Stand conversion is a recognized wildland fire hazard reduction treatment. In Alberta, stand conversion from white spruce to aspen is fairly well understood in terms of fire behavior and silviculture. However, potential for converting Black Spruce to less flammable species has not been explored. If Larix spp. is less flammable than black spruce, the conversion of black spruce stands to Larix spp. within and adjacent to communities has the potential to reduce the wildfire threat to these communities and other high value infrastructure. Being able to identify differences in flammability of these species could also lead to more accurate fire behaviour predication and significant operational cost savings. The potential outcomes of the project are science to inform fuel and fire behaviour modelling, community and infrastructure protection strategies and decision making as well as research report and knowledge exchange opportunities.

This project is a part of the ”FPInnovations Wildfire Operations Research” FireSmart Vegetation Management Decision Support Research initiative.