Vihnanek, Robert E.; Balog, Cameron S.; Wright, Clinton S.; Ottmar, Roger D.; Kelly, Jeffrey W. 2009. Stereo photo series for quantifying natural fuels. Volume XII: Post-hurricane fuels in forests of the Southeast United States. Gen. Tech. Rep. PNW-GTR-803. Portland, OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station. 53 p.
Two series of single and stereo photographs display a range of natural conditions and fuel loadings in post-hurricane forests in the southeastern United States. Each group of photos includes inventory information summarizing vegetation composition, structure and loading, woody material loading and density by size class, forest floor loading, and various site characteristics. The natural fuels photo series is designed to help land managers appraise fuel and vegetation conditions in natural settings.
Keywords: Woody material, biomass, fuel loading, natural fuels, hurricane, wind damage, blowdown, sand hill, sand pine scrub, longleaf pine, Pinus palustris, loblolly pine, Pinus taeda, sand pine, Pinus clausa, shortleaf pine, Pinus echinata, slash pine, Pinus elliottii.
COOPERATORS
This publication was developed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station,
Fire and Environmental Research Applications Team with funding provided, in part, by the Joint Fire Science Program.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Special recognition is due Jay Boykin, USDA Forest Service, De Soto National Forest; Greg Kaufman, Savannas Preserve State Park,
Florida Division of Recreation and Parks; Randy Prewitt, USDA Forest Service, Sam Houston National Forest; Zachary Prusak,
Florida Chapter, The Nature Conservancy; Bobi Stiles, USDA Forest Service, Davy Crockett National Forest; Rob Rossmanith,
Jonathan Dickinson State Park, Florida Division of Recreation and Parks; Dean Vanderbleek, Brevard County Parks and Recreation.
Noah Carlson, Kyle Jacobson, Jon McDuffey, and Shawn Smith, USDA Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station; Jim Cronan
and Joe Restaino, University of Washington, School of Forest Resources worked on this project in the field and in the laboratory.
AUTHORS
Robert E. Vihnanek is a supervisory forester, Clinton S. Wright and Roger D. Ottmar
are research foresters, and Jeffrey W. Kelly was a forestry technician, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service,
Pacific Northwest Research Station, Pacific Wildland Fire Sciences Laboratory, 400 N. 34th Street, Suite 201, Seattle, Washington 98103;
Cameron S. Balog is a research scientist, School of Forest Resources, University of Washington, 400 N. 34th Street,
Suite 201, Seattle, Washington 98103.
PHOTOGRAPH AND INFORMATION ARRANGEMENT
The photographs and accompanying data summaries are presented as single sites organized into two series.
Each site is arranged to occupy two facing pages. The upper page contains the wide-angle (50mm) photograph and general site,
stand, and forest floor information. The lower page includes the stereo-pair photographs and summaries of overstory structure
and composition, understory vegetation structure and composition, and downed woody material loading and density by size class.
SITE INFORMATION
The camera point of each site was located with a global positioning system (GPS) receiver using the WGS-84 datum.
Aspect and slope were measured with a compass and clinometer, respectively. Ecological community classification
(to the association level; NatureServe 2009), an indicator of current vegetation composition, was assigned for all sites.
In addition, Society of American Foresters (SAF) cover type (Eyre 1980) was assigned to describe forest structure for each site.
Sites impacted by hurricanes Francis (2004), Jeanne (2004), Katrina (2005), and Ike (2008) were sampled 1 month to 2.5 years post-hurricane.
STAND INFORMATION
Shrub, forb, and graminoid species coverage, was estimated by using line intercept transects (Canfield 1941).
Tree and understory species (shrub, forb, and graminoid species) present at a site are listed in order of abundance.1
The listing of understory species was not meant to be a complete vegetation inventory and may represent only a portion
of the actual species richness of the sampled areas. The percentage of standing dead trees and trees with snapped off
boles was determined by sampling within the site (fig. 1). Crown closure was measured with a forest densitometer
(84 systematically located points). Seedling composition and density were determined either by using twelve 0.002-acre circular
plots or six 43.06-square-foot square plots; all trees less than 4.5 feet tall were considered seedlings. Quercus species with a
shrub-like growth habit were not counted as seedlings.2
Figure 1--Photo series sample area layout. Twenty-one random azimuth line transects
(one at each point on the 60-, 120- and 150-foot arcs, and two at each point on the 30- and 90-foot arcs) and 3 to 6 clipped
vegetation plots were located within the sample area. Trees were inventoried in the entire sample area and seedlings were
inventoried on 6 to 12 systematically located sample plots.
| 1See below for a list of scientific and common species names used in this volume. |
| 2Quercus species with a shrub-like growth form are listed in the "Notes to Users" section before each series. |
FOREST FLOOR INFORMATION
Litter and duff were collected in three to six 5.38-square-foot plots, ovendried, and weighed to compute loading on an area basis.
