Southwest Oregon Biscuit 

Fire: An Analysis of Forest 

Resources and Fire 

Severity

David L. Azuma, Joseph Donnegan, and Donald Gedney

United States 

Department of 

Agriculture

Forest Service

Pacific Northwest 

Research Station

Research Paper

PNW-RP-560

May 2004
The Forest Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture is dedicated to the principle of 

multiple use management of the Nation’s forest resources for sustained yields of wood, 

water, forage, wildlife, and recreation. Through forestry research, cooperation with the 

States and private forest owners, and management of the National Forests and National 

Grasslands, it strives—as directed by Congress—to provide increasingly greater service to 

a growing Nation.

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and employees.

Authors

David L. Azuma is a research forester, Joseph Donnegan is an ecologist, and 

Donald Gedney is a principal resource analyst (retired), Forestry Sciences 

Laboratory, P.O. Box 3890, Portland, OR 97208-3890.
Abstract

Azuma, David L.; Donnegan, Joseph; Gedney, Donald 2004. Southwest

 Oregon Biscuit Fire. Res. Pap. PNW-RP-560. Portland, OR: U.S. Department 

of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station. 32 p.

The Biscuit Fire in southwestern Oregon was one of the largest and most costly 

in recent history, burning over 499,000 acres and costing over 150 million dollars 

in suppression efforts. This study uses prefire resource information in conjunction 

with postfire burn severity to generate statistically reliable prefire resource estimates for the land within the Biscuit Fire perimeter. Resource parameters such as 

timber volume, down woody material, area by forest type, and understory cover are 

compared between burn severity classes.

Keywords: Forest inventory, fire severity, forest resources, Biscuit Fire.

Executive Summary

This analysis summarized prefire field inventory data (collected 1993-97) in relation to postfire mapped fire-severity classes for the portion of the Siskiyou National 

Forest within the 2002 Biscuit Fire perimeter in southwestern Oregon. The analysis 

used the fire-severity classification that was done by the multiagency Burn Area 

Emergency Rehabilitation (BAER) team immediately following the fire. The BAER 

fire-severity maps are used throughout the Nation as a standardized, well-documented method of assessing burn severity. Still, the map represents a rough, postfire tool to assess fire severity, and thus, our summarization is only a preliminary 

assessment. Field crews remeasured the original inventory plots during the summer 

and fall of 2003. After compilation of the remeasurement data collected in late 

2003, it will be possible to validate and refine the summary of initial prefire data by 

using field measurements of burn severity and fire effects.

These inventory data represent a statistically valid field sample across the 

landscape and, in combination with remeasured plots, will provide a comprehensive look at the effects of fire on a large scale. 

• Almost 70 percent of the sampled area was classified as softwood forest 

types, 26 percent as hardwood, and slightly more than 4 percent as nonstocked.

• Tanoak forest types dominated the hardwood types, occurring on approximately 17 percent of the sample area.
• Douglas-fir is the predominant type occurring on over 44 percent of the 

sample area and accounting for 71 percent of the board-foot volume across 

all forest types and administrative statuses. 

• Almost 45 percent of the sampled area was classified as low productivity 

(site class VI or VII).

• Ninety-two percent of the nonreserved softwood area and 63 percent of 

the nonreserved hardwood area are stands of large trees. 

• Sixty-three percent of the combined sample of nonreserved and wilderness 

land was classified as low/very low burn severity.

• Within each broad forest type, 55 percent of the softwood area and 82 

percent of the hardwood area was classified as low/very low burn severity.

• Douglas-fir forest types burned less severely than most other softwood 

forest types, with less than 35 percent classified as high/moderate burn 

severity.

• Less than 6 percent of the tanoak area was classified as high/moderate 

burn severity.

• For hardwoods and softwoods combined, 76 percent of the stands of very 

large trees (trees >20 inches in diameter at breast height) was classified as 

low/very low severity.

• Sites classified predominantly as high/moderate fire severity tended to 

have more prefire brush, have lower stand volumes, contain less largediameter woody debris, and occur on low-productivity land.
1

Southwest Oregon Biscuit Fire: An Analysis of Forest Resources and Fire Severity

Introduction

This report summarizes forest inventory data from 1993 through 1997 for the 92

percent of the southwest Oregon 2002 Biscuit Fire that fell within the Siskiyou 

National Forest. The report contains statistically valid, field-plot-based estimates 

of the forest resources by fire-severity class as determined by a geographic information system (GIS) overlay of postburn fire severity. This information will help to 

identify the forest size and structural classes that are associated with high fire severity, and provide a basis for discussion of management alternatives to reduce fire 

severity in similar forested conditions across the West. If areas prone to high fire 

severity can be identified and reduction of severity is an objective, then focusing 

on these areas should produce the greatest benefit. 

The USDA Forest Service Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) program 

together with the National Forest System are responsible for the systematic assessment of forest resources across the United States. Through a combination of remote 

sensing techniques and data collection across a systematic network of field plots, 

FIA and the National Forest System provide estimates of the status and trend in our 

Nation’s forests. 

Currently, one of the major issues concerning Western U.S. forests is fire, along 

with forest fragmentation, invasive species, and recreation management. Recent 

climatic patterns coupled with fuel conditions have resulted in large wildland fires 

that are of increasing concern to land managers and the public. Changes in fuel 

structure have occurred in forests owing to a variety of management actions of the 

past century. Of note among these policy decisions was the adherence to a strict 

fire-suppression policy. This policy was formalized in the early 1900s, and staffed 

and equipped sufficiently by the 1940s in southwest Oregon. Forests that historically had short intervals between successive fires (5-20 years) have typically become 

more dense with small trees and have increased in structural complexity in the 

lower portion of the canopy. Forests that had long intervals between successive fires 

(60-300 years) may not have been appreciably affected by fire suppression over the 

60-year period that the fire-suppression policy has been in effect. Recognizing how 

humans have impacted the fire regime and the progression of fuels in a landscape 

provides information to help land managers prioritize new fuel treatments that 

mimic the natural disturbance regime for a particular landscape. 
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RESEARCH PAPER PNW-RP-560

Objectives

Given the difficult decisions that occur during postfire restoration, we sought 

to provide decisionmakers with relevant data through the following objectives:

1. Classify acreage and wood volume for species and forest types according 

to burn severity on reserved wilderness and nonreserved lands.

2. Explore the associations between burn severity and (a) forest stand size 

class, (b) timber volume, (c) understory vegetation, (d) down woody 

debris, and (e) site productivity.

Methods

Site Description

The Biscuit Fire was Oregon’s largest single-year, contiguous fire in recorded history. The fire boundary stretched from 10 miles east of the coastal community of 

Brookings, Oregon, south into northern California, east to the Illinois Valley, and 

north to within a few miles of the Rogue River. The fire perimeter encompassed 

all of the Kalmiopsis Wilderness. The portion of the Biscuit Fire that was within 

the Siskiyou National Forest is approximately 460,000 acres—98 percent of the 

Oregon portion of the Biscuit Fire and 92 percent of the entire Biscuit Fire. Sixtytwo percent of the Siskiyou National Forest in the burn perimeter is classified as 

nonreserved, that is, the land has not been formally withdrawn from timber use by 

law. The remaining 38 percent, the Kalmiopsis Wilderness Area, is classified as 

reserved and is congressionally withdrawn from commercial use.

