The Survival of Pinus ponderosa Saplings Subjected to Increasing Levels of Fire Behavior and Impacts on Post-Fire Growth

Improved predictions of tree species mortality and growth metrics following fires are important to assess fire impacts on forest succession, and ultimately forest growth and yield. Recent studies have shown that North American conifers exhibit a ‘toxicological dose-response’ relationship between fire behavior and the resultant mortality or recovery of the trees. Prior studies have not been conclusive due to potential pseudo-replication in the experimental design and time-limited observations. We explored whether dose-response relationships are observed in ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) saplings exposed to surface fires of increasing fire behavior (as quantified by Fire Radiative Energy—FRE). We confirmed equivalent dose-response relationships to the prior studies that were focused on other conifer species. The post-fire growth in the saplings that survived the fires decreased with increasing FRE dosages, while the percentage mortality in the sapling dosage groups increased with the amount of FRE applied. Furthermore, as with lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta), a low FRE dosage could be applied that did not yield mortality in any of the replicates (r = 10). These results suggest that land management agencies could use planned burns to reduce fire hazard while still maintaining a crop of young saplings. Incorporation of these results into earth-system models and growth and yield models could help reduce uncertainties associated with the impacts of fire on timber growth, forest resilience, carbon dynamics, and ecosystem economics.

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Impacts of fire radiative flux on mature Pinus ponderosa growth and vulnerability to secondary mortality agents

International Journal of Wildland Fire ◽

10.1071/wf16139 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 26 (1) ◽

pp. 95 ◽

Cited By ~ 18

Author(s):

Aaron M. Sparks ◽

Alistair M. S. Smith ◽

Alan F. Talhelm ◽

Crystal A. Kolden ◽

Kara M. Yedinak ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Dose Response ◽

Pinus Ponderosa ◽

Radial Growth ◽

Unit Area ◽

Radiative Energy ◽

Fire Intensity ◽

Response Relationship ◽

Fire Behaviour ◽

Dose Response Relationship ◽

Resin Duct

Recent studies have highlighted the potential of linking fire behaviour to plant ecophysiology as an improved route to characterising severity, but research to date has been limited to laboratory-scale investigations. Fine-scale fire behaviour during prescribed fires has been identified as a strong predictor of post-fire tree recovery and growth, but most studies report these metrics averaged over the entire fire. Previous research has found inconsistent effects of low-intensity fire on mature Pinus ponderosa growth. In this study, fire behaviour was quantified at the tree scale and compared with post-fire radial growth and axial resin duct defences. Results show a clear dose–response relationship between peak fire radiative power per unit area (W m–2) and post-fire Pinus ponderosa radial growth. Unlike in previous laboratory research on seedlings, there was no dose–response relationship observed between fire radiative energy per unit area (J m–2) and post-fire mature tree growth in the surviving trees. These results may suggest that post-fire impacts on growth of surviving seedlings and mature trees require other modes of heat transfer to impact plant canopies. This study demonstrates that increased resin duct defence is induced regardless of fire intensity, which may decrease Pinus ponderosa vulnerability to secondary mortality agents.

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Assessing the Applicability of Growth Models to New Species and Regions: An Example Comparing Mediterranean Maritime Pine in Central Spain to Ponderosa Pine in Southwestern Oregon, USA

Western Journal of Applied Forestry ◽

10.1093/wjaf/22.4.269 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 22 (4) ◽

pp. 269-277

Author(s):

D. Pascual ◽

D.A. Maguire ◽

F. Bravo

Keyword(s):

