scholarly journals Old Burns as Source Habitats for Lewis's Woodpeckers Breeding in the Black Hills of South Dakota

The Condor ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 109 (1) ◽  
pp. 122-131 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dale J. Gentry ◽  
Kerri T. Vierling
Keyword(s):  
South Dakota ◽  
Pinus Ponderosa ◽  
Ponderosa Pine ◽  
Black Hills ◽  
Breeding Habitat ◽  
Suitable Habitat ◽  
Success Rates ◽  
Point Counts ◽  
Juvenile Mortality ◽  
Mammalian Predators

Abstract Abstract Crown-burned pine forests are an important breeding habitat for many cavity-nesting birds, and can serve as a source habitat for some woodpecker species. However, it is unclear if this function continues with postburn succession as predators recolonize burned habitats and snag density declines. Lewis's Woodpeckers (Melanerpes lewis) are considered “burn specialists” and are a species of conservation concern. We monitored Lewis's Woodpeckers nesting in ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) forests to determine the source or sink function of old-burn habitats in the Black Hills of South Dakota (study units burned in 1988 and 1991); concurrently, we examined avian and mammalian predator communities within burned and unburned areas. Between 2002 and 2005 we found 55 Lewis's Woodpecker nests, 51 of which were successful. Using adult and juvenile mortality rates for other melanerpine species taken from the literature, we determined that the old-burn habitats we sampled were acting as sources for Lewis's Woodpeckers. Point counts and tracking tube surveys suggested that both avian and mammalian predators had successfully recolonized these old-burn habitats, as both groups were common in old burns and in unburned forests. The unusually high nesting success of Lewis's Woodpeckers in the Black Hills is likely due to the absence of some common nest predators. While the high success rates might continue, we suggest that the overall contribution of young to the region from these burned sites will decline as suitable habitat components (such as snags) decline with the continuation of postfire succession.

scholarly journals Growth Response of Pinus ponderosa following a Mixed-Severity Wildfire in the Black Hills, South Dakota

2010 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 49-54 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tara L. Keyser ◽  
Frederick W. Smith ◽  
Wayne D. Shepperd
Keyword(s):  
South Dakota ◽  
Tree Growth ◽  
Pinus Ponderosa ◽  
Ponderosa Pine ◽  
Growth Response ◽  
Fire Severity ◽  
Growth Patterns ◽  
Black Hills ◽  
Severe Drought ◽  
Moderate Severity

Abstract In late summer 2000 the Jasper Fire burned ∼34,000 ha of ponderosa pine forest in the Black Hills of South Dakota. Although regarded as a catastrophic event, the Jasper Fire left a mosaic of fire severity across the landscape, with live trees present in areas burned under low andmoderate fire severity. In October 2005, we cored 96 trees from unburned, low-severity, and moderate-severity stands and assessed whether tree growth differed among fire severity classes during the 5 years postfire. We observed no differences in basal area increment (BAI) 10 years prefireamong fire severities with BAI averaging 9.6 cm2 per year. Despite severe drought conditions, BAI in moderate severity sites 2 years postfire was 58% greater than in unburned and low-severity stands. Although significant, this growth increase was short-lived. Three, 4, and 5 yearspostfire, no differences in growth among unburned, low-severity, and moderate-severity sites were detected, as BAI averaged 8.3, 7.5, and 7.0 cm2, respectively. The lack of a consistent and prolonged growth response suggests that the Jasper Fire did not result in any short-termchanges in growth patterns. Data extending beyond 5 years postfire are required to infer potential long-term changes in tree growth and productivity.

Chemosystematic studies in the genus Pinus. VII. The leaf oil terpene composition of ponderosa pine, Pinus ponderosa

1992 ◽  
Vol 70 (2) ◽  
pp. 374-378 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ernst von Rudloff ◽  
Martin S. Lapp
Keyword(s):  
South Dakota ◽  
Pinus Ponderosa ◽  
Ponderosa Pine ◽  
Strong Support ◽  
Grand Canyon ◽  
Black Hills ◽  
Oil Composition ◽  
Continental Divide ◽  
Leaf Oil ◽  
Typical Variety

The leaf oil terpene composition of ponderosa pines (Pinus ponderosa Laws.) from 37 sites west of the Continental Divide north of 42°, 5 sites east of the Divide in Montana, and 1 each from the Black Hills, South Dakota, Wilkerson Pass, Colorado, and Grand Canyon, Arizona was determined. Tree-to-tree variation was quite low, as was between-population variability at all northwestern locations. Quantitative and qualitative differences in several leaf oil terpenes were found between these and the eastern populations, which lends strong support to the taxonomic separation of ponderosa pine into the typical variety ponderosa and the northeastern var. scopulorum. Intermediate leaf oil terpene compositions were found in several trees near the Continental Divide, indicating that there is a transition between these two varieties. Whereas the Black Hills and Wilkerson Pass samples had terpene compositions that were similar to those of trees from eastern Montana, those from the Grand Canyon area differed quantitatively, indicating that a bridge to the southeastern var. arizonica may be found in the leaf oil composition as well. Key words: ponderosa pine, terpenes, leaf oil, varieties, geographic distribution, chemosystematics.

