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.

Can scar-based fire history reconstructions be biased? An experimental study in boreal Scots pine

2013 ◽  
Vol 43 (7) ◽  
pp. 669-675 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aura Piha ◽  
Timo Kuuluvainen ◽  
Henrik Lindberg ◽  
Ilkka Vanha-Majamaa
Keyword(s):  
Scots Pine ◽  
Prescribed Fire ◽  
Fire History ◽  
Fire Frequency ◽  
Age Group ◽  
Fire Scars ◽  
Fire Scar ◽  
Low Intensity ◽  
Surface Fires ◽  
Frequency Area

Determining forest fire history is commonly based on fire scar dating with dendrochronological methods. We used an experimental setup to investigate the impacts of low-intensity prescribed fire on fire scar formation 8 years after fire in 12 young managed Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) stands. Five stands were between 30 and 35 years old and seven were 45 years old at the time of burning. A total of 217 fire scars were recorded in 142 trees. The number of separate scars per tree originating from a single fire ranged from 1 to 6, with 67% of the trees having just one scar. The proportion of fire-scarred trees out of all trees per plot ranged from 0% to 30%, averaging 16.5% in young stands and 2.8% in older stands. Four of the 12 burned plots did not have any trees with fire scars, and these were all in the older age group. This means that in the older stands, in only three of seven plots (43%) did the fire leave scars from which fire can potentially be detected and dated afterwards. Our results suggest that fire scar dating in Scots pine dominated forests may underestimate fire frequency, area, and the importance of historically common low-intensity surface fires in dendrochronological reconstructions of past fire histories.

A comparison of targeted and systematic fire-scar sampling for estimating historical fire frequency in south-western ponderosa pine forests

2013 ◽  
Vol 22 (8) ◽  
pp. 1021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Calvin A. Farris ◽  
Christopher H. Baisan ◽  
Donald A. Falk ◽  
Megan L. Van Horne ◽  
Peter Z. Fulé ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ponderosa Pine ◽  
Fire History ◽  
Spatial Scales ◽  
Fire Frequency ◽  
Landscape Scale ◽  
Pine Forests ◽  
Ponderosa Pine Forests ◽  
Fire Scar ◽  
Targeted Sampling ◽  
Statistical Measures

Fire history researchers employ various forms of search-based sampling to target specimens that contain visible evidence of well preserved fire scars. Targeted sampling is considered to be the most efficient way to increase the completeness and length of the fire-scar record, but the accuracy of this method for estimating landscape-scale fire frequency parameters compared with probabilistic (i.e. systematic and random) sampling is poorly understood. In this study we compared metrics of temporal and spatial fire occurrence reconstructed independently from targeted and probabilistic fire-scar sampling to identify potential differences in parameter estimation in south-western ponderosa pine forests. Data were analysed for three case studies spanning a broad geographic range of ponderosa pine ecosystems across the US Southwest at multiple spatial scales: Centennial Forest in northern Arizona (100ha); Monument Canyon Research Natural Area (RNA) in central New Mexico (256ha); and Mica Mountain in southern Arizona (2780ha). We found that the percentage of available samples that recorded individual fire years (i.e. fire-scar synchrony) was correlated strongly between targeted and probabilistic datasets at all three study areas (r=0.85, 0.96 and 0.91 respectively). These strong positive correlations resulted predictably in similar estimates of commonly used statistical measures of fire frequency and cumulative area burned, including Mean Fire Return Interval (MFI) and Natural Fire Rotation (NFR). Consistent with theoretical expectations, targeted fire-scar sampling resulted in greater overall sampling efficiency and lower rates of sample attrition. Our findings demonstrate that targeted sampling in these systems can produce accurate estimates of landscape-scale fire frequency parameters relative to intensive probabilistic sampling.

Fire and stand history in two limber pine (Pinus flexilis) and Rocky Mountain bristlecone pine (Pinus aristata) stands in Colorado

2008 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 339 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter M. Brown ◽  
Anna W. Schoettle
Keyword(s):  
Tree Mortality ◽  
Fire Severity ◽  
Rocky Mountain ◽  
Fire Regimes ◽  
Fire Frequency ◽  
Ice Age ◽  
Tree Recruitment ◽  
Fire Scar ◽  
Limber Pine ◽  
Bristlecone Pine