Forest floor material is classified following the scheme outlined in Pritchett (1979), where the litter, or L-layer, comprises dead,
undecomposed vegetation (including dead grass material that was detached from the plant base), and the duff, a combination of the
F and H layers, consisting of dead vegetation in various stages of decay. Additionally, in sites with recent hurricane damage,
conifer needles still attached to broken-off crowns lying within a projected columnar space above the 5.38-square-foot plots were
collected, processed, and reported as "crown litter."
SAPLINGS AND TREES
All overstory trees and saplings (i.e., trees >= 4.5 feet tall) within the sample area were counted and measured
(fig. 1). Tree measurement data were summarized by diameter at breast height (d.b.h.)3 size class and by tree status
(all, live, or dead). Trees that were snapped off during the hurricane were also noted. Height to crown base
(reported as ladder fuel height in previous photo series volumes) was defined as the height of the lowest, continuous
live or dead branch material of the tree canopy, and height to live crown was defined as the height of the lowest continuous live
branches of the tree canopy. Live crown mass (branchwood and foliage) was calculated from species- and size-specific allometric
equations (Baldwin 1989, Clark and Schroeder 1985, Clark et al. 1986, Ker 1980, Loomis and Blank 1981, Loomis et al. 1966,
Martin et al. 1998, Perala 1993, Taras 1980, Taras and Phillips 1978, Ter-Mikaelian and Korzukhin 1997, Whittaker and Woodwell 1968).
Generalized composite equations were used when species-specific equations were not available in the literature.
A size-specific composite "soft hardwoods" equation was substituted for Ilex spp., Ilex vomitoria, and Morrella cerifera
(Clark and Schroeder 1985). A size-specific composite "hard hardwoods" equation was substituted for Magnolia spp., Osmanthus americanus,
Quercus laevis, Quercus laurifolia, and Quercus myrtifolia (Clark and Schroeder 1985).
| 3D.b.h. is measured 4.5 feet above the ground. |
UNDERSTORY VEGETATION
Understory species coverage was estimated by using line intercept transects (Canfield 1941). Where species-specific coverage is not
reported, understory vegetation coverage was estimated by lifeform category (shrub, forb, or graminoid) by using the line intercept transects.
Understory vegetation heights were measured at 39 points located systematically throughout the sample area. Understory vegetation biomass was
determined by sampling three to six square, clipped vegetation plots also located systematically throughout the sample area (fig. 1).
Shrubs were collected in 43.06-square-foot plots; graminoids and forbs were collected in 10.76-square-foot plots.
All live and dead understory vegetation (regardless of size) rooted in each plot was clipped at ground level, separated, and returned
to the laboratory for oven drying. Understory vegetation and other collected material were oven dried at a minimum of 158° F for at
least 48 hours before weighing and determination of area loading.
WOODY MATERIAL
Measurement techniques used for inventorying dead and down woody material were patterned after the planar intersect method outlined
by Brown (1974) and described by Maxwell and Ward (1980). Twenty-one transects of random azimuth starting at 15 systematically located
points within the sample area were used to determine woody material loading and density (fig. 1). Woody material data are reported
by size classes that correspond to timelag fuel classes used in fire behavior modeling (Burgan and Rothermel 1984).4
Woody material in 1-hour, 10-hour, and 100-hour size classes was tallied on transects that were 3 feet, 10 feet, and 60 feet long, respectively.
The decay class and the actual diameter at the point of intersection were measured for all pieces > 3 inches in diameter.
All woody material < 3 inches in diameter was considered sound. Woody material loading and woody material density were calculated
from relationships that use number of pieces intersected and transect length (and wood specific gravity for loading) developed by Brown
(1974) and Safranyik and Linton (1987), respectively.
| 41-, 10-, 100- and 1000-hour timelag fuels are defined as woody material <=0.25 inch, 0.26-1.0 inch, 1.1-3.0 inches, and >3.0 inches in diameter, respectively. |
SPECIES LIST
Scientific and common species names are from NRCS (2009). Species with a variable growth form may appear on both the shrub and tree lists.