Patch structure, fire-scar formation, and tree regeneration in a large mixed-severity fire in the South Dakota Black Hills, USA

2005 ◽  
Vol 35 (12) ◽  
pp. 2875-2885 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leigh B Lentile ◽  
Frederick W Smith ◽  
Wayne D Shepperd
Keyword(s):  
South Dakota ◽  
Pinus Ponderosa ◽  
Ponderosa Pine ◽  
Scar Formation ◽  
Tree Regeneration ◽  
Black Hills ◽  
Burn Severity ◽  
Patch Structure ◽  
Fire Scar ◽  
Postfire Regeneration

We compared patch structure, fire-scar formation, and seedling regeneration in patches of low, moderate, and high burn severity following the large (~34 000 ha) Jasper fire of 2000 that occurred in ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa Dougl. ex P. & C. Laws.) forests of the Black Hills of South Dakota, USA. This fire created a patchy mosaic of effects, where 25% of the landscape burned as low, 48% as moderate, and 27% as high severity. Dead cambium on a significant portion of tree circumference in a tree with live cambium and a vigorous crown was taken as evidence of incipient fire-scar formation. Tree mortality was approximately 21%, 52%, and 100% in areas of low, moderate, and high burn severity, respectively. Dead cambium was detected on approximately 24% and 44% of surviving trees in low and moderate burn severity patches, respectively. Three years postfire, regeneration densities were ~612 and 450 seedlings·ha–1 in low and moderate burn severity patches, respectively, and no regeneration was observed in the interior of high burn severity patches. Fire-scars will be found on 73% of the area burned in this fire, and large patches of multicohort forest will be created. Mixed-severity fire may have been common historically in the Black Hills, and in conjunction with frequent surface fire, played an important role in shaping a spatially heterogeneous, multicohort ponderosa pine forest.

scholarly journals The Effects of Fire on Understory Vegetation in Ponderosa Pine Forests

1980 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
pp. 96-97
Author(s):  
Jane Bock ◽  
Carl Bock
Keyword(s):  
Pinus Ponderosa ◽  
Ponderosa Pine ◽  
Prescribed Burning ◽  
Fire Regime ◽  
Management Plan ◽  
Black Hills ◽  
Pine Forests ◽  
Natural Phenomenon ◽  
Natural Fire ◽  
Ponderosa Pine Forests

This was the second year of our study designed to evaluate the nature of vegetation occurring under Pinus ponderosa canopy in Wind Cave National Park and to define the relationship between this vegetation and fire. Fire is known to be a natural phenomenon in ponderosa pine forests (Wright 1978), and to play a major role in determining the position of the pine-grassland ecotone in the Black Hills (Gartner and Thompson 1973). Wind Cave personnel are developing a fire management plan allowing for prescribed burning, in hopes of bringing the park ecosystems back under a "natural" fire regime. Results of our study will help park management predict the effects of such prescribed burning on the ponderosa pine community.

Cost Efficiency of Pruning Black Hills Ponderosa Pine

1988 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 10-14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard C. Smith ◽  
William B. Kurtz ◽  
Thomas E. Johnson
Keyword(s):  
Pinus Ponderosa ◽  
Ponderosa Pine ◽  
Black Hills ◽  
Rates Of Return ◽  
Growing Stock ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Mean Time ◽  
Tree Pruning ◽  
Stand Conditions ◽  
Final Harvest

Abstract Trees pruned in stands of ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) managed at several growing stock levels were used to determine the number of years for pruning wounds to heal. The mean time for pruning wounds to heal was 11 years. Costs and returns from pruning the butt log of trees to be retained to final harvest were analyzed. Pruning to a height of 8.5 ft cost $0.58 per tree; pruning to a height of 17.5 ft cost $1.78 per tree. Trees pruned to 17.5 ft for production of clear grades of lumber in 16-ft lengths would earn real internal rates of return ranging from 7.8 to 14.0% for several stand conditions and management regimes. Trees pruned to a height of 8.5 ft, to produce 8-ft lumber, earned IRRs somewhat higher, 8.6 to 16.1%. Outcomes are best on productive sites if pruning costs are kept low and if high-valued products are anticipated. West. J. Appl. For. 3(1):10-14, January 1988.

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