Join UCCE Forest Advisor Mike Jones, PhD, for a look at recent and emerging research that is evolving our understanding of fuels management and the use of prescribed fire as a stewardship tool in the redwoods.

July 2025

We are especially grateful to Mike for taking the time to answer questions that we could not get to in the webinar.

Q: What resource considerations went into the determination of the Rx Burn area? Were READs involved?

If READ is referring to a Resource Advisor, then the research program foresters at Jackson Demonstration State Forest (JDSF) served as our Resource Advisors, as their knowledge of the forest and management history was crucial to finding suitable sites. This research project was also implemented using a CalVTP, so all the requirements under that EIR also had to be taken into considered. Some of the research requirements (and operational considerations) that factored into site selection included:

• Similar harvest histories and ages
• At least 60 acres of relatively flat ground (<30% slope)
• East to west gradient, so we captured variation in forest structure and composition
• Presence of roads and skid trails to help build burn units

Q: What kind of redwoods are present in Jacson Demonstration State Forest?

Much of the dominant forest canopy at JDSF includes coast redwood and coast Douglas-fir. Other species that can be found in the canopy are grand fir, western hemlock, tanoak, Ca black oak, Pacific madrone, western chinquapin, and Bishop pine.

Q: Why did you especially like the after effects of the control burn?

I am assuming “control burn” refers to the no pre-treatment burns. This is just based on my observations after the first post-burn assessment (more detailed follow-up surveys this fall may change my perspective). But, I liked how the fire behavior in the no pre-treatment burns was more variable, resulting in a nice mosaic of fire effects. For example, some area experienced enough heat that some larger trees had burn damage and smaller trees were killed or topkilled, while in other areas only surface fuels were consumed, and other areas didn’t even burn. This variability in fire effects can help create heterogeneity in the forest structure and composition over time (diversity = more resilience to future disturbance). One thing to keep in mind thought is that vegetation that was killed in the no pre-treatment burn is now fuel, which might conflict with fuels reduction and wildfire risk mitigation. So, while I think this is a really interesting approach to implementing prescribed burns, how a site is prepared before burning depends on the goals and objectives of the steward.

Q: Are the techniques influenced by the Amah Mutsun?

I believe “techniques” refers to the firing plan, or how we actually put fire on the ground? The use of fire as a tool is rooted in Indigenous stewardship, and that knowledge and practice certainly influences decisions we make when using prescribed fire. For this project we developed a firing plan, based on the knowledge and experience of the researchers, that we expected would result in the desired fire effects.

I see trees with blackened lower trunks in your photos, can those be cut down and used by a timber logging company. Or they now have no commercial value? We the public still enjoy them if they are not cut down of course.

It depends on how severe the fire damage was. If just the bark was damaged, then the tree will keep growing without impact to the wood and future commercial value. If the wood was damaged, the wound can become a pathway for disease or attract insects, and this kind of damage can potentially impact future commercial value. Part of this research is to better understand how fire damage from prescribed burns might impact future timber resources.

Q: Would you discuss fire or treatment intervals for healthy redwood tracts? Do we wait too long to apply proactive forest management practices? Should areas of Big Basin be subject to fire application?

Redwoods, like many of the other ecosystems in Ca, are fire adapted, and fire suppression has certainly had an impact on the health of these forests. To build and maintain healthy forests that are resilient to future disturbances, we need to think about how to return fire in some capacity as a stewardship tool. When, how, and how often fire is used will depend on the goals and objectives of the land stewards.

Referring specifically to Big Basin, we see that areas of the park where prescribed fire was used as a stewardship tool, the effects of the CZU wildfire were very different when compared to other parts of the park (see Biblin et al., 2025: https://doi.org/10.1186/s42408-025-00356-5). So yes, I think expanding the use of prescribed fire in Big Basin will be highly beneficial for the long-term health of those redwoods forests.

Q: Are you using the Rocky Mountain USFS Photoload references or did you develop a localized reference? And do you infer duff litter loadings from photo/ocular estimates or just use depth measures?

We are using the USDA Forest Service Photoloading protocol to build a photoloading reference specifically for the redwoods. We will attempt to come up with a general model that approx. tons/acre of litter and duff based on measured depth.

Q: With all this burning, do you factor in how this affects all types wildllife? Some may not be able to fly or run away.

This is something we are very interested in, and for future projects we intend to study how fire impacts smaller fauna like reptiles, amphibians, insects, etc.

Q: Would you recommend attempting to Rx burn in a redwood forest that’s previously gone through a recent wildfire, with lots of ceanothus understory and burned/dead standing tanoaks/madrones/etc?

It depends on the goals and objectives of the land steward and if fire could be used safely. But yes, using fire for post-wildfire stewardship would certainly be a good option, especially if long-term goals are to re-establish a fire regime that helps maintain a healthy forest. However, burning in those kinds of conditions would require careful planning and preparation given the amount of fuel and the challenges of working in a complex and potentially hazardous environment.

Q: How do you keep a new circle of basal redwood sprouts from emerging after you remove a redwood tree? If you can’t then the overly dense forest will re-establish, no?

When we plan a prescribed burn, we think about long-term vegetation maintenance because we know that if we damage or kill a redwood (or hardwood or shrub), we are going to trigger robust resprouting or regeneration. So, we look at establishing a fire return interval and developing monitoring guidelines that help us determine when we think we would need to burn again to thin back resprouting, herbaceous vegetation growth, or accumulation of fuels. We also look to other tools in our management toolbox (e.g., hand thinning, mechanical thinning, grazers and browsers, herbicides, etc.) to help manage resprouts and vegetation.

In the control study with the multiple 10-acre adjacent sections, how (and if) are you accounting for the effects of the underground network (mycorrhizal fungi, mycelium networks, etc.) that share resources such as nutrients and communication across much larger areas than the prescribed units? Particularly in redwood forests.

We have not yet had the opportunity to do a deep dive into soil ecology, but for future projects we are planning to study how soils and the soil microbiome respond to disturbance.

Q: What differences were found in bat and bird species between mastication, lop and burn, and control burns? Thanks.

We are still collecting and analyzing those data, so I can’t say at this point. Hopefully we’ll have those results published in the near future.

Q: With the push for carbon sequestration, how does this play into forest burning for forest management?

The process of burning vegetation means carbon will be released, which often conflicts with the goals of carbon sequestration. But the argument that prescribed fire can support carbon sequestration goals in the long-term is that it can help make forest more resilient to wildfire so that we experience less high severity stand replacement fire, which can result in significant carbon release.

Q: How are pests affected by fire?

Endemic pests and diseases are well adapted to finding and feeding on fire damaged trees (redwood bark beetles love fire damaged redwood). It’s part of their function in the ecosystem, to cull damaged and dying trees from the forest which help create canopy gaps, increase light to the forest floor supporting regeneration and plant diversity, and recycle nutrients.