| SCIENTIFIC NAME | COMMON NAME | SCIENTIFIC NAME | COMMON NAME |
|
|
|
SHRUBS (CONTINUED): Cassytha filiformis L. Ceratiola ericoides Michx. Ilex spp. Ilex glabra (L.) A. Gray Ilex vomitoria Aiton Lyonia lucida (Lam.) K. Koch Morella cerifera (L.) Small (formerly Myrica cerifera) Opuntia humifusa (Raf.) Raf. Prunus umbellata Elliot Quercus spp. Quercus chapmanii Sarg. Quercus geminata Small Quercus laevis Walter Quercus laurifolia (Michx.) Quercus myrtifolia Willd. Rubus spp. Rhus spp. Serenoa repens (Bartram) Small Smilax spp. Toxicodendron radicans (L.) Kuntze Vaccinium spp. Vaccinium arboreum (Marsh.) Vitis spp. Vitis rotundifolia Michx. GRAMINOIDS, FORBS, AND LICHENS: Andropogon virginicus L. Aristida spp. Carex spp. Cladina evansii (Abbayes) Hale & W.L. Culb. Cladina subtenuis (Abbayes) Hale & W.L. Culb. Nolina atopocarpa Bartlett Palafoxia feay A. Gray Sabatia gentianoides Elliot |
Devil’s gut Sand heath Holly Inkberry (gallberry) Yaupon Fetterbush lyonia Wax myrtle Eastern prickly pear Hog plum Oak Chapman oak Sand live oak Turkey oak Laurel oak Myrtle oak Blackberry Sumac Saw palmetto Greenbrier Eastern poison ivy Blueberry Farkleberry Grape Muscadine Broomsedge bluestem Threeawn (wiregrass) Sedge Evan's reindeer lichen Reindeer lichen Florida beargrass Feay's palafox Pinewoods rose gentian |
LITERATURE CITED
Albini, F.A. 1976. Estimating wildfire behavior and effects. Gen. Tech. Rep. INT-30. Ogden, UT: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Intermountain Forest and Range Experiment Station. 92 p.
Baldwin, V.C., Jr. 1989. Is sapwood a better predictor of loblolly pine crown biomass than bole diameter? Biomass. 20: 177-185.
Brown, J.K. 1974. Handbook for inventorying downed woody material. Gen. Tech. Rep. INT-16. Ogden, UT: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Intermountain Forest and Range Experiment Station. 24 p.
Burgan, R.E. 1988. 1988 revisions to the 1978 national fire-danger rating system. Res. Pap. SE-273. Asheville, NC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Southeastern Forest Experiment Station. 39 p.
Burgan, R.E.; Rothermel, R.C. 1984. BEHAVE: fire behavior prediction and fuel modeling system--FUEL subsystem. Gen. Tech. Rep. INT-167. Ogden, UT: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Intermountain Forest and Range Experiment Station. 126 p.
Canfield, R.H. 1941. Application of the line interception method in sampling range vegetation. Journal of Forestry. 39: 388-394.
Clark, A., III; Schroeder, J.G. 1985. Weight, volume, and physical properties of major hardwood species in the southern Appalachian mountains. Res. Pap. SE-253. Asheville, NC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Southeastern Forest Experiment Station. 63 p.
Clark, A.C., III; Phillips, D.R.; Frederick, D.J. 1986. Weight, volume, and physical properties of major hardwood species in the upland-South. Res. Pap. SE-257. Asheville, NC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Southeastern Forest Experiment Station. 55 p.
Deeming, J.E.; Burgan, R.E.; Cohen, J.D. 1977. The national fire-danger rating system--1978. Gen. Tech. Rep. INT-39. Ogden, UT: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Intermountain Forest and Range Experiment Station. 63 p.
Eyre, F.H., ed. 1980. Forest cover types of the United States and Canada. Washington, DC: Society of American Foresters. 148 p. [plus map].
Ker, M.F. 1980. Tree biomass equations for ten major species in Cumberland County, Nova Scotia. Inf. Rep. M-X-108. Fredericton, New Brunswick: Canadian Forestry Service, Maritimes Forest Research Centre. 26 p.
Loomis, R.M.; Blank, R.W. 1981. Estimating northern red oak crown component weights in the Northeastern United States. Res. Pap. NC-194. St. Paul, MN: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, North Central Forest Experiment Station. 9 p.
Loomis, R.M.; Phares, R.E.; Crosby, J.S. 1966. Estimating foliage and branchwood quantities in shortleaf pine. Forest Science. 12(1): 30-39.
Martin, J.G.; Kloeppel, B.D.; Schaefer, T.L.; Kimbler, D.L.; McNulty, S.G. 1998. Aboveground biomass and nitrogen allocation of ten deciduous southern Appalachian tree species. Canadian Journal of Forest Research. 28: 1648-1659.
Maxwell, W.G.; Ward, F.R. 1980. Guidelines for developing or supplementing natural photo series. Res. Note PNW-358. Portland, OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Forest and Range Experiment Station. 16 p.
Natural Resources Conservation Service [NRCS]. 2009. The PLANTS Database. Baton Rouge, LA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service, National Plant Data Center. https://plants.usda.gov/. (28 July 2009).
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