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Photo fuel plots have been designed to assist land managers in recognizing and evaluating forest fuels in the
Kamloops Forest Region. Photo fuel plots are visual representations of fuel types and the
associated biogeoclimatic zones in the Kamloops Forest Region.
The fuel plots will be used by the Ministry of Forests to establish standards for
the management of forest fuels and the recruitment of coarse woody debris. The plots will
be used as a visual guide by land managers to establish acceptable fuel loading and
coarse woody debris levels in specific fuel types and biogeoclimatic zones. The plots can be linked to planning cells and forest/rural
interface areas to identify the life, property and resources at risk. In terms of fire suppression, the plots can aid personnel in recognizing the potential fire behaviour in an area through
relating fuel loading to fire behaviour, rate of spread and opportunities for fire control. With
an increased knowledge of fuel loading and coarse woody debris levels, land managers will be better able to manage the
forests in the region.
Photo Fuel plots were initiated in 1991 with the first volume published in 1992.
In 1997, the project was revived and the re-measurement of the old plots was started by
Nicole Jung. The plots have been added to and improved to create a tool to be used by the
land managers and ministries. In 1998, the project was continued with additional help
from Shelley Marsh.
The project covers the seven Fire Zones in the Kamloops Region, which are the
following:
- Clearwater
- Kamloops
- Salmon Arm
- Vernon
- Penticton
- Merritt
- Lillooet
The criteria used to reassess the plots was based on the parameters set out in the
outline by John Parminter, and the Field handbook for Prescribed Fire Assessments in British Columbia: Logging Slash Fuels which
includes:
- detailed site information
- site description
- plot layout or past plot relocation
- environmental information
- fuel sampling
- mineral soil exposure
- photography
- data entry and filing of data
The plots consist of an equilateral triangle, 30m x 30m x 30m, which is approximately 390 m2.
The plots are photographed from each of the three corner posts. The tree tally is not included in
the 1997 data. For the 1997 plots the tree heights were taken of all trees in the plot,
whereas, in 1998, the tree heights were taken of the dominant and co-dominant trees
only. Once the data was collected and organized, the web pages were designed, and the
project was published to the internet.
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