Ponderosa pine mortality following fire in northern Arizona

2003 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles W. McHugh ◽  
Thomas E. Kolb
Keyword(s):  
Pinus Ponderosa ◽  
Prescribed Fire ◽  
Ponderosa Pine ◽  
Tree Mortality ◽  
Variable Model ◽  
Individual Tree ◽  
Logistic Regression Models ◽  
Ponderosa Pine Forests ◽  
Northern Arizona ◽  
Crown Volume

Sampling of 1367 trees was conducted in the Side wildfire (4 May 1996), Bridger-Knoll wildfire (20 June 1996) and Dauber prescribed fire (9 September 1995) in northern Arizona ponderosa pine forests (Pinus ponderosa). Tree mortality was assessed for 3 years after each fire. Three-year post-fire mortality was 32.4% in the Side wildfire, 18.0% in the Dauber prescribed fire, and 13.9% in the Bridger-Knoll wildfire. In the Dauber and Side fires, 95% and 94% of 3-year post-fire mortality occurred by year 2, versus 76% in the Bridger-Knoll wildfire. Compared with trees that lived for 3 years after fire, dead trees in all fires had more crown scorch, crown consumption, bole scorch, ground char, and bark beetle attacks. Logistic regression models were used to provide insight on factors associated with tree mortality after fire. A model using total crown damage by fire (scorch + consumption) and bole char severity as independent variables was the best two-variable model for predicting individual tree mortality for all fires. The amount of total crown damage associated with the onset of tree mortality decreased as bole char severity increased. Models using diameter at breast height (dbh) and crown volume damage suggested that tree mortality decreased as dbh increased in the Dauber prescribed fire where trees were smallest, and tree mortality increased as dbh increased in the Side and Bridger-Knoll wildfires where trees were largest. Moreover, a U-shaped dbh–mortality distribution for all fires suggested higher mortality for the smallest and largest trees compared with intermediate-size trees. We concluded that tree mortality is strongly influenced by interaction between crown damage and bole char severity, and differences in resistance to fire among different-sized trees can vary among sites.

Corrigendum to: Ponderosa pine mortality following fire in northern Arizona

2003 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 245 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles W. McHugh ◽  
Thomas E. Kolb
Keyword(s):  
Pinus Ponderosa ◽  
Prescribed Fire ◽  
Ponderosa Pine ◽  
Tree Mortality ◽  
Variable Model ◽  
Individual Tree ◽  
Logistic Regression Models ◽  
Ponderosa Pine Forests ◽  
Northern Arizona ◽  
Crown Volume

Sampling of 1367 trees was conducted in the Side wildfire (4 May 1996), Bridger-Knoll wildfire (20 June 1996) and Dauber prescribed fire (9 September 1995) in northern Arizona ponderosa pine forests (Pinus ponderosa). Tree mortality was assessed for 3 years after each fire. Three-year post-fire mortality was 32.4% in the Side wildfire, 18.0% in the Dauber prescribed fire, and 13.9% in the Bridger-Knoll wildfire. In the Dauber and Side fires, 95% and 94% of 3-year post-fire mortality occurred by year 2, versus 76% in the Bridger-Knoll wildfire. Compared with trees that lived for 3 years after fire, dead trees in all fires had more crown scorch, crown consumption, bole scorch, ground char, and bark beetle attacks. Logistic regression models were used to provide insight on factors associated with tree mortality after fire. A model using total crown damage by fire (scorch + consumption) and bole char severity as independent variables was the best two-variable model for predicting individual tree mortality for all fires. The amount of total crown damage associated with the onset of tree mortality decreased as bole char severity increased. Models using diameter at breast height (dbh) and crown volume damage suggested that tree mortality decreased as dbh increased in the Dauber prescribed fire where trees were smallest, and tree mortality increased as dbh increased in the Side and Bridger-Knoll wildfires where trees were largest. Moreover, a U-shaped dbh–mortality distribution for all fires suggested higher mortality for the smallest and largest trees compared with intermediate-size trees. We concluded that tree mortality is strongly influenced by interaction between crown damage and bole char severity, and differences in resistance to fire among different-sized trees can vary among sites.

scholarly journals Twenty years of drought‐mediated change in snag populations in mixed‐conifer and ponderosa pine forests in Northern Arizona

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph L. Ganey ◽  
Jose M. Iniguez ◽  
Scott C. Vojta ◽  
Amy R. Iniguez
Keyword(s):  
Pinus Ponderosa ◽  
Ponderosa Pine ◽  
Tree Mortality ◽  
Forest Types ◽  
Mixed Conifer ◽  
Size Classes ◽  
Ponderosa Pine Forests ◽  
Northern Arizona ◽  
Mortality Event ◽  
Over Time