Although the Biscuit Fire burned into California, this report summarizes data 

only for the Oregon portion within the fire perimeter. Also excluded from our 

assessment are small areas of land that are privately owned or administered by the 

Bureau of Land Management. Only prefire plot measurements, summarized by 

mapped fire-severity class are presented in this report. Resource estimates are 

derived from 180 field plots measured on the Siskiyou National Forest in Oregon 

from 1993 to 1997. Hereafter in text and tables, the term “Siskiyou Biscuit Fire” 

refers to only the Siskiyou National Forest portion of the Biscuit Fire.

Southwestern Oregon is an extremely complex region environmentally, floristically, and geologically. Climate ranges from cool and moist in the coastal regions to 

hot and dry toward the more continental interior. The extremes of climatic conditions and biological complexity within the Biscuit Fire perimeter are well illustrated 

by the large number of forest types and tree species present. Fifteen forest types, 13 

softwood species, and 10 hardwood species have been identified in inventory work 

in southwestern Oregon. Forest types are named for the dominant species present 

but may include codominants and a wide variety of other tree species. The following
3

Southwest Oregon Biscuit Fire: An Analysis of Forest Resources and Fire Severity

major forest types are found in the Biscuit Fire region: Douglas-fir, incensecedar, Jeffrey pine, knobcone pine, ponderosa pine, Port-Orford-cedar, sugar pine, 

western white pine, white fir, bigleaf maple, California-laurel, canyon live oak, 

golden chinkapin, Pacific madrone, and tanoak. In terms of climatic demands, 

the softwood species range from moisture-demanding Port-Orford-cedar (see 

“Common and Scientific Names” section) to drought-tolerant species like ponderosa pine. Many other species are minor forest components, leading to high stand 

complexity, which contrasts with many other areas in Oregon where frequently a 

single species dominates.

Forest composition, structure, and distribution in the region are controlled to a 

large extent by disturbance, especially fire, insects, diseases, and timber harvesting. 

Fire shapes plant communities by excluding some fire-intolerant species, perpetuating fire-tolerant or fire-promoted species, and by resetting the successional time 

clock (Agee 1993, Crutzen and Goldammer 1993). Fire intensity, severity, frequency, spatial magnitude, spread rate, and predictability depend on the climate, topography, vegetation, and interacting disturbance regimes, whether human induced 

or environmental in origin. Both human-caused and lightning-ignited fires have 

shaped southwestern Oregon forests, as have recent fire-control activities.

Geology, soils, and topography of the region are diverse, influencing moisture 

and nutrient retention and the resulting composition and productivity of vegetation. 

Soil depths, parent materials, and weathering regimes are also very diverse; soils 

range from well-developed Ultisols to sandy Inceptisols and fragmented Entisols. 

Rocky soils of basalt and andesite, serpentine soils, schist, diorite, peridotite, shale, 

sandstone, hornblend-derived soils, granitic soils, ash, and pumice soils are all 

present in the region (Atzet et al. 1996, Orr and Orr 1999).

The Prefire Inventory Fieldwork

A prefire inventory in the area of the Siskiyou Biscuit Fire was conducted from 

1993 to 1997. Data on 24 plots were collected in 1993, 10 plots in 1994, 47 in 1995, 

85 in 1996, and 14 in 1997, for a total of 180 plots. Plots were spaced on a square 

grid with approximately 1.7 miles between plots, except in the Kalmiopsis Wilderness, where plots were spaced on a 3.4-mile grid. Plots were established and 

measured as part of the national forest inventory. Three plots did not have tree data 

associated with them because of accessibility issues and were not classified or used 

in the analysis.

Tree locations were mapped; heights, diameters, ages, and species of trees 

were recorded; and information was collected on site productivity, understory 

trees, down woody material (DWM), and shrub, forb, and grass cover. Forest type, 
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RESEARCH PAPER PNW-RP-560

stand size class, and stand age class were determined based on stocking by species 

(USDA Forest Service 1995).

Mapped Fire Severity

After the fire, the area was mapped by the Burn Area Emergency Rehabilitation 

(BAER) team by using Landsat 7 satellite imagery (Parsons and Orlemann 2002). 

Areas within the burn perimeter were mapped according to four fire-severity 

classes: high, moderate, low, and very low (fig. 1, table 1). The forest also constructed a canopy mortality map (USDA Forest Service 2003) based on aerial 

photointerpretation of crown mortality classes. For our summary analysis, we 

chose to use the BAER fire-severity map because the BAER classification system is 

a nationally standardized, multiagency effort and the methods are well documented.

Figure 1—Biscuit Fire and wilderness area with inventory plot grid.

CVS = current vegetation survey.

Minimum mapped polygon size for the BAER map was approximately 50 acres. 

A GIS was used to overlay FIA field plots on the mapped fire-severity classes, 

assigning a burn severity to each plot center. Linking mapped burn severity to 

resource data from the inventory involves some uncertainty. Like any fire-severity 

mapping effort, there could well be variation in burn intensity within a mapped 

Agness

Gold Beach

Brookings

Selma

Grants Pass

Smith River

OREGON

CALIFORNIA

Fire Boundary

Kalmiopsis Wilderness

CVS plots in fire boundary

Burn severity

 High

 Moderate

 Low

 Unburned-very low
5

Southwest Oregon Biscuit Fire: An Analysis of Forest Resources and Fire Severity

class, and the fire effects at the location of the plot may not resemble the assigned 

severity class. Until remeasurement of the original field plots is completed, that 

uncertainty will exist. To simplify presentation, very low and low severity classes 

were combined into low/very low and high and moderate into high/moderate 

severity for some of our analyses.

Table 1—A description of BAER fire-severity classes

Collapsed class BAER burn severity Fire effects

Low/very low Very low Mosaic of unburned and very-lowseverity ground fire. Consumption of 

ground cover and vegetation mortality 

are minimal. Canopy remains 

vigorous and green. Mortality of 

trees and shrubs is slight.

Low Vegetation is lightly scorched, few 

large trees are killed, very-smalldiameter fuel is consumed.

High/moderate Moderate Much of the litter has been consumed. 

Fine fuels close to the ground may be 

all consumed, and trees may exhibit 

40 to 80 percent mortality.

High Tree crowns are completely 

consumed, few to no leaves or needles 

remain on trees, and mortality can be 

assumed to be close to 100 percent.

Data Analysis

The data set collected on each plot is a statistically valid sample of the larger 

population, that is, the Siskiyou National Forest. The information in the sample is 

expanded to the population level by multiplying by a factor that assigns acreage 

to each sample plot based on the number of plots sampled in the entire population 

acreage. Because area per plot is based on the acreage in the Siskiyou National 

Forest, i.e., adding all the plot expansions together gives the total for the forest, 

summations on smaller units, like the Biscuit Fire, will yield slight discrepancies 

between the official burn area statistic of 461,738 acres and the plot-determined 

sample area of 460,111 acres.

An index of site productivity was estimated for each plot based on the relationship of tree ages to tree sizes (Hanson et al. 2002). Lower site-class rankings suggest more favorable conditions for tree growth.

A ratio of small-diameter to large-diameter trees was approximated by dividing 

the number of small trees by the number of large trees. Small diameter was defined 
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RESEARCH PAPER PNW-RP-560

as less than 9 inches diameter at breast height (d.b.h.) for softwoods and 11 inches 

d.b.h. for hardwoods. This ratio was used as a surrogate for stand structure and was 

correlated with timber volume per acre. Timber volume per acre was also correlated 

with the percentage of understory cover, down woody material biomass, and the 

density of snags.

Standard errors for area statistics are based on the fire area in Oregon only. 

