Post-Fire Tree Mortality and Regeneration Patterns as Proxies of Conifer Forest Resilience PDF Download
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Category : Conifers
Languages : en
Pages : 0
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Book Description
Shifting wildfire patterns and climate conditions, magnified by anthropogenic climate change, are threatening the resilience of conifer forests in North America and more specifically, the western US. If native conifer species are functionally maladapted to novel fire patterns and post-fire climate conditions, large-scale shifts in conifer forest structure, composition, and extent may occur as warming intensifies. Forest resilience in the context of fire and climate can be understood and quantified by the survival of trees through fire events and success of trees to regenerate post-fire and maintain population levels. In this dissertation, I use field observations and remote sensing to examine patterns of fire-induced tree mortality and post-fire tree regeneration as proxies of conifer forest resilience in the western US, across a range of environments and forest types, and particularly within the context of expansive high-severity, stand-replacing wildfires. In Chapter 1, I evaluate the interactions between climate-environment conditions and the spatial, structural, and temporal characteristics of fire refugia as drivers of subalpine forest recovery in the cool and moist Cascade Range of Oregon and Washington. In Chapter 2, I quantify large-scale patterns of post-fire delayed conifer tree mortality across three ecoregions and two broad forest types in the western US using high-resolution satellite imagery, and I evaluate whether post-fire delayed conifer tree mortality is a ubiquitous process across broad geographies, and if so, I ask i) what drives it? and ii) can it meaningfully affect seed dispersal and thus forest regeneration processes? Finally, in Chapter 3, I use an aggregated database of post-fire conifer establishment responses, across over 1800 sites and four ecoregions in the western US, to challenge the generalized notion that conifer species' shade-tolerance dictates their regenerative capacity within exposed early seral post-fire environments.
Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Conifers
Languages : en
Pages : 0
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Book Description
Shifting wildfire patterns and climate conditions, magnified by anthropogenic climate change, are threatening the resilience of conifer forests in North America and more specifically, the western US. If native conifer species are functionally maladapted to novel fire patterns and post-fire climate conditions, large-scale shifts in conifer forest structure, composition, and extent may occur as warming intensifies. Forest resilience in the context of fire and climate can be understood and quantified by the survival of trees through fire events and success of trees to regenerate post-fire and maintain population levels. In this dissertation, I use field observations and remote sensing to examine patterns of fire-induced tree mortality and post-fire tree regeneration as proxies of conifer forest resilience in the western US, across a range of environments and forest types, and particularly within the context of expansive high-severity, stand-replacing wildfires. In Chapter 1, I evaluate the interactions between climate-environment conditions and the spatial, structural, and temporal characteristics of fire refugia as drivers of subalpine forest recovery in the cool and moist Cascade Range of Oregon and Washington. In Chapter 2, I quantify large-scale patterns of post-fire delayed conifer tree mortality across three ecoregions and two broad forest types in the western US using high-resolution satellite imagery, and I evaluate whether post-fire delayed conifer tree mortality is a ubiquitous process across broad geographies, and if so, I ask i) what drives it? and ii) can it meaningfully affect seed dispersal and thus forest regeneration processes? Finally, in Chapter 3, I use an aggregated database of post-fire conifer establishment responses, across over 1800 sites and four ecoregions in the western US, to challenge the generalized notion that conifer species' shade-tolerance dictates their regenerative capacity within exposed early seral post-fire environments.
Author: Sharon M. Hood
Publisher: DIANE Publishing
ISBN: 1437939031
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 80
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Book Description
This is a print on demand edition of a hard to find publication. This report synthesizes the literature and current state of knowledge pertaining to re-introducing fire in stands where it has been excluded for long periods and the impact of these introductory fires on overstory tree injury and mortality. Only forested ecosystems in the United States that are adapted to survive frequent fire are included. Treatment options that minimize large-diameter and old tree injury and mortality in areas with deep duff and methods to manage and reduce duff accumulations are discussed. Pertinent background information on tree physiology, properties of duff, and historical versus current disturbance regimes are also discussed. Charts and tables.
