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- Info
How prescribed burning affects wildfire occurrence
| Author: |
Davis, L.S.; Cooper, R.W. |
| Date: |
1963 |
| Periodical: |
Journal of Forestry |
| Abstract: |
In 1959, an attempt was made to evaluate the effectiveness of prescribed fires in reducing the number, size, and intensity of wildfires in north Florida and south Georgia. Data were collected from 380 fires on 954,000 acres -for a 4-year period, 1955 to 1958, a span that included two bad fire years and two relatively easy fire years. Although a higher wildfire occurrence rate was indicated for the roughs three years and older, the differences were not very great. On the other hand, the differences in burn acreage, particularly between the youngest and oldest roughs, were extreme. Annual burn percents ranged from 0.03 percent in the 0-year-old roughs to 0.14 percent in the 5-year-old roughs. Hazard reduction fire prescriptions, therefore, are profitable investments for forest landowners in the Southeast if roughs are kept below the 5-year level. |
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