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Genomics and Applied Biology, 2010, Vol.1, No.1
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Research Article Open Access
Fuel Loading and the Potential for Carbon Emissions from Fire Following Two
Shelterwood Harvest Treatments in Southern Ohio
Tao Yuhua
1
Williams Roger Allen
2
1 Guangxi Eco-Engineering Vocational and Technical College, Liuzhou, 545004
2 School of Environment and Natural Resources, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH43210
Corresponding author email: williams.1577@osu.edu;
Authors
Genomics and Applied Biology 2010, Vol.1 No.1 doi:10.5376/gab.2010.01.0001
Received: 15 Aug., 2010
Accepted: 19 Sep., 2010
Published: 18 Oct., 2010
This article was first published in Genomics and Applied Biology (Regular Print Version), and here was authorized to redistribute under the terms of the Creative Commons
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Preferred citation for this article:
Tao et al., 2010, Fuel Loading and the potential for carbon emissions from fire following two shelterwood harvest treatments in Southern Ohio, Genomics and
Applied Biology ,29(4): 628-638 (doi: 10.3969/gab.29.000628)
Abstract
The purpose of this paper is to report the fuel load following shelterwood harvest of two intensities (70% residual
stocking and 50% residual stocking), the total carbon content contained in these fuels, and the potential carbon emissions from fire.
And the fuel load includes forest litter, woody and herbaceous plants and dead wood. The research results show that the forest litter
and the woody plants display significantly greater carbon content than herbaceous plants. The forest litter represents 36.6%, 50.9%
and 66.0% of the total fuel load for the 50% treatment, 70% treatment and control respectively. Coarse woody debris accounts for
58.4%, 48.0%and 32.6% of the total fuel load for the 50% treatment, 70% treatment and control respectively. Small woody and
herbaceous materials contribute very little to the fuel loading in all treatments. The total fuel loading was determined to be 54.07 t/ha,
41.98 t/ha and 20.73 t/ha for the 50% treatment, 70% treatment, and the control, respectively. If all these fuels were consumed in a
wildfire, it is estimated that the total carbon compound emissions from a fire would be 90.39 t/ha, 70.19 t/ha, and 34.66 t/ha, in the
same respective order. The harvesting treatments produced more 1~10 hours fuels than the control, although not significantly
between them. The 50% treatment and 70% treatment produced 25.08 t/ha and 23.47 t/ha of 1~10 hours fuels, respectively, compared
to 14.38 t/ha in the control. A prescribed fire would more likely consume only the fuels in this fuel category, thus emitting 41.93 t/ha,
39.24 t/ha and 23.55 t/ha of carbon compounds from the 50% treatment, 70% treatment, and the control, respectively. This study may
be worthwhile to account for the reduction in carbon emissions obtained when prescribed burns are implemented as a fuel reduction
strategy in forest carbon offset projects.
Keywords
Carbon; Emissions; Harvesting; Fire; Forest fuel load
Background
Historically fire was a frequent disturbance process
that shaped the oak-dominated ecosystems in the
Eastern United States. These fires were the result of
lightning strikes, Native American use of fire, and
later, Euro-American settlers. Oak is well adapted to
fire, and in fact requires fire to help maintain a
dominant position in regeneration layers (Sutherland
and Hutchinson, 2003; van Lear and Watt, 1993).
However, fire suppression policies and practices since
the 1930's have led to a reduction in oak abundance
and sustainability across the eastern landscapes
(Lorimer, 1984; 1993; Abrams, 1992; van Lear and
Watt, 1993).
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In recent years, the use of prescribed fire as a means
to maintain or restore oak forests has gained renewed
interest as studies have indicated the potential
effectiveness of this management tool (Reich et al.,
1990; Brose et al., 1999). The abundance of oak
regeneration failure throughout its eastern range
requires that innovative management techniques must
be developed and implemented if forest managers are
to sustain oak forests. Prescribed fire is sometimes
combined with harvesting systems, such as
shelterwood harvests, to further enhance oak
regeneration. The shelterwood method of cutting has
often been recommended as a technique to promote
oak regeneration when it is lacking on productive sites
(Sander et al., 1983). However, this method often has
failed because the conditions conducive to the
development of oak regeneration that this system
provides also stimulate intense competition from less