Prescribed fire and mechanical thinning effects on bark beetle caused tree mortality in a mid-elevation Sierran mixed-conifer forest

2013 ◽  
Vol 306 ◽  
pp. 61-67 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel T. Stark ◽  
David L. Wood ◽  
Andrew J. Storer ◽  
Scott L. Stephens
1986 ◽  
Vol 16 (5) ◽  
pp. 1082-1087 ◽  
Author(s):  
Terri L. Thomas ◽  
James K. Agee

Prescribed fire was applied to a mixed conifer forest in southern Oregon, part of which was selectively logged in the 1930's. Structural effects were measured over a 4-year postfire period. Initial tree mortality was concentrated in small diameter and height classes of Abiesconcolor (Gord. and Glend) Lindl., Pinuslambertiana Dougl., and Pinusponderosa Dougl. Most mortality in all three species after the 1st year was associated with bark beetles. Mortality after 1 year for Abiesconcolor remained primarily in smaller tree classes, while both small and large pines were killed. Implications for restoring natural conditions in these ecosystems include recognizing structural as well as process goals, while reintroducing fire, and recognizing the significance of available prescription variables in the prediction of fire effects.


2019 ◽  
Vol 124 (11) ◽  
pp. 3555-3568 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaonan Tai ◽  
D. Scott Mackay ◽  
Brent E. Ewers ◽  
Andrew D. Parsekian ◽  
Daniel Beverly ◽  
...  

Fire ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 22
Author(s):  
Josh Hyde ◽  
Eva K. Strand

Prescribed fire is often used by land managers as an effective means of implementing fuel treatments to achieve a variety of goals. Smoke generated from these activities can put them at odds with air quality regulations. We set out to characterize the emission tradeoff between wildfire and prescribed fire in activity fuels from thinning in a case study of mixed conifer forest within the Boise National Forest in central Idaho. Custom fuelbeds were developed using information from the forest and emissions were modeled and compared for four scenarios, as follows: Untreated fuels burned in wildfire (UNW), prescribed fire in activity fuels left from thinning (TRX), a wildfire ignited on the post-treatment landscape (PTW), and the combined emissions from TRX followed by PTW (COM). The modeled mean total emissions from TRX were approximately 5% lower, compared to UNW, and between 2–46% lower for individual pollutants. The modeled emissions from PTW were approximately 70% lower than UNW. For the COM scenario, emissions were not significantly different from the UNW scenario for any pollutants, but for CO2. However, for the COM scenario, cumulative emissions would have been comprised of two events occurring at separate times, each with lower emissions than if they occurred at once.


2006 ◽  
Vol 232 (1-3) ◽  
pp. 36-45 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dylan W. Schwilk ◽  
Eric E. Knapp ◽  
Scott M. Ferrenberg ◽  
Jon E. Keeley ◽  
Anthony C. Caprio

2006 ◽  
Vol 36 (12) ◽  
pp. 3222-3238 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leda Kobziar ◽  
Jason Moghaddas ◽  
Scott L Stephens

During the late fall of 2002 we administered three burns in mixed conifer forest sites in the north-central Sierra Nevada. Eight months later we measured fire-induced injury and mortality in 1300 trees. Using logistic regression, an array of crown scorch, stem damage, fuels, and fire-behavior variables were examined for their influence on tree mortality. In Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco), white fir (Abies concolor (Gord. & Glend.) Lindl.), and incense cedar (Calocedrus decurrens (Torr.) Florin), smaller trees with greater total crown damage had higher mortality rates. Smaller stem diameters and denser canopies predicted mortality best in ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa Dougl. ex P. Laws. & C. Laws). Duff consumption and bark char severity increased model discrimination for white fir and incense cedar and California black oak (Quercus kelloggii Newberry), respectively. In tanoak (Lithocarpus densiflorus (Hook. & Arn.) Rehd.), greater total crown damage in shorter trees resulted in higher mortality rates. Along with tree diameter and consumption of large (>7.6 cm diameter at breast height, DBH) rotten downed woody debris, fire intensity was a significant predictor of overall tree mortality for all species. Mortality patterns for white fir in relation to crown damage were similar among sites, while those for incense cedar were not, which suggests that species in replicated sites responded differently to similar burns. Our results demonstrate actual fire-behavior data incorporated into mortality models, and can be used to design prescribed burns for targeted reduction of tree density in mixed conifer forests.


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