Cascading Effects of Fire Exclusion in the Rocky Mountain Ecosystems, A Literature Review
Keane RE, Ryan KC, Veblen TT, Allen CD, Logan J, Hawkes B. 2002. Cascading Effects of Fire Exclusion in the Rocky Mountain Ecosystems, A Literature Review. General Technical Report RMRS-GTR-91. USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. Fort Collins, Colorado
The health of many Rocky Mountain ecosystems is in decline because of the policy of excluding fire in the management of these ecosystems. Fire exclusion has actually made it more difficult to fight fires, and this poses greater risk to the people who fight fires and for those who live in and around Rocky Mountain forests and rangelands. This paper discusses the extent of fire exclusion in the Rocky Mountains, then details the diverse and cascading effects of suppressing the fire in the Rocky Mountain landscape in spacial scale, ecosystem characteristic, and vegetation type. Also dicussed are the varied effects of fire exclusion on some important, keystone ecosystems and human concerns.
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- Keane, Robert; Ryan, Kevin; Veblen, Tom; Allen, Craig; Logan, Jesse; Hawkes, Brad
- Date of Issue
- 2002-05
- Publisher
- USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station
- Units
- ROMN
- Keywords
- Ecology, fire exclusion, Fire Management, Landscape Ecology, Wildland Fire