Past Fire Regimes of Table Mountain Pine (Pinus Pungens L.) Stands in the Central Appalachian Mountains, Virginia, U.S.A. PDF Download
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ISBN:
Category : Fire ecology
Languages : en
Pages : 322
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Table Mountain pine is an Appalachian endemic that occurs in a patchy distribution from Georgia to Pennsylvania and is prolific at sites with a history of fire disturbance. The purpose of this dissertation was to reconstruct the fire regimes of Table Mountain pine stands in the Jefferson National Forest, Virginia. Sections from firescarred Table Mountain pines were collected at four sites to analyze fire history, while increment cores and stand composition information were collected from macroplots within each fire history site to investigate the possible influence of fires that were more ecologically severe. Results show that fire was frequent before the fire suppression era, with a Weibull median fire return interval between 2-3 years. The majority of fires occurred during the dormant season and beginning of the early growing season. Two of the four sites had a more even distribution of fire seasons, and these sites also had significant Table Mountain pine regeneration. Cohorts of tree establishment were visible in the fire charts of three of these sites, indicating fires that were likely moderate in severity. The canopy at three of the four sites is currently dominated by Table Mountain pine, but the understory at all sites has large numbers of fire-intolerant hardwoods and shrubs. These Table Mountain pine stands will likely succeed to xeric oak and fire-intolerant hardwoods, such as red maple and black gum, in the future. Fire statistics indicate that all four sites currently exist outside their range of historical variation in fire occurrence. Table Mountain pine was found to be sensitive to climate (monthly precipitation and temperature, PDSI and PHDI, North Atlantic sea surface temperatures, and NAO). Climate analyses revealed that Table Mountain pine growth is reduced when the previous year's September is drier than normal, the current year's February is wetter than average, and the winter is colder than average. Results of these climate analyses illustrate a regional climate signal in Table Mountain pine stands. The best overall relationship between Table Mountain pine growth and climate was captured using the Palmer Drought Severity Index, which was used to reconstruct climate at the four sites for superposed epoch analysis (SEA). The SEA found no indication that antecedent weather patterns in previous years pre-condition these stands for fire occurrence. Rather, the SEA showed that fire is significantly associated with drought during the year of fire.
Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Fire ecology
Languages : en
Pages : 322
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Book Description
Table Mountain pine is an Appalachian endemic that occurs in a patchy distribution from Georgia to Pennsylvania and is prolific at sites with a history of fire disturbance. The purpose of this dissertation was to reconstruct the fire regimes of Table Mountain pine stands in the Jefferson National Forest, Virginia. Sections from firescarred Table Mountain pines were collected at four sites to analyze fire history, while increment cores and stand composition information were collected from macroplots within each fire history site to investigate the possible influence of fires that were more ecologically severe. Results show that fire was frequent before the fire suppression era, with a Weibull median fire return interval between 2-3 years. The majority of fires occurred during the dormant season and beginning of the early growing season. Two of the four sites had a more even distribution of fire seasons, and these sites also had significant Table Mountain pine regeneration. Cohorts of tree establishment were visible in the fire charts of three of these sites, indicating fires that were likely moderate in severity. The canopy at three of the four sites is currently dominated by Table Mountain pine, but the understory at all sites has large numbers of fire-intolerant hardwoods and shrubs. These Table Mountain pine stands will likely succeed to xeric oak and fire-intolerant hardwoods, such as red maple and black gum, in the future. Fire statistics indicate that all four sites currently exist outside their range of historical variation in fire occurrence. Table Mountain pine was found to be sensitive to climate (monthly precipitation and temperature, PDSI and PHDI, North Atlantic sea surface temperatures, and NAO). Climate analyses revealed that Table Mountain pine growth is reduced when the previous year's September is drier than normal, the current year's February is wetter than average, and the winter is colder than average. Results of these climate analyses illustrate a regional climate signal in Table Mountain pine stands. The best overall relationship between Table Mountain pine growth and climate was captured using the Palmer Drought Severity Index, which was used to reconstruct climate at the four sites for superposed epoch analysis (SEA). The SEA found no indication that antecedent weather patterns in previous years pre-condition these stands for fire occurrence. Rather, the SEA showed that fire is significantly associated with drought during the year of fire.