Growth Model ◽

Pinus Ponderosa ◽

Ponderosa Pine ◽

Maritime Pine ◽

Growth And Yield ◽

Diameter Growth ◽

Growth Equation ◽

Similar Species ◽

Yield Model ◽

Growth And Yield Model

Abstract Evaluations of response to variable silvicultural treatments play a key role in developing sustainable forest management. To evaluate silvicultural response, a growth and yield model is needed. A comparison between similar species could act as a logical first step toward building a growth and yield model and to test the efficiency of the calibration of an existing ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa Dougl. ex Laws.) growth model to a Mediterranean maritime pine (Pinus pinaster Ait. ssp. mesogeensis) growth model. This study aimed at (1) comparing the diameter growth pattern between ponderosa and Mediterranean maritime pine, and (2) assessing the potential of ORGANON for simulating Mediterranean maritime pine growth and yield. The first objective was addressed by fitting a diameter growth equation for Mediterranean maritime pine and comparing it with patterns in ponderosa pine growth represented by the corresponding equation in ORGANON. The second objective was addressed by growing Mediterranean maritime pine as ponderosa pine in ORGANON, conditional on observed diameter growth rates of Mediterranean maritime pine in Spain. The results emphasized the unsuitability of ORGANON for predicting diameter growth of Mediterranean maritime pine in Spain. Mediterranean maritime pine diameter growth depended on basal area in trees with a diameter larger than the subject tree, (BAL) which, in our context is a subrogate of competition from above.

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

Western Journal of Applied Forestry ◽

10.1093/wjaf/27.1.36 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 27 (1) ◽

pp. 36-41 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

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.

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A Comparison of Rating Systems for Dwarf Mistletoe-Induced Witches' Brooms in Ponderosa Pine

Western Journal of Applied Forestry ◽

10.1093/wjaf/19.1.54 ◽

2004 ◽

Vol 19 (1) ◽

pp. 54-59 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Thomas J. Parker ◽

Robert L. Mathiasen

Keyword(s):

Pinus Ponderosa ◽

Ponderosa Pine ◽

Fire Ecology ◽

Fire Behavior ◽

Wildlife Habitat ◽

Rating System ◽

Sample Sizes ◽

Rating Systems ◽

Dwarf Mistletoe ◽

New System

Abstract We compared four methods of assessing dwarf mistletoe infection and estimating volume of dwarf mistletoe-induced witches' brooms in ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa). Witches' brooms can provide important wildlife habitat and can influence fire behavior. We used Hawksworth's dwarf mistletoe rating system (DMR), Tinnin's broom volume rating system (BVR), an estimate of the percentage of live crown occupied by witches' brooms (PCB), and a new system, total broom volume (TBV). We rated 12,536 trees for southwestern dwarf mistletoe (Arceuthobium vaginatum subsp. cryptopodum) infection and broom volume. Using Hawksworth's DMR and Tinnin's BVR systems, we were not able to distinguish trees with different witches' broom volumes at all sample sizes. At all sample sizes, TBV ratings accurately and precisely identified amount of witches' broom volume. We recommend that TBV be used to quantify witches' broom volume in ponderosa pine where wildlife habitat and fire ecology are primary concerns. West. J. Appl. For. 19(1):54–59.

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Behaviour and effects of prescribed fire in masticated fuelbeds

International Journal of Wildland Fire ◽

10.1071/wf10110 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 20 (8) ◽

pp. 932 ◽

Cited By ~ 33

Author(s):

Eric E. Knapp ◽

J. Morgan Varner ◽

Matt D. Busse ◽

Carl N. Skinner ◽

Carol J. Shestak

Keyword(s):

