Development of a database to analyze historical fire activity in southern Arizona: A prototype from Saguaro National Park Item Type text; Thesis-Reproduction (electronic) Authors Swantek, Pamela Jane, 1972- Publisher The University of Arizona. Rights Copyright © is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the University Libraries, University of Arizona. Further transmission, reproduction or presentation (such as public display or performance) of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author. Download date 04/10/2021 11:31:54 Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/10150/278630 INFORMATION TO USERS This manuscript has been reproduced from the microfikn master. UMI fihns the text directly from the original or copy submitted. Thus, some thesis and dissertation copies are in typewriter &ce, while others may be from any type of computer printer. The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustrations and photographs, print bleedthrough, substandard margins, and improper alignment can adversely affect reproduction. In the unlikely event that the author did not send UMI a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if unauthorized copyright material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Oversize materials (e.g., maps, drawings, charts) are reproduced by sectioning the original, beginning at the upper left-hand comer and continuing from left to right in equal sections with small overlaps. Each original is also photographed in one exposure and is included in reduced form at the back of the book. Photographs included in the original manuscript have been reproduced xerographically in this copy. Higher quality 6" x 9" black and white photographic prints are available for any photographs or illustrations appearing in this copy for an £idditional charge. Contact UMI directly to order. UMI A Bell & Howell Infonnation Company 300 North Zeeb Road, Ann Aibor MI 48106-1346 USA 313/761-4700 800/521-0600 DEVELOPMENT OF A DATABASE TO ANALYZE HISTORICAL FIRE ACTIVITY IN SOUTHERN ARIZONA: A PROTOTYPE FROM SAGUARO NATIONAL PARK by Pamela Jane Swantek A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of the SCHOOL OF RENEWABLE NATURAL RESOURCES In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE WITH A MAJOR IN WILDLIFE AND FISHERIES SCIENCE In the Graduate College THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA 1997 DMI Ntimber: 13 87713 UMI Microform 1387713 Copyright 1998, by UMI Company. All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. UMI 300 North Zeeb Road Ann Arbor, MI 48103 STATEMENT BY AUTHOR This thesis has been submitted in partial fulfillment of requirements for an advanced degree at the University of Arizona and is deposited in the University Library to be made available to the borrowers under rules of the Library. Brief quotations firom this thesis are allowable without special permission, provided that accurate acknowledgment of source is made. Requests for permission for extended quotation from or reproduction of this manuscript in whole or in part may be granted by the head of the major department or the Dean of the Graduate College when in his or her judgment the proposed use of the material is in the interests of scholarship. In all other instances, however, permission must be obtained from the author. SIGNED APPROVAL BY THESIS DIRECTORS This thesis has been approved on the date shown below: l/djltihr-dnr- L Dr. William L. Halvorson Date Professor of Wildlife and Fisheries Resources Dr. Cecil R. Schwalbe Date Assistant Professor of Wildlife and Fisheries Resources Cx • Craig A. Wissler Date GIS Coordinator of the Advanced Resource Technology Lab 'yJ ACBCNOWLEDGEMENTS I wish to acknowledge Todd Esque for lining me up for what became yet another outstanding experience, and my committee members, William Halvorson, Cecil Schwalbe and Craig Wissler for excellent support and guidance. Special thanks go to Myles Flyim and Michelle Hawks for gracious technical advice in the wide world of GIS. to Joan Ford and Mary Greene for administrative assistance and mental health support, to Chuck Scott, Rick Anderson and Kathy Schon for providing fire data and genuine encouragement, to Mike Kunzmann for passing on the skill of capturing great looking slides from a computer screen and fmally, to Michelle Nijhuis, Andrea Butterworth. Sarah Von Schrader and Tom Barrett for diligent data entry and digitizing. 