Keith A. Shuttle
Current Organizations / Institutes
The organizations/institutes from the scholar's latest article
Research Subjects
Keith A. Shuttle has a total of 3 co-authors. Here are the top co-authors by number of shared publications:
- Jade D. Wilder
Department of Forestry, Fire, and Rangeland Management, California Polytechnic State University, Humboldt, 1 Harpst St., Arcata, CA 95521, USA
1 shared publication - Jeffrey Michael Kane
Department of Forestry, Fire, and Rangeland Management, California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt, Arcata, USA
1 shared publication - John-Pascal Berrill
Department of Forestry, Fire, and Rangeland Management, California Polytechnic State University, Humboldt, 1 Harpst St., Arcata, CA 95521, USA
1 shared publication
Latest Publications
- Open Access
Fuels Treatments and Tending Reduce Simulated Wildfire Impacts in Sequoia sempervirens Under Single-Tree and Group Selection
Selection forestry sustains timber production and stand structural complexity via partial harvesting. However, regeneration initiated by harvesting may function as fuel ladders, providing pathways for fire to reach the forest canopy. We sought potential mitigation approaches by simulating stand growth and potential wildfire behavior over a century in stands dominated by coast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens (Lamb. ex. D. Don) Endl.) on California’s north coast. We used the fire and fuels extension to the forest vegetation simulator (FFE-FVS) to compare group selection (GS) to single-tree selection silviculture with either low-density (LD) or high-density (HD) retention on a 20-year harvest return interval. These three approaches were paired with six options involving vegetation management (i.e., hardwood control or pre-commercial thinning (PCT)) with and without fuels treatments (i.e., prescribed fire or pile burning), or no subsequent vegetation or fuel treatment applied after GS, HD, or LD silviculture. Fuel treatment involving prescribed fire reduced hazardous fuel loading but lowered stand density and hence productivity. Hardwood control followed by prescribed fire mitigated potential wildfire behavior and promoted dominance of merchantable conifers. PCT of small young trees regenerating after selection harvests, followed by piling and burning of these cut trees, sustained timber production while reducing potential wildfire behavior by approximately 40% relative to selection silviculture without vegetation/fuel management, which exhibited the worst potential wildfire behavior.
Open AccessFuels Treatments and Tending Reduce Simulated Wildfire Impacts in Sequoia sempervirens Under Single-Tree and Group Selection
Selection forestry sustains timber production and stand structural complexity via partial harvesting. However, regeneration initiated by harvesting may function as fuel ladders, providing pathways for fire to reach the forest canopy. We sought potential mitigation approaches by simulating stand growth and potential wildfire behavior over a century in stands dominated by coast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens (Lamb. ex. D. Don) Endl.) on California’s north coast. We used the fire and fuels extension to the forest vegetation simulator (FFE-FVS) to compare group selection (GS) to single-tree selection silviculture with either low-density (LD) or high-density (HD) retention on a 20-year harvest return interval. These three approaches were paired with six options involving vegetation management (i.e., hardwood control or pre-commercial thinning (PCT)) with and without fuels treatments (i.e., prescribed fire or pile burning), or no subsequent vegetation or fuel treatment applied after GS, HD, or LD silviculture. Fuel treatment involving prescribed fire reduced hazardous fuel loading but lowered stand density and hence productivity. Hardwood control followed by prescribed fire mitigated potential wildfire behavior and promoted dominance of merchantable conifers. PCT of small young trees regenerating after selection harvests, followed by piling and burning of these cut trees, sustained timber production while reducing potential wildfire behavior by approximately 40% relative to selection silviculture without vegetation/fuel management, which exhibited the worst potential wildfire behavior.