Ecological characteristics of mature forest remnants left by wildfire

DeLong, S. Craig; Kessler, W.

doi:10.1016/s0378-1127(99)00203-0

Cited by 94 publications

(79 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…Residual data comparisons are also problematic when examining data derived from satellite imagery and other methods such as aerial photography and groundbased studies of residuals. Previous post-fire residual studies using aerial photography such as Eberhart and Woodard (1987) define residual forest patches as unburned patches at least 1 ha in size, while Delong and Kessler (2000) conducted field studies that defined residuals as older forest patches ≤ 10 ha in size. Even when employing a standardized MMU, satellite image-based studies cannot be compared directly with ground-or field-based studies.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Unburned patches provide legacies of forest structure and may serve as life-boats for species as the surrounding forest regenerates. Previous post-fire research has shown that the proportion of residual patches increases proportionally to the size of the fire perimeter (Eberhart and Woodard 1987) and that residuals may comprise 3% to 15% (Delong and Kessler 2000) or up to 40% (Fraser et al 2004) of the vegetation cover within fire-affected areas. Identifying and locating post-fire residuals is critical information for foresters conducting post-fire site evaluations (Eberhart and Woodard 1987), for aiding in tree regeneration (Greene et al 1999), and protecting bird habitat (Schieck and Hobson 2000).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Detection of post-fire residuals using high- and medium-resolution satellite imagery

Kachmar¹,

Sánchez‐Azofeifa²

2006

The Forestry Chronicle

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Forest fires can burn across large forested areas over short time periods, but they rarely consume all the trees in their path. Fires leave live irregularly shaped patches or rows of mature trees known as "residuals" within the fire perimeter. IKONOS and Landsat Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus satellite imagery were acquired over two forested areas affected by fire in the northern boreal forest of Alberta. Each image was classified and residuals were detected with greater than 88% accuracy. Residual patches were grouped into nine minimum mapping unit (MMU) classes and area, patch, and shape level metrics were calculated for each group. Analysis of metric results highlighted how the choice of satellite imagery used to characterize and quantify residuals, the size of the MMU used to define the residuals, and human induced land use cover change (LUCC) processes occurring within fire perimeters were interrelated factors that impacted estimates of residual numbers and sizes. Residual metrics calculated in one fire perimeter should therefore be carefully assessed according to local land use and land cover change dynamics before suggesting that residual information captured in any fire perimeter can typify residual patterns elsewhere.Key words: remote sensing, high resolution, medium resolution, satellite imagery, forest fires, wildfire, residual forest islands, geographic information systems (GIS), minimum mapping unit RÉSUMÉ Les feux de forêt peuvent brûler de grandes superficies forestières en peu de temps, mais ils consument rarement tous les arbres sur leur parcours. Les feux laissent des parcelles de forme irrégulières ou des rangées d'arbres mûrs identifiés comme des « résidus verts » au coeur du périmètre incendié. Des images obtenues par télédétection à partir des systèmes IKONOS et Landsat Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus ont été sélectionnées dans le cas de deux zones forestières brûlées dans la forêt boréale du nord de l'Alberta. Chaque image a été classifiée et les résidus verts ont été détectés avec une pré-cision de plus de 88 %. Les parcelles de résidus verts ont été regroupées sous neuf classes d'unité minimale de cartographie et les données relatives à la superficie, à la parcelle et à la forme de celle-ci ont été calculées pour chaque groupe. L'analyse des données a mis en évidence comment le choix de l'imagerie de télédétection retenue pour caractériser et quantifier les résidus, la taille de l'unité minimale utilisée pour définir les résidus et les processus de changement du type d'utilisation du territoire introduit par l'homme au sein des périmètres brûlés constituaient des facteurs en interaction qui avaient un impact sur les estimés portant sur le nombre et la taille des résidus. Les données sur les résidus calculés pour un périmètre brûlé devraient en conséquence être évaluées avec précaution en fonction de l'utilisation locale du territoire et de la dynamique du changement de cette utilisation avant de suggérer que l'information sur les résidus recueillie dans n'importe quel périmètre brûl...

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Detection of post-fire residuals using high- and medium-resolution satellite imagery

Kachmar¹,

Sánchez‐Azofeifa²

2006

The Forestry Chronicle

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“…They found the volume of CWD was highly variable across the landscape and generally lower than those reported in other stands or forest types resulting from past anthropogenic disturbance at the study site (Robertson and Bowser, 1999). DeLong and Kessler (2000) compared fuels in remnant patches of sub-boreal forest to the surrounding matrix of burned patches. They found highly variable CWD volumes and were unable to discriminate fuel loads among stand types.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 89%

“…They found highly variable CWD volumes and were unable to discriminate fuel loads among stand types. DeLong and Kessler (2000) also noted lower CWD volumes in harvested lodgepole pine stands (Pinus contorta) compared to similarly aged post-fire stands, suggesting that the processes leading to current stand composition play a critical role in fuel accumulation.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 90%

Fuel and stand conditions in an isolated, unmanaged forest landscape in central Oregon

Stanton

Arabas

2009

Ann. For. Sci.

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Abstract• Mature, unmanaged forests in western North America provide important reference conditions for managers, yet little is known about fuel composition and the factors that influence fuel accumulation in such stands. Our objectives were to characterize fuels in a passively managed landscape of dry forests in central Oregon and identify environmental factors influencing fuel accumulation.• Ordination techniques and analysis of variance revealed no statistical differences in total fuel loads across a wide range of environmental conditions.• Individual fuel size classes, however, did vary by stand location and composition. Interior stands had more 1-to 100-h fuels and snags than stands at or near the edge, stands dominated by ponderosa pine had fewer small-diameter fuels and snags, lodgepole pine stands had more 1-h fuels and snags, and white fir stands had more 10-h fuels, duff, and snag basal area.• Tree species, density and age, and years since last fire were the most important environmental variables, explaining 23% of the variation in fuels.• Our results present further evidence that fuel composition is highly variable at many spatial and temporal scales. They also provide useful baseline information for managers of fire-prone western forests.

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“…DeLong (1999) has detailed information on design of blocks to approximate wildfire. 2 Fire skips are consistently found within the boundaries of fires (Eberhart andWoodward 1987, DeLong andTanner 1996) and appear to be an important landscape element in disturbed landscapes (DeLong and Kessler 2000). The ecological importance of retaining mature forest patches or individual trees within clearcuts has been demonstrated for various organisms (Sillett and Goslin 1999, Tittler et al 2000, Côté and Ferron 2001.…”

Section: Patch Size Distribution Block Design and Species Compositionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Implementation of natural disturbance-based management in northern British Columbia

DeLong¹

2007

The Forestry Chronicle

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Ecologically based landscape units and associated characteristics of natural disturbance (e.g., seral stage and patch size distribution) were recently developed for the northeast corner of British Columbia and used as the basis for establishing guidance and policy for natural disturbance-based management for two large timber supply areas. I discuss the development of the landscape units; development of guidance for the units; and implementation of the guidance for old forest, interior old forest, and early seral patch size objectives. This paper demonstrates how natural-disturbance-based management can be successfully implemented. Key words: natural-disturbance-based management, natural range of variability, seral stage distribution, old-forest requirements, patch size, guidance, implementation

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Ecological characteristics of mature forest remnants left by wildfire

Cited by 94 publications

References 23 publications

Detection of post-fire residuals using high- and medium-resolution satellite imagery

Detection of post-fire residuals using high- and medium-resolution satellite imagery

Fuel and stand conditions in an isolated, unmanaged forest landscape in central Oregon

Implementation of natural disturbance-based management in northern British Columbia

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