Abstract Background Snags (standing dead trees) are important biological legacies in forest systems, providing numerous resources as well as a record of recent tree mortality. From 1997 to 2017, we monitored snag populations in drought-influenced mixed-conifer and ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) forests in northern Arizona. Results Snag density increased significantly in both forest types. This increase was driven largely by a pulse in snag recruitment that occurred between 2002 and 2007, following an extreme drought year in 2002, with snag recruitment returning to pre-pulse levels in subsequent time periods. Some later years during the study also were warmer and/or drier than average, but these years were not as extreme as 2002 and did not trigger the same level of snag recruitment. Snag recruitment was not equal across tree species and size classes, resulting in significant changes in species composition and size-class distributions of snag populations in both forest types. Because trees were far more abundant than snags in these forests, the effect of this mortality pulse on tree populations was far smaller than its effect on snag populations. Snag loss rates increased over time during the study, even though many snags were newly recruited. This may reflect the increasing prevalence of white fir snags and/or snags in the smaller size classes, which generally decay faster than snags of other species or larger snags. Thus, although total numbers of snags increased, many of the newly recruited snags may not persist long enough to be valuable as nesting substrates for native wildlife. Conclusions Increases in snag abundance appeared to be due to a short-term tree mortality “event” rather than a longer-term pattern of elevated tree mortality. This mortality event followed a dry and extremely warm year (2002) embedded within a longer-term megadrought. Climate models suggest that years like 2002 may occur with increasing frequency in the southwestern U.S. Such years may result in additional mortality pulses, which in turn may strongly affect trajectories in abundance, structure, and composition of snag populations. Relative effects on tree populations likely will be smaller, but, over time, also could be significant.

scholarly journals Verbenone Inhibits Attraction of Ips pini (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) to Pheromone-Baited Traps in Northern Arizona

2020 ◽  
Vol 113 (6) ◽  
pp. 3017-3020
Author(s):  
Monica L Gaylord ◽  
Stephen R McKelvey ◽  
Christopher J Fettig ◽  
Joel D McMillin
Keyword(s):  
Aggregation Pheromone ◽  
Pinus Ponderosa ◽  
Ponderosa Pine ◽  
Tree Mortality ◽  
Treatment Options ◽  
Current Treatment ◽  
Northern Arizona ◽  
Pine Engraver ◽  
Baited Traps ◽  
Significant Difference

Abstract Recent outbreaks of engraver beetles, Ips spp. De Geer (Coleoptera: Curculionidae; Scolytinae), in ponderosa pine, Pinus ponderosa var. scopulorum Engelm. (Pinales: Pinaceae), forests of northern Arizona have resulted in widespread tree mortality. Current treatment options, such as spraying individual P. ponderosa with insecticides or deep watering of P. ponderosa in urban and periurban settings, are limited in applicability and scale. Thinning stands to increase tree vigor is also recommended, but appropriate timing is crucial. Antiaggregation pheromones, widely used to protect high-value trees or areas against attacks by several species of Dendroctonus Erichson (Coleoptera: Curculionidae; Scolytinae), would provide a feasible alternative with less environmental impacts than current treatments. We evaluated the efficacy of the antiaggregation pheromone verbenone (4,6,6-trimethylbicyclo[3.1.1]hept-3-en-2-one) in reducing attraction of pine engraver, I. pini (Say), to funnel traps baited with their aggregation pheromone in two trapping assays. Treatments included 1) unbaited control, 2) aggregation pheromone (bait), 3) bait with verbenone deployed from a pouch, and 4) bait with verbenone deployed from a flowable and biodegradable formulation (SPLAT Verb, ISCA Technologies Inc., Riverside, CA). Unbaited traps caught no beetles. In both assays, baited traps caught significantly more I. pini than traps with either formulation of verbenone, and no significant difference was observed between the verbenone pouch and SPLAT Verb. In the second assay, we also examined responses of Temnochila chlorodia (Mannerheim) (Coleoptera: Trogositidae), a common bark beetle predator. Traps containing verbenone pouches caught significantly fewer T. chlorodia than the baited control and SPLAT Verb treatments. We conclude that verbenone shows promise for reducing tree mortality from I. pini.