Error estimates are not calculated for individual cells within tables because of 

the sample size associated with the multiple divisions of the 180 field plots. Error 

estimates are calculated separately for reserved and nonreserved land owing to the 

different sampling intensities. Error estimates were combined when considering all 

land regardless of reserved status.

Administrative Definitions

The GIS layers prepared for the Siskiyou National Forest management plan were 

overlaid with plot locations to summarize acreage by reserve status and fire-severity classifications. Reserved land consisted entirely of land within the Kalmiopsis 

Wilderness Area. Nonreserved land included (1) administratively withdrawn, (2) 

late-successional reserves, (3) riparian reserves, and (4) matrix land. In the Kalmiopsis Wilderness, commercial enterprises are prohibited. Resource extraction is 

not congressionally prohibited in the other four administrative designations. These 

four designations are based on the forest’s management plan. Administratively 

withdrawn areas usually emphasize recreational, aesthetic, or watershed uses over 

scheduled timber harvest. Late-successional reserves emphasize protection and 

enhancement of late-successional and old-growth forest characteristics. Riparian 

reserves include state-mandated buffers along riparian features designed to protect 

water quality and riparian habitat. Matrix land is managed for multiple uses including resource extraction.

Resource Highlights

Based on the map overlay with the BAER fire severity, the majority (63 percent) of 

the plots in our systematic sample were classified postfire as low and very low burn 

severity (low/very low) (table 2).

Table 2—Plot counts by burn severity

Burn severity Plots Percentage of plots

High 26 14

Moderate 41 23

Low 70 39

Very low 43 24

Total 180 100
7

Southwest Oregon Biscuit Fire: An Analysis of Forest Resources and Fire Severity

Approximately 55 percent of the reserved wilderness area was classified as low/

very low severity in contrast to 65 percent for the nonreserved area (app. table 12).

Forest-Type Area by Severity Class

Forests within the Oregon portion of the Biscuit burn perimeter are predominantly 

softwood forest types, accounting for 69 percent of the area, with 26.2 percent of 

the area in hardwood, and 4.8 percent nonstocked (defined as areas that are <10 

percent stocked with commercial tree species; app. table 8). Douglas-fir was the 

predominant forest type in both reserved and nonreserved areas covering approximately 204,800 acres, or over 44 percent of the total burn area and 64 percent of 

the softwood-type area (app. table 8, fig. 2). Douglas-fir burned less severely than 

almost every other softwood type with just 34 percent of it classified as either 

high- or moderate-severity burn (app. table 9).

Figure 2—Softwood area proportion by forest type, Siskiyou Biscuit Fire.

The principal hardwood types in both nonreserved and reserved areas are 

tanoak and canyon live oak (app. table 8, fig. 3). Collectively they represent 83 

percent of the nonreserved and 88 percent of the reserved hardwood forest area. 

The tanoak type occurs on 76,500 acres, which is 63 percent of the total hardwood 

area. Less than 15 percent of tanoak land was classified as high/moderate-severity 

burn (app. table 9).

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

Softwood forest types

Douglas-fir

Incense-cedar

Jeffrey pine

Knobcone pine

Ponderosa pine

Port-Orford-cedar

Sugar pine

Western white pine

White fir

Percent
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RESEARCH PAPER PNW-RP-560

Figure 3—Hardwood area proportion by forest type, Siskiyou Biscuit Fire.

The majority of the hardwood types burned relatively lightly (fig. 4, app. 

table 9). Eighty-two percent of the area in hardwood types was classified as low/

very low severity. In contrast, only 26 percent of the nonstocked area was classified 

as low/very low severity (app. table 9).

Stand Size Class and Burn Severity

Stands were classified into five size classes: (1) nonstocked, (2) seedling/sapling 

(<5 inches d.b.h.), (3) pole (5-9 inches d.b.h. for softwoods and 5-11 for hardwoods), 

(4) large (9-20 inches d.b.h. for softwoods and 11-20 for hardwoods), and (5) very 

large (>20 inches d.b.h.). Ninety-two percent of the nonreserved softwood area 

is classed as one of the larger sizes (softwoods >9 inches d.b.h.), leaving only 

8 percent of the area in poletimber stands (5-9 inches d.b.h.; app. table 10). No softwood seedling or sapling stands were classified from the inventory data. Douglasfir, the dominant forest type, was predominantly in the very large size class (fig. 5). 

In reserved areas, ponderosa pine had the greater proportion of its area in polesized stands (app. table 10).

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

Bigleaf

maple

CalifornialaurelCanyon

live oak

Golden

chinkapin

Pacific

madrone

Tanoak

Hardwood forest types

Percent
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Southwest Oregon Biscuit Fire: An Analysis of Forest Resources and Fire Severity

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Pole

Large

Percent

Very large

Douglas-fir

Incense-cedar

Jeffrey pine

Knobcone pine

Ponderosa pine

Port-Orford-cedar

Sugar pine

Western white pine

White fir

Tanoak

Pacific madrone

Canyon live oak

Major forest types

Figure 4—Proportion of area by type and burn-severity class, Siskiyou Biscuit Fire.

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

Softwoods Hardwoods Nonstocked All

Low/very low

High/moderate

Percent

Figure 5—Proportion of area by stand size class and major forest type, Siskiyou Biscuit Fire.
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RESEARCH PAPER PNW-RP-560

For hardwoods on nonreserved lands, 63 percent of the area had stands of large 

and very large trees (hardwoods >11 inches d.b.h.), 3 percent of the area had seedling and sapling stands, and the remaining 34 percent of the area had pole-sized 

stands (5-11 inches d.b.h.; app. table 10).

Although stand size class was not strongly correlated with burn severity on a 

continuous scale, for all lands, 76 percent of the very large class (>20 inches d.b.h.) 

was classified as low/very low severity (app. table 11). Forty-six percent of the large 

class was classified as low/very low severity, and only 26 percent of nonstocked 

land was classified as low/very low.

Timber Volume and Burn Severity

Two types of timber volume were calculated, cubic-foot and board-foot volume 

(Scribner rule), the main difference being merchantability standards for differentsized trees. Board-foot volumes per acre include only merchantable species valued 

for timber. Fuel hazards of small-diameter trees and ladder fuels of nonmerchantable species are better represented by examining the relationship between cubicfoot volume per acre existing prior to the fire and the mapped postfire burn severity. 

Prefire softwood and hardwood cubic-foot volumes were pooled for the entire burn 

area according to the postfire burn-severity classification. Sixty-four percent of all 

plots classified as high/moderate burn severity had low volume (zero to 2,000 cubic 

feet per acre), compared to only 32 percent for those classified as low/very low 

severity.

Of the combined total hardwood and softwood volume of 1.77 billion gross 

cubic feet, 71 percent was in softwood types, 28 percent in hardwood types, and 

less than 1 percent nonstocked (app. table 13). With the exception of nonstocked 

areas, the volume in the low and very low severity classes was at least twice the 

volume in the high and moderate severity classes (app. table 13, table 3).

Although the inventory sampled a large number of species, many of them are 

relatively limited in volume. Over 89 percent of the cubic-foot volume in nonreserved softwoods is accounted for by 3 of the 13 species: Douglas-fir (74.8 percent), 

sugar pine (9.9 percent), and Port-Orford-cedar (4.6 percent) (app. table 18).

