diversity Explodes with Another Boring Burn with USDA Forest Service’s Virginia McDaniel (2023)
- Pine-Bluestem Literature Review (2013)
- Renewal of the Shortleaf Pine-Bluestem Grass Ecosystem (2010)
Scientists:
- Joe O'Brien, Research Ecologist, Southern Research Station, Athens, Georgia
- David Weise, Research Forester, Pacific Southwest Research Station, Riverside, California
- Virginia McDaniel, Forestry Technician, Southern Research Station, Hot Springs, Arkansas
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? Contact Jon at [email protected]