We developed fire-scar and tree-recruitment chronologies from two stands dominated by limber pine and Rocky Mountain bristlecone pine in central and northern Colorado. Population structures in both sites exhibit reverse-J patterns common in uneven-aged forests. Bristlecone pine trees were older than any other at the site or in the limber pine stand, with the oldest tree dating to 780 AD and several dating to the 1000s and 1100s. The oldest trees in the limber pine stand date to the 1400s, with a majority of recruitment after an apparent bark beetle outbreak in the early 1800s. Spatial patterning in the limber pine suggests that the oldest trees established from seed caches left by corvid birds. Fire scars present in the early part of each chronology document that surface fire regimes dominated during certain periods. Decreased fire frequency, increased tree recruitment, and changes in species composition from the 1600s to1800s in the bristlecone pine may be reflective of cooler and wetter conditions during the Little Ice Age. Results suggest that a recent (1978) severe fire in the bristlecone pine stand that caused complete tree mortality was outside the historical range of variability in fire severity for at least the past ~1000 years.

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.

Fire History and Tree Recruitment in an Uncut New England Forest

1994 ◽  
Vol 42 (2) ◽  
pp. 206-215 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel H. Mann ◽  
F.Brett Engstrom ◽  
Jill L. Bubier
Keyword(s):  
New England ◽  
Fire History ◽  
Fire Frequency ◽  
Tree Age ◽  
Fuel Load ◽  
Summer Drought ◽  
Climate History ◽  
Fire Scar ◽  
15Th Century ◽  
Dead Trees

AbstractFire and forest histories in a hemlock-pine forest in Vermont have been reconstructed by dating fire scars and reconstructing the age distributions of living and dead trees. The ages of living red pines, white pines, and hemlocks show that most of the present forest germinated after a series of spatially overlapping fires between A.D. 1790 and 1850. The ages of cross-dated, dead red pines indicate that this was the third major recruitment interval for pines in this forest since ca. A.D. 1450. We interpret the fire scar and tree age data as recording ca. 50-yr intervals of increased fire frequency recurring every 100-200 yr in response to accumulating fuel loads that coincide with summer drought. The historical records of fires and tree ages, together with the present fuel load, suggest that the next interval of stand-regenerating fires is now overdue. Our success in cross-dating the remnants of dead red pines as old as the 15th century A.D. holds promise for extending reconstructions of fire, forest, and climate history in other parts of this tree's range.

Comparing methods of reconstructing fire history using fire scars in a southwestern United States ponderosa pine forest

2006 ◽  
Vol 36 (4) ◽  
pp. 855-867 ◽  
Author(s):  
Megan L Van Horne ◽  
Peter Z Fulé
Keyword(s):  
Pinus Ponderosa ◽  
Ponderosa Pine ◽  
Fire History ◽  
Sampling Methods ◽  
Fire Regime ◽  
Fire Frequency ◽  
Fire Scars ◽  
Fire Scar ◽  
Targeted Sampling ◽  
Fire Intervals

Fire scars have been used to understand the historical role of fire in ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa Dougl. ex P. & C. Laws.) ecosystems, but sampling methods and interpretation of results have been criticized for being statistically invalid and biased and for leading to exaggerated estimates of fire frequency. We compared "targeted" sampling, random sampling, and grid-based sampling to a census of all 1479 fire-scarred trees in a 1 km2 study site in northern Arizona. Of these trees, 1246 were sufficiently intact to collect cross-sections; of these, 648 had fire scars that could be cross-dated to the year of occurrence in the 200-year analysis period. Given a sufficient sample size (approximately n ≥ 50), we concluded that all tested sampling methods resulted in accurate estimates of the census fire frequency, with mean fire intervals within 1 year of the census mean. We also assessed three analytical techniques: (1) fire intervals from individual trees, (2) the interval between the tree origin and the first scar, and (3) proportional filtering. "Bracketing" fire regime statistics to account for purported uncertainty associated with targeted sampling was not useful. Quantifying differences in sampling approaches cannot resolve all the limitations of fire-scar methods, but does strengthen interpretation of these data.

scholarly journals An Analysis of Forest Fire History on the Little Firehole River Watershed, Yellowstone National Park

1978 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
pp. 113-115
Author(s):  
Dennis Knight ◽  
William Romme
Keyword(s):  
Yellowstone National Park ◽  
National Park ◽  
Fire History ◽  
Management Plan ◽  
Fire Frequency ◽  
Stand Age ◽  
Time Interval ◽  
Successional Stage ◽  
River Watershed ◽  
Fuel Accumulation