Pinus Ponderosa ◽

Ponderosa Pine ◽

Tree Mortality ◽

Fire Hazard ◽

Weather Conditions ◽

Flame Length ◽

Fire Behaviour ◽

Prescribed Burns ◽

Rate Of Spread ◽

Fuel Models

Mechanical mastication converts shrub and small tree fuels into surface fuels, and this method is being widely used as a treatment to reduce fire hazard. The compactness of these fuelbeds is thought to moderate fire behaviour, but whether standard fuel models can accurately predict fire behaviour and effects is poorly understood. Prescribed burns were conducted in young ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa Laws.) forests at two sites in northern California where the midstorey layer dominated by shrubs had been masticated. Surface fuels were raked from the base of a subset of trees before burning. Rate of spread and flame length were estimated for both backing and heading fires, soil heating measured with thermocouples and tree fire injury recorded. Standard fuel models often over-predicted rate of spread or under-predicted flame length. Custom models generally provided a better balance between the slow rates of spread and moderate flame lengths observed in prescribed burns. Post-fire tree mortality was most strongly associated with crown scorch and tree size; raking fuels from the base of trees did not improve survival. Under severe fire weather conditions, fire behaviour and effect models as well as observations from wildfires suggest that mastication may be more effective for moderating fire behaviour than reducing residual tree mortality. Treating masticated fuels with prescribed burns could potentially improve the resilience of stands to wildfire.

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Height:Diameter Ratios and Stability Relationships for Four Northern Rocky Mountain Tree Species

Western Journal of Applied Forestry ◽

10.1093/wjaf/16.2.87 ◽

2001 ◽

Vol 16 (2) ◽

pp. 87-94 ◽

Cited By ~ 58

Author(s):

Hagan T. Wonn ◽

Kevin L. O'Hara

Keyword(s):

Pinus Ponderosa ◽

Ponderosa Pine ◽

Pinus Contorta ◽

Tree Height ◽

Growth And Yield ◽

Storm Damage ◽

Species Trees ◽

Larix Occidentalis ◽

Yield Model ◽

Wind Events

Abstract Ratios of tree height to diameter have been used to predict susceptibility to storm damage for many years. In this study, individual trees damaged by recent snow and wind events in western Montana were sampled in 1997 and 1998 to determine their height:diameter ratios in comparison to nearby undamaged trees. Four species were sampled: ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa), western larch (Larix occidentalis), interior Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii var. glauca), and lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta var. latifolia). Ratios of 80:1 (both measures in equal units) provided a stability threshold for all four species. Trees with higher ratios were more prone to damage than trees with lower ratios. Height:diameter ratios from trees grown in spacing trials were used to examine spacings that avoided development of unstable trees. Wide spacings or early thinnings provide the best means of avoiding major losses to snow and wind damage. The growth and yield model Prognosis was unable to predict height:diameter ratios for developing stands. West. J. Appl. For. 16(2):87–94.

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Mixed-severity fire in lodgepole pine dominated forests: are historical regimes sustainable on Oregon’s Pumice Plateau, USA?

Canadian Journal of Forest Research ◽

10.1139/cjfr-2013-0413 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 44 (6) ◽

pp. 593-603 ◽

Cited By ~ 22

Author(s):

Emily K. Heyerdahl ◽

Rachel A. Loehman ◽

Donald A. Falk

Keyword(s):

Pinus Ponderosa ◽

Ponderosa Pine ◽

Pinus Contorta ◽

Fire Regime ◽

Forest Type ◽

Lodgepole Pine ◽

Fire Behavior ◽

Forest Composition ◽

Crown Fire ◽

Fire Exclusion

In parts of central Oregon, coarse-textured pumice substrates limit forest composition to low-density lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta Douglas ex Loudon var. latifolia Engelm. ex S. Watson) with scattered ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa Lawson & C. Lawson) and a shrub understory dominated by antelope bitterbrush (Purshia tridentata (Pursh) DC.). We reconstructed the historical fire regime from tree rings and simulated fire behavior over 783 ha of this forest type. For centuries (1650–1900), extensive mixed-severity fires occurred every 26 to 82 years, creating a multi-aged forest and shrub mosaic. Simulation modeling suggests that the historical mix of surface and passive crown fire were primarily driven by shrub biomass and wind speed. However, a century of fire exclusion has reduced the potential for the high-severity patches of fire that were common historically, likely by reducing bitterbrush cover, the primary ladder fuel. This reduced shrub cover is likely to persist until fire or insects create new canopy gaps. Crown fire potential may increase even with current fuel loadings if the climate predicted for midcentury lowers fuel moistures, but only under rare extreme winds. This study expands our emerging understanding of complexity in the disturbance dynamics of lodgepole pine across its broad North American range.