Codominants and other species can be important components of the total forest-type volume. For example, sugar pine is frequently an important component of 

other forest types that burned to a degree of severity different than that of the sugar 

pine type. Although a high proportion (77 percent) of the volume for the sugar pine 

type is classified as high severity, a low proportion of sugar pine volume is found on 

land classified as high-severity burn.
11

Southwest Oregon Biscuit Fire: An Analysis of Forest Resources and Fire Severity

The proportions of cubic-foot volume in burn-severity classes by forest type differ 

from the proportions by species because some species are major components of forest types named for other species (table 4). 

Table 3—Percentage of prefire cubic-foot volume in burn-severity classes, 

by broad forest type

Burn severity

Forest type High/Mod Low/Very low

Softwood types: 28.1 71.9

 Nonreserved 26.3 73.7

 Reserved 32.1 67.9

Hardwood types: 5.6 94.4

 Nonreserved 7.9 92.1

 Reserved 3.3 96.7

Nonstocked: 84.7 16.9

 Nonreserved 54.5 45.5

 Reserved 100.0 0

All types 21.9 78.1

Table 4—Percentage of prefire cubic-foot volume in burn-severity classes 

by forest type or species

High/moderate Low/very low

Forest Individual Forest Individual

type species type species

 Percent

Douglas-fir 22 19 78 81

Port-Orford-cedar 43 31 57 69

Sugar pine 77 30 23 70

Western white pine 68 73 32 27

Canyon live oak 14 16 86 84

Golden chinkapin 11 4 89 96

Pacific madrone — 10 100 90

Tanoak 6 8 94 92

The gross Scribner standing prefire board-foot volume on all land was 7.018 

billion board feet (app. table 15). Three-fourths of the total board-foot volume is 

accounted for in 5.3 billion board feet of softwood forest types. However, comparison of forest-type board-foot and species board-foot volumes demonstrates that 

there is a considerable mixture of softwood species in areas identified as hardwood 

types (app. tables 15 and 18). Softwood species, regardless of the forest type in 

which they occur, represent 92 percent of the total species board-foot volume. In the 
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RESEARCH PAPER PNW-RP-560

nonreserved area, sawtimber-sized trees accounted for less than 4.4 billion board 

feet of softwood volume and slightly more than 250 million board feet of hardwood 

volume (app. table 19).

On all land, over 78 percent of the board-foot volume in softwood species was 

found on areas classified as low/very low severity (app. table 21). Of the softwood 

sawtimber board-foot volume on nonreserved land, 35 percent was in very low 

severity, 42 percent was in low, 12 percent was in moderate, and 10 percent was in 

high severity (app. table 22).

Prefire board-foot volume differed significantly between low/very-low-severity plots and the high/moderate-severity plots (table 5). Sixty-two percent of all 

low/very low plots exceeded 10,000 board feet of sawtimber per acre. In contrast, 

26 percent of all plots classified as high/moderate burn severity had greater than 

10,000 board feet of softwood sawtimber volume per acre.

Volume per acre was negatively correlated with low-stature brush cover and the 

ratio of nonsawtimber (small) trees to sawtimber (large) trees. Volume per acre was 

positively correlated with the number of snags and the biomass of large (>20 inches 

in diameter) down woody debris.

Table 5—Average board- and cubic-foot volume per acre with standard errors by 

burn area emergency rehabilitation (BAER) burn severity

BAER burn severity

High Moderate Low Very low

 1,000 board feet, Scribner rule

Board-foot volume per acre 10.6 7.8 17.6 24.7

Standard error 2.5 1.7 1.8 2.6

 1,000 cubic feet

Cubic-foot volume per acre 2.6 2.1 3.6 4.6

Standard error .55 .42 .40 .56

Site and Fire Severity

Compared to all national forest land in western Oregon (table 6), the land within 

the Siskiyou Biscuit Fire perimeter is classified as lower productivity land (lower 

site class means higher productivity land). Low-productivity (site class VI and VII) 

land accounts for almost 45 percent of the Siskiyou Biscuit Fire land compared to 

13 percent for all national forests in western Oregon. On the most productive land 

within the burn perimeter (site class III), only 20 percent of the plots were classified 

as high or moderate severity (fig. 6). As site productivity decreased, the proportion
13

Southwest Oregon Biscuit Fire: An Analysis of Forest Resources and Fire Severity

 of area classified as higher severity increased. At the lowest site productivity (site 

class VII), 73 percent of the area was classified as high/moderate severity (fig. 6).

Table 6—Comparison of productivity on the Siskiyou Biscuit Fire and all national 

forests in western Oregon

All western Oregon

Site class Burn area national forests

 Percent

I=High productivity — 2.9

II — 10.3

III 7.5 25.7

IV 19.7 29.0

V 28.2 18.8

VI 25.2 9.3

VII=Low productivity 19.3 4.0

Total 100 100

Understory Characteristics and Burn Severity

Prefire understory vegetation cover appears to be related to fire severity. Plots 

classed as very low in severity had significantly less understory vegetation cover in 

the 1-to-5-foot height range than did the highly or moderately burned plots (table 7).

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

III IV V VI VII

(High productivity) Site class (Low productivity)

Percentage of plots

Figure 6—Percentage of plots that were rated as highly or moderately burned, by site class.
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RESEARCH PAPER PNW-RP-560

Table 7—Average percentage of cover, down woody material, and large-tosmall-tree ratio with standard errors, by burn severity

BAERa burn severity

High Moderate Low Very low

Cover in 1-5-foot height class (percent) 43 43 31 23

Standard error 5 3 4 4

Small to large tree ratio (number of trees) 94 103 77 30

Standard error 24 26 13 5

Down woody material >5 inches 

 in diameter (tons/acre) 4.23 4.46 9.14 5.58

Standard error 1.84 1.27 1.97 1.45

a Burn area emergency rehabilitation.

We evaluated one component of potential ladder fuels by examining the ratio 

of pole-sized trees to large trees according to fire-severity class. The ratio of the

small-diameter to large-diameter trees was higher in stands classified as high/

moderate burn severity (99.5 pole/large trees) compared with low/very-low-severity 

stands (57.9 pole/large trees).

Biomass of DWM is calculated from cubic-foot volume by using an average 

specific gravity (USDA FS 1987) and an average decay class (Waddell 2002). The 

lowest prefire average biomass per acre of down woody material was estimated for 

plots classified as high-severity burn (mean = 4.23). Average down woody material 

biomass was estimated at 9.14 tons per acre on land classified as low burn severity, 

and 5.58 tons per acre on lands classified as very low.

Discussion

Plots with low and very low burn severity, which had greater timber volume than 

plots with high and moderate burn severity, generally had greater productivity, 

larger trees, less brush, and fewer small trees per large tree. Ecologically, these 

stands are likely at the stem exclusion stage (Oliver and Larson 1996) and later so 

that understory brush and subdominant trees are excluded or minimal in amount. 

We speculate that the lack of ladder fuels and the high canopy base kept the fire 

at a lower severity in these stands. There are several important factors that are not 

considered in this paper, most notably weather and slope. The addition of these 

variables along with field-based estimates of fire severity that will soon be in hand 

should provide an excellent opportunity to evaluate the conditions that produce 

extreme fire effects in these forests.
15

Southwest Oregon Biscuit Fire: An Analysis of Forest Resources and Fire Severity

Although the fire area is divided into two historical management regimes, 

reserved and nonreserved, the forest statistics are remarkably similar. The percentage of area in the four major softwood types (Douglas-fir, sugar pine, western white 

pine, and Jeffrey pine) is roughly the same for both the nonreserved and reserved 

areas (63 percent). The nonreserved area has a slightly higher percentage of its prefire volume in softwood species than the reserved—94 and 85 percent, respectively. 

