Post Fire Remediation Study
The members of the Institute for Sustainable Forestry have hammered out a list of the essential elements of post-fire landscape treatments.
Institute for Sustainable Forestry
Post-Fire Remediation Checklist
Design features of sustainable post-fire recovery include:
Minimize unacceptable soil erosion, further loss of productivity, and potential sedimentation to streamcourses from fire suppression-related actions on dozer lines, fire lines, skid trails, and abandoned roads by:
installing water bars
lop, scatter, chip and place 50-75% of slash
seeding with native seed mix
Maintain and protect existing overstory trees, shrubs, grasses, and forbs. Consider leaving fire-scarred standing trees with 30+% green canopy to produce seed and help recolonize the site, as well as standing dead trees to shed needles, twigs, leaves that provide important natural soil cover.
If post-fire salvage operations are considered, attempt to keep heavy equipment on existing compacted soils such as roads, skid trails, and landings
Avoid use of non-native seed mixes
Produce biochar from small-diameter slash instead of burning to prevent burn scars; top-dress soil with biochar to sequester carbon and enhance soil health
Inventory wildlife species and habitat; identify needs for intervention
Evaluate fire effects on water quality, fish habitat and soil absorption capacity and identify needs for intervention
Maintain riparian vegetation, especially trees and shrubs that provide shade and lower stream temperatures. Consider placement of logs in streams for fish habitat; identify needs for wetlands restoration.
Replant site-specific native species; in addition to conifers, consider hazelnut, elderberry, native plum, madrone, bay laurel, and oak
Introduce agroforestry and permaculture design principles
Restore oak woodlands to prepare for post-fire understory regrowth; develop plans for using prescribed fire, grazing, and/or manual treatments in following years to reduce fuel loads
Utilize merchantable hardwoods and softwoods on-site using small-dimension mills
Separate firewood for sale
Remove hazard trees along roadways
Clean up after heavy equipment primarily with hand tools
Restore grasslands with native perennial grasses to displace invasive species encroachment; monitor and identify needs for invasive species removal
Plan for long-term monitoring of recovery; identify and allocate resources to adapt to changes