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 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.

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.

Fire Suppression's Effects on Forest Succession within a Central Idaho Wilderness

1988 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 76-80 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen W. Barrett
Keyword(s):  
Pinus Ponderosa ◽  
Ponderosa Pine ◽  
Forest Succession ◽  
Fire Suppression ◽  
Fire Behavior ◽  
Fire Frequency ◽  
Tree Regeneration ◽  
Fire Scar ◽  
South Central ◽  
Central Idaho

Abstract In south-central Idaho, fire-scar and tree regeneration patterns in the Salmon River Breaks portion of the Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness suggest that primarily surface fires occurred frequently in semiarid ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa var. ponderosa)/Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii var. glauca) forests. Efficient fire suppression since about 1935 has markedly reduced area fire frequency and has altered fuel succession, contributing to recent crown fire behavior in north- and east-facing stands. Prescribed fires might now be difficult to contain in these communities, but burning would help return fuels to pre-1935 conditions. West. J. Appl. For. 3(3):76-80, July 1988.

Influence of topography and forest structure on patterns of mixed severity fire in ponderosa pine forests of the South Dakota Black Hills, USA

2006 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 557 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leigh B. Lentile ◽  
Frederick W. Smith ◽  
Wayne D. Shepperd
Keyword(s):  
South Dakota ◽  
Ponderosa Pine ◽  
Stand Structure ◽  
Stand Density ◽  
Fire Effects ◽  
Black Hills ◽  
Burn Severity ◽  
High Severity ◽  
Density Index ◽  
Stand Density Index

We examined the influence of topography and stand structure on fire effects within the perimeter of the ~34 000 ha Jasper fire of 2000 in ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa Laws.) forests of the South Dakota Black Hills, USA. We used a remotely sensed and field-verified map of post-fire burn severity (accuracy 69%, kappa statistic 0.54), the Digital Elevation Model, and vegetation databases maintained by the Black Hills National Forest to empirically test relationships at 500 randomly located points in each of three severity classes. Burn severity was defined as the relative degree of post-fire change based on fire effects on soil, forest floor, and vegetation. This fire burned rapidly, yet created a patchy mosaic of effects (25, 48, and 27% low, moderate, and high severity). Stands burned by low and moderate severity fire had fewer trees (stand density index <470 with fewer than 230 trees >13 cm diameter at breast height ha–1) and were found on less steep sites (slope < 18%). Denser stands (stand density index >470) with larger trees (average stand diameter >24 cm) or many small trees were more likely to burn with high severity effects. Our results suggest that managers should consider topography and stand structure together when making strategic decisions about which stands to thin or otherwise manage to reduce the severity with which forests will burn in wildfires.

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.

A field experiment informs expected patterns of conifer regeneration after disturbance under changing climate conditions

2015 ◽  
Vol 45 (11) ◽  
pp. 1607-1616 ◽  
Author(s):  
Monica T. Rother ◽  
Thomas T. Veblen ◽  
Luke G. Furman
Keyword(s):  
Field Experiment ◽  
Pinus Ponderosa ◽  
Ponderosa Pine ◽  
Douglas Fir ◽  
Tree Regeneration ◽  
Colorado Front Range ◽  
Front Range ◽  
Average Growth ◽  
Growth And Survival ◽  
Treatment Type

Climate change may inhibit tree regeneration following disturbances such as wildfire, altering post-disturbance vegetation trajectories. We implemented a field experiment to examine the effects of manipulations of temperature and water on ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa Douglas ex P. Lawson & C. Lawson) and Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco) seedlings planted in a low-elevation, recently disturbed setting of the Colorado Front Range. We implemented four treatments: warmed only (Wm), watered only (Wt), warmed and watered (WmWt), and control (Co). We found that measures of growth and survival varied significantly by treatment type. Average growth and survival was highest in the Wt plots, followed by the Co, WmWt, and Wm plots, respectively. This general trend was observed for both conifer species, although average growth and survival was generally higher in ponderosa pine than in Douglas-fir. Our findings suggest that warming temperatures and associated drought are likely to inhibit post-disturbance regeneration of ponderosa pine and Douglas-fir in low-elevation forests of the Colorado Front Range and that future vegetation composition and structure may differ notably from historic patterns in some areas. Our findings are relevant to other forested ecosystems in which a warming climate may similarly inhibit regeneration by dominant tree species.

Woody debris and tree regeneration dynamics following severe wildfires in Arizona ponderosa pine forests

2012 ◽  
Vol 42 (3) ◽  
pp. 593-604 ◽  
Author(s):  
John P. Roccaforte ◽  
Peter Z. Fulé ◽  
W. Walker Chancellor ◽  
Daniel C. Laughlin
Keyword(s):  
Pinus Ponderosa ◽  
Forest Fires ◽  
Ponderosa Pine ◽  
Woody Debris ◽  
Climatic Conditions ◽  
Pine Forest ◽  
Tree Regeneration ◽  
Forest Recovery ◽  
Regeneration Dynamics ◽  
Ponderosa Pine Forests

Severe forest fires worldwide leave behind large quantities of dead woody debris and regenerating trees that can affect future ecosystem trajectories. We studied a chronosequence of severe fires in Arizona, USA, spanning 1 to 18 years after burning to investigate postfire woody debris and regeneration dynamics. Snag densities varied over time, with predominantly recent snags in recent fires and broken or fallen snags in older fires. Coarse woody debris peaked at > 60 Mg/ha in the time period 6–12 years after fire, a value higher than previously reported in postfire fuel assessments in this region. However, debris loadings on fires older than 12 years were within the range of recommended management values (11.2–44.8 Mg/ha). Overstory and regeneration were most commonly dominated by sprouting deciduous species. Ponderosa pine ( Pinus ponderosa C. Lawson var. scopulorum Engelm.) overstory and regeneration were completely lacking in 50% and 57% of the sites, respectively, indicating that many sites were likely to experience extended periods as shrublands or grasslands rather than returning rapidly to pine forest. More time is needed to see whether these patterns will remain stable, but there are substantial obstacles to pine forest recovery: competition with sprouting species and (or) grasses, lack of seed sources, and the forecast of warmer, drier climatic conditions for coming decades.

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