The greatest discrepancy shows up in the upper part of the age-class distribution, 

where the nonreserved and reserved areas have 37 versus 53 percent of the area in 

the 100-200 age class. Surprisingly, the nonreserved portion has a greater percentage of its area in the 200+ age class—29 percent versus 15 in the reserved. The 

relative similarity between the nonreserved and reserved areas suggests that factors

other than active management, such as fire and insects, are the controlling influences within the fire area.

The use of a mapped product like the BAER fire-severity map, in conjunction 

with plot data can produce some anomalous results. The mapped product will depend on the sensitivity of the remotely sensed image to the ground parameters and 

the size of the minimum mapping unit. Fire severity is arbitrarily condensed into 

four classes for convenience. Although the severity estimates of the overall burn 

may be quite good, the actual severity of an individual plot could be quite different 

than how it was classed by the map overlay.

Considering present forest plan administrative divisions, less than 15 percent of 

national forest area falls into the riparian reserves and matrix land. The matrix land 

is where management for multiple uses including resource extraction is allowed. 

The subset of matrix land where all postfire recovery options, including resource 

extraction, brush control, and reforestation, may be used is relatively small. Recovery efforts, including salvage harvests will be limited by the area of land available 

for various treatments.

Areas with the highest fire severity have much of the litter and fine fuel consumed and greater than 40 percent tree mortality. These areas are probably the best 

candidates for recovery efforts such as reforestation and erosion control. With 44 

percent of the burn area in site class VI and VII (correlated with high burn severity 

and low site productivity), recovery efforts such as reforestation will need careful 

consideration. Many of the low-productivity areas will be difficult to reforest with 

conifer species like Douglas-fir, although some of the hardwood species may be 

easier to establish. 
16

RESEARCH PAPER PNW-RP-560

Names of Trees

Common name Scientific namea

Softwoods:

Brewer spruce Picea breweriana Wats.b

Douglas-fir Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco

Incense-cedar Calocedrus decurrens (Torr.) Florin. 

Jeffrey pine Pinus jeffreyi Grev. & Balf. 

Knobcone pine Pinus attenuata Lemm.

Lodgepole pine Pinus contorta Dougl. ex Loud.

Pacific yew Taxus brevifolia Nutt.

Ponderosa pine Pinus ponderosa Dougl. ex Laws.

Port-Orford-cedar Chamaecyparis lawsoniana (A. Murr.) Parl.

Shasta red fir Abies shastensis (Lemmon)

Sugar pine Pinus lambertiana Dougl. 

Western juniper Juniperus occidentalis Hook.

Western white pine Pinus monticola Dougl. ex D. Don

White fir Abies concolor (Gord. & Glend.) Lindl. ex Hildebr.

Hardwoods:

Bigleaf maple Acer macrophyllum Pursh

California black oak Quercus kelloggii Newb.

California-laurel Umbellularia californica (Hook. & Arn.) Nutt.

Canyon live oak Quercus chrysolepis Liebm.

Golden chinkapin Chrysolepis chrysophylla (Dougl. ex Hook.) Hjelmqvistb

Pacific dogwood Cornus nuttallii Audubon

Pacific madrone Arbutus menziesii Pursh

Red alder Alnus rubra Bong.

Tanoak Lithocarpus densiflorus (Hook. & Arn.) Rehd.

White alder Alnus rhombifolia Nutt.

a Nomenclature per Little 1979. b Nomenclature per USDA NRCS 2004.
17

Southwest Oregon Biscuit Fire: An Analysis of Forest Resources and Fire Severity

Metric Equivalents

1 acre = 0.405 hectare

1 acre = 4046.86 square meters

1,000 acres = 404.7 hectares

1,000 cubic feet = 28.3 cubic meters

1 cubic foot per acre = 0.07 cubic meter per hectare

1 foot = 0.3048 meter

1 inch = 2.54 centimeters

1 mile = 1.609 kilometers

Literature Cited

Agee, J.K. 1993. Fire ecology of Pacific Northwest forests. Washington DC: Island

 Press. 493 p.

Atzet, T.; White, D.E.; McCrimmon, L.A.; Martinez, P.A.; Fong, P.R.; 

 Randall, V.D. 1996. Field guide to the forested plant associations of southwestern Oregon. Tech. Pap. R6-NR-ECOL-TP-17-96. Portland, OR: U.S. Department 

of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Region.

Crutzen, P.J.; Goldammer, J.G., eds. 1993. Fire in the environment: the 

 ecological, atmospheric, and climatic importance of vegetation fires. Chichester, 

United Kingdom: John Wiley and Sons Ltd. 356 p.

Hanson, E.; Azuma, D.L.; Hiserote, B. 2002. Site index equations and mean 

 annual increment equations for Pacific Northwest Research Station, Forest Inventory and Analysis inventories, 1985-2001. Res. Note PNW-RN-533. 

Portland, OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest 

Research Station. 24 p.

Little, E.L., Jr. 1979. Checklist of United States trees (native and naturalized).

 Agric. Handb. 541. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest 

Service. 375 p.

Oliver, C.D.; Larson, B.C. 1996. Forest stand dynamics. New York, NY: Wiley. 

 520 p.

Orr, E.; Orr, W. 1999. Geology of Oregon. Dubuque, IA: Kendall/Hunt Publishing

 Company. 254 p.
18

RESEARCH PAPER PNW-RP-560

Parsons, A.; Orlemann, A. 2002. BAER (Burn Area Emergency Rehabilitation) 

 burn severity mapping: methods and definitions. 

http://www.biscuitfire.com/burn_severity.htm. (12 March 2004).

U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service [USDA FS]. 1987. Wood hand-

 book: wood as an engineering material. Agric. Handb. 72 (Rev.) Washington, 

DC: Forest Products Laboratory. 466 p.

U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service [USDA FS]. 1995. Current 

 vegetation survey, natural resource inventory, Pacific Northwest Region, 

Version 1.5. Portland, OR: Pacific Northwest Region. 82 p.

U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service[USDA FS]. 2003.

 Biscuit fire canopy mortality.

http://www.biscuitfire.com/images/maps_assess/figure4.pdf. (12 March 2004).

U.S. Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service.

 2004. The plants database, Version 3.5. http://plants.usda.gov. (14 May).

Waddell, K.L. 2002. Sampling coarse woody debris for multiple attributes in 

 extensive resource inventories. Ecological Indicators. 1: 139-153.
19

Southwest Oregon Biscuit Fire: An Analysis of Forest Resources and Fire Severity

Appendix

Table 8—Estimated area of forest land, by prefire forest type and land class, 

Biscuit Fire 2002, Siskiyou National Foresta

Forest type Nonreserved Reserved Total

 Thousand acres

Softwood types:

 Douglas-fir 132.0 72.8 204.8

 Incense-cedar 2.6 — 2.6

 Jeffrey pine 14.4 — 14.4

 Knobcone pine 1.9 6.3 8.2

 Ponderosa pine 3.4 1.9 5.3

 Port-Orford-cedar 9.1 — 9.1

 Sugar pine 6.1 12.6 18.6

 Western white pine 28.0 23.8 51.9

 White fir 2.3 — 2.3

Total softwood types 199.8 117.4 317.3

Hardwood types:

