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Science > Forest Fire
Research
Forest Fire Research
Project Description:
Individual provinces are responsible for fire protection in 3, 600,000
square km of forested land in Canada. An additional 518, 000 square km
of federally owned land is also protected against fire. In Ontario, where
about 85% or 7, 765, 000 square km of land area is classified as forested,
fires burned an average of more than 94, 000 ha of productive forest annually
between 1977 and 1986, consuming an average of approximately 15, 000,
000 cubic meters of wood fibre. These losses have both an immediate and
a long-term effect on the forest industry, and impact significantly on
the socioeconomic, recreational, environmental, and aesthetic well-being
of the public.
The province of Ontario has developed one of the world's foremost forest
fire control organizations. However, future progress in further reducing
fire losses will depend largely upon research in the area of pre-suppression
planning. Researchers are required to investigate a wide variety of problems
in this area and to provide answers in a format suitable for immediate
application to fire management operations.
Fire managers have become increasingly aware of the lack of fundamental
knowledge on the effects of fire in shaping the forest ecosystem, and
the potential for the deliberate use of fire in forest management. There
is a priority need for research to define the ecological effects of wildfires
and controlled fires, and to develop procedures for prescribed burning
of specific fuel types as a site preparation tool in regeneration silviculture.
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