Blacks Mountain Experimental Forest: bark beetle responses to differences in forest structure and the application of prescribed fire in interior ponderosa pineThis article is one of a selection of papers from the Special Forum on Ecological Studies in Interior Ponderosa Pine — First Findings from Blacks Mountain Interdisciplinary Research.

2008 ◽  
Vol 38 (5) ◽  
pp. 924-935 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher J. Fettig ◽  
Robert R. Borys ◽  
Stephen R. McKelvey ◽  
Christopher P. Dabney
Keyword(s):  
Bark Beetle ◽  
Pinus Ponderosa ◽  
Prescribed Fire ◽  
Ponderosa Pine ◽  
Tree Mortality ◽  
Dendroctonus Brevicomis ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Pine Beetle ◽  
Low Diversity ◽  
High Diversity

Mechanical thinning and the application of prescribed fire are commonly used tools in the restoration of fire-adapted forest ecosystems. However, few studies have explored their effects on subsequent amounts of bark beetle caused tree mortality in interior ponderosa pine, Pinus ponderosa Dougl. ex P. & C. Laws. var. ponderosa. In this study, we examined bark beetle responses to creation of midseral (low diversity) and late-seral stages (high diversity) and the application of prescribed fire on 12 experimental units ranging in size from 76 to 136 ha. A total of 9500 (5.0% of all trees) Pinus and Abies trees died 2 years after treatment of which 28.8% (2733 trees) was attributed to bark beetle colonization. No significant difference in the mean percentage of trees colonized by bark beetles was found between low diversity and high diversity. The application of prescribed fire resulted in significant increases in bark beetle caused tree mortality (all species) and for western pine beetle, Dendroctonus brevicomis LeConte, mountain pine beetle, Dendroctonus ponderosae Hopkins, Ips spp., and fir engraver, Scolytus ventralis LeConte, individually. Approximately 85.6% (2339 trees) of all bark beetle caused tree mortality occurred on burned split plots. The implications of these and other results to sustainable forest management are discussed.

scholarly journals Trends in Snag Populations in Drought-Stressed Mixed-Conifer and Ponderosa Pine Forests (1997–2007)

2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph L. Ganey ◽  
Scott C. Vojta
Keyword(s):  
Pinus Ponderosa ◽  
Ponderosa Pine ◽  
Tree Mortality ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Pine Forests ◽  
Conifer Forest ◽  
Mixed Conifer ◽  
Ecological Processes ◽  
Ponderosa Pine Forests ◽  
Class Composition

Snags provide important biological legacies, resources for numerous species of native wildlife, and contribute to decay dynamics and ecological processes in forested ecosystems. We monitored trends in snag populations from 1997 to 2007 in drought-stressed mixed-conifer and ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosaDougl.exLaws) forests, northern Arizona. Median snag density increased by 75 and 90% in mixed-conifer and ponderosa pine forests, respectively, over this time period. Increased snag density was driven primarily by a large pulse in drought-mediated tree mortality from 2002 to 2007, following a smaller pulse from 1997 to 2002. Decay-class composition and size-class composition of snag populations changed in both forest types, and species composition changed in mixed-conifer forest. Increases in snag abundance may benefit some species of native wildlife in the short-term by providing increased foraging and nesting resources, but these increases may be unsustainable in the long term. Observed changes in snag recruitment and fall rates during the study illustrate the difficulty involved in modeling dynamics of those populations in an era of climate change and changing land management practices.

scholarly journals Mastication and Prescribed Fire Influences on Tree Mortality and Predicted Fire Behavior in Ponderosa Pine

2012 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 36-41 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alicia L. Reiner ◽  
Nicole M. Vaillant ◽  
Scott N. Dailey
Keyword(s):  
Pinus Ponderosa ◽  
Prescribed Fire ◽  
Ponderosa Pine ◽  
Tree Mortality ◽  
Block Design ◽  
Fire Behavior ◽  
Mortality Data ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Random Block Design ◽  
Four Blocks

Abstract The purpose of this study was to provide land managers with information on potential wildfire behavior and tree mortality associated with mastication and masticated/fire treatments in a plantation. Additionally, the effect of pulling fuels away from tree boles before applying fire treatment was studied in relation to tree mortality. Fuel characteristics and tree mortality data were gathered before and after treatments in a 25-year-old ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa C. Lawson) plantation. A random block design was used with three treatments plus a control at each of four blocks. Four plots were established as subsamples within each of the treatment and control sections of each block. Potential wildfire behavior for posttreatment fuel conditions was modeled for 90th and 97th percentile fire weather. Predicted rates of spread and flame lengths were higher for fuel conditions resulting from the mastication treatments than for the masticated/fire treatments or the controls. Torching and crowning indices indicated that higher windspeeds would be necessary to promote torching for areas treated with mastication/fire than for mastication or the controls. Tree mortality was 32 and 17% the first year after burning in masticated/fire and masticated/pull-back/fire plots, respectively, and 49 and 27% the second year. Our potential wildfire behavior results indicate that the risk of crown fire can be somewhat reduced by mastication and further reduced if mastication is followed up with prescribed fire to consume surface fuels. However, moderate levels of tree mortality seem inevitable when burning masticated fuels in a plantation and may only marginally be reduced by pulling fuels away from tree boles, which increases treatment costs.