 Bigleaf maple .8 — .8

 California-laurel .4 — .4

 Canyon live oak 15.5 10.1 25.6

 Golden chinkapin — 6.3 6.3

 Pacific madrone 11.0 — 11.0

 Tanoak 43.2 33.3 76.5

Total hardwood types 70.8 49.6 120.5

Nonstockedb 14.8 7.5 22.3

All types 285.4 174.5 460.0

— = less than 500 acres found. a Totals may be off because of rounding; data subject to sampling error.

b

 Nonstocked areas are less than 10 percent stocked with live trees.
20

RESEARCH PAPER PNW-RP-560

Table 9—Estimated area of prefire forest type by burn-severity class on all 

lands, Biscuit Fire 2002, Siskiyou National Foresta

 Burn severity

Forest type: High Moderate Low Very low Total

 Thousand acres

Softwood types:

 Douglas-fir 28.3 41.5 86.9 48.2 204.9

 Incense-cedar — 2.7 — — 2.7

 Jeffrey pine 5.3 7.6 1.5 — 14.4

 Knobcone pine 8.2 — — — 8.2

 Ponderosa pine — — 5.3 — 5.3

 Port-Orford-cedar 1.9 3.4 3.8 — 9.1

 Sugar pine 10.4 — 1.9 6.3 18.6

 Western white pine 3.8 28.6 17.6 1.9 51.9

 White fir — — .4 1.9 2.3

 Total softwood types 57.9 83.7 117.4 58.3 317.3

 

Hardwood types:

 Bigleaf maple — — — .8 .8

 California-laurel .4 — — — .4

 Canyon live oak 3.8 3.8 18.0 — 25.6

 Golden chinkapin — — — 6.3 6.3

 Pacific madrone 1.9 — 1.9 7.2 11.0

 Tanoak 3.4 8.2 29.6 35.3 76.5

Total hardwood types 9.5 12.0 49.5 49.5 120.5

Nonstockedb 3.8 12.7 5.8 — 22.3

All types 71.2 108.4 172.8 107.8 460.1

Standard error 15 17 19 16 5

— = less than 500 acres found. a Totals may be off because of rounding; data subject to sampling error.

b

 Nonstocked areas are less than 10 percent stocked with live trees.
21

Southwest Oregon Biscuit Fire: An Analysis of Forest Resources and Fire Severity

Table 10—Estimated area of prefire forest type and stand size class by land class, Biscuit Fire 2002, Siskiyou National Forest

Nonreserved Reserved

Forest Seedling/ Very Seedling/ Very Grand

type sapling Pole Large large Total sapling Pole Large large Total total

Thousand acres

Softwoods:

Douglas-fir 

— 5.7 44.5 81.9 132.0 — 7.5 27.0 38.3 72.8 204.9

 Incense-cedar 

— .4 2.3 — 2.7 — — — — — 2.7

 Jeffrey pine 

— 1.9 8.7 3.8 14.4 — — — — — 14.4

 Knobcone pine 

— 1.9

— — 1.9 — 6.3 — — 6.3 8.2

 Ponderosa pine 

—

— 1.9 1.5 3.4 — 1.1 .8 — 1.9 5.3

 Port-Orford-cedar 

—

— 1.9 7.2 9.1 — — — — — 9.1

 Sugar pine 

— — 4.2 1.9 6.1 — 6.3 6.3 — 12.6 18.6

 Western white pine 

—

— 21.2 .8 28.0 — 6.3 17.6 — 23.9 51.9

 White fir 

—

— .4 1.9 2.3 — — — — — 2.3

Total — 15.9 85.0 98.9 199.8 — 27.5 51.6 38.3 117.4 317.3

Hardwoods: 

 Bigleaf maple 

—

— .8

— .8 — — — — — .8

 California-laurel 

— .4

—

— .4 — — — — — .4

 Canyon live oak 1.9 9.1 1.9 2.7 15.5 — — 10.1 — 10.1 25.6

 Golden chinkapin 

—

—

—

— — — — 6.3 — 6.3 6.3

 Pacific madrone 

— 3.8 1.5 5.7 11.0 — — — — — 11.0

 Tanoak 

— 11.0 19.0 13.3 43.2 — 6.3 12.6 14.5 33.3 76.5

Total 1.9 24.2 23.1 21.6 70.9 — 6.3 28.9 14.4 49.6 120.5

Nonstocked

—

— — 

— 14.8 — — — — 7.5 22.3

All types 1.9 40.2 108.1 120.5 285.5 — 33.8 80.5 52.8 174.6 460.1— = less than 500 acres found.
22

RESEARCH PAPER PNW-RP-560

Table 11—Estimated area of prefire stand size class on all lands, by burnseverity class, Biscuit Fire 2002, Siskiyou National Forest

Stand-size class High Moderate Low Very low Total

 Thousand acres

Seedling/sapling — — 1.9 — 1.9

Pole 15.8 3.9 34.8 19.5 74.0

Large 40.3 61.0 53.6 33.8 188.7

Very large 11.4 30.7 76.7 54.5 173.3

Nonstocked 3.8 12.7 5.8 — 22.3

Total 71.2 108.4 172.8 107.8 460.1

— = less than 500 acres found.

Table 12—Estimated area by burn severity and land class, Biscuit Fire 2002, 

Siskiyou National Forest

Land class High Moderate Low Very low Total

 Thousand acres

Admininistratively withdrawn 3.8 13.3 9.5 — 26.5

Congressionally withdrawn

 (wilderness area) 33.3 45.8 55.9 39.6 174.6

Late-successional reserves 32.2 39.8 86.5 43.6 202.1

Riparian reserves/matrix 1.9 9.5 20.8 24.6 56.9

Total 71.2 108.4 172.8 107.8 460.1

— = less than 500 acres found.
23

Southwest Oregon Biscuit Fire: An Analysis of Forest Resources and Fire Severity

Table 13—Estimated gross prefire cubic-foot volume on reserved and 

nonreserved lands, by forest type and burn-severity class, Biscuit Fire 2002, 

Siskiyou National Foresta

 Burn severity

Forest type High Moderate Low Very low Total

 Million cubic feet

Softwood types:

 Nonreserved 105.2 126.8 355.4 294.4 881.7

 Reserved 61.2 61.7 166.0 94.0 382.9

Total 166.4 188.5 521.3 388.4 1,264.6

Hardwood types:

 Nonreserved 10.5 9.7 93.4 140.9 254.5

 Reserved 7.1 .9 84.7 151.9 244.6

Total 17.6 10.6 178.1 292.8 499.0

Nonstocked:b

 Nonreserved .7 .5 1.0 — 2.2

 Reserved — 3.8 — — 3.8

Total .7 4.3 1.0 — 5.9

All types 184.7 203.3 700.4 681.2 1,769.5

— = less than 500,000 cubic feet found. a Totals may be off because of rounding; data subject to sampling error.

b

 Nonstocked areas are less than 10 percent stocked with live trees.
24

RESEARCH PAPER PNW-RP-560

Table 14—Estimated prefire gross cubic-foot volume on reserved and nonreserved lands, by forest type and land class, Biscuit Fire 2002, Siskiyou 

National Foresta

Forest type Nonreserved Reserved Total

 Million cubic feet

Softwood types:

 Douglas-fir 768.3 323.8 1,092.1

 Incense-cedar 3.5 — 3.5

 Jeffrey pine 17.6 — 17.6

 Knobcone pine 2.6 4.1 6.7

 Port-Orford-cedar 30.6 — 30.6

 Sugar pine 23.6 13.9 37.5

 Western white pine 28.9 41.0 69.9

 White fir 6.7 — 6.7

Total softwood types 881.7 382.9 1,264.6

Hardwood types:

