The Seedling and the Flame

Season 4 | Episode 5 | June 1, 2023

We all know that oak and fire go together like peanut butter and jelly. What we have been missing is the practical knowledge of where, when, and how to apply fire in oak ecosystems. There are few who have contributed more to this knowledge base than Dr. Patrick Brose from the US Forest Service’s Northern Research Station. Dr. Brose’s research has developed key silvicultural applications of fire to regenerate and sustain oak forests and woodlands. Join us on this episode of SilviCast as we talk with Dr. Brose about what he has learned over the past 25 years of studying oak and fire. Pull up a chair, you will not want to miss a word!

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Patrick H. Brose, Ph.D.

Research Forester/SILVAH Team Leader, U.S. Forest Service, Northern Research Station

I was raised on a farm in western Pennsylvania. After graduating high school in 1977 and earning an associate’s degree from a community college in 1979, I worked for 15 years in fire and timber management for various federal and state agencies in several western states. During that time, I eventually earned bachelor and master degrees in forestry. I began a doctoral program in forestry at Clemson University in 1994. Professor David Van Lear was my adviser, and I studied the effects of seasonal prescribed fires in oak shelterwood stands. After completing my doctorate in 1997, I began my research career with the Southern Research Station where I studied the fire ecology of upland pine ecosystems of the southern Appalachian Mountains. Since 2000, I’ve been with the Northern Research Station where I study the oak regeneration process, the role of prescribed fire in that process, strategies for controlling mountain laurel, and the first history of Pennsylvania. Additionally, I help teach the SILVAH and SILVAH-oak short courses.

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Episode Show Notes

Brose, P.H. and Hutchinson, T.F. 2019. The fundamentals of release burning in mixed oak forests with emphasis on the shelterwood-burn technique. Oak symposium: sustaining oak forests in the 21st century through science-based management. e-Gen. Tech.Rep. SRS-237. Asheville, NC: U.S. Department of Agriculture forest Service, Southern Research Station. 192 p.
Brose, Patrick H. 2014 Development of prescribed fire as a silvicultural tool for the upload oak forests of the eastern United States. Journal of Forestry. 112(5): 525-533.
Brose, P.H. et al. 2014. The fire-oak literature of eastern North America: synthesis and guidelines. U.S. Forest Service General Technical Report NRS-135. 98 p.
Brose, P.H. et al. 2008. Prescribing regeneration treatments for mixed-oak forests in the mid-Atlantic region. U.S. Forest Service General Technical Report NRS-33. 90 p.
D.H. Van Lear et al. 2000. Using Prescribed Fire to Regenerate Oaks. Proceedings: Workshop on Fire, People, and the Central Hardwoods Landscape. GTR-NE-274. pp. 97-102.

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The Seedling and the Flame