Author: Michael R. Armbrister
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Fire ecology
Languages : en
Pages : 151
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Author: David H. Van Lear
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Fire ecology
Languages : en
Pages : 24
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Author: Serena Rose Aldrich
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :
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The role of fire in determining the structure and composition of many forested ecosystems is well documented (e.g. North American boreal forests; piñon-juniper woodlands of the western US). Fire is also believed to be important in temperate forests of eastern North America, but the processes acting here are less clear, particularly in xerophytic forests dominated by yellow pine (Pinus, subgenus Diploxylon Koehne) and oak (Quercus L.). In this study, I use dendroecological techniques to investigate fire history and vegetation dynamics of mixed pine-oak forests in the central Appalachian Mountains of Virginia. The study addresses three objectives: (1) develop a lengthy fire chronology to document fire history beginning in the late presettlement era and extending throughout the period of European settlement, industrialization and modern fire exclusion; (2) explore fire-climate relationships; and (3) investigate vegetation dynamics in relation to fire occurrence. The study was conducted on three study sites within the George Washington National Forest. I used fire-scarred cross-sections from yellow pine trees to document fire history. Fire-climate relationships were investigated for each study site individually and all sites combined using superposed epoch analysis (SEA). Fire-history information was coupled with dendroecological data on age structure to explore stand development in relation to fire occurrence. Results of fire history analysis reveal a long history of frequent fire with little temporal variation despite changes in land use history. Mean fire intervals (MFI) ranged from 3.7-17.4 years. The most important change in the fire regime was the initiation of fire suppression in the early twentieth century. Results of SEA show that periodic droughts may be important drivers of fire activity. Drought the year of fire was important at two of the three study sites and when all sites were combined. Results of age structure indicate that vegetation development was clearly influenced by fire. Frequent burning maintained populations of yellow pine throughout the period of study until fire suppression allowed fire-sensitive hardwood trees and shrubs to establish. It is clear from this study that continued fire suppression will likely result in fire-tolerant pines and oaks being replaced by more mesophytic trees and shrubs.
Author: Cathryn H. Greenberg
Publisher: Springer Nature
ISBN: 3030732673
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 513
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This edited volume presents original scientific research and knowledge synthesis covering the past, present, and potential future fire ecology of major US forest types, with implications for forest management in a changing climate. The editors and authors highlight broad patterns among ecoregions and forest types, as well as detailed information for individual ecoregions, for fire frequencies and severities, fire effects on tree mortality and regeneration, and levels of fire-dependency by plant and animal communities. The foreword addresses emerging ecological and fire management challenges for forests, in relation to sustainable development goals as highlighted in recent government reports. An introductory chapter highlights patterns of variation in frequencies, severities, scales, and spatial patterns of fire across ecoregions and among forested ecosystems across the US in relation to climate, fuels, topography and soils, ignition sources (lightning or anthropogenic), and vegetation. Separate chapters by respected experts delve into the fire ecology of major forest types within US ecoregions, with a focus on the level of plant and animal fire-dependency, and the role of fire in maintaining forest composition and structure. The regional chapters also include discussion of historic natural (lightning-ignited) and anthropogenic (Native American; settlers) fire regimes, current fire regimes as influenced by recent decades of fire suppression and land use history, and fire management in relation to ecosystem integrity and restoration, wildfire threat, and climate change. The summary chapter combines the major points of each chapter, in a synthesis of US-wide fire ecology and forest management into the future. This book provides current, organized, readily accessible information for the conservation community, land managers, scientists, students and educators, and others interested in how fire behavior and effects on structure and composition differ among ecoregions and forest types, and what that means for forest management today and in the future.
Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Forests and forestry
Languages : en
Pages : 660
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Author: William Flatley
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :
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Ecologists continue to debate the role of fire in forests of the southern Appalachian Mountains. How does climate influence fire in these humid, temperate forests? Did fire regimes change during the transition from Native American settlement to Euro-American settlement? Are fire regime changes resulting in broad vegetation changes in the forests of eastern North America? I used several approaches to address these questions. First, I used digitized fire perimeter maps from Great Smoky Mountains National Park and Shenandoah National Park for 1930-2009 to characterize spatial and temporal patterns of wildfire by aspect, elevation, and landform. Results demonstrate that fuel moisture is a primary control, with fire occurring most frequently during dry years, in dry regions, and at dry topographic positions. Climate also modifies topographic control, with weaker topographic patterns under drier conditions. Second, I used dendroecological methods to reconstruct historical fire frequency in yellow pine (Pinus, subgenus Diploxylon Koehne) stands at three field sites in the southern Appalachian Mountains. The fire history reconstructions extend from 1700 to 2009, with composite fire return intervals ranging from 2-4 years prior to the fire protection period. The two longest reconstructions record frequent fire during periods of Native American land use. Except for the recent fire protection period, temporal changes in land use did not have a significant impact on fire frequency and there was little discernible influence of climate on past fire occurrence. Third, I sampled vegetation composition in four different stand types along a topographic moisture gradient, including mesic cove, sub-mesic white pine (Pinus strobus L.) hardwood, sub-xeric oak (Quercus L.), and xeric pine forests in an unlogged watershed with a reconstructed fire history. Stand age structures demonstrate changes in establishment following fire exclusion in xeric pine stands, sub-xeric oak stands, and sub-mesic white pine-hardwood stands. Fire-tolerant yellow pines and oaks are being replaced by shade-tolerant, fire sensitive species such as red maple (Acer rubrum L.) and hemlock (Tsuga canadensis L. Carr.). Classification analysis and ordination of species composition in different age classes suggest a trend of successional convergence in the absence of fire with a shift from four to two forest communities. The electronic version of this dissertation is accessible from http://hdl.handle.net/1969.1/148082
Author: Kristina Frances Connor
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Forests and forestry
Languages : en
Pages : 652
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Author: Gregory Lynn Sanders
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Fire ecology
Languages : en
Pages : 250
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Author: Betsy Herrmann
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Dendrochronology
Languages : en
Pages : 144
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