 Bigleaf maple 3.7 — 3.7

 California-laurel .9 — .9

 Canyon live oak 22.6 41.4 64.0

 Golden chinkapin — 72.7 72.7

 Pacific madrone 48.0 — 48.0

 Tanoak 179.3 130.4 309.7

Total hardwood types 254.5 244.6 499.0

Nonstockedb 2.2 3.8 5.9

All types 1,138.4 631.2 1,769.5

— = less than 500,000 cubic feet found. a Totals may be off because of rounding; data subject to sampling error.

b

 Nonstocked areas are less than 10 percent stocked with live trees.
25

Southwest Oregon Biscuit Fire: An Analysis of Forest Resources and Fire Severity

Table 15—Estimated prefire gross board-foot volume on reserved and nonreserved lands, by forest type and land class, Biscuit Fire 2002, Siskiyou 

National Foresta

Forest type Nonreserved Reserved Total

 Million board feet, Scribner rule

Softwood types:

 Douglas-fir 3,408.7 1,305.0 4,713.7

 Incense-cedar 10.9 — 10.9

 Jeffrey pine 54.8 — 54.8

 Knobcone pine 1.3 9.6 10.9

 Port-Orford-cedar 117.3 — 117.3

 Sugar pine 112.5 42.9 155.5

 Western white pine 75.5 112.8 188.3

 White fir 25.7 — 25.7

Total softwood types 3,806.8 1,470.4 5,277.2

Hardwood types:

 Bigleaf maple 13.9 — 13.9

 California-laurel 2.1 — 2.1

 Canyon live oak 69.1 141.5 210.6

 Golden chinkapin — 343.9 343.9

 Pacific madrone 147.7 — 147.7

 Tanoak 587.3 424.2 1,006.5

Total hardwood types 815.2 909.6 1,724.7

Nonstockedb 4.5 11.2 15.8

All types 4,626.5 2,391.1 7,017.6

— = less than 500,000 board feet found. a Totals may be off because of rounding; data subject to sampling error.

b

 Nonstocked areas are less than 10 percent stocked with live trees.
26

RESEARCH PAPER PNW-RP-560

Table 16—Estimated prefire gross cubic-foot volume on all lands, by forest 

type and burn-severity class, Biscuit Fire 2002, Siskiyou National Foresta

 Burn severity

Forest type High Moderate Low Very low Total

 Million cubic feet

Softwood types:

 Douglas-fir 119.0 120.7 481.7 370.7 1,092.1

 Incense-cedar — 3.5 — — 3.5

 Jeffrey pine 6.1 9.7 1.8 — 17.6

 Knobcone pine 6.7 — — — 6.7

 Port-Orford-cedar 3.6 9.7 17.4 — 30.6

 Sugar pine 28.8 — 1.2 7.6 37.5

 Western white pine 2.3 45.0 19.2 3.3 69.9

 White fir — — — 6.7 6.7

Total softwood types 166.4 188.5 521.3 388.4 1,264.6

Hardwood types:

 Bigleaf maple — — — 3.7 3.7

 California-laurel .9 — — — .9

 Canyon live oak 7.9 .9 55.3 — 64.0

 Golden chinkapin — — — 72.7 72.7

 Pacific madrone — — 6.5 41.5 48.0

 Tanoak 8.9 9.7 116.3 174.9 309.7

Total hardwood types 17.6 10.6 178.1 292.8 499.0

Nonstockedb .7 4.3 1.0 — 6.0

All types 184.7 203.3 700.4 681.2 1,769.5

— = less than 500,000 cubic feet found. a Totals may be off because of rounding; data subject to sampling error.

b

 Nonstocked areas are less than 10 percent stocked with live trees.
27

Southwest Oregon Biscuit Fire: An Analysis of Forest Resources and Fire Severity

Table 17—Estimated gross prefire board-foot volume on all lands, by forest 

type and burn-severity class, Biscuit Fire 2002, Siskiyou National Foresta

 Burn severity

Forest type High Moderate Low Very low Total

 Million board feet, Scribner rule

Softwood types:

 Douglas-fir 459.7 477.7 2,154.3 1,622.0 4,713.7

 Incense-cedar — 10.9 — — 10.9

 Jeffrey pine 18.0 32.3 4.5 — 54.8

 Knobcone pine 10.9 — — — 10.9

 Port-Orford-cedar 12.2 37.0 68.1 — 117.3

 Sugar pine 130.6 — 3.1 21.8 155.5

 Western white pine 5.8 129.5 42.8 10.2 188.3

 White fir — — — 25.7 25.7

Total softwood types 637.2 687.5 2,272.8 1,679.8 5,277.2

Hardwood types:

 Bigleaf maple — — — 13.9 13.9

 California-laurel 2.1 — — — 2.1

 Canyon live oak 14.2 1.5 194.8 — 210.6

 Golden chinkapin — — — 343.9 343.9

 Pacific madrone — — 26.5 121.2 147.7

 Tanoak 19.0 36.8 378.2 572.4 1,006.5

Total hardwood types 35.3 38.4 599.6 1,051.4 1,724.7

Nonstockedb 1.4 12.2 2.1 — 15.8

All types 673.9 738.0 2,874.4 2,731.2 7,017.6

— = less than 500,000 board feet found. a Totals may be off because of rounding; data subject to sampling error.

b

 Nonstocked areas are less than 10 percent stocked with live trees.
28

RESEARCH PAPER PNW-RP-560

Table 18—Estimated gross prefire cubic-foot volume on reserved and nonreserved lands, by tree species and land class, Biscuit Fire 2002, Siskiyou 

National Forest

a

Tree species Nonreserved Reserved Total

 Million cubic feet

Softwood species:

 Brewer spruce .2 — .2

 Douglas-fir 715.2 345.3 1,060.5

 Incense-cedar 14.4 2.1 16.5

 Jeffrey pine 25.8 1.8 27.6

 Knobcone pine 13.3 3.6 16.9

 Lodgepole pine 1.1 4.0 5.2

 Pacific yew .9 .1 1.0

 Ponderosa pine 4.1 4.4 8.5

 Port-Orford-cedar 44.4 .6 45.0

 Shasta red fir 1.6 — 1.6

 Sugar pine 94.9 56.2 151.1

 Western juniper — — —

 Western white pine 23.4 36.6 60.0

 White fir 15.8 .2 16.0

Total softwoods 954.9 455.0 1,409.9

Hardwood species:

 Bigleaf maple 8.7 11.4 20.1

 California black oak 4.4 .1 4.5

 California-laurel .9 .8 1.6

 Canyon live oak 19.3 30.9 50.2

 Golden chinkapin 15.2 25.9 41.1

 Pacific dogwood .4 .1 .5

 Pacific madrone 46.1 39.7 85.8

 Red alder 1.1 1.3 2.4

 Tanoak 87.1 66.1 153.2

 White alder .2 — .2

Total hardwoods 183.4 176.2 359.6

All species 1,138.4 631.2 1,769.5

— = less than 500,000 cubic feet found. a Totals may be off because of rounding; data subject to sampling error.
29

Southwest Oregon Biscuit Fire: An Analysis of Forest Resources and Fire Severity

Table 19—Estimated prefire gross board-foot volume on reserved and nonreserved lands, by tree species and land class, Biscuit Fire 2002, Siskiyou 

National Forest

a

Species Nonreserved Reserved Total

 Million board feet, Scribner rule

Softwood species:

