Fire history and age structure in red fir forests of Sequoia National Park, California

1987 ◽  
Vol 17 (7) ◽  
pp. 582-587 ◽  
Author(s):  
Donald C. Pitcher
Keyword(s):  
Age Structure ◽  
National Park ◽  
Fire History ◽  
Fire Behavior ◽  
White Pine ◽  
Sequoia National Park ◽  
Fire Scar ◽  
Forest Age Structure ◽  
Negative Exponential ◽  
In Fire

The relationship between historical fires and age structure was examined on three plots in red fir (Abiesmagnifica var. shastensis Lemm.) forests within Sequoia National Park, California, U.S.A. All trees greater than 0.1 m in height were mapped and aged. Fire history was determined from 16 fire-scar sections. Red fir trees are more shade tolerant, longer lived, larger, and slower growing than western white pine (Pinusmonticola Dougl.) on the plots. No fires have occurred since 1886, but prior to that time the average fire-free interval was 65 years. Most of the trees on two of the plots originated after fires, but on the third plot red fir regeneration was delayed for at least 60 years following the last fire. Structural differences between the plots were linked to variations in fire behavior. The decrease in fire frequencies in this century may have led to a decrease in red fir establishment. Excluding the most recent period, the forest age structure is in something of a steady state that approximates a negative exponential age-class distribution.

scholarly journals Multi-Millennial Fire History of the Giant Forest, Sequoia National Park, California, USA

Fire Ecology ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 120-150 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas W. Swetnam ◽  
Christopher H. Baisan ◽  
Anthony C. Caprio ◽  
Peter M. Brown ◽  
Ramzi Touchan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
National Park ◽  
Fire History ◽  
Sequoia National Park ◽  
History Of

scholarly journals Variation in fire scar phenology from mixed conifer trees in the Sierra Nevada

2018 ◽  
Vol 48 (1) ◽  
pp. 101-104 ◽  
Author(s):  
Scott L. Stephens ◽  
Liam Maier ◽  
Lilah Gonen ◽  
Jennifer D. York ◽  
Brandon M. Collins ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sierra Nevada ◽  
Fire History ◽  
Fire Regimes ◽  
Fire Season ◽  
Mixed Conifer ◽  
Outer Bark ◽  
Individual Tree ◽  
Fire Scar ◽  
The Individual ◽  
In Fire

Fire scar based studies have provided robust reconstructions of past fire regimes. The season in which a fire occurs can have considerable impacts to ecosystems but inference on seasonality from fire scars is relatively uncertain. This study examined patterns in the phenology of cambium formation and wounding responses in the five common mixed conifer tree species of the Sierra Nevada. The outer bark was shaved on 35 trees and individual locations within the shaved portions were wounded systematically by applying direct heat using a handheld torch. Most of the trees had not commenced annual ring development by the first burning treatment in late May. By the second treatment, scars were identified mostly within the early or middle earlywood, although variation was high compared with other treatment periods. By late October, all scars were recorded at the ring boundary. Although intra-ring scar positions generally followed a logical temporal pattern, there was high tree to tree variation such as Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco) burned on 26 June induced scars in the early, mid, and late earlywood depending on the individual tree. This high variation makes it somewhat challenging to precisely assign past fire season to published fire history studies.

Fire history and vegetation pattern of coniferous forests in Jasper National Park, Albert

1979 ◽  
Vol 57 (18) ◽  
pp. 1912-1931 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gerald F. Tande
Keyword(s):  
National Park ◽  
Fire History ◽  
Fire Suppression ◽  
Temporal Frequency ◽  
Structural Heterogeneity ◽  
Vegetation Pattern ◽  
Forest Patches ◽  
Jasper National Park ◽  
Fire Scar ◽  
High Elevations

Periodicity, location, extent, and severity of fires from 1665 to 1975 were determined for a 43 200-ha area of Jasper National Park using fire-scar dendrochronology. Before fire suppression began in 1913, there were 46 fires with a mean fire return interval (MFRI) of 5.5 years. Twenty-four fires each covered more than 500 ha and had a MFRI of 8.4 years. Fires covering more than 50% of the area had a MFRI of 65.5 years. Present forests originated primarily after the fires of 1889, 1847, and 1758. Most fires between 1665 and 1913 were low to medium intensity, but higher intensities did occur. Interaction of fire periodicity, intensity, and extent determined age, size, density, crown height, and temporal frequency of forest patches. Stands varied from even-age- to multiple-age-classes intermingled over short distances. Multiple-aged stands dominated lower elevations and were maintained by frequent removal, by fire, of low organic matter accumulations. Large, continuous, even-aged forests occurred at mid to high elevations where mesic moisture regimes allowed greater fuel accumulations, and consequently, more intense fires during droughts. Fire periodicity and extent have declined since 1913, accompanied by reduced structural heterogeneity of the forests.

scholarly journals Fire History and Potential Fire Behavior in a Rocky Mountain Foothill Landscape