Author: Derek Jon Nies Young
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780355969122
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :
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Book Description
Yellow pine and mixed-conifer (YPMC) forests in California are subject to multiple anthropogenic pressures, including fire suppression and climate change. Although YPMC forests historically experienced a high-frequency, low-severity fire regime, fire suppression has resulted in increased fuel loads and has therefore increased the severity of the fires that do occur. Some of the historically dominant tree species in YPMC forests, particularly pines (Pinus spp.), establish primarily following wildfire. However, the increasing extent of severely-burned areas with few nearby seed sources for conifer regeneration has resulted in poor post-fire tree recruitment across large areas. Climate change has the potential to further substantially alter post-fire regeneration patterns. When post-fire tree regeneration is poor, managers often plant tree seedlings in order to speed forest recovery. However, little is known about (a) how natural post-fire tree regeneration patterns may change as climate changes and (b) how appropriate seed sources for post-fire tree seedling plantings should be selected. Further, despite the fact that most studies of climate change impacts rely on modeled climate variables when examining the relationship between climate and vegetation, there has been little critical evaluation of several important climate variables that are increasingly used in ecological analyses. I address these knowledge gaps in this dissertation. In Chapter 1, I evaluate some central assumptions that are made when modeling climatic water balance variables including actual evapotranspiration (AET) and climatic water deficit (CWD). I find that the assumptions can substantially affect both the absolute and relative values of modeled AET and CWD across landscapes—as well as the inferences drawn from ecological analyses that apply the variables—despite the fact that there is no practical means for avoiding the need to make assumptions. Representing the hydrological climate using simple precipitation variables may introduce less bias than using AET and CWD. In Chapter 2, I use recent interannual variation in precipitation to evaluate the sensitivity of post-fire tree recruitment to changes in precipitation patterns. I find that while post-fire recruitment of some conifer species is reduced—and recruitment of shrubs increased—under post-fire drought, the response of post-fire tree seedling species composition to weather variation is constrained by the species composition of the surrounding unburned forest. Forest tree community composition thus may not rapidly shift as climate changes. Finally, in Chapter 3, I test the application of assisted gene flow—the managed relocation of genotypes within the species’ range—in large-scale post-fire restoration plantings. I find that in the short term, under anomalously hot and dry conditions, trees grown from seed collected at elevations below the planting site generally perform as well as, if not significantly better than, trees grown from seed collected near the planting site. However, challenges specific to large-scale restoration projects—in particular, the use of seed collections that are not geographically precise—can complicate selection of appropriate provenances and lead to unexpected results. Overall, the work in this dissertation contributes to increased potential to understand and predict the natural response of forest ecosystems to climate change and to update management practices in response to changes in climate.
Author: James F. Fowler
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Douglas fir
Languages : en
Pages : 32
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Book Description
This review focused on the primary literature that described, modeled, or predicted the probability of postfire mortality in ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) and Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii). The methods and measurements that were used to predict postfire tree death tended to fall into two general categories: those focusing on measuring important aspects of fire behavior, the indirect but ultimate cause of mortality; and those focusing on tissue damage due to fire, the direct effect of fire on plant organs. Of the methods reviewed in this paper, crown scorch volume was the most effective, easiest to use, and most popular measurement in predicting postfire mortality in both conifer species. In addition to this direct measure of foliage damage, several studies showed the importance and utility of adding a measurement of stem (bole) damage. There is no clear method of choice for this, but direct assessment of cambium condition near the tree base is widely used in Douglas-fir. Only two ponderosa pine studies directly measured fine root biomass changes due to fire, but they did not use these measurements to predict postfire mortality. Indirect measures of fire behavior such as ground char classes may be the most practical choice for measuring root damage. This review did not find clear postfire survivability differences between the two species. The literature also does not show a consistent use of terminology; we propose a standard set of terms and their definitions.