 Brewer spruce 0.1 — 0.1

 Douglas-fir 3,356.1 1,615.2 4,971.3

 Incense-cedar 48.1 4.4 52.5

 Jeffrey pine 105.6 7.2 112.9

 Knobcone pine 31.6 4.0 35.7

 Lodgepole pine .4 4.2 4.6

 Pacific yew .9 — .9

 Ponderosa pine 25.9 20.2 46.2

 Port-Orford-cedar 182.8 2.3 185.2

 Shasta red fir 4.8 — 4.8

 Sugar pine 502.9 301.1 804.0

 Western white pine 60.4 102.2 162.6

 White fir 56.5 — 56.5

Total softwoods 4,376.2 2,061.0 6,437.2

Hardwood species:

 Bigleaf maple 7.7 9.5 17.2

 California black oak 3.2 .1 3.3

 California-laurel .8 — .8

 Canyon live oak 5.0 12.5 17.5

 Golden chinkapin 22.2 119.2 141.4

 Pacific madrone 27.8 26.4 54.2

 Red alder 4.0 6.1 10.1

 Tanoak 178.8 156.5 335.3

 White alder .7 — .7

Total hardwoods 250.3 330.2 580.4

All species 4,626.5 2,391.1 7,017.6

— = less than 500,000 board feet found. a

 Totals may be off because of rounding; data subject to sampling error.
30

RESEARCH PAPER PNW-RP-560

Table 20—Estimated prefire gross cubic-foot volume on all lands, by species 

and burn-severity class, Biscuit Fire 2002, Siskiyou National Foresta

 Burn severity

Species High Moderate Low Very low Total

 Million cubic feet

Softwood species:

 Brewer spruce — 0.1 0.1 — 0.2

 Douglas-fir 97.6 104.3 458.8 399.9 1,060.5

 Incense-cedar 3.1 8.5 1.8 3.1 16.5

 Jeffrey pine 4.8 9.3 7.7 5.7 27.6

 Knobcone pine 4.5 4.4 3.4 4.6 16.9

 Lodgepole pine .5 2.9 .2 1.6 5.2

 Pacific yew — .4 .3 .2 1.0

 Ponderosa pine 6.7 .2 1.6 — 8.5

 Port-Orford-cedar 2.2 11.6 26.5 4.8 45.0

 Shasta red fir — .4 — 1.2 1.6

 Sugar pine 35.7 9.3 55.7 50.5 151.1

 Western white pine 4.0 39.7 14.5 1.9 60.0

 White fir 2.6 1.5 1.1 10.8 16.0

Total softwoods 161.6 192.5 571.6 484.1 1,409.9

Hardwood species:

 Bigleaf maple 1.0 1.0 6.3 11.8 20.1

 California black oak 1.5 .1 — 3.0 4.5

 California-laurel — .1 .8 .8 1.6

 Canyon live oak 4.8 3.4 25.8 16.2 50.2

 Golden chinkapin 1.6 .1 6.7 32.7 41.1

 Pacific dogwood — — .4 .1 .5

 Pacific madrone 6.1 2.7 27.6 49.4 85.8

 Red alder — — .1 2.3 2.4

 Tanoak 8.2 3.4 61.1 80.6 153.2

 White alder — — — .2 .2

Total hardwoods 23.1 10.8 128.8 197.0 359.6

All species 184.7 203.3 700.4 681.2 1,769.5

— = less than 500,000 cubic feet found. a Totals may be off because of rounding; data subject to sampling error.
31

Southwest Oregon Biscuit Fire: An Analysis of Forest Resources and Fire Severity

Table 21—Estimated gross prefire board-foot volume on all lands, by species 

and burn-severity class, Biscuit Fire 2002, Siskiyou National Foresta

 Burn severity

Species High Moderate Low Very low Total

 Million board feet, Scribner rule

Softwood species:

 Brewer spruce — — 0.1 — 0.1

 Douglas-fir 385.8 448.3 2,201.5 1,935.8 4,971.3

 Incense-cedar 8.1 26.6 4.8 13.0 52.5

 Jeffrey pine 15.9 33.4 34.6 29.0 112.9

 Knobcone pine 3.1 9.2 10.1 13.3 35.7

 Lodgepole pine .4 4.2 — — 4.6

 Pacific yew — .2 .3 .4 .9

 Ponderosa pine 34.8 .6 10.8 — 46.2

 Port-Orford-cedar 8.5 42.6 112.2 21.9 185.2

 Shasta red fir .9 — 4.0 4.8 9.7

 Sugar pine 182.2 36.5 293.4 291.9 804.0

 Western white pine 9.9 118.0 29.9 4.9 162.6

 White fir 7.0 3.9 2.4 43.3 56.5

Total softwoods 655.6 724.3 2,699.9 2,357.3 6,437.2

Hardwood species:

 Bigleaf maple 1.2 1.0 3.3 11.6 17.2

 California black oak 1.3 .1 — 1.9 3.3

 California-laurel — — .8 — .8

 Canyon live oak 1.9 .5 8.3 6.7 17.5

 Golden chinkapin 1.0 — 11.9 128.5 141.4

 Pacific madrone 2.9 1.0 16.1 34.3 54.2

 Red alder — — .4 9.8 10.1

 Tanoak 10.1 11.1 133.7 180.4 335.3

 White alder — — — .7 .7

Total hardwoods 18.3 13.7 174.6 373.9 580.4

All types 673.9 738.0 2,874.4 2,731.2 7,017.6

— = less than 500,000 board feet found. a

 Totals may be off because of rounding; data subject to sampling error.
Table 22—Estimated gross prefire board-foot volume on nonreserved lands only, 

by species and burn-severity class, Biscuit Fire 2002, Siskiyou National Foresta

 Burn severity

Species High Moderate Low Very low Total

 Million board feet, Scribner rule

Softwood species:

 Brewer spruce — — 0.1 — 0.1

 Douglas-fir 237.0 355.0 1,413.7 1,350.4 3,356.1

 Incense-cedar 3.9 26.5 4.8 13.0 48.1

 Jeffrey pine 13.5 33.1 34.6 24.4 105.6

 Knobcone pine 2.7 6.2 10.1 12.7 31.6

 Lodgepole pine .4 — — — .4

 Pacific yew — .2 0.3 .4 .9

 Ponderosa pine 15.1 — 10.8 — 25.9

 Port-Orford-cedar 8.5 42.6 109.8 21.9 182.8

 Shasta red fir — .9 — 4.0 4.8

 Sugar pine 147.1 29.9 251.2 74.6 502.9

 Western white pine 8.7 25.3 21.6 4.9 60.4

 White fir 7.0 3.9 2.4 43.3 56.5

Total softwood types 443.7 523.6 1,859.4 1,549.5 4,376.2

Hardwood species:

 Bigleaf maple 1.2 1.0 .7 4.8 7.7

 California black oak 1.3 — — 1.9 3.2

 California-laurel — — .8 — .8

 Canyon live oak .2 .2 3.7 1.0 5.0

 Golden chinkapin 1.0 — 11.9 9.3 22.2

 Pacific madrone 2.2 1.0 4.9 19.7 27.8

 Red alder — — .4 3.7 4.0

 Tanoak 9.3 5.4 55.5 108.6 178.8

 White alder — — — .7 .7

Total hardwood species 15.2 7.6 77.8 149.7 250.3

All types 458.9 531.2 1,937.2 1,699.9 4,626.5

Standard error 164 168 317 327 405

— = less than 500,000 board feet found. a

 Totals may be off because of rounding; data subject to sampling error.

32

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