1990 ◽  
Vol 14 ◽  
pp. 29-29
Author(s):  
Yegang Wu ◽  
Dennis Knight
Keyword(s):  
Fire History ◽  
Fire Behavior ◽  
Grid Cell ◽  
Rocky Mountain ◽  
Fire Frequency ◽  
Stand Age ◽  
Weibull Function ◽  
Peak Period ◽  
Fire Scar ◽  
Surface Fires

A landscape approach was used to study fire history and fire behavior in the Douglas-fir forests and foothill vegetation of the Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area in southcentral Montana. The 3,976 ha study area was divided into 4-ha grid cells, and traditional fire scar analysis and fuel sampling methods were used for data collection in each cell. There have been 15 surface fires during the last 109 years and 10 canopy fires during the last 360 years. The mean fire interval in the forests as a whole, was 7 years for surface fires and 31 years for canopy fires. Using the Weibull function, the recurrent time for fire in a specific grid cell was 212 and 226 years for surface and canopy fires, respectively. The distribution of the probability density function showed that there was a peak of high canopy fire frequency between 150-250 years of stand age. There was no obvious peak period for surface fires in humid ravines, which suggests that surface fires there are not associated with aging. Employing Rothermel's model, a fire behavior model (FIREMDL) was developed and linked it to a geographic information system (GRASS) to simulate flammability of each grid cell under different conditions of fuel moisture and wind velocity. The results suggest that flammability is highly variable because of differences in vegetation and topographic position.

scholarly journals Fire Histoy Determination in the Mixed Conifer/Aspen Community of Bryce Canyon National Park

1993 ◽  
Vol 17 ◽  
pp. 31-35
Author(s):  
Michael Jenkins
Keyword(s):  
Pinus Ponderosa ◽  
Ponderosa Pine ◽  
National Park ◽  
Fire History ◽  
Fire Regime ◽  
Mixed Conifer ◽  
Major Objective ◽  
Ponderosa Pine Forests ◽  
Fire Scar ◽  
European Settlement

The major objective of this ongoing study is to document vegetative changes resulting from alteration of the fire regime in the mixed conifer/aspen communities of Bryce Canyon National Park. Previous fire history studies have documented fire return intervals using fire scar analysis of ponderosa pine Pinus ponderosa in the park (Buchannan and Tolman 1983: Wight 1989) and for the Paunsaugunt Plateau (Stein 1988). Numerous other studies have similarly documented the fire regime in pre-European settlement ponderosa pine forests in western North America. The study is being conducted in the more mesic mixed conifer communities at the south end of Bryce Canyon National Park and will specifically document vegetative changes suggested by Roberts et al. (1992) resulting from suppression of frequent low intensity surface fires and overgrazing.

Variability in fire - climate relationships in ponderosa pine forests in the Colorado Front Range

2008 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 50 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rosemary L. Sherriff ◽  
Thomas T. Veblen
Keyword(s):  
Pinus Ponderosa ◽  
Ponderosa Pine ◽  
Fire History ◽  
Southern Oscillation ◽  
Primary Objective ◽  
Fire Occurrence ◽  
Ponderosa Pine Forests ◽  
Fire Scar ◽  
Montane Zone ◽  
In Fire

Understanding the interactions of climate variability and wildfire has been a primary objective of recent fire history research. The present study examines the influence of El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO), Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) and Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO) on fire occurrence using fire-scar evidence from 58 sites from the lower ecotone to the upper elevational limits of ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) in northern Colorado. An important finding is that at low v. high elevations within the montane zone, climatic patterns conducive to years of widespread fire are different. Differences in fire–climate relationships are manifested primarily in antecedent year climate. Below ~2100 m, fires are dependent on antecedent moister conditions that favour fine fuel accumulation 2 years before dry fire years. In the upper montane zone, fires are dependent primarily on drought rather than an increase in fine fuels. Throughout the montane zone, fire is strongly linked to variations in moisture availability that in turn is linked to climate influences of ENSO, PDO and AMO. Fire occurrence is greater than expected during the phases of each index associated with drought. Regionally widespread fire years are associated with specific phase combinations of ENSO, PDO and AMO. In particular, the combination of La Niña, negative PDO and positive AMO is highly conducive to widespread fire.

scholarly journals Anthropogenic fire history and red oak forests in south-central Ontario

2000 ◽  
Vol 76 (2) ◽  
pp. 339-347 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel C. Dey ◽  
Richard P. Guyette
Keyword(s):  
Fire History ◽  
Red Oak ◽  
Northern Red Oak ◽  
White Pine ◽  
Anthropogenic Fire ◽  
South Central ◽  
Shade Tolerant Species ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Mean Fire Interval ◽  
In Fire

