Objectives:

Four broad topic areas are being investigated through monitoring of the demonstration burns. They are:

• Fire behaviour and smoke emissions,
• stand structure and mortality,
• understory vegetation composition and production and
• insect and disease presence.

Experimental Design:

Each burn is considered to be an independent treatment. While broad trends may be detectable within a site series, it is not anticipated that sufficient "replicates" will be produced to permit detailed analysis at that level.

In its simplest form this study can be regarded as a paired treatment (control vs. burn). As such, tests will be restricted to T-tests or one-way ANOVAs. More meaningful results will likely be produced by examining stand structural trends over time, within a single stratum.

Layout

Plot centres were established on a systematic grid with plot spacing varying from 50 to 100m depending on site and stratum size and orientation. Plot centres are a minimum of 30m from any stratum boundary. The centres are marked with electrical conduit or rebar about one metre high. The number of plots per stratum and the number of strata measured vary between sites. Trees less than 12.5 cm DBH are assessed at all plots. Trees greater than 12.5 cm DBH, woody fuels, and insects and diseases are assessed on every second plot. Understory vegetation is assessed on 5 randomly chosen plots per stratum (except at Picture Valley). The plot layout at each installation is as follows:

• Picture Valley: 20 plots are established in each of the following strata: burn, pure Fd; burn, mixed Fd, Py; unburned, mixed Fd, Py.
• Findlay Creek: 30 plots are established in each of burned and unburned portions of Fd, Py (Pl) strata.
• Skookumchuck is monitored on a reconnaissance basis with 4 habitat monitoring plots.
• Tata Creek: 20 plots in each of harvest and burn, harvest only, burn only and control treatments.

History:

• 1993 - pretreatment data gathered at Picture Valley and Findlay Creek
• 1993 - Skookumchuck burned
• 1994 - Findlay Creek and Picture Valley burned
• 1995 - post treatment monitoring at Picture Valley and Findlay Creek
• 1996 - Tata Creek pretreatment plots established
• 1997 - Tata Creek site harvested and fuel treatments completed.
• 1998 - Tata Creek burned
• 1998 - Vegetation and stand assessments, and insect collection and analysis at Tata Creek.
• 1998 - Vegetation assessments at Picture Valley and Findlay Creek.
• 1999 - Vegetation assessment and insect collection and analysis at Tata Creek.
• 2000 - Final  vegetation assessments at Tata Creek

Status: Active, Skookumchuk dormant. 

Reports and Publications:

Braumandl, T., S. Taylor, C.F. Thompson, A.J. Stock and D. Gayton. 1995. Ecosystem maintenance demonstration burns monitoring project: General work plan and establishment report for Picture Valley and Findlay Creek sites. File Report. Forest Sciences Section, Nelson Forest Region, Nelson, B.C.

Miller, D.R. 1997, Analyses of funnel trap catches at the Tata Creek underburn trial for 1996. Unpublished Report.

Taylor, S. 1998. Models predict future fire potential in BC forests. Nat. Res. Canada. Pac. For. Centre, Information Forestry, December 1998.

Ross, T. J. 1998. Plant community response following dry forest ecosystem restoration. Interim Report to Rocky Mountain Trench Natural Resources Society (RMTNRS).

Penniket, R. 1999. East Kootenay Trench Restoration Monitoring Project: 1998 Monitoring update for the TaTa Creek site - Establishment Report. Unpublished Report to RMTNRS.

Wilson, I. 1999. Analyses of funnel trap catches at the TaTa Creek underburn trial for 1998. Unpublished Report to RMTNRS.

RMTNRS, 1999. Restoring Fire to Disappearing Rangelands. RMTNRS Pamphlet.

Wilson, I. 2000. Analyses of funnel trap catches at the TaTa Creek underburn trial for 1999. Unpublished Report to RMTNRS.

Machmer, M.M., 2000. Ecological role of fire for cavity-nesting birds. Final Technical Report to Science Council of BC.

Machmer, M.M., 2001. Effects of ecosystem restoration treatments on cavity-nesting birds, their habitat and their insectivoorous prey in fire maintained forests of southeastern British Columbia. Proc. Symp. Ecology and Management of Dead Wood in Western Forests, Reno, Nevada, November 2-4, 1999.

Gayton, G.V., 2001. Ground work: Basic concept of ecological restoration in British Columbia. Southern Interior Forest Extension and Research Partnership, SIFERP Series 3.