Forest structure and fuels dynamics following ponderosa pine restoration treatments, White Mountains, Arizona, USA

Roccaforte, John Paul; Huffman, David W.; Fulé, Peter Z.; Covington, W. Wallace; Chancellor, W. Walker; Stoddard, Michael T.; Crouse, Joseph E.

doi:10.1016/j.foreco.2014.11.001

Cited by 45 publications

(30 citation statements)

References 51 publications

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“…The reductions in stem density and basal area we observed following treatment are similar to those observed in other dry conifer forest systems of Arizona and California [23,25,60]. Our results show a significant inverse relationship between the number of seedlings ha´1 and the longevity of treatment benefits.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 86%

Ponderosa Pine Forest Restoration Treatment Longevity: Implications of Regeneration on Fire Hazard

Tinkham

Hoffman

et al. 2016

Forests

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Abstract:Restoration of pine forests has become a priority for managers who are beginning to embrace ideas of highly heterogeneous forest structures that potentially encourages high levels of regeneration. This study utilizes stem-mapped stands to assess how simulated regeneration timing and magnitude influence longevity of reduced fire behavior by linking growth and yield model outputs to a crown fire prediction model. Treatment longevity was assessed as return time to within 10% of pre-treatment predicted wind speeds for the onset of passive (Torching) and active (Crowning) crown fire behavior. Treatment longevity in terms of Torching and Crowning was reduced 5 years for every 550 and 150 seedlings ha´1, respectively. Introducing regeneration as a single pulse further reduced Torching treatment longevity 10 years compared to other regeneration distributions. Crowning treatment longevity increased at higher site indices, where a 6 m increase in site index increased longevity 4.5 year. This result was contrary to expectations that canopy openings after treatments would close faster on higher productivity sites. Additionally, Torching longevity was influenced by the rate of crown recession, were reducing the recession rate decreased longevity in areas with higher site indices. These dependencies highlight a need for research exploring stand development in heterogeneous sites.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 86%

Ponderosa Pine Forest Restoration Treatment Longevity: Implications of Regeneration on Fire Hazard

Tinkham

Hoffman

et al. 2016

Forests

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“…Density was reduced by about a third by the tenth post-fire year, but because mortality was concentrated in the 0-10 cm DBH class, basal area was not reduced at all. These patterns resembled those documented for other western dry conifer forests experiencing low-severity wildfire [15,31], as well as for forests experiencing prescribed fire treatments and light hand and mechanical thinning treatments [48][49][50]. More substantial change occurred in moderate-severity areas, with density reduced by over 75% and basal area reduced by over 50% by the tenth post-fire year.…”

Section: Live Overstory Structuresupporting

confidence: 74%

“…The vast majority of trees in both the 0-10 and the 10-20 cm DBH classes were killed, as were the vast majority of Douglas-fir trees. The changes we observed in moderate-severity areas were in line with those brought about elsewhere by moderate-severity wildfire [15,31], and by aggressive hand and mechanical thinning treatments [48,50,51]. Meanwhile, high-severity areas experienced the greatest change in live overstory structure; in these areas, burning transformed dry conifer forests into herb-dominated openings devoid of overstory trees, just as it has done across the west [15,18,31].…”

Section: Live Overstory Structuresupporting

confidence: 64%

“…They also experienced no change in large snag density and little to no change in surface cover attributes like mineral soil cover, litter and duff cover, and herb cover. As in unburned areas, thinning or prescribed fire treatments could be implemented in low-severity areas in the first few post-fire years or decades to move live overstory structure closer to HRV [48,50,51]. Such treatments could also promote large snag and herb abundance.…”

Section: Conclusion and Recommendationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Overstory Structure and Surface Cover Dynamics in the Decade Following the Hayman Fire, Colorado

Fornwalt

Stevens‐Rumann

Collins

2018

Forests

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Abstract:The 2002 Hayman Fire burned with mixed-severity across a 400-ha dry conifer study site in Colorado, USA, where overstory tree and surface cover attributes had been recently measured on 20 0.1-ha permanent plots. We remeasured these plots repeatedly during the first post-fire decade to examine how the attributes changed through time and whether changes were influenced by fire severity. We found that most attributes were temporally dynamic and that fire severity shaped their dynamics. For example, low-severity plots experienced a modest reduction in live overstory density due to both immediate and delayed tree mortality, and no change in live overstory basal area through time; in contrast, high-severity plots experienced an immediate and total loss of live overstory density and basal area. Large snag density in low-severity plots did not vary temporally because snag recruitment balanced snag loss; however, in high-severity plots large snag density increased markedly immediately post-fire and then declined by about half by post-fire year ten as snags fell. Mineral soil cover increased modestly immediately post-fire in low-severity plots and substantially immediately post-fire in high-severity plots, but changed little in ensuing years for either severity class. By incorporating pre-fire and repeatedly-measured post-fire data for a range of severities, our study uniquely contributes to the current understanding of wildfire effects in dry conifer forests and should be of interest to managers, researchers, and others.

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“…Empirical studies assessing treatment success have shown that a combination of mechanical thinning plus prescribed fire is most successful at meeting overstory restoration targets Korb et al, 2012). It is assumed that these management interventions restore the key feedback interactions between pattern and process under which these forests evolved, enhance ecological integrity, and increase resilience to disturbance Roccaforte et al, 2015). Yet consensus on meeting understory objectives remains mixed.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Increasing weight of evidence that thinning and burning treatments help restore understory plant communities in ponderosa pine forests

Strahan

Stoddard

Springer

et al. 2015

Forest Ecology and Management

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Forest structure and fuels dynamics following ponderosa pine restoration treatments, White Mountains, Arizona, USA

Cited by 45 publications

References 51 publications

Ponderosa Pine Forest Restoration Treatment Longevity: Implications of Regeneration on Fire Hazard

Ponderosa Pine Forest Restoration Treatment Longevity: Implications of Regeneration on Fire Hazard

Overstory Structure and Surface Cover Dynamics in the Decade Following the Hayman Fire, Colorado

Increasing weight of evidence that thinning and burning treatments help restore understory plant communities in ponderosa pine forests

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