Fire mimicry | Sudden Oak Life by Lee Klinger

Ecological research backs fire mimicry approach

31 10 2009

Science Daily is reporting on a new study that documents the importance of fire feedbacks in maintaining savanna woodlands. Fire feedbacks are the ecological basis for employing fire mimicry to restore the oak savannas here in California. While I don’t have much faith in the mathematical models that these scientists are using, it is interesting that they have come to the same conclusion I have reached based on my own, and others’, empirical studies.

From Science Daily (Oct. 29, 2009):

Trees Facilitate Wildfires As A Way To Protect Their Habitat

Fire is often thought of something that trees should be protected from, but a new study suggests that some trees may themselves contribute to the likelihood of wildfires in order to promote their own abundance at the expense of their competitors. Read the rest of this entry »

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Categories : Fire ecology, Fire mimicry, Native people, Oak health, Sudden Oak Death

Fire mimicry results with oaks, pines, and more . . .

28 10 2009

As much as I would like to post more frequently on all the interesting work that is going on in land and tree stewardship, the fact is that I spend most of my time out working on the trees and soils, which leaves me limited time for blogging. There is so much I can do for a sick tree that I prefer to simply get on with doing the work rather than write about it.

Here is where my Canon Eos 30D comes in handy. I could measure and discuss percentage changes in crown density or leaf area index, but you’d be bored and the oaks would still be dying. With repeat photography I have more time to work on trees and it allows you to better view and judge for yourself the results of these efforts.

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Categories : Case studies, Fire mimicry, Oak health, Pine health

Using fire mimicry to treat early leaf senescence in California buckeyes

15 07 2009

The buckeye (Aesculus californica) is a deciduous tree, low and broad in stature, that is endemic to California. Every year these trees extend their gratitude by offering up a harvest of enormous size nuts. The species is a vital part of the California ecosystem and ever so worthy of our attention. Some even believe that tending the buckeyes is a responsibility passed on to us by the native people, who for the past few thousand years have been tending California’s buckeye groves.

Buckeyes do very well in open forests and savannas, especially in places where fires have been allowed to burn. However, on unburned lands buckeyes are often seen to be in poor health. Where forests are overgrown and acidified the buckeyes are experiencing serious health problems, including stem failure, canopy dieback, and any numbers of leaf blights including anthracnose and sudden oak death.

One of the first symptoms of ill health in buckeyes is the early seasonal onset of leaf senescence. Several years ago an astute friend of mine began noticing that for several years the buckeyes near her home had been losing their leaves earlier than usual. She contacted me about the problem and I suggested we try fire mimicry, the same treatments that I’ve been using on the oaks.

After four years of ongoing treatment here are the results . . .

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