4 DEDICATION This thesis research is dedicated to David Arming, and my parents Susan and Stanley Swantek — thanks for always being there. TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF FIGURES 8 LIST OF TABLES 10 ABSTRACT 11 BACKGROUND OF FIRE HISTORY SINCE ANGLO SETTLEMENT 12 CLIMATE AND FIRE ACTIVITY 20 CURRENT FIRE MANAGEMENT ISSUES 22 The Arizona Upland Subdivision 22 Semi-Desert Grasslands 26 Woodlands and Forests 28 UNDERSTANDING FIRE'S ROLE 32 METHODS 35 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 46 SUMMARY AND FUTURE RECOMMENDATIONS 64 APPENDIX A: THE HISTORICAL FIRE EVENTS DATABASE (HFED): USER'S HANDBOOK 67 I. Introduction 68 I.l Purpose of the Historical Fire Events Database 68 II. Database Design and Function 69 II. 1 Categorical Design 69 II.2 Functional Objects 72 11.2.1 Tables 72 11.2.2 Forms 73 n.2.3 Reports 76 6 TABLE OF CONTENTS - Continued III. Starting the Database 79 111.1 Logins and Passwords 79 III.I.l Database Password 80 III.1.2 Creating Login Accounts 80 III. 1.3 Assigning Permissions 86 111.2 Opening the Database 90 111.3 The Fire History Switchboard 91 IV. Data Entry 92 IV.1 Organization of the Data Entry Forms and Important Features 92 IV. 1.1 The Fire ID Field 92 IV.1.2 Data Entry Form Body 94 IV. 1.3 Action Buttons: Writing Data to the Database and Moving Between Forms 95 IV. 1.4 Checking Data Table Contents During Data Entry 97 IV.2 Categorical Data Entry 98 IV.2.1 MSA Data Entry Form 98 IV.2.2 Suppression Data Entry Form 105 IV.2.3 Site Data Entry Form 107 IV.2.4 Prevention Data Entry Form 108 IV.2.5 Prescribed Data Entry Form 109 IV.2.6 Fire Character and Fuel Type Data Entry Form 109 V. Editing Data 112 V. 1 The Filter Query 113 V.2 Modifying the Filter Query 114 V.2.1 Why? 114 V.2.2 How? 115 V.3 Making Edits to Existing Records 118 VI. Viewing and Printing Data in USDI1202 Report Format 118 7 TABLE OF CONTENTS - Continued V[\. Closing Comments 120 VII. 1 Adding New Data Tables 120 VII.2 Use of Macros 121 APPENDIX B: NBII METADATA REPORT FOR COVERAGES USED IN SPATIAL ANALYSES IN THIS RESEARCH 123 REFERENCES 139 8 LIST OF FIGURES FIGURE 1, Vegetation of southern Arizona 23 FIGURE 2a, Results of fire scars from sites of ponderosa pine stands in Arizona and New Mexico 31 FIGURE 2b, Size of fires in Arizona and New Mexico since 1916 31 FIGURE 3, Location of Saguaro National Park 36 FIGURE 4, The USDI 1202 Fire Report 38 FIGURE 5, Relationships between data tables and look-up tables in HFED 40 FIGURE 6, The Suppression Data entry form 41 FIGURE 7, The Fire History Switchboard for Saguaro National Park 42 FIGURE 8, Flow chart of database objects 43 FIGURE 9, Annual fire frequency and size in Saguaro National Park from 1937 - 1995 49 FIGURE 10, Causes of fire in Saguaro National Park from 1937-1995 53 FIGURE 11, Distribution of fire occurrences in Saguaro National Park 54 FIGURE 12, Attributes for a selected fire ignition point 55 FIGURE 13, Fire ignition points and vegetation cover of Saguaro National Park 57 FIGURE 14, Fire frequency v^athin vegetation type at Saguaro National Park from 1937- 1995 58 FIGURE 15, Armual hectares burned within vegetation types at Saguaro National Park from 1937 - 1995 58 FIGURE 16, The USDI 1202 Fire Report 71 FIGURE 17, A schematic diagram depicting the inter-relatedness of data tables 74 FIGURE 18, The Suppression Data entry form 75 FIGURE 19, Flow chart of database objects 77 FIGURE 20, The fire report printed from HFED in USDI 1202 Format 78 FIGURE 21, The User and Group Accounts dialog box 82 FIGURE 22, The Change Logon Password dialog box 83 FIGURE 23, The New User/Group dialog box 84 FIGURE 24, The User and Group Accounts dialog box for the User account 85 FIGURE 25, The User and Group Permissions dialog box 87 FIGURE 26a, Suggested Permissions for Tables by a User 88 FIGURE 26b, Suggested Permissions for Queries by a User 88 FIGURE 26c, Suggested Permissions for Forms by a User 89 FIGURE 26d, Suggested Permissions for Reports by a User 89 FIGURE 26e, Suggested Permissions for Macros by a User 90 FIGURE 27. The Fire History Switchboard for Saguaro National Park 92 9 LIST OF FIGURES - Continued FIGURE 28, The Suppression Data entry form illustrating the three components 93 FIGURE 29, The MS A Data entry form 99 FIGURE 30, The Main Data form with drop down pick list 100 FIGURE 31, The Statistical Data entry form 103 FIGURE 32, The Agency Data entry form 105 FIGURE 33, The Suppression Data entry form 106 FIGURE 34, The Site Data entry form 108 FIGURE 35, The Prevention Data entry form 108 FIGURE 36, The Prescribed Data entry form 109 FIGURE 37, The Fire Character Data entry form Ill FIGURE 38, The Fuel Type Data entry form 112 FIGURE 39, The MSA Data editing form 113 FIGURE 40, The database window with object tabs 116 FIGURE 41, The File menu 116 FIGURE 42, The QBE Grid 117 10 LIST OF TABLES TABLE I, An excerpt of the Suppression Data table for Saguaro National Park 72 TABLE 2, A list of filter queries and the editing forms they regulate 116 11 ABSTRACT With Anglo settlement of southern Arizona in the late 1800s, fire regimes were altered dramatically.