Author: Bret A. McNamara
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Cypress
Languages : en
Pages : 84
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Book Description
Climate change is predicted to cause widespread redistribution of suitable tree habitats, as well as increase the size and frequency of wildfires in the western United States during the forthcoming century. Rare serotinous conifers may have heightened sensitivity to the impacts of both fire regime and climate shifts for multiple reasons. First, the rapid spatial rearrangement of suitable habitat will disproportionately affect trees with constrained seed dispersal capabilities, and limited dispersal is a trait associated with some genera of serotinous trees. Second, a number of serotinous conifers depend on fire disturbances for regeneration, though with the expected increase in annual area burned, immature forests may risk re-burning prior to producing sufficient seed banks. In such a case, high post-fire tree mortality without regeneration would result in population loss or substantial reductions in population size. Baker cypress (Hesperocyparis bakeri) is a rare, serotinous conifer with 11 extant populations, and could be adversely impacted by changes in climate and fire regimes. Some remaining populations recently burned in wildfires, which caused extensive overstory mortality and dense post-fire seedling establishment. However, these young cohorts could re-burn before producing viable seed. Further, dispersal capacity has not been quantified in this species. In two separate chapters, the present study examined both 1) the regeneration patterns and dispersal capacity and 2) the fuel succession patterns and associated potential surface fire behavior across a time-since-fire chronosequence in Baker cypress forests. Specifically, the first chapter investigated the dispersal capabilities of Baker cypress using both empirical observation of post-fire seedling establishment and mechanistic seed dispersal modeling. Post-fire recruitment was dense, averaging 11 recruits/m2, and occurred primarily in the first two years after fire. However, recruitment was markedly constrained spatially. Most seedlings (~81 percent) established within 5 m of the parent tree, and maximum distance of established seedlings from stand edges averaged 19.2 m. A two-sample Kolmogorov-Smirnov test indicated that the distributions of modeled seeds and observed seedlings were not significantly different, suggesting secondary and long distance dispersal (that would increase dispersal capacity and blur the distinction between a model of primary anemochory and subsequent recruitment) was not a common event. These results aid in explaining why appreciable range expansions in Baker cypress are unlikely and have not been observed. Poor dispersal capacity of this species may hinder its response to rapid climate change. Chapter 2 examined the fuel succession patterns across a time-since-fire chronosequence of Baker cypress forests, including surface fuel loading by type and tree foliar moisture content. Stand characteristics such as density, composition, and tree-level metrics were also quantified, and stands examined were 3, 10, 40, 107, and 147 years post-fire. A 26 y old planted stand was included for foliar moisture measurements. Fine fuel loading was highest in the 10 y and 147 y stands, while coarse woody fuels peaked in the 10 y stand and thereafter generally decreased with time since fire. Duff loading generally increased with time since fire, though litter loading followed a pattern more similar to the fine woody fuels. Baker cypress foliar moisture content was significantly lower in older foliage, and inversely correlated with stand age. Modeled fire behavior peaked in the 10 y and 147 y stands in accordance with the fine fuel accumulations, and cones were not yet present on the 3 y or 10 y old trees. This indicates that early successional stages of Baker cypress forests contain a narrow temporal window wherein stands could burn prior to seed production. Replicating this research in other Hesperocyparis species will provide a better understanding of the ecological processes in rare serotinous conifers, and inform management actions that reduce the chance of population losses.
Author: David L. Peterson
Publisher: DIANE Publishing
ISBN: 1437926665
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 60
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Book Description
Timber harvest following wildfire leads to different outcomes depending on the biophysical setting of the forest, pattern of burn severity, operational aspects of tree removal, and other activities. Postfire logging adds to these effects by removing standing dead trees (snags) and disturbing the soil. The influence of postfire logging depends on the intensity of the fire, intensity of the logging operation, and mgmt. activities such as fuel treatments. Removal of snags reduces long-term fuel loads but generally results in increased amounts of fine fuels for the first few years after logging. Cavity-nesting birds, small mammals, and amphibians may be affected by harvest of standing dead and live trees, with negative effects on most species. Illustrations.
