The effects of black spruce fuel management on surface fuel condition and peat burn severity in an experimental fire

In the boreal plains ecozone, black spruce (Picea mariana (Mill.) Britton, Sterns & Poggenb.) peatlands can represent large parts of the expanding wildland–urban interface (WUI) and wildland–industry interface (WII). The boreal plains wildfire regime is predicted to increase in areal extent and intensity, amplifying the need for wildfire management to protect the WUI and WII. Forested peatland ecosystems can burn at high intensity and present …