Fire Ecology United States and Southern Canada

"Skillful application of fire to meet resource management objectives requires definitive and quantified knowledge of the physical, biological, and ecological effects of fire on the specific ecosystem involved. In this book, Drs. Wright and Bailey wisely emphasize the impact of fire on plants and plant communities.... "The authors have provided us with a prodigious work collected from many sources, infused it with their considerable experience, and have presented us with a valuable guide to using fire over an extremely complex geographic area and for a wide variety of plant communities. It should prove valuable to fire researchers, wildland planners, and land and resource managers. I believe that Fire Ecology will be a standard reference for years to come." From the Foreword by James E. Lotan Forest and range managers today have an unparalleled opportunity to use fire as a resource management tool. The traditional policy of suppressing all forest and rangeland fires at any cost is rapidly giving way to a view that recognizes fire as an ecological force and a cost-effective tool for altering ecosystems to meet management goals. Fire Ecology: United States and Southern Canada embraces this changing philosophy. Bringing together previously scattered research, this much-needed work provides a state-of-the-art progress report on applied fire ecology in the United States and Southern Canada. It examines fire's historical impact on most plant species and native plant communities, and treats in detail the principles of prescribed fire in ecosystem management-with practical recommendations for its use. Maps of each major vegetation type and numerous before-and-after sequence photos-some spanning periods of up to 100 years-clarify this historical perspective and reinforce the book's insights into the potential role of prescribed fire in a managed ecosystem.Wright, Henry A. is the author of 'Fire Ecology United States and Southern Canada', published 1982 under ISBN 9780471090335 and ISBN 0471090336.