Monitoring & Post-Fire Evaluation Flashcards

In the Interagency Prescribed Fire Planning and Implementation Procedures Guide (PMS 484), which burn plan element specifically addresses monitoring?

Answer: Element 20 - Monitoring

PMS 484 lists Monitoring as Element 20, just before Element 21, Post-Burn Activities.

A burn boss records temperature, RH, and wind on the line every hour during ignition. What kind of monitoring is this?

Answer: Implementation (prescription compliance) monitoring

On-site weather observations show whether the burn stayed within the prescription parameters, which is implementation monitoring.

Ten years after a series of burns, a manager checks whether shrub cover dropped to the target in the land management plan. What type of monitoring is this?

Answer: Effectiveness monitoring

Effectiveness monitoring measures whether the treatment met its resource objectives.

In ponderosa pine, which post-fire measurement best predicts whether a tree will die from first-order fire effects?

Answer: Percent crown volume scorched

Crown volume scorched is the main predictor in most conifer mortality models.

Which statement correctly describes how to retake a photo point?

Answer: Use the same permanent marker, bearing, focal length, and a similar season

Photos can only be compared over time if the location, framing, and timing are repeated.

In an After Action Review (AAR), which question is part of the standard format?

Answer: What was planned, and what actually happened?

An AAR compares the plan with the actual outcome, asks why they differed, and identifies lessons, without assigning blame.

Which observation suggests high soil burn severity?

Answer: White or gray ash, with the duff fully consumed and soil structure altered

Fully consumed duff with white ash and changed soil structure points to high soil burn severity.