Author: Kevin Robert Welch
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781321807653
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :
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Book Description
This study examines postfire regeneration patterns in low to mid-elevation forests of northern and central California where conifers co-exist and compete with hardwoods and shrubs in the postfire environment. Due to fire suppression policies, timber harvest, and other management practices over the last century, many low- to mid-elevation forests in California have accumulated high fuel loads and dense, multi-layered canopies that are dominated by shade-tolerant and fire-sensitive conifers. These conditions promote high-intensity fires, which have major effects on forest structure, function, and composition. We established 1,854 survey plots in nineteen wildfires on ten National Forests across a range of elevations, forest types, and fire severities in central and northern California to provide insight into factors that promote natural tree regeneration after wildfires and the differences in post-fire responses of the most common conifer species and hardwood species. We developed a zero-inflated negative binomial mixed model with random effects to understand the importance of ten environmental variables in predicting conifer regeneration. This model identified as important factors distance to potential seed tree, annual precipitation, presence of regenerating shrubs, litter cover, fire severity and pre-existing forest type. We documented widespread conifer regeneration failure with nearly 50% of all plots devoid of conifer regeneration. When regeneration did occur, it was dominated by shade-tolerant but fire-sensitive firs, Douglas-fir and incense cedar. Active forest restoration (planting, brush control, reduction of undesirable species, etc.) may be necessary in more severely burned areas farther from seed trees where natural regeneration is insufficient to restore forest composition and structure, increasing forest resiliency in the face of climate change and augmented levels of fire disturbance. However, conifers do not exist in isolation in these forests and the interaction with other functional woody plant types must be considered. This study adds a unique contribution to understanding postfire regeneration dynamics by comparing the relative success of hardwoods to conifers across a fire severity gradient and in the first decade after mixed-severity fires. By utilizing vegetative sprouting (and to a lesser extent sexual reproduction), hardwood trees and shrubs are able to quickly capitalize on available resources and this ability may confer a competitive advantage to hardwoods. The results of this study indicate that increased fire severity leads to greater relative density of hardwoods via a combined impact of resprouts and seedlings, creating alternative states where hardwoods and shrubs (that suppress the relatively few conifer seedlings that do establish) may dominate for many years after disturbance. To a great extent, the future status of California's forests will depend on tree species' responses to patterns and trends in fire activity and behavior and post-fire management decisions.
Author: Natalie Pawlikowski
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :
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This research quantifies forest structure and examines how post-fire succession alters pine-oak composition, group-gap spatial structure, and wildfire resilience in an old-growth ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) forest that was resilient to recent wildfires and exhibits a heterogeneous forest structure thought to be similar to forests before fire exclusion. To quantify forest structure and spatial patterns, trees were aged, mapped, and measured in the year 2000 six-years after a wildfire and in 2016 22-years post-fire in six, 1-hectare, stem map plots in the Beaver Creek Pinery, located in the Ishi Wilderness, Southern Cascades, California. Regeneration seedlings and saplings were tallied in 10x10m cells. Rates of tree recruitment, mortality, and growth for the sites two co-dominant species ponderosa pine and California black oak (Quercus kelloggii) were estimated using demographic models. Local patterns in group structure was quantified using spatial clump algorithms and gap area was quantified using the empty space function. Potential fire behavior and effects were modeled for a range of fuel and weather conditions.Stand density and basal area in both 2000 and 2016 were within the historical range of variability for pre-fire exclusion ponderosa pine forests. Initially, wildfire promoted California black oak; however, oak abundance and regeneration has declined while pine abundance and regeneration has increased in the subsequent 22 years without fire. In 2000, ~15% of trees were classified as individuals and tree group sizes ranged from 2 to 75 trees. Small tree groups (2-4 trees) consist of similar-aged trees while larger groups are multi-aged. In 2016, the percent of trees classified as individuals decreased by ~30%, and the scale and intensity of clustering increased. The greatest change in spatial patterns occurred in plots with the highest rates of post-fire recruitment. The size and frequency of canopy gaps was similar in 2000 and 2016; however, higher densities of seedlings and saplings were associated with canopy gaps in 2016 which suggests, without future fire, canopy gaps will be infilled. Fire behavior models indicate the Beaver Creek Pinery is still resilient to high severity wildfire. Overall, this research broadens our understanding on the persistent effects of fire on spatial heterogeneity and demonstrates that wildfires can be used to restore resiliency to forests where wildfires have been suppressed for nearly a century.