Prescribed fire effects on bark beetle activity and tree mortality in southwestern ponderosa pine forests

2008 ◽  
Vol 255 (1) ◽  
pp. 119-128 ◽  
Author(s):  
C.R. Breece ◽  
T.E. Kolb ◽  
B.G. Dickson ◽  
J.D. McMillin ◽  
K.M. Clancy
Keyword(s):  
Bark Beetle ◽  
Prescribed Fire ◽  
Ponderosa Pine ◽  
Tree Mortality ◽  
Fire Effects ◽  
Pine Forests ◽  
Ponderosa Pine Forests

Stability of the large tree component in treated and untreated late-seral interior ponderosa pine standsThis article is one of a selection of papers from the Special Forum on Ecological Studies in Interior Ponderosa Pine — First Findings from Blacks Mountain Interdisciplinary Research.

2008 ◽  
Vol 38 (5) ◽  
pp. 919-923 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin W. Ritchie ◽  
Brian M. Wing ◽  
Todd A. Hamilton
Keyword(s):  
Pinus Ponderosa ◽  
Prescribed Fire ◽  
Ponderosa Pine ◽  
Past History ◽  
Mature Trees ◽  
Individual Tree ◽  
Large Tree ◽  
Large Trees ◽  
Tree Component ◽  
Old Trees

Ponderosa pine ( Pinus ponderosa Dougl. ex P. & C. Laws.) stands with late-seral features are found infrequently, owing to past management activities throughout western North America. Thus, management objectives often focus on maintaining existing late-seral stands. Observations over a 65 year period of stands with no past history of harvest showed substantial ingrowth in the smaller diameter classes and elevated rates of mortality among the largest mature trees in the stand. Adjacent stands, with combinations of thinning and prescribed fire, had far fewer high-risk mature trees and generally lower rates of mortality after treatment. Forecasts using individual-tree diameter growth and mortality models suggest that observed declines in these stands with remaining old trees and a dense understory will continue in the absence of any treatment. Increased vigor in thinned stands appeared to be offset by an increase in mortality of large trees when thinning was followed by prescribed fire.

scholarly journals Forest Resistance to Extended Drought Enhanced by Prescribed Fire in Low Elevation Forests of the Sierra Nevada

Forests ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (9) ◽  
pp. 1248
Author(s):  
Phillip J. van Mantgem ◽  
Anthony C. Caprio ◽  
Nathan L. Stephenson ◽  
Adrian J. Das
Keyword(s):  
Sierra Nevada ◽  
National Parks ◽  
Prescribed Fire ◽  
Ponderosa Pine ◽  
Tree Mortality ◽  
Early Years ◽  
Current Evidence ◽  
Stem Density ◽  
Individual Tree ◽  
Sugar Pine

Prescribed fire reduces fire hazards by removing dead and live fuels (small trees and shrubs). Reductions in forest density following prescribed fire treatments (often in concert with mechanical treatments) may also lessen competition so that residual trees might be more likely to survive when confronted with additional stressors, such as drought. The current evidence for these effects is mixed and additional study is needed. Previous work found increased tree survivorship in low elevation forests with a recent history of fire during the early years of an intense drought (2012 to 2014) in national parks in the southern Sierra Nevada. We extend these observations through additional years of intense drought and continuing elevated tree mortality through 2017 at Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks. Relative to unburned sites, we found that burned sites had lower stem density and had lower proportions of recently dead trees (for stems ≤47.5 cm dbh) that presumably died during the drought. Differences in recent tree mortality among burned and unburned sites held for both fir (white fir and red fir) and pine (sugar pine and ponderosa pine) species. Unlike earlier results, models of individual tree mortality probability supported an interaction between plot burn status and tree size, suggesting the effect of prescribed fire was limited to small trees. We consider differences with other recent results and discuss potential management implications including trade-offs between large tree mortality following prescribed fire and increased drought resistance.

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