Theses and Dissertations at Montana State University (MSU)
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Item A comprehensive study on forest management and wildfire trends in dry western coniferous regions of the United States(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Agriculture, 2024) Schonenberg, Richard Herman; Co-chairs, Graduate Committee: Anthony Hartshorn and William KleindlIn response to the growing concern over the escalating severity of wildfires in dry coniferous forests across the Western United States, this study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of Managed Fire Operations (MFO) in mitigating wildfire severity. By leveraging satellite-derived fire severity data, specifically the Difference Normalized Burn Ratio (dNBR), I conducted a comprehensive analysis comparing fire severity between forest lands with and without MFO, subsequently affected by wildfires. Employing a paired study design, I analyzed wildfire events from 1985 to 2021 within dry coniferous forests, limited to south-facing slopes with moderate terrain gradients, using fire perimeter data from the Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity (MTBS) program. Geospatial analysis identified areas where wildfire perimeters intersected with MFO-designated zones, enabling the delineation of new burn perimeters for each wildfire. The results revealed that regions subjected to MFO before wildfires experienced a statistically significant decrease in fire severity compared to areas without MFO (Wilcoxon signed-rank test, p-value < .01). Ecoregion stratification revealed notable variations, with the Northwestern Forested Mountains showing an estimated median fire severity difference nearly three times greater than the Temperate Sierras. Further stratification by time since MFO implementation displayed consistent, modest reductions in fire severity across two intervals (0-15 years and 15-40 years), with minimal variations between the temporal categories. These results highlight the effectiveness of MFO in mitigating wildfire severity and emphasize the importance of regional context and temporal factors in evaluating MFO efficacy in Western U.S. dry coniferous forests over the past four decades.Item Effects of prescribed burning on mixed prairie vegetation in southeastern Montana(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Agriculture, 1981) Rennick, R. B.Item Effects of fire on avian distributions and patterns of abundance over two vegetation types in southwest Montana : implications for managing fire for biodiversity(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 1997) Henderson, Steven J.Item Sage grouse, lagomorph, and pronghorn use of a sagebrush grassland burn site on the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 1983) Gates, Robert JohnItem The effects of prescribed fire on riparian groundwater(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Agriculture, 2007) Tucker, Ronald A., Jr.; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Clayton B. Marlow.The hypothesis of this study is that the use of prescribed fire to reduce trees and tree canopy, on a watershed scale, will decrease depth to riparian groundwater, increase riparian plant species diversity, and increase riparian biomass production. To test these hypotheses two watersheds, primarily managed for cattle grazing, located in Fergus (Dry Armells watershed) and Jefferson (Little Whitetail watershed) Counties, Montana, were chosen. Both watersheds were densely dominated with coniferous tree species. Average preburn tree density was 1,276 trees/ha and 350 trees/ha for both the Dry Armells and Little Whitetail sites respectively. Ten riparian drainages were selected for treatment and analysis within the two watersheds. Six of these drainages were burned and four were used as unburned comparisons. Prescribed fires took place in the spring of 2001 at Dry Armells and in the fall of 2005 and spring of 2006 at Little Whitetail. At Dry Armells 18 to 20% of the watershed area was burned. At the Little Whitetail site only 3 to 15% of the watershed area was burned.Item Aspen response to prescribed fire in Southwest Montana(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Agriculture, 2008) Durham, Daniel Avery; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Clayton B. Marlow.A collaborative effort by the BLM, MAES and MFWP, the Whitetail Watershed Restoration Project used prescribed fire in 2005 and 2006 to address aspen decline, conifer encroachment and altered hydrologic function in a forested watershed within Jefferson County, MT. As part of this effort quaking aspen response to fire was evaluated in two sub-drainages of the Whitetail Basin three years after treatment. Unburned stands were first surveyed to determine whether regeneration was occurring and to measure the distribution of aspen stems by size class. This information was then compared to stem response in burned stands. Big game and cattle impacts on aspen sucker height and density were measured using a series of 3-part ungulate exclosures in a sub-sample of burned stands. Regeneration was occurring in only1 of 40 unburned stands suggesting aspen was declining in this area. Sucker density increased dramatically in the burned stands after three years increasing the likelihood for regeneration. Within the first three years post-fire big game and the combination of big game and cattle did not affect sucker density in the burned stands. Although sucker height was significantly less in plots used by ungulates we did not feel it was enough to prevent regeneration. This assertion was supported by sufficient annual growth rates and the recruitment of individual regeneration stems into stands outside of protected plots. While it appears fire has increased the potential for aspen regeneration in the Whitetail Basin, early growth rates have allowed for some individual stem to surpass browse height to date, suggesting future monitoring will be necessary to learn if the current recruitment levels are sufficient to regenerate the majority of stands.Item The political economy of prescribed fires : a land agency's decision to burn(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Agriculture, 2010) Berreth, Mark Alan; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: David E. Buschena.National land agencies ignite hundreds of prescribed fires every year throughout the Rocky Mountain West. When a national land agency proposes a prescribed fire they must by statute take public opinion into account before igniting the burn. The public interest of a prescribed fire may be to decrease the acreage of the burn in order to save animal habitat or possibly to stop a burn entirely. A theoretical model where a land agency maximizes a net social expected benefit was used to develop comparative static results in the empirical analysis. Using county Sierra Club membership as a proxy for protests, this thesis analyzes acreage differences and timing differences of prescribed fires. First, a probit model is used to evaluate the probability of a wildland urban interface prescribed fire. The regression results present a higher probability of wildland urban interface prescribed fires at the median of county Sierra Club membership as a percent of county population, ceteris paribus. County Sierra Club membership as a percent of county population was not statistically significant in explaining proportion acreage changes from proposed to actual acres burnt. Timing differences, on the other hand, were found to increase as county Sierra Club membership as a percent of county population increased, ceteris paribus. The empirical results imply that land agencies treat their prescribed fires that are in the wildland urban interface the same. There are also timing differences that can be explained through pressure from group interest in land agency policies.