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Western juniper and ponderosa pine ecotonal climate–growth relationships across landscape gradients in southern Oregon

Canadian Journal of Forest Research ◽

10.1139/x08-142 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 38 (12) ◽

pp. 3021-3032 ◽

Cited By ~ 22

Author(s):

Kevin C. Knutson ◽

David A. Pyke

Keyword(s):

Pinus Ponderosa ◽

Ponderosa Pine ◽

Radial Growth ◽

Winter Precipitation ◽

Forest Growth ◽

Annual Growth ◽

Growth Responses ◽

Climate Fluctuations ◽

Western Juniper ◽

Tree Ring Data

Forecasts of climate change for the Pacific northwestern United States predict warmer temperatures, increased winter precipitation, and drier summers. Prediction of forest growth responses to these climate fluctuations requires identification of climatic variables limiting tree growth, particularly at limits of tree species distributions. We addressed this problem at the pine–woodland ecotone using tree-ring data for western juniper ( Juniperus occidentalis var. occidentalis Hook.) and ponderosa pine ( Pinus ponderosa Dougl. ex Loud.) from southern Oregon. Annual growth chronologies for 1950–2000 were developed for each species at 17 locations. Correlation and linear regression of climate–growth relationships revealed that radial growth in both species is highly dependent on October–June precipitation events that recharge growing season soil water. Mean annual radial growth for the nine driest years suggests that annual growth in both species is more sensitive to drought at lower elevations and sites with steeper slopes and sandy or rocky soils. Future increases in winter precipitation could increase productivity in both species at the pine–woodland ecotone. Growth responses, however, will also likely vary across landscape features, and our findings suggest that heightened sensitivity to future drought periods and increased temperatures in the two species will predominantly occur at lower elevation sites with poor water-holding capacities.

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

Western Journal of Applied Forestry ◽

10.1093/wjaf/3.3.76 ◽

1988 ◽

Vol 3 (3) ◽

pp. 76-80 ◽

Cited By ~ 28

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.

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Fire Suppression Impacts on Fuels and Fire Intensity in the Western U.S.: Insights from Archaeological Luminescence Dating in Northern New Mexico

Fire ◽

10.3390/fire3030032 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 3 (3) ◽

pp. 32

Author(s):

Christopher I. Roos ◽

Tammy M. Rittenour ◽

Thomas W. Swetnam ◽

Rachel A. Loehman ◽

Kacy L. Hollenback ◽

...

Keyword(s):

New Mexico ◽

Pinus Ponderosa ◽

Ponderosa Pine ◽

Fire Suppression ◽

Fire Behavior ◽

Luminescence Dating ◽

Fire Intensity ◽

Luminescence Signal ◽

Archaeological Ceramics ◽

Ponderosa Pine Forests

Here, we show that the last century of fire suppression in the western U.S. has resulted in fire intensities that are unique over more than 900 years of record in ponderosa pine forests (Pinus ponderosa). Specifically, we use the heat-sensitive luminescence signal of archaeological ceramics and tree-ring fire histories to show that a recent fire during mild weather conditions was more intense than anything experienced in centuries of frequent wildfires. We support this with a particularly robust set of optically stimulated luminescence measurements on pottery from an archaeological site in northern New Mexico. The heating effects of an October 2012 CE prescribed fire reset the luminescence signal in all 12 surface samples of archaeological ceramics, whereas none of the 10 samples exposed to at least 14 previous fires (1696–1893 CE) revealed any evidence of past thermal impact. This was true regardless of the fire behavior contexts of the 2012 CE samples (crown, surface, and smoldering fires). It suggests that the fuel characteristics from fire suppression at this site have no analog during the 550 years since the depopulation of this site or the 350 years of preceding occupation of the forested landscape of this region.

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