Author: Winslow D. Hansen
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 243
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Book Description
Climate and disturbance regimes are rapidly changing in earth's forests, and these trends are expected to continue through the 21st century. It remains unresolved whether and where forests will absorb increased perturbations without changing qualitatively and where forest resilience might erode. This dissertation provides a foundation to begin addressing these uncertainties. I combined field observation, experiments, and process-based simulation to study effects of changing climate and wildfire on postfire tree regeneration and forest resilience in Yellowstone National Park, the largest intact wildland area of the contiguous United States. Chapter 1 quantifies effects of ecological filters on a colonizing cohort of aspen. These aspen trees established from seed after the 1988 fires and survived at higher elevations than their prefire distribution. I then conducted a long-term field experiment and shorter controlled-environment experiment to determine how temperature and soil moisture consistent with 21st-century projections may alter postfire seedling establishment of two widespread conifers (Chapter 2). In chapters 3 and 4, I used a forest simulation model to test multiple mechanisms of regeneration failure and to explore how suppression may alter 21st-century fire and forests. Long-term study of colonizing aspen demonstrated how wildfire can catalyze rapid shifts in tree-species distributions. Aspen seedlings were initially favored at lower elevations close to their prefire distribution. By 25yrs postfire, aspen was favored to survive at higher elevations, likely due to warming. From the experiments, it appears postfire drought may be a powerful force for change in subalpine forests because regeneration was drastically reduced under hotter-drier conditions. Simulations, where multiple climate-fire drivers could be considered over longer periods, however, indicate the potential for remarkable resilience. Regeneration failure was the exception, not the rule. Suppression of fire also had little impact on 21st-century fire or forests. Collectively, this research demonstrates that multiple streams of quantitative inquiry are necessary to better resolve how changing climate and disturbance will alter forests. Management steps could be taken to bolster vulnerable forests (e.g. reseeding after fires), if mechanisms of change are understood. However, forest-management strategies should not discount the inherent resilience of the system.
Author: Suzanne M. Owen
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Trees
Languages : en
Pages : 177
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Book Description
Wildfires in southwestern US ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa Lawson & C. Lawson) forests have recently increased in size and severity, leaving large, contiguous patches of tree mortality, and raising concerns about post-fire recovery. Ponderosa pines are a dominant species in the Southwest and they evolved with low- to moderate-severity fire regimes. They are poorly adapted to regenerate after large, high-severity fires because they do not have serotinous cones, re-sprouting capabilities, or long-lived seed banks. Additionally, high-severity fires can favor competing understory plants or induce long-term changes to soil nutrient dynamics and surface fuel loads, potentially altering ponderosa pine regeneration niches. Furthermore, high-severity wildfires and the loss of ponderosa pines may alter fungal community composition, including pine-symbiotic ectomycorrhizal (EM) fungi and saprotrophic fungi, which are important for forest recovery and productivity. My research objectives were to understand the effects of fire severity > 10 years post-fire on: (1) the spatial patterns, and interactions of regenerating ponderosa pine and sprouting tree species, (2) ponderosa pine regeneration niches and seedling growth, and (3) fungal sporocarp and root tip EM community composition and colonization. My study sites for the first objective included large, 4-ha plots located in two types of high-severity (100% tree mortality) burn, either adjacent to residual live forest edges (edge plots) or > 200 m from any residual live trees (interior plots) in two Arizona wildfires, the 2000 Pumpkin and 2002 Rodeo-Chediski Fires.