The regeneration and dominance of northern red oak (Quercus rubra L.) has been associated with fire throughout eastern North America. Red oak in central Ontario grows near the northern edge of its distribution in mixed hardwood-coniferous forests under mesic conditions where it competes with more shade-tolerant species. We hypothesized that the abundance of red oak in these stands was largely the result of anthropogenic burning and natural fires, which would favor the regeneration and recruitment of northern red oak over such shade-tolerant species as sugar maple (Acer saccharum Marsh.). Fire histories dating from the mid-1600s were constructed by dendrochronological methods from fire scars on stumps, trees, and natural remnants of red pine (Pinus resinosa Ait.), white pine (Pinus strobus L.), and red oak at six sites in south-central Ontario. Fire histories of the sites are characterized by abrupt changes in fire interval. As much or more variance in fire interval is found within sites as is found among sites. Differences in the mean fire interval among sites are related to the density and migration of historic aboriginal and European populations. The mean fire interval varied from more than 70 years to six years depending on site location and historic period. The occurrence and abundance of red oak is linked to anthropogenic fire regimes. Key words: northern red oak, white pine, fire history, ecology, anthropogenic, fire regime, dendrochronology

scholarly journals Paleoecological Investigation of Vegetation, Climate and Fire History in, and Adjacent to, Kootenay National Park, Southeastern British Columbia, Canada

2022 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas J. Rodengen ◽  
Marlow G. Pellatt ◽  
Karen E. Kohfeld
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
National Park ◽  
Fire History ◽  
Accumulation Rate ◽  
Fire Frequency ◽  
Tsuga Heterophylla ◽  
Douglas Fir ◽  
Carbon Accumulation ◽  
Early Holocene ◽  
In Fire

Paleoecological investigation of two montane lakes in the Kootenay region of southeast British Columbia, Canada, reveal changes in vegetation in response to climate and fire throughout the Holocene. Pollen, charcoal, and lake sediment carbon accumulation rate analyses show seven distinct zones at Marion Lake, presently in the subalpine Engelmann Spruce-Subalpine Fir (ESSF) biogeoclimatic (BEC) zone of Kootenay Valley, British Columbia. Comparison of these records to nearby Dog Lake of Kootenay National Park of Canada in the Montane Spruce (MS) BEC zone of Kootenay Valley, British Columbia reveals unique responses of ecosystems in topographically complex regions. The two most dramatic shifts in vegetation at Marion Lake occur firstly in the early Holocene/late Pleistocene in ML Zone 3 (11,010–10,180 cal. yr. B.P.) possibly reflecting Younger Dryas Chronozone cooling followed by early Holocene xerothermic warming noted by the increased presence of the dry adapted conifer, Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) and increasing fire frequency. The second most prominent change occurred at the transition from ML Zone 5 through 6a (∼2,500 cal. yr. B.P.). This zone transitions from a warmer to a cooler/wetter climate as indicated by the increase in western hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla) and subsequent drop in fire frequency. The overall cooling trend and reduction in fire frequency appears to have occurred ∼700 years later than at Dog Lake (∼43 km to the south and 80 m lower in elevation), resulting in a closed montane spruce forest, whereas Marion Lake developed into a subalpine ecosystem. The temporal and ecological differences between the two study sites likely reflects the particular climate threshold needed to move these ecosystems from developed forests to subalpine conditions, as well as local site climate and fire conditions. These paleoecological records indicate future warming may result in the MS transitioning into an Interior Douglas Fir (IDF) dominated landscape, while the ESSF may become more forested, similar to the modern MS, or develop into a grassland-like landscape dependent on fire frequency. These results indicate that climate and disturbance over a regional area can dictate very different localized vegetative states. Local management implications of these dynamic landscapes will need to understand how ecosystems respond to climate and disturbance at the local or ecosystem/habitat scale.

A cross-dated fire history from coast redwood near Redwood National Park, California

1994 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 21-31 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter M. Brown ◽  
Thomas W. Swetnam
Keyword(s):  
Cross Sections ◽  
National Park ◽  
Fire History ◽  
Fire Frequency ◽  
Fire Scars ◽  
Coast Redwood ◽  
Complete Representation ◽  
Fire Scar ◽  
Redwood National Park ◽  
The Mean

Cross sections from coast redwood trees (Sequoiasempervirens (D.Don.)Endl.) in and near Redwood National Park were dendrochronologically cross-dated and used to develop a fire history from 1714 to 1985. A master chronology for the study area was first developed from old-growth trees and provided dating control for fire-scarred samples. Redwood offers a challenge for dendrochronology owing to partially absent rings (ring wedging) and uniform ring widths (complacency). Cross dating was successful in portions of 12 of 24 fire-scarred trees. Fire events were dated by noting the position of fire scars and other fire-associated ring structures (resin ducts, double latewood, growth releases, and ring separations) in the cross-dated ring series. Using only dates of fire scars, the mean fire interval (MFI) was 9.9 years from the first recorded fire in 1714 to the last in 1962. The MFI was 8.0 years for the best represented (greatest sample depth) presettlement period from 1714 to 1881. Using dates for all fire-associated ring features, the MFI from 1714 to 1962 was 7.0 years and from 1714 to 1881 was 6.0 years. Use of all fire-associated ring characteristics is argued to be a more complete representation of past fire frequency due to possible under-representation of fire-scar records from stump-top samples. Based upon scar positions within annual rings, fires occurred predominately late in the growing season or after growth ceased for the year. The mean fire intervals determined are shorter than those reported in all except one other fire history study from coast redwood and suggest that fire frequency in redwood may have been underestimated in many past studies.

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