Fire Ecology of Pacific Northwest Forests

Review: Fire Ecology of Pacific Northwest Forests. By James K. Agee Reviewed by James K. Peek Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources, University University of Idaho Agee, James K. Fire Ecology of Pacific Northwest Forests. Washington, D.C.: Island Press, 1993. 490 pp. US $50.00 cloth ISBN: 1-55963-229- Fire has been a major component of the forests of much of North America, including the Pacific Northwest, over the millennia. Agee has produced a well-written, comprehensive account of the ecology and management of fire in the northwestern United States, which emphasizes its importance and inevitability. Although the fire regimes in Sitka spruce, hemlock and redwood forests are much longer than in the pine forests of the interior, fire still should be expected. Agee points out that disturbance is inevitable in these forests, and returns to this theme repeatedly. While we are now better able to predict fire behavior, the effects are less predictable. This book requires knowledge of plant succession, which is aided by the glossary. Agee's definition of fire regimes using vegetative characteristics is used throughout the book. There is a good discussion of weather patterns and their influence on fire regimes and vegetation. Fire behavior models are described and an example of the use of these models is provided, although this is not a how-to-burn manual. The discussion of the history of fire management is primarily confined to Washington and Oregon. It is of interest that in recent times no use of prescribed fire has occurred in the Blue Mountains, but just across the border in Idaho, fire is commonly used in forestry. Agee concludes that fire use must be tailored to specific areas and for specific purposes, something those who plan for broad regions in the continent should take note of. There is some use of jargon that the practitioner will be familiar with, i.e. the JABOWA disturbance model. The chapter on environmental effects includes a comprehensive discussion of soils, soil chemistry, and biological properties of soils, including the use of a soil nutrient thermometer, which helps visualize effects of different temperatures on soil nutrients. A section on the effects of fire on wildlife is disappointingly