Fire is now recognized as a major ecosystem process and Yellowstone National Park has recently implemented a fire management plan that permits lightning fires to burn without interference under certain conditions. To predict the kinds of wildfires we can now expect in the Park, and to evaluate the effectiveness of this plan in restoring fire to the Yellowstone ecosystem, it is important to know the natural frequency and size of wildfires under pristine conditions. This study, which began in 1977 and will be completed in June 1979, has the following objectives: (1) to determine the incidence and size of major fires during the last 300-400 years on the 100-km2 Little Firehole River watershed, an area dominated by extensive lodgepole pine and some spruce-fir forests; (2) to determine average fire frequency, i.e., the time interval between successive major fires on any particular site; and (3) to determine the relationships between stand age or successional stage and fuel accumulation or the probability of fire.

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.

A comparison of charcoal measurements for reconstruction of Mediterranean paleo-fire frequency in the mountains of Corsica

2013 ◽  
Vol 79 (3) ◽  
pp. 337-349 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bérangère Leys ◽  
Christopher Carcaillet ◽  
Laurent Dezileau ◽  
Adam A. Ali ◽  
Richard H.W. Bradshaw
Keyword(s):  
Fire History ◽  
Sediment Cores ◽  
Fire Frequency ◽  
Boreal Lakes ◽  
Mineral Matter ◽  
Accumulation Rates ◽  
Counting Method ◽  
Surface Fires ◽  
Mediterranean Lake ◽  
Fragment Volume

AbstractFire-history reconstructions inferred from sedimentary charcoal records are based on measuring sieved charcoal fragment area, estimating fragment volume, or counting fragments. Similar fire histories are reconstructed from these three approaches for boreal lake sediment cores, using locally defined thresholds. Here, we test the same approach for a montane Mediterranean lake in which taphonomical processes might differ from boreal lakes through fragmentation of charcoal particles. The Mediterranean charcoal series are characterized by highly variable charcoal accumulation rates. Results there indicate that the three proxies do not provide comparable fire histories. The differences are attributable to charcoal fragmentation. This could be linked to fire type (crown or surface fires) or taphonomical processes, including charcoal transportation in the catchment area or in the sediment. The lack of correlation between the concentration of charcoal and of mineral matter suggests that fragmentation is not linked to erosion. Reconstructions based on charcoal area are more robust and stable than those based on fragment counts. Area-based reconstructions should therefore be used instead of the particle-counting method when fragmentation may influence the fragment abundance.

Fire history of pinyon–juniper woodlands at upper ecotones with ponderosa pine forests in Arizona and New Mexico

2008 ◽  
Vol 38 (8) ◽  
pp. 2097-2108 ◽  
Author(s):  
David W. Huffman ◽  
Peter Z. Fulé ◽  
Kristen M. Pearson ◽  
Joseph E. Crouse
Keyword(s):  
New Mexico ◽  
Pinus Ponderosa ◽  
Ponderosa Pine ◽  
Fire History ◽  
Ponderosa Pine Forests ◽  
Fire Scar ◽  
Surface Fires ◽  
Pine Stands ◽  
Juniperus Scopulorum ◽  
Vegetative Communities

We used maps of fire evidence, fire scar dendrochronology, forest age-structure analysis, and landscape analysis to investigate fire history at pinyon pine ( Pinus edulis Engelm.) – juniper ( Juniperus osteosperma (Torr.) Little, Juniperus scopulorum Sarg.) woodland – ponderosa pine ( Pinus ponderosa P. & C. Lawson) forest ecotones in Arizona (Tusayan) and in New Mexico (Canjilon). Results showed that charred trees were not evenly distributed across vegetative communities but were significantly (p < 0.001) more abundant than expected in ponderosa pine communities. Composite fire scar analysis indicated that surface fires occurred in ponderosa pine stands at both sites and burned at intervals of 7.2–11.1 years (WMPI; Weibull median probability interval). At Tusayan, landscape structure was fine grained, and maximum pinyon age was >200 years across 80% of the site. At Canjilon, landscape pattern was relatively coarse, and most pinyon patches were 200–300 years old. Cumulative standing age distributions suggested pinyon–juniper fire rotations of 340 and 290 years at Tusayan and Canjilon, respectively. We concluded the following: (i) surface fires in ponderosa pine stands did not spread through pinyon–juniper communities at either site, (ii) fire evidence was prevalent across both sites, but old pinyon trees indicated that no widespread lethal fires had occurred in the last 300–400 years, and (iii) structurally heterogeneous landscapes suggested that historical pinyon–juniper fires were of